Sunlight drifted into the room through the window beside her bed. It must be morning, and she was probably late for work. Opening her eyes Tara was surprised to see she was not at home, but in the hospital. Slowly, she remembered all that had happened. Looking to her bedside, she saw him sitting beside her. For a minute she wondered if she was dreaming. Moving her head slightly, she felt the sting of the beating she had received, which gave her cause to believe that she was indeed awake. Across the room she noticed her mom and dad. Her mom had her head on Dad's shoulder, and it made her feel good to see them so close.
"Tara?" The tall Australian sitting beside her finally noticed she was awake.
"Hey Bobby." She could barely make her voice loud enough to be heard. His dimple peeked out from behind the tears that streamed down his face. She did not remember ever seeing him cry.
"Tara!" Her mom was at the bed in a second, followed closely by her father. "Tracy was here earlier. She will be back later."
Tara was already feeling exhausted and she had just opened her eyes. She tried not to show it, but it was apparently obvious. "Maybe we should get the doctor to come in and check you out before you drift back to sleep." Her dad's gentle voice spoke. She shook her head in agreement, but she never saw the doctor come in. Her eyes closed and she could not help from allowing sleep to overtake her.
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Bobby's heart was relieved when the doctor gave them the news that everything seemed to be ok. There was a lot of bruising and a couple of cracked rib, as well as the severe concussion, but she seemed to be on the mend, and there should be no long term physical issues. "She is a real fighter. With the blows she took to the head,-- well we were not sure for a while." He suggested a psychologist evaluation to deal with the obvious mental trauma.
He knew Tara was tough, but he was worried about what this would do to her. He was grateful that Lucy decided to move in with her for a few weeks when she came home. He wished he could be the one to comfort her, but he knew they needed to talk before he could offer her more than his friendship.
Finally, the day came when she could go home. He was at the hospital as soon as he heard the news she was leaving, helping her get her things together…driving the wheelchair through the door to the waiting car driven by Lucy.
"Talk to you later Bobby. Thanks for the help." She seemed to be dismissing him, and it cut him like a knife, but he understood why she would. He let her go, and went to get in his own car. He and Jack had an interview with a snitch before lunch, and he needed to get his mind on business, but all he could think about was the woman who he wanted to hold in his arms again. The woman he finally realized he could never live without.
Without another thought, he picked up his phone and dialed Jack's number.
"Jack here." His friend answered cheerfully.
"Sparky. I have a favor to ask you."
"Shoot."
"I have some business to take care of, Mate. I was wondering if Myles could go with you today." His voice was almost pleading.
"Hmm, Bobby, does this business have anything to do with a certain computer genius?" His voice was teasing, but seemed happy.
"Wouldn't you like to know." He laughed, though his heart was not exactly excited. It was actually terrified. "Talk to you later, Mate." he hung up and headed to Tara's, making one stop along the way.