So, here's Chapter 8 for all of you that have been patiently waiting (and some, not so patiently waiting!). Thank you so much for all of your reviews. I've said it before and I'll say it again, reviews make all the difference in the world for a writer.
Again, Sarah, you know you're my hero ;) Thanks for all of your hard work.
So, enjoy and let me know what you think.
Thanks guys,
JOEY
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
-The Hours After-
Chapter 8
"Okay, that's it, everybody out!"
Doogie's angry, but I can't say that I disagree with him. I wish my audience would dissipate. Their pitiful stares are taunting me.
"I'm not leaving my wife!"
"Yes, you are. You can come back later during proper visiting hours. As of right now though, I want EVERYBODY out!"
He peaks around the curtain at Faith, "And for Christ's sake, take the cuffs off of her, she's not going anywhere."
"I'm afraid we can't do that," the one FBI agent is ready to raise his 'I am God' badge.
"You can, and you will. You can have a guard standing outside the door for all I care, but I will not have one of my patients in cuffs."
The agent lowers his badge and shrugs in reluctant agreement, "Fine. Greg," he says while turning to face his equally arrogant partner, "have an officer guard Mrs. Yokas until she's ready to change rooms, then we'll come back and question her some more."
I hear the soft clink of the cuffs being removed as the younger agent whips out his cell and begins to leave the room.
"No cell phones in the hospital. There's a pay phone down the hall."
Wow, Doogie's really laying down the law. Power to the little guy. In a weird way, I kind of admire him for it. The agent slowly closes his cell phone without removing his gaze from the floor.
The FBI stooges leave, looking a little defeated after being put in their place by a minor.
I'm suddenly aware of how tired I've become. I feel like I could sleep for an eternity.
The crowd is thinning and Davis completes the mass exit when he spins Fred around to march him out of the room. I notice he has removed the cuffs. Damn, Davis, you're such a pushover. Have the guy spend the night in Rykers. He's no help to Faith anyway.
Just a couple of nurses and Dr. Grander remain hovering around me.
"Excuse me?"
Faith's voice - she's so close. I wish they'd just let me see her. I just want a quick look, but apparently that's too much to ask.
The young doc responds by walking over to her side of our shared curtain.
"Yes, Mrs. Yokas?"
"Is he... Is he going to be okay?" I can tell, through experience, that she's close to tears.
"Who? Officer Boscorelli?"
"Uh huh"
"We don't know...yet."
Don't worry about me, Faith. I want to call out to you - tell you I'm fine. Bruised, but not beaten. But I can't. I wonder if we'll ever speak to each other again. I hate not being able to talk to her. Even before this catastrophe, we hadn't really spoken in a long time. Too long. That's something, more than anything else, that I would like to change.
I'm drifting off again. This time, I can't stop it. My body is completely out of my control. The pain is ceasing as I drift into unconsciousness. It's such a welcomed relief that I won't even try to fight it this time. For the first time since I've been here, I just want to sleep.
*************
"Bos?"
Faith? If this is some sick joke my brain has decided to play on me, I'm going to be really pissed off.
"Bos? Can you hear me?"
No, don't cry. Why are you crying? Why do you even care about me?
I have to open my eyes. I wonder if she's waiting for a response. How much did that nurse tell her? Does she know I am incapable of speech right now?
I focus all my attention on opening my heavy eyelids. They feel as though they each weigh a thousand pounds. My efforts are futile and I'm crossed by hopelessness, something that's been happening far too frequently these days. I know I can't be defeated this easily, but it's far more challenging than trying to wake up after a long night at the bar.
To my delight, I see a ray of light filter through my fluttering lids.
"Bos?!"
My eyes finally open, but I find my focus is waning. I blink several times, attempting to clear the haze and regulate my vision.
The room slowly comes into focus. No one is at the door, and there doesn't appear to be any nurses or doctors working on me - what a rarity. I wonder how long I have been asleep. There appear to be no physical differences, though I'm not experiencing the excruciating pain that I was earlier. My head continues to throb with every heartbeat, but I have become accustomed to that. Everything else is tingly with numbness. They must have me on a new round of painkillers, which would explain why I'm so tired.
Something out of the corner of my eye grabs my attention. I turn my gaze towards the curtain and am shocked to see that it's pulled back, revealing the whole other side of the room I have yet to view.
"Bos?"
I slowly lift my gaze and am met by Faith's concerned eyes. I don't even know what to think. I've seen her nearly everyday for almost ten years, but never has it been this anticipated.
She looks tired and pale, but strong enough. I guess I feared the worst. Though I knew she was awake earlier, I find it hard to believe anything until I see it with my own eyes. I should really work on my trust issues. Then again, I trusted Cruz and look where that got me… in the ICU with my so-called partner. Maybe I should first work on my decision making skills before I tackle the trust issue.
"Bosco?"
I don't know what she wants me to do exactly. Maybe she expects me to sit up, pull the tube out and carry on a conversation with her, but that's not about to happen. I attempt a nod, but it's so subtle I doubt she'll catch it.
"Bos," she's looking into my eyes and she actually looks terrified. "I know I didn't do this, Bos. I wouldn't. I would never try to hurt you like that. You know that."
She really doesn't remember. She thinks she did something to hurt me?! That's a stretch. Her words bring on the sensation of overwhelming guilt that tears at my heart. I'm going straight to hell. Somehow my partner gets shot trying to help me, loses all recollection of the event, and now they've got her convinced that she was trying to hurt ME.
I look straight into her eyes. I've never seen her look so unsure of herself. If she knew or remembered the truth, she'd be rushing over cut off my oxygen supply.
"Bosco, you're going to be fine. You're going to make it through this."
She must have mistaken my solemn look for concern over my own status. Faith, I don't give shit about myself. I would die right now if it weren't for you. Now, I've got to fix this. I've got to live in order to save you from me. Ironic, isn't it?
Her face becomes blurry, and I blink a few times to get a clearer view. It only helps minimally. She looks… ashamed. Oh God, I can't watch this. I close my eyes to avoid her piteous stare as well as to relieve the relentless throbbing in my head.
"I'm sorry, did you want this closed?"
My eyes shoot open to see a nurse holding the curtain in one hand while addressing Faith.
"No. If it's okay, I'd like to keep it open."
"Sure, no problem. There are still no other beds available in recovery, so we're just going to keep you here until something opens up."
"Thank-you."
"How are you feeling? Are you comfortable? Do you need something to help you sleep?"
"No. I'm fine, thanks. Could you check on him though? I think he's in pain."
Oh, Faith. If you only knew the truth, you'd be trying to inflict as much pain on me as possible.
Now that I've seen her, and know that she's okay, I actually want that curtain closed again. At least then she'd stop worrying about me so much and I wouldn't have to see her torture herself over something she didn't do.
I want to kill that bitch, Cruz. As if she hadn't screwed me over enough, she goes and attacks Faith, then pulls that innocent pouty crap to turn all suspicious eyes away from her. Who knew the devil is a five foot three, 110 pound female?
"He's due for another round in a few minutes. I'll have a doctor come check on him first though."
"Oh, okay. How's he doing?"
"I don't think a lot has changed, but that's for the doctors to decide. Do you know him?"
Unfortunately for her, yes.
"Yeah, he's a friend of mine."
A friend? I mean, I always assumed we were friends by default, but I've never heard her refer to me as anything but her partner… or on a bad day, her kid.
Again, I pry my eyes open to meet hers. She looks like she's seconds away from bursting into tears. That look - it stabs me like a knife. I have to get this God-damned tube out of my freakin' throat, be capable of speech for two minutes, set the record straight, then face whatever consequences are coming my way. Even death… I just don't care enough about my life anymore to worry about dying.
"Maurice?"
I thought they said no visitors? I'm having a hard enough time dealing with Faith and my perma-migraine right now, to have to face my mother.
"Rose."
"Hi, Faith… Is he," she cautiously points a finger towards me, her voice barely above a whisper. "How is he?"
"I… I don't know."
Oh no, they're both crying. I really can't deal with this right now. In the last few frenzied hours of torture, I had totally forgotten my mother. She would kill me herself if she knew that.
I feel Ma's hand gently wrap around mine. I must be cold because her hands feel hot against my skin. It sends a shiver up my spine, causing me to shudder. I'm suddenly aware that I'm absolutely freezing. Why don't they pump up the heat a little in here?
"Maurice, honey. It's your mother."
Yeah, Ma, I saw you come in. I just can't stand to watch you cry over me. Instead of opening my weary eyes, I try to squeeze her hand. That should reassure her enough.
"Excuse me, visiting hours are over."
Dr. Grander must have followed her in. After Fred's little outburst, I can see why he'd be suspicious of anyone wandering into the room. Fortunately, he doesn't sound as aggravated as he did earlier.
"I know. I'm sorry, I'm his mother. I just wanted to see him."
"That's fine, but he's had a few unpleasant visitors already - I'm just trying to keep tabs. You can stay for a few minutes while I check him over, but then I'm going to have to ask that you wait outside."
I open my eyes enough to see Dr. Grander and the other nurse start their analyzing.
"His temperature hasn't changed. Do you still want to leave the cooling blanket on him?"
That would explain why I feel like I'm in the Antarctic.
"Yeah, leave it on. We'll adjust his fluids to try and bring that down. I have a feeling it's the infection in his throat that's causing the problem more than the virus itself. With his weakened immune system, I don't know if his throat will even begin to heal until he's extubated, which leaves us with very few options." He pauses while devising his plan.
"Just check to make sure his O2 levels are good, and if necessary we'll make further adjustments in his treatment for the next round. I want to give everything we've done a chance to work before we go changing it all."
Through the door, I catch a glimpse of the guard that's been assigned to Faith. Just the thought of it makes me feel sick. That, in addition to my headache, causes me to wince, contracting my muscles in pain. I'm so cold - I can feel my entire body shivering in one last, desperate attempt to retain warmth.
"Hold on, Officer, we'll get you something for the pain in a second."
"Please, give it to him now. I can't stand to see him like this."
Then leave, Ma. Please, just leave. I'm over-dosed on pity. I don't even want to feel sorry for myself, let alone have others feel it for me.
She kisses my ice-cold hand and runs her fingers across my forehead.
"He's warm."
"Yes, well, he's running a fever. We're doing our best to get it down and stabilize him."
Oh Ma, some things never change.
"They're doing everything they can, Rose."
I feel my IV move and am instantly warmed by the sensation of the painkillers being infused. The injection takes immediate action, permeating my cells, and I begin to experience that familiar floating feeling.
The two women that care about me most are beside me when I need them most - but I don't want them near me. I really have to work on those issues of mine, because I'm pretty sure that's not normal.
I hear them both sniffle, and strangely I feel semi-comfortable. One of Ma's tears drops on my hand and she quickly moves to wipe it away.
It could be worse. At least Fred's not trying to kill me. I've seen Faith, and my mother cares about me enough to visit. At least they're with me right now…
A shrill noise triggers the agonizingly sharp lightning to shoot through my skull, causing me to cringe in anguish.
"Officer Boscorelli!"
I can feel the Doc's knuckles digging into my chest, searching for any form of reaction from my limp corpse.
"NO! Maurice!"
"He's crashing! Ma'am, you're going to have to back up. I need some help in here!"
I'm sorry Faith…
TBC. Review and you will receive!
Again, Sarah, you know you're my hero ;) Thanks for all of your hard work.
So, enjoy and let me know what you think.
Thanks guys,
JOEY
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
-The Hours After-
Chapter 8
"Okay, that's it, everybody out!"
Doogie's angry, but I can't say that I disagree with him. I wish my audience would dissipate. Their pitiful stares are taunting me.
"I'm not leaving my wife!"
"Yes, you are. You can come back later during proper visiting hours. As of right now though, I want EVERYBODY out!"
He peaks around the curtain at Faith, "And for Christ's sake, take the cuffs off of her, she's not going anywhere."
"I'm afraid we can't do that," the one FBI agent is ready to raise his 'I am God' badge.
"You can, and you will. You can have a guard standing outside the door for all I care, but I will not have one of my patients in cuffs."
The agent lowers his badge and shrugs in reluctant agreement, "Fine. Greg," he says while turning to face his equally arrogant partner, "have an officer guard Mrs. Yokas until she's ready to change rooms, then we'll come back and question her some more."
I hear the soft clink of the cuffs being removed as the younger agent whips out his cell and begins to leave the room.
"No cell phones in the hospital. There's a pay phone down the hall."
Wow, Doogie's really laying down the law. Power to the little guy. In a weird way, I kind of admire him for it. The agent slowly closes his cell phone without removing his gaze from the floor.
The FBI stooges leave, looking a little defeated after being put in their place by a minor.
I'm suddenly aware of how tired I've become. I feel like I could sleep for an eternity.
The crowd is thinning and Davis completes the mass exit when he spins Fred around to march him out of the room. I notice he has removed the cuffs. Damn, Davis, you're such a pushover. Have the guy spend the night in Rykers. He's no help to Faith anyway.
Just a couple of nurses and Dr. Grander remain hovering around me.
"Excuse me?"
Faith's voice - she's so close. I wish they'd just let me see her. I just want a quick look, but apparently that's too much to ask.
The young doc responds by walking over to her side of our shared curtain.
"Yes, Mrs. Yokas?"
"Is he... Is he going to be okay?" I can tell, through experience, that she's close to tears.
"Who? Officer Boscorelli?"
"Uh huh"
"We don't know...yet."
Don't worry about me, Faith. I want to call out to you - tell you I'm fine. Bruised, but not beaten. But I can't. I wonder if we'll ever speak to each other again. I hate not being able to talk to her. Even before this catastrophe, we hadn't really spoken in a long time. Too long. That's something, more than anything else, that I would like to change.
I'm drifting off again. This time, I can't stop it. My body is completely out of my control. The pain is ceasing as I drift into unconsciousness. It's such a welcomed relief that I won't even try to fight it this time. For the first time since I've been here, I just want to sleep.
*************
"Bos?"
Faith? If this is some sick joke my brain has decided to play on me, I'm going to be really pissed off.
"Bos? Can you hear me?"
No, don't cry. Why are you crying? Why do you even care about me?
I have to open my eyes. I wonder if she's waiting for a response. How much did that nurse tell her? Does she know I am incapable of speech right now?
I focus all my attention on opening my heavy eyelids. They feel as though they each weigh a thousand pounds. My efforts are futile and I'm crossed by hopelessness, something that's been happening far too frequently these days. I know I can't be defeated this easily, but it's far more challenging than trying to wake up after a long night at the bar.
To my delight, I see a ray of light filter through my fluttering lids.
"Bos?!"
My eyes finally open, but I find my focus is waning. I blink several times, attempting to clear the haze and regulate my vision.
The room slowly comes into focus. No one is at the door, and there doesn't appear to be any nurses or doctors working on me - what a rarity. I wonder how long I have been asleep. There appear to be no physical differences, though I'm not experiencing the excruciating pain that I was earlier. My head continues to throb with every heartbeat, but I have become accustomed to that. Everything else is tingly with numbness. They must have me on a new round of painkillers, which would explain why I'm so tired.
Something out of the corner of my eye grabs my attention. I turn my gaze towards the curtain and am shocked to see that it's pulled back, revealing the whole other side of the room I have yet to view.
"Bos?"
I slowly lift my gaze and am met by Faith's concerned eyes. I don't even know what to think. I've seen her nearly everyday for almost ten years, but never has it been this anticipated.
She looks tired and pale, but strong enough. I guess I feared the worst. Though I knew she was awake earlier, I find it hard to believe anything until I see it with my own eyes. I should really work on my trust issues. Then again, I trusted Cruz and look where that got me… in the ICU with my so-called partner. Maybe I should first work on my decision making skills before I tackle the trust issue.
"Bosco?"
I don't know what she wants me to do exactly. Maybe she expects me to sit up, pull the tube out and carry on a conversation with her, but that's not about to happen. I attempt a nod, but it's so subtle I doubt she'll catch it.
"Bos," she's looking into my eyes and she actually looks terrified. "I know I didn't do this, Bos. I wouldn't. I would never try to hurt you like that. You know that."
She really doesn't remember. She thinks she did something to hurt me?! That's a stretch. Her words bring on the sensation of overwhelming guilt that tears at my heart. I'm going straight to hell. Somehow my partner gets shot trying to help me, loses all recollection of the event, and now they've got her convinced that she was trying to hurt ME.
I look straight into her eyes. I've never seen her look so unsure of herself. If she knew or remembered the truth, she'd be rushing over cut off my oxygen supply.
"Bosco, you're going to be fine. You're going to make it through this."
She must have mistaken my solemn look for concern over my own status. Faith, I don't give shit about myself. I would die right now if it weren't for you. Now, I've got to fix this. I've got to live in order to save you from me. Ironic, isn't it?
Her face becomes blurry, and I blink a few times to get a clearer view. It only helps minimally. She looks… ashamed. Oh God, I can't watch this. I close my eyes to avoid her piteous stare as well as to relieve the relentless throbbing in my head.
"I'm sorry, did you want this closed?"
My eyes shoot open to see a nurse holding the curtain in one hand while addressing Faith.
"No. If it's okay, I'd like to keep it open."
"Sure, no problem. There are still no other beds available in recovery, so we're just going to keep you here until something opens up."
"Thank-you."
"How are you feeling? Are you comfortable? Do you need something to help you sleep?"
"No. I'm fine, thanks. Could you check on him though? I think he's in pain."
Oh, Faith. If you only knew the truth, you'd be trying to inflict as much pain on me as possible.
Now that I've seen her, and know that she's okay, I actually want that curtain closed again. At least then she'd stop worrying about me so much and I wouldn't have to see her torture herself over something she didn't do.
I want to kill that bitch, Cruz. As if she hadn't screwed me over enough, she goes and attacks Faith, then pulls that innocent pouty crap to turn all suspicious eyes away from her. Who knew the devil is a five foot three, 110 pound female?
"He's due for another round in a few minutes. I'll have a doctor come check on him first though."
"Oh, okay. How's he doing?"
"I don't think a lot has changed, but that's for the doctors to decide. Do you know him?"
Unfortunately for her, yes.
"Yeah, he's a friend of mine."
A friend? I mean, I always assumed we were friends by default, but I've never heard her refer to me as anything but her partner… or on a bad day, her kid.
Again, I pry my eyes open to meet hers. She looks like she's seconds away from bursting into tears. That look - it stabs me like a knife. I have to get this God-damned tube out of my freakin' throat, be capable of speech for two minutes, set the record straight, then face whatever consequences are coming my way. Even death… I just don't care enough about my life anymore to worry about dying.
"Maurice?"
I thought they said no visitors? I'm having a hard enough time dealing with Faith and my perma-migraine right now, to have to face my mother.
"Rose."
"Hi, Faith… Is he," she cautiously points a finger towards me, her voice barely above a whisper. "How is he?"
"I… I don't know."
Oh no, they're both crying. I really can't deal with this right now. In the last few frenzied hours of torture, I had totally forgotten my mother. She would kill me herself if she knew that.
I feel Ma's hand gently wrap around mine. I must be cold because her hands feel hot against my skin. It sends a shiver up my spine, causing me to shudder. I'm suddenly aware that I'm absolutely freezing. Why don't they pump up the heat a little in here?
"Maurice, honey. It's your mother."
Yeah, Ma, I saw you come in. I just can't stand to watch you cry over me. Instead of opening my weary eyes, I try to squeeze her hand. That should reassure her enough.
"Excuse me, visiting hours are over."
Dr. Grander must have followed her in. After Fred's little outburst, I can see why he'd be suspicious of anyone wandering into the room. Fortunately, he doesn't sound as aggravated as he did earlier.
"I know. I'm sorry, I'm his mother. I just wanted to see him."
"That's fine, but he's had a few unpleasant visitors already - I'm just trying to keep tabs. You can stay for a few minutes while I check him over, but then I'm going to have to ask that you wait outside."
I open my eyes enough to see Dr. Grander and the other nurse start their analyzing.
"His temperature hasn't changed. Do you still want to leave the cooling blanket on him?"
That would explain why I feel like I'm in the Antarctic.
"Yeah, leave it on. We'll adjust his fluids to try and bring that down. I have a feeling it's the infection in his throat that's causing the problem more than the virus itself. With his weakened immune system, I don't know if his throat will even begin to heal until he's extubated, which leaves us with very few options." He pauses while devising his plan.
"Just check to make sure his O2 levels are good, and if necessary we'll make further adjustments in his treatment for the next round. I want to give everything we've done a chance to work before we go changing it all."
Through the door, I catch a glimpse of the guard that's been assigned to Faith. Just the thought of it makes me feel sick. That, in addition to my headache, causes me to wince, contracting my muscles in pain. I'm so cold - I can feel my entire body shivering in one last, desperate attempt to retain warmth.
"Hold on, Officer, we'll get you something for the pain in a second."
"Please, give it to him now. I can't stand to see him like this."
Then leave, Ma. Please, just leave. I'm over-dosed on pity. I don't even want to feel sorry for myself, let alone have others feel it for me.
She kisses my ice-cold hand and runs her fingers across my forehead.
"He's warm."
"Yes, well, he's running a fever. We're doing our best to get it down and stabilize him."
Oh Ma, some things never change.
"They're doing everything they can, Rose."
I feel my IV move and am instantly warmed by the sensation of the painkillers being infused. The injection takes immediate action, permeating my cells, and I begin to experience that familiar floating feeling.
The two women that care about me most are beside me when I need them most - but I don't want them near me. I really have to work on those issues of mine, because I'm pretty sure that's not normal.
I hear them both sniffle, and strangely I feel semi-comfortable. One of Ma's tears drops on my hand and she quickly moves to wipe it away.
It could be worse. At least Fred's not trying to kill me. I've seen Faith, and my mother cares about me enough to visit. At least they're with me right now…
A shrill noise triggers the agonizingly sharp lightning to shoot through my skull, causing me to cringe in anguish.
"Officer Boscorelli!"
I can feel the Doc's knuckles digging into my chest, searching for any form of reaction from my limp corpse.
"NO! Maurice!"
"He's crashing! Ma'am, you're going to have to back up. I need some help in here!"
I'm sorry Faith…
TBC. Review and you will receive!