I know I sound like a broken record (and I just dated myself horribly...maybe I should have said scratched CD), but thanks to everyone for keeping the reviews coming! Most of your feedback wants Jack to wake up already...and some of you are getting rather impatient :-) This chapter is a shorty, but I promise Chapter 14 will be up in a day or two.

Chapter 13 – What Is Going On?

Walking back toward his room, Samantha met Julie, who eyed her with a sympathetic smile, and said, "Looks like someone never made it home last night."

"No. I just didn't want him to wake up and not know where he was. I'll stay until he comes around today and then go freshen up."

Julie nodded, "Sure. He should start waking up in the next hour or two. We'll check his responses and then probably keep him lightly sedated for the next day or two. After that, we'll start him on some physical therapy. The anti-inflammatory meds work better if they move quickly through the blood stream. But, the doctor will make an assessment once he wakes up, and may speed things up."

Samantha wondered down to the cafeteria and picked up some yogurt, fresh fruit and a bottle of water. As she slowly ate her snack, she mindlessly watched people come and go. Needing to kill more time, she found the gift shop and picked up a few magazines and then ambled back to Jack's room.

She walked in to find two young men working in the room. "Oh. Sorry. I'll just wait outside."

"No Ma'am, you don't have to leave. I'm Joshua. I'm Mr. Malone's assigned day nurse. This is Mark. He's the floor orderly. Since it looks like you will be spending a lot of time here, is there anything we can do to make you more comfortable?"

Intrigued by their observation, she answered, "Well, I could use a small table and chair. It would come in handy for me to get some work done 'til he gets back on his feet."

Mark flashed bright white teeth as he assured, "No problem. I'll go get one right now."

Making small talk as he continued checking monitors, Joshua said, "I think you already met my brother. Jonathan is Mr. Malone's assigned night nurse."

Samantha just smiled her response.

About then, Jack moaned and stirred slightly. Joshua and Samantha both moved quickly to his side as Joshua called the nurse's station, requesting a page for Dr. McDonald to come to room 405. Jack continued to moan and tried to move his head.

-xxxx-

He tried valiantly to wake up, but couldn't seem to clear the fog in his head. He thought he heard voices or noises, but they seemed to be far away and in a barrel. He tried to open his eyes, but couldn't seem to move them. He tried to move his arms, but could only muster wiggling his fingers. Well, at least I don't think I'm dead.

Slowly, he tried to take inventory of his body. As the fog lifted a bit more, fear started to set in. The word that best described what he thought was: paralysis.

What happened? Where am I? Car wreck? But his scrambled mind gave him no answers.

Dr. McDonald came in, smiled at Samantha saying, "Well, looks like he is coming around," as he checked the monitors. After scribbling something on a chart, he leaned over and said, "Mr. Malone. Mr. Malone, can you hear me?"

Jack tried to turn his head toward the voice. Malone…that's me. He tried to say he heard whoever was calling his name, but only managed a muffled grunt.

The voice continued, "Good. Good. Mr. Malone, I'm Dr. McDonald. You are in the St. Luke's hospital. Do you remember what happened?"

Trying valiantly to process what he heard, Jack thought Hospital? Why can't I move? Why can't I talk? All he could do was shake his head no.

Dr. McDonald continued, "Mr. Malone, you were severely beaten by a gang of criminals yesterday. We patched you up, but kept you heavily sedated. That is why you are having a hard time moving. All of your readings look good, so I'm going to start reducing the sedation. You should be fully awake in a few hours. Don't worry. We are going to take good care of you and have you back good as new before you know it."

Bits of memory flashed through his mind. Warehouse. Shots fired. Pain. Willie. Confusion. Voices. Samantha. Ambulance. He felt so tired and couldn't focus on anything for more than a few moments. His mind gave up the fight and drifted back into the fog.

Dr. McDonald scribbled a few more notes before turning his attention to Samantha. "He took one helluva beating, but he is one tough man. He must have a bulletproof heart."

"Once the sedation wears off, we'll get him up and moving. The swelling will go down quickly after that. The jaw fracture isn't that bad, but I want to keep it wired for about three weeks, to be sure. I will loosen the wires once he is more mobile. The gunshot is clean; no problem."

Smiling, he continued, "His nose might not be as pretty as it was before, but we straightened it as best we could. Everything else will just take time, but don't overly concern me. He will be out for another few hours before coming around for good. Don't worry Mrs. Malone, he will be fine."

Mrs. Malone! He was out the door before Samantha could correct him. She was a bit taken back, but found the reference made her smile.

Just then, Mark came in with a maintenance man carrying a small folding table and chair. "Here you go Ma'am. We'll set it up right over here for you. Just let me know if I can get you anything else."

Trying to shake the "Mrs. Malone" reference out of her head, she smiled and thanked Mark before leaving for the office. She had a few hours to go get some lunch, pick up some cold case files and be back before he woke up.

tbc