Disclaimer- Heavy Rain is very clearly not mine, though that does not stop me from letting my mind wander away with it.
I will simply say that part three is going to be a doozy. The idea of trying to tackle Blake (figuratively speaking, of course) is terrifying in it's own way, so hopefully that one won't take much longer to write than this part.
Part 2
An unfamiliar ceiling and bone-white walls greeted her as she woke up. Madison had never completely understood why so many people felt uncomfortable in hospitals, but now she was beginning to see why. Everything was a blank and sterile slate, showing no signs of life or warmth. It was a place for care and treatment, but it lacked the welcoming feeling of home. She may have had a love/hate relationship with her apartment, but at this moment she would've given anything to be out of this bed and in her own.
But that option was out of the question as long as her leg continued to feel like it had been hit by a sledgehammer. Pain was always worse the day after the trauma, but she never imagined it could feel as bad as it did.
A nurse entered her room as she tried to sit up and set a glass of water on the dresser by her bedside. "How are you feeling, Miss Paige?"
Madison winced, and waved away the nurse when she tried to adjust the pillow behind her back. "About as good as someone in intense pain can be, but considering the alternative, I can handle it."
The mental image of her falling from the crane crossed her mind briefly, sending chills down her spine. Any pain was worth working through compared to an end like that.
The nurse didn't know how to respond to her answer and instead attempted to maintain a friendly disposition. "Dr. Johnson should be in to see you soon. He will update you on your condition and answer any questions you might have."
She handed the water to Madison, and smiled once more before leaving the room with her clipboard.
The water felt amazing on her throat, and she was soon left with an empty paper cup. Blinking her eyes more than once, she brushed her hair out of her face and leaned her back against the large pillow behind her. By the time the doctor had found her, she had already begun to slowly peel apart the sides of the cup and was fiddling with a thin strip of it. Madison watched as he pulled out her file, a new one, and she anxiously began ripping the strip into smaller and smaller pieces instead.
He gave her a kind smile, taking the time to wipe his glasses before introducing himself. He was the Dr. Johnson that had been mentioned earlier, and would be the one to primarily treat her during her (hopefully) short stay.
"Well, let's get down to business, shall we?" He flipped open her file and began skimming through the results of the tests they had likely done while she had been unconscious.
Her knee was in bad shape, something she was acutely aware of but needed confirmation for, and it had probably taken the full brunt of the fall when she had jumped at the warehouse. With Shelby on her heels, she had had no other choice in the matter, though she was definitely paying for it now. Any movement after that had only aggravated the injury further, and there was a possibility that her ankle had been sprained as well. Her other injuries were limited to bruises and pulled muscles, things that could be fixed with time, rest, and a few painkillers, but her leg had to go in a cast or brace in order to heal properly.
That means that my bike is officially off limits for the next few months. Shit. She could arrange for a taxi to come and pick her up, but her options for transportation had been whittled down to either that or the hard way. Crutches.
...Looks like I'm going to be working from home for the next month or two.
They set her up in record time, fitting a cast over most of her leg, and handed her the paper work and details for her prescription. They also offered to extend her stay if need be. She used that opportunity to assure the staff that she was fit enough to leave, and refused the wheelchair offered to her. The crutches would take some getting used to, but the last thing she wanted was to have someone wait on her.
She approached the front desk later in the day, dressed in her clothes from the day before. Madison wasn't too thrilled about that, but she wasn't about to ask Sam to drop by her place to bring her some spare clothes to change into. It didn't seem worth the hassle, and she would get a chance to change soon enough. Then she could begin to wash away the bad feelings and memories associated with that day, beginning a new one instead with a fresh start.
"Have you finished your paperwork, ma'am?"
"Yes, sorry about the wait." She leaned against the desk and glanced around at the patients and staff moving from room to room. "Actually, I've been wondering about something. Do you know where Shaun Mars is?"
The woman at the desk looked up from the papers handed to her. "Are you family?"
"Um, no, but I am a...a close friend of the family. His father would want me to check on him. I rode in the same ambulance with him on the way here."
Madison watched as she went over the details for a few seconds, not looking thrilled as she began typing on the computer in front of her. "Visitors are limited to family, but if you are here to represent the father you should be able to make a quick visit. He's been through a lot, so I wouldn't stay long."
She jotted the room number down on a sticky note and handed it to Madison, who was grateful to see that it was on the same floor as her. It was a bit of a walk, however, and she knew that some exercise was in order to compensate for her tired limbs.
The door was open when she arrived and she approached slowly, not wanting to disturb Shaun if he was sleeping.
If anyone deserves a break, it's him. I hope he's doing okay-
He seemed to be asleep, but he wasn't alone. A redheaded woman sat close to his bed, and lovingly moved his hair off of his forehead. Madison froze as she looked up, and knew immediately that she was intruding.
And that would be his mother.
She moved closer to his side, and eyed Madison with a hint of suspicion. "I'm sorry, you are?"
"I, I'm..." A friend of your husband? ...Is Ethan your husband?
She took in a deep breath before continuing."My name is Madison Paige. I was there at the warehouse with Shaun. I was trying to help Ethan find his son. I'm a...friend."
Her look softened, but still remained guarded. "Was that how you got hurt?" Madison nodded. "They told me that a woman was brought here with Shaun, but nothing else other than that. It's almost as if they didn't want me to know what had happened there."
She paused to wipe her eyes, the tears escaping her notice until then, and took in a few breaths before continuing. "...I didn't think I would ever see my son again. Ethan had all but disappeared, but I kept on hearing things, about how he was searching for him, how he had been feeling over the last few years, and how he could have been the murderer... I had no idea what to believe."
Madison hesitated for a moment, but ultimately chose to speak up. "Ethan never gave up on him, Mrs. Mars. Not once."
She tried to smile, but the expression didn't carry the same weight as the sadness in her eyes. "I doubted him, and almost lost my son as a result. ...I don't know if he will ever forgive me for that."
Moving away from the door, Madison approached Shaun's bedside and looked down at the little boy they had all fought so hard to save.
"The opinion of a stranger may not be worth much to you, but there were moments where Ethan doubted himself. I don't think he could hate anyone for feeling the same."
She glanced up at Madison, before looking back to her son. "That may be true. ...Still, thank you for believing in him when I couldn't."
Madison shifted uncomfortably on her crutches, wondering if it would be wise to continue this conversation. His mother wanted time with him alone, and any information on Shaun's condition could easily be found out from his doctor.
She turned and slowly began moving towards the door. "I'm sorry for barging in like this. I shouldn't be here-"
"Wait!" Madison stopped and looked back over her shoulder.
The tears had taken over again, and Shaun's mother wiped them away as best as she could. "I, if you see Ethan, please...let him know I take back everything I've ever said. I'm so sorry..."
She dissolved into small sobs, and Madison could do little else but silently agree to her request. Something told her that both Ethan and Shaun's mother had a lot to work out, and the last thing she needed to do was get stuck in the middle.
It isn't like it's much of my business anyway. Ethan and I aren't dating. It wasn't like he had any time to tell me he was married between the times he put himself through hell for his son. ...I shouldn't have let myself even wander down that road to begin with.
There was a special kind of awkwardness there, and she didn't want to focus on it any more than she had to. Not until she had more time to clear and gather her thoughts.
She continued her trek towards the door and let herself wander down the hallway for a few steps. There was nowhere else to go from here, and Madison settled into the first seat she came across near the front desk. The woman behind it ignored her this time around, but that didn't bother her in the slightest. The ceiling was the same shade of white here as it had been in her room, she noted idly, but that wasn't a surprise either.
Her eyes slipped closed as a hand came down on her shoulder. The motion jolted her awake, and her eyes snapped up to the person acknowledging her.
The profiler. Agent...Jayden? He looked the same as he had the night before, with the exception of a bandage on the right side of his forehead.
Had it only been last night? It seems as if it's been years...
"Madison Paige?" She snapped back to the present as he flashed his badge, the reflexive motion feeling more like a formality at this point. "Norman Jayden, FBI. We met at the warehouse yesterday."
She shook her head. "No, I remember. I just wasn't expecting to see you again so soon."
"You sound just as thrilled as I feel. How are you holding up?"
"Well," She gestured towards her leg. "This is the only thing I have to worry about now, and I should be okay as long as I decide to give up any late-night rides on my motorcycle. I'm sure you can see why."
Jayden tilted his head to the side as he looked down at her. "It'd be interesting to watch until the third or fourth time you'd avoid crashing into a group of pedestrians, but I get it." He glanced towards the front desk and didn't even try to hide his concerned expression. "Have you heard about Shaun?"
"He's with his mother right now. Everything seems to be okay, but I haven't talked to his doctor." She shifted in her seat while trying to minimize any movement of her leg. "I didn't have any business being there."
"I see." He rested his hands on his hips and sighed, looking uneasy.
Something seemed off about him. He looked pale under the white lights and the bags under his eyes spoke volumes about his current physical state. He appeared to have been running non-stop on a lack of sleep and an overdose of worry and anxiety, something that she could completely understand, but that initial odd feeling lingered long enough for her to continue to examine him closely.
Maybe he secretly hates hospitals too. I wouldn't be surprised considering how far away I'd like to be from here.
"Miss Paige? I'm flattered, but I'm hardly the most interesting thing here."
Maybe that was a little too blatant. "Oh, I was just noticing that you got your head looked at."
"The medics mentioned some lady complaining about me bleeding all over the place, and refused to let me leave without stopping it." The look of amusement in his eyes contrasted sharply with his indignant tone. "She insisted."
A laugh escaped her lips as she recalled her loopy behavior the night before. The struggle had left her a wreck, while she had been high off of a mix of adrenaline and cathartic relief. Who wouldn't take the time to tease her about it? Besides, this agent had already made it clear that his thought processes were running on a different wavelength than 98% of the local police force. If he had, they would've skipped the pleasantries ages ago and she would already be carted off to the station.
But they were wasting time here chatting about things that didn't matter in the long term. Ethan was still unfairly locked up at the station, and the sooner she could put an end to that, the better. She also had a feeling that Mr. Profiler wasn't too far from that train of thought either.
"...I should probably be getting up, shouldn't I?"
Jayden nodded and held out his hand. "I'd like to take you back to the station for a few questions. It's only about a few details that we'd like some clarification on, and shouldn't take up too much of your time."
Madison climbed to her feet and set up her crutches, not especially looking forward to being the one answering the questions for once. Then again, maybe that was karma's way of mocking her career choices. That wouldn't surprise her at all.
The glass doors silently slid open to reveal an orange sky dotted with dozens of gray clouds. The downpour from the night before had slowed to a light drizzle, refusing to disappear completely. After a day spent indoors it was refreshing to feel, a welcome change from the oppressive dread that had accompanied every raincloud over the last week.
Jayden's car wasn't too far from the entrance, and he ran around her to open the door when she got close. The action itself was harmless, but she still found herself throwing a glare his way as she climbed inside. He didn't respond, but Madison knew he noticed it. When your job involved building ideas and expansive psychological profiles off of random facts and actions, you had to have one spectacular set of observational skills in order to keep it.
He settled into the driver's seat, looking over at her before focusing on the road. "Comfortable over there, Miss Paige?"
"Yes, I'm fine." Madison muttered, putting on her seat belt.
"...You do know I'm trying to be polite rather than condescending, right?" He was looking right at her now, and she knew she had been caught.
"It's just that I've got a bit of a love/hate relationship with the concept of chivalry. Not every princess is waiting for their knight in shining armor to come and help them along every step of the way, or save them from the smallest hint of danger. It doesn't work like that. ...But I really shouldn't be bringing this up at all. I'm rambling, and you're doing nothing to stop it."
And probably doing a fine job of convincing him you're crazy too. Way to go, Mad.
The car engine roared to life at the turn of the key and Jayden turned his attention back to the road. "Huh. I'd make a terrible knight. It'd be a recipe for disappointment."
"I don't know. I do owe you my life."
"You say that now, but you try to do any saving when your armor's rusted due to the goddamn rain." He sighed dejectedly and shook his head. "This is starting to sound like a shitty Lifetime movie I caught on TV once."
Now that was a priceless mental image that Madison couldn't help but laugh at. "You are the strangest cop I've ever met."
Jayden picked that moment to send her a glare of his own, but even she could tell he didn't mean it. "...FBI agent. The title comes with the fancy badge and hole-in-the-wall office, you know."