CHAPTER 44 – BREAKFAST

. . . Take a breath. Not too deep if it hurts. . . .

. . . How long has she been here? . .

. . . bleeding . . . .

pain . . .

Elizabeth heard the voices around her but she wasn't sure what was happening as she hovered in that place somewhere between sleep and awareness. The voices faded away as she fell deeper into slumber.

She slept soundly for another hour and then she was once again brought to the brink of consciousness by the renewal of the voices.

. . . . yeah, just a bit. . ..

. .. .No, I don't need more pain medication. Not yet. . . . .

. . . looks good. . . . raise your arm . . . .

Elizabeth's muddled brain debated if she should pay more attention to the voices but quickly decided not to. Sleep was better.

. . . you sure that she wasn't injured? . . .

… she came through unscathed. Feisty wife you have there. I should have picked up on that earlier from those prenatal check-ups. . . . .

Elizabeth, who was partially sitting in a chair and partially slumped on Jack's berth, let the words filter through her tired mind before finally lifting her head from the mattress where she had fallen asleep just after midnight.

"Jack! You're awake!" she exclaimed when she saw him sitting up in his berth. Several pillows were behind his back, propping him up. He was wide awake and smiling at her.

"I am. And now you are too." He couldn't help but tease as she stared at him with a look of utter surprise.

"I'll be across the room if you need anything", the doctor said as he moved away.

Elizabeth quickly reached out and put her hand along Jack's forehead as if he needed to be checked for a fever.

Satisfied that he had not somehow developed an infection, pneumonia, or the bubonic plague while sleeping, she next checked that the pillows behind his back were properly supporting him.

Jack shifted slightly as Elizabeth unnecessarily punched her fist into a pillow to adjust it. She then did the same to another pillow, before leaning down and pushing Jack's hair off his forehead where it had fallen when he had leaned forward.

Elizabeth was determined to take care of every detail concerning Jack whether or not it needed attention. In less than a second, she had gone from a sleeping body to a concerned wife, professional nursemaid, and over-protective care-giver.

Without asking, she efficiently picked up a water bottle from the shelf by his side and handed it to him. She didn't know why she did it, other than in every movie she had ever seen, the person in the hospital bed was thirsty and asked for a sip of water.

Jack held the bottle but didn't bother to take a sip. Instead he smiled as if finding her overwhelming concern in the last twenty seconds to be humorous. "How about a kiss?"

"I don't want to hurt you," she stated simply. She made no move to kiss him. Instead she pulled back the white sheet covering him and examined his body.

"Hey!" Jack exclaimed as he yanked on the sheet. "I'm naked under there!"

"Hush. I've seen you naked before. That's how we got this little one in my belly."

"What are you checking for? I've still got all my parts," he chuckled.

"I just want to make sure there's no more internal bleeding. I'm looking for swelling and bruising around the abdomen," she explained as she kept the sheet lifted and her eyes scanned his body. "That looks good. But oh my, you've got a lot of scrapes and bruising on your legs."

"I'm fine. Doc's already checked me over. Relax." Jack padded the mattress with one hand. "Sit down with me."

Elizabeth was about to sit down when she noticed a napkin and a bowl of oatmeal on the nearby shelf. The mushy food looked cold, and when she lifted the spoon out of it, it made a gloppy sound. It didn't look very appetizing but she reasoned that Jack would be so hungry that he wouldn't complain.

Elizabeth perched on the side of Jack's mattress and handed him the napkin while she held the bowl with her other hand.

"How are you feeling?" she finally asked when she realized that she couldn't detect any obvious distress despite her examination.

"I'm fine," he repeated with a casual shrug and then grimaced at the movement. "A little sore. My head hurts a bit, but not too bad. Doc says I'll be fine."

"Eat." Elizabeth motioned to the spoonful of mush when she moved it close to Jack's mouth as if she was a mother feeding a toddler, elderly relative, or a prisoner with his hands tied behind his back.

Jack turned his head to the side to avoid the cold oatmeal mixed with green flakes of kale. "I'm not hungry."

"You have to be. You haven't eaten since yesterday, and I want you to have your strength. Now open up and eat this."

"No," Jack answered. He turned his head away. "I already ate."

"What are you talking about?" she argued. "This is a full bowl."

"That's your bowl."

"My bowl?"

"I ate an hour ago," Jack said with a nod towards a nearby tray that Elizabeth now noticed for the first time. The tray contained a used napkin, fork, and a plate which was empty except for a few crumbs.

"I had two eggs, toast, apple sauce, and some canned fruit. That mush is yours," he added.

"You've been up for an hour?!"

"About two hours actually."

"Why didn't you wake me?" she practically wailed as she dropped the spoon into the bowl on her lap.

"Because you were tired or you wouldn't have been sleeping so soundly. You needed the rest."

Jack reached for her hand and slowly raised it to his mouth. Ever so delicately he touched his lips to it. It was barely a whisper of a touch but it made Elizabeth's insides feel like they were melting.

He gently pulled her upper body towards him. The distance was only twelve inches but he moved so tenderly that she felt like she was in a slow romantic dance as she leaned closer. Not a sexy salsa or a passionate tango, but an unhurried soft ballet. Like a dance where everything around them stood frozen as they moved towards each other.

Elizabeth didn't object. She didn't want to object. She knew that she should be concerned about his health. About his injuries. But when he brushed his mouth on hers, she forgot all about that. Instead she allowed him to kiss her. To whisper to her.

"If you want me to stop, I will," he said in a voice just above a murmur.

In response, she closed the distance which had briefly opened between them. Feeling the warmth of his mouth.

"I missed you," she told him quietly when their lips separated again.

"I've been right here." he replied softly.

Her palms cupped his face which had an unshaven roughness. "I missed your voice," she said gently.

"I felt so alone without you. When I was scared about you, I kept thinking 'I'll just talk to Jack'. He'll make me feel better. But I couldn't. I couldn't have you tell me that everything was going to be okay because you were the reason I was so worried."

Embarrassed by her feelings, she pulled back slightly and dropped her hands from his cheeks.

Jack's voice carried unjustified guilt. "I'm sorry you were worried."

"It's not your fault. It's my –"

"Can I get some water?" a voice cut her off. "Sorry, but I got a tickle in my throat," a man from a berth fifteen-feet away complained. Elizabeth recognized him from working with Candy in the water purification unit.

Oh, for Pete's Sakes, Elizabeth grumbled. Is it too much to ask for some privacy on this ship! She grabbed a bottle of water from one of the shelves and carried it over to the other patient before returning to Jack.

"I'm sorry," Jack repeated.

"Let's forget about it," Elizabeth said as she tried to brush off any more concerns. "You're awake now."

"No thanks to you," Jack laughed. "Apparently your poetry-reading not only put me into a deep sleep but also the guy in the other berth," he said with a nod across the room. "He's just now waking up. Doc said it worked better than a prescription sedative."

"I was trying to be helpful!" Elizabeth protested.

"And you were. Now, eat your breakfast." He nodded to the bowl of cold mush.

"It's revolting." Elizabeth frowned in disgust at the oatmeal and kale.

Ignoring her facial expression, Jack picked up the dish in one hand, and with the other hand, lifted a spoonful of the mixture towards her.

"Eat."

"I'm not hungry." Elizabeth turned her head away from the mush.

"You have to be. You haven't eaten since yesterday, and I want you to have your strength. Now open up and eat this."

Elizabeth glared at Jack. "How did you remember my words so well?" she asked suspiciously. "You're using them against me."

He chuckled and moaned slightly at the pain it caused in his abdomen. "I'm not using them against you. I'm using them to feed you. And I'm in law enforcement. I'm trained to remember what people say."

"I'm not people. I'm your wife."

"That you are. And from what Doc said, you haven't left my side since surgery. And apparently, he had to have you forcibly removed so he could actually perform the surgery," he chastised her with raised eyebrows.

"You're my husband. I'm supposed to stay by your side", she huffed disagreeably.

"In most situations, yes. I agree. But not when my body is being sliced open and my blood vessels burned closed. I believe we left that part out of our marriage vows."

"Jack –"

"Don't argue with me. I'm injured, recovering from surgery, and I don't want to worry about you. I want you eat, shower, and go sleep for a few more hours," he pleasantly ordered her as if that settled the matter.

"I'm not going to argue with you," Elizabeth said with a small smile. "I'm just going to love you."

"You can love me later. Now you're going to take care of yourself."

"Jack –"

"I'm not going anywhere. Doc says I'm stuck in this bed until tomorrow. And I'm just going to go back to sleep now anyway."

"Fine," Elizabeth conceded. "But I'll be back in an hour or so. I'll just grab a bite to eat - something decent - and shower. Are you sure that you're okay?" She looked at Jack with renewed worry.

"I . . . am . . .fine," he said as he emphasized every word.

"You should get some sleep, Officer Thornton," the doctor suggested when he looked at the monitor above the berth as the door slid closed behind Elizabeth.

"Do me a favor first?"

"What's that?"

"Elizabeth had that look in her eye when she kissed me goodbye. Go out and check on her for me, will you?" Jack asked.

The doctor gave Jack a perplexed look. "What look? Do you think she's ill? Something with the baby?"

"Nah. She looked like she was trying not to burst into tears."

"Why? Why would she burst into tears? You're going to be okay. No lasting damage."

"Not a sad cry. And not a frustrated cry. The other one," Jack noted.

"Just how many cries does that woman have?!" the doctor asked in surprise.

Jack smiled. "She looked like she was about to cry from relief. She's hungry, tired, and she's been overwhelmed with stress for the last twenty hours. Just do me a favor and go catch up to her. It shouldn't be far. I doubt she got as far as the elevator. She's probably about five feet from the door. If she's crying, which I suspect she is, will you bring her back in here?"

Twenty seconds later, the infirmary door slid open.

The transporter doctor, unable to understand why a woman would be leaning against a wall just outside his unit sobbing uncontrollably now that her husband was out of danger, rolled his eyes in disgust.

"Come here," Jack said tenderly as he held out his open arms to Elizabeth.

"Sorry," she hiccupped. She wiped her wet eyes and nose on one of her sleeves. Moving across the short distance of the room, she ignored the other patient who was curiously looking at her and the doctor who had made a exasperated face when he found her in the corridor.

"No apologies. I need some coddling."

Despite her tears, Elizabeth smiled. "You mean cuddling" she corrected him.

"I mean coddling and cuddling from my wife," he told her as he gingerly helped her into his berth. "I'm an injured law enforcement officer. Attacked by an evil pile of rocks. Operated on by a doctor who saved my life but has absolutely no bedside manner. I am desperately in need of a few hours of sleep in my wife's arms."

UP NEXT: CHAPTER 45