There was a pause, and I looked down at the phone to make sure the line hadn’t dropped. Putting it back to my ear, I probed again, saying, “Hails?”
I could hear her clear her throat, imagining her shaking her head like she did when she was trying to refocus.
“Sorry. No, I’m good for now. I’ll…I’ll see you tomorrow. Thanks again.”
“No problem. I’ll see you in the morning.”
We hung up, and I knew my next stop needed to be Walker’s office now, not the treadmill like I’d planned. I needed to give him as much time as possible to find another guy to come in on Thursday. Pulling on my shirt, I stuffed the rest of my shit into my bag and beat feet for his office.
“Hey, Walker. Can someone cover my shift on Thursday?” I asked, getting straight to the point.
Walker looked up from the paperwork he was reading. “Yeah, that’s doable. Any reason why?”
The words were out before I could think better of them. “Hailey needs someone to drive her to a doctor’s appointment.”
My captain gave me a knowing look that made me squirm. Walker was an astute alpha, and no matter how cool I had played it, he’d probably realizedlong agohow I felt about her.
“Of course, you can take her. I’ll get Alex to cover your shift.” His smirk disappeared, his brows knitting together. “Is she feeling any better?”
I shook my head. “She's saying she is, but she's constantly pale and shaky. She’s got some meds on standby, and hopefully the doc knows what’s going on.”
“She's stubborn, just like our omega. Honestly, I'm thankful she's willing to go see a doctor at all. She's far too loved around here to get any sicker.”
“Right. No one else will put up with Blaze and Fitz…” I smirked, my thoughts drifting for a moment.
Walker grimaced. “You’re not wrong there. I don’t know what it is about that pair, but they are so…”
“Enthusiastic?” I supplied with a chuckle.
“Let’s go with that. Don’t worry about your shift. I’ll easily get it covered, just make sure Hailey is okay.”
“I will.” I nodded, before turning and leaving his office.
Walker was a good captain, and I was thankful for everything he did to keep Station Sixteen running. He was only working one or two days a week at the moment, while he was technically on paternity leave.
Given that hisentire packworked at the same firehouse, they took turns staying with their omega because losing three firefighters from one firehouse would be a hell of a thing to deal with.
We were lucky to have such amazing coworkers who cared for their team but balanced it so well with looking after their omega.
After all, caring for an omega was an alpha's dream. Our instincts demanded that we take on a caretaker role, and it wasn’t lost on me that I’d already started playing that role with Hailey.
Screwed, Merrick. You are so very screwed.
The next day, I drove to Hailey’s apartment complex bright and early. I wanted to get there with plenty of time, in case there was traffic.
Hailey opened the door; her face was pale and drawn. Her usual bright smile was gone, replaced with a gray pallor thatscreamed “unwell” like a neon sign. Her hair, typically shiny and in perfect waves, had a slight frizz to it and was scraped back into a messy bun.
I hated seeing her like this.
“Ready to go?” I asked, plastering a fake smile on my face, trying not to let on just how concerned I was, especially because she’d done what she was supposed to. Hailey had called the doc and was on her way with me now to get her prescription.
“Sure, let me just grab my bag.” She turned back into the apartment, leaving the door open so I could enter behind her.
“Have you had breakfast?” I asked, knowing full well what the answer would be.
“Didn’t have time,” Hailey called out from another room.
I hummed, my jaw muscles working as I folded my arms across my chest. “I thought so. There's an amazing pancake joint on the way to this pharmacy. I thought we could stop by.”