Chapter 1 Russell
At first all he could do was pace outside of her room, first at the ER when they treated her, got her breathing on her own again, and then tending to her injuries. He heard nurses mutter things like "head trauma" "brain damage" "multiple fractures" but he couldn't process those words entirely. All he could do was pace, worriedly, wondering what to do, how to help, if only he had gotten to her condo a few minutes earlier.
That next morning, a nurse who had been watching him all night, took pity on him and lead him inside her room in the ICU.
"It's nice that you are here," the nurse said with a smile "patients tend to respond to loved ones"
He nodded, unable to tell her that he was just a friend. But that was a lie. He was more than a friend to Julie. She was like family to him, even if he didn't always agree with her. She had joined the team amidst a traumatic event but he knew she would eventually fit in and she had; helping Henry with baseball tips, clearing Greg after he was accused of tampering with evidence, and working so hard to catch the Gig Harbor Killer no matter what the cost. Well now he could see what the sacrifice had been and he hated himself for letting it get this far.
The nurse encouraged him to sit in the chair by her bed so he did. She left to tend to other patients and he sighed, watching over Julie, eyeing the bruises and cuts on her face, feeling a wave of guilt hit him, why didn't he shoot Winthrope when he had the chance?
Reluctantly, he scooted forward in the chair so he could reach for Julie's hand which lay tenderly at her side. He squeezed her hand gently at first but then stronger, as if holding her hand could help her wake up, could take away his regret. As he sat there, the guilt bubbling inside him intensified to an actual pain stabbing at his heart.
"I'm so sorry Jules," he whispered knowing she couldn't hear him but praying with every fiber of his being that maybe, just maybe, she could.