The Ties That Bind.

Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Nope

A.N. Hey! Currently on March Break so I figured I'd see if I couldn't get a chapter of this done before I went back. It's my first story so I really would like to get it done and I figure there will only be a few chapters left which makes me a little sad. I really like the way this chapter turned out and I think I might do one more from Madeline's POV before I change back to Rhodey's POV. If you like (and even if you don't) please read and review. And as always, enjoy.

Madeline POV:

Drip drip drip…

It was raining. Or rather, it had been raining. I loved when it rained because my window would become covered in a sheen of raindrops and when the sun shone through the water refracted the light, making interesting patterns on my walls and ceiling. Opening my eyes, I looked up at the ceiling…and frowned. This was not my room, my ceiling wasn't white. I hated the colour white so I'd painted the room yellow shortly after I'd moved, Clarke had helped me. That had been a good weekend…Allison had gotten paint on her nose.

Allison.

I shot upright in the bed and instantly regretted doing so. Black spots covered most of my vision and my head pounded but that wasn't as bad as the pain that radiated from my abdomen and made me consider passing out again. With a low moan I used one hand to press against my abdomen and one to push against my temple. What the hell had happened?

"It was all so quick James, I barely remember a thing I don't know why they keep askin- oh my God Madeline!" Allison's voice cut through my head like a knife through butter and I was hard pressed to decide which pain was worse.

"Madeline? Maddy? Allison get a doctor." A males voice that time. James?

I opened my eyes against the too harsh light and saw his concerned face looking back at mine and I wanted to cry. James would protect me. He'd done so before. Letting out a sob of relief I reached out for him and he was there instantly, making the pain just a little more bearable.

"You scared me Maddy." He whispered against my hair and I laughed, which proved not to be the best idea because my abdomen protested vehemently.

My wince seemed to trigger something in James because he pulled back and the frown on his face looked out of place against his features. With a gentle hand on my shoulder my pushed me back to lie down on the bed, his expression seeming to get darker with every passing moment.

I opened my mouth to ask him a question when a doctor rushed in, my hand reaching out and snagging James' before the doctor could reach my bed. I'd come a long way since Seth but doctors were not my thing. Seth had had a friend, who was a doctor, and he'd certainly never seen the Hippocratic Oath before; and if he had he definitely hadn't paid much attention to it.

I instinctively tried to get closer to James, only to be stopped by the railing on the side of the bed. As if sensing my unease he shifted closer to the bed, his thumb smoothing over the skin on the back of my hand.

"Well Ms. Brooke it seems you've been through quite the ordeal. I'll just do a quick check of your vitals shall I? I'm Dr. Miller by the way." The doctor's voice was soft and he seemed kind and gentle but I just couldn't bring myself to trust him. And I wanted to. Desperately. I was so tired of being afraid of everyone, being scared that they were going to hurt me. Which is why my relationship with James had come as such a surprise because I trusted him, which wasn't something I was used to.

I kept my death grip on James' hand throughout the entirety of Dr. Miller's examination, which was absolutely painless. I almost felt bad for squeezing his hand so tightly but when I looked over at him, his eyes were trained on the doctor and his face seemed to register no pain at all, so I just loosened my grip on his hand to ease my own conscience.

"Well Madeline, everything seems to be okay with your vitals. I was wondering if it would be okay if I checked your bullet wound. I just need to check the stitching and make sure everything is healing and nothing is infected."

My hand went to my stomach and I felt the colour drain from my face. Check my stomach? But I was wearing a hospital gown. They tied up at the back which meant he'd either have to take it off or push it up.

I was vaguely aware of my heading shaking over the blood that was pounding in my ears. I didn't want him to check my stomach. I didn't want him to touch me. Why did everyone always want to touch me?

"Maddy? Hey Maddy. Come on honey look at me. It's okay, no one's going to touch you." James? God. How much of that had I said out loud?

When my eyes focused on the room I could see that Dr. Miller had paled himself, obviously not accustomed to having to deal with patients would were a few cents short of a dime. I opened my mouth to say something but found it was suddenly dry and looked over at James, who quickly became a blur as my eyes filled with tears.

"Can we have a minute?" James' voice was quiet and I heard rather than saw the doctor leave the room.

As soon as the doctor had gone I felt his hand squeeze mine and that was almost my permission to break down. Letting out a sob I pulled my knees to my chest, trying to become as small as possible. My stiches pulled and the pain was bad but my chest ached with pain that I couldn't put a name to.

James said nothing and I hadn't even noticed that he'd moved until I felt his arms wrap around me and pull me into his chest. How he got into the bed was a mystery but I buried my face into his chest and just held onto him. I felt him press a kiss to my hair and I knew this had to be hard on him too.

"What's wrong Madeline? You can tell me anything, you know that? Anything." His voice was soft in my ear and it made me feel safe.

And I wanted to tell him everything. Just start talking and not stop until I ran out of words. I wanted to tell him about Seth, and about how he'd hurt me and that he had never loved me but I'd loved him enough to be blind to the abuse that went on for years. Instead I simply cried into his shirt until there seemed to be no tears left in my body left to cry.

When I finally pulled away from him and looked into his face the pain written across his features broke my heart. I hated that I was the cause of all this pain, it seemed to be the only thing I could do. Without thinking I reached up and pulled him down to me, kissing him to try and convey everything that I was feeling. I could feel him hesitate before he kissed me back, placing a hand on the side of my neck as he put all he had back into the kiss.

Grabbing a fist full of his shirt I tried to pull him closer, but that was when he pulled away. Resting my forehead against his I tried to think of something to tell him for when he asked for an explanation about what had just happened but that question never came. He simply smiled, and pressed a soft kiss to my forehead.

"Do you think we could call the doctor back in now? I won't go anywhere but I want to make sure you're okay and that you're gonna make a full recovery."

As much as the thought of having the doctor's hands on my skin made me uncomfortable I knew that the sooner I allowed it the sooner I could leave. Taking a deep breath I nodded slowly and watched as James went to go get Dr. Miller from the hallway. When they came back in I opened my mouth to apologize but Dr. Miller waved his hand dismissively, with a kind smile.

"No need to explain or apologize Ms. Brooke, I'm just here to make sure that you're healing, nothing else."

Letting up a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding I sent a grateful smile to the doctor, at least he understood even if he didn't know everything.

The examination was over fairly quickly, although I hadn't exactly been paying attention to the examination as much as I'd been paying attention to James. I was trying to memorize all of the details about him, all of the small contours of his face and his hands. Trying to remember what colour his eyes had been in the natural light of the parking lot when he'd first kissed me compared to the colour they were under the fluorescent lighting in the hospital.

"All done," Doctor Miller sounded happy. "Everything is healing well and unless something happens I'd be happy to discharge you later tomorrow."

I smiled and thanked the doctor who made some notes on the char at the end of my bed before he left. I was glad to be leaving even if I couldn't go back to the home I'd shared with Allison and Clarke, not that I wanted to after what had happened.

"James?" I asked.

"Hmmm?"

"Where's Allison and Clarke? Are they alright?" I had meant to ask earlier, but it seemed like everything had conspired against me.

When he frowned I felt the panic in my chest rise, what if there weren't alright? Had they been injured? I hated that I couldn't remember exactly what had happened.

After a moment he nodded, albeit slowly. "Yes. Last I heard Clarke had woken up. He has a concussion though from when he'd been hit in the head with the butt of a gun. Allison is fine. She had some minor cuts and bruises but after the shock she was okay."

I nodded as I listened to him. I remembered Clarke not being there and I remembered seeing Allison, but everything was still fuzzy.

"That's good. I'm glad they're both okay. Are they still here?"

He nodded, "Yeah. I think Clarke might be getting out today though. To be honest I'm not quite sure. I've been focusing on you more so than them" The last part was said with a sheepish grin that made me smile.

Yawning, I lied back on the bed and covered my abdomen with my hands. My stitches had stopped throbbing but now they itched which wasn't much better.

"Tired?" James asked.

Nodding slowly I realized just how tired I was. When had I gotten this tired? I had been wide awake not that long ago. And I didn't want to sleep either, I wanted to stay awake and just be with him for a little bit longer because I knew he'd have to go back to work sooner or later and then all I would do is sleep.

"When do you go back to work?" I asked quietly.

He picked up my hand and the feel of his larger hand around mine was comforting, which is something I wasn't used to. Seth had had large hands as well, but I got used to cringing from his touch because it always meant pain. He never left scars though, he was very careful about that, probably because of the fact that I was in the public eyes a lot. He hadn't wanted to raise any suspicion and he'd enjoyed the public functions more than I ever had. Closing my eyes I took a deep breath, trying to clear my mind of things I didn't want to remember.

"…absence. Are you okay? You're not in pain are you?"

Blinking, I looked up at him. I hadn't heard a thing that he'd said. Shaking my head I smiled weakly, "No. I'm just…remembering. What did you say before that?"

"I took a leave of absence. I'll be here as long as you need me."

I gaped at him, caught between being annoyed at him for leaving his job and crying out of happiness.

"You're a lieutenant in the Marine Corps!"

He grinned, 'Exactly."

"No. James-"I huffed in frustration, "-You can't just take a 'leave of absence'."

He shrugged, "I did. Believe me Madeline; I haven't taken a vacation in years I'm entitled to this one. A couple of weeks at the most. And it'll be fine unless some national emergency comes up."

I rubbed my temples; God this man was too much. Why was he doing that for me? We barely knew each other. He had no reason to sit next to my hospital bed, and to calm me down when I freaked out about things that normal people took in stride. Or to hold me while I cried and to comfort me when no one else could.

"Why?" my voice was hoarse, and I tried to clear my throat and try again when I heard him chuckle, deep and melodically.

I looked over at him and I could see the answer in his eyes before he had to say it.

"I love you, Madeline."