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Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Chapter 36 The Truth, the Whole Truth

Patrick smiled lazily at Teresa, so glad that she was there when he woke up. He reached out and beckoned her to lean over, and when she did, he kissed her so tenderly she melted on the spot.

"Have I told you today how much I love you?" he said softly.

"You can tell me over and over again. And I love you" she replied. Patrick yawned and stretched as much as he dared without disturbing his ribs and knee.

"I can't wait to get out of here and back to the house. I never finished painting the baby's room" he admitted.

"Somehow I don't think the baby will care Jane".

"Yeah, I guess not. I spoke with Cho about going home and he will arrange the flight. Were you able to speak with Wylie about the surgeon and nurse?".

"I called him while Cho was visiting with you. Wylie will send whatever he finds out to my laptop and we can go from there. I will arrange the nurse after I speak with the doctor at the FBI medical centre. We'll get you home Patrick" she smiled.

"Good"

Teresa sat back and folded her hands across her ample tummy. She had so many questions and wasn't sure if this was the time to ask them. Jane studied her face and figured out her quandary.

"You can ask me anything Teresa. Sooner or later it will all come out. Maybe this is the time to talk, before we fly home and I have my operation. You shouldn't have to wait that long without knowing what happened out there at that farmhouse".

"Jane, you just got back, it's too soon, too fresh. Why not just let it go for a while? I can wait" she answered, afraid to dredge up those desperate hours already.

"Teresa, no amount of time will make those memories fade away for me. Every time I close my eyes, I see her in front of me. Every noise I hear is one of her men coming to beat me or torture me. If I hear a squeak, I look for rats on the attack…"

"Rats! Oh God no, not rats?" Teresa interrupted him in shock.

"Rats Teresa, lots of them, in the tunnel, crawling all over me, biting and ripping my clothes…" he looked off into the distance, seeing them as clearly as if they were pouring through the door and running over his bedclothes. "I can't forget what happened".

"Are you still afraid Patrick?' she asked quietly, taking his hand in hers. He turned his gaze to her concerned face and had to be honest if he was going to move forward. This was no time for his usual games.

"Yes. Actually, when you leave me, I'm terrified. I know she can't get to me anymore, but… I can't shake the feeling that if I close my eyes, Katarina and her men will be in my room, ready to continue their work on me" he admitted, his eyes filling with tears. Was it shame or embarrassment he felt in admitting this to his wife? "I am so afraid…" he said with a shuddering breath, tears finally falling upon his cheeks.

Teresa stood up and covered his body with hers, caressing his face and shielding his body from any imaginary foes. If she could have climbed into his bed to wrap herself around him, she would have. She stayed holding him until his shaking subsided and he calmed himself.

"It's going to be OK Patrick, they can't hurt you anymore. They are under lock and key and no one, ever, will set them free. You have to believe that".

"I know it, I do…. but… sometimes… it just all comes rushing back to me and it's so real… " he said, his glassy eyes peering into Teresa's face intently. "Cho says I need help. He thinks it's PTSD... " he admitted.

"What do you think?" Teresa asked him, knowing he had to believe it too before he could move on.

Patrick looked away, biting his lip and twisting his wedding ring around on his finger, his go-to habit when he was distressed.

"I think Cho is right. This is something I can't handle on my own. And I don't want it to come between us and the baby. You need to be safe, from people out there… and from me…" he said quietly. He had become concerned that he might turn on Teresa if he got panicked again.

"You would never hurt me Patrick, not intentionally. If you do suffer from PTSD, then we will get you the help you need and we will be stronger than ever, you and I. You have been to hell Patrick. No one emerges from that unscathed".

Jane nodded and sighed, glad Teresa now knew what he and Cho had discussed. This honesty thing was coming easier and easier to him every day, and it felt good not to hide his troubles from Teresa. He was going to need her strength and no nonsense attitude so much in the next few months. He loved her more and more each day. He took a deep breath and began his story.

"After I got to Maine, they took me to a barn and Katarina had her men hang me up by my wrists for a couple of days, just to wear me out. They beat me up every once in a while, didn't give me water for 2 days… and never any food. Laila snuck into the barn late one night and gave me some water. Tasted so good" he remembered with a smile.

"Why? Why was she so cruel to you Patrick?" asked Teresa, fearing the answer.

"Why? Because I was the one who lead to her brother's capture. She blames me for Jan going to prison, just me. Since I put him in jail, I had to pay".

Teresa imagined her husband suffering alone and in pain hanging in the barn and had to suppress tears to let him continue. He needed to get it all out finally.

"When she got angry enough at me for not caving in to her charms, she took me out to a small building behind the house. It's only purpose was for torture. I thought I was going to die out there" he said, grimacing at the memory. "I tried so hard to stay positive and figure out a way to escape, but her men tied me to a chair and threw cold water on me. They they turned on an industrial air conditioner right over my head and left me there to freeze to death. It took a long time. I don't remember much after I lost feeling in my body… I shook so badly I thought my teeth would break".

Teresa held his hand tightly, not daring to speak and interrupt his chain of thought.

"I knew I was dying of hypothermia. It's strange, knowing intellectually what is happening, the stages your body is going through, knowing that this is how you will die...it's bad at first, but after a while, you stop shivering and just shut down. Then you go to sleep and don't wake up again. After that, I don't know what happened, whether my heart stopped, but Laila broke open a window and let in warm air, rubbed my chest and arms to get my blood moving again. I think she saved my life that day".

'She was a brave girl" said Teresa, numb with shock.

Patrick nodded his head, "Yes… she took a big chance of getting caught by Katarina and being punished. It wasn't the first time she helped me. I owe her a lot…"

"So do I. She gave you back to me" whispered Teresa, hurting so badly for her broken husband.

"Katarina wasn't finished with me after that. Her grand idea was to physically break me and then turn me into one of her obedient men. Clearly she didn't understand me at all"" Patrick laughed weakly. "Her ultimate plan was for me to break her brother Jan out of jail. She tried to beat me into submission in my cell, but I escaped. I found a nail and picked my cell door lock and then picked another lock and got out of the house".

"Katarina had a cell in her basement?" asked Teresa, surprised that Katarina had planned so far ahead.

"Yes. A cell just for me. Aren't I special?" asked Patrick mockingly. "Just to keep me for as long as possible. I got out and found Laila outside. After that we just ran and ran, until I couldn't run anymore".

"How did you end up back at the farm? What went wrong?"

"I walked on in the rain until I took a turn in the woods. It led me to a small hill. My shoes slipped on the wet grass and I fell down the hill, breaking my knee on the way down. When I stopped, Katarina's goon was sitting there on an ATV waiting for me. One good punch and I was out. When I came to, I was back in her basement. That was a very dark moment for me…" his voice trailed off as he remembered that dank horrid place.

Lisbon changed the subject, to help Jane over the memory.

"Laila said you told her to run ahead and get help. That was very brave of you Patrick. She got away and found the highway. Eventually, she was brought to Cho".

'Hmmmm. And then she got shot".

"Yes. But she led the FBI to you. What was Katarina doing with you in the basement when they found you Patrick?"

Jane shifted uncomfortably in his bed as a nurse came in with a cup of tea for him. He gratefully accepted it, needing a break from his horrible memories. Teresa gave him a soft cookie to dip into his tea and suck on for a sweet treat. Soft food was on the menu now, as he desperately needed to gain back the weight he had lost so quickly.

"Acting like a mother already!" he grinned. "Keeping cookies in your purse!"

"Hey, they are for me and the baby… I get hungry!" she teased back. "But I think you need them more right now" she smiled, happy to see him tuck into the sweet confection.

"This is delicious. Best cookie ever!" moaned Jane, relishing the taste.

They sat in companionable silence as he enjoyed his snack, Teresa nibbling on a cookie too. She would find a decaf coffee later. Only a few more weeks and then she would be able to drink the real thing again.

Jane finished off his tea and set his cup aside, taking Teresa's hand in his, kissing her knuckles.

"So what now? Are you sick of hearing me moan and groan about my adventures, or are you up for the rest of the sordid tale" he said more lightly than he felt.

"That's up to you Patrick. I want to know what you went through so that I understand how you feel. But not if you can't talk about it anymore today."

Patrick smiled at her and lay back against his pillows, feeling wonderfully safe at the moment. He decided to plunge ahead and get more out, like throwing out garbage and cleaning house. The hard work had to come before he could finally move ahead with his life.

"While Cho was looking for me with Laila, I had been brought back to the farm by her henchman Miroslav. I never knew his name while I was there. She had him chain me to the wall in her basement and told me to give up and join forces with her. When I refused, she had Miroslav choke me with his hand until I couldn't breathe anymore. Left his fingerprints all over my neck so I'm told" he motioned, his hands glancing across his throat as he spoke. "Later Katarina showed me videos of you and I back in Austin. We were followed around by one of her men and he filmed us everywhere we went for days leading up to the kidnapping. Then, the videos were just of you, when I was gone. They even had film of the inside of our house, and of you sitting alone in the living room drinking tea. When I saw that her men were at our house, I just lost it. All the fight went out of me. By then I had reached my limit. And then her man started to beat me."

"Oh Jane!" cried Teresa. "Oh God not again…"

"It went on until I passed out. When Cho broke in apparently Katarina had a knife at my throat. But I was so far gone by that point I had no idea." His hand absentmindedly reached up and felt the healing cut along the side of his neck.

"Whatever happened after that is something of a mystery to me, but I just remember waking up in the ICU and you were with me, like an angel. Best day of my life" he smiled wanly.

Teresa kissed his lips and hugged him gently. He clearly was exhausted from his recollections, if not physically, then certainly emotionally. She wanted him to stop now. He needed to think about better things if he wanted to sleep tonight.

"Thanks for telling me what happened at the farm. Let's not talk about it anymore today."

"There's more…. when Karil took me…" Jane offered.

"I know. But that can wait. You need to rest and replace those thoughts with better ones. Like how nice it will be to take a shower with me when we get home. Like how wonderful it will be to sit on our front porch with a decent cup of tea looking at the sun going down over the pond".

"Like sleeping with you again, and loving you again. That will be the best medicine Mrs. Jane. Can you be my doctor?" he said with a mischievous grin.

"Well of course, if Junior here gives us a few days before his appearance!" she smiled.

A light knock on the door announced the arrival of a nurse, telling Teresa to leave to let Patrick sleep. Patrick looked stricken at the thought of her leaving.

"Ok, will do!" agreed Lisbon. After the nurse left, Patrick turned to her.

"Please don't go!" he implored her.

"Don't worry, I lied. I won't go until you are asleep or unless they throw me out. But I do have a gun… so they wouldn't dare!" she laughed.

Jane visibly relaxed when he heard this and took her hand in his. He settled back against his pillows as Teresa stroked his hair and ran her palm across his forehead. He depressed the pain pump button and sighed in its' immediate relief. As she stroked him gently he gave in to his tiredness and gradually fell into a restful sleep, snoring lightly. When she was sure he was out, she tiptoed out of the room and found her way back to her safe house. She had some calls to make and then she could rest. Hopefully she would be sleeping in her own bed very soon.

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Wylie had done his research and had sent a short list of 3 names that Lisbon could contact regarding Patrick's surgery. She would use every trick in the book to convince one of the doctors to operate on him as soon as possible. The information was waiting for her when she got back to the house. As soon as she was settled, she got on the phone and was soon talking to the after-hours receptionist at the first doctor's office. As hard as she tried, she could not get past the officious woman, trying to explain her needs. She finally gave up and moved on to doctor number two. She was surprised when he picked up the phone himself. Dr. Davidson was just on his way out and she had been lucky to find him at his desk. Teresa lost no time explaining her problem and Jane's needs. Dr. Davidson settled himself down again at his desk and listened intently. He had heard snippets of the news reports about the kidnapped FBI man and the young student also taken against her will. He was shocked that somehow that news story had now drawn him into the picture.

"Would you be able to operate on Patrick some time in the next couple of days? He has had a broken knee now for days and days and it really needs to be fixed if he is ever going to walk normally again. When he got kidnapped a second time, it disturbed his knee and made the injury worse. I am due to have a baby any day now, and if we get stuck in Maine…" she blubbered, hoping to win him over.

"Mrs. Jane, hold on… please… relax. Let me look at my schedule for the next two weeks". Dr. Davidson was fully booked, but some of his surgeries were elective, and not emergencies, so they could be re-scheduled. More serious cases had to be seen on time, but maybe there was a bit of wiggle room. Their plight moved him immensely and he wanted to help.

"Would you be able to meet me in St. Mark's Hospital in downtown Austin day after tomorrow? If you send me Mr. Jane's x-rays and MRI results, I can study them right away and plan his surgery. If it looks like I can help you, I can operate in two days time" he smiled into the phone.

"Oh yes! Absolutely! I will get the doctor here to forward those tests to you and we will be there, just tell me what time and where to meet at St. Marks. Thank you so much for doing this on short notice. You are so kind!" she gushed. What wonderful news! He told her the additional information she needed and she got back on the phone to speak to the Trauma Centre, to have Jane's medical records sent over to Dr. Davidson ASAP. Next she rang Cho on his cell phone and told him the good news. It was what he had been waiting for and he finalized the flight back to Austin immediately. They would leave in the late afternoon, once the medical flight arrived from Austin with the nurse on board. Everything was coming together and Lisbon couldn't wait to tell Patrick the good news. She left a message with the doctor at the FBI office to assign one of his nurses to board the flight and then, she finally relaxed, her work for the day done. Her baby twisted in a tight little ball as she showered and got into her pajamas. Sarah would be coming in the safe house soon, and then they would both settle down for the night. Tomorrow would be an exciting day for all of them!

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