Chapter 15
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"I cannot believe you're eating his food."
"I'm not eating his food – I'm eating his leftovers. Besides, I'm eating for two and the only thing that keeps me from being nauseous all the time is actually having food in my mouth."
"Chewing makes you less sick?"
"I can't explain it, that's just the way it is. Get used to it."
Martin smiled and opened his eyes to find his two sisters in his hospital room. Parker, the oldest, was seated on the bed by his feet while, Reese, the youngest, was sitting in the chair gobbling up the remnants of his lunch.
"Hey, look who's awake: Sleeping Ugly." Parker announced upon noticing Martin watching them.
"Hey, Marty." Reese smiled over at him before getting out of her chair and leaning over to give him a tight hug and kiss on the cheek.
"Hi." Martin replied as Parker stood up to do the same.
"Hi, Martin." Parker's hug lasted a bit longer before she broke it off and returned to her spot. "How do you feel?"
"Tired, that physical therapy session was a lot harder than I anticipated." The PT had him walk using rails and some light weight-lifting but he felt like he had just run a marathon. He looked over at his sisters and saw that Reese's belly had popped significantly since the last time he saw her. "Whoa, look at you."
"Yeah, I'm huge!" Reese smiled at him and rubbed her protruding tummy. "Five months along and going strong."
Martin gave her a sad smile and his gaze dropped when he remembered that Reese had called him a few nights before the shooting to tell him that she was pregnant and how excited he was to be an uncle again.
Parker eyed him carefully before asking, "So, on a scale of one to ten, how weird do you feel?"
"Fifteen."
She nodded her head slowly in understanding. "Are you ready to talk about it?"
Martin shook his head and glanced at the wall next to him. "Do I have Amy and Olivia to thank for those drawings?"
"Yeah, they wanted to do something to help their Uncle Marty feel better. They wanted to come by to see you but we figured you might need some time first."
"Tell them I said thanks, they're wonderful."
"I'll do that." She pointed to the finger-painting in the middle and said, "That's supposed to be you by the way."
Martin looked at the finger painting: it was a big yellow glob with two blue dots for eyes, a red nose, and a big grin. Martin could only assume that the brown smudge on top was his hair. It looked ambiguous and unformed – exactly how he felt. "Tell her it's perfect."
Martin continued to stare at the picture. Parker quietly asked, "What is it?"
Out of the corner of his eye he could see his sisters' exchange worried glances. He knew that if anyone in the world could give him an honest look at what was going on while he was in a coma it would be them. While his parents are the ones who broke the 'news' to him, he was sure they would sugar coat much of everything else for his own protection.
"What was it like?" Martin turned to see them eyeing him quizzically. "What was it like, visiting me?"
Reese glanced at Parker, who, as the oldest, was always the one to tell them what was going on. She was the one who explained that their dog, Chester, wasn't actually sent to live on a farm but Dad had him put to sleep. But she was also incredibly kind, so after she gave them the sad news, she held a wake in the tree-house to honor their beloved pet and made them hot fudge sundaes.
She sighed heavily before beginning, "It wasn't easy, Mom and Dad were here everyday, even if just for a few hours. We would all try and switch off so someone was here as much as possible. Dad would read you articles from iSports Illustrated/i or just talk about nothing in particular."
"Dad? Our Dad?" Martin asked curiously. Martin tried picturing his Dad standing vigil at his bedside but it seemed as out of place as a Siamese cat at Westminster.
"Yeah, he took it pretty hard, Martin. You are his only son, the heir apparent, only one to carry on the Fitzgerald name and all that." Parker smiled at seeing Martin's features soften with the knowledge of his Dad doing something so unlike him but he always knew that his parents were very protective of all their kids.
Reese added, "Mom would sit here just talking about family stuff or she'd bring her laptop and catch up on her email."
"She was emailing Samantha." Martin shared.
"She told you?" Reese asked, clearly surprised.
"Yeah, she asked me if I wanted to call her." Martin replied with downcast eyes.
"Did you?" Parker eagerly inquired.
"I tried but I got her voicemail."
"Did you leave a message?"
Martin shook his head. "I was actually relieved she didn't answer. I don't think I can talk to her yet. Or anyone else from work." Martin hastily added. The truth was that Sam was both the only person he wanted to talk to and the last. And while he was upset that his parents had him moved to Georgetown he was also relieved to know that the she and rest of the team weren't able to see him just lying there comatose for two months. He didn't like being the object of someone's pity.
"You should try and call her again. I'm sure she is anxious to talk to you, to know you are alright." Parker urged.
"Yeah, that's what Dr. Salinger said." Martin replied. "I just don't know if I'm ready, but talking to the both of you is good."
"Well," Reese said, "You better get ready; they'll be here next Monday."
Martin turned sharply towards Reese, "What?"
Reese looked taken aback, "Didn't Dad tell you? They're coming here next week for the hearing."
"What hearing?" He demanded.
Reese was about to reply when Parker interrupted, "Calm down, Martin."
"You calm down. Apparently you both know what's going on while I am continuously left in the dark. What hearing?" Martin's voice sounded dark and threatening.
"The bureau is having a fact-finding hearing on the assassination of General Gamba and your unit is coming here to testify. I'm sure Dad is going to tell you but hasn't had a chance yet." Reese quickly finished.
"I hate this. I hate not knowing what's going on." Martin was angry and knew that he was directing it in the wrong place but it felt great to feel passionate about anything right now.
"Hello!" All three Fitzgerald siblings turned to look towards the doorway as Katherine and Victor entered. Katherine walked straight to Martin and gave him a kiss on the cheek before turning her attention to the girls.
"Hello. Martin, you are looking good today." Victor commented, "I see you have a little color in your face."
Martin clenched his jaw, looked his Dad in the eye and demanded, "When were you planning on telling me about the hearing about General Gamba?"
Victor looked startled and saw that the entire family's eyes were on him. Parker looked like she wanted to say something but held back, giving her father an apologetic smile.
He cleared his throat before beginning, "I was planning on talking to you about it this morning but I see that you have already been told." He glanced over to his daughters, who looked chagrined.
"Why didn't you tell me yesterday? You must have known." Martin's blood was boiling and it felt good to direct his frustration on someone, anyone.
"Martin…." Katherine began before Victor waved his hand for her to stop.
Victor's face hardened and his voice was very deep and brusque as he said, "Martin, you're right. I did know and maybe I should have told you yesterday. I guess I was so preoccupied by the great news that my son had emerged from a two-month coma that I let my happiness override my professional obligations."
Martin suddenly felt like a petulant child. His expression fell as he responded. "I'm sorry…I just…"
Victor stopped him and said, "No, I'm sorry. You're right, I should have told you."
The tension in the air was slowly dissipating and Martin asked, "So, when is the hearing?"
Victor's face softened and he took the seat by the window. "Next, Tuesday. Your team is flying down on Monday night….."
The rest of the day passed as the Fitzgerald family caught Martin up on the hearing as well as familial events. He'd missed his cousin's wedding but apparently he was the hot topic of discussion. Martin thought how cruel fate could be that he couldn't attend the very wedding that was the final straw in his decision to end his relationship with Sam. Oh well, at least he didn't have to explain to the entire clan why he didn't have a date.
After his Dad left to walk his sisters to their car, his Mom noticed that he was getting pensive. Worried that he might start withdrawing into himself again, she shook his foot to get his attention and said, "Sweetie, I know you are probably still feeling strange but I want you to remember: you're alive and awake and these are great things."
Martin gave her a small smile and she leaned in and kissed his forehead. "Goodnight, I'll see you tomorrow."
"Goodnight Mom."
After she left, Martin lay in bed thinking about all the information his family gave him and actually felt a little closer to normal.
