Chapter Five

Sarah lay in the hospital bed trying her best not to feel sorry for herself. But every time she closed her eyes she saw the gun and the wound in her arm would throb, even though she had been given painkillers. And then the tears would come. She had no idea why, since she was not a girl who cried a lot. And to top everything off, the thought of seeing Steve again and in such a horrible way, just made things worse.

Ever since they had met a couple of weeks ago she had not stopped thinking about him. It was strange, she had never felt anything like this instant attraction she felt for him. She had crushes regularly and also dated quite frequently but she never seemed to be able to want to be with a guy long term. At least not the ones she knew. And she was still not comfortable with the idea of being attracted to a guy like Steve; he was too macho, as she had told her roommates.

She wanted her parents with her, but because of her father's response she was hesitant. She could always call her brother and sister – in – law, but she also knew they would report back to her folks. As it is she had fought hard to get away from their hold, after this they would immediately make her move back to New York. Being from a mixed Italian – Indian household, the protectiveness and smothering was always doubled. Being the only daughter in a house where females were cosseted, it was a major achievement for her to get away. And she did not want to go back and leave a life she was starting to enjoy. She enjoyed the freedom of not having to answer to her Italian father's concerned phone calls when she was out late at night, nor her Indian mothers attempts to set her up with eligible bachelors.

At the moment all she wanted to do was sleep and forget the whole thing ever happened.

-X-

She woke up feeling like her arm was on fire, her body was bathed in sweat and she was shivering. She felt someone smoothing her bangs off and blowing on her sweaty forehead. Someone was also holding her hand and it felt really warm but comforting. She could hear murmuring but she couldn't make out the words.

She cracked open her eyes and saw only blurry figures, which were three. God, there were a lot of people in her room and she didn't want to see anyone, let alone talk. Couldn't they just leave her alone? Didn't they know she was in pain?

"Are you in pain, sweetie?" it was a female voice which sounded very familiar, it was probably Alisha. A male voice joined her, Jack, "What do you think? She did get shot" – Thanks for stating the obvious.

There was someone else there who remained silent, the one holding her hand. She must have made a sound, she wasn't sure, she was so out of it, but the hand holding hers squeezed her fingers softly as if to reassure her of something, perhaps that she was alright.

"How are you doing?" asked the unfamiliar figure, though the voice was strangely recognisable and soothing, deep and softly spoken. She opened her eyes and recognised Steve. What was he doing here?

She must have mumbled her question out loud because he answered, "I came from the school after they took you in the ambulance. I wasn't sure if you had any family you wanted to call so I thought a familiar face to wake up to would be nice", that was nice of him. Which again she mumbled out loud without knowing.

"I called your roommates, I hope you don't mind, I went through your cell phone and dialled the most recent and most frequently called number" Steve supplied. She would deal with this breach of privacy later, when she was feeling a little better.

"Thanks. It means a lot. You didn't have to stay with me" this time Sarah made sure her eyes were open and she could see him. He continued to hold her hand.

"I know. But I knew you were new in town and probably didn't have many friends. I'm glad you have someone to take care of you when your home" he said as he looked toward the door because just then the doctor came in.

"So I see she's up that's good. Do you guys mind stepping out of the room just for a bit so I can have a word with her" the doctor said. All three of them quietly moved out of the room to wait outside.

Sarah looked at the doctor, "So, how bad is it?" she asked.

He smiled, "It's not as bad as it hurts. The bullet lodged in your arm and had to be taken out so the scar will be significant. You have a slight infection in the wound, which is why you have a fever, but its nothing to worry about" he looked at her chart and continued, "if you're wondering about whether or not your arm is fine, the answer is yes. There seems to be no damage, but we will have to keep observing that by follow up checks once you leave in a couple of days. We have taken the liberty to let your school know that you will need time off for at least a month, and as much rest as you can get" So the news was good. She didn't have to call her parents or her brother. She just had to make an excuse not see them for a month or so.

After the doctor left, Alisha, Jack and Steve all returned. She told them what she had been told by the doctor. Once her roommates left after promising to come back tomorrow with some of her things, she was left alone with Steve.

He sat on the chair next to her bed, "So what were you doing at the school today?" she had to ask since it was a complete surprise for her to see him there.

"I was there for work. My team, The Five – O is handling the case since it is gang related".

"But I thought you were a SEAL?"

"I transferred to the reserves a while back and was asked by the Governor to head a special investigative taskforce".

"Sounds impressive. I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but shouldn't you be at work?" Sarah found it rather strange that he was with her for such a long time.

"Yeah. In fact I'm headed back in a bit. You are a victim so me being here also constitutes work" once he said that Sarah's excitement died down a bit. "Do you have any idea why the fight broke out?" the interrogation started.

"No, I wasn't familiar with the student who shot me, Matthew, I never taught him, but I knew David. He was a troubled kid but he wanted to learn. I know that he came from a broken home and not much in the way of support from family, but he was a good kid" Sarah was a bit pissed but she understood that gang related violence was no joke, so she answered all his questions, and there were quite a few.

"Okay. I can see you're tired. I have left my number with Alisha and also programmed it into your cell, so don't hesitate to call me" he reached over and gave her hand a gentle pat, like she was a kid, smiled a little and then left.

So she was work and nothing more. No need to read much into anything and she shouldn't feel so grateful that he came to the hospital. He was only doing his job. She knew she sounded petulant and unreasonable, but damn it she was in pain! She closed her eyes and went back to sleep, trying her best not to think about Steve.