A/N Sorry it's a short one, but it seemed the right place to stop.
THE LEGACY – CHAPTER 18
It was white, too darn white for her eyes to comfortably focus on anything. Her brow wrinkled in confusion, the bank hadn't been white, so where was she. She was stiff, like she hadn't moved in a while, and her left side ached, a lot. Finally her eyes adjusted to the light and she was able to see what was around her. The first thing she noticed was the IV stand, then she saw the monitors and telltales tracking the functions of her body. She tried to talk, but her throat was too dry, she tried to manufacture some saliva to loosen it up. Finally she was able to croak out "where am I"; but there was no answer. It was obvious that she was in a hospital, but she didn't know which one, and more importantly, she didn't know why. Slowly her hand found the call button and she rang the nurse. "Can I help you?"
"Yes, where am I and why am I here?"
"Oh" the nurse said, realizing who it was "just a minute Ms. Camden, I'll tell the doctor that you're awake, he can explain everything."
"Than you" Ruthie said and relaxed back into the bed. 'Let's see if I can figure out what's up before he gets here. Her right arm moved OK and her head seemed fine, but when she tried to move her left arm, she found it had been restrained. 'Something happened to my left side' she thought, but what. The only two possibilities were that she had broken something or that she had been shot. Considering what had been going on at the bank, she figured it was the second one. Gently, she started probing her left side with her right hand, no bandages in her gut, nothing below the breast, ahhh; there it was, between her collar bone and her breast, a mass of bandages that throbbed when she put the slightest bit of pressure on it.
"Please leave that alone young lady, I did some lovely stitching on you and I'd hate to see it ruined."
Ruthie didn't move her hand, but her head whipped around to see the owner of the voice. It was an older man with silver hair and the palest blue eyes that Ruthie had ever seen. "So what happened to me doctor?"
"Well, you seem to have gotten yourself shot Miss Camden, didn't you have anything better to do?"
"Maybe one or two things, but you know what happens when an impulse strikes." She looks over at the man's ID and sees the name Steven, but she can't see the last name. "So you patched me up there Dr. Steve?"
"Yes I did, and I must tell you it was touch and go there for a bit, but you're one hell of a fighter Miss Camden."
"Call me Ruth or Ruthie please, 'Miss Camden' makes me feel like an old school teacher."
"Alright Ruth, the bullet did some significant structural damage to your shoulder blade, and then nicked a few things on it's way out your front, including a pulmonary artery, that's why you bled so much. Fortunately the police acted quickly and got you here in record time."
"You said structural damage; will it affect my arm movements?"
"For a while, yes it will. You will have to have your arm in a sling for a bit until everything knits back together, but with some therapy you should regain full use and full strength."
"How long are we talking about here doc?"
"Well the physical therapist is the real expert, but I'd ballpark it at two months from now, maybe six weeks."
Ruthie relaxed even more; she'd still be able to paint. True, she could paint right now with her right, she was a righty after all, but she liked using her off hand for different effects, and the thought of loosing that had scared her for a moment. "Thanks, doctor Steve, for everything."
"My pleasure Ruth, now the nurses have to take some blood and stuff, then I think you can have visitors, do you feel up to it?"
Ruthie thought for a second "absolutely".
"That's a good sign, but don't hesitate to let them know if you're feeling tired, your body went through a lot, let it heal."
"I will, I promise."
She watched the doctor leave and then kicked herself, she hadn't asked how long she'd been here; 'well I can ask the nurses' she thought.
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Gary couldn't believe it when he looked at the paper, only two saves today, and both of them were just phone calls. Over the years he had gotten better at the warning call, and now he knew just how to approach each one. That would leave him time to get the Camden's down to see RC. He knew Toni would be there sooner or later, but she still had to get to work. "Tell her I'll be by later" she had called to her husband as she left.
Lucy and Kevin had come over with Marissa, who was going to stay at McGinty's for a while, and then come to the hospital with Brigatti. Teressa wasn't going to school today and so the four Camden's, Teressa and Gary loaded into the McGinty's van and headed down to Mercy Hospital. When they got there they immediately saw Simon and Lily waiting for them in the foyer. Things were a bit awkward because Eric and Annie (especially Annie) weren't comfortable with Simon's fiancé and Lucy had never met the girl. After the introductions and some stilted conversation, the nurse arrived to tell them that Ruthie was ready for visitors. Everyone gave a sigh of relief as they headed back to Ruthie's room.
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Ruthie was worried; especially about her mom. She knew Annie loved her, but she was afraid that her mom would want, no demand, that she come back to Glen Oak. Ruthie now knew that Chicago was her home, not Glen Oak, not anymore, but she knew that her mom would force her to choose, and she was worried about how her mom would react when she chose to stay here. She watched them come in, and was amused to see that they segregated themselves into Camdens and non-Camdens. Her mom looked down at her, eyes wet with unshed tears "how are you feeling honey"?
"Pretty good mom, all things considered."
"So what did the doctor's have to say?"
"I'll be here another couple of days but I should be fine. The doctor said I'll make a full recovery. Thank God they were using jacketed ammo, or else it would have burst when it hit and killed me, instead it just went straight through." Ruthie looked up at Gary "does Toni have any idea who they were and what they were after."
Gary got very uncomfortable as everyone in the room was suddenly looking at him. "Uhmm, the best guess is that they were pros, probably former spec ops soldiers or something like that. They didn't have any ID, but they did have the numbers of a couple of safe deposit boxes, Toni's trying to get the bank to open them up to see what was there. Anyway, there's no telling right now if it was something they put together or if they were hired."
Eric and Annie just stared at each other appalled, what kind of place was this where they talked about hired bank robbers like it was a common thing. Annie looked down at her daughter again, and Ruthie groaned inwardly at the determined set in her eyes. "When were done visiting we'll talk to the doctor about transferring you back to Glen Oak."
"Why, I'm fine here?"
"You got shot here Ruthie; you don't belong in a place like this."
"This is my home now, not Glen Oak. I don't ever want to leave."
Annie was about to say something more when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She whipped around to find herself looking into Lily's chocolate brown eyes "yes" she said with a snap.
"Could I speak to you for a second Mrs. Camden" the girl asked, her eyes almost pleading with the older woman.
Annie closed her eyes and shook her head, then looking back into the eyes of the girl that might one day be another daughter, she just nodded. The two women could hear Simon asking Ruthie something about school as they exited the room.
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"What do you want" Annie asked without preamble as they got into the hall.
"Don't make her choose Mrs. Camden, you won't like the way it works out."
"Speaking from experience" Annie asked, still not liking that the girl had interrupted her talk with Ruthie.
"Yes I am" the willowy girl said "I listened to my mom have this discussion with my sister after she had moved to New York. My sister stayed and they never spoke to each other again."
"Why not" Annie asked.
"9/11" Lily replied, her eyes slowly leaking tears "Deanna was in the North Tower, the plane hit and she was trapped. She called home, but I was the only one there. She would have given anything to talk to mom one last time, but it wasn't meant to be. I could hear the screams and yelling in the background, but my sis held it together just as calm as anything, I know she was just waiting for mom to get home, but then the Tower fell. I can't even begin to describe how my mom reacted; she would have traded places with Dea in a second if she could. She was out getting a manicure when Dea called the last time, she hasn't gotten one since, and she probably never will. Life's too short and uncertain to be fighting because your daughter is growing up and you don't want her to. Just accept her choices, disagree with them if you want, but please accept the fact that she is choosing her life and her path. You don't want to miss out on her life because you were trying to protect her. You can't protect her from everything, life won't let you. So be strong enough to let her go."
Annie just looked at the girl, and saw exactly what Simon saw in her; the strength and level head, and most of all, the compassion that she possessed. She took the younger woman into her arms and just repeated "thank you" over and over.
Lily was surprised at the reaction of her fiancé's mom, but she held the older woman until her tears became a more manageable torrent. Annie stepped back and looked at her future daughter in law "you know I haven't thought much of Simon's decision making for the last couple of years, but I've got to tell you I've never been happier being wrong. It's an honor to welcome you to the family". With that, she hugged the younger woman again, and they headed back to the room. They were just outside the door, when they heard and obviously feminine shriek of delight.
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Ruthie said a silent prayer that Lily had pulled her mom out of the room before it got too ugly. Unfortunately Lucy decided that, as older sister, it was her place to take over. Fortunately Simon cut in "so anything new at school?"
"Actually there is" Ruthie answered "I have an inside source that says the administration is thinking of offering me a position as an associate professor once I graduate."
"They can do that" Eric asked, while the others in the room just stared at her, dumbstruck.
"Yeah they can" Ruthie answered. "When I graduate I'll have my MFA (Master of Fine Arts), and that's all you need. I'll never be a full professor unless I get my doctorate, but that's for the future to decide."
"So you'd take it if they offered" Eric asked, realizing that Ruthie was out of the nest just as thoroughly as Simon.
"In a heartbeat Dad, it would be the perfect set up for me; supplies, young minds to keep me flexible, a place to show my work, it's all good."
"And you'd be staying in Chicago" he said with a bit of finality.
"Yeah, I'd be staying here; I love this place Dad, I'll visit as often as I can, but I don't expect to ever call California home again."
"So you might be teaching me next year" Teressa asked, not truly believing what she had heard.
"Could be" Ruthie replied "but I doubt there's much left to teach you"; just then the brunette remembered something "hey Walters, I almost forgot, are my pants hanging in that closet over there?"
Teressa went over to the closet in question and found a pair of Camden's paint spattered jeans. "Yeah, they're hanging here, what's up?"
"Could you bring me the envelope that's in the back pocket?"
"Sure, why do you need it?"
"It's something the administration wanted me to tell you" Ruthie told her friend.
Now Teressa was nervous, was she in some sort of trouble, she had wanted to be included in a summer program at the Louvre in Paris, she hoped she'd still be going, maybe they were using Camden to tell her no. Reluctantly she handed the plain envelope to Ruthie.
Ruthie pulled the envelope out and just scanned the letter again, then, just for fun looked up with a kind of grim face "Teressa Walters, it is my reluctant duty to inform you that I am not the only Guggenheim winner in this room." She let the words sink in while watching her friend. Her eyes were sparkling with merriment.
For her part, Teressa couldn't believe what she had just heard, if what Camden had just said was true, that would mean that…. "Oh my God" the younger girl shrieked "you mean I won?"
"You mean that mobile that we hung in the bar at Christmas is going to be in a museum" Eric asked, making sure of his facts.
Ruthie just nodded at her father and with a flourish; she held out the letter from the Guggenheim foundation to her young friend and then squinted her eyes as Walters snatched it out of her hand. Teressa flew through a couple of lines and then just let loose with a scream of delight. The door opened and Ruthie saw Lily and her Mom come in, arm in arm. At that moment Ruthie didn't care that her side hurt, or that she'd have to go through some serious physical therapy; the joy she saw around her, in her friends and family, made the pain insignificant.
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Janet Aguilera walked into the hospital. She hated places like this. In her short life she had never known anything good to come out of a hospital except a story about a corrupt doctor or two. Now she was here to thank someone, someone she would rather never see again. The past day had confused the young reporter. She knew that the artist girl didn't like her, and probably never would. But the girl had risked and nearly lost her life to save Janet. She couldn't understand it. If it was a friend or family, then Janet believed that she would have done the same thing as the young brunette, but to risk yourself like that for someone you didn't like; Janet couldn't understand it. And how do you thank someone like that. How do you confess in words the fact that the artist is a better person than you will ever be? That's not the kind of conversation that you're meant to sleep after. She was a writer, someone who lived words and expressions, they were her craft, her trade, her art; surely she could find a way to thank someone that had nearly died for her. The young Latina paced around the lobby with a notebook and pen, trying and discarding hundreds of different ways to express the truth. Ultimately she just couldn't bring herself to do it, and with her head bowed in defeat, she left the hospital with the words unspoken and unwritten.
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When Toni and Marissa arrived they found a celebration going on. It took them a bit to figure out what it was that they were celebrating but once they figured it out they threw themselves into the party. The Camden's found themselves swept into the impromptu celebration. At one point they tried to leave, feeling that it wasn't anything directly pertaining to them, but neither Gary nor Marissa would hear of it, so in the end the families celebrated the fact that Ruthie would be fine and that Teressa had won a great honor and Simon was getting married. They also succeeded in irritating the duty nurses, but it's tough not to do that when you're in the hospital.