Chapter 36 - Reunited; almost
AN: I still don't have any electricity, so I have nothing better to do with my time at home then write till my laptop battery gives. So you all get another update. Yahoo for you guys, sucks for me. Have to come steal the internet and power to charge up my battery. But anyway enjoy, review.
Vince woke up the next day to the angry ranting of a nurse. He guessed he'd fallen asleep too and had spent the night at the hospital. He hadn't intended to do that, but he had to admit he hadn't slept so well since they released him.
"What are you doing here? You're not supposed to stay here like this." The woman bustled around as she ranted. Vince checked his watch. It was only 8am.
"Yeah, well, it's a bit late to worry about it now isn't it?" He growled sarcastically. He couldn't wait to take his girl home so that when they wanted to sleep, they could sleep. No one waking them up, or yelling, or ranting about who was and wasn't supposed to be there.
"Well, what are you doing here? Visiting hours don't start till 10 am." The nurse fussed around the bed as Vince detangled himself from Nyssa and sat up and stretched. And realized that he'd somehow removed his tank top over night and the nurse had shut up. He didn't know if it was because she liked what she saw or she was scared of his tattoos and the angry red wounds on his arm. He was lucky that somehow his dragon hadn't been hurt in the accident.
"I didn't just get here, I never left." Vince said, in a tone of voice like he was speaking to a child.
"I can see that, but you don't belong here." The nurse went to call a doctor. She didn't know what to do, she'd never had someone stay over with a patient before. Vince had an idea what she was doing but he didn't much care. His girl was supposed to come home today.
He'd dressed himself and moved off the bed into a chair when the nurse returned with the same kindly doctor that had told him to take care of Nyssa at the first of the week.
"I hear you paid us an extra long visit last evening young man." The doctor stated. Vince actually liked the doctor and looked up sheepishly.
"Yeah, I didn't mean to but it kinda worked out that way. I haven't been sleepin' too good since I got out. I stayed with her for awhile and I fell asleep. She hates it here, she gets scared." Vince added, trying to defend himself.
"Wel, when she wakes up we'll check her over, but she should be able to go home with your family today. However she'll be confined to her room for the next week or more."
"I'll make sure she doesn't get up." Vince said with a smile down at Nyssa. Vince realized the team didn't know where he was or that Nyssa was finally awake. "Excuse me." He said to the doctor and went to use his cell phone outside the hospital.
He was about to hang up after the phone rang for the 6th time when Dom answered. "What?" Was Dom's opening line.
"Good morning to you too Brotha." Vince chuckled at Dom's typical morning attitude.
"Where the hell have you been Vince?" Dom and the team hadn't been able to figure out where Vince had gone, his cell had been turned off and there hadn't been a sign of him all night.
"I, um, well, I was visiting Jesse and Nyssa, then I fell asleep in Nyssa's room." Dom could hear the embarrassment in his voice.
"Why'd you do that for?" Dom didn't know why Vince would want to sleep in the same room as his unconscious girlfriend.
"I forgot to call and tell you guys that Nyssa woke up yesterday. She was really upset they wouldn't let her out of the hospital as soon as she woke up and she threatened to run home if they didn't. The doctor and I convinced her to stay but I didn't entirely trust her not to turn around and try to sneak home. So I stuck around to keep her company. Plus, she's been out of it for almost a week and I missed her." "So they're gonna let her come home today?" If that was the case, Dom's mood just got a hell of a lot better. That would lift the spirits of Mia and Letty considerably.
"If the doctor doesn't foresee any complications, then yeah, she can come home today." Vince answered and Dom could hear the smile in the other man's voice.
"That's great. I'll go wake up the team, tell them you're still alive, and then we'll head down. Whether Nyssa comes home today or not the girls are gonna want to see her right away. Prepare her for a very enthusiastic visit from Mia n'Letty." Dom laughed, for the first time in days things were looking up. Only Jesse left in the hospital now. And if the boy had held on this long, Dom was fairly sure that he was going to be fine.
"I'll do that. The whole team'll be home soon Dom."
"I sure hope so." They shared a silent moment thinking of poor Jesse then hung up. Vince went back into the hospital and back into Nyssa's room.
"Well, what's the verdict?" He asked the doctor, who was still in the room, and included Nyssa with a glance.
"I have some reservations about releasing her. However, if you can honestly say you can keep her quiet, and in bed for the next week. And make sure she eats, real meals, not junk, then I'll still let her go. On one further condition."
"What's that" Vince asked, puzzled.
"I need you to prove she's over 18, or I need to speak to her father." The doctor had, for some reason he couldn't explain, had a thought that the girl might be a minor.
"She's almost 20, her only parent is in jail. I'm pretty well all she's got. But her driver's licence is in my car. Will that do?" Vince couldn't believe the doctor thought he'd be with a girl who wasn't of age. They knew he was 24, they thought he'd get with a 17 year old.
The doctor saw how upset the younger man was and figured the girl must be of age. "Never mind, I'm sure she's the age you say she is. What's your dad's name?" The doctor asked Nyssa. The girl looked familiar, but he didn't know exactly why.
"Mark Williams." Nyssa answered. The doctor looked puzzled.
"Do you have an older brother?" He asked.
"I did. He died. He was a cop and he was shot in the line of duty."
"His name was Danny, wasn't it?" The doctor asked.
"Yeah, how'd you know that?" Nyssa asked, puzzled.
"I treated him once when he was shot." The doctor smiled. "He was a fabulous young man and a horrible patient." He smiled a fond smile at the memory.
"I remember you now. You're the doctor that let me take him home, when he panicked in the hospital. You were very good to us." Nyssa smiled. This guy was the real deal. He'd checked up on Danny at their apartment for the two weeks following the day he'd let Danny out.
"I am. I thought you looked familiar but with all the black and blue on you it was hard to tell. I'm so sorry to hear that your brother was killed like that. The world and the force lost something special that day." The doctor remembered her brother well. He had been one of those men who never got corrupted, never hit their wives, raised their kids to know right from wrong, and volunteered to coach little league and work in youth centers. The doctor had no idea how the quiet, innocent, shy young lady he remembered Nyssa to be from all those years ago had ended up this confident, mouthy young lady he saw now. Or how she'd ended up with the crowd she was with. The Torreto's were the opposite of her brother. But it was clear the young man loved the girl very much. And anyone that found that kind of love was lucky indeed.
"Thanks Doc. It was over a year now that he was killed. So do I get to go home?" Nyssa changed the subject slightly and asked hopefully.
"You can go home today, yes, but release time isn't till 2pm." He smiled. "If you need anything before then just ring." With that he left the room.
"Nyssa?" Vince started. He had to tell her the girls were coming, and he had to tell her about Jesse.
"Yeah, baby."
"The team is on the way to see you. I forgot to call them and tell them you were ok yesterday, and the girls can hardly wait to see you."
"That's great. I can't wait to see all of them." Her face clouded over. "What happened to Jesse?"
"How do you know anything happened to him?" Vince would never understand how she did that, knew stuff she shouldn't know.
"I just do, plus he'd never gotten back by the time we took off."
"Well, it's a long story."
"It seems I have time." "Mia'd tell it better. She was there."
"I'll have her fill me in when she gets here if I wanna know something you can't answer." She stared at Vince. Vince sighed and sat down on her bed.
"Ok. Here goes. Jesse went home to the house. Dom was just getting ready to go find him. Brian pulled up and blocked Dom in and tried to stop him from doing anything that would end badly. Brian explained what he and you had started in motion. While they fought about if Dom was going anywhere or not Jesse pulled up and got out of his car. The Trans drove by on those god damn crotch rockets and shot the place up. They shot Jesse three times. Brian and Dom took off after Lance and Johnny and Mia tried her best to save Jess. Brian killed Johnny, Dom ran Lance off the road, and Lance might not ever walk again. Mia got Jesse to an ambulance and the hospital. Dom and Brian raced, and tied. Then Dom hit a transfer truck, rolled the Charger, wrecked it, hurt his shoulder. Jesse's still in a coma."
"He's not dead, is he? You're not just telling me coma so I don't panic are you?" She didn't sense that Jesse was dead, but she could be off from all her trauma.
"No, he's not dead. But he doesn't show any signs of waking up, and they don't know if he ever will." Vince didn't want to sugar coat it. Nyssa smiled softly.
"Mia had to be there. Mia got him to the hospital. He's going to be fine cause Mia was there. She had to be there to save Jesse." She smiled bigger. She'd been right. Mia had to be at the house when Jesse came back because Mia knew how hospitals and medical stuff worked. She knew what to do while she waited for the ambulance.
"Why the big grin?"
"Because this all fits. I had a feeling Mia had to go home for Jesse. I just had a feeling if Mia was there that Jesse would be fine. Mia was there, Mia got him here, he's still alive. I don't know when he'll wake up, but he will. It's gonna be fine."
"I hope so. You're right most of the time. So where's this girl you predicted for poor Leon huh?" Vince laughed.
"You joke now, but she's in his future, and wait till you meet her. Who told you 'bout that anyway?" Nyssa laughed back.
"Letty told me, I'll have to wait and see I guess." Just then the door was thrown open and the remainder of the team rushed in. Nyssa was smothered by a laughing Letty, a crying Mia, a somewhat more relaxed then the last time she saw him Brian, a subdued Leon, and, surprise, surprise, a seemingly happy Dom. They were all together again, but for Jesse. And that was going to work out, Nyssa was sure of it. They all talked and caught up till it was almost 2pm.
AN: I still don't have any electricity, so I have nothing better to do with my time at home then write till my laptop battery gives. So you all get another update. Yahoo for you guys, sucks for me. Have to come steal the internet and power to charge up my battery. But anyway enjoy, review.
Vince woke up the next day to the angry ranting of a nurse. He guessed he'd fallen asleep too and had spent the night at the hospital. He hadn't intended to do that, but he had to admit he hadn't slept so well since they released him.
"What are you doing here? You're not supposed to stay here like this." The woman bustled around as she ranted. Vince checked his watch. It was only 8am.
"Yeah, well, it's a bit late to worry about it now isn't it?" He growled sarcastically. He couldn't wait to take his girl home so that when they wanted to sleep, they could sleep. No one waking them up, or yelling, or ranting about who was and wasn't supposed to be there.
"Well, what are you doing here? Visiting hours don't start till 10 am." The nurse fussed around the bed as Vince detangled himself from Nyssa and sat up and stretched. And realized that he'd somehow removed his tank top over night and the nurse had shut up. He didn't know if it was because she liked what she saw or she was scared of his tattoos and the angry red wounds on his arm. He was lucky that somehow his dragon hadn't been hurt in the accident.
"I didn't just get here, I never left." Vince said, in a tone of voice like he was speaking to a child.
"I can see that, but you don't belong here." The nurse went to call a doctor. She didn't know what to do, she'd never had someone stay over with a patient before. Vince had an idea what she was doing but he didn't much care. His girl was supposed to come home today.
He'd dressed himself and moved off the bed into a chair when the nurse returned with the same kindly doctor that had told him to take care of Nyssa at the first of the week.
"I hear you paid us an extra long visit last evening young man." The doctor stated. Vince actually liked the doctor and looked up sheepishly.
"Yeah, I didn't mean to but it kinda worked out that way. I haven't been sleepin' too good since I got out. I stayed with her for awhile and I fell asleep. She hates it here, she gets scared." Vince added, trying to defend himself.
"Wel, when she wakes up we'll check her over, but she should be able to go home with your family today. However she'll be confined to her room for the next week or more."
"I'll make sure she doesn't get up." Vince said with a smile down at Nyssa. Vince realized the team didn't know where he was or that Nyssa was finally awake. "Excuse me." He said to the doctor and went to use his cell phone outside the hospital.
He was about to hang up after the phone rang for the 6th time when Dom answered. "What?" Was Dom's opening line.
"Good morning to you too Brotha." Vince chuckled at Dom's typical morning attitude.
"Where the hell have you been Vince?" Dom and the team hadn't been able to figure out where Vince had gone, his cell had been turned off and there hadn't been a sign of him all night.
"I, um, well, I was visiting Jesse and Nyssa, then I fell asleep in Nyssa's room." Dom could hear the embarrassment in his voice.
"Why'd you do that for?" Dom didn't know why Vince would want to sleep in the same room as his unconscious girlfriend.
"I forgot to call and tell you guys that Nyssa woke up yesterday. She was really upset they wouldn't let her out of the hospital as soon as she woke up and she threatened to run home if they didn't. The doctor and I convinced her to stay but I didn't entirely trust her not to turn around and try to sneak home. So I stuck around to keep her company. Plus, she's been out of it for almost a week and I missed her." "So they're gonna let her come home today?" If that was the case, Dom's mood just got a hell of a lot better. That would lift the spirits of Mia and Letty considerably.
"If the doctor doesn't foresee any complications, then yeah, she can come home today." Vince answered and Dom could hear the smile in the other man's voice.
"That's great. I'll go wake up the team, tell them you're still alive, and then we'll head down. Whether Nyssa comes home today or not the girls are gonna want to see her right away. Prepare her for a very enthusiastic visit from Mia n'Letty." Dom laughed, for the first time in days things were looking up. Only Jesse left in the hospital now. And if the boy had held on this long, Dom was fairly sure that he was going to be fine.
"I'll do that. The whole team'll be home soon Dom."
"I sure hope so." They shared a silent moment thinking of poor Jesse then hung up. Vince went back into the hospital and back into Nyssa's room.
"Well, what's the verdict?" He asked the doctor, who was still in the room, and included Nyssa with a glance.
"I have some reservations about releasing her. However, if you can honestly say you can keep her quiet, and in bed for the next week. And make sure she eats, real meals, not junk, then I'll still let her go. On one further condition."
"What's that" Vince asked, puzzled.
"I need you to prove she's over 18, or I need to speak to her father." The doctor had, for some reason he couldn't explain, had a thought that the girl might be a minor.
"She's almost 20, her only parent is in jail. I'm pretty well all she's got. But her driver's licence is in my car. Will that do?" Vince couldn't believe the doctor thought he'd be with a girl who wasn't of age. They knew he was 24, they thought he'd get with a 17 year old.
The doctor saw how upset the younger man was and figured the girl must be of age. "Never mind, I'm sure she's the age you say she is. What's your dad's name?" The doctor asked Nyssa. The girl looked familiar, but he didn't know exactly why.
"Mark Williams." Nyssa answered. The doctor looked puzzled.
"Do you have an older brother?" He asked.
"I did. He died. He was a cop and he was shot in the line of duty."
"His name was Danny, wasn't it?" The doctor asked.
"Yeah, how'd you know that?" Nyssa asked, puzzled.
"I treated him once when he was shot." The doctor smiled. "He was a fabulous young man and a horrible patient." He smiled a fond smile at the memory.
"I remember you now. You're the doctor that let me take him home, when he panicked in the hospital. You were very good to us." Nyssa smiled. This guy was the real deal. He'd checked up on Danny at their apartment for the two weeks following the day he'd let Danny out.
"I am. I thought you looked familiar but with all the black and blue on you it was hard to tell. I'm so sorry to hear that your brother was killed like that. The world and the force lost something special that day." The doctor remembered her brother well. He had been one of those men who never got corrupted, never hit their wives, raised their kids to know right from wrong, and volunteered to coach little league and work in youth centers. The doctor had no idea how the quiet, innocent, shy young lady he remembered Nyssa to be from all those years ago had ended up this confident, mouthy young lady he saw now. Or how she'd ended up with the crowd she was with. The Torreto's were the opposite of her brother. But it was clear the young man loved the girl very much. And anyone that found that kind of love was lucky indeed.
"Thanks Doc. It was over a year now that he was killed. So do I get to go home?" Nyssa changed the subject slightly and asked hopefully.
"You can go home today, yes, but release time isn't till 2pm." He smiled. "If you need anything before then just ring." With that he left the room.
"Nyssa?" Vince started. He had to tell her the girls were coming, and he had to tell her about Jesse.
"Yeah, baby."
"The team is on the way to see you. I forgot to call them and tell them you were ok yesterday, and the girls can hardly wait to see you."
"That's great. I can't wait to see all of them." Her face clouded over. "What happened to Jesse?"
"How do you know anything happened to him?" Vince would never understand how she did that, knew stuff she shouldn't know.
"I just do, plus he'd never gotten back by the time we took off."
"Well, it's a long story."
"It seems I have time." "Mia'd tell it better. She was there."
"I'll have her fill me in when she gets here if I wanna know something you can't answer." She stared at Vince. Vince sighed and sat down on her bed.
"Ok. Here goes. Jesse went home to the house. Dom was just getting ready to go find him. Brian pulled up and blocked Dom in and tried to stop him from doing anything that would end badly. Brian explained what he and you had started in motion. While they fought about if Dom was going anywhere or not Jesse pulled up and got out of his car. The Trans drove by on those god damn crotch rockets and shot the place up. They shot Jesse three times. Brian and Dom took off after Lance and Johnny and Mia tried her best to save Jess. Brian killed Johnny, Dom ran Lance off the road, and Lance might not ever walk again. Mia got Jesse to an ambulance and the hospital. Dom and Brian raced, and tied. Then Dom hit a transfer truck, rolled the Charger, wrecked it, hurt his shoulder. Jesse's still in a coma."
"He's not dead, is he? You're not just telling me coma so I don't panic are you?" She didn't sense that Jesse was dead, but she could be off from all her trauma.
"No, he's not dead. But he doesn't show any signs of waking up, and they don't know if he ever will." Vince didn't want to sugar coat it. Nyssa smiled softly.
"Mia had to be there. Mia got him to the hospital. He's going to be fine cause Mia was there. She had to be there to save Jesse." She smiled bigger. She'd been right. Mia had to be at the house when Jesse came back because Mia knew how hospitals and medical stuff worked. She knew what to do while she waited for the ambulance.
"Why the big grin?"
"Because this all fits. I had a feeling Mia had to go home for Jesse. I just had a feeling if Mia was there that Jesse would be fine. Mia was there, Mia got him here, he's still alive. I don't know when he'll wake up, but he will. It's gonna be fine."
"I hope so. You're right most of the time. So where's this girl you predicted for poor Leon huh?" Vince laughed.
"You joke now, but she's in his future, and wait till you meet her. Who told you 'bout that anyway?" Nyssa laughed back.
"Letty told me, I'll have to wait and see I guess." Just then the door was thrown open and the remainder of the team rushed in. Nyssa was smothered by a laughing Letty, a crying Mia, a somewhat more relaxed then the last time she saw him Brian, a subdued Leon, and, surprise, surprise, a seemingly happy Dom. They were all together again, but for Jesse. And that was going to work out, Nyssa was sure of it. They all talked and caught up till it was almost 2pm.