Bikky knelt next to Jane, who was clutching her side, trying to stop the bleeding.
"Are you okay? Oh my God, I can't believe—you saved my life, Jane! I'd be dead for sure, and—oh, I hope Cal's okay. The cops are coming, so she must've—shit, I hope that guy doesn't wake up before they get here, but he hasn't moved since—hey, you don't think he's dead, do you? Oh man, that would suck—"
He was silenced by Jane's other hand over his mouth. She smiled weakly when he ducked his head in embarrassment. They sat there for a few minutes before the first police car, followed by an ambulance, skid to a halt in front of the alley.
The officers checked on Bikky and Jane while the paramedics dealt with their attacker.
"What happened?" asked one of the officers.
"We were just walking along when that guy jumped out and tried to kill us. My friend got away and called you guys here, but then he tried to stab me and my other friend pushed me out of the way, but she ended up getting stabbed, but then she stabbed him back and he hasn't moved since and he's the guy that's been killing and raping all those women and she's the only witness so he must've—" Jane's hand clamped over his mouth again.
The officer smiled reassuringly. "Okay, kid, calm down," he said, and then spoke into his radio. "Yeah, I'm gonna need another bus here ASAP."
The two paramedics had the man on a stretcher and were loading him into the ambulance as Bikky craned his head to get a better look. "Is he dead?"
"Don't worry about that. Are you hurt anywhere?"
"No. Just a few cuts and bruises. How are you doing, Jane?"
"I'm…fine. Hurts to…breathe. Happy you…okay," she said raggedly.
The second ambulance arrived then, and after being briefed by the officer, the paramedics loaded both of them into the truck and sped off for the nearest hospital.
"You're in no condition to drive," Dee stated, ushering Ryo into his car. "Cal said they were being taken to St. Francis. We'll get her at the precinct and then head for the hospital, okay?"
Upon receiving no response from his passenger, Dee looked over and saw Ryo staring vacantly straight ahead with his hands fisted in his lap. He was shaking slightly.
Dee grabbed one of Ryo's hands and wound their fingers together. "Stay with me, Ryo."
Ryo shook himself and tightened his grip on Dee's hand. He took a deep breath. "Let's go."
Dee made it to the precinct in record time. Cal was outside waiting for them. She jumped in without any preamble and Dee took off for the hospital. Cal hurriedly explained what happened up until she was able to get away.
"I was so scared! I didn't want to just leave them there, but I knew I had to go. Bikky was so brave…" she sniffed.
Ryo had been holding Dee's hand the entire time; his grip had loosened somewhat, but after hear the story from Cal, he tightened his hold. Dee didn't mind, but it was hard to drive one handed.
When they finally arrived at the hospital, Dee had to pry his hand loose. "I'm gonna need that," he said.
Ryo smiled sheepishly and ducked his head.
Just then, Bikky flew out of the building and straight into Ryo, who hugged him fiercely. Cal soon joined them, and Dee had to herd them out of the way. He managed to maneuver them into the waiting area.
After Bikky got a hold of himself, he was able to finish where Cal left off. He started tearing up as he relayed the ambulance ride.
"She was on the stretcher and the medic was checking on her and everything seemed fine. She was joking with me. I thought they would just stitch her up and send her home. Then she started coughing, and pretty soon there was blood everywhere. The paramedic guy said 'shit' and then he stuck a needle into her side. I don't know what—"
"Are you Randy Maclean?" a man asked, interrupting them.
"I am," Ryo said, and stood to shake the doctor's hand.
"I understand the Jane Doe is under your care?"
"Yes. Is she okay?"
"The stab wound was deep enough to puncture a lung, which is why she coughed up blood. She eventually began to bleed out into the chest cavity, causing the lung to collapse. Shortly after that, she went into respiratory arrest. We were able to repair the damage, however, so now she's resting in the recovery unit. I can take you to see her now, if you'd like."
"Yes, thank you," Ryo said.
Before they got very far, Bikky asked, "What about the guy? Did she kill him?"
The first thing she noticed was the tube down her throat. The second thing was that she was starving. As the attack came back to her, she was honestly concerned that she may have killed him. It would be a shame if he got off that easy.
She stretched slowly, taking care to not pull at her injured side. She sighed. The call button was slightly out of reach, so she was stuck with the tube for the moment. Wasn't that how she got into this mess?
No. Her "mother." And that man. Perhaps if she had been allowed to speak more than one syllable at a time with him, her vocal cords may not have atrophied like they did five years ago.
She frowned around the tube. She hated to consider it, but it was possible that the man from five years ago may have been sent by her former "owner" after he found out that she was still alive. He had seemed vaguely familiar at the time, but he quickly lost any recognizability after she clawed the hell out of his face. She smirked at that recollection. He may have nearly killed her afterwards, but he was permanently scarred for it.
She wondered briefly when someone was going to pull out this tube, but figured it was probably just as well. She didn't feel like talking right now.
Strange, that. After finally being physically able to speak, she didn't want to deal with it. Life was much simpler as a mute.
She listened to the Darth Vader-like sounds the respirator made for a while before suddenly coming to the realization that she needed a name. She didn't want to be "Jane" forever. As she drifted back to sleep, she thought to ask Bikky and Cal to help her.
Maybe over ice cream.
After much cajoling, Ryo convinced Bikky and Cal to spend the night with Cal's aunt. Neither of them wanted to leave the hospital and Jane, but they knew it was for the best. Dee and Ryo would stay in case Jane woke up. Both men were sitting on a couch in Jane's recovery room.
"Ryo, relax. Everything's going to be fine," Dee said. His partner was rigid and staring intently at Jane. He didn't acknowledge Dee at all.
Dee studied Ryo for a moment before deciding to take a calculated risk. He pulled Ryo down into his lap. Ryo yelped in surprise when his head hit Dee's thighs.
"Seriously. Relax. I'll keep up the vigil. You get some sleep."
"Dee…"
Dee silenced him with a kiss. "Just rest, okay?"
Ryo sighed in defeat. "You'll wake me if anything changes?"
"Yeah, now go to sleep already!"
"Thank you," Ryo said, and pushed himself up enough to kiss Dee.
It was darker than last time, so she figured it must be night. The tube was still in, much to her dismay. Darth Vader was still helping her breathe, but now he was snoring. Amused by that mental picture, she turned to look at the machine. Beyond it lay the source of the snoring. Dee was seated on the couch, one hand tangled in Ryo's hair and the other on his waist. Seeing them together like that made her happy. She didn't know why she was so intent on playing match maker. Maybe it was just because they had helped her so much and she wanted to return the favor the only way she felt she could.
In any event, though she hated to wake them, the tube had to go. Jane hit the bed a few times and tried to make noise, but to no avail. She thought for a moment before firing her pillow at them. It hit Dee squarely in the face and then flopped onto Ryo's head.
Dee woke up with a snort and caught Jane waving wildly at him. Thinking something was wrong, he leapt to his feet, only to dump Ryo off his lap and onto the floor.
Ryo made a sound somewhere between a gasp and a growl and started coughing. He struggled to his feet as Dee thumped him on the back. "I swallowed and inhaled at the same time," he explained, wiping tears from his eyes.
"Jane, you scared the shit outta me! Here I am thinking that you're dying or something and you have the nerve to be laughing!" Dee snapped.
Though her shoulders still shook in mirth, Jane bowed her head in apology.
A doctor poked his head in the door. "Is everything all right? I heard some noise."
"Yeah, doc thanks."
"Ah, I see that our patient is awake. That's good. Why don't we take that tube out, huh?"
Jane nodded vehemently, and the doctor called in a nurse to assist him. "Okay, deep breath in and…blow out!" the doctor commanded while pulling on the tube. The nurse held Jane steady as she choked the tube out.
When she got her breath back, Jane said, "No more tubes, please."
The doctor smiled. "We'll keep that in mind." He did a cursory check of her injury and monitored her breathing before declaring that all was well. She would need to stay at the hospital for at least another twenty four hours to make sure the stab wound and lung were healing properly.
After finishing, the nurse left and the doctor requested that Ryo and Dee join him in an office. He ordered Jane to get some more rest.
The doctor closed the door behind them as all three filed into a tiny office. "Have a seat, gentlemen. I'm Doctor Michael Verette, but you can call me Mike. I understand that you two are the detectives in charge of the serial rapist case?"
"Yeah. We've been trying to catch him for a while, so it was a good thing we were able to get Jane to help us," Dee said.
"I see. And her identity is still a mystery to you?"
"Yes. She has no memory of her real name or any other distinguishing characteristics that would help us in that matter."
"Hm."
Ryo and Dee looked at each other. "Doctor, is there something we should know that you aren't telling us?" Ryo asked.
DarkHorse says: Woo, I'm evil. Sorry for the cliffhanger, but my muse decided that would be a fabulous place to stop. Take your complaints to him, but he's a mean bastard, so don't expect any sympathy. And I still haven't decided if the villain is dead or alive yet. Thanks to all you who are reviewing and even the lurkers that aren't. You've made this my most read/reviewed story. Thank you!