Chapter 4
Mark had been working with Russ for weeks, getting him ready for his eventual sit-down, face-to-face talk with Jaime; now it was time to finish preparing Jaime for the same thing. For her, it would come a little easier because she already didn't blame him (saying that he'd had 'Kingsley eyes' when he shot her) but it would be difficult nonetheless, to reunite two former colleagues who now had shared such a horrific moment between them. Each had suffered greatly because of it...and now the time would soon arrive for them to begin to heal.
A week and a half had passed since Jaime had gone home, and Mark was continuing their mid-morning coffee and donuts sessions every day. Some days he found Jaime light and happy (and Steve looking well-rested) and other days...weren't as good. This would be a bad one, he could tell from the look on Steve's face when he opened the door.
''Bad night?'' Mark asked casually (looking around for Jaime, who was not in evidence).
''She's on the back porch; she's mad at me.''
''I'd think being allowed out of bed and through the house - and especially onto the porch - would raise her spirits,'' Mark questioned. It was a brand-new development that Michael had finally allowed just the previous day.
''Thing is, it's all she wants to do now, is walk around the house, tending to this, looking at that, going outside, back in again...and she's wearing herself out. I told her she needed to at least choose a chair or the bed and rest for a little while...and I thought she was gonna deck me!'' Steve explained.
''I'll talk to her,'' Mark offered.
''Wear your flak suit and helmet,'' Steve chuckled.
Mark did find Jaime outside, but on the far side of the yard, past the flowerbeds - and far past where she was supposed to be walking alone. Choosing to ignore the indiscretion (at least for now), he smiled at her instead and held up a familiar pink and white striped box. ''I brought cookies today, instead of donuts - and your favorite kind, too!'' he said cheerfully, taking a seat in the grass beside her.
Jaime looked exhausted, completely spent - and totally cross. She grabbed a cookie from the box without so much as the smallest smile, chomped into it...then hung her head and scowled. ''Go ahead and yell at me. I know you're gonna...so get it over with.''
''I'm bearing cookies today, not yelling,'' Mark told her. ''Why do you think I'd yell at you?''
''Because I'm sure Steve already told you I chewed his head off this morning - and because I'm all the way out here where I'm not supposed to be.''
''Well, it looks and sounds to me like you're miserable enough right now without having to listen to me yell or scold. So what's going on with you this morning?''
''I'm crabby. I hurt. I want...I want to run through this yard and see and touch every tree, smell every flower and just take in every bit of it...and I can't.''
''Jaime, right now you're very much in a state of flux. Your condition changes for the better and the worse at the drop of a hat and it must be very, very hard for you to cope with. You're going to have days when you'll have energy to burn and the will to use it right - and you'll have days where it hurts just to move. I'm guessing today is one of the latter.''
''Yeah,'' she said softly.
''And yet you pushed yourself - forced your body to move when it was telling you 'no' - why?''
''I guess...because I wanna decide - not my body or my stupid brain with holes in it that still have to reconnect. Me! I wanna decide for myself!''
''One thing you're definitely improving at by leaps and bounds is expressing yourself; do you realize that? You're tired, you're upset - and you're still talking to me.''
''I guess I am.''
''So those nerves connections in your brain are repairing themselves, finding new paths to allow you to do new things. You just -''
''Have to be patient,'' she finished for him.
''That's right. And?''
''And know that Steve is only trying to help me. And so are you and Michael. I...I don't like getting so angry.''
''Just remember that anger is normal after everything you've been through. We've talked a lot about that. And use the outlets that you are able to use to work through it. Know that the storm is temporary and it'll pass.'' He looked up to see Steve poking his head out the back door. ''Bring the coffee!'' Mark called to him. ''We'll talk out here today.''
It was time to talk about Russ. Mark explained that he thought it was best if Russ wasn't confronted by the sight of both Austins at once; he was already overwhelmed at just the prospect of the visit. So they decided Steve could help Jaime out to the flower garden the next morning and then he would greet Russ (and Mark) alone at the door. Jaime could revel in her flowers for a bit while the initial awkwardness hopefully dissipated...then they'd all head outside together for coffee, donuts and (hopefully) healing.
The next morning, Russ woke early, after having been up very late, still unsure how he was going to face this day...and these two people who had been more than colleagues. They'd been his friends. Would they ever be either again? He picked at the powdered eggs with little enthusiasm because he knew that in another two hours, he'd be having coffee and donuts with Mark - and with Steve and Jaime.
