This may be a one shot, might be the beginnings of another story, I haven't decided yet. As you can see, I'm a little stumped on the 'Moments' and haven't posted in awhile. I've had this idea running around in my head but I couldn't really work it into one of the 'Moments,' so here ya go. :)
As I walk through the hospital doors, I immediately have a flashback to election time when Cady was hit by that car. It doesn't really make sense, because I've been here a handful of times since then. I suppose there's more at stake when the person in the hospital is someone you know versus a murder suspect. Granted, Branch and I have never gotten along all that well, but I still don't want the asshole to die.
I make a quick stop at the front desk as I take off my sunglasses and hang them on the V-neck of my uniform.
"Excuse me, which room is Branch Connelly in?"
The woman behind the desk looks up at me and she reminds me a bit of Ruby. Her eyes grow sad as she processes my question.
"How bad is it?" I say, almost in a whisper.
"Not good," she frowns.
"Shit," I sigh.
She nods her head in agreement and points down the hall. "Around the corner and it's the first door on your right."
"Thanks."
I make my way slowly down the hall, not sure exactly what to expect when I get to his room. I peak my head in the door and two sad faces look up at me. Cady gets up immediately and meets me at the door, while Walt stays and eyes me from the chair beside Branch's bed.
"What happened with Barlow?"
"He's locked up at the station. He hasn't said a word." I pause, unsure if that's a relief to her or not. "Ferg's there now. He wanted me to come give you a hug."
She glances at Branch and then back to me as tears begin to well in her eyes. I pull her into a light hug.
"What if he doesn't wake up?" She says through a sniffle.
I pat her on the back and pull away so I can look at her. "I don't know," I answer honestly. I don't want to think about that right now.
"What do we know about his condition?" I look at Cady first, and when she looks back at Branch's unmoving body, I steal a look at Walt. He eyes me carefully but doesn't say a word.
Cady clears her throat and turns back to me. "There was a lot of medical jargon that I didn't understand… but basically his body needs time to heal, so they put him in a medically induced coma." She sniffles.
I take a deep breath. "So we wait."
"We wait," she confirms quietly.
We stand in silence for a minute, but it quickly grows uncomfortable. "You guys must be hungry, can I get you anything from the cafeteria? Or some coffee?"
"That sounds like a good idea, but I'll go."
"Are you sure? I don't mind."
"No, I'll go, I need to walk around for a while." She walks over and grabs her phone from the chair where she left it and walks towards the door. "Dad, do you want anything?"
He looks up and speaks for the first time since I got here. "No thanks, Punk. I'm alright."
Cady smiles sweetly back at him, I'm sure knowing that he wasn't going to ask for anything. "I'll be back in a bit," she mutters, and then she's gone.
When she leaves the room, Walt leans back in his chair and sighs. I wait for a minute to see if he's going to speak, which of course, he doesn't.
"What happened?"
"They had to put him in a medically induced coma, he-"
"You know that's not what I mean. Why the hell did Barlow shoot Branch?"
He shakes his head and shrugs his shoulders at the same time, but says nothing. I've known Walt long enough to know that he's not telling me everything right now. I walk behind him to the other side of the room, giving him a little bit of space as I pace back and forth.
After a minute of silence, I try again. "What did Branch tell you, Walt?"
It takes him a few moments to answer. "That he was sorry."
"For the whole David Ridges thing?" I continue to pace.
"No, uh… he apologized for Barlow." He stops talking but I can tell that he's not finished. I don't say anything and wait for him to continue.
"Barlow arranged for Martha's murder. He was behind the whole thing."
I stop in my tracks and look back at him, but he's not looking at me. "Shit."
He shifts uncomfortably in his chair.
"Are you sure you trust Branch? His mind hasn't exactly been stable lately. Did he say how he found out?"
"No. He lost so much blood by that point, he was falling in and out of consciousness. He just kept saying he was sorry." He leans forward and rubs his face with his hands.
I stand there in silence for a couple of minutes, not knowing what to say. Is there even anything that I can say?
I gravitate towards him and stand behind his chair. He's leaning forward in the chair, with his face resting in his hands. He can't see me but I think he can sense that I'm behind him now. He shifts his body slightly just before I reach out and rest my hands on his shoulders.
We stay like this for a few minutes, and I'm thinking about breaking the silence when Walt clears his throat, which makes me think he's uncomfortable. I go to take my hands off of his shoulders and he reaches back with one hand and holds my right hand there.
"Stay," he says as he gives my hand a squeeze.
I bring my left hand back up to his other shoulder and rub it gently. "Of course."
