Chapter 16
The room was dark, with only the small light strip above the bed turned on, illuminating a soft bluish glow into the room. There were two occupied beds in the room with a partially closed curtain down the middle. Emma had a roommate, an older girl, maybe eleven or twelve years old with dark skin but she too was sleeping.
Emma looked incredibly small asleep in the middle of the hospital bed. A pink quilted blanket covered her up to her shoulders. Her head was bandaged on one side and her left leg was elevated in a cast. She had a single IV drip, probably fluids or pain medication.
Jane, Lisbon and Sara all stayed at the back of the room as Emma's nurse quietly walked up to the bed. Abigail and George went to the other side of the bed. This way, when Emma awoke, it would be to familiar faces. With a gentle hand, Caroline shook Emma's arm. There was no response at first but then when she tried calling Emma by name, small eyelashes fluttered halfway open.
"Hey sweetie." Mrs. Brooks said, grabbing her granddaughters hand. "Everything is going to be okay. You are in the hospital but you're safe now."
"Do you remember what happened?" Caroline asked.
Emma blinked a few times, seemingly confused. "Mystic … she was scared. I think she was scared of the water. I tried to turn her around but she made this awful noise and…I don't remember."
"You fell. You hit your head sweetie and injured your leg. Your riding instructor and Mr. Jane found you." Caroline left out the detail about Emma being carried nearly a mile downstream.
"Trick?"
Jane stepped into view, exchanging places with Emma's nurse so he could get closer to the bed. "I'm right here sweetheart."
"But how?"
"Your grandparents called me." Jane began, lightly tracing his fingers through Emma's curly bangs. "You ran away from school and they couldn't find you. I jumped on a plane and helped them search as soon as I got here. Lisbon is here too."
Lisbon appeared at Jane's right and leaned over the bed, kissing Emma on the forehead.
"We were all very worried about you." She said. "We're just glad you're ok."
"You brought Lucky?" Emma asked, eyeing the plush dog still in Jane's hands.
"Lisbon thought I might need him." Jane grinned as there was a quiet knock on the door.
Rigsby peeked inside and then quietly stepped into the room carrying a half-dozen balloons. He was followed by Van Pelt and finally Cho who held a large stuffed white unicorn with a purple mane. It was a rather hilarious sight. The Asian man transformed into such a softie when he was around children.
Emma's eyes brightened as she peered at the balloons and the unicorn. Rigsby tied the ends of his bundle to the foot of Emma's bed while Cho set the unicorn down next to the patient. Emma hugged the stuffed animal and then Cho, kissing him on the cheek. Lisbon wondered if the rock of a man would melt right there in the hospital room.
Fortunately, he didn't though Emma's doctor chose that moment to walk in. He was clearly unhappy at the large crowd that had gathered in Emma's room.
"I'm sorry to break up the reunion here guys but my patient here needs her rest." The Indian doctor said as he checked Emma's chart.
"Her grandparents can stay if they wish but I'll have to ask the rest of you to leave."
Jane wanted to protest but he knew it was true that Emma needed rest and that she would want her grandparents nearby. Arguing would only make things more difficult for everyone. Instead, he kissed her on the forehead and promised to visit as soon as he was allowed. She hugged him with as much strength as she could muster and it eased some of the worry that still clouded the consultant's mind.
The rest of the team took turns hugging the child and saying their goodbyes for the evening.
"There's food in the waiting room." Van Pelt told Jane and Lisbon when they had closed the door to Emma's room. "You guys must be starving by now."
Lisbon noticed Sara still hovering just outside Emma's door. "We've got food down the hall. Please, help yourself."
Sara grinned politely. "Thank you Agent but I told my husband I would pick up something on my way home."
"It's Teresa and it's the least we could do." Lisbon returned a smile. "Will we see you tomorrow?"
"I have to take care of the horses in the morning but I'll probably stop by around lunch time."
"Then we'll probably see you tomorrow but if not, thank you for everything." Lisbon held out her hand and Sara shook it before turning and retreating down the hall.
"I could probably find you a hungry stray kitten you can feed nearby." Jane quipped. He clearly had heard at least part of her and Sara's conversation.
Lisbon smirked. "Quiet you. I was just being hospitable, something you obviously know little about."
Jane shrugged. "More food for us."
If Jane were honest, he hadn't thought about eating all day and he didn't know how hungry he truly was until Grace had mentioned it. They had brought subs and a couple 20-liter bottles of soda which the five of them quickly dug into. Lisbon also brought two sandwiches to Emma's grandparents.
"We reserved two rooms down the street at the Days Inn." Cho said when they had all eaten their fill.
Lisbon nodded but Jane had other ideas.
"I think I'm going to stay here." He said, moving over to a row of upholstered seats where he proceeded to stretch out across the lot of them.
"They're not going to let you in to see her tonight." Lisbon argued. "You won't get any sleep here."
"I won't get any sleep anyway. It's okay Lisbon, you go with the team and get some rest."
She knew his mind was made up which meant so was hers. "You three go ahead. I'll stay with Jane."
"You sure boss?" Rigsby asked. "I don't mind staying."
"No, I'm sure but thank you. Just promise you'll bring a large coffee in the morning. The stuff here might as well be warm dirt water."
They agreed to meet back up at 9am the next morning and then left Jane and Lisbon in the waiting room.
"You didn't have to stay you know." Jane said from where he was lying with his hands crossed behind his head.
"I know but you don't like hospitals so I figured…"
"Wait, when did I tell you I don't like hospitals?"
"You never actually said it but…" Lisbon realized her reasoning was based on his actions while he was fugued. She had been ready to leave him there to sleep off his amnesia when he had stopped her twice with questions regarding the case. It wasn't until she had plopped down in the chair near his bed that he finally stopped asking questions and relaxed.
"Never mind." She hoped he'd drop the subject which he thankfully did.
Jane had tried to sleep. Even the best of his breathing techniques wouldn't settle his overactive mind though they rarely did. He had given enough advice over the years on how others could overcome insomnia but sadly, those same techniques rarely worked on him.
His problem was he couldn't turn off his mind at night. Either he would be constantly thinking about a case or reviewing the Red John files which he had permanently etched in his brain like a photographic filing catalog. When neither of those things plagued his sleeping attempts, he was haunted with his past and things he desperately wished he could change. He knew it was foolish of course to waste his thoughts on such things. He had told others this in the past but Jane couldn't help it. It was his own form of punishment. If he forgot about the mistakes in his past, he feared he would be doomed to repeat them.
Lisbon, on the other hand, managed to doze off after checking in on the team one last time. She was currently slumbering on her own group of seats adjacent to where Jane was sitting. He was amazed that she could curl up on just two of the seats. Her head rested on the plush Lucky who she used as a pillow. Jane's suit jacket was draped over her shoulders and he was amused every time she gripped the edges of it to snuggle deeper into the fabric.
Watching the petite woman sleep not only fascinated Jane but also kept his mind off of, other things. Every so often, her little nose would twitch like that of a bunny rabbit. It reminded Jane of the rabbit from… Ok, so maybe thinking of bunny rabbits wasn't the best thought trail to go down.
He was about to get up and stretch his legs a bit when Abigail walked in to the waiting room.
"Hey Patrick." She whispered, taking notice of the sleeping Lisbon.
"Morning," He stretched, and yawned. It was only 4am but technically still morning. "How's Emma?"
"Sleeping." Mrs. Brooks said. "George and I were going to see if we could find something to eat and were wondering if you would sit with Emma for a while."
Jane nodded and stood a bit shakily after lying down for so long. He knew it was more likely that Abigail just wanted to give Jane a chance to be with Emma and he was thankful for it.
"You should probably let her sleep." Indicating Lisbon.
Jane didn't intend on waking her up. Instead, he headed down the hall to Emma's room. He opened and closed the door as quietly as he could. He had nodded to George standing just outside the door, waiting for his wife no doubt.
Emma was indeed asleep, her small arms wrapped around the white unicorn. The foil balloons caused faint lights to dance around the walls in the room. Jane warily sat down in the reclining chair that had been placed next to the bed. It was indeed more comfortable than the row of seats in the waiting room but he doubted it would help with his sleeping problem. The only thing he could think to do was to take Emma's tiny hand in his own and lightly brush his fingers across her knuckles. Warmth flooded through him at the simple touch. He wished he could hold on forever.
He sat like that for a good hour until a nurse entered the room. It wasn't the same short nurse from earlier but a skinny thing with long dark hair who looked like she might have just graduated college. Her name tag read 'Lisa'.
"I have to wake her up for her periodic concussion checks."
Jane had been expecting this though now the checks seemed to be a bit further apart.
"Would you like to wake her?" She asked.
Jane nodded, agreeing that a familiar face might be best. He gently shook her shoulder.
"Emma honey, can you open your eyes for me sweetheart?"
It took a minute but slowly, her eyes blinked open.
"How is your leg feeling sweetie?" Lisa asked.
"M..hurts a little, and my toes, they're cold."
Lisa grinned slightly. "I can get you something for the pain and I think I have just the thing for those icy toes." She walked out of the room and came back with a purple poca-dotted slipper sock in one hand. She allowed Jane to put the fuzzy sock on Emma's casted foot while she prepped the medication she had brought with her in her other hand.
Lisa injected the first needle, the pain killer, directly into Emma's IV and then worked on a second.
"Honey, I'm going to have to give this one to you in the arm. It's an antibiotic so your head wound won't get infected."
Emma's eyes went wide at the sight of the needle. She had probably been unconscious when they had given her the IV so this was something new.
Jane caught on to Emma's distress right away. He didn't like needles himself so he could only guess what the little girl was feeling. He slid up on to the bed.
"Darling, it's ok, just look at me. It'll only pinch for a second."
She looked at Jane but couldn't resist peering back at the needle, especially when the nurse swabbed Emma's forearm with a wet cotton ball.
Jane feared Emma was going into a full blown panic attack by the look in her eyes and her increased pulse rate he could hear through the monitors.
"Look at me Emma. Breathe with me ok, in and out." Emma managed to keep her eyes on Jane, mirroring his breathing. After a few of these breaths, Jane gave a slight nod to the nurse who delicately grasped Emma's arm and administered the antibiotic.
Emma jerked only slightly at the prick of the needle. A single tear fell from her dark brown eyes which Jane wiped away with the pad of his thumb. He continued to hold her gaze and then the words were out of his mouth before his mind even registered he had said them.
"You are safe, you are loved, and you are wise. "
Emma blinked tiredly, finally starting to relax, so Jane repeated the words he had only ever shared with his daughter and was surprised to find that it didn't hurt as much as he thought it would. He realized they had helped one another; Jane helped keep Emma distracted and she helped ease a once-painful memory.
TBC
I'm pretty sure my heart was melting when I was writing the words in this chapter so I can only imagine what y'all are going through. I think I'd die if there were ever scenes like this on the show. You know, out of all the seasons, there's never been an episode centered around a child. I know scheduling is difficult since children can only work limited hours but there's been many episodes of NCIS for instance, centered on a child. I really hope we get at least one before the show is over but it's probably just wishful thinking. Anyway, hope you all have a great weekend!