Rosalind
This story and all themes and ideas contained in said story are the sole
ownership of J.L. Scott. Any copyright infringements can be prosecuted in a
court of law.
To borrow a phrase: NYPD Blue no mine......no permission..no money, no sue, please?
"Sir? Sir?"
John came to with a start. Morning light was streaming through the window, making him squint. An older woman in a nurse's uniform was standing over him, shaking him gently. She smiled understandingly and backed away so he could swing his long legs off the bed.
"What time is it?" he asked quietly, noting that Grace was still asleep.
"Almost nine" the nurse answered. John looked up at her, shocked that he was late for work, and then started pulling his shoes back on.
"Don't worry" the nurse said immediately, "Your friend, Mr. Sipowitz, called and said that your boss has given you the day off" John finished tying his shoe and stretched.
"How'd he know I was here?"
"I don't know" the nurse replied, "Perhaps one of the Irish gentlemen told him"
"How many of them were here?"
"I'm not sure. One of the other nurses said there were several throughout the night, and there've been three this morning so far. I thought you might want to go eat before I wake her" John rubbed the small of his back. He was hungry. He told the nurse he'd be back in half an hour and went to find the hospital cafeteria. It wasn't the best food he'd ever eaten, a far cry from the grilled potatoes and hot rolls Gracie served for breakfast ("Fruitloops are nothing but a little bit of grain soaked in a whole lot of sugar") but it was enough to take the edge off of his hunger and half an hour later he was back up in Grace's room. The nurse was there already, setting a tray down on the little side table. She busied herself checking the readings from various instruments while John roused his wife.
"It will probably still hurt for her to swallow" the nurse whispered to John as she passed him to leave. He uncovered the dishes and found them full of nearly liquid food.
"This looks yummy" John commented wryly, scooping some of what might have been eggs at one point, into the spoon. Grace eyed it warily before opening her mouth and accepting the food. She made a face as she swallowed.
"I'm calling Ma for lunch" she said and then took the next bite. She grimaced each time she swallowed and each time she did John felt like wringing Markus Flinch's neck until he couldn't swallow anymore.
"It's all right John" Grace said quietly. He paused and looked at her, suddenly noticing that she had been studying him with that odd look in her eye. He half smiled at her and kissed her brow.
"I know" he said.
The day seemed to be going by slowly. Molly made an appearance for lunch, complete with edible liquid food for Grace and a hearty meal for himself. Peter and Paul both stopped by, Peter to give a blessing and Paul to report on Rosalind's night and morning. Grace kept falling in and out of sleep. John read to her and even found "Sabrina" on TV. It was about three o'clock when the bedside phone rang.
"John, how's Grace?" Andy asked from the other end of the line.
"She's sore, but doing okay" John answered. Grace was asleep so he was trying to be as quiet as possible.
"Look, uh, we caught Flinch"
"What?"
"Yeah, some uniforms picked him up in a little town near Buffalo, place called Lewiston. Guess that's where he was from. Anyway, they'll have him here in an hour or two. I figured you'd wanna be here"
"Yeah. Yeah, thanks Andy. I'll call Eric and Molly, I'll be there in half and hour" He hung up and then dialed Gracie's parents house. Eric answered and John told him what'd happened. Eric said that Molly was busy cooking but that he'd come out right away, so forty five minutes later John was listening to the run down on Flinch, and forty five minutes after that he was assisting Andy to push the bouncer into a chair.
"Where were you yesterday night, Markus?" Andy asked. John was still fighting the urge to smash the man's nose in. He was huge, the perfect size for a bouncer, with a shaved head and a tight t-shirt.
"I was at work" Flinch answered sullenly.
"Yeah, we heard about that. Where were you after work?" Andy asked. John folded his arms and leaned against the wire cage behind him, hoping he was sending daggers from his eyes.
"I went for a walk"
"A walk, huh? That walk take you anywhere near a little quickie mart called Margo's?" Andy inquired menacingly.
"Maybe, maybe not" Flinch lounged in the chair as if he were having a leisurely conversation in the comfort of his own living room.
"Yes or no, Markus?" Andy demanded more forcefully.
"Yeah, all right so I was there. So what? I was having a nice little conversation with a buddy of mine"
"What's your buddy's name?"
"I don't know"
"You don't know your friend's name?"
"We wasn't that kind of friend" Flinch flicked a look at John, brooding to his right. He still hadn't said a word, afraid of what might come out if he did. He wasn't going to lose his job over this guy.
"So, you're talking to this buddy of yours, was there anyone else there?"
"It's a quickie mart. How the hell do I know?" Flinch replied.
"A woman maybe? Red head?" Andy pushed. Now Flinch straightened up in his chair. For some reason, he hadn't been worried that they were going to pin him for the murder of Bobby, but he seemed extremely concerned that they'd mentioned Grace. In fact, it looked like he wasn't going to be able to contain himself.
"Dumb little bitch was asking for it. Out in the middle of the night, talking with her sweet little voice. Tellin' me, you get your act together you can maybe get joint custody. Fuck. Yeah, so maybe I slapped her up a little. Nothing the bitch didn't deserve" John couldn't hold back anymore. He pushed away from the wall and before he knew it he had fistfuls of the man's t-shirt balled up in his hands and their noses were almost touching.
"That 'little bitch' is my wife, you ass" he whispered dangerously, "And thanks to you she can hardly swallow enough food to stay alive" Flinch chuckled, he actually, chuckled.
"Bitch had to be a cop's wife" John punched him. He would've kept going if Andy hadn't caught his arm and pushed him back. He pulled Flinch up on his own and cuffed him before opening the door and shouting for Jones.
"Next time, why don't you try picking on someone your own size"
To borrow a phrase: NYPD Blue no mine......no permission..no money, no sue, please?
"Sir? Sir?"
John came to with a start. Morning light was streaming through the window, making him squint. An older woman in a nurse's uniform was standing over him, shaking him gently. She smiled understandingly and backed away so he could swing his long legs off the bed.
"What time is it?" he asked quietly, noting that Grace was still asleep.
"Almost nine" the nurse answered. John looked up at her, shocked that he was late for work, and then started pulling his shoes back on.
"Don't worry" the nurse said immediately, "Your friend, Mr. Sipowitz, called and said that your boss has given you the day off" John finished tying his shoe and stretched.
"How'd he know I was here?"
"I don't know" the nurse replied, "Perhaps one of the Irish gentlemen told him"
"How many of them were here?"
"I'm not sure. One of the other nurses said there were several throughout the night, and there've been three this morning so far. I thought you might want to go eat before I wake her" John rubbed the small of his back. He was hungry. He told the nurse he'd be back in half an hour and went to find the hospital cafeteria. It wasn't the best food he'd ever eaten, a far cry from the grilled potatoes and hot rolls Gracie served for breakfast ("Fruitloops are nothing but a little bit of grain soaked in a whole lot of sugar") but it was enough to take the edge off of his hunger and half an hour later he was back up in Grace's room. The nurse was there already, setting a tray down on the little side table. She busied herself checking the readings from various instruments while John roused his wife.
"It will probably still hurt for her to swallow" the nurse whispered to John as she passed him to leave. He uncovered the dishes and found them full of nearly liquid food.
"This looks yummy" John commented wryly, scooping some of what might have been eggs at one point, into the spoon. Grace eyed it warily before opening her mouth and accepting the food. She made a face as she swallowed.
"I'm calling Ma for lunch" she said and then took the next bite. She grimaced each time she swallowed and each time she did John felt like wringing Markus Flinch's neck until he couldn't swallow anymore.
"It's all right John" Grace said quietly. He paused and looked at her, suddenly noticing that she had been studying him with that odd look in her eye. He half smiled at her and kissed her brow.
"I know" he said.
The day seemed to be going by slowly. Molly made an appearance for lunch, complete with edible liquid food for Grace and a hearty meal for himself. Peter and Paul both stopped by, Peter to give a blessing and Paul to report on Rosalind's night and morning. Grace kept falling in and out of sleep. John read to her and even found "Sabrina" on TV. It was about three o'clock when the bedside phone rang.
"John, how's Grace?" Andy asked from the other end of the line.
"She's sore, but doing okay" John answered. Grace was asleep so he was trying to be as quiet as possible.
"Look, uh, we caught Flinch"
"What?"
"Yeah, some uniforms picked him up in a little town near Buffalo, place called Lewiston. Guess that's where he was from. Anyway, they'll have him here in an hour or two. I figured you'd wanna be here"
"Yeah. Yeah, thanks Andy. I'll call Eric and Molly, I'll be there in half and hour" He hung up and then dialed Gracie's parents house. Eric answered and John told him what'd happened. Eric said that Molly was busy cooking but that he'd come out right away, so forty five minutes later John was listening to the run down on Flinch, and forty five minutes after that he was assisting Andy to push the bouncer into a chair.
"Where were you yesterday night, Markus?" Andy asked. John was still fighting the urge to smash the man's nose in. He was huge, the perfect size for a bouncer, with a shaved head and a tight t-shirt.
"I was at work" Flinch answered sullenly.
"Yeah, we heard about that. Where were you after work?" Andy asked. John folded his arms and leaned against the wire cage behind him, hoping he was sending daggers from his eyes.
"I went for a walk"
"A walk, huh? That walk take you anywhere near a little quickie mart called Margo's?" Andy inquired menacingly.
"Maybe, maybe not" Flinch lounged in the chair as if he were having a leisurely conversation in the comfort of his own living room.
"Yes or no, Markus?" Andy demanded more forcefully.
"Yeah, all right so I was there. So what? I was having a nice little conversation with a buddy of mine"
"What's your buddy's name?"
"I don't know"
"You don't know your friend's name?"
"We wasn't that kind of friend" Flinch flicked a look at John, brooding to his right. He still hadn't said a word, afraid of what might come out if he did. He wasn't going to lose his job over this guy.
"So, you're talking to this buddy of yours, was there anyone else there?"
"It's a quickie mart. How the hell do I know?" Flinch replied.
"A woman maybe? Red head?" Andy pushed. Now Flinch straightened up in his chair. For some reason, he hadn't been worried that they were going to pin him for the murder of Bobby, but he seemed extremely concerned that they'd mentioned Grace. In fact, it looked like he wasn't going to be able to contain himself.
"Dumb little bitch was asking for it. Out in the middle of the night, talking with her sweet little voice. Tellin' me, you get your act together you can maybe get joint custody. Fuck. Yeah, so maybe I slapped her up a little. Nothing the bitch didn't deserve" John couldn't hold back anymore. He pushed away from the wall and before he knew it he had fistfuls of the man's t-shirt balled up in his hands and their noses were almost touching.
"That 'little bitch' is my wife, you ass" he whispered dangerously, "And thanks to you she can hardly swallow enough food to stay alive" Flinch chuckled, he actually, chuckled.
"Bitch had to be a cop's wife" John punched him. He would've kept going if Andy hadn't caught his arm and pushed him back. He pulled Flinch up on his own and cuffed him before opening the door and shouting for Jones.
"Next time, why don't you try picking on someone your own size"