"Jo? Can you hear me Jo? Open your eyes for me hun. You need to wake up now." Jo groggily blinked into the blinding overhead light, grateful for the shadow that fell across her face blotting out some of the glare. "That's good. How are you feeling? Any nausea?" Jo rolled her head from side to side, indicating she was not about to lose the contents of her stomach.
"When do we get started?" She murmured, fighting the urge to go back to sleep.
"It's over love, you've been out for the count for a couple of hours. We'll get you moved to the ward shortly and once you're a bit more with it, the surgeon will come and have a word with you." Jo nodded, feeling darkness swooping over her once again.
"Ms Sorella?" Lucy rose from the hard plastic chair grimacing as she felt her muscles scream in protest. "I'm Mr Sharif, I operated on Miss Masters. Are you her next of kin?" Lucy's heart dropped into her stomach, fearing the worst, or else why would they need Jo's next of kin?
Dumbly she shook her head, not really sure if Jo had any family. It wasn't something they had got around to discussing. "I'm her partner, I don't know about relatives we've not been together that long." The young woman explained.
"I can't discuss her treatment with you but she is out of theatre and has regained consciousness following the surgery. If you wish to, you can sit with her but be aware she will still be very sleepy for a while yet." Relief flooded through Lucy's veins as she heard Jo had come through the operation.
"I'd very much like to sit with her," she informed the surgeon, a lump forming in her throat. As she was guided into the ward on which Jo was recuperating, Lucy murmured her thanks to the staff. She pulled a chair close to her lover's bed and sat down, reaching for a listless hand and clasping it between her own.
Jo stirred slightly, feeling the pressure on her hand, not quite able to move thanks to the blanket of fog which seemed to be surrounding her brain. Words drifted into her mind, soothing quiet words which lulled her back into her cocoon of slumber.
"I'm here Jo, I'm right here with you. Everything's going to be ok baby, we're going to be ok." Lucy cooed softly, sweeping a hand across Jo's luscious shiny locks, her other still holding the brunette's tenderly.
Sam slumped onto her sofa, still concerned over her lack of contact with Jo. It just wasn't like the detective to disappear. She started as the phone rang, interrupting the silence in her otherwise unoccupied house.
"Hello?" She knew it was ludicrous, but she couldn't help but be disappointed when Abi's voice floated to greet her through the receiver and not the blunt Northern accent she had come to love.
"Hi Mum, how's things?" Abi bubbled into the phone, not having spoken to her mother in some time and finding that she had missed her more than she thought she would.
"Hi Abi, everything's good. How are you and Jared?" Sam sunk back into the plush cushions of the sofa, hoping talk of her grandson could distract her troubled mind for a while.
"He's adorable, as ever, except that he's teething so he's a bit cranky at the minute. Listen Mum, it's been ages since I saw you. Are you busy this weekend? And would you like some company?" Abi asked, keen to show how much Jared had grown since his granny last saw him.
"That would be brilliant love, I'd like your company very much. As luck would have it, you've picked my weekend off so I'm free whenever you care to descend." Sam felt her spirits lifted at the thought of spending time with her only grandchild.
"If you make an appointment with your GP for Monday, they should have received a copy of the biopsy results by then and can discuss them with you, make arrangements for any further appointments as necessary. Is there anything else you'd like to ask me?" The softly spoken surgeon asked.
Jo sat on the edge of the bed, gripping Lucy's hand fiercely having insisted the dark-haired young woman be allowed to stay as they discussed Jo's operation. "I don't know, I can't think…" Jo stammered, her usual poise not in evidence.
"What would be the best case scenario do you think, given what you've seen?" Lucy asked, returning Jo's vice-like grip but determined to keep a positive outlook for her lover's sake.
"I can't give you any kind of prognosis at this stage, we really do need to wait for the test results to come back. Anything else would be purely speculation and that would not be fair to Miss Masters." The doctor's eyes were warm and empathic, imploring Lucy to understand that he wished he could deliver some miracle salve to ease the waiting, knowing that the weekend would be the longest both women had possibly ever experienced. As he left to attend to his other patients, both women remained seated in silence.
Lucy was the first to break it, keen to get away from the smell that was so unmistakably hospital and to make the weekend as easy as it possibly could be for her partner. "Come on, let's get you home. You'll feel better once you're in your own bed."
Jo bit back a sharp retort, knowing she would only be lashing out in her fear and anger at the one person she really did not want to lose. Her stubbornness had already risked chasing her amazing lover away, she was determined that she would not make the same mistake twice.
Lucy pulled to a halt outside Jo's modest house, unbuckling her seat belt and rounding the car to grab the overnight bag and assist Jo. The brunette could not believe how tiring it was sitting in a car but she had no resistance left in her to shuck off the hand supporting her arm as she tried to lever herself out of the car. Once inside, Lucy angled after Jo heading straight upstairs.
"Please, just let me sit down for a while. I don't know what they gave me to keep me under last night but it takes some shifting from your system I can tell you!" Jo sunk gingerly onto her plush couch, groaning in relief as she felt its softness envelope her.
"Some of it's probably this stuff they've given you for the pain, it sounds pretty hefty!" Lucy informed her as she busied herself emptying the contents of the overnight bag, shovelling all clothing into the washing machine as she did so. "Can I get you a drink?" the younger woman called from the kitchen.
"Coffee, black and strong would be good." Reaching over gingerly, Jo pressed the button on her answering machine to see if she had any messages that needed replies.
"Jo, it's Sam, I need to speak to you about the Braxton case – the trial date's been brought forward to the 14th. If you can give me a call when you pick this up, we can go through the finer details, refresh your memory that sort of thing. Hope you're ok and enjoying your time off. Speak to you soon. OK bye." Sam rung off and the machine flicked onto the next message.
"Hi Jo, it's me again. Pick up if you're there, please?" There was a pause as Sam had obviously waited to see if Jo would comply. "Hope nothing's wrong, I tried your mobile but it's switched off. Ermm, I don't want to pry but I spoke to Lucy and she sounded quiet upset. If you want to talk about it, you know where I am ok. Talk to me any time, doesn't matter when. Ring me ok?" Sam hung up once again, a definite edge to her voice that Jo thought was bordering on panicked.
"You have no more messages." The machine stated mechanically as Lucy walked into the room with a steaming mug of black coffee.
"What did you tell Sam?" Jo asked, her voice more harsh than she intended.
"Nothing, I didn't know what you'd want me to tell her." Lucy perched beside the buxom brunette, a wary expression on her beautiful face.
"She said she spoke to you and you were upset. Said that I could talk to her about it anytime. What does she mean by 'it' Luce?" Jo struggled to sit forward to put her cup on the coffee table. Instinctively, Lucy reached out and took it from her. "I can do it myself." Jo snapped, hating feeling so helpless in her own body.
"I know you can sweetheart, I just don't want you popping any of your stitches or hurting yourself, that's all." Jo had the good grace to look contrite, offering a murmured apology as she sank back into the sofa, still clearly awaiting an answer to her previous question.
"I told her that we'd had a run in on Monday morning, nothing more than that. I told her she'd have to talk to you." Lucy's voice caught as she remembered the conversation, her fear that she had lost the best thing in her life. "She cares about you Jo, why won't you let her be there for you?"
"I'm tired, I don't want to talk about it." Jo manoeuvred herself off the sofa with great effort, needing to put some space between herself and the turn of the current conversation. She shuffled up the stairs and closed the bedroom door behind her, indicating her wish to be alone.
Abi ran into the hall and grabbed up the receiver just before it rang off. "Hello?" she panted breathlessly.
"Sam? It's Jo." The brunette was unsure this was such a good idea, but didn't want Sam worrying about her. It would only make her more determined to seek her out if she didn't make contact.
"Oh hi Jo, it's Abi. Hang on a minute, I'll just get her for you." Jo heard a muffled squeal in the background followed by "Mum, it's for you surprisingly since it's your house. It's Jo."
Sam sprang up from the floor where she had been rolling around with Jared, playing with farmyard toys. She practically sprinted the short distance to the phone.
"Jo? Hi, thank God, I've been worried sick. Are you ok? Did you get my messages? Where've you been?" The dynamic blonde knew she was firing off questions rapidly but her mind was awhirl and would not be quieted until she had some answers.
"I'm sorry Sam, I've had this flu bug for the last few days, been laid up in bed. My phone battery must have died and I'd turned the ringer down on the landline. I picked your messages up late last night when I finally emerged." Jo felt awful lying to her best friend, but there was no way she was ready to share her bombshell not yet, maybe not ever if she could avoid it.
"Oh I'm sorry Jo. You must have been pretty out of it, I was hammering on your door for about ten minutes the other day!" Sam felt the relief infuse her system, figuring that Jo sounded weary and down but that that could just be the after effects of the illness she'd had. "So much for enjoying a few days off then. Are you up to coming back into work or would you rather take some more time out?" Sam asked, more out of friendly concern than as the DC's supervisor.
"I've got a doctor's appointment on Monday morning but I'll be in as soon as I can. Can we set some time aside Monday afternoon to go through the Braxton case?" Sam agreed that it would be a good time to discuss the case going to court the following Wednesday.
"Is there anything you need? Anything I can bring over for you? Save you having to go out." Lucy quietly knocked on the bedroom door, entering with a mug of hot coffee for Jo, hoping that she wouldn't mind the intrusion.
"No I'm fine thanks Sam, I've got Lucy here acting as a very good nursemaid for me, she's been a real trouper." Jo gazed directly at her lover, willing her to believe the words despite her own earlier harshness towards the woman who was just trying to care for her. She was pleased to see a gentle smile touch the corners of the raven-haired beauty's lips.
"Good to hear you two sorted out whatever it was that got her so upset. She's a keeper Jo, you're both very lucky to have each other." Jo felt a lump form in her throat as Sam's words hit home, making her realise just how lucky she was after all she had put Lucy through in the past week.
"I'm the lucky one Sam having two incredible women looking out for me." Sensing that her dam was about to spring a serious leak, Jo concluded, "I'll let you get back to Abi and Jared, since I presume that's him in the background and you've not taken to torturing the neighbourhood pets! Enjoy the rest of your weekend and I'll see you on Monday." They hung up, Jo reaching out to Lucy. Thinking that she was accepting the drink, the younger woman went to pass it over but stopped as Jo shook her head. Placing the mug on the bedside table, Lucy moved into the circle of her lover's arms, tentatively embracing her mindful not to hurt her.
"Did you tell her?" Lucy broached the sore subject, feeling Jo shake her head against her stomach where it rested.
"I can't, not yet. I need to know what I'm up against before I worry her like that. Please Luce, can you respect my wishes?" Jo looked up, her eyes pleading the other woman to do as she asked.
"She'd want to be there for you Jo, no matter what it is or how long it takes. She's your best friend, don't shut her out because you're scared of getting hurt." Lucy spoke tenderly, brushing the brunette's hair away from her face as she did so.
"I'm not telling her, I'm not ready for that. Telling her… it would make it… then it would be real. If you love me at all, you won't say anything to her. I guess if you tell her, we'd have nothing left to say to each other." Lucy's heart clenched at the thought Jo could walk away from her if she followed her heart and spoke to Sam.
"Ok, I'll respect that for now but you have to acknowledge that whether you tell Sam or not, this is still real baby." Lucy held Jo as the stricken woman sobbed for all she was worth; her fears, her anger, her sense of injustice all mingling and soaking the soft cotton top covering Lucy's exquisite body.