***
Frank lay quietly, watching Shay stare out the hospital window to the park below. "Tell me about Frank," he said quietly, startling both Shay and Michelle, who sat at his bedside.
Shay shrugged but did not look in his direction. It was too difficult to look at him while she missed her Tiger so. Nick was his mirror image and it pained her to look at him. Was Frank hurt, in danger? These were questions she had no answers to and it tore her to shreds. "I wish I could. We have no idea why he came to San Francisco."
He shook his head and cast a glance in Michelle's direction when he saw her shift restlessly in her chair. Why was he so fixated on his cousin's wife when he had been told that he and Michelle were together? It made no sense. His headache had returned full-blown and was throbbing incessantly. He rubbed his temples tiredly. "No idea. Odd. Michelle...can you get me something...head's aching again."
"Sure," she agreed and left the room quickly.
"How long have you and Frank been together?"
"Four years," she answered softly as she lifted a hand to rub her aching neck. "We have three beautiful children. He's my life."
"I'm sure he is," he commented dryly. Why did her talk of another man bother him so much? Damn, he wished he would get his memory and his life back. Get away from this sinking feeling of nothingness.
Michelle came back in with a sedative and handed the pills to Nick along with a cup of water. "Take these...rest. You'll feel much better after you get some sleep." She frowned slightly, thinking that he looked tense and a bit upset over something.
Frank shrugged and tossed the pills into his mouth. After taking a sip of water, he set the cup on the nightstand. "I'll feel better when I get my life back," he commented, irritated. He lay back on the bed and closed his eyes. He welcomed sleep and a chance to stop thinking about the blonde staring out the window.
***
Groaning softly, Nick ran his tongue over his dry lips. Thirsty, he was so thirsty. If he dared ask for a drink, water was thrown in his face, wetting the now soggy bedding further. He absently wondered how long he had been lying tied to the wretched thing. His mind was foggy. Was it two, three...no, four days? He was not sure.
He was sure that he was going to go insane before this was over. He also had very little doubt it would matter if he retained his sanity. Sanity does not make a bit of difference if you die, and he was sure he was headed in that direction.
He shivered against the dampness of the bedding. Most of his clothing had been ripped from his body, with the exception of his briefs. And the smell. He had no other choice than to relieve himself where he laid. The humiliation was endless as he was forced to lie in his own urine. What in the hell did I do to deserve this? Was this some kind of twisted cosmic justice for my past misdeeds?
He wanted to close his eyes and disappear into unconsciousness, but his captors made that impossible. Each time he drifted to sleep, he was slapped, shaken, had water tossed in his face, and had even been burned with cigarettes. He could only lie there, praying that somehow someone would come to his rescue.
He moaned inwardly and tried to focus his tired eyes on the ceiling. He felt himself slipping away, as if they were robbing him of his own essence. He wanted to scream in frustration and beg to be released so that he could return to his life. And Michelle. What of Michelle? Was she worried about him? Did she even know he was missing? Surely, by now, Frank had handled the situation at the hospital. What if he hadn't? What if everyone thought Frank was him? Not Michelle...she'd know right away it wasn't me. He tried to turn, roll onto his side to relieve the ache in his back, but the restraints made that impossible. Michelle, oh Shelley...I need you.
***
Shay watched solemnly while Michelle tended to Nick's needs, attempting to make him more comfortable. Michelle turned toward her suddenly and said she was going to grab a shower in the Nurses' locker room since Nick was sleeping and would be back in a few minutes. The sedative he had taken earlier had finally worked its magic, allowing him to rest comfortably. Shay's eyes followed Michelle from the room and wondered how she was keeping it together. Michelle had barely left Nick's side since he was brought into the hospital, only taking short breaks to eat or shower and change clothing. Sighing heavily, she turned her attention back to Nick. Nick moaned in his sleep and her eyes flew to his face. Why does he have to look so much like Frank?! Neurologists said he was out of the woods in regards to his head injury and he was regaining strength quickly. He was a fighter and for that Shay was thankful. If he could only get back his memory and shed some light as to why Frank had come to San Francisco in the first place. She feared the worst for her husband, how could she not?
"Please," she whispered. "Please tell me where Frank is."
--
"Michelle...how can you know that?" Matt asked, incredulously. She had just shared a bizarre revelation with him.
"I have no proof, Matt. I just know," she assured him. "The man in that room is not Nicholas Kokoris."
Matt frowned. "He sure as hell looks like Nick. He had his hospital ID on him when he was found."
Michelle shrugged and glanced across the hall into Nick's room. "Nick has an identical cousin, Matt. That cousin is missing after traveling to San Fran." She nodded toward the room. "That's his wife, Shay. I can feel their connection. That man is Frank Donovan."
Shaking his head, Matt said, "It's preposterous, Shel. That man has Nick's blood type. Sounds exactly like him, too. You're reaching."
"Reaching for what? For the realization that if Frank is lying in that bed...then Nick is missing? Right, Matt. I so want to reach for that." Her shoulders slumped a bit as she headed back toward the room. She paused in the doorway when the sound of Shay's soft sobs reached her. She was beginning to understand the feeling of helplessness that Shay now felt. Nick was the one missing. Shay may not be fully aware that her husband was in that bed, but on a subconscious level she was. Her body language told that story.
"Où sont vous, Frank? Revenez-moi s'il vous plaît, mon Tigre," Shay begged softly through her sobs as she rested her head on the edge of the bed.
Michelle's eyes widened as she watched the scene unfold. Still asleep, 'Nick' placed a tender hand on Shay's head and stroked her hair softly. Michelle's eyes filled with tears when she heard him whisper, "Je suis juste ici. Ne pleurez pas s'il vous plaît, mon cadeau."
Shay lifted her head swiftly to see his face. "Frank?!" But there was no response; he was still sleeping deeply. If it was Frank, his response had been reflexive to his wife's needs. And Shay was, without a doubt, sure that it was him.
Shay touched a gentle hand to his cheek. "I should have known...oh, Frank...please forgive me for not knowing."
"It is Frank, isn't it?" Michelle asked as she approached the bed.
To Shay's ears, Michelle's question sounded more like a statement. As if she already knew. "No one has ever called me "mon cadeau" but Frank...from almost the beginning, after we were reunited," Shay explained without taking her eyes from his sleeping face. "Nick never heard Frank's pet name for me...he could not possibly know." She watched the anguish appear on Michelle's beautiful face and understood all too well what she was going through. Nick was now the one missing.
"I think you're both reading far too much into a few coincidences," Matt insisted, walking into the room.
Shay thought for a moment. "Michelle? Does Nick have a birthmark...um...er..." Her eyes indicated its location.
Michelle shook her head.
"That will be the proof then," Shay said, reaching for the sheet.
"Perhaps I should do that," Matt suggested. "After all, if it is Nick..."
"I see your point," Shay agreed. "Trust me, he won't mind." She did not wait for or need permission to look at her husband's body and ignored Matt's protest, reaching for the sheet. She lifted it and ducked underneath. She knew both Michelle and Matt were medical professionals and had probably seen many a man's wares, but that did not mean Shay would willingly display her husband's goods to them. And no matter how much Matt might protest, Shay had no doubt this was her husband. Pulling up the hem of the thin hospital gown, she exposed him to her view. Sure enough, the tiny, egg-shaped birthmark was there beneath his wiry curls.
"Lose something?" a deep masculine voice asked of the person examining his privates underneath the hospital sheets.
Shay croaked and heard both Michelle and Matt gasp loudly. Sheepishly, she moved out from under the sheet to see a pair of chocolate brown eyes fixed steadily on her. When she saw the lopsided grin form on his lips, she knew her husband was back. "Hi, Tiger. Just inspecting my property."
"I hope everything meets your satisfaction," Frank commented. He chuckled and cupped her chin possessively, his thumb grazing her lips tenderly. "Quite a scare to wake up and not know who the hell I was. It just took a good dose of you, mon cadeau, to bring me back."
Shay nodded solemnly and touched a hand to his cheek. "Up until a few moments ago, when you spoke French to me in your sleep...we all believed you were Nick."
"Nick?!" he asked incredulously and then remembered from the time he
had awakened everyone believed he was his cousin. "So, you were checking for my birthmark?"
Shay nodded. "Baby...when you were found, you had nothing on you but Nick's hospital ID. What's going on?"
"Yes, Frank," Michelle interrupted the touching reunion. Her only thoughts were of finding Nick. "Do you know what has happened to Nick?"
Frank frowned and looked from his wife to Michelle and back to his wife. "I would tell you if I could remember. Some things are still foggy and out of reach. I don't know what I'm doing here," he admitted.
"It will come back to you, Tiger." Shay braced one hand on the bed and leaned down to kiss him gently. "Welcome back, my love." She felt Frank's arms circle around and pull her closer, mindful of his ribs. She buried her face into his neck and felt him stroking her hair softly as she sobbed quietly against him. When her tears subsided she whispered, "I love you."
Michelle felt Matt's arm slide around her shoulders and pull her into a comforting embrace. She leaned into it thankfully. She could only remember one other time that she felt so completely lost and alone. That was when her twin sister died suddenly while giving birth to her only child. She nodded against Matt's shoulder as he quietly assured her that Nick was fine and would turn up soon. It was a lie. She knew it, and yet, she clung to it like a life preserver.
"I love you, too, Ashling," Frank stated. "Forgive me?"
"For what?" she asked, pulling away enough to see his face clearly.
"I have the oddest feeling I need your forgiveness for something," he said with a smile. "If I ask now, while I'm hospitalized and in such a pitiful state, you can't hold whatever it is against me later."
Shay shook her head and laughed. "Gotta love how your mind works, Donovan." She kissed the tip of his nose. "You get rid of this..." she touched the shadow of the full beard on his face, "and bring back that goatee and mustache I adore, and I'll forgive you anything."
He reached up and ran a hand over his jaw. "Consider it done, Donovan."
--
Où sont vous, Frank? Revenez-moi s'il vous plaît, mon Tigre. = Where are you, Frank? Please come back to me, my Tiger.
Je suis juste ici. Ne pleurez pas s'il vous plaît, mon cadeau. = I'm right here. Please don't cry, my gift.
***
to be continued...