NEMESIS…
Chapter 9 - A New Beginning
"Here." Amanda said as she finally removed the bandage that Don applied to Jade's side.
"It's not that bad. At least the appendix wasn't ruptured." James sighed in relief. "I think we should keep her overnight just to be sure." James said.
"Sure we can put her in the already enlarging room with the rest of our friends." She smiled.
They worked to fix up Jade and get her ready to spend the night here also.
All three whirled around to see Suzy standing in the emergency entranceway.
"Who is that?" Chloe asked.
"Our DA." Steve said. "She's the cause of the argument Jade and I had today." Steve said firmly.
"Steve I just heard about your dad." Suzy said rushing up to him, ignoring Nickel and Chloe. "Is he okay?" She asked not seeing Jade with him. Perfect his little tramp is not here; she smiled to herself. Obviously her priorities are someplace else.
"I just heard and wanted to make sure you were okay." She said as she placed a hand on his arm.
Chloe and Nickel just looked at the woman who was obviously interested in stealing Steve away from Jade.
"Yeah he's going to be fine. Thankfully." Steve said looking at Amanda who was now coming towards them.
"I'm sorry I haven't met you." Suzy said looking at Nickel and Chloe.
"Nickel Washington and my wife Chloe." Nickel said firmly. "We're friends of Steve's." He said.
"Nickel Washington? Now why does your name sound so familiar?" Suzy said with a smile.
"NSA ring any bells?" Nickel said dryly.
"Oh yeah the director that's it. Well I didn't know Steve had such powerful friends." She gushed.
"Yes he does. He is in love with my daughter after all." Nickel smiled.
Suzy's smiled turned to a frown. She's the daughter of the director of the NSA? Suzy quietly screamed with disdain in her mind.
"Well Steve that is something." Suzy said looking back at Steve.
Man she just does not quit Chloe said inside.
Amanda broke the discussion just on time for Steve's liking. "Jade's going to be just fine. The wound did no major damage." Amanda said happily. All three heaved a sigh of relief.
"Can I see her?" Steve asked eagerly.
"Of course." Amanda said.
Steve turned around and headed for Jade without saying a word to Suzy. Suzy just stood in the awkward silence before she decided it was time to leave.
"Well I guess I'll see Steve later." Suzy said as she walked away from them without saying a word.
"What was that all about?" Amanda asked.
"Don't ask." Chloe said sarcastically.
"Well I you'll please excuse me I have to go and check on Mark and Jesse before I call it a night. But I'm sure I'll see you both back here tomorrow." Amanda said warmly.
"Count on it." Nickel said warmly. "And thanks for everything." Nickel smiled while Chloe shook her head in agreement.
Suzy made her way back out to the entrance. If you think I'll just give up that easily think again. I'll get Steve one way or another. One day he'll be mine and that little tramp will be history. I don't care if her father is the president; I've never been denied anything I have wanted and I'm not about to start, she smiled.
She got into her car and looked back at Community General in her rear view mirror. See you soon Steve.
"Hey." Steve said softly as he walked up to Jade who was now lying in a bed beside Shane.
"Sorry about this." Jade said lazily as the drugs were making her woozy.
"Sorry? Don't be sorry. You're alive. That's all that matters." Steve smiled as he took her hand and held it.
"Please take my parents to the hotel." Jade said wearily.
"They can stay with me tonight." Steve smiled as he bent to kiss her on the lips.
"I love you Steve." Jade breathed as she kissed him back. "I'm sorry about today. I'm sorry I…" she started.
Steve brought a finger and gently placed it on her lips to stop her. "Please stop. It's in the past." He smiled at her. "It was nothing, and always will be nothing." He said firmly.
"Good to hear." She smiled as her eyes fought to stay open.
"I'll be here in the morning. We can talk more then." He smiled. "Goodnight my love." He said warmly as he kissed her on the lips.
"Goodnight Steve." She said softly as Nickel and Chloe walked up to her.
"I'll meet you guys outside." Steve said as he hurried to change his reservation for tonight.
"You guys can stay with Steve tonight." Jade said quietly.
"You just try to rest sweetheart, we'll see you in the morning." Nickel said as he kissed his daughter on the cheek.
"Oh my baby girl, sweet dreams." Chloe said as she also kissed her daughter. Jade finally lost the battle to sleep and closed her eyes.
"Come on we need sleep also." Nickel said as he put his arm around his wife and they walked out of the OR arm in arm.
"Where to son?" Nickel said warmly making Steve look at them with big smile.
"I think you need some sleep." Amanda said to Cami as she walked into the room where Jesse and Mark were sleeping.
"Oh yeah I must have fallen asleep." She said lazily.
"Do you need a ride home?" She asked.
"Yeah I wouldn't mind." She smiled. "What time can I come tomorrow?" She asked as she walked up to Jesse.
"Anytime." Amanda said softly.
"Sweet dreams my prince." Cami said gently as she lightly kissed Jesse.
"Come on, let's go home." Amanda said warmly.
XXXXXXXX
Steve was the first to arrive at the hospital the next morning. He left the house keys with Nickel and told him after they were finished with breakfast to lock up.
He rushed into the room Jade was the night before only to find it empty.
"What the?" He asked out loud in panic.
"It's okay Steve," James said walking into the room. "We moved both her and Shane upstairs, along with Melvin Baker. Amanda put them all in one room. Talk about no privacy." The older doctor laughed.
"So Shane is going to be fine?" Steve asked in relief.
"Yup." James said.
"Thanks Doc." Steve said as he rushed out of the room.
"Didn't you at least want to know the room number?" James called.
"Oh yeah." Steve said sheepishly as he walked back.
James laughed and told him.
Steve rushed upstairs into the large room to see his dad's bed raised and him awake.
"Dad." Steve said quietly as he looked around the room and saw everyone else still sleeping.
"Oh Steve." Mark said as he embraced his son. "Thank god you're alive." Mark said happily.
"Yeah will I wouldn't be if it weren't for Jade." Steve smiled, as he looked his beautiful girlfriend sleeping in her bed.
"Yeah she's pretty amazing." Mark smiled also.
"Are you okay?" Steve asked. "I feared the worst."
"Well it could have been worse." Mark said gravely. "But Jesse and I were lucky. The car hit a large stone and the airbags deflated. If it hadn't been for that stone we both would have gone through the windshield." He said looking at Jesse. "And who is that by the way?" Mark asked looking at Melvin who was also sleeping.
"Melvin Baker, Jade's boss." Steve said as he sat down beside his dad and looked at Jade.
"Wow talk about a full house." Mark mused.
"I love her dad." Steve said simply.
"I can see why." Mark said as he looked at her also.
"It's more than physical dad, although she is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. But I mean last tonight she actually smashed through the wall of an abandoned building because she thought she had to bring down Schuler. She didn't know I was there, didn't know her dad was there, she just knew she had to bring him down." Steve said in amazement. "I mean wow." He said.
"I know son. She's one in a million." Mark said warmly.
Steve looked up at his dad.
"When I thought I lost her, I thought my life was over dad. I have never felt that lost before." Steve said.
"Did you tell her that?" Mark asked his son.
"Not yet. I was going to last night, but I didn't get the chance. But I will make sure I do today." Steve smiled as he noticed Jade starting to stir.
He got up and walked up to her. He looked down at her and smiled as he pushed some stray hair away from her face and bent down to kiss her. She opened her eyes and smiled.
"And sleeping beauty was wakened by her handsome prince." Jade said sleepily.
"Good morning to you to." Steve smiled. "How are you feeling?" He asked as he helped her sit up.
"I'm okay." She said as she sat up and spied Mark sitting up also and smiling at her. "Mark!" She said happily. "I'm so glad you're okay." She smiled.
"That's makes two of us." He said leaning back on his pillow. "We got quite the party in here." He laughed.
"Yeah sad but true." She said as she looked at Shane and then the others. "Good thing I can leave today." She said happily.
"Oh really?" Steve said.
"Yeah…me…too…" came the tired voice of her partner.
"Shane!" Jade said as she looked at him.
"Mornin'." He smiled. "Hey Mark. Hey Steve." He said.
"Hi Shane. Welcome back." Mark said.
"Hey Shane." Steve smiled.
"Thanks I think." Shane said slowly as he looked around the room. "What the hell happened?" He asked as he fully awakened. "Why are you here? I talked to you downstairs last night and you were okay." He asked.
"Don't ask." Jade said simply. "Yesterday was unbelievable."
"You know I was told you were dead." He said dryly.
"I was." She said looking at Steve. "But it's hard to keep a good agent down." She laughed.
"What happened to Schuler?" Shane asked.
"He collected early retirement." Nickel said walking into the room with a smile on his face. He walked up to Shane and patted him heartily on the back.
"Damn the whole family is here." Shane laughed.
"Yeah and once this whole room fully awakens I'm sure we'll get a notice for violating the sound laws in this hospital." Mark laughed.
"And then some." Jesse said as he joined in.
"Jesse!" Steve said to his friend.
"Hey Steve." Jesse said lazily. "Hey Jade."
"Hi Jesse." They both answered with a big smile.
"Whoa what happened to everyone?" Jesse asked causing everyone to laugh again.
"I think someone said the world fell apart." Melvin said.
"And I think I was right." Amanda said walking into the room.
"I think we'll need a bigger room." Mark laughed.
"Welcome back old friend." Nickel said walking up to Melvin. "You had me worried for a bit there." He said softly.
"Well for a bit there I was worried that Schuler had you cornered." Melvin said.
"His days were numbered." Nickel said. "He was fighting a losing battle. But I'm just glad this one is over."
"This one?" Melvin asked suspiciously while Nickel chose not to continue the conversation.
"Good thing it's over." Chloe said as she joined her husband beside their friend. "Hi Mel." She smiled.
"Chloe girl, how are you." He smiled as he hugged her.
"My whole family is safe, what more could I ask for." She smiled as she looked back at Jade and Steve.
"Well I know that I could use some new clothes." Jade said.
"Well I could always take you shopping again." Steve offered.
"Take him up on it Jade, it doesn't happen very often." Mark laughed.
"I don't think we've been properly introduced." Nickel said walking up to Mark. "I'm …"
"I know who you are Mr. Washington." Mark smiled as he extended his hand.
"Nickel please." He smiled as he shook Mark's hand. "My wife Chloe."
"Pleased to meet you both." Mark said. "You have an amazing daughter Nickel." Mark said.
"Yeah we know." Nickel said softly as the three of them looked at Steve and Jade who tried to steal a kiss.
"What?" Jade looked up her facing turning red.
"Well we are going to get some breakfast." Nickel said. "But we'll be back shortly." Nickel walked up and hugged Jade tightly, and gave Steve a friendly slap on the back.
"See you later sweetheart. Have fun you two." Chloe smiled as she kissed her cheek and they left the room.
Mark watched as they left the room. Wow was all he could manage.
"And we are going to get some food also and go shopping." Jade smiled as she got out of the bed and walked to the bathroom to change.
"Well I guess it's just the four of us." Shane said.
"Yeah nice try." Amanda said. "As soon as you have some breakfast as well it's off to the x-ray chamber for you to see how you're healing." She smiled warmly at him.
"Oh goody." He said sarcastically.
"Did Cami say when she'd be here?" Jesse asked.
Amanda was about to answer when they heard a loud crash outside the room.
"Now." She laughed.
Cami walked into the room and everyone laughed.
"What?" She asked suspiciously.
"Hey Cami." Jesse said.
"Hey Jesse." Cami said walking up to him and giving him a big kiss, while the others just watched.
Jade finally finished dressing and joined the others. "See you later dad." Steve said as he walked up and gave his dad a big hug.
"Bye Mark." Jade said as she hugged Mark also.
Sometime later…
"Well I think I'll take Jesse for a walk in this wheelchair." Cami said getting up. "How about it sweetie?" She asked.
"Sounds great." Jesse smiled as Cami helped him out of bed and into the chair.
They left the room leaving only Mark and Melvin alone. Amanda had taken Shane out some time before that.
"So Dr. Sloan…" Melvin started.
"Oh call me Mark please Melvin." Mark said warmly.
"Okay Mark." Melvin smiled. "So do you like golf?" He asked.
"So will I live?" Shane asked after he was finished and was sitting in his wheelchair waiting to get back into his bed.
"Yes thankfully." Amanda smiled as she bent and kissed him on the top of his head. She turned away and he caught her arm and pulled her back.
"I um," he started, "I can't thank you enough for saving my life." He smiled.
"But I didn't operate on you. It was James. He saved your life." Amanda said as she sat down beside him on a near by chair.
"No it was you. I heard all the words you said in the car on the way to the hospital." He smiled as he held her hand. "That's what kept me alive. That's what gave me strength to keep fighting. And when I was in the coma, it was your words that helped me find my way back, back to life and back to you." He said looking down. "I'm just sorry that I wasn't able to…" he said as she put a finger to his lips to stop him.
"I'm not." She smiled.
He took her hand and kissed it. "I don't deserve you you know." He said warmly.
"Funny I was about to say the same thing about you. I mean you risked your life for me without thinking of the consequences." She said.
"Well since we don't deserve each other I think we're perfect for each other." He smiled.
"The best." She said.
"Ma bella." He whispered as he pulled her close and kissed her.
"Yeah me too." She breathed back.
"What about this store?" Steve asked as they stopped in front of a small boutique.
"Steve." Jade said stopping them.
"Yeah?" He said looking at her.
She pulled him to a nearby bench and sat down.
"Steve I have to say this before I lose my nerve." She said firmly.
Oh no, Steve said inside fearing the worse.
"Steve I'm sorry for yesterday." Jade started "I, "
"Jade don't."
"Steve please, let me finish." She said softly.
"Okay." He said softly also.
"I have never felt the happiness or experienced the love in my life before as I have with you. Even with Dean it was different. It was never this deep, and never felt this good." She said looking away. "And when I saw you in the arms of that woman yesterday I jumped to the wrong conclusion too fast." She said looking back at him with tears in her eyes.
Steve's heart broke into tiny pieces as he watched her.
"I thought that," she paused to get her bearings, "I thought you didn't want me anymore." She said sadly. "And it crushed me."
"Jade I," Steve started.
"But," she said stopping him, "I was wrong. You see I trust you with more than my life. I trust you with my heart and that scares me. But I give it to you willingly. And I know now that it's in good hands, it's safe. And I'm sorry I doubted that."
"Now and forever Jade." Steve said as he took her hands and held them firmly in his. "And if you ever again feel a doubt, please just ask me." He pleaded. "I was in hell yesterday when you left. And then when Amanda told me that," he paused looking down, "you might be dead, I felt my world come to a complete stop." He said looking back up.
"I love you Jade, no matter what." He smiled. "And I never want to you to feel anything but my love and devotion to you." He said firmly. "And if you ever doubt me then I know I will have failed in my duty to you." He said.
"Oh Steve, let's make sure it never comes to that." Jade said as she leaned in to kiss him.
"Deal," he said as he kissed her back. They sat on the bench for sometime just relishing in the happiness of being together. Finally they finished their shopping and headed back to the hospital.
ONE WEEK LATER
"I'd like to make a toast." Nickel said as he stood up from his place at the head of the table in Mark's dining room that night. He looked around the room and beheld the faces before him, all smiling, all friends.
"To old family and new friends. There is not a force in the world that could ever take them away!" He said firmly as he raised his glass.
"Here here." Was the course all around the table.
"See you tomorrow sweetheart." Nickel said as he kissed and hugged his daughter goodnight.
"What time is our first apartment showing?" Chloe asked Jade.
"9 am. Not to early." She smiled as Steve held her close.
"Nite Steve." Nickel said shaking his hand.
"Goodnight Steve." Chloe said hugging him.
"Goodnight guys." Steve said as he watched them leave.
"Shall we retire to a quiet spot?" Steve asked as he guided Jade to the living room.
"Sounds perfect." She smiled.
"What time do we tee off tomorrow Mark?" Melvin asked as turned to follow Nickel and Chloe.
"Also 9 am." Mark smiled as he shook Melvin's hand goodbye. "Pick you up at 8:30."
"See you then." Melvin smiled as he shook Mark's hand goodbye, then went to join Nickel for the ride back to their hotel.
"So what time are we going to hit Disneyland?" Cami asked Jesse as they sat on the steps outside Mark's house later that night.
"What time are you getting up?" Jesse asked.
"What time shall I wake you?" She said mischievously.
"Ohhh…" Jesse smiled as he kissed her.
"Thanks again for taking me and CJ to the zoo." Amanda said as her and Shane walked along the beach hand and hand after dinner.
"It was my pleasure." He said as they reached their blanket again. He sat down and pulled her into his lap. They sat in silence just staring at the water before them.
"Shane I …"
"Amanda I …" they both started at once.
"You first." Shane laughed.
"Okay." Amanda said as she turned to face him. "When you were in your coma I honestly didn't think you'd make it." She said softly. "I feared I had lost you for good." She said looking at him, running her hand through his dark wavy hair. "And when you pulled through, my happiness was something I thought lost long ago."
"I'm sorry I put you through that. If I had known I would have woken up sooner." He smiled at her. "But being in that coma made me realize how precious life really is, and how it should never be taken for granted." He said softly. "There are also other things that should never be taken for granted." He sighed.
"Like what?" She asked.
"Like love." He said seriously. "Amanda I have never said this to someone in my life and meant it as much as I do right now." He said looking into her eyes.
"I love you." He whispered.
"I love you too Shane." Amanda said as she felt her eyes get teary from happiness.
"What a week." Jade said as she lay her head against Steve's chest as they rested in front of the fireplace, their favourite spot.
"You can say that again." Steve smiled. "I have so much to say to you but before I start, here..." He reached over and put in a CD and pressed play. "This song I dedicate to you. Because you are the most amazing person I have ever met. But," he said with a sly smile.
"But?" Jade said in confusion.
"But sometimes you have to be reminded that you are human and that you have to ask for help once and a while." He said pulling her back into his embrace. "As you listen to the words try to find what is special inside of you, try to find what I see." Steve said.
I can't stand to fly
I'm not that naive
I'm just out to find
The better part of me
I'm more than a bird
I'm more than a plane
More than some pretty face beside a train
It's not easy to be me
Jade closed her eyes and listened to the words of the song she was very familiar with. And it was true. She sometimes tried to take on the whole world without asking for help. But not anymore, she wasn't super-woman afterall. He was with her now, now and forever, beside her all the way. And if she ever needed help he would be right there beside her.
Wish that I could cry
Fall upon my knees
Find a way to lie
About a home I'll never see
It may sound absurd; but don't be naive
Even Heroes have the right to bleed
I may be disturbed; but won't you concede
Even Heroes have the right to dream
It's not easy to be me
She felt tears of joy starting to come. This song reminded her that she was not alone and that she was not indestructible. She was just as imperfect as anyone else was and she needed help sometimes just like everyone else. She was allowed to show emotion, she was allowed to show pain and she was allowed to show weakness. She was allowed to cry; she was allowed to get mad and she was allowed to show envy. She was human; she was ordinary. And that was okay, because the only one that that all mattered to was right beside her, now and forever.
Up, up and away; away from me
Well it's all right
You can all sleep sound tonight
I'm not crazy; or anything:
I'm only a man in a silly red sheet
Digging for kryptonite on this one way street
Only a man in a funny red sheet
Looking for special things inside of me
Inside of me; Inside of me
I'm only a man in a funny red sheet
Only a man looking for a dream
I'm only a man in a funny red sheet
And it's not easy
It's not easy to be me
Jade let the song play through and let the words play with her brain long after the music stopped.
"So did you find it?" Steve asked as he moved her so that he could look into her eyes.
"Find what?" Jade asked puzzled.
"What is special about you? Did you find it?" Steve asked with a smile.
"Steve," she said as she leaned into kiss him, "I never lost what was special about me."
"Jade. Will you marry me?"
"Yes."
END
Dear readers I hope you enjoyed my second DM story!
