The room was cold, but bright, her body felt heavy; her limbs dead. The beep said she was alive, wires ran away from her body to a machine; a tube taped to her face. It felt itchy, her body was numb she realized; the tingles of paresthesia.
Her memory was blurry for the second time in less than two days, it was not pleasant. She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to place the numbness; trying to understand why her body would not move. The case was clear, Lindsay was home, she was safe; Sam.
She'd gone to see Sam, he was responsible for this; for all of it. Her face tingled, he'd slapped her; no that was wrong. That was before she'd found Lindsay, it had stung though but she couldn't remember; her body hurt.
She heard voices, raised; she knew them. The words blurred but one stood out; her child. "She can't talk to you yet, and she can't move. We won't know the extent of the damage until the swelling goes down. She's lucky to be alive."
"Mom. Mom, can you hear me?" She saw Lindsay's hands, and turned her head; her daughter's eyes were red and cheeks tear stained.
Catherine tried to nod, her daughter touched her cheek; her mother stood in the doorway. Panic swelled in her chest and the beeping got faster; she could see her daughter touching her but couldn't feel it. A nurse cut in. "Okay, that's enough; she needs to rest."
"Why can't I stay with mom? I want to stay with my mom." Tears welled in her eyes, she wanted Lindsay to stay with her; she didn't want her upset.
"She needs to rest to recover, she just had surgery; let her sleep." The nurse put a hand on Lindsay's shoulder, Catherine managed a soft moan; both looked at her.
Her daughter's hand rubbed her cheek and Lindsay slid her hand into her hair; she looked into her daughter's eyes. It felt better with her daughter close, safe. The nurse relented and slipped away, closing her mother on the opposite side of the door; she was alone with her child.
"Mom, it's okay mom. The doctors said it's going to be okay. You can't move yet, you were in surgery for a long time." Her daughter ran her hands through her hair, Catherine swallowed hard; she wanted to know what they'd told Lindsay.
The door opened again, and she closed her eyes; Sam. He may have been her father but he was the last person she wanted to see right now. Her memory wasn't exactly clear on what had happened but she knew if Sam was involved it was going to be messy.
"Lindsay may I have a moment with your mom." He stepped closer, she kept her eyes closed; he had probably paid his way through.
"Yeah, she can't talk yet." Lindsay moved away and she heard the door; she kept her eyes shut.
Something moved and she heard Sam sigh; she didn't budge. "Listen Muggs, you don't want to see me yet that's fine. Don't look at me but you hear me out."
She took him up on that. "Those bullets were meant for me, I know that. I also know if they hadn't hit you they would have killed me. You're only alive because you're shorter than me, and I'm only alive because you moved. I will never be able to repay you for that."
"Catherine you are my daughter, and I may not have done right by you, or by your mother. But I always watched out for you, a part of me always knew. My sons are gone, one in the ground and one in jail for putting the other there. I still have a daughter, and like it or not I will take care of you." His hand touched her cheek; he had backhanded it only the day before.
His hand cupped her jaw for a long moment and she stayed still; not that she had any choice. "I've made mistakes Muggs, I've made business decisions and had success; and handled the enemies that came with them. You are not one of them, and you didn't deserve this."
He sighed again and his hand stayed there; she wished for sleep or numbness. Keeping her eyes closed sleep did slowly come, when she woke her body was numb but sore. Taking a chance she opened her eyes and her stomach dropped.
