Julia
Chapter 13"We'd really like to keep you, Mr. Bailey. Dr. Meloni thinks you need to be here at least overnight."
"I understand that, Nurse Brewer. But I have no intention of staying in the hospital one minute longer than I have to." Stu smiled sweetly at the nurse, which hurt his face no end. After all, it wasn't her fault. She was just doing her job. "Now, if you'll get my discharge papers ready, I would appreciate it."
Nurse Brewer turned to Stu's friend and partner, Jeff Spencer, and hoped for some assistance there. "Mr. Spencer, can't you convince him . . .?"
Jeff shook his head 'no.' "Sorry, Miss Brewer, getting him to come to the ER was the best I could do."
"But Mr. Spencer, he's got three broken ribs, a possible concussion, four stitches in his scalp and multiple cuts, bruises and abrasions. He really should be . . . "
"Yes, ma'am, I know he should. But he won't. And he won't change his mind. So please do as the gentleman asks and get his discharge papers ready."
"Yes, sir." Nurse Brewer walked down the aisle in the ER and Jeff saw her stop and talk to Dr. Meloni. When their conversation was finished, the nurse went one way and the doctor another. Headed right towards Jeff.
"Mr. Spencer . . . " the doctor started.
Jeff put up his hand. "There's no sense you wasting your breath, Doctor. You're talking to the wrong man. That's the one you have to convince, not me." Jeff pointed at Stu, who was trying to put his shirt on over ribs that had been wrapped. Jeff walked over to the bed to help Stu with the shirt and Dr. Meloni followed.
"Mr. Bailey, I can't possibly discharge you in this condition." The doctor seemed firm in his conviction.
"Doctor Meloni, either you discharge me or I go AMA."
The doctor sighed. Stu Bailey - 1, Doctor Meloni - 0. "Alright, Mr. Bailey, have it your way. I'm going to send you home with some pain pills. Be careful with those ribs. From the look of things, you know the rest."
"Thank you, Doctor," Jeff told the physician, who then turned and left the cubicle. "You can be a pain, you know," he told Stu.
"Remember your promise," Stu reminded him. "A little help, please?"
Jeff went to help him with his coat. "What are you going to tell Julia?"
"The truth. Can you drive down and get her? I don't want her alone."
"Don't you think you need a bodyguard more right now?"
Stu shook his head carefully. "No, it's only a matter of time before Harvey finds her. When he does, he'll let up on me. I'll give you the address."
"Alright, I'll go get her. Can I drive you home?"
"I don't suppose you'd take me back to the office?" Stu asked, knowing he was straining the bonds of friendship.
"No. Home or I don't get Julia."
It didn't take Stu long to make up his mind. "Home. I'll call her from there and tell her you're coming."
They drove in relative silence to Stuart's apartment. He started to open the car door when they got there and Jeff stopped him. "Stay put. I'll come around and help you."
Stu tried to glare at his partner, but all Jeff did was laugh at him. Then he came around and helped Stu out of the car. Getting out was more difficult than Bailey thought. 'Thank God for elevators,' both men thought as they got in Stu's. Down the hall they went with Stuart leaning heavily on Jeff, then into the apartment. "The couch, please," was the request, and Jeff complied.
"Do you want anything before I go?"
"Could you make some coffee?"
Jeff smiled. "I can do that. Write down Julia's address and phone number for me."
"She'll be at work. Orlofsky's is the name of the place. You can't miss her. She's medium height, dark hair, and beautiful." Stu pulled his pad and a pen from his coat pocket and wrote down Orlofsky's address and phone number. It was uncomfortable but manageable. He was still under the effects of the pain killer they'd given him in the hospital . When Jeff brought him a mug of coffee, Stu handed over the paper. "I'll call her as soon as I get this down me."
"Don't get up from there," Jeff instructed as he headed for the door.
"Yes, mother," came Stuart's standard reply.
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A little more than an hour later Jeff got to Orlofsky's. As soon as he pulled up a dark-haired woman ran out and approached him. "Jeff?"
"Julia?" Jeff pulled out his P.I. license, which had a picture of him, and showed it to her. She nodded and got into the car. Stu was right, she was beautiful.
"How bad was he hurt?" was the first question she asked.
"I don't know how much he told you."
"Just that some men jumped him last night."
Jeff chuckled. "Leave it to my partner to drop the explanation in my lap. Did he tell you he's at home? And the only reason he's there is that I wouldn't take him back to the office?"
"No."
"Did he tell you that the hospital wanted to keep him overnight?"
Julia looked perplexed. "Hospital? He didn't say anything about a hospital. He just told me he had some cuts and bruises."
"Oh, he has cuts and bruises, alright. Along with three broken ribs, a possible concussion, four stitches in his head and God knows what else that he 'forgot' to tell the doctor about."
Julia gasped. "He didn't tell me any of that. Tell me everything he told you, please, Jeff."
Jeff spent most of the drive back to the apartment informing Julia of everything he knew. When he'd finished, Julia shook her head. "I never knew any of that. Jeff, does he have any food at his place?"
"I don't think so."
"Can we stop at the grocery store? If I can cook he won't have any excuse to go out."
"Yes, ma'am. It won't be the first time I've shopped for him."
By the time they arrived at Stu's apartment they had three big bags of groceries. Jeff used his key to open the door and they found Stu asleep on the couch, his pistol lying next to him on the coffee table. "I'm going to make him some soup. Why don't you stay, Jeff?"
"I would, Julia, but I have an office to get back to. Later this afternoon I'll have Kookie and Roscoe bring Stu's car over. And don't let him leave."
She smiled at Jeff, who seemed like a nice man and a good friend. "I won't. You can trust me on that."
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When the groceries were put away and the soup was almost done, she went into the living room to see how the patient was doing. She was surprised to find him awake and, it appeared, waiting for her. "How long have you been here?" Stu asked.
"Oh, twenty, thirty minutes. Jeff brought me. After we stopped at the grocery store, that is. I'm making some soup for you and it's almost ready."
"No, I . . . "
"Don't tell me you don't want any. Jeff said you'd only had coffee this morning, and you have to have food in your stomach to take the pain killers the doctor gave you," Julia insisted.
"Spilled the beans, did he?" Stu asked.
"If you mean did Jeff tell me everything, the answer is yes." She looked down at him with concern on her face. "Do you need help sitting up? And don't tell me no if the answer is yes."
"Yes, please."
Once Stuart was propped up on the couch with pillows, Julia brought the soup in. He maintained he could feed himself and she let him. Halfway through he tried to quit, telling her he'd had enough, but she insisted he had to finish it. With some cajoling, he did. After she removed the dishes, she came back in and sat down next to him. "Why didn't you tell me that Harvey had been threatening you?"
"I didn't want to worry you. Until last night, I didn't think it was anything serious. And I still don't have any proof that it was Harvey."
Julia sat there for a few minutes without saying anything. "We both know it was Harvey. There's no getting away from him, is there Stuart? Maybe I should just give up and go back to him."
"No, Julia!" Stuart protested loudly and then grimaced. "Don't even talk that way. I love you and I want a future with you. Even if you don't want one with me, you deserve better than a man that treats you shamefully."
"Oh, Stuart, don't you know I love you? But I'm afraid he's going to kill you, and I couldn't stand that." Tears streamed down her face. In spite of his broken ribs, he reached out and pulled her to him, then held her tenderly while she cried.
"Don't cry, Julia. We'll figure a way out of this. I promise you we'll have our time to be together."
"I hope so, Stuart. I hope so."