Thanks so much for all the great reviews. I have tried to respond to all but had two guest that I couldn't respond to and I want to thank you here. This is a longer chapter. I will post Chapter 4 some time tomorrow or Monday. There will be some angst in this story, BUT I would never write a story where Jane, Lisbon and Noah are not happy and healthy in the end. Please enjoy!
Chapter 3
"Jane, Teresa and Noah have been in an automobile accident." Cho said, stopping to gauge Jane's reaction. Jane was quiet, very quiet. "They are being taken to the Trauma Center. Teresa asked the paramedics to call me so that I could tell you what happened. That's a good thing."
Jane slowly stood up and walked to the door. "I need to go Cho. I need to see my wife and son." Jane said calmly, too calmly in Cho's opinion.
"Jane? Jane? Look at me. Teresa and Noah will be fine. I have a car waiting downstairs to take us to the hospital. I am going with you."
"Thank you Cho. That means a lot." Jane said, still worrying Cho with his too quiet demeanor.
Jane and Cho walked through the bullpen towards the elevators.
"The car is waiting downstairs." Wylie relayed to Cho. "They know where to go."
"Thanks Wylie. I will call when I know something."
The elevator doors opened and Jane and Cho got in. When the elevator doors shut, Cho spoke. "Jane, don't go to your dark place. Teresa and Noah need you. They are alive and on their way to the hospital. If Teresa asked the paramedics to call me so that I could tell you about the accident, you know she was alert and talking. She knew how you would react."
"Cho? Thank you. I am very upset that my wife and child were in an accident, but I promise I will not run away. I promised Teresa I would never do that again. I would never run away from her or my son. I HAVE changed. It still scares the hell out of me thinking I could lose them, but I am at peace with what happened to Angela and Charlotte. I promised you on the day of my wedding, I would never hurt Teresa and I would always be there for her. I can't promise that I won't be freaked out occasionally, you have to give me that. "
"Ok Jane, I believe you. You are allowed to freak out, Teresa would expect that. As long as you don't run, we are ok. Now let's get to the hospital."
The fire department finally got the doors released and were able to get Teresa and Noah out of the vehicle onto back boards. The paramedics were able to start IV lines on both patients. Teresa's blood pressure and pulse were leveling out.
"Teresa? We are taking you and your son to the Trauma Center. We were able to locate Agent Cho and your husband should be meeting us at the hospital. Your son still seems a little agitated. His color and vitals look good. Do you know when he needs to eat again? Does he take a pacifier?"
"I breastfeed him or he takes a bottle of breastmilk if I am away from him. He also has a pacifier. There should be both in his diaper bag. He last ate at 7:00 this morning."
"His diaper bag was smashed during the accident and the bottles inside were damaged. We will look for his pacifier. We don't want you to breastfeed him right now until we can determine your injuries and his. Also, we have started you on some medications that would not agree with him. We will work to calm him down with his pacifier and when we get to the hospital, they can feed him."
"Let me talk to him. My voice may calm him down."
"We have him on a baby back board and someone can hold him in the ambulance so that he can see you and you can talk to him. How old is he?
"Thank you. He is seven months old. Oh, I just remembered, we were just at his pediatrician's office. He has an ear infection and I have a prescription for antibiotics. Maybe that is what he is so fussy about. He had Tylenol at 3:00 am this morning, but nothing since."
"I will let the hospital know. Once they examine him, they will give me something for the ear infection."
The paramedics continued to work to get Teresa and Noah loaded in the ambulance. Soon they were on their way to the hospital.
Teresa was worried about Jane and his reaction to the news of the accident. He promised her he would never run again, and she believed him. He would never leave her or Noah, she was confident of that. She was more concerned about his need for vengeance against whoever hit her. She'd heard the police officers talking about the cause of the accident possibly being a drunk driver.
Jane and Cho arrived at the hospital minutes after the ambulance carrying Teresa and Noah. Jane walked calmly up to the emergency room desk. "I am looking for Teresa Jane and Noah Jane. They were in an automobile accident and were being brought in by ambulance. They are my wife and son."
"The ambulance just arrived and they are being evaluated by the trauma team. A doctor will be out shortly to talk to you." the clerk stated.
"I need to see them." Jane said a little agitated.
"Sir, a doctor will be out to talk to you shortly. I have some paperwork that I need you to fill out on your wife and son."
Jane took a deep breath. "What do you need?"
"The paramedics were able to get some information from your wife, her driver's license and insurance card. Does your son have a middle name? What is his date of birth?"
"His name is Noah Patrick Jane and his date of birth is September 21, 2015. Do you know when the doctor will be out?"
"The doctor will be out when he has finished examining your wife and son. Look over this paperwork and if everything is correct for your son, please sign where it says 'Signature of Parent.' Then check over this paperwork for your wife and sign where it says 'Signature of Patient Representative.'
Jane looked over both sets of paperwork and tried to use his breathing techniques to remain calm while waiting for the doctor. He signed both sets of paperwork and handed them back to the ER clerk.
"Mr. Jane. I am sure the doctor will be out shortly. Thank you for taking care of the paperwork."
Jane walked over to the seating area where Cho was sitting. "Cho, I am losing it here. I need to know how Teresa and Noah are. I don't know how long my patience will last here. Also, I need to know what happened. Who hit them?"
"I'm sure the doctor will be out soon. And Jane, your focus needs to be on Teresa and Noah, not what happened right now. We will get with Austin PD and make sure the case is worked correctly. But for now, concentrate on your wife and son." answered Cho.
"I know Teresa and Noah are my priority Cho. I just need to know what happened."
"Jane, Red John is dead. He can't hurt you or your family. This was a car accident. Accidents happen every day Jane. All I know is the accident wasn't Teresa's fault but the person that hit her could have just been careless. Accidents do not need to be avenged."
Before Jane could comment any further, a doctor walked through the doors of the ER. "Mr. Jane?"
Jane jumped up. "I'm Mr. Jane. How are my wife and son? Can I see them?"
"Mr. Jane, I am Dr. Clark. I have been taking care of your wife and one of my colleagues has been taking care of your son. Have a seat, and I will bring you up to date on both your wife and son's conditions."
Jane took a deep breath and looked cautiously at the doctor.
"Let's start with your son. He looks really good. His preliminary test are all normal. He was very agitated when he was brought in. However, between the chaos of the accident and his ear infection, coupled with the fact that he was probably sleepy and hungry, could explain his agitation. Your wife was able to tell the paramedics that she had breastfed him at 7:00 a.m. The bottles that were in his diaper bag were damaged in the accident so they were not able to be used. We were finally able to get him to take some formula from a bottle and he settled down somewhat, although he was not happy about it. He does have a small cut on his forehead from flying glass, but we didn't need to stitch it. Otherwise, he looks good. We are going to keep him overnight just for observation. Given his age and his inability to tell us if anything is hurting him, we want to watch him a little longer. You can take him home tomorrow if nothing comes up before then."
"Thank you Dr. Clark. Noah takes after his mother when he is hungry and tired. They both get a little cranky!" Jane said with a slight smile on his face. "I will have someone run by our house and pick up some extra bottles for Noah for this evening if that is alright."
"Yes. That would be fine Mr. Jane and probably a good idea" answered Dr. Clark.
"Now, what about my wife?" asked Jane.
"Your wife did receive some injuries. She has a broken left arm right below the elbow. We will be prepping her for surgery to repair the fracture. She also has a laceration right below her hairline on the right side. We have stitched that with approximately 6 stitches. She also has some deep bruising on her left hip and across her chest where her seatbelt was. The x-rays were negative on both areas. She will be uncomfortable for a while, but those areas should heal completely. However, we are concerned about the area across her chest where the seatbelt bruised her. The x-rays were negative, but she was having some discomfort with breathing and some tightness in that area at the accident scene. She has been breathing well while she has been here and she doesn't feel the tightness anymore. It could have been from the initial impact and anxiety from the accident itself. Also, as can be expected, she was very concerned about your son's well being which added to her anxiety. We will keep a close eye on that in the event she starts having those troubles again. She was also unconscious when the paramedics first arrived at the scene. She was also disoriented for a time, not understanding that she had a child or that he was in the car. We believe she has a mild concussion. The police and paramedics believe your wife didn't see the car coming through the intersection and that could have caused the disorientation when she regained consciousness and she was trying to understand what happened."
"Can I see her before you take her for surgery?" asked Jane.
"Absolutely Mr. Jane. Then you can sit with your son. He will be going up to the pediatric floor shortly. I will come to his room when surgery is complete and give you an update on your wife." answered Dr. Clark.
"Thank you Dr. Clark."
"Follow me and I will take you back to your wife."
"Cho? I am going back to see Teresa before they take her for surgery and then I am going to sit with Noah. Can you run to our house and get all of Noah's bottles out of the refrigerator? We have a small cooler in the pantry that you can put them in. I will text you Noah's room number when they move him upstairs."
"Sure Jane. Let me know if you or Teresa need anything else."
"I will Cho. Hey? Thanks. I know you have been and probably still are worried about my reactions to all this. I am fine. Well, not really fine, but I can handle this. Teresa and Noah are my one priority right now. I am here for them, nowhere else."
"I know Jane. You are definitely a changed man. I'm proud of you." said Cho.
"Thanks Cho."
"Ok Dr. Clark I am ready." Jane turned to Dr. Clark.
The phone rang and was picked up on the second ring. "Uh sir? Uh,…."
"Evans? Is it done? Is Teresa Jane dead?" the person on the other end asked.
"Uh, about that. I did just as you said but she survived. She is hurt but the fire department got her out of the vehicle and she is in the hospital." Evans answered.
"You imbecile. I told you exactly what to do and you failed. I want her dead!"
"She is in the hospital. Uh sir, she had a baby in her vehicle. A little boy. He looked like he was less than a year old."
There was a pause on the other end of the phone. "A baby? So, Agent Lisbon and Patrick Jane produced a spawn." the man laughed. "This changes things. I need to go, I need to hire a nanny. I will be entertaining a baby soon and you will make that happen for me. Do you understand me? I want that baby."
"Uh, yes sir. I will see what I can do." Evans answered, not at all sure what he was going to do and how he got himself involved in all of this.
"No. You will not see what you can do. You will do it!" the man said with increasing anger. "I want that baby and I want him now."
"Yes sir." Evans ended the call.
"How am I going to get that baby? If I don't I am dead. If I do, I may be dead too." Evan thought to himself. He hung his head trying to decide where his life went so wrong.
