***Chapter 3***
***Cedars Sinai***
Jonathan had called Lt. Grey on his way to the hospital and updated him.
He called Max too.
"Jennifer's been shot, she's being taken to Cedars Sinai. Can you come, Max? And can you bring me a pair of jeans and a shirt to wear with them, and some pajama pants? I am going to try and stay by her side as long as they will let me".
"She's gonna be fine, Mr. H. She's a fighter. See you soon".
Jonathan parked and ran inside. He found her as soon as they brought her in.
"I'm right here, darling. I love you".
The nurse asked him to wait outside and promised they would come talk to him as soon as she was stable.
He went and got some coffee and sat in the waiting room.
He went over to the phone and called his office.
"Hi, Kelly. I don't want this to get out to the press, but Jennifer's in the hospital, and I am going to be here with her as long as possible. So, please ask Stanley to run things until further notice. Alex McWaters can help, if needed".
"Will do, Mr. Hart. We will all keep Jennifer in our thoughts and prayers".
"Thank you, Kelly".
He hung up, and then placed a call to Susan Kendall. He filled her in, and promised her that he would keep her updated, and asked her to tell the other wives that he and Jennifer socialized with.
He returned to his chair in the waiting room. They had been working on her for at least an hour.
Finally the doctor came out and spoke to him.
"Mr. Hart, I'm Dr. Reeves. I would like to speak to you about your wife".
"How is she?"
"She suffered a serious stomach trauma. We got the bullet out, and there wasn't an exit wound, which is good. Her spine is intact, and the bullet appears to have missed most of her major organs. However, it nicked one of her kidneys. Mr. Hart, has your wife ever been diagnosed with Glomerulonephritis?"
"Not that I know of, what is that?"
"It's a condition where the filters in the kidney are inflamed. It's not life threatening, but her case is unique. You see, the bullet nicked one kidney, and that kidney failed. Normally you can live just fine with one working kidney. We suspect that she has been for quite a while. However, in her case, the other kidney is the one that has the glomerulonephritis. So, her situation becomes dire, because she will either have to be on dialysis the rest of her life, or she will need a kidney transplant."
Jonathan couldn't believe what they were telling him, but he was so grateful that she was alive.
"Can I see her?"
"Sure, in just a second. Now, you are her husband, do you two have any children?"
"No, we don't".
"Does she have any siblings?"
"No, she was an only child. Her mother died when she was younger, and her father died several years ago."
"Well, family members are the best matches, but non-biological matches are good too."
"I will get tested right away".
"Great, stay here and I will have the nurse come find you".
He nodded.
Just then, Max came into the waiting room.
"Mr. H., how is she?"
"She's stable. The bullet hit her kidneys and they said she has something called glome-something. I don't know. Bottom line is, she needs a kidney transplant".
"Well, then we will just see that she gets one".
***Jennifer's room***
Jennifer was dreaming. She was running in a field and all along the edge were white daisies. She had picked several and had a basket full that she was taking with her somewhere. Up ahead in the distance, she saw a beautiful woman with striking red hair. The woman was just sitting on a big rock, and picking flowers.
Jennifer looked at her for a second, and then took off running after her.
"I found you, I finally found you".
"Hi, darling. You sure do look pretty".
"Thanks, so do you".
Just then, the pretty lady got up to go.
"Wait, I'll come with you".
"Not just yet. Later".
Jennifer watched the woman walk away.
***Jonathan***
Jonathan had gone with the nurse to get his blood drawn for the test to see if he could donate to Jennifer.
They drew several vials of blood from Jonathan, and then told him that Jennifer was in room 212.
"We will come find you and tell you the results".
"Thank you".
He went and found Max and they headed to room 212.
They encountered her nurse when they got there.
"How is she? I'm Jonathan, her husband. Her name is Jennifer".
"Hi, she's stable. They closed up her abdomen, so she has some stitches. She will probably sleep all night, and will wake up tomorrow".
"Thank you. Can you see about getting me a bed? I would like to stay with her tonight".
"Right away, sir".
He went in and pulled a chair up next to her and grabbed her hand and held it.
"Darling, I'm here. I love you, you are so beautiful. We are going to get through this, I promise you."
He leaned over and kissed her lips, and stroked her cheek.
Max came over to the other side and kissed her forehead.
"Come on, Mrs. H. You got this. Show em' how tough you are".
Max sat down on the couch. He put Jonathan's bag on the couch next to him.
Jonathan gave her another kiss, and then went into the bathroom and changed clothes.
He came back out and sat down next to her and grabbed her hand again. He laced his fingers through hers and rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. She was so angelic when she was sleeping.
The nurse came and checked her vitals, and then an orderly came in with Jonathan's bed.
He quickly made up the bed and they lowered the inside rails on both beds, and he climbed up in the bed next to her. He kicked his shoes off over the side of the bed and wrapped his arm around her arm.
He was wanting to hold her so bad, but he was trying to be careful of her condition.
Max stayed till dinner time, and then headed home.
"I'll speak with you, tomorrow Mr. H."
"Thanks Max".
Jonathan was about to drift off to sleep when Susan knocked on the door.
"Hi, how is she?"
"Sleeping. The doctor said the bullet missed all her major organs except a kidney. And that's how they discovered that she has glomerulonephritis, I think it was. So, she needs a kidney transplant. Nurse said she should wake up tomorrow".
"As healthy as she is, she shouldn't have any trouble getting a kidney".
"Yes, I agree. However, it's a little harder because she has no living relatives left".
Susan nodded.
"How are you?"
"Worried about her".
"I get that. Make sure you take care of you though, so that you can care for her."
"Don't worry. My cup will be filled".
"Call me if there's any change? I am on duty here tomorrow, so I will stop and see her then".
"Thank you, Susan".
She crept out, and he leaned over and kissed Jennifer's cheek. He whispered in her ear "I love you Red…I adore you".
As he drifted off to sleep, all he heard was the steady rhythm of the machines she was hooked up to.
***The next day***
Jonathan woke up around 6, and got some water. He poured a glass and put a straw in it for Jennifer, for when she woke up.
He had just come out of the bathroom when the nurse came in to change her IV bag.
"Can she eat when she wakes up?"
"Liquids only".
He nodded.
He ordered himself breakfast from the cafeteria, and then got up and got dressed. He climbed back into bed next to her, and held her hand again. He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.
"Good morning, darling, I'm right here".
He turned the TV on low, and called Max.
"Hi Max. No change, but the nurse said she's on liquids only. So, when she wakes up, she will probably need some of your tea that you are famous for, and maybe a strawberry milkshake from Jerry's that she loves so much".
"Will do, Max. Mr. H., I think your situation from yesterday hasn't been resolved".
"Of course it hasn't. She's still in the hospital".
"No, I mean the other situation, with the painting. There were some nasty messages left on the answering machine last night when I got home".
"Get the tape recorder and see if you can record them, Max."
"Will do, Mr. H."
They delivered his breakfast. After he was done, he laid back on the bed and kissed her shoulder.
The doctor came in and examined her again.
"She seems to be holding her own, which is the best possible scenario. Also, Mr. Hart, we got your test results back. Unfortunately, you aren't a match".
He nodded.
"She will begin dialysis today, and will have it every other day until she gets a new kidney."
"Dr., I don't understand something. You said her kidney was nicked".
"Yes, that's true."
"So, can it heal and start working again?"
"Yes, but that very rarely happens. We will evaluate her kidney function before every dialysis though, so if it happens, then she will be on medicine the rest of her life, instead of dialysis".
"Dr., my wife is meticulous about taking care of herself. How on earth could she have developed this?"
"There is no known cause".
"I understand. Thank you, doctor".
The doctor left then, and Jonathan leaned over to her.
"You hear that darling, there's a chance you can fight this all on your own, and only have to take pills, and not a surgery on top of it. You got this babe, just gotta show em. Come on, Red. I love you".
***Jennifer***
Jennifer was in her dream again. She was sitting on another rock. The lady had moved on up ahead, but Jennifer could still see her.
'Why doesn't she want me to come with her? I thought she would be happy to have me with her'.
She got up and continued to follow the lady at a distance, picking flowers and making a gorgeous bouquet as she went along. There was a small patch of beautiful blue tulips that stood out from everything else. She made a bouquet out of those, and put them in her basket. She was walking along, still watching the lady, when she saw a man join the lady. She ran up to the man, and tried to get his attention.
"Not now, darling…it's not time yet. Later".
Jennifer was sad again. Why doesn't anyone want her?
***Jonathan***
Jonathan was laying next to Jennifer, watching TV. He was holding her hand. He periodically leaned over to her and whispered to her that he loved her and kissed her cheek.
He was laying there when he felt it. It was light, but it definitely happened. She had squeezed his hand. Suddenly, her alarms were going off. The nurse came in to check on her.
"What's the matter?"
"Nothing really, her blood pressure is just elevated. She could just be reacting to the medicine, or dreaming. As long as it stays below a certain number, she will be fine. Just talk to her and try to keep her calm".
He got as close to her as he could, and started talking to her.
"I love you, and I'm right here…come back to me, baby. I know you can do it".
He lightly kissed her cheek a few times. Her blood pressure dropped enough to stop the alarms.
"Just keep her calm, Mr. Hart".
"Will do".
After the nurse had left the room, he leaned over again and whispered in her ear.
"The things I want to do to you when we get you home….I love you Red".
He would give anything to see her open her eyes and hear her say his name. He ached for her, he hated seeing her like this.
Lt. Grey came in, and he sat up and shook hands with him.
"No change, unfortunately".
"Well, I came to tell you that we arrested the person who kidnapped her. Braxton Chalmers. He was a suspect in a robbery that was committed a few days before he kidnapped Jennifer. He gave us a full confession in regards to kidnapping Jennifer in hopes that he wouldn't be prosecuted in the robbery, and he asked me to give you a statement on his behalf".
"What is it?"
"He said that since he took good care of her and didn't hurt her, maybe you could see to it that the charges get dropped?"
"He's crazy as hell. Throw the book at him".
"The DA said he wasn't dropping the charges regardless, I just agreed to pass along the message is all".
Jonathan nodded.
"Did he tell you why this all took place?"
"Yeah. That painting that she bought, was actually stolen. So, his plan was to kidnap her, have you give him the painting back, and then he would give you Jennifer. Since she had already paid for it, he would get double the profits, by being able to auction it again. And he told her that if you didn't want to give up the painting, you could have paid a ransom, and if you had selected that, he would have just broken into your house later and stolen the painting. It was all a cycle, and unfortunately, there was no way for it to end peacefully or happily".
"I would have paid anything for her".
"He stated that Jennifer shot down the ransom idea as soon as he said it. She apparently told him that if he wanted money, he should have robbed a bank".
Jonathan chuckled. He loved it when she was feisty and sassy.
"Thank you very much for all your help with finding her, Herschel. I appreciate it".
"No problem Jonathan. I hope she wakes up soon".
They shook hands again, and then Lt. Grey left.
He adjusted her blanket, and then got up and walked around some to stretch his legs. He splashed some cool water on his face, and then came back to the bed. He leaned down and kissed her lips a few times, and stroked her face.
He climbed back into bed, grabbed her hand again, and laced his fingers with hers.
He was staring at her for what seemed like an eternity.
"Where are you, Red? Wherever you are, I'm right here waiting".
He kissed her cheek and rested his head on her shoulder.