Chapter 25 [Hudson River]
After falling for what felt like eons, the sudden chill and fluid surroundings jerked Jo back to her senses. The icy water dimpled her skin and carried her hair away from the scalp in all directions. Her lungs admittedly burned. Her mind still struggled with the situation.
An explosion had torched her car…much as the one in the Ralston had done to the chamber she and Henry had been in. It burned her. It seared her flesh and hair. Her eyes had lost some of their function before the end….
…still they beheld her white knight charging toward the flames and trying to save her….
She smiled in those dark stygian depths. Henry. He cares about me. He really does! She felt lighter and more buoyant. I can't die here! I can't! She willed her arms to start moving. She kicked with her legs propelling herself upward through the murky waters. She clamped her mouth shut seizing onto whatever wisps of precious air remained in her lungs. She wouldn't quit. She couldn't do it. Faster and faster, she willed the desperate flaps of her tired arms and legs.
Somehow she knew he was desperately seeking her out. She could almost feel his fear of losing her. The empathetic wave slammed into her nearly knocking her off course.
But it was his need for her that she felt….
And that was why she had to surface and return to the shore….
For his sake too…
Just as her lungs had nearly exhausted their precious payload, she broke the river's surface. Her mouth dropped open by instinct. Her lungs inhaled deeply of the sweet air about her cooling their torturous ache. Her heartbeat slowed and relaxed from its panicked levels down to a more relaxed state. She looked around but found herself alone in the dark river currents. Shore. Get to shore. Then you can think! She swam the distance in bursts, stopping every few minutes to let herself rest. Is this why Henry couldn't keep up with me? That returning from the dead stuff really takes a lot out of you. I really need to give him some slack on this stuff. Finally she staggered from the inky waters and onto the darkened nocturnal shoreline. Almost by memory from before, she found the brush behind which she and Henry had first started being honest with each other. Her eyes watered in spite of her resolve not to fall for him. Her mouth formed a smile. Her heart betrayed her in like fashion.
She took a deep heartfelt sigh. She needed him too. Consequences and department policies be damned.
So much for not caring. How will we deal with this? Frankly do I care? I don't. She smiled dreamily in spite of her situation behind the bush. She knew he was coming.
That was all she needed…..
Meantime Henry twitched in the passenger seat. His feet pushed against the kickboard. His breathing grew increasingly erratic. His fingers tapped incessantly against the armrest. For the first time in centuries, his mind drowned in Emotion's pools, struggling to gain a handhold, foothold or even a fingerhold on Sanity's precious sandbar in this stormy midst.
He leaned back feeling desperately incomplete. As with a bird soaring over great distances in search of its mate, he willed himself toward her….
Abe rubbed his left elbow. "It's going to be all right, Henry. We're almost there."
The coroner quirked a sarcastic eyebrow but could manage no further response. His obsession over finding Jo safe numbed him to all other stimuli. His mind flailed still helplessly in Fear's gale wind.
Abe banked the car into a hard right turn before screeching to a halt across the paved parking lot just yards up the shore from her position. "And there…."
Before he could finish, Henry had undone his seat belt, opened the door and rushed off into the night. His feet barely touched the yellowed grass under them. His eyes scanned the dimly lit area as he ran toward the bush in question. "Jo? JO!"
"Henry?" She peered slightly over the top of the leaves. "Is it you?"
Relief washed over him. He offered her a big grin. He sucked in a couple of breaths to compose himself.
"Yes quite. You gave us quite a fright indeed!" He removed his trench coat and tossed it over the blind to her. "That should be a sight better, I believe."
"Not exactly Macy's or Sach's, Henry, but I'll take it," she cracked. She pulled the coat over herself, cinched it at the waist and slowly stood. She emerged into view with a shrug. "See? Everything's good. You really should have told me about how wasted that trip back makes you. Wow." She stumbled in spite of herself.
He caught her with one hand on her lower back and the other grasping her left one. "It does require a coffee and a meal afterwards, I fear." He stared deeply into her eyes and felt the energy therein.
"Why, , you really were scared for me, weren't you?" she realized.
He wanted to just blow off her question. It would've been easier all around. He would just get her up the path, into the car and somewhere else for the recharge in question. Still he couldn't. He couldn't stop from trembling.
The energy coursed through her as well. Her nerves flared as well. Still she hated the dancing around and pussy-footing. She debated for a couple of heartbeats before ascertaining her next action. Before he could refuse, she grabbed both sides of his head. Her lips seized onto his in a romantic transfusion. For a full twenty seconds, she pressed down enjoying the moment while melting through that glacier-exterior of his.
"Not bad, Henry," she complimented after releasing him. "You're a better man than you know."
"And you're…a better woman," he gasped both from the emotional crash and the kiss. "A bit on the unpredictable side, I fear…."
"Get used to it, Henry. This here's my century," she quipped with a sparkle in her eye. She embraced him. "Nice that you care."
"More so than you'll ever know," he concurred while returning that gesture as well. Then he planted a kiss on her forehead. "More than you know." He looked into her eyes once more.
She smiled and let her eyes sparkle back.
A throat being cleared brought them both back to reality.
Abe sat on the nearby bench taking in the whole exchange. "Glad everything's all right, Jo. Henry was just a little worried."
"Abraham," Henry tersely hissed.
"Oh lighten up, Henry, Abe's just telling me what I already know," she assured him. "Besides I like the fact that you can get worked up about me. Now come on. Reece is going to want some explanation."
"She has a point, Henry," Abe noted. "Or would you rather sit here and fume while we deal with it?"
"Do not worry. I am coming," Henry relented. Although his heart soared and danced, admittedly he wasn't used to being so irrational and out of control emotionally. He knew he needed to adjust but why was it so damn hard?
As with hers, his path would prove hard too.
Still as he took her hand and walked toward the car beside her, it seemed easier as well.
Conundrums always seemed as much…at least until solutions offered themselves….