Part 20
Steve opened his eyes slowly, confused and disoriented. He took a couple of seconds to realize he was in a hospital bed and as his eyes came into focus he recognized the familiar figure of his father leaning over him. The remembered pain and difficulty in breathing didn't return and he sighed softly as Mark stroked his forehead gently.
"Steve, son, it's okay, you're going to be okay," Mark spoke softly but with conviction. For the first time since the nightmare began, he really believed it would be. Although his condition was still serious, Steve's temperature had dropped.
Steve managed to smile at his father, but he was still very sleepy and he closed his eyes. It seemed much less effort to doze off. He was feeling more comfortable and his father was there. There didn't seem any point in fighting the tiredness.
Amanda, who had just left the room for a couple of minutes to call Jesse, returned. She was taken by surprise when Mark pulled her into a hug, but she returned it willingly.
"He's better, Amanda, he really is." Mark fought back his emotion. Amanda grinned widely before turning her attention to Steve. There was no doubt he was improving.
"Thanks for your help, Amanda, I feel a lot better after lying down." Mark grinned. Amanda smiled back although she knew why Mark was feeling better – because Steve was finally getting better.
Mark turned back to look at the sleeping form of his son and sat back on the chair. Although he knew Steve would recover, he couldn't bring himself to leave yet. His emotions had taken a real battering over this and he really wanted to talk to his son.
"Dad? Did they get away?" Steve's whispered words startled Mark. "Did they rob us?"
Mark stood up and leaned over his son who seemed to be struggling. "Steve, relax, son. They didn't get away although it wouldn't matter to me if they did." Knowing he should wait until Steve was stronger, Mark couldn't help the words. The thought Steve was worried about their belongings was too much. "Nothing matters more to me than you, Steve, you have to know that."
"They got away?" Steve couldn't really focus on what his father was saying. He seemed to be trying to comfort him and he took this to mean the robbers had escaped. "I'm sorry, so sorry…." Steve drifted off again, leaving his father shaken and upset.
Mark looked at Amanda who had listened to the brief exchange in surprise.
"He thinks I'm worried about being robbed!" Mark was aghast and he didn't bother to try to hide it. "How can he think that? Doesn't he know how important he is to me? I'd rather lose every possession I have than see him hurt. Why doesn't he know that?" Mark was very upset at what he perceived as a communication breakdown.
"Mark, I'm sure Steve didn't mean anything by what he said. He's still very sick and confused. Plus he's a cop, so he's bound to feel bad about being robbed. You don't need to worry about him not knowing how you feel about him."
But the strain and the emotional roller coaster Mark had been on had caused him to lose his normally rational train of thought. He was still grappling with the fact Steve had tackled the robbers when he was in a weakened state. He turned away from Amanda and walked to the hospital window and stared out. Amanda watched him helplessly, unsure as to why he was thinking what he was thinking or why. She hated Steve being hurt, but she also knew he was a cop and he had done what was basically his job. With a flash of clarity, she wondered if this was what was behind Mark's attitude—his dislike of his son's choice of career. In any case, she wasn't sure how best to help him. She turned in gratitude at the sound of Jesse's voice, even though she'd hoped he would rest more.
"Thanks for the call, Amanda. It's great news, how is he doing?" Jesse, although tired still, was very cheerful at the good news Amanda had given him. But despite this, he still picked up on the strange atmosphere. Mark had remained staring out of the window and had made no attempt to greet him. It was most unusual. He looked at Amanda who shrugged. There was definitely something going on with Mark but she wasn't sure how to explain it.
"I thought you were going to rest, Jess. You need to catch up on sleep," Amanda spoke sternly.
Jesse ignored her comment and spoke to Mark's back, after casting a quick look at Steve and checking that his vitals had remained promising.
"Mark, what is it? What's wrong?"