One Step Forward and Two Steps Back
Cheryl assessed the situation in one glance, and grabbed her cell phone, yelling out as she did so to the young cop waiting by the front door, who appeared not sure whether to stay with his colleague or chase the suspect. "Chapman. Go after her, I want her dead or alive! She'll be driving Steve's white truck now go, go!" Cheryl knelt by her partner as she made the call for an ambulance to attend the scene.
"Steve, can you hear me?" Cheryl spoke carefully trying to keep the urgency out of her voice as he began to move slightly.
"What, what happened?"
"You got slugged, Sloan." Cheryl smiled at him, her worry dissipating a little as he spoke, and then returning as he tried to sit up. "Hey, stay right there, I am not going to be the one telling Jo that you are gonna be hospitalized next Thursday."
The look of horror that joined the pained expression on Steve's face made her wish she had bitten her tongue. "Steve, just lie still, I called for an ambulance, we can get you checked over, it'll be ok."
Steve tried a nod, but realised very quickly that it was a bad idea, and then he remembered how he ended up lying on the floor in an extremely elaborate entrance way. "Breth, oh, don't tell me, I lost her."
"Ok, I won't tell you." Cheryl placed a hand on Steve's arm. "Shhh, Chapman and Yip went after her, we will get her." Cheryl's confidence seemed to be enough for Steve, and he visibly relaxed and his eyes closed.
"Steve, come on, Buddy, stay with me. Steve, open your eyes." Cheryl breathed a sigh of relief as he did just that.
"I'm tired, Cheryl, let me rest just for a minute." Steve's eyelids fluttered, and although she tried calling him again, Cheryl knew that he was lost to her for the moment.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Jesse, you didn't answer my question, how would you feel if Rae tried to stop you going somewhere that could improve your quality of life, maybe to an extent where you could go back to the job you love?" Lauren had let Jesse speak on for a while, but she needed to know the answer to this.
"I … I don't know." Jesse knew straight away that she wouldn't believe him, he didn't believe it himself.
"Mmm, you may have a strong minded wife, but you are no less confident and able yourself. You like being a doctor, I've seen you work; you're extremely competent, sympathetic, and very good at what you do. I think that you would find it very difficult to give up."
Jesse looked at her and smiled, but it was a weak, almost resigned smile. "I don't think that I could, give it up I mean, I might try, but even when I have a vacation I am glad to get back to work."
"So, if you put yourself in Rae's position, can you understand how she feels?"
Jesse thought for a moment. He had tried to be compassionate, he had told her he understood, but he guessed that he didn't really. When he had been a patient, particularly after Levington had attacked him, and then convalesced at home, he'd hated it, but there had never been the possibility of him not going back to work. He had a feeling that if there had been, then Rae would have supported him in anything he had wanted to do to get himself in a position to work again in one way or another at the hospital.
"I'm gonna have to let go aren't I?" Jesse looked at his therapist and he knew that although he had thought the decision had been his, it had, in fact, never been in any doubt, he just hadn't realised it.
"Yes you are, but it will be much easier if you talk it over with her, let her know how you feel, and then … let go."
Jesse smiled and stood up, "Thank you, Doctor Yung; I appreciate you taking the time to speak with me."
"I hope I haven't taken you away from your duties for too long." Lauren shook hands with the young doctor in front of her, and she could see that he seemed a little more comfortable with himself.
"I'm not working today, I just had to … to come in for a little while, but I guess Rae'll be wondering where I am. Thank you again, I'll see you soon." Jesse finished his words with a smile, and then, with a lighter heart than when he had entered, he turned and left.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
By the time the ambulance arrived Steve had drifted in and out of consciousness a couple more times, and although she had tried Cheryl hadn't had any success in keeping him with her.
The other two officers who had been with them had called back through and said that they had lost the truck in local traffic, but were still looking. The advantage of Sandra Breth being known to the guard on duty had given her the lead, and she had been waved through as soon as he saw who was driving the truck. Chapman and Yip had been slowed down as they rushed to their car. Sandra had reached Steve's truck, turned and fired at them; diving to the ground they heard the engine roar into life and knew the gunfire had given their quarry valuable moments to get ahead of them. The reply Cheryl had given Ben had not been pleasant, and both officers knew that they would get seriously chewed out when they returned to see their superior officer.
Cheryl knew that she would need to get back to work, but she also knew that Steve was too far out of town to be taken to Community General, and so she wanted to go with him. As she made that decision she heard the familiar sound of a gurney being wheeled towards her and saw the first medic as he appeared at the end of the entrance hall.
"Ma'am, what happened to him?"
"I'm not sure, I think he was hit, he's a cop, we were here to apprehend a suspect, she got one over on him, I know he wasn't shot, I would have heard it, but he's lost quite a bit of blood, and he's been slipping in and out of consciousness."
"Ok, what's his name?" The medic who had spoken to Cheryl crouched down by Steve's head.
"Steve, Lieutenant Steve Sloan."
"Steve, can you hear me? Steve, my name is Bernard, and I'm gonna take you to the hospital to get you looked over. Do you know what happened to you?"
For a moment there was silence but then to Cheryl's relief Steve began to stir again.
"Steve, come on, Buddy, open your eyes." This time it worked, but Cheryl immediately knew why.
"Jesse, is that you? What happened?" Steve's voice was a little shaky, and Cheryl felt compelled to take his hand in her own.
The medic looked over at Cheryl. "Are you Jessie?"
"No, no, Jesse is a doctor at Community General, he calls him Buddy."
"Steve, this is Bernard, we are gonna take you to Nightingale Hospital, it's closer, ok?"
"K." Steve's voice was very quiet now. "I'll just rest till then … just sleep."
The medic indicated to the other ambulance man to help him get Steve onto the gurney, but Bernard kept up a dialogue the entire time.
"No, Steve, I need you to talk to me bu … pal, so, you're a cop, huh? What rank are you?"
"Mmm, what?" Steve sounded puzzled for a moment. "Oh, Lieu … Lieutenant… Lot of good it did me."
"That's it, talk to me, tell me what happened today. What did you have for breakfast?" Bernard carried on talking, and Cheryl, relieved that the responsibility had been removed from her, turned towards Stuart Mitchell, who was being checked over by a third medic. "Sir, if you could come into the station either later today or tomorrow to give us a statement I would be obliged. I know this has all been a terrible shock, but we really do need your version of events.
"Yes, yes, of course, Detective, please tell your partner that I'm … I'm sorry I doubted him… Sandra, I just can't believe it…" Stuart Mitchell swayed a little and the medic helped him into a sitting position, making sure his head was lowered towards his knees. Cheryl handed one of her cards to Jonathon who was now standing just a little way off waiting to tend to his employer, and then she turned and walked behind Steve's gurney, listening to the stilted and disjointed conversation as Bernard tried to keep him conscious.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Jo and Rae had been making lists and calling people for a long time. It seemed that apart from the shopping trip for the dresses everything was covered. The invitations would be delivered in two days time, the caterers had been given Michael's number and he was liaising with them, a florist's site on the internet had been contacted and someone was coming on the Wednesday morning to begin decorating the deck of the beach house. Rae had sat and watched and listened in amazement as Jo had turned into a society hostess, a woman used to using her position to get her own way, and had been very relieved when she had finally turned to her friend and said "Well, I may know nothin' about arrangin' a weddin' but put me in charge of a fund raiser, or a society ball an' I am a woman possessed. Now, how about we get ourselves somethin' to eat, I'm starved."
Rae had just carried on staring at her friend, now astounded by the change back to the Texas she knew and loved.
"What? Speak up, you look like somethin' big an' fat an' furry got your tongue."
"You are a different woman, my mother has a telephone voice, but you have a telephone persona. When you spoke to that printer, poor guy, I felt so for him."
Texas just laughed. "Yeah, well, I guess I should have told him straight off that I was the Miss Walters that actually owned the company, but it was kinda fun to hear him huffin' an' puffin' about whether they could get them done in time, an' now guess what? We will have a proof delivered this afternoon, an' the actual things in two days. Sometimes I just love bein' rich an' powerful. Come on, Girl, what do you have that I can eat in this place?"
Eliana had begun to cry just at that moment, and so with a smile Rae had told Jo to take whatever she fancied from the kitchen, and she went to get her daughter from the nursery, as she did so she heard the sound of a cell phone beginning to ring.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The ER department at Nightingale Hospital was fairly busy when Steve and Cheryl arrived, and while Steve waited for a doctor to come and assess him she moved over into a quiet corner and began to dial Jo's cell phone.
"Hello, Jo? It's Cheryl … listen, I don't want to worry you, but Steve was hurt this morning … the medic thinks he has a concussion … no, we're at Nightingale Hospital, I tried to get Mark when I was in the ambulance, but I can't reach him… ok, I'll tell him, he'll be glad to see you… yeah, you too, bye." Cheryl disconnected herself from her call to Jo, and then tried once again to contact Mark. As she did so she saw a doctor come over to speak with Steve so she put her phone away and moved back to where her partner was laying.
"Nurse take this patient through to trauma alpha please."
Cheryl looked round in surprise. She didn't know why but she always expected every hospital to be run the same way as Community General.
"Yes, Doctor."
"Ma'am, are you this patient's wife?" the doctor, who Cheryl could see was called Doctor Baker turned to speak with her.
"No, Sir, I'm Lieutenant Sloan's partner, Detective Sergeant Banks."
"Oh, right, right, well, once I've examined him I'll come and let you know my findings."
"Thank you, Doctor." Cheryl moved over and sat down in one of the bank of chairs along a wall with a sign saying 'friends and relatives only' above them. With a smile she made herself comfortable, Nightingale Hospital seemed to her a little eccentric; she just hoped that Steve would be all right, and that if he had to stay that the food was good. Cheryl picked up her phone again, and as she did so it began to ring.
"Detective Banks … Mark, hi, I was just about to call you… No, the medics said he had a concussion … Yeah, Jo said she would come over … I don't know yet, he's still being treated … of course … take care, Mark, bye." Cheryl put her phone back in her pocket. She knew she needed to contact the Captain, but until she knew how Steve was she decided to leave that little chore alone. She didn't really want to be the one to tell him that Sandra Breth had slipped through their fingers, again.
Jo had left the kitchen and headed straight for the nursery. "Rae, Honey, I have to go, Steve's been hurt, an' an' I have to go to Nightin'gale Hospital … Cheryl said she thought it was just a mild concussion." She had stopped talking as her voice began to waver.
Rae put her daughter back into her crib, much to the little girl's annoyance, and she moved over to her friend, a concerned look on her face. "Do you want me to come with you? Eliana will be fine she can stay in her buggy, it won't be a problem."
"No, no, I'll be ok, I have to do this alone, I know that this is what I am marryin' into an' now is as good a time as any to get used to it." Jo took a deep breath, she wasn't quite as brave as she hoped she sounded, but if it was just a mild concussion, then she thought she could cope with that.
As Rae watched her friend drive away from the house, Jesse's car drew up and he parked on the driveway. Rae waited by the front door, her daughter now in her arms, and was pleased to see him smile a big happy smile at her as he walked towards her.
"Hey, beautiful, how are you?" Jesse moved and kissed her gently on the cheek, and surprised by his openness she kissed him back.
"I'm fine, Sweetheart."
"And how's my favourite girl? Did you miss Daddy?"
"Dada aii aii." Eliana bounced and seeing the look of pain that crossed Rae's face Jesse took the little girl from her.
Rae caught her breath and then began to talk again. "Jo had to go because Steve got hurt. They think it's just a concussion, he's at Nightingale."
For an instant Jesse's face clouded. "Do they need us?"
"No, no, I said that we'd be in for the rest of the day and she should call if she wanted us. I also offered to go with her, but Jo said no to that too. I called Mark while she was getting ready to leave, I don't think we can do anything else at the moment." Rae and Jesse had been walking hand in hand into the house as she told him what had happened, and they both, almost out of habit, ended up in the living room and Jesse sat on the sofa with Rae snuggled up in his arms. Eliana who Rae had been holding until Jesse had taken her from his wife at the door was now in her playpen and for a few minutes nobody said anything.
Finally Rae looked up at her husband, the movement causing her a little pain, but wanting to see his face. "Honey, are you all right? You were a long time at the hospital. What happened to George?"
"George; I had him admitted, and I have arranged for one of Lauren's colleagues to go see him in the morning. The man is suffering, well, you saw that, and I don't think that anything will be gained by having him taken to jail. He's been arrested, and has a guard on his door, but to be honest I don't think he has the energy to run anymore."
Rae sighed, and her voice when she spoke was low and sad. "Poor guy, I feel so for him. Does it sound bigoted to say that him losing his partner seems worse that a straight guy losing his love? Somehow I get the feeling there aren't so many of them out there to choose from, and it makes it even worse, what has happened to him."
"Yeah, I guess so, I can't say I had thought about it, if I lost you, Rae, I … I wouldn't be looking for a replacement, I would … well, I don't know what I would do." Jesse looked into her eyes, the dark brown reflected his face, and he could tell that he looked anxious.
"I'm sorry, I was just exploring my thoughts, and I can't tell you what to do if you lose me, I wouldn't presume, but I do know that I would want you to remember all the good times we've had, and not to dwell on the bad."
"Rae, I went to see Lauren, I hadn't planned to, but I went to arrange the appointment for George, and she was free."
"Honey, I'm glad you went to see her, but I must admit I would have made you change your pants if I'd known."
Jesse looked down to realise that he had the trousers on that he had worn when planning out some of the garden and there were grass stains on the knees. "Oh, well, it's too late now." He shrugged, and was surprised when Rae leant over and kissed him, gently, but with passion, on the lips.
"Hey, I can go get more grass, do it again." Jesse smiled and his eyes were gleaming and then Rae did do it again. "Mmm, ok, I have to ask, what brought that on?"
"You did. The friendly, happy-go-lucky Jesse that I fell in love with on a sun drenched beach. I love you, Jesse, and I miss the man that you were. I'm sorry that you had to change because of me." Now the big brown eyes only reflected her own sadness.
"No, Honey, we can't regret what we have become, we are stronger because of what's happened, and we will go forward and enjoy our life together. I would change all the pain and anguish you've had, but if changing it meant I wouldn't have you in my life, then I would leave everything just as it is." Jesse kissed the top of Rae's head, and he heard her sigh.
"Thank you, Jess, I feel the same." Rae paused for a moment, not wanting to spoil what they had, but need to ask him something. "Do you want to tell me what Lauren and you talked about or would you rather not?"
"I'll tell, I need to discuss it with you, but maybe first a cup of coffee, would you like something?"
"Mmm, a cold drink would be nice, thanks." Rae moved so that her husband could get up, and she shuffled along a bit so she could sit in Jesse's warm spot, and then, leaning into the corner of the sofa, she sat there and watched her daughter play.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Jo parked in the unfamiliar lot of Nightingale Hospital and walked, as fast as she could without losing her way, towards the main entrance. The nurse on the reception desk smiled as she walked towards her.
"Excuse me, but I'm lookin' for the ER. I got a call to say that I have a relative there." Jo managed to keep her voice calm when really all she wanted to do was be directed in double quick time to where Steve was.
"If you take the hallway to your right and keep walking you will be just where you need to be." The nurse, who was an incredibly bright and cheerful looking young woman pointed off in the direction that she was describing.
"Thank you, very much." Jo took off at an extremely brisk walk and as she passed a soft drinks machine she saw Cheryl sitting making notes on a pad and breathed a sigh of relief. The body language of Steve's partner for the day was relaxed and unworried, and Jo felt herself begin to calm down.
"Jo, come and sit down, the doctor said he would be out in a little while." Cheryl had looked up from her work when she had felt someone's eyes on her.
"An' he's alright, really alright? You said he had a concussion, was he knocked out? What happened? Will he be alright for Thursday…? Jo stopped talking as she felt Cheryl's hand on her arm.
"Just hold on a moment, and I'll try to answer, but sit down, this isn't Community General, I don't know how things work here." Cheryl looked up and was pleased to see Jo nod her head and sit in the vacant chair beside her friend. "Ok, first of all he was knocked out, and yes, he was unconscious. He was hit with a gun butt; at least I think that was what it was, held by a woman, which will take a bit of living down." Cheryl stopped pleased to see the smile on Jo's face.
"Oh my, an' don't tell me everybody will know when he gets back to the squad room?" Jo laughed to herself, she had felled a male colleague one afternoon when he had crept up on her and she had grabbed hold of him and thrown him over her shoulder. It had taken months for the comments and gestures to die down.
"There was some blood." Cheryl continued speaking, "but I can't see why he won't be fine by Thursday. That is, of course, if he still remembers who you are."
Jo turned, a look of horror on her face, to see Cheryl smiling at her. "Ooh, you rotten girl, you had me goin' there for a moment or two."
As Jo went to carry on speaking both women saw a doctor come out of the room that had Alpha written on it and Cheryl nodded her head in answer to Jo's silent question.
"Ladies, are you here with Lieutenant Sloan?"
"Yes, I'm his fiancée, how is he Doctor … Doctor Baker?"
"He will be fine, he has a nasty gash on the back of his head, and I understand from the medic that he did lose quite a bit of blood, but not enough, I don't think, for him to need a transfusion. He will have a bad headache for a few days, and shouldn't engage in any strenuous exercise, but you will probably find that sitting up is as strenuous as he wants to get. I will allow him home in your care, but you will need to keep a close eye on him."
"Oh, I will, don't worry about that. Did you tell him when he could return to work?" Jo knew that Steve would be asking her that almost as soon as they got home.
"Yes, he asked me that as soon as I finished my examination, and I told him a week at home, at the least. If the symptoms persist longer than twenty four hours, not only do I want him to come back and see me, but the week starts again."
Jo smiled, she had a feeling that had Jesse told Steve that, he would already be considering making his way back to the station to carry on working. "What about the gash on the head?"
"He has had three stitches in that, but they will be covered up by his hair. I understand that you are getting married next week. As long as he doesn't have to wear a top hat I don't think it will bother him."
"Thank you, Doctor Baker; can I take him home now?" Jo was amazed at just how relieved she felt.
"You may. I would make sure that you have some Tylenol in the house, and, although he may not like it, wake him up a few times from a deep sleep to make sure that he is alert and able to speak coherently. It is something that I insist all the parents of children who have had a bump on the head do, and I suggest that it is done for adults too." Doctor Baker held out a sheet of paper, and Jo could see that it said at the top So you have a concussion. She took it and giggled.
"Can I stick this on his pillow?"
"It might be a good idea; he won't like the idea of a week off work otherwise." Cheryl joined in the conversation and a voice floated towards them from the direction of Trauma Alpha.
"I can hear you all out there you know."
The sound of Steve's voice made Jo's eyes fill with tears, and looking in the direction of the doctor for permission, which she received in the form of a nod, she rushed towards the sound.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Jesse had spread all the literature he had on security systems on the coffee table in the living room, and slowly Rae was reading through them. First of all she had just dismissed the idea out of hand, saying that after spending time in jail she didn't want to be trapped in her own house, but Jesse had asked her to humour him, and at least look at the information he had gathered, and she had agreed.
"I will not have security cameras in my house, Jess. I wouldn't be able to do anything; I would feel like I was on show the whole time. No, I just can't agree to that." Rae had dropped the brochure from Camera Confidence onto the carpet and picked up the next brochure before Jesse even had a chance to speak.
"Rae, they wouldn't be looking at us, only if there was a problem. If we pressed an alarm, or a trigger, or if there was a fire, or a break in, then it would be activated, but only then." Jesse crouched down and picked the pamphlet back up. He was disappointed; he had been very impressed with the company and their product.
"This is better." Rae had a slightly more relaxed air about her as she began to read about a full perimeter system offered by Stuart Mitchell Security. "Although, if we had every door and window protected we wouldn't be able to open them ourselves, in case we set the alarm off."
"No, look," Jesse was suddenly full of enthusiasm and it could be heard in his voice. "See, you can have security screens put in a couple of the windows. They seem just like regular windows, but there is thin wire woven into to the screen mesh, which will protect the window."
"Couldn't we just have that done on all the windows?" Rae was just joking, but her husband's response shocked her.
"Oh, for God's sake, Rae, why can't you ever take anything I do to try to protect you seriously? I am trying my best here, I want to keep my family safe, but all you do is ridicule everything. I'm real sorry that I'm not Steve, that I can't walk into a room and make everybody feel that they shouldn't cross me. I don't hurt people, I save them, and right now I am trying to save you, but if you don't want saving then you go right ahead and just laugh at me!" Jesse had scattered all the pamphlets off the table as he spoke, and now he stalked out of the room, leaving a shocked and bewildered Rae behind him.
Eliana watched her daddy shout and then walk out of the room, she didn't know what had happened but she did know that she didn't like it, and so she began to cry, loudly.
Rae got up and moved over towards her, "Shhh, Baby, I'm sorry, Honey, I'll get you a drink, but I need to go see Daddy, ok?" Rae picked up the drink of juice that was on the coffee table and gave it to her daughter, and then, making sure that she was fine for a minute, she headed out of the door in search of Jesse.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Steve had sat, his head very carefully leaning back against the headrest of his seat, grateful for the presence of Jo beside him. He had tried to ignore the extremely ill feelings he was suffering and kept his eyes firmly shut. She had driven slowly and with great care, and the journey, which should have taken about forty five minutes, had taken them over an hour, but he was just so glad to be going home that he didn't say a word.
Before they left Cheryl had called through to the station from Nightingale hospital and spoken to the Captain. Steve had left a request for the following week off on the Captain's desk via e.mail, apologising for not handing it over personally but explaining where he was, Cheryl was now telling her commanding officer that he would actually be on medical leave for the entire time, and all she got was a grunt in reply.
Jo and Steve had sat, hand in hand, and listened to a very uncomfortable one sided conversation as Cheryl tried to explain how Sandra Breth had gotten away from them when it was apparent that she should by now be locked up, and the city a safer place. In the end with a shaky but wry smile Steve had leant carefully over and taken the cell phone out of her hand.
"Sir … Yes, Sir, I feel a little groggy, but I'll be fine … No, Sir, he has signed me off for seven days, but I'm sure I will be back …" Steve had paused as Jo shook her head vigorously and pointed to the third finger of her left hand. "Yes, Sir … No, I would be back at work on the Monday morning … I think she hit me with her gun and … well she had my keys and took my truck… No, Sir, I don't think it's something to be proud of either … Yes, Sir, thank you, Sir … Goodbye, Sir." Steve had severed the connection with a sigh, handed the phone back and closed his eyes for a moment.
"I guess he let you know just how he feels too, huh?" Cheryl had returned his earlier wry smile and shook her head. "He feels bad about the shooter, we all do, but we will get her Steve, you just won't be there… But, now." Cheryl had checked her watch, "My shift finished about an hour ago, and I have a wounded soldier of my own to go check on, but I'll keep in touch ok, and I'll see you Thursday." They had said their goodbyes, and then Cheryl had left Jo and Steve, who was sitting quietly, for once, in a hospital wheelchair, to be escorted to the parking lot by one of the Nightingale nurses. Some things, it appeared, were the same whatever hospital you were in.
The house was quiet when they drew in, and Jo parked as close to the front doors as she could. Then, leaving Steve in the car she unlocked them and left them open so that he could walk straight in. Calling out to Michael to let him know that she was home, Jo went back to the car and helped Steve out, thinking, correctly that he might be feeling a little light headed after sitting for so long.
Michael came out into the hallway as they entered the house and Jo and Steve stopped walking.
"Madam, what has happened? Lieutenant are you all right?"
"No, but I will be, I just got hit on the head is all, I am going to go lie down for a while, then I'll be fine." Steve couldn't see Jo shaking her head and rolling her eyes, but he caught a gleam in Michael's eye and knew that he was missing something. "What, what's going on?"
"Nothin' now I'll help you upstairs to bed, Michael could you park the car properly for me?"
"Of course, Madam, and I will bring the Lieutenant up a soothing herbal tea to help him relax." He was gone before Steve had a chance to reply, knowing that whether the young man wanted the drink or not, he would be far better off for having it.
Jo helped Steve up the stairs, and into the main bedroom, and he sank gratefully onto the bed. "Ooh, I'm sure there were more stairs than usual today." Steve stopped speaking as he felt Jo begin to undo the buttons on his shirt. Once she had slipped it off his shoulders and kissed him gently on the chest he stood up, a little shakily and removed his pants. Jo folded back the covers and he slid into bed, suddenly realising just how much he needed to be home, with Jo, safe and warm and loved.