Chapter 10
Dr. Brackett arrives in the cafeteria with a bit of a skip in his step. Mac, Jim, Jean, and Jenny are still sitting at the same table with cups of coffee in front of them. Kel grabs a nearby chair and swings the seat under him. He leans forward against the chairback with both his forearms. "I'm here to report that Pete Malloy is off the respirator and breathing well on his own. We even pulled the trach tube so now we're just waiting for him to wake up."
The group literally makes a collective sigh of relief. Mac comments, "That's fantastic news."
Jenny tentatively asks, "Can we go up and visit him now?"
"I think one or two people at a time would be fine. If all continues to go well, we might get him moved out of ICU in another day."
Jim, then asks, "How much longer will he be in the hospital?"
"It's hard to say since he will need to stay on IV antibiotics for a few more days. I would hope that he could go home in a week or so if he doesn't have any setbacks."
Jean wonders, "You don't expect any problems do you?"
"No, not at all. He has handled everything we have thrown at him so far. Pete is a strong guy. I think it might be hard to keep him down. Dr. Early is upstairs with him now. If you have a question regarding Pete, please feel free to ask him."
"Dr. Brackett, we can't thank you enough for getting Pete through the past few hours." Jim stands up and reaches out to shake his hand. Kel politely excuses himself and disappears out the door.
After Kel Bracketts' departure, the four of them relocate to the ICU waiting room. Jim questions who is going in to see Pete first. Mac speaks up, "You and Jenny should go in. I'll keep your lovely wife company."
"Thanks, Mac, I appreciate that." With reluctance and excitement both Jenny and Jim walk slowly into Pete's room. Dr. Early is leaning against a wall jotting down some notes on a clipboard. "So how is he, doc?"
"He's doing great. He's just sleeping. Maybe you two should do the same. It's almost midnight you know."
"I think we both need to see him before we could consider leaving tonight," Jenny says.
Jenny cozies up to the bed and is relieved to see the chest and breathing tubes removed from him. Pete is looking more like himself with more color to his face. He seems to be breathing well with not even a mask on at this time. With her free hand she grabs a hold of his. A scary memory flashes through her mind when she sees the burn marks on his wrist. A low groan from Pete grabs her attention back to the present. "Hey there, sleepyhead," she whispers to him.
His eyes flutter open and he turns his face toward her voice. He opens his mouth, but nothing comes out at first. He squeezes her hand tightly. "I … " He clears his throat. "I thought… I'd lost you."
Jenny is overwhelmed with emotion. "I'm ok."
He pauses for a second. "But, the fire?"
"I got away and jumped into the river."
Pete keeps gazing into her eyes trying to reassure himself that she's not a dream. "God, you're beautiful."
She can't hold back. She leans down and gives him a brief, but tender kiss on the lips. As she starts to pull away, Pete reaches up and pulls her back in for longer more passionate one. His cracked lip hurts, but his need to quench his thirst for her is more important.
At this moment, Jim feels like he's intruding. He realizes that they both finally know each other is all right.
Jenny sits back up and points out to Pete that he has some other visitors that would love to say hello.
Jim steps up closer to the bed so he can be seen. "Howdy, partner. It's good to have you back."
"When did you go John Wayne on me?" Pete says with a gravelly voice.
"Hey, I'm more like the Lone Ranger and my sidekick Tonto is Jeff Olson, Jenny's boss. We spent the day on horseback looking for you and Jenny yesterday. You probably don't remember, but we found you half in the river."
"About the last thing I remember was breaking free from a tree I was tied to. The flames were intense and I couldn't follow down the path Jenny was on." Pete looks back at Jenny with concern. "Are you really ok? What happened to your arm?"
"I broke it when I fell trying to escape. Stop worrying about me. We need to focus on getting you healthy." She squeezes his hand tightly again. "Let me get someone else whose waiting to see you."
As Jenny walks out, Pete says to Jim, "Partner, thanks for coming. My gut told me, you'd be looking for us. I'd probably not be here if it weren't for you."
"Pete, you would have done the same for me."
"Jim, can you do me another favor?"
"Sure, what is it?"
"Can you watch out for Jenny until I'm out of here? She went through a lot with those men."
"Of course. She already agreed to come home with us tonight."
"Good."
In walks Jean Reed with Mac right behind her. Both look tired, but have big smiles on their faces. Mac belts out, "Look who's finally awake. It's good to see you, Pete."
"Same here, Mac." An unexpected cough sends a shooting pain through Pete. He takes a moment to catch his breath. "Hi, Jean. Thanks for sending your husband out after me."
"You know Jim. Wild horses couldn't keep him out of the excitement." Jean quickly senses that Pete is fatigued. "We are so happy to see you, Pete, but it's late. You really need to rest and get your strength back."
"Well, I think Jean's right. Pete, just know the boys back at the station are wishing you a quick recovery. I'll check back in with you tomorrow. I need to get your side of the story." Mac reaches down and squeezes Pete's shoulder. "Get some rest. That's an order."
Jean and Mac are on their way out. Jim walks back over for a second. "I'll be by first thing in the morning." Pete raises his hand slightly to wave goodnight.
Jenny is conflicted with wanting to stay, but knowing he should rest. He might not with her there. "Pete when you're ready, I have the perfect front porch for sitting and relaxing on. I'll reserve a spot for you." She runs her hand down along his leg. "Until then."
"Come over here," Pete requests. Jenny wanders back to his side. Pete grabs a hold of her hand and squeezes tightly. "I heard what you said earlier."
"What are you talking about, Pete?" Jenny plays ignorant and her gazes down at the floor.
"I might not have been able to talk, but I heard you talking to me. I remember every word. It goes both ways. I love you too, beautiful."
Dr. Early comes over to the bed to take some vitals from Pete, then notices Jenny. "Young lady, you need to lie down before you fall down from exhaustion." Joe knew she was just released from the hospital.
Jim comes in and puts an arm around Jenny to usher her out. "Let's get you home." Jenny just looks back longingly at Pete. Joe says to all of Pete's friends, "I promise, I'll keep an eye on this one." When Joe turns back around he does a quick assessment of Pete's vitals. "Tell me what kind of pain are you experiencing? On a scale of one to ten, with one being good and ten being bad."
"Maybe four," as he grits his teeth a bit.
"Let me get you another dose of pain meds. I want you to get some rest now. Enough talking for tonight."
"Doc, how long was I out of it?"
"We kept you sedated and on a respirator for just about twenty-four hours."
"What day is it?"
"It's really early Tuesday morning. Now get some sleep."
Pete finally falls asleep, but it isn't the most restful of sleep. The next day he gets settled into a regular room. The constant checks by the nurses become less and come as a big relief for a usually private person. He anxiously waits to see Mac wondering what all he has missed out on especially what happened to the men who held him and Jenny hostage.
Over the next few days, Pete continues to improve. He is up moving around pretty well, except he has to tow along an IV line and bag with him everywhere. Dr. Brackett is determined to keep the pneumonia at bay. In just another day, he can be free of the intravenous medication and switch to just oral dosing. Dr. Early seems to have his pain to a minimum with the right combination of narcotics too. The only time Pete is really suffering is with the coughing episodes. Dr. Brackett arrives early this morning to check in with his patient. "So how are you feeling this morning, Pete?"
"Good enough to get out of here. What do you say, doc? Can you take me off the leash?" He points to the IV line.
"I promise, Pete, that this is the last day on the IV. How are the ribs doing?" Kel goes to palpate the injured area then gets a surprisingly loud groan from Pete.
"Take it easy, doc."
"Just remember, Pete, it's going to take around six weeks for these ribs to completely heal. If I sign those release papers soon, it doesn't mean you're free to go back to duty for a while."
"I understand. I'm sure I'll only get light duty for a few weeks anyway."
"No, sir, when you're released you need at least a couple weeks off the job for recuperation. I don't want to see you back in here with reinjured ribs or worse yet pneumonia."
"Ok, ok, I hear you loud and clear."
A moment later Jim shows up in uniform. "Good morning, Dr. Brackett. How is my partner doing?"
"Getting a little impatient, restless, and difficult I'm afraid."
"Well, that's nothing new. I see that every day in the squad car with him. Have you had your morning coffee yet, Pete? It's not even safe to talk with him till after he gets in a couple cups, doc."
"Alright already. I'm not that bad. Ok, if either of you were tied to a pole for a week, you'd be going stir crazy too."
"Pete, like I said earlier. Just give it another day and we can most likely get you out of here," Dr. Brackett promises. He slips out to make his morning rounds.
"So, Jim, tell me what is going on?"
"I'm assigned to an L-car today which is an improvement after being partnered with Wells yesterday. Later today is the arraignment for Dean Johnson. He is up for armed robbery, assault, and kidnapping to name a few. It's probably going to be a week or more for charges to be brought up on Steve Larson since he is still in the infirmary."
"Jim, is Jenny going to court today?" Pete says in a strained tone.
"Yeah, I think Mac is sending a car over for her."
"I don't want her to be alone. What am I saying? I should be there!" Pete starts to stand up in his hospital gown and robe. He's yanked back toward the bed when his IV line is snagged on the bed railing. His frustration comes to a head and he pulls at the line and the IV bottle comes crashing down shattering all over the floor. "Damn it!"
"Pete, don't move. Let me get some help cleaning this up before you cut yourself." Jim shouts down the hall for some help and a nurse comes running.
"Mr. Malloy, you need to sit back down and don't move." The nurse scolds as she clamps off the IV line so no more blood flashes back into the line. An orderly comes in and begins to sweep then mop up the mess. "Mr. Malloy, we need to get you hooked back up to a new bottle of fluids with medication."
"Not on your life," Pete starts to get belligerent with her.
Jim speaks up, "Come on, Pete, relax. I know you're frustrated. But doc said you could be out of here …."
Pete interrupts, "Don't try to go there, Jim. I need to get out of here. Where is Jenny now?" In the meantime, the nurse goes to find Dr. Brackett.
"Jean drove her over this morning to get her Jeep from the stable."
"I thought she was staying with you."
"She is. I mean she was until today. She is heading back to work tomorrow as far as I know."
"But, she's hurt and should be taking it easy," Pete says with some worry in his voice.
"She's feeling pretty well and her boss has her scheduled to work at the visitor center over the weekend."
"Jim, can you help me out here? Can you please pick up some clothes from my place?"
"Pete, I'm not going to help you out if Dr. Brackett doesn't think it's a good idea."
"Who cares what he thinks?" Pete flashes a look at Jim of pure frustration. He starts running his fingers through his hair wondering how he can get out of here if Jim doesn't help him.
Kel Brackett then appears, "Well, I think my opinion is unbiased, but I can't say the same thing about yours. Pete, I thought we had this worked out earlier. You just need another day of IV antibiotics and then we can see about you leaving after that."
"Well, I changed my mind, doc. I have things I need to do and I'm not getting anywhere by being trapped to this bed and pole."
"Pete, is there something else bothering you?"
Pete just looks away, not wanting Kel Brackett or Jim to see the guilt in his eyes. "No, I'm fine. I just think I'm ready to go.
"Well, I can't really force you to stay, Pete, but it is against my better judgment for you to go now. Jackie, you can remove the catheter. Officer Malloy is going to be released. Pete, let me write you up some prescriptions for pain relief and antibiotics."
"Thanks, doc. Jim can you pick up those clothes now?"