A/N: I hope everyone had a nice Easter Break. Here's another chapter for you.
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"Well, I wasn't expecting that," Myles remarked unhappily when Bobby returned after helping Jack to the bedroom.
"I don't think any of us were." D replied quietly.
"Is he asleep?" Lucy asked as she sank onto the couch, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.
"Out like a light." He plonked himself down in the remaining free chair and ran his fingers through his hair. "I did warn you."
"I know but we just..." Tara couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence.
"I had one hell of a time convincing his doctors to let him leave the hospital after his check-up let alone the State. In the end I had to sign a stack of forms taking full responsibility for anything that might happen and the airline people weren't exactly thrilled either."
"What happened to him? It's like he's not our Jack anymore."
"Yes he is and don't you forget it!" Bobby's anger evaporated as quickly as it had come. "Sorry. Luce."
"I'm the one who should be sorry. It was a stupid thing to say."
"You asked what happened. Short answer... The explosion screwed him up physically and Allie did the rest. Now it's up to us to get him back on his feet."
"If that's even possible..." Myles had made the comment more to himself than the room but he still garnered a host of dirty looks. "Hey, I'm just going by what I see and if you were being honest you'd admit you're all thinking the same thing. I'm not saying I don't want to help, I'm just not sure we can."
"We have to try. We owe him that much." Bobby was getting more and more agitated and D decided to shush him.
"You're going to wake him if you don't keep it down. What went wrong with Allie?"
"I don't know the details, Sparky won't talk about it but she left him a note and shot through."
Dimitrius shook his head sadly. "And he still can't remember anything about the last five years?"
"Nothing I've noticed..."
"Then we stick with our original plan. Take it in turns to check on him and make sure he has everything he needs. Provide transport for doctor's appointments et cetera and we keep the conversation general."
"I think that's all we can do, mate. That and pray for a miracle."
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The system the rotor devised for them had been working pretty well all-in-all, with herself doing the breakfast shift and Tara and D covering lunchtime while Myles slotted in as back-up whenever needed, which left Bobby to keep him company most evenings. Donna and the kids had dropped by whenever possible and it was at those times Jack really seemed to pick up, talking baseball, football and all the other sports on the school curriculum.
Having a set routine also seemed to be helping a lot and he'd even started to gain a little weight but one morning, a few weeks after his return to D.C., Lucy entered the bullpen with a worried frown on her face and crossed directly to Bobby's desk.
"Hey Luce, what's up?"
"Did you see Jack last night?"
"...Of course. We watched the game on TV."
"Did he seem alright to you?" Lucy persisted.
"I guess, a bit vague sometimes but I just put it down to tiredness. Why, is something wrong?"
"I'm not sure. He seemed really odd this morning... kind of spaced out."
"Maybe he's been hitting the sleeping pills again. I warned him that taking them with the painkillers was a dodgy combination."
"Maybe..." The rotor agreed but something was telling her that wasn't it.
"Tell you what... I've got a meeting with a certain F.B.I Agent wannabe later this morning, I'll check on my way back."
"Okay, thanks."
"Anytime sheila, you only have to ask." He winked and gave her a cheeky grin.
"Just don't take Howie with you. One conversation with him could put anyone into a coma." Myles warned and they all laughed.
Glancing at the clock on the wall above the door, Bobby stood reluctantly and grabbed his jacket. "If I'm not back in an hour, someone give me a call to say that I'm needed urgently."
"What's it worth?" Tara asked hopefully.
"My sanity"
"Too late..." Three voices exclaimed simultaneously.
"Ha-ha... Oh..." He stopped and pulled out his cell.
"Howie's obviously impatient for your company."
Bobby checked the caller ID. "Wrong as always, Myles. Sparky, what's up, mate? Do you need something?" He thought he heard his name but then there was only silence. "Speak to me Jack, are you okay? Jack..?" He glanced at the Supervisor, an alarmed expression on his face.
"Go, and take Myles with you. I'll keep your appointment with Howie."
"Thanks D, I owe you."
"And I intend to collect."
"You coming"
"Right behind you..." A few minutes later they were speeding through the city traffic.
"You know, you shouldn't be using the siren. We're not even sure there's anything wrong."
"You mean people often call you and don't say anything?"
"No, but..."
"...But nothing, Harvard. If you're worried about getting into trouble then cover your ears, that way you can say you didn't know it was on."
"Somehow I don't think they'd believe me." Myles suddenly shot forward in his seat as Bobby hit the brake and then leaned back rubbing his neck. "I think I have whiplash."
"So, sue me." The Aussie tossed him the keys and ran towards the entrance. "Lock up would you... and you might want to turn off that siren..."
By the time he'd re-parked, the lift was already on its way up which left him with the stairs. He finally caught up with his colleague outside the door to Jack's apartment and leaned against the wall to catch his breath.
"If I'd known you were that out of shape I'd have taken the stairs myself."
"I was perfectly fine until I got in the car with you. I probably would have been better off taking your meeting with Howie."
"I'll remember that the next time." He knocked on the door again, something they always did as a courtesy, but not receiving a reply he used the key to let them in. "Jack? Jack, where are you, mate? Is everything okay?"
"You check the kitchen. I'll take the bedroom." A few minutes later Myles shouted for the Aussie to join him. "Bobby, he's in here."
"Is he okay?"
"I don't think so." He snapped on the light and walked round to the side of the bed but Bobby practically shoved him out of the way and knelt down by the unmoving form on the floor.
"Sparky, you okay mate?" Touching the side of his neck, he breathed a sigh of relief when he felt a pulse. "You know, you're really going to have to stop doing this to me or I'll be having a heart attack."
"Bobby?"
"He's alive but he's burning up. We need the paramedics fast."
Once again they found themselves sitting in a very familiar waiting room and they looked up when the rest of the team began to file through the door.
"What happened?"
Both Agents shrugged. "We don't know D. When we got there he was unconscious on the bedroom floor. Myles called the paramedics and he'd started to come round just before they arrived but he wasn't making a lot of sense. He's running one hell of a temperature..."
"I knew something was wrong... I just knew it." Lucy whispered tearfully.
"Then maybe you should have..." The Bostonian was thankfully distracted before he could continue with his tirade when a doctor entered the room. They recognised him immediately as the one who had treated Jack the last time he was there. "How is he?"
He sat down on the nearest free chair before speaking, making them all feel apprehensive. "Mr Hudson is running a dangerously high fever which we believe is being caused by a serious infection."
"That right leg again," Bobby sighed.
"Quite so..."
"And..?"
"We've carried out all the usual scans but they've proven inconclusive so as soon as we have him stabilised, we'll be taking him to theatre to explore more thoroughly."
They all stared at him not believing that their friend would have to endure surgery yet again but the doctor wasn't finished.
"There is something that you should be aware of..." No one responded so he took a breath and carried on. "We're very concerned that the leg isn't healing properly. By this time your colleague should be able to get around, albeit with some discomfort, but there seems to have been very little or no improvement at all."
"And..." Bobby prompted a little more impatiently.
"Depending on what we find, we may have to amputate."
"No!" The Aussie looked horrified and once again the guilt he'd tried hard to suppress threatened to overwhelm him.
"It may be the only way to save his life."
Bobby shook his head and blew out a breath. "If you do that it'll kill him."
"I think that's an exaggeration. Medically it..."
The tall man's guilt turned to anger. "That's because you don't know him. To you he's just another person to be cut open and fixed no matter what the cost." He advanced on the man but D and Myles held him back.
"You have my word that we'll try all other options first. I just thought I should prepare you for the worst."
"Thank you." D spoke for them all as the doctor turned and left the room.
"It'll kill him..." Bobby repeated softly as he walked towards the exit and out into the fresh air.
After they'd both left, the remainder of the team sat in silence for a while and then D suggested they find the restaurant and have something to eat. They all agreed and followed him but thirty minutes later the food remained untouched on their plates although they'd each consumed at least three coffees.
"Well that was pointless," Myles observed. "Shall we go before they clear us away along with the plates?"
"Why not"
Just after Bobby returned the doctor walked in again and a group of pale faces eyed him warily. "Mr Hudson is in Recovery and we're giving him antibiotics via IV."
"What did you find?" Myles asked as the others seemed to have been rendered incapable of speech.
"As we suspected there was a serious infection in the thigh which was caused by some residual debris from the original blast."
"I thought that was all taken care of at the time?"
"So did we but we found some fragments of cloth from his clothing that were inadvertently overlooked."
"You mean this is all, your fault." Bobby jumped from his seat towering over the smaller man but again D stepped in to restrain him.
"Of course, now I remember you. You're the impetuous friend." He smiled indulgently, standing his ground. "Had they been made of metal our scanners would have picked them up immediately but unfortunately they weren't and if you remember, the patient had a whole host of life-threatening injuries that needed to be dealt with. Regrettably the fragments were so small they were missed."
"Why did it take so long for them to have an effect, it's been months?" D asked curiously.
"Because it wasn't the actual material that caused the reaction, it was the dyes involved in the manufacture and they take far longer to invade the bloodstream. We've fully excised and washed out the infected area with saline solution and repaired the damage. Now we just have to wait for the fever to break and hopefully your colleague should be fine."
"You mean you didn't have to... to..." Tara couldn't even bear to put the question into words.
"No. This method was far more complicated and he was under the anaesthetic longer than we'd like considering his underlying heart problem but he came through it well and in one piece."
"Thank God." Lucy spoke for the first time.
"Amen to that." Myles agreed and Bobby got to his feet again and offered the man his hand.
"Look Doc, I'm sorry about before. Thank you again for what you've done."
"That's alright. You're not the first stroppy customer I've had to face and you certainly won't be the last."
"When can we see him?" Tara interrupted.
"Come back tomorrow or the day after but call before you visit. The desk will be able to tell you if it's okay."
"What about his memory?" Lucy asked hopefully.
The doctor shook his head. "I'm sorry but there's nothing we can do about that, it's out of our hands. The original rule stands though... He has to remember events on his own or it could still do more harm than good to his recovery.
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