"Just let me go find out how she is, I'll come right back for my stitches, I promise." Jimmy promised the nurse cleaning the small gash from where he'd hit in the burning school.
"I know you better than that Jimmy Doherty, you're staying right here until the doctor sews you up." the nurse replied, a touch of bitterness in her voice. She then turned and quickly walked out of the room.
"Figures I'd get a nurse I've slept with.' He half-heartedly joked to fellow firefighter D.K.
"You've gotta admit, those odds are pretty good Jimmy" D.K. replied, laughing.
"I'm such an idiot D.K." Jimmy confessed.
"You've got no argument here buddy." D.K. jokingly responded, not hearing the changed tone in Jimmy's voice.
"I'm serious D.K. I treated Kim like crap while we were married and afterwards. I love her, and I pushed her away." Jimmy sighed.
"No use beating yourself up over it Jimmy, I think she's forgiven you by now anyway. I've seen how she looks at you." D.K. encouraged.
"I hope so D.K. 'cause as soon as she's better, I am going to get her back." Jimmy vowed.
*********************************************
The next morning
As Alex and Ty lay crumpled together, sleeping in chairs outside of Kim's recovery room, Jimmy paced the hallway quietly. None of them had left the hospital the night before and their rumpled hair and wrinkled clothes were dead giveaways. A nurse quietly approached an obviously distressed Jimmy.
"Would you like to see her now Mr. Doherty?" the nurse asked? "She's heavily sedated, but the doctor has given the ok for her to have visitors. She probably won't wake up, but she may be able to hear you." She kindly added.
"Thank-you," Jimmy said as he headed toward his ex-wife. He pulled chair up to the side of the bed and took her hand in his.
"I don't know if you can hear me or not Kimmy, but I'm going to talk to you anyway. I called your mom, but she's still in Europe, she's flying back as soon as she can. Joey is with my mom, she'll bring him here to see you as soon as you wake up. Joey misses you; he really wants to see his mom, so you have to wake up soon ok?" Jimmy took a deep breath in and exhaled slowly. "I miss you too Kim. Not just now, but I realized that I always have. I'm so sorry that you had to get hurt for me to realize it, but I need you. You have to wake up Kim, I love you, and I never stopped loving you. Please wake up" he pleaded.
Suddenly, Jimmy noticed Kim's eyelids momentarily flutter open. She looked into his eyes, but too exhausted and medicated to stay awake, she let out a comforted sigh and closed her eyes again. Jimmy felt tears welling up in his eyes as he felt her softly squeeze his hand.
***************************************
Alex and Ty peered into the room at Kim and Jimmy, deciding their visits could wait.
"They wasted so much time." Alex absently remarked.
"What do you mean?" Ty asked, snapping Alex back to reality.
"Oh, it's just that it's so obvious that they love each other. They have since they met practically, they just created too many problems to work out of" she replied.
"Yeah, Jimmy was a real shit to Kim though. I don't blame her for being wary of him." Ty retorted.
"I know, I know, but everyone saw how they still looked at each other. There's hurt there, but a lot of love too. This whole thing just puts life in a new perspective. Everything seems so trivial when you see how it's keeping two people who love each other apart. Life is so short and fragile, it seems a shame to waste time." Alex explained.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, Ty's mind racing.
'I know I love Alex, and I think she loves me too' he thought. 'Maybe I should just go for it and ask her. I don't want to lose her, and I can't really picture life without her either. She's right, life can change or end unexpectedly, it seems so stupid to waste precious time together.'