Three hours later the doctor emerged from the O.R and headed over towards
the large group waiting in the waiting area. Bobby was a basket case,
literally. Thoughts raced through his head, wondering if Kim would be all
right and what could he have done to avoid what had happened to her. Then
something entered his mind that he hadn't realized until now. He knew Kim
loved him with all her heart, but he never imagined that she would put her
life in danger to keep him safe, especially since Joey depended on her. He
knew he'd do the same for her in a heartbeat if the situation ever
presented itself because she was his life, the one who made him complete.
He heard silence begin to fall over the group as he looked up to see the doctor heading towards the group from the 55 and began to pray he was bringing the news that he'd prayed that he would hear, that Kim would be fine.
"Luckily her injuries weren't too severe. The bullet nicked the subclavian artery but didn't sever it completely and caused no other injury to her shoulder. Other than the gun shot wound, the only other injuries she had were some broken ribs and a lot of bruises." the doctor told the group assembled in the waiting area.
Fifteen minutes later Bobby sat at her bedside waiting for her to come out of anesthesia. Several minutes later, Kim began to come around. As she opened her eyes and got her bearings, she saw Bobby gently holding her right hand while praying in Spanish, Kim took her left hand and placed it on his cheek.
"Hey," she said softly.
"What did I get you in too?" Bobby asked in anguish.
"Hush." She said lovingly; "It's over now, everything will be ok."
"I almost got you killed. If I'd lost you I doubt I'd ever forgive myself," he said as some tears slipped down his face.
Kim held his face tenderly in her hands as she wiped away the tears that had fallen from his brown eyes when she said, " When I looked back and saw Matty aiming a gun at your back, I knew if I didn't do something I would probably lose you forever. I knew that if I got hit when I pushed you out of the way, it wouldn't be too bad."
"But what if." Bobby began to say, when Kim silenced him by placing a gentle kiss on his lips.
"Don't worry about what could have been. All that matters is we have each other and that Matty can't hurt either of us anymore." she said softly.
Just then there was a knock at her door. When Kim looked up she saw Ty and Alex standing in the doorway.
"Come on in." she said smiling to her two friends.
"I'd better go update the rest of the waiting area that you're awake." Bobby said softly.
As Bobby headed for the waiting area, Ty and Alex came in and sat down.
"What happened after work last night?" Alex asked quietly as she remembered the frantic call she'd gotten from Bobby the night before.
"After I left the firehouse I was headed in the direction of my apartment complex. Half way there I heard footsteps appear out of no where. Before I could react, the next thing I knew was someone clamped a dampened rag over my mouth and nose. Several hours later the drugs wore off and I found myself in an old rundown building tied to a chair with duct tape. I worked all night since my kidnapper was asleep, trying to free an arm so I could reach my cell phone. The next morning he left and I was able to get my left arm free and took the gag out of my mouth and called Bobby to let him know what had happened since I knew he was probably scared half out of his mind. Several minutes later he returned just as I stood up after managing to free myself from the rest of the tape that held me to the chair. He lunged at me and I was able to move out of the way before he got a hold of me and I ran for the door. I was just about there when I felt him pull me backwards and then spun me around to face him. The moment he spun me around, I took my free hand and tore the mask away from his face. After a sudden burst of angry words, he forced me to kiss him and he left out a sinister laugh followed by another round of shouting." Kim said, as she relived the events in her mind.
As Kim continued on, she saw tears forming in Alex's blue eyes. As she listened to the hell Kim had been through, she couldn't believe what she was hearing. She felt Ty's arm around her shoulder for support as she fought back the tears that were trying to escape. When Kim was finished, Alex looked at her and said, "How did you manage to escape? If it'd been me I would have flipped out and panicked, not even thinking about trying to do that."
"Matty said one thing that pissed me off big time, which made me start to think rationally and gave me the means to free myself." Kim said as she remembered the event in vivid detail.
"What was that?" Alex asked softly.
"That I'd never see Bobby again. If he'd been planning on keeping me from him, that means that he'd be keeping me from Joey too, which I refused to let happen." Kim replied.
"We'd better let you get some rest." Ty said as he and Alex stood up.
"Ok." Kim replied; "Alex could you do something for me real quick?"
"Sure. What do you need me to do?" Alex replied.
"Find Jimmy and send him in." she said softly.
"Sure, I'll send him in." Alex replied giving Kim's hand a reassuring squeeze.
Ty and Alex left the room and headed towards the waiting area. Joey was asleep in Jimmy's lap, and Bobby was over getting a soda out of one of the machines. Ty went over to where Bobby was and began to talk to him, while Alex went over to where Jimmy and Joey were.
"Hey Jimmy, Kim wants to see you." Alex said as she took a seat next to him.
"She really asked to see me after everything I did to her?" Jimmy asked in disbelief.
"Yes she did. If I were you I'd go see what she wants. I'll watch Joey for you while your gone." she replied softly.
Jimmy got up and placed his sleeping son in Alex's arms and headed towards Kim's room. The closer he got, the more nervous he felt as he neared her room. He stopped just shy of the door and began to wonder what she would say to him.
"Jimmy, I know you're out there. Come on in." Kim said when she heard his footsteps stop just outside her room.
"It's now or never." Jimmy said to himself as he entered her room and sat down in the chair beside her bed.
"You had me worried sick." Jimmy started to say as he took his ex-wife's hand into his own.
"I know, but remember you do the same thing to me every time you enter a burning building." she said giving his hand a reassuring squeeze that she was going to be ok.
"How is Joey holding up?" she asked quietly.
"Worried. Just like I was. He's used to me being the one in here, not you. So it was a bit of a shock for him when I told him that you were hurt." Jimmy said as he remembered telling his son that his mother had been hurt and was taken to the hospital.
"How are things going with Brooke?" she asked.
"Pretty good, although I've been a real pain lately with you missing and all. I don't think the feelings I have for you are ever going to go away, but all I want is for you to be truly happy. I said some things I shouldn't have when you and I last talked and I want you to know I'm sorry for everything that I did to hurt you." Jimmy said as he kissed the top of her hand.
"I'm always going to have feelings for you too, primarily because you are the father of my son. But you deserve to be happy as well and I think that Brooke is the person you were meant to be with. I know what you said was out of anger and I accept your apology." she said softly.
"You do?" he asked in surprise.
"Yes, I do. What did you think I'd do? Hate you forever?" she replied.
"I hate to admit it, but yeah. I thought you'd hate me after everything I did. You had every right to," he said back to her.
"Jimmy, I could never hate you. Yes what you did was wrong but I'm not going to shut you out. Joey relies on you too much. There is no way I could keep you from him." she said in a comforting tone.
"You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that." Jimmy said as he realized that he would always have a place in Joey's life.
"Can we still be friends since I'm still with Bobby?" she asked as she searched his face for an answer.
"Absolutely." he replied smiling; "By the way how are things going between you and Bobby?"
"It's been a long time since I've ever been this happy." she replied stifling back a yawn.
"I'd better let you get some rest." Jimmy replied as he stood up
"That's all that really matters to me now, that you are happy," he said as he tenderly kissed her on the forehead as she fell asleep.
As Jimmy headed out to the waiting area he looked at Alex who was still holding Joey as she talked to Bobby who was sat next to her. He carefully picked up Joey and looked over at Bobby and said, "I owe you an apology."
Bobby looked at Jimmy not believing what he had just heard.
"What I said to you on the roof of the firehouse was wrong. You had every right to be pissed at me for what I did. I guess I thought if you were with her, I'd loose my place in Joey's life." he said as he thought back to the words Kim said to him earlier.
"I could never take your place in Joey's life. You are his father, not me. Plus there is no way Kim could do that to you." Bobby replied, realizing Jimmy was actually sorry for what he had done.
"I see that now. Anyone who can make her this happy deserves to be with her, and I think that you are that person. As much as I hate to admit it." Jimmy replied as he remembered all the hurtful things he'd said that day on the roof; "No hard feelings?"
"None taken." Bobby replied
"It's late, take your son home and rest and we can finish this later." Bobby said, as he looked at Joey asleep in Jimmy's arms.
"Later." Jimmy said to everyone as he and his son headed home.
The next day Bobby sat in the waiting room waiting for Kim to wake up. He'd been doing a lot of thinking the past several days and realized a lot of things. Things he knew he wanted but didn't know if they would actually come to pass. Bobby didn't hear the footsteps approaching him, until he felt a comforting arm on his shoulder. He looked up and saw Alex standing beside him.
"How are you holding up?" she asked him as she sat down.
"Pretty good considering everything that happened." he replied thinking about what he had decided this morning.
"I've been doing a lot of thinking after everything that's happened lately, what I tell you stays between you and me only. Deal?" he asked as he looked over at Alex.
"Deal," she replied as she settled in to listen.
"I want to ask Kim to marry me, but I want you to help me pick out a ring. When it comes to jewelry I am completely lost." he said as he looked over at Alex.
"Oh Bobby, that's wonderful!" she exclaimed as she gave him a hug; "I'd love to help you look at rings. When do you want to start?"
"You free this afternoon?" he asked.
"Yep, today is my day off." she replied.
"How about we meet at 1:30 and start looking." Bobby replied.
"Sounds good." Alex said with excitement.
"I'm going to go see if Kim is up yet." Bobby replied as he stood up to head towards her room.
"Ok, I'll wait here." She replied, as she thought of places they could go to look at rings.
Bobby made his way down the corridor towards Kim's room, when he heard her talking to someone. He popped his head in the doorway of her room and found her talking on the phone. Bobby signaled for Alex that it was ok for her to come in.
"Remember, not a word about what we talked about," Bobby whispered to Alex before entering the room.
"How are you feeling today?" Bobby asked as he and Alex walked in the room.
"Exhausted. Once the meds wear off there is no hope in trying to sleep with this shoulder." she replied tiredly.
"That's what you get when you take a bullet for someone else." he said with a sly grin.
"Alex, smack him for me please." Kim said laughing.
Alex rolled her eyes and laughed and did what she was told.
Hours went by as the three of them sat and talked. Before Bobby noticed the time, he looked down and saw that it was almost noon. A short time later a nurse appeared in the hallway and was getting together Kim's daily medications from the chart box.
"After you are asleep, Alex and I are going to go get something to eat and we'll be back later to see you." Bobby said.
"That's fine, these meds usually knock me out in thirty minutes, and I'm usually out for about six hours." she replied after she'd taken the pills.
Sure enough by twelve-thirty Kim was out like a light and Bobby and Alex headed out to start looking at rings.
By one in the afternoon they had been through three jewelry stores not seeing anything that struck them as the 'perfect' ring. Store after store, the two began to wonder if they would have better luck finding a ring online since all the places they had been to had turned up to be dead ends. Finally the last jeweler they went to was where they found what they had been looking for. Alex was looking in one case, when something caught her attention.
"Hey Bobby, I think I have something over here." she called over her shoulder as she looked at the ring in the case.
"Which one?" he asked, as he looked over her shoulder.
"The white gold marquise cut diamond in the front." she replied.
"Can you put that in layman's terms?" he said laughing.
Just then a sales associate came over to see if there was something she could do to help.
"Can I help you two?" the young woman asked politely.
"Yes, I'd like to see this ring please." Alex said as she pointed to the ring she was implying about. As the woman removed the ring from the case and handed it to Alex, Bobby knew instantly that this was the ring he had been searching for.
"What do you think?" Alex asked Bobby as she handed him the ring.
"It's perfect," he said as he looked at the ring in the palm of his hand while smiling.
"My thought's exactly." Alex said in agreement.
After paying for the ring, the two took a taxi and headed back to the hospital.
He heard silence begin to fall over the group as he looked up to see the doctor heading towards the group from the 55 and began to pray he was bringing the news that he'd prayed that he would hear, that Kim would be fine.
"Luckily her injuries weren't too severe. The bullet nicked the subclavian artery but didn't sever it completely and caused no other injury to her shoulder. Other than the gun shot wound, the only other injuries she had were some broken ribs and a lot of bruises." the doctor told the group assembled in the waiting area.
Fifteen minutes later Bobby sat at her bedside waiting for her to come out of anesthesia. Several minutes later, Kim began to come around. As she opened her eyes and got her bearings, she saw Bobby gently holding her right hand while praying in Spanish, Kim took her left hand and placed it on his cheek.
"Hey," she said softly.
"What did I get you in too?" Bobby asked in anguish.
"Hush." She said lovingly; "It's over now, everything will be ok."
"I almost got you killed. If I'd lost you I doubt I'd ever forgive myself," he said as some tears slipped down his face.
Kim held his face tenderly in her hands as she wiped away the tears that had fallen from his brown eyes when she said, " When I looked back and saw Matty aiming a gun at your back, I knew if I didn't do something I would probably lose you forever. I knew that if I got hit when I pushed you out of the way, it wouldn't be too bad."
"But what if." Bobby began to say, when Kim silenced him by placing a gentle kiss on his lips.
"Don't worry about what could have been. All that matters is we have each other and that Matty can't hurt either of us anymore." she said softly.
Just then there was a knock at her door. When Kim looked up she saw Ty and Alex standing in the doorway.
"Come on in." she said smiling to her two friends.
"I'd better go update the rest of the waiting area that you're awake." Bobby said softly.
As Bobby headed for the waiting area, Ty and Alex came in and sat down.
"What happened after work last night?" Alex asked quietly as she remembered the frantic call she'd gotten from Bobby the night before.
"After I left the firehouse I was headed in the direction of my apartment complex. Half way there I heard footsteps appear out of no where. Before I could react, the next thing I knew was someone clamped a dampened rag over my mouth and nose. Several hours later the drugs wore off and I found myself in an old rundown building tied to a chair with duct tape. I worked all night since my kidnapper was asleep, trying to free an arm so I could reach my cell phone. The next morning he left and I was able to get my left arm free and took the gag out of my mouth and called Bobby to let him know what had happened since I knew he was probably scared half out of his mind. Several minutes later he returned just as I stood up after managing to free myself from the rest of the tape that held me to the chair. He lunged at me and I was able to move out of the way before he got a hold of me and I ran for the door. I was just about there when I felt him pull me backwards and then spun me around to face him. The moment he spun me around, I took my free hand and tore the mask away from his face. After a sudden burst of angry words, he forced me to kiss him and he left out a sinister laugh followed by another round of shouting." Kim said, as she relived the events in her mind.
As Kim continued on, she saw tears forming in Alex's blue eyes. As she listened to the hell Kim had been through, she couldn't believe what she was hearing. She felt Ty's arm around her shoulder for support as she fought back the tears that were trying to escape. When Kim was finished, Alex looked at her and said, "How did you manage to escape? If it'd been me I would have flipped out and panicked, not even thinking about trying to do that."
"Matty said one thing that pissed me off big time, which made me start to think rationally and gave me the means to free myself." Kim said as she remembered the event in vivid detail.
"What was that?" Alex asked softly.
"That I'd never see Bobby again. If he'd been planning on keeping me from him, that means that he'd be keeping me from Joey too, which I refused to let happen." Kim replied.
"We'd better let you get some rest." Ty said as he and Alex stood up.
"Ok." Kim replied; "Alex could you do something for me real quick?"
"Sure. What do you need me to do?" Alex replied.
"Find Jimmy and send him in." she said softly.
"Sure, I'll send him in." Alex replied giving Kim's hand a reassuring squeeze.
Ty and Alex left the room and headed towards the waiting area. Joey was asleep in Jimmy's lap, and Bobby was over getting a soda out of one of the machines. Ty went over to where Bobby was and began to talk to him, while Alex went over to where Jimmy and Joey were.
"Hey Jimmy, Kim wants to see you." Alex said as she took a seat next to him.
"She really asked to see me after everything I did to her?" Jimmy asked in disbelief.
"Yes she did. If I were you I'd go see what she wants. I'll watch Joey for you while your gone." she replied softly.
Jimmy got up and placed his sleeping son in Alex's arms and headed towards Kim's room. The closer he got, the more nervous he felt as he neared her room. He stopped just shy of the door and began to wonder what she would say to him.
"Jimmy, I know you're out there. Come on in." Kim said when she heard his footsteps stop just outside her room.
"It's now or never." Jimmy said to himself as he entered her room and sat down in the chair beside her bed.
"You had me worried sick." Jimmy started to say as he took his ex-wife's hand into his own.
"I know, but remember you do the same thing to me every time you enter a burning building." she said giving his hand a reassuring squeeze that she was going to be ok.
"How is Joey holding up?" she asked quietly.
"Worried. Just like I was. He's used to me being the one in here, not you. So it was a bit of a shock for him when I told him that you were hurt." Jimmy said as he remembered telling his son that his mother had been hurt and was taken to the hospital.
"How are things going with Brooke?" she asked.
"Pretty good, although I've been a real pain lately with you missing and all. I don't think the feelings I have for you are ever going to go away, but all I want is for you to be truly happy. I said some things I shouldn't have when you and I last talked and I want you to know I'm sorry for everything that I did to hurt you." Jimmy said as he kissed the top of her hand.
"I'm always going to have feelings for you too, primarily because you are the father of my son. But you deserve to be happy as well and I think that Brooke is the person you were meant to be with. I know what you said was out of anger and I accept your apology." she said softly.
"You do?" he asked in surprise.
"Yes, I do. What did you think I'd do? Hate you forever?" she replied.
"I hate to admit it, but yeah. I thought you'd hate me after everything I did. You had every right to," he said back to her.
"Jimmy, I could never hate you. Yes what you did was wrong but I'm not going to shut you out. Joey relies on you too much. There is no way I could keep you from him." she said in a comforting tone.
"You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that." Jimmy said as he realized that he would always have a place in Joey's life.
"Can we still be friends since I'm still with Bobby?" she asked as she searched his face for an answer.
"Absolutely." he replied smiling; "By the way how are things going between you and Bobby?"
"It's been a long time since I've ever been this happy." she replied stifling back a yawn.
"I'd better let you get some rest." Jimmy replied as he stood up
"That's all that really matters to me now, that you are happy," he said as he tenderly kissed her on the forehead as she fell asleep.
As Jimmy headed out to the waiting area he looked at Alex who was still holding Joey as she talked to Bobby who was sat next to her. He carefully picked up Joey and looked over at Bobby and said, "I owe you an apology."
Bobby looked at Jimmy not believing what he had just heard.
"What I said to you on the roof of the firehouse was wrong. You had every right to be pissed at me for what I did. I guess I thought if you were with her, I'd loose my place in Joey's life." he said as he thought back to the words Kim said to him earlier.
"I could never take your place in Joey's life. You are his father, not me. Plus there is no way Kim could do that to you." Bobby replied, realizing Jimmy was actually sorry for what he had done.
"I see that now. Anyone who can make her this happy deserves to be with her, and I think that you are that person. As much as I hate to admit it." Jimmy replied as he remembered all the hurtful things he'd said that day on the roof; "No hard feelings?"
"None taken." Bobby replied
"It's late, take your son home and rest and we can finish this later." Bobby said, as he looked at Joey asleep in Jimmy's arms.
"Later." Jimmy said to everyone as he and his son headed home.
The next day Bobby sat in the waiting room waiting for Kim to wake up. He'd been doing a lot of thinking the past several days and realized a lot of things. Things he knew he wanted but didn't know if they would actually come to pass. Bobby didn't hear the footsteps approaching him, until he felt a comforting arm on his shoulder. He looked up and saw Alex standing beside him.
"How are you holding up?" she asked him as she sat down.
"Pretty good considering everything that happened." he replied thinking about what he had decided this morning.
"I've been doing a lot of thinking after everything that's happened lately, what I tell you stays between you and me only. Deal?" he asked as he looked over at Alex.
"Deal," she replied as she settled in to listen.
"I want to ask Kim to marry me, but I want you to help me pick out a ring. When it comes to jewelry I am completely lost." he said as he looked over at Alex.
"Oh Bobby, that's wonderful!" she exclaimed as she gave him a hug; "I'd love to help you look at rings. When do you want to start?"
"You free this afternoon?" he asked.
"Yep, today is my day off." she replied.
"How about we meet at 1:30 and start looking." Bobby replied.
"Sounds good." Alex said with excitement.
"I'm going to go see if Kim is up yet." Bobby replied as he stood up to head towards her room.
"Ok, I'll wait here." She replied, as she thought of places they could go to look at rings.
Bobby made his way down the corridor towards Kim's room, when he heard her talking to someone. He popped his head in the doorway of her room and found her talking on the phone. Bobby signaled for Alex that it was ok for her to come in.
"Remember, not a word about what we talked about," Bobby whispered to Alex before entering the room.
"How are you feeling today?" Bobby asked as he and Alex walked in the room.
"Exhausted. Once the meds wear off there is no hope in trying to sleep with this shoulder." she replied tiredly.
"That's what you get when you take a bullet for someone else." he said with a sly grin.
"Alex, smack him for me please." Kim said laughing.
Alex rolled her eyes and laughed and did what she was told.
Hours went by as the three of them sat and talked. Before Bobby noticed the time, he looked down and saw that it was almost noon. A short time later a nurse appeared in the hallway and was getting together Kim's daily medications from the chart box.
"After you are asleep, Alex and I are going to go get something to eat and we'll be back later to see you." Bobby said.
"That's fine, these meds usually knock me out in thirty minutes, and I'm usually out for about six hours." she replied after she'd taken the pills.
Sure enough by twelve-thirty Kim was out like a light and Bobby and Alex headed out to start looking at rings.
By one in the afternoon they had been through three jewelry stores not seeing anything that struck them as the 'perfect' ring. Store after store, the two began to wonder if they would have better luck finding a ring online since all the places they had been to had turned up to be dead ends. Finally the last jeweler they went to was where they found what they had been looking for. Alex was looking in one case, when something caught her attention.
"Hey Bobby, I think I have something over here." she called over her shoulder as she looked at the ring in the case.
"Which one?" he asked, as he looked over her shoulder.
"The white gold marquise cut diamond in the front." she replied.
"Can you put that in layman's terms?" he said laughing.
Just then a sales associate came over to see if there was something she could do to help.
"Can I help you two?" the young woman asked politely.
"Yes, I'd like to see this ring please." Alex said as she pointed to the ring she was implying about. As the woman removed the ring from the case and handed it to Alex, Bobby knew instantly that this was the ring he had been searching for.
"What do you think?" Alex asked Bobby as she handed him the ring.
"It's perfect," he said as he looked at the ring in the palm of his hand while smiling.
"My thought's exactly." Alex said in agreement.
After paying for the ring, the two took a taxi and headed back to the hospital.