Chapter 16:
Jack flat out refused to leave and go home, as the others said their goodbyes to Sue. He was going to wait until she woke up, no matter how long away that was; he didn't want her to wake up alone. Bobby knew it was useless trying to convince him to leave, so instead he gave his support and told him to call them all the moment she woke up. Dimitrius had instructed Jack to take the next day off, knowing that they would be able to handle the serial case without him, seeing as though he had been working mostly only on the sidelines.
Once everyone had gone, Jack tried to get more comfortable, but knew that the sterile plastic chair would never be something he could get used to. But it didn't matter. He held on tightly to her hand, closing his eyes, but never really sleeping, knowing that no rest would come to him as long as Sue was still comatose.
Hours passed and he swore to himself that she hadn't even moved once, until around 5am, when he felt a weak squeeze of his hand. Immediately, he felt wide-awake, anxious to see her eyes stare into his, into his soul like no one else could. Her eyes slowly opened, trying to focus on her new surroundings. She turned her head slowly to look at Jack. He tried to read her eyes, understand what she was feeling, but couldn't. Instead, he scooted his chair closer towards her, grasping her hand with both of his, relieved to see her looking at him again.
"Hey. How are you feeling?" He said as clearly as he could. He wanted to sign, but didn't want to let go of her hand, that was grasping his, as if she never wanted to let it go. It gave Jack hope that maybe things weren't lost after all.
"I'm really tired." She responded quietly. Jack nodded and tried to give her a reassuring smile.
"The doctor said that would happen. We've all been really worried about you."
"Levi?" She asked.
"Bobby picked him up from Charlie's. He's going to stay at his place for now." She went silent for a few moments; obviously trying to process what was going on. Jack knew exactly what she was about to ask, so he explained, "You had a hypoglycemic attack. You need to take better care of yourself – it wasn't anything you could have prevented. It was just lying low, until recently when everything happened, the symptoms started to surface. The doctors are going to help you get better. I'll help you get better." She nodded, and whispered back to him,
"Thanks Jack." He could tell she was getting sleepy again, as her eyes started to droop and she was muttering incoherently. He just squeezed her hand, and placed his hand upon her cheek, urging her to fall back asleep and rest. He tried to listen to what she was trying to say. "You should sleep too…I need to work…Ben…Jack, help Ben." He looked at her, frowning, but before he knew it, she was fast asleep again. He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead, before heading into the hallway to the nearest phone to make some calls to his friends.
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"How's she doing?" Tara asked over the speakerphone. They all listened to Jacks, somewhat more relaxed voice.
"She's sleepy and tired, fell right back to sleep again moments later, but I think she'll be okay."
"Maybe you should catch some sleep mate?" Bobby asked, knowing that even without being able to see his best friend at the moment, he knew how tired he must look.
"I'll try but I'm going to stay up. Before Sue fell back asleep, she was muttering some things. I don't think she knew she was but she was talking about helping Ben. I thought maybe it has to do with why she left?"
"I'll look into it. By the way Jack," Tara started, "I tracked where Sue went. She took a bus to West Virginia, to an area not too far from her parents place. We're guessing she went that far and got picked up either by them or a friend. I can't think of why she would be in that area, and especially not visit her folks."
"Good work Tara. Let me know if you find anything on Ben. How's the serial killer hunt going?" Jack asked, feeling slightly bad that he wasn't helping more, but for once in three years, he felt like he had his priorities straight, Sue in front of work instead of the other way around.
"Bobby and I are talking with the aunt in about an hour. We might stop by later on, if we can get away." Myles announced.
"Great – well, I should go. Keep me posted." They hung up, and Jack headed back to the hospital room.
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Jack was surprised he had actually gotten some sleep in the chair next to Sue's bed. Hospitals were definitely not his favorite place, but he figured after the events of the past few days, he was in desperate need of more rest. Two hours had passed, and Sue was still peacefully asleep. Jack grabbed the bag that Bobby had brought over for him, and started to go over some evidence.
He started to jot down some notes on a pad of paper when something hit him. What if the serial killer had killed elsewhere? What if it hadn't originated in DC? He wrote down a reminder to get someone to call other agencies and locations within the FBI, see if anything else had come up recently with them.
The nurse left again, after having checked Sue's vitals, and Jack decided to put his work away. He almost jumped out of his seat when he heard her soft voice,
"What are you still doing here?" He could tell how genuinely concerned she was, and it made him smile.
"Still tired?" She nodded, but tried to sit up a bit more. He got up and helped her prop herself up with her pillows.
"If I'm lying down, I'll fall back asleep again." Jack finished stuffing his stuff back into his bag before sitting right next to her bed. "When can I go home?" She asked, her eyes sad and tired. He knew she hated being in hospitals as much as he did. He took the opportunity to ask what he had been planning to ever since they had talked to Dr. Jenke. He reached for her hand, hoping she couldn't feel him shaking.
"The doctor will release you once she thinks you're doing better, but then she doesn't want you alone for at least two weeks." Sue looked at him closer,
"Oh." She said. Jack continued,
"I want to move into your place with you, until Lucy gets back."