Chapter 15: The Waking World

When Sue returned to the room, she saw that Jack's eyes here open. She felt as if a large weight had been lifted from her shoulders and she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hey gorgeous." He greeted her, his eyes sparkling. He managed to give her a faint grin.

"Jack!" She exclaimed. "Do the doctors know you're awake?"

"Yes." He said, nodding slightly. "Thank you."

"For what?" Sue asked, not sure what he meant.

"For being there. For giving me something to hold on to." Jack explained. "It was so cold, dark and lonely." Sue squeezed his hand, giving him a reassuring smile. About then the doctor came in.

"How do you feel Mr. Hudson?" He asked, starting a routine examination.

"Like ten miles of bad road." Jack quipped weakly.

"That good, huh?" The doctor said, smirking a little when Jack rolled his eyes. "You should be alright. We'll just need to watch for infections." Jack nodded and smiled a little, his eyes half closed. "You need to get some rest." The doctor told Jack. He then turned to Sue and said in an exaggeratedly slow way, "You're going to have to leave for a while, ok?"

"Ok." Sue said, ignoring the fact that he was speaking to her like a child. "I'll see you later Jack." She gave his hand one last squeeze before releasing it and starting out the door. She practically ran into Bobby on the way out. The look on his face spoke volumes. Before he could say anything though, Sue grabbed his arm and practically dragged him out of the room, saying, "You heard the doctor. Jack needs rest. Visit later."

The doctor left quickly after Sue and Bobby had gone, needing to see other patients, leaving Jack alone to his thoughts. The way that the doctor had talked to Sue really annoyed him, yet it also brought another fact to his mind. Whatever it was it stayed just beyond his reach. Something didn't quite add up. Finally Jack let it go and allowed himself to drift off.

Sorry that took so long. The computer combined with my brother doing his applications has kept me away.

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