SofiaBlackBristow: *blush* Wow that's really quite a compliment - I'm very flattered - thank you so much - you're much too kind. *blush* Yes, Jack's family certainly needs him, but will he get better? Kiss to you too. Thank you for reading and commenting - it means so much. :-)
Chapter 26
Everyone stood staring at the doctor without saying anything. The tears then silently started to fall from Sydney, Nadia, and the triplets' eyes. The triplets walked closer to Irina, and she put her arms around them when they reached her. Vaughn put an arm around Sydney and Eric did the same with Nadia. Irina tried to remain in control and looked the doctor straight in the eye.
"My husband has been through a lot in the past. He's very strong. If there's the slightest possibility of him pulling through, he will."
"I don't really believe that there's the slightest possibility that he'll pull through." He sighed. "Mrs. Bristow, I can understand how you feel, but you also have to be realistic. Your husband has been through a great ordeal, and it is really very unlikely that he'll leave this hospital alive. His condition is extremely critical."
"Can we see him?"
"Yes, I'll take you to see him. But before I let you near him, there's something you should know. As I said he's in extremely critical condition. I don't think he'll leave this hospital alive, but if there's to be any hope for him at all he needs all the rest he can get, and are under no circumstances allowed to be subjected to any kind of pressure. We came close to losing him in surgery a few times, and we were worried if he was going to handle the move from the operating room to the room he's in right now." Sydney and Nadia gasped.
"You nearly lost him in surgery?" They doctor looked at Nadia.
"Yes." He then looked between her and Sydney. "That's also one of the reasons why I don't expect him to pull through. He's very weak, and I don't think he has the strength to pull through." He looked back at Irina. "You can see him all you want, and be in his room all you want, but if you'd like to have him around for a few more days, I suggest that you don't touch him, sit on his bed, or do anything that will add pressure." Sydney shook her head sadly.
"We can't even touch him?"
"Not really, but I suppose that light feathery touches, won't really do any harm." Irina nodded and looked at the triplets smiling a little at them.
"We can do all of that, can't we?" They nodded.
"Yes, mommy."
"Of course."
Maddie simply nodded, and Irina squatted down in front of them, gave them each a kiss, and then hugged them.
"Then let's go see daddy." She stood up again, and looked at the doctor. "Please take us to see my husband."
"Follow me."
They all followed the doctor to the room Jack was in, but just before he opened the door, he stopped and turned to look at them. Irina looked at him curiously.
"What's wrong?"
"I just thought, I should prepare you for what you're about to see. As I've already said, your husband is very weak, and therefore he's very pale and very tired looking. After cleaning him up his bruises are also more noticeable, and his face is very swollen. I'm sure he'll be almost unrecognizable to you." Irina nodded. The doctor nodded back and turned back towards the door and opened it.
Everyone took a deep breath before following the doctor inside the room. Irina's breath got caught in her throat when she saw Jack. He indeed looked to be in very bad condition. The dried blood on his face had hidden how severely his face was bruised, and it broke her to see him this badly injured. She blinked back her tears when she felt Maddie's and Caitie's hands tighten in hers. She looked down at them and at Ethan too, and smiled a little to comfort them. Although she'd cried around them earlier, she also knew she had to be strong for them now.
"Do you want to walk closer to the bed?"
"Would that be okay?"
"It….it…it won't kill him?"
Irina bit back her tears and gave them an encouraging smile squatting down in front of them. She shook her head.
"No, not at all. You heard what the doctor said. We can be in his room all we want." The triplets nodded and the doctor looked at them.
"You're mother's right. You can go as near to him as you want, and sit on chairs right beside his bed. And as I said, you can even give him light feathery touches." The triplets looked at him and nodded.
"Okay." He gave them a small smile and motioned for the bed.
"Go see your father." The triplets slightly nodded, but was still a little hesitant. The doctor gave them a reassuring smile. "It really is okay to go closer to him." Irina looked at them a little concerned.
"Don't you want to take a closer look at daddy?" They nodded.
"Yes, of course mommy, but we're also still scared."
"It's okay to be scared. I'm scared too. We're all scared."
"Yeah, I'm terrified." Everyone looked at Marshall and he gave a weak smile through his tears. Irina smiled in return and then looked back at the triplets.
"See, even uncle Marshall is scared." The triplets nodded and a few seconds later Ethan slowly walked towards Jack's bed. Everyone watched as he walked all the way up to the headboard.
"Hi daddy. I've missed you. We've all missed you." He smiled a little. "But you already know that we've missed you, because we always miss you when you're not around."
Irina had to bite her bottom lip hard to keep the tears from falling. Maddie and Caitie walked closer to their father. Maddie joined Ethan on his side, and Caitie went to stand on the other side of the bed. Sydney and Nadia walked up to stand beside Irina, and each took one of her hands in theirs. She tightened the grip on their hands, swallowed, and then looked at them smiling a little. They both gave her a small smile through their tears before all three walked closer to the bed. Sydney stood behind Ethan and Maddie, and Irina and Nadia walked to the other side and stood behind Caitie. Everyone else gathered at the foot of the bed. The doctor looked over at Irina.
"I'll leave you alone with him. There's a nurse right outside the room at all times, so if you need to get in touch with me just let her know and she'll get me." Irina looked at him.
"Okay."
"I'll be back a little while later to talk to you about accommodations. We'll make room for all of you, so that you can stay in the hospital and be close to him." She smiled a little.
"Thank you." He nodded and gave a small smile before leaving.
Everyone stood by the bed for a few minutes in silence before Vaughn, Eric, Marshall, and Dixon got chairs for everyone to sit on. After sitting in silence for half an hour, Dixon looked at his watch, and then looked over at Irina.
"We should probably get in touch with the people back home. They'd want to know how things are going. I can call Kendall, and he can get in touch with everyone. Or would you rather call Katya or Sergei, Irina, and have one of them get in touch with everyone?" Irina looked at Dixon.
"No, I'd appreciate it if you got in touch with Kendall. I can call Katya and Sergei later." He nodded and got up. Chase got up too.
"I think food is the last thing on everyone's mind at the moment, but I also think we're probably hungrier than we realize. I'm just going to talk to the nurse to see if the cafeteria is still open, or if there's any other way of getting something to eat and drink." Irina nodded and Marshall got up too.
"I'll help." They walked out the door, and Vaughn got up from his seat too.
"I just need to talk to Marcus. I'll be right back." He gave Sydney's shoulder a squeeze, and she nodded back. He walked out and walked over to Marcus, who was just about to make the phone call, and saw that Marshall and Chase were about to walk over to the nurse. "Marcus, wait a minute. You too, Marshall." Dixon looked at him puzzled, and so did Marshall and Chase. They joined Vaughn and Dixon.
"What is it, Vaughn?"
"Could you tell Kendall not to let the kids know? The doctor only seems to think that Jack will live a few days. A week at the most. If that's the case, I don't think the kids need to know that. I'd rather be there myself to tell my children that their grandfather has passed away. They shouldn't be told over the phone that their grandfather might die. I haven't talked it over with Sydney, Eric, or Nadia, but I think, it's best this way." He looked at Marshall. "Wouldn't you agree?"
"Yeah, I think that's best too. Besides they don't know that we went to get Jack, Irina, and the triplets." Dixon nodded.
"I agree too, but I can't really keep the information from Stephen and Robin. They know the real reason for leaving." Vaughn sighed.
"I know, and I know that it'll probably be hard to remain silent, so I hate to have to ask them to do that."
"It's okay. It might be hard, but they'll understand." Vaughn smiled a little.
"Thank you. Tell Kendall, we'll all check in with the kids later on to tell them we're alright."
"I will." Vaughn nodded and went back to Jack's room while Marshall and Chase walked back over to the nurse and Dixon made the phone call to Kendall.
Everyone had something to eat in Jack's room, though Irina hardly ate anything. Later Chase called Devlin to ask about further developments in finding Sloane, Dixon had made another call to APO to ask about the same and had also made a call to Stephen and Robin, and everyone else had called their children too. Irina had had a brief conversation with Katya and Sergei, and they'd talked to the triplets too.
A while later they'd talked to the doctor about accommodations. Irina and the triplets would stay in the same room with Jack, and the others would be sleeping in the waiting room that was just down the hall from Jack's room.
Dixon, Marshall, and Chase turned in, and when they'd said goodnight to everyone and left the room the triplets went to sleep too. Maddie leaned closer to Jack.
"Goodnight daddy. I love you." Caitie was next.
"I love you too, daddy. Goodnight." Ethan was the last one.
"See you tomorrow, daddy. I love you. Goodnight."
None of them had touched Jack. Irina could tell that they wanted too, but that they were also afraid of doing that. She hadn't touched Jack either, and neither had Sydney and Nadia. She wanted to, but remembered what the doctor had said. She didn't even dare to give Jack light feathery touches. She wasn't going to be the one to push him over the edge. She already knew that it was her fault that they'd been kidnapped in the first place, that Jack had been tortured, and that he had gotten shot. She knew that if he died, she'd be the one, who killed him. She didn't need to be the reason he died so soon after coming out of surgery.
A while later Vaughn and Eric went to bed too, and an hour later Sydney rubbed her eyes.
"I don't want to leave, but I can hardly keep my eyes open." Nadia tried to suppress a yawn.
"Yeah, me too." Irina looked between them.
"It's late and it's been a long and hectic day. It's natural that you're tired. You should go to bed." Sydney and Nadia exchanged glances and realized their mother was right.
"Yeah that would probably be best."
"You should go to bed too, mom."
"I'm not tired." Sydney and Nadia exchanged glances again, both being concerned about their mother.
"Mom, you've been through hell. And not just during the time you were kidnapped, but in all the time the triplets were kidnapped. You need to rest."
"It's a bit hard to rest with your father's condition."
"We know, mom. But you also need to be strong for the triplets."
"I will be." She looked at them and smiled a little. "I'll rest the best I can. I promise." Sydney and Nadia had a feeling that she wasn't going to rest properly, but also knew not to argue with her about this. They both smiled back a little.
"Okay mom." Nadia stood and hugged her mother. "Goodnight mom. I love you."
"Goodnight sweetheart. I love you too." Nadia looked at her father.
"Goodnight dad. I love you." Sydney stood and walked over to her mother. She hugged her.
"I love you, mom. Goodnight."
"I love you too, sweetheart. Goodnight." Sydney looked at her father too.
"I love you, dad. Goodnight."
Sydney and Nadia gave their mother another smile before walking over to look at the triplets. Two couches, a table, and two mattresses had been brought in to Jack's room. Caitie and Maddie were each sleeping on a couch, and Ethan was sleeping on one of the mattresses. The other mattress was for Irina. They gave them a kiss on their foreheads and gave their mother one last small smile before they left the room.
Irina moved her chair a little closer to Jack when Sydney and Nadia left. She sat there looking at him without saying anything. She couldn't believe that she might not have him in her life anymore. She'd been without him enough in her life. So she decided to stay positive. He was going to make it, and things would be like they were before the triplets were kidnapped. She smiled at him a little.
"The doctors did a good job. You're well looked after, and you'll be well looked after throughout your recovery. I expect it'll be a while before you can be moved back home. I know you wouldn't want to be doing all of your recovery here. So I think they'll let you do the last of your recovery at a hospital at home when you're safe enough to move." She laughed a little. "I know you won't like that. You hate hospitals, and will never admit to being sick. But it'll be the best for you. I think you'll agree with me on that, even though you'll probably have to stay in hospital for maybe a month total."
She sat talking to him on and off throughout the night. Other times she just sat there watching him. She also looked over at the triplets to make sure that they were alright. They didn't seem to have nightmares, and she was happy about that. She figured that getting some crayons and something for them to draw on would be good for them. They loved to color. They could make some new drawings for the fridge that they could put up when Jack came home from the hospital. She smiled at the thought and went back to looking at Jack.
Meanwhile back home in the States Kendall had gone to APO for a while to check in on things. Katya, Carrie, and Rachel all stayed back at the safe house with everyone else. They all knew that they couldn't do much. They could only sit and wait to hear that Jack was getting better or worse, and wait to hear if there were any new leads on Sloane.
Kendall had agreed with Devlin that he'd go to APO for a few hours every day, until everyone got home from India. When he wasn't at APO, he would still call in to check on how things were going, and the agents there could call him if anything important turned up, whether that had something to do with Sloane or not. Kendall would likewise get calls if there were any new leads on Sloane or on other important matters.
Kendall came back to the safe house after having been at APO. He got a bottle of water out of the fridge and walked outside into the backyard. He walked over to Sergei, who was watching Katya, Carrie, Will, and Rachel playing with the kids, and who were all further away from them. Sergei looked at Kendall as he sat down next to them.
"Any news about anything?" He sighed.
"No nothing." He took a sip of his water. "How are things here?"
"They're okay considering the circumstances. Carrie, Will, Rachel, and I try our best not to give anything away. It's the same with Stephen and Robin. But if they need to talk about it, one of us will go for a walk with them away from the house. The rest of the kids seem to be doing okay at the moment. It helped that they talked to their parents."
"What about Katya?"
"She's calm and positive like always. I don't expect that to change."
Kendall took a deep breath and exhaled slowly without Sergei seeing or hearing it. He looked at Katya, and could see that she was smiling more than the others as she was pushing Isabelle on the swing. He sighed. It seemed that what had happened at APO hadn't helped. Kendall looked back at Sergei.
"No, I don't expect that to change either."
Sarah and Becky came running towards Kendall and Sergei. They were smiling, and Kendall and Sergei smiled back at them.
"Hi uncle Kendall." They gave him a hug.
"Hi girls. Are you having fun?"
"Yeah, we are."
"That's good to hear." Becky took Sergei's hand in hers.
"Are you two coming?"
"Of course."
Kendall and Sergei got up. Kendall picked up Sarah, Sergei picked up Becky, and they walked over to join the others. Katya, Carrie, Will, and Rachel looked at Kendall as he joined them. He shook his head a little indicating that he hadn't heard anything new. They all nodded in return and went back to paying attention to the kids.
When morning came at the hospital in India, Irina was still sitting watching Jack. She hadn't slept at all, and hadn't even attempted it. She took her eyes off of him when she noticed Ethan starting to sit up. She smiled at him and he walked over to her and sat in her lap. She gave him a kiss and hugged him.
"Morning sweetheart."
"Morning mommy." He gave her a kiss too, and then looked at his father. "Morning daddy."
"Did you sleep well?"
"Yes, I slept fine."
"That's good to hear."
"How's daddy?"
"The doctor hasn't been in here yet, but I don't think there's any change since last night." They sat in silence for a few seconds just watching Jack. "I thought, we could get some crayons and something for you, Caitie, and Maddie to draw on. Would you like that?"
"Yes that would nice." She kissed his cheek.
"Good."
A few minutes later Caitie and Maddie woke up too. They walked over and said good morning to their parents and brother, and sat down next to Irina. A few minutes after that Sydney and Nadia walked into the room. They gave Irina and the triplets a small smile when they saw them. They then noticed the mattress that Irina was supposed to have slept on, and saw that it looked the same as when they had left the room. The blankets and pillow were in the same spot as when they'd left the room, and it all looked untouched. They looked at each other briefly and sighed before walking over to their mother and siblings to give them a hug.
Ten minutes later a nurse walked into the room.
"Good morning."
"Morning."
"I was told to ask you what you want to do about breakfast. You can either have it at the cafeteria, here, or in the waiting room. Where would you like it served?" Sydney looked at her.
"I don't know about the ones still in the waiting room, but you can serve breakfast to the ones of us in here, here." The nurse smiled.
"I'll pass that on, and I'll just go ask the others in the waiting room. That's if they're up yet?"
"They're awake at least, so you can go ahead and ask them."
"I'll do that then. Breakfast will be here in ten to fifteen minutes." Irina smiled at the nurse a little.
"Thank you."
"My pleasure." She was about to walk out, but looked back at Irina. "The doctor will be to check on your husband in a few hours."
"Thank you." The nurse nodded and left.
Two minutes later Dixon walked into Jack's room. He gave them a nod, and they nodded in return.
"Vaughn and Eric will be in here to have breakfast with you in a few minutes. In the meantime the rest of us will stay in the waiting room, and go over some work while we eat. I just thought I'd let you know."
"Okay. Thank you."
"How are you?"
"As well, as can be expected." Dixon nodded.
"And Jack?"
"The doctor hasn't been to see him yet. I think he's about the same as yesterday, though"
"We'll be in here later." Irina smiled a little at him.
"Okay. Enjoy breakfast."
"You too."
Breakfast went by mostly in silence. Irina didn't eat much this time either. After, Vaughn and Eric took the empty trays away, and some time after that Marshall, Dixon, and Chase joined them. A while later the triplets went to the bathroom to change into the clothes the rescue team had brought with them, and that they'd worn after being examined at the hospital. Everyone had received something to sleep in by the hospital, and everyone else had already changed before coming into Jack's room. With the exception of Irina, who had worn her clothes all night. The following two hours after breakfast were also mostly spent in silence. Sydney looked at her mother.
"We didn't bring more than one set of clothes for everyone. So since we'll probably be here for a while, maybe we should go out and buy some new clothes, and what else we might need." Nadia nodded.
"I think that's a good idea. I think getting out of here for a few hours will do us all good. We can find a nice place to have lunch." She looked at the triplets. "What do you guys say to that?" Ethan smiled a little.
"I think that's a good idea. We can get crayons." Nadia smiled back.
"Yes absolutely." She looked at Caitie and Maddie. "What do you two think?" Maddie nodded.
"I think that would be nice." Caitie nodded too.
"Yeah, me too."
"Then let's go." They got up from their seats. Everyone else did too except for Irina. Sydney looked at her.
"Mom, are you coming?" Irina shook her head.
"I'm not leaving your father alone."
"Irina, Eric and I can stay behind and look after Jack while you go out."
"That's kind of you to offer, Michael, but I vowed to Jack on our wedding day that I'd never leave him again." Sydney and Nadia sighed a little and walked over to their mother.
"Mom, you know that, that's not the leaving you were referring to."
"Yeah, mom. Besides, dad would want you to get out and get some air. He would want you to take care of yourself." Irina smiled.
"Yes, he would. Your father is a kind and caring man, who only wants what's best for you. But it's best for me to stay here."
"Mom, the fresh air will do you good. It'll do all of us good."
"Mom, please?"
"I can't." Maddie walked back over to her mother.
"It's okay, mommy. We'll bring you back some new clothes and what else you might need." Caitie joined her sister.
"Yeah, you stay with daddy. Sydney and Nadia will know what to get for you." Irina looked at them, smiled at them, and then hugged and kissed them.
"Thank you, sweethearts." Ethan walked over to his mother.
"We'll get something for daddy too. He'll at least need a razor and shaving cream." Irina bit her lower lip as she smiled at her son.
"Yes, he will. You get him that." She gave him a hug and a kiss too, and the triplets joined Sydney, Nadia, and everyone else again. Nadia looked at her mother.
"Are you sure, you don't want to join us?"
"Yes, I'm sure. I'll be fine. I have your father to keep me company." Sydney and Nadia still didn't like leaving their mother alone, but also knew she wouldn't change her mind.
"Okay. We have our phones on us, so you can call us if there's any change, or if there's anything you want us to buy."
"I will. Have a good time."
"We'll try. Bye."
Irina sat looking at Jack for almost half an hour before talking to him.
"Now that we're alone, I can tell you what happened. Apparently Sark wasn't on the side of evil after all. He convinced you-know-who to let him go and get the last documents meant for brainwashing the triplets." She couldn't bring herself to mention Cuvee and Sloane by name. "Luckily you-know-who were going to town that day, and when they left he was able to get the other documents from their office, and everything else he needed. He's burned all the documents, so that won't be a problem any longer."
She took a deep breath thinking how horrible things could've gotten if Sark hadn't been able to get away. But things could still have gone horribly wrong if Cuvee and Sloane hadn't left the prison that day. Sark might not have had the opportunity to get in to their office and look through everything and get all the information he needed. She shook the thought from her mind, and smiled a little instead.
"It turns out that Sark has a girlfriend and a daughter. They were kidnapped by you-know-who and Sark was forced to work with them if he wanted to see his family alive again. He found the information on their whereabouts, and had them rescued and brought to safety before he contacted APO. He took Sydney's number from your phone, and called her." She laughed a little. "I'm sure you can imagine how they didn't believe him at first. But he gave them all the information he had on our whereabouts, and the videotaping of him burning the documents. He proved himself, and they started to work out a rescue mission."
She sat there watching him to see if there would be any reaction from him. She hoped there would be, but there wasn't. She sighed and went on.
"All the guards at the prison were taken out, but unfortunately the smaller one of you-know-who escaped. APO still doesn't know anything about his whereabouts. Nor do any other intelligence agencies that are on the lookout for him. He was put into a bulletproofed car, and he'd fixed the computer, so that APO lost satellite readings. The rescue team on that side was under heavy fire, so it took too long for Marshall to get to the office and fix it, so that APO had satellite readings again. But Marshall put another bullet into you-know-whose leg."
She watched for a reaction, and when she didn't get one she told herself, she'd be telling this to Jack again when he woke up. She thought about the triplets and smiled.
"The triplets are fine. They were rescued without any complications and brought to safety immediately. We have three, brave eight-year-old." She smiled broader. "They get that from you." She kept smiling at him for a few seconds before going on. "Well I suppose they might not be completely fine. But they don't seem too traumatized. They slept through the night, but I think that has to do with the two of us being in the room. I think they feel safe immediately when they're in the same room with us. Just like we talked about it being a form of security when they used to snuggle with me every morning when I got back from Sovogda after I'd been gone for so long, and the way they kept snuggling with us for a long time even after we moved to LA." She smiled again a little broader. "I look forward to them snuggling with us Christmas morning."
She took a few seconds to think about Christmas, and the talk they'd had in Kashmir about what they were looking forward to. She told herself that they'd be doing all of the things that they'd talked about.
"Everyone went out, which is why I'm the only one here. Sydney, Nadia, and everyone else did only bring one set of clothes for us, so they all went to get us something to wear. The triplets will also bring back crayons." She smiled." You know how they love to draw. And I think, it'll be good for them." Irina looked up from Jack and at the door when she heard someone enter.
"Hello Mrs. Bristow."
"Hello doctor."
"The nurse said she saw everyone leave. They said they went out to get clothes and what else they might need. May I ask why you didn't go with them?"
"I need to stay by my husband."
"I see." He walked closer to Jack's bed. "I'm just going to do a quick examination. Mostly just look at his monitors. They'll give me most of the information that I need. You're welcome to stay. It won't take long." She nodded.
"Thank you. I'd like to stay."
The doctor nodded and opened the folder of Jack's latest results that he'd brought with him. He walked over to the monitor, took out a pen from his pocket, and started comparing the new readings to the ones from the day before. He wrote down the new results, and Irina couldn't tell if the new results were better than the old ones. She thought, she'd leave him to examine Jack in peace, and wait to get the final result when he was done.
When the doctor had finished comparing notes a few minutes later, he walked to the headboard, put the folder down, the pen down with it, and got out his small flashlight. Irina held her breath as the doctor touched Jack and examined his eyes. He then put the flashlight in his pocket again, and Irina breathed. But only for a few seconds. Next the doctor slowly pulled Jack's sheet down and examined his wounds. Irina knew that the doctor knew what he was doing, but she also feared that he would put too much pressure on Jack. A short while later the doctor finished his examination and Irina could breathe again.
She looked as the doctor picked up the folder again and made notes of his latest examination and compared them to the old ones. When he closed the folder and put the pen in his pocket he sighed before turning to look at her.
"Mrs. Bristow, I wish I had better news to tell, and that you had someone here with you."
"I'll be alright. You can go ahead and tell me." He sighed again and nodded.
"Unfortunately your husband's condition has deteriorated slightly. All of his results were worse than yesterday. I can only conclude as I told you yesterday that his condition will continue to deteriorate. I'm sorry that I couldn't bring you better news."
"You say that his condition has only deteriorated slightly. That could still mean that he'll pull through. As I told you, my husband is strong."
"Mrs. Bristow, I can understand that it can't be easy to realize that your husband will no longer be with you, but that is the brutal reality. We're talking days here. I expect he'll only be around for a few more days. You should prepare yourself for that, and not live in denial. If you want someone to talk to, to help you get through this we have excellent psychiatrists here."
"Thank you for the offer, but no thank you. I don't need to talk to anyone, because I know how strong my husband is. He's been through hell in the past. He got through that, so I see no reason why he shouldn't make it this time."
"If that's what you want to believe, I won't stand in the way of that. I don't think it's healthy that you think this way, but I won't stand in the way of that. I only hope that you'll be honest with your children about the results that I gave you."
"I told you yesterday that I wasn't going to hide the truth from them, so I'm not going to start now."
"I'm glad." He sighed. "I'll leave you alone with your husband. Let the nurse outside know if there's anything you need."
"I will." He gave her a nod and walked out.
Irina looked back at Jack. She couldn't think of anything to talk to him about, so she just sat there watching him.
Two hours later a nurse walked in.
"I thought you'd left with your family and everyone else, but the doctor told me you were still here." Irina smiled.
"My husband doesn't like hospitals, so I stayed to make sure he doesn't leave his bed."
"I see." The nurse walked a little closer. "I came to ask you if you'd like some lunch."
"Thank you, but no. I'm not hungry."
"Are you sure I shouldn't bring you something? You could always safe it for when you get hungry." Irina smiled politely.
"Yes, I'm sure. I'll let you know if I get hungry."
The nurse thought that Irina should have something to eat after having spoken with the doctor, but also didn't want to push her on the matter.
"Well as you know I'm right outside, so just let me know if I can get you anything."
"I will. Thank you." The nurse nodded and left.
A few hours later everyone got back. Irina smiled at them when they walked in. The triplets walked over to her, hugged her and gave her a kiss.
"Hi mommy. Hi daddy."
"Did you have a good time?"
"Yes, it was nice."
"I'm glad." Sydney and Nadia looked at their mother a little nervously.
"Uh mom? Did the doctor examine dad yet?"
"Yes, a while back."
"What did he say?" Irina sighed, but still smiled a little.
"He said that your father's condition has deteriorated a little." Everyone gasped a little, and she looked at the triplets. "The doctor really only said a little. Daddy can still pull through." Ethan smiled.
"Yes, he can." Irina looked at him and smiled. Caitie and Maddie looked from their mother to their brother and then back at their mother. They nodded and smiled a little. Irina engulfed all three in a hug.
"Will you show me what you bought?"
"Of course mommy."
The triplets walked over to the table and couches and Irina followed them. When she walked passed Sydney and Nadia she gave them a hug, a kiss on the cheek, and an encouraging smile. They smiled a little, but sighed when Irina walked over to the table and had her back turned to them.
The triplets showed their mother everything that had been bought, and they told their father about it too. Irina, the triplets, Sydney, Nadia, Vaughn, and Eric had dinner in Jack's room, while Marshall, Dixon, and Chase had dinner in the cafeteria. Irina hardly touched her food, saying she wasn't that hungry.
After dinner Marshall, Dixon, and Chase came back and they all stayed in Jack's room for a while. They talked from time to time, but a lot of the time also went by in silence.
A while later Vaughn, Eric, Marshall, Dixon, and Chase went to sleep, and half an hour later Irina told the triplets a story and kissed them goodnight. She stayed by their side until they were asleep and went back to sit by Jack.
Sydney and Nadia stayed in the room for another hour, but then thought they'd go to bed too. Sydney put a hand on her mother's shoulder.
"Nadia and I are off to bed. Make sure you get some sleep too." Irina gave Sydney a small smile.
"I'll rest."
Nadia sighed not really thinking that would be the case. They said goodnight to their parents, and hugged and kissed Irina goodnight. Before walking out they gave the triplets a kiss on their foreheads.
Irina looked at Jack for a long time. She didn't really know what to say to him. But after a while she said something. She continued talking to him on and off throughout the night without getting any sleep.
The next day Dixon and Chase had been on the phone with APO and Devlin. They had agreed that Chase should return to work in the US to help with finding Sloane. They all had lunch together in Jack's room and two hours later it was time for her to leave. Everyone but Irina would be walking her to her car, and they'd all gone out to wait for Chase in the hall while she and Irina said goodbye to each other in Jack's room.
"I'm not done apologizing to you yet. I'll be doing a lot of that when you get back. Believe me, I'll be doing a lot of it. But before I go, I just want you to know that I never believed you had anything to do with what happened to Robin and her friend. I didn't want to believe that you had changed, so I wanted to see if I could provoke your anger. I thought that maybe somehow I would find evidence of the terrorist you once were, and show that everyone had been wrong about you. I know that you've never been anything but kind to Robin and Stephen, and I feel so ashamed for accusing you. And ashamed for using Robin like that. That's what I regret the most in the way I've treated you, and the thing I'll be apologizing for the most." Irina smiled a little.
"Thank you for telling me. I don't need a million apologizes. You might not have been nice towards me, but I know you love Robin and Stephen very much, and that they love you. That's all that matter and I'm happy for them that they have you in their lives. I hope by your apology that we can all spend time together." Chase smiled back.
"I certainly hope that too." Chase reached out her hand to Irina. "Bye Irina. Take care and I'll see you at home." Irina took Chase's hand and shook it.
"Bye Hayden. Get back home safe and say hi to Robin and Stephen."
"I will." Chase looked over at Jack. She remembered her conversation with Eric, and didn't really want to say goodbye to Jack in case Irina would think that by saying that, she thought Jack would die. She smiled a little at him. "Take care, Jack." She walked to the door and looked back at Irina and smiled. "Bye." She nodded and smiled a little in return.
When she'd left Irina sat back down next to Jack. She let out a small laugh.
"Well who would've thought, but Chase actually apologized. Can you believe it? I hardly can, but it's nice. And it'll be good for everyone that she and I can be in the same room now. Especially for Robin and Stephen."
She sat looking at Jack for a while without saying anything. She then leaned forward in her chair and studied the beard that had started to grow. It wasn't much, but enough for her.
"You know, we really need to do something about that beard you're starting to grow. When you get better and can sit up, we'll remove it. As you know, Ethan bought a razor and shaving cream yesterday, so there's no excuse, mister." She smiled. "I remember early in our marriage when you got home from a mission that had lasted four months. You had this disgusting beard. I refused to kiss you until you removed it. You asked me why I wouldn't kiss you, and I said it'd be like kissing a goat. You asked me how I'd know that, and I told you I just knew. Then you told me you wouldn't be shaving it off, and I refused to kiss you. You kept it on for three days before you shaved it off. I wasn't able to keep my hands off you when I saw you without the beard, but eventually I had to, thanks to you." She smiled fondly as she remembered that time.
It had been hard being apart from him during those four months, just like it was every time they were apart. But that time had been harder because that had also been the time the KGB had first talked about extracting her. She'd been scared that she'd be extracted before Jack got home, but a month before he got home, the KGB told her that she could stay. She'd been relieved that they'd believed her lie, and she had spent the next month planning on how to welcome Jack home.
She knew he'd be home late in the evening, so she hadn't planned much. A little wine and dancing and making up for lost time in the bedroom. But that changed when he'd called her, and told her that he didn't have to be at work until late the following day. She didn't have to teach the following day because it was the middle of July, so she knew they didn't have to go to bed early. Sydney would probably wake up early, but she knew Jack would be home, so she'd get between her parents and stay until they decided to get up.
Irina had planned to just wear jeans and a shirt, but with Jack staying longer the next morning, she'd put on her best and sexiest underwear, and wore one of Jack's shirts over it leaving it open. She'd prepared some fruit to go with the wine, and had spread out a blanket on the living room floor, placing the wine and fruit there. The living room was lit only by candlelight, and soft music was playing.
When she heard the front door open, she didn't move although she wanted to. When Jack called for her, she answered him, telling him she was in the living room. She was excited to see him again, but instead of being ready to jump into his arms, she stood gaping at him when she saw the beard on his face. He was gaping at her too, but that was by seeing her in her underwear and her body that was illuminated by candlelight.
After he had recovered a little, he walked over to her and was just about to kiss her when she stopped him. At first it was fun teasing each other. Her telling him that kissing him would be like kissing a goat. He'd tried to kiss her anyway, but when her cheek made contact with his beard and it was still a little scratchy in places, she'd gotten stubborn and pushed him away not wanting to kiss him. He'd gotten stubborn too saying he wasn't going to shave it off. She'd refused to kiss him until he did, and that had been the end of that night. Irina blew the candles out and cleaned up downstairs while Jack went up to check on Sydney and unpack.
Their stubbornness had lasted for three days. Three days after coming home Jack had gotten the day off. It was a Saturday, and they'd agreed to spend the day doing what Sydney wanted. It had been hot, and they'd spent some of the day at the beach, and the rest of the day at a fair. They'd gotten home later than usual, and Sydney was put straight to bed. She had fallen asleep in the car, so Irina couldn't understand what had kept Jack upstairs for so long.
When he got downstairs he'd offered her something to drink. She looked up at him, noticed a bottle of alcohol in his hand, but also noticed he had shaved. She smiled broadly at him, and he smiled broadly at her. She'd jumped up from the couch, and covered his mouth with hers not wanting to let go. Kissing him again was too good.
They'd ended up making love on the couch before opening the bottle of alcohol. They'd both taken big gulps to begin with and soon half the bottle was gone. After having been in the heat all day, and not having had anything more solid than corndogs for dinner, they'd gotten drunk quickly. Jack had decided to make toast to settle the hunger in his stomach. While he waited for that to finish, he walked back into the living room. They both drank more of the alcohol and when Irina had caressed his face and started kissing him again, he decided to settle a different hunger and forgot all about the toast he was making.
They'd gotten too lost in each other to notice that something was burning. Only when Jack had looked up and noticed the smoke coming out from the kitchen had they'd remembered the toast. They'd gotten off each other as quickly as they could and stumbled to the kitchen. Despite their drunken state, they'd sobered rather quickly from having to put out the fire. When the fire was out Irina had put her clothes on and had checked on Sydney. She'd been fast asleep. They'd agreed it was best to move to a hotel, so as not to risk any of them inhaling any smoke. They'd woken Sydney, gone to the Summit and ended up staying for a week until the damages had been repaired.
Irina laughed a little and looked at Jack again.
"But we made up for lost time when we moved back into the house again a week later, and I was still not able to keep my hands off you." She smiled and looked at the beard again. "I actually do know that kissing you with a beard like that would be like kissing a goat, because I kissed a goat once. I was seven, and I was at a farm with my parents and Katya. She and I made a bet." She shook her head. "I can't remember what the bet was about, but I lost and Katya said I had to kiss a goat. I didn't want to, but she said that a bet was a bet. I really wished she'd thought of something else for me to do rather than have me kiss a goat." She laughed. "But who other than Katya would make you kiss a goat, right?" She sat smiling at him and didn't say much else until the others got back.
The rest of the day went by much like the previous day. A little while after everyone had gotten back from saying goodbye to Chase, the doctor came and examined Jack. The result was not good. Jack's condition had deteriorated further. The doctor tried to talk to Irina about it, but she kept saying that Jack was strong.
Everyone ate together in Jack's room, and stayed until late. Dixon and Marshall went to bed first. They were followed a short while later by Vaughn and Eric, and the triplets were tugged in at the same time.
Sydney and Nadia stayed with their mother for a little while longer before saying goodnight and leaving. When they were out in the hall they looked at each other. They knew that it would probably be best if they said something to her about his condition. But none of them had the heart to tell their mother to let their father go. They couldn't do that, because they couldn't let him go either, even though they were more realistic about his condition than she was.
Irina didn't sleep at all at night. She looked at Jack and talked to him from time to time. She also looked over at the triplets. They slept peacefully.
When morning came the triplets walked over and joined their mother for a while before going to the bathroom to change. A while later Sydney and Nadia joined them, a few minutes after that Vaughn and Eric, and some time after that the nurse came and asked about breakfast. They all decided to have breakfast in Jack's room, and Dixon and Marshall joined them a few minutes later. Irina didn't eat much.
They spent the rest of the morning in Jack's room. The triplets spent the time mostly drawing. They'd also borrowed some cards, games, and puzzles that everyone occupied their time with. Later they also had lunch in the room, but again Irina didn't really eat anything, and in the afternoon everyone went for a walk outside. Except for Irina.
After sitting watching Jack for a while she spoke to him.
"It's July 2nd today in case you're wondering." She smiled." Next year we'll have to celebrate the 4th of July twice as much since we'll be missing it this year. Well maybe we could celebrate when we get home and you're better." She nodded. "Yeah, I think everyone would like that."
She continued talking about the party, telling Jack what meat they should get for the barbeque and what other food they should make and what beverages to get. After, she talked to him about other things and also just remained silent at times looking at him.
When everyone got back from their walk, they all went back to playing cards, games, drawing, and making puzzles. They all had dinner in Jack's room, but Irina played with her food more than she ate it.
Shortly after dinner the doctor came into the room. Dixon and Marshall cleaned up while he did the examination. Irina held her breath every time the doctor touched Jack just like she'd done all the other times the doctor had examined him. The doctor examined Jack longer than he'd done the other times, and he carefully compared the new results to the old ones. When he was done he looked around at everyone and looked lastly at Irina.
"Can I talk to all of you outside?"
Everyone was a bit nervous by the tone in the doctor's voice except for Irina, who didn't seem to show any nervousness. Instead she smiled a little at the doctor and nodded.
"Of course." She got up from her seat. So did everyone else and they followed, the doctor into the hall.
Dixon and Marshall came back and joined them when they spotted everyone outside Jack's room. They were nervous about the situation too, and it didn't make things better for anyone when the doctor took a few seconds before saying anything. The doctor took a breath before looking at Irina.
"I really wish that this examination had a better outcome, but unfortunately it didn't. Mr. Bristow's condition has deteriorated rapidly. In fact it has deteriorated so rapidly that I don't expect him to make it through the night. In a situation like this, it's my experience that the people losing a loved one feel better having said their goodbyes when the person is still alive. I recommend that you say your goodbyes now, and don't wait until after Mr. Bristow has taken his last breath. If you don't, you might regret it later on."
Marshall started to shake a little and Dixon put his arm around him. Nadia started sobbing and put her face in her hands. Eric hugged her from behind and buried his face in her neck. Sydney turned in Vaughn's arms and buried her face in his shoulder crying her eyes out, and Vaughn hugged her tightly. The triplets wrapped their arms around their mother, and started crying. Irina put her arms around them, staring blankly at the door to Jack's room.
TBC