Chapter 24
John's breath caught in his throat as Meg's head turned slightly, pressing weakly into the warmth of his hand.
His heart ceased beating as he watched her stir, the brown eyes opening, muzzy at first, then gaining focus.
She had an oxygen mask over her face, she reached up now, her eyes connecting with his, even as he voiced a protest, she pulled it away.
"Jian."
The word was little more than an exhaled breath, but to his ears it was music from the heavens.
Unsatisfied with her first attempt to talk, Meg tried to clear her throat and try again. Her mouth was dry, her vocal chords felt sore and abused.
John. He was there, bending close over her, his eyes hollow in a pale face. He looked exhausted beyond measure, a ghost reanimated.
She frowned, "Jian.....wh-what happened to you...?" she asked, her brows furrowing in concern. She made her arm, leaden as it felt, move up, and laid a hand against his haggard face, treasuring the touch of his warm skin beneath her fingers.
He did not answer, his eyes saying all that his lips might have, the worry, grief and wear seeming to drain away somewhat as she watched. His loving brown eyes were shining at her, his relief communicating itself to her without the need for voice.
Still, he looked so worn that she could think of nothing else to do but draw his head down,
bringing his cheek to hers. Softly, she murmured the soft words that had been one of the last things she could remember him saying to her.
"Mo men tai.....mo men tai...."
The improvement in Meg's carefully monitored vitals soon brought a complement of medical personnel to her room.
John straightened at their entry, attempting to step back to accommodate their obvious desire to surround Meg's bed to check her condition. He was not successful, with surprising strength, Meg gripped his hand and wouldn't let go, keeping him close.
"How do you feel, Mrs. Lee?" a doctor bent over the bed, flashing a penlight into Meg's eyes. She frustrated his efforts by shooting John a quick questioning look which he responded to with a quiet smile.
"Do you remember what happened to you?" the doctor persisted as Meg turned her eyes toward him once more.
"I was... shot. I was... with my husband in the park and someone... shot at us." Meg responded, her voice weak and whispery, after a moment of hesitation which had more to do with putting a bit of high gloss on the truth, than with any disability.
The doctor continued his questions, checking her state of alertness and orientation. Seemingly satisfied, he moved on to listening to heart and lung function, moving through the standard protocols while John watched anxiously. He nodded his pleasure at the results, saying little.
Meg looked from doctor to John and back again, eyes troubled, questioning.
"How long....?" she began.
"You've been unconscious for three days, Mrs. Lee. You're going to be fine now. Try not to worry. And please, keep the this on, at least for now" the doctor replied, calmly replacing the oxygen mask over her face as Meg grimaced. She had much to say and the mask was only in her way.
As the medical staff removed from her room she shifted her gaze to John once more. He
sat back down in the chair next to her bed, his grip on her hand never lessening.
In spite of herself, she was soon asleep, a deep healing rest this time, warmed by pleasant dreams and John's steady presence.
Meg stirred, her eyes opening into half light.
Her surroundings had changed, gone were the machines that had ringed her bed before, the
hushed silence of the intensive care wards. Outside the room she could hear the bustle of activity even though the blinds in her room were closed, the overhead lights dimmed, even as daylight peeked through the slats of the window blinds.
She'd been moved to a private room while she slept. John was still at her side, sleeping himself in the fold out chair designed for the purpose in the room. He still held her hand, albeit laxly. She ached to deepen the touch, lacked the energy but also did not want to disturb his rest.
She watched him for a few minutes, taking comfort and pleasure from his nearness, relieved that he looked more rested and less haggard now than before. She'd have to talk to him about that. When he woke up.
"Meg?" a soft voice caught her attention. It was Liu Shen, seated on the opposite side of the bed from John
John's sister rose and moved closer, covering Meg's right hand lightly as though almost afraid to touch it.
"You are going to be fine, Meg." Liu Shen whispered soothingly.
"John, is he all right?" Meg asked casting a worried glance in his direction. .
Liu Shen was smiling at her indulgently, chuckling softly, "Now that you are better, he is fine. I promise you. You did a very brave thing, Li taai-taai. John told us you took a bullet meant for him. We thank you once again for your great courage in preserving his life, but would rather you had not risked your own. Jian promises that he will talk to you about that."
Meg considered for a moment, not relishing the thought of John angry with her for any reason.
"He was unarmed, Lung was going to shoot him. I couldn't just let it happen," Meg explained.
"He was working with Detective Zedkov, he has assured me he was in no real danger." Liu
Shen offered, "but then, that could just be an elder brother and son trying to spare his sister and mother worry."
Meg contemplated. She regretted nothing about her actions. For perhaps the second time in her life, she'd allowed her heart to rule her head, and there had been consequences. But John was alive and beside her, and that was all that mattered.
"John and Zedkov working together...." Meg mused, half to herself, shaking her head.
"Detective Zedkov will be here after a while. He has come every day to check up on you. He will be so pleased to see you so much better, and able to accept his flowers yourself."
Meg gave a soft moan that had Liu Shen leaning close in compassionate concern, until she waved John's sister off, indicating that she was all right.
"That means I'm going to get my ass chewed twice..." Meg complained.
Liu Shen made a small sound of sympathy and patted Meg's hand, "Mo men tai...."
She bent close, her lips brushing Meg's forehead. Then she reached across the bed and touched her brother's hand, which covered Meg's left.
"Wake up, Jian," She urged, even as Meg tried to stop her. John looked so tired, Meg hated to see him disturbed, but Liu Shen who had never done anything not in her sibling's best interest, shook her head and continued her efforts to rouse him. "Meg needs you, Jian."
John was awake in an instant, and on his feet, all attention and focussed on Meg. His eyes were so filled with immediate concern and worry, that Meg's heart clenched, and she ached to comfort him.
Liu Shen was standing back now, even as John drew closer and took Meg into his arms.
Meg returned the embrace, not at all surprised that she had missed his arms around her.
"No yelling at sick people!" Liu Shen announced in John's direction, Meg watching as he cast a puzzled glance at his sister.
Liu Shen merely smiled and pointed a finger at her brother, even while she favored Meg with a wink.
Encouraged to get out of Meg's hospital room on occasion as her condition improved, John was just returning from a walk across the hospital grounds with his sister. Liu Shen had taken their mother in hand and repaired to the hospital cafeteria, leaving John to the privacy of his reunion with Meg. He had hardly been away from her bedside in the two weeks since she'd been hospitalized, and it still made him anxious to be separated from her.
He was, therefore, aghast to enter the room to find Meg up on her feet making her slow way to the doorway, IV stand in hand.
"MEG!" He exclaimed, horrified. He'd left her safely in bed.
Meg swung her eyes up to meet his, a smile dancing across her face.
"Hi yourself!" Meg responded, unperturbed, as she glided closer to him.
He shook off the paralysis that shock had brought to him, and raced to her side, putting a protective and supportive arm around her.
"Where are you going!" he demanded, halting her progress.
Meg looked at him innocently.
"For a walk, what does it look like?" she responded, her voice not unaffectionate.
"You should be in bed. I won't allow it." John proclaimed.
Meg looked at him, exasperated. "For Christ's sake, John, its doctors orders. The nurse was just in here telling me that I needed to get out of bed and move around. So, that is what I'm doing."
"It is too soon. Really, I must insist," John's protective nature was asserting itself, he attempted to urge her back to the bed.
Meg stopped stock still. "Oh, this is priceless. Mr. Outta Bed Before He Had Any Right to Be is telling me he knows better than the hospital staff? What happened to ÔInactivity increases weakness, it does not cure it', hmmm?"
John was speechless for a moment, chagrined that his own words and actions were coming back to haunt him.
"I know you mean well, John. Its very sweet of you to be so worried. But I need to do this."
"You're still so pale," John began, touching her cheek lovingly.
"That's because I've been in bed so long all the blood is pooling in my butt. Now don't just stand there, walk with me. Maybe we can scare up a nurse or a doctor to confirm what I'm telling you."
John tightened his embrace and matched his step with hers.
That her spirit was back was reassuring, in itself her stubborn insistence on taking her walk was the best affirmation of her physical and emotional condition that he had. Still, he was worried that the medical staff was rushing her recuperation, and he made sure that her first walk was not taxing. He urged her to go no farther than the waiting area not far from her room, and even then, made sure she sat down before attempting the return trip.
She sat, somewhat stiffly, on one of the waiting room chairs, while he knelt in front of her, observing her carefully.
"We haven't talked about something," Meg said after a moment spent in silence, returning his gaze.
John was puzzled. He had expressed his displeasure in her clandestine actions against
Lung in a carefully worded exchange monitored by his sister-- at Meg's request-- soon after she'd been released from the intensive care ward. Meg had been rather irritatingly unrepentant, but his heart could not harden against her. She was ever his valiant Meg and he would not truly change her.
He could think of nothing else left unfinished between them, he looked up at her questioningly, covering both of her hands with his own.
"You asked me a question a while back. I never gave you an answer. I'd like you to ask me that question again now." Meg elaborated.
John looked at her levelly. He knew the question she referred to. He'd had some doubts about it, after everything that had happened, worried about her continued safety. Wei and his gang might be dead, but the legacy of his work for the crime lord might have more surprises in store farther down the road. He had thought to leave, to protect her, but had never been able to work up the courage to do so. Living without Meg would be living without air to breathe or blood to pump through his veins. He couldn't last long without her, he knew it.
Meg was looking at him expectantly, a shadow crossing her face, taking his hesitation for something other than it was. He hastened to reassure her.
John took the hands that lay under his own, brought them to his lips and kissed them.
"Marry me. Please," he said, putting all his heart into the question.
Meg closed her eyes for a moment, John watched her face carefully, concerned at her silence.
But, then she opened them, her brown eyes communicating what her lips began to say.
"Yes! I will. I'm sorry I made you wait so long to hear the words. I've wanted to tell you that ever since you first asked. I just thought I wanted better than me for you. I realized almost as soon as you left for Seattle, that I wouldn't be able to live without you, though. So I guess you're stuck with me." She cast her eyes downward, seeming suddenly and uncharacteristically shy.
John smiled at her broadly, his heart full to overflowing with the quietly spoken acceptance,
so typically Meg in its execution.
"There would never be any other for me," he said gently, bringing her chin up so that her
eyes met his, "if you would not have me, I would have taken Ruong-jie up on his offer. I will love only you, forever, Meg. Only you."
Meg lost her composure then, leaning forward to cup her hands to John's face, tears making their way down her cheeks. She kissed him soulfully, a kiss he returned deeply.
They sat, glorying in each other, in their shared bond and the promise of their future together.
Then, slowly and lovingly, they began the return trip to Meg's room.
End of Chapter 24
John's breath caught in his throat as Meg's head turned slightly, pressing weakly into the warmth of his hand.
His heart ceased beating as he watched her stir, the brown eyes opening, muzzy at first, then gaining focus.
She had an oxygen mask over her face, she reached up now, her eyes connecting with his, even as he voiced a protest, she pulled it away.
"Jian."
The word was little more than an exhaled breath, but to his ears it was music from the heavens.
Unsatisfied with her first attempt to talk, Meg tried to clear her throat and try again. Her mouth was dry, her vocal chords felt sore and abused.
John. He was there, bending close over her, his eyes hollow in a pale face. He looked exhausted beyond measure, a ghost reanimated.
She frowned, "Jian.....wh-what happened to you...?" she asked, her brows furrowing in concern. She made her arm, leaden as it felt, move up, and laid a hand against his haggard face, treasuring the touch of his warm skin beneath her fingers.
He did not answer, his eyes saying all that his lips might have, the worry, grief and wear seeming to drain away somewhat as she watched. His loving brown eyes were shining at her, his relief communicating itself to her without the need for voice.
Still, he looked so worn that she could think of nothing else to do but draw his head down,
bringing his cheek to hers. Softly, she murmured the soft words that had been one of the last things she could remember him saying to her.
"Mo men tai.....mo men tai...."
The improvement in Meg's carefully monitored vitals soon brought a complement of medical personnel to her room.
John straightened at their entry, attempting to step back to accommodate their obvious desire to surround Meg's bed to check her condition. He was not successful, with surprising strength, Meg gripped his hand and wouldn't let go, keeping him close.
"How do you feel, Mrs. Lee?" a doctor bent over the bed, flashing a penlight into Meg's eyes. She frustrated his efforts by shooting John a quick questioning look which he responded to with a quiet smile.
"Do you remember what happened to you?" the doctor persisted as Meg turned her eyes toward him once more.
"I was... shot. I was... with my husband in the park and someone... shot at us." Meg responded, her voice weak and whispery, after a moment of hesitation which had more to do with putting a bit of high gloss on the truth, than with any disability.
The doctor continued his questions, checking her state of alertness and orientation. Seemingly satisfied, he moved on to listening to heart and lung function, moving through the standard protocols while John watched anxiously. He nodded his pleasure at the results, saying little.
Meg looked from doctor to John and back again, eyes troubled, questioning.
"How long....?" she began.
"You've been unconscious for three days, Mrs. Lee. You're going to be fine now. Try not to worry. And please, keep the this on, at least for now" the doctor replied, calmly replacing the oxygen mask over her face as Meg grimaced. She had much to say and the mask was only in her way.
As the medical staff removed from her room she shifted her gaze to John once more. He
sat back down in the chair next to her bed, his grip on her hand never lessening.
In spite of herself, she was soon asleep, a deep healing rest this time, warmed by pleasant dreams and John's steady presence.
Meg stirred, her eyes opening into half light.
Her surroundings had changed, gone were the machines that had ringed her bed before, the
hushed silence of the intensive care wards. Outside the room she could hear the bustle of activity even though the blinds in her room were closed, the overhead lights dimmed, even as daylight peeked through the slats of the window blinds.
She'd been moved to a private room while she slept. John was still at her side, sleeping himself in the fold out chair designed for the purpose in the room. He still held her hand, albeit laxly. She ached to deepen the touch, lacked the energy but also did not want to disturb his rest.
She watched him for a few minutes, taking comfort and pleasure from his nearness, relieved that he looked more rested and less haggard now than before. She'd have to talk to him about that. When he woke up.
"Meg?" a soft voice caught her attention. It was Liu Shen, seated on the opposite side of the bed from John
John's sister rose and moved closer, covering Meg's right hand lightly as though almost afraid to touch it.
"You are going to be fine, Meg." Liu Shen whispered soothingly.
"John, is he all right?" Meg asked casting a worried glance in his direction. .
Liu Shen was smiling at her indulgently, chuckling softly, "Now that you are better, he is fine. I promise you. You did a very brave thing, Li taai-taai. John told us you took a bullet meant for him. We thank you once again for your great courage in preserving his life, but would rather you had not risked your own. Jian promises that he will talk to you about that."
Meg considered for a moment, not relishing the thought of John angry with her for any reason.
"He was unarmed, Lung was going to shoot him. I couldn't just let it happen," Meg explained.
"He was working with Detective Zedkov, he has assured me he was in no real danger." Liu
Shen offered, "but then, that could just be an elder brother and son trying to spare his sister and mother worry."
Meg contemplated. She regretted nothing about her actions. For perhaps the second time in her life, she'd allowed her heart to rule her head, and there had been consequences. But John was alive and beside her, and that was all that mattered.
"John and Zedkov working together...." Meg mused, half to herself, shaking her head.
"Detective Zedkov will be here after a while. He has come every day to check up on you. He will be so pleased to see you so much better, and able to accept his flowers yourself."
Meg gave a soft moan that had Liu Shen leaning close in compassionate concern, until she waved John's sister off, indicating that she was all right.
"That means I'm going to get my ass chewed twice..." Meg complained.
Liu Shen made a small sound of sympathy and patted Meg's hand, "Mo men tai...."
She bent close, her lips brushing Meg's forehead. Then she reached across the bed and touched her brother's hand, which covered Meg's left.
"Wake up, Jian," She urged, even as Meg tried to stop her. John looked so tired, Meg hated to see him disturbed, but Liu Shen who had never done anything not in her sibling's best interest, shook her head and continued her efforts to rouse him. "Meg needs you, Jian."
John was awake in an instant, and on his feet, all attention and focussed on Meg. His eyes were so filled with immediate concern and worry, that Meg's heart clenched, and she ached to comfort him.
Liu Shen was standing back now, even as John drew closer and took Meg into his arms.
Meg returned the embrace, not at all surprised that she had missed his arms around her.
"No yelling at sick people!" Liu Shen announced in John's direction, Meg watching as he cast a puzzled glance at his sister.
Liu Shen merely smiled and pointed a finger at her brother, even while she favored Meg with a wink.
Encouraged to get out of Meg's hospital room on occasion as her condition improved, John was just returning from a walk across the hospital grounds with his sister. Liu Shen had taken their mother in hand and repaired to the hospital cafeteria, leaving John to the privacy of his reunion with Meg. He had hardly been away from her bedside in the two weeks since she'd been hospitalized, and it still made him anxious to be separated from her.
He was, therefore, aghast to enter the room to find Meg up on her feet making her slow way to the doorway, IV stand in hand.
"MEG!" He exclaimed, horrified. He'd left her safely in bed.
Meg swung her eyes up to meet his, a smile dancing across her face.
"Hi yourself!" Meg responded, unperturbed, as she glided closer to him.
He shook off the paralysis that shock had brought to him, and raced to her side, putting a protective and supportive arm around her.
"Where are you going!" he demanded, halting her progress.
Meg looked at him innocently.
"For a walk, what does it look like?" she responded, her voice not unaffectionate.
"You should be in bed. I won't allow it." John proclaimed.
Meg looked at him, exasperated. "For Christ's sake, John, its doctors orders. The nurse was just in here telling me that I needed to get out of bed and move around. So, that is what I'm doing."
"It is too soon. Really, I must insist," John's protective nature was asserting itself, he attempted to urge her back to the bed.
Meg stopped stock still. "Oh, this is priceless. Mr. Outta Bed Before He Had Any Right to Be is telling me he knows better than the hospital staff? What happened to ÔInactivity increases weakness, it does not cure it', hmmm?"
John was speechless for a moment, chagrined that his own words and actions were coming back to haunt him.
"I know you mean well, John. Its very sweet of you to be so worried. But I need to do this."
"You're still so pale," John began, touching her cheek lovingly.
"That's because I've been in bed so long all the blood is pooling in my butt. Now don't just stand there, walk with me. Maybe we can scare up a nurse or a doctor to confirm what I'm telling you."
John tightened his embrace and matched his step with hers.
That her spirit was back was reassuring, in itself her stubborn insistence on taking her walk was the best affirmation of her physical and emotional condition that he had. Still, he was worried that the medical staff was rushing her recuperation, and he made sure that her first walk was not taxing. He urged her to go no farther than the waiting area not far from her room, and even then, made sure she sat down before attempting the return trip.
She sat, somewhat stiffly, on one of the waiting room chairs, while he knelt in front of her, observing her carefully.
"We haven't talked about something," Meg said after a moment spent in silence, returning his gaze.
John was puzzled. He had expressed his displeasure in her clandestine actions against
Lung in a carefully worded exchange monitored by his sister-- at Meg's request-- soon after she'd been released from the intensive care ward. Meg had been rather irritatingly unrepentant, but his heart could not harden against her. She was ever his valiant Meg and he would not truly change her.
He could think of nothing else left unfinished between them, he looked up at her questioningly, covering both of her hands with his own.
"You asked me a question a while back. I never gave you an answer. I'd like you to ask me that question again now." Meg elaborated.
John looked at her levelly. He knew the question she referred to. He'd had some doubts about it, after everything that had happened, worried about her continued safety. Wei and his gang might be dead, but the legacy of his work for the crime lord might have more surprises in store farther down the road. He had thought to leave, to protect her, but had never been able to work up the courage to do so. Living without Meg would be living without air to breathe or blood to pump through his veins. He couldn't last long without her, he knew it.
Meg was looking at him expectantly, a shadow crossing her face, taking his hesitation for something other than it was. He hastened to reassure her.
John took the hands that lay under his own, brought them to his lips and kissed them.
"Marry me. Please," he said, putting all his heart into the question.
Meg closed her eyes for a moment, John watched her face carefully, concerned at her silence.
But, then she opened them, her brown eyes communicating what her lips began to say.
"Yes! I will. I'm sorry I made you wait so long to hear the words. I've wanted to tell you that ever since you first asked. I just thought I wanted better than me for you. I realized almost as soon as you left for Seattle, that I wouldn't be able to live without you, though. So I guess you're stuck with me." She cast her eyes downward, seeming suddenly and uncharacteristically shy.
John smiled at her broadly, his heart full to overflowing with the quietly spoken acceptance,
so typically Meg in its execution.
"There would never be any other for me," he said gently, bringing her chin up so that her
eyes met his, "if you would not have me, I would have taken Ruong-jie up on his offer. I will love only you, forever, Meg. Only you."
Meg lost her composure then, leaning forward to cup her hands to John's face, tears making their way down her cheeks. She kissed him soulfully, a kiss he returned deeply.
They sat, glorying in each other, in their shared bond and the promise of their future together.
Then, slowly and lovingly, they began the return trip to Meg's room.
End of Chapter 24