Chapter 9 (part 1): Waiting
When they had left, she ate and then sorted through the pile until she had found a book to read. It was a novel, Exile's Songwritten by Marion Zimmer Bradley. She hadn't ever read it before, so she though she'd give it a try. She was in the middle of it when she felt as if something had changed. It took her a moment that she was getting this feeling about Jack. He seemed to have gone limp even though he was unconscious. It was as if he was giving up.
"Jack." She said quietly, once again grasping his hand in both of hers and giving it a little squeeze. She waited a moment for a response, but when she didn't get one she started to get really worried. What if he was getting worse? He had been doing better. "You can't stop now Jack. You can't give up. Come on Jack. God will help you. I will help you. Please." She was pleading now, about ready to cry. "You were doing so much better. I don't want to lose you." About this time, she started crying, praying that God would help Jack. She didn't realize that her tears were landing on Jack until she felt them hitting her own hands too. She managed to stop crying for a moment, and leaned over and kissed Jack on the cheek. "For me Jack. If nothing else, do it for me." Once again tears blurred her vision as she sat back in the chair, trying to ward off a fresh wave of tears. I can't lose the only man I've ever truly loved. She thought, choking up at the very thought, tears spilling over despite her best efforts to stop them.