Hey guys!
I want to start with thanking each and every one of you who followed and reviewed! You guys make my day and I'm giving you huge virtual hugs right now for doing so!
When I started writing this story, I didn't even think I'd get like 2-3 reviews. I'm glad to know that there are still a few Jaters left out there :)
As I told you I'm going through a very busy week right now. In fact instead of writing this I should be studying chemistry at the moment but... oh well... :)
That's why this will be a shorter chapter than usual. But next chapter will have a flashback and I will SLOWLY start reviewing Kate's secret! So stay with me! I promise I will update once more before the week is over.
I wish we had a Christmas break here in Turkey so that I could focus on writing and not have to worry about school and grades. I need a few days off! But I guess there's nothing I can do about that...
I will stop rambling and let you read the chapter now :)
As always, ENJOY!
After grabbing a snack from the vending machine, he went back to the waiting room. For hours, he sat there with his head buried in his hands.
He watched people come and go.
Some laughed in relief after finding out that their loved one's surgery went well and some broke into tears the minute they saw the sad expression on the surgeon's face.
Finally after 4 hours of waiting, Jack felt a light tap on his shoulder. He looked up and saw Malcolm who was still in his scrubs.
"I though you might want to know how the surgery went."
"Of course! How is she?" Jack asked as he stood up. His heart was beating so fast and he was trying to prepare himself for the worst. For the possibility of her death… Putting the connection between them aside, his biggest fear was that if Kate died, Aaron would be all alone in this world. And Jack didn't know what his next step would be to help him. Remembering Kate's words, he reached into his back pocket where he put the folded letter she had written.
Malcolm realized that his friend was deep in his thought so he tried to get his attention by touching his shoulder once again.
"When we brought her, she was in critical condition. Her body was damaged. Everywhere... Inside the OR, we were 4 residents all working on different parts of her body. She went into VFIB, twice. But she is a fighter, without a doubt. The branch had damaged her spleen beyond repair so we had to take it out. But apart from a few broken bones, she will perfectly fine. She made it Jack. The surgery went very well."
Jack started to laugh in relief. He felt a huge burden lift from his shoulders.
Finally, he was able to keep the promise he gave to Kate and Aaron.
"Where is she right now? I want to see her."
"She's in the ICU. We're keeping her in a drug induced coma for now, to let her body recover properly."
"When will you wake her up?"
"Depends. Probably in a few days though… Jack, you seem awfully concerned about this woman. You said you just met her and it's not normal for a doctor to act like this. I'm worried about you, man. Last time something like this happened it was with Sarah and look how that ended up. Try to keep your distance. I know you saved them but they are not your friends or family. You're their doctor." He tried to explain himself the best he could but after 7 hours of surgery in the middle of the night, he realized he didn't make sense anymore. He decided to leave this subject for the next day.
"Malcolm, I-"
"Jack, you don't have to give me an explanation. This is just me, giving you a friendly warning. You and I both know what happened to you after Sarah. Doctors should not get attached to their patients."
Jack just nodded. He wanted Malcolm to leave as soon as possible so he could go and see Kate.
"By the way, were you able to get her full name before she passed out? We still couldn't identify her and we don't know anything about her medical past and everything."
"No, she was not fully conscious when I found her, she was hallucinating." He lied. "There's nothing we can do but wait for her to wake up."
"I heard the police were searching though the remains of her car to find some kind of an ID. But it's probably a dead-end. The car blew up a few minutes after we left."
"We were lucky to get out on time."
"Yeah... Oh, and what happened to the boy? Is he still here?"
With that question, Malcolm caught him off guard. He was so relieved to know that Kate was okay that he forgot all about the lie.
"Uh... I called social services after you went into surgery, they came and picked him up." He replied after thinking for a few seconds. But right as the words came out of his mouth, he realized the huge mistake he was making but he couldn't take it back.
"At 4am?" His friend asked. He looked suspicious and Jack knew that if he didn't find a quick and rational answer to his question, Malcolm would eventually connect the dots and find out he was lying.
"Yeah, I was surprised too." He said. " A social worker was already here to pick up a kid and there was an available foster home close by. And when they heard what Aaron lived through tonight, they thought that it would be best to get him out of a cold hospital as soon as possible."
Jack was looking at Malcolm directly in his eyes to see if he believed in the lie he just told.
"That's good." He said. "The kid must be pretty shaken up. Okay, I should go change now. And you need some rest. Go home Jack."
"No, I'll go and check up on her. I'll probably sleep here somewhere after that."
Malcolm shook his head in disapproval and left. Just as they parted, Jack turned around.
"Malcolm! Thank you. For everything..."
The two friends smiled at each other and went back in their different directions.
Jack quietly walked into the ICU. There were a few more patients in the room, all in a coma. Kate was lying on the hospital bed at the far corner of the room with a bunch of tubes sticking out of her.
He got closer and stood by her bed, watching her chest rise and fall with every beep coming from the machine.
He finally got the chance to study her face clearly. She looked so calm and peaceful, with her eyes terrified eyes, now closed. There were no signs of the woman he met the night before. Except for the scars on her face...
She looked even more beautiful with her face clean from all the blood. He felt an urge to get closer to her, to touch her skin and stoke her soft, brown hair. But he stopped himself, remembering the conversation he just had with Malcolm.
He watched her and wondered what kind of a life she had, what job she did, why didn't she have any family, or whether she chose not to have a family.
Where did she live? What was her favorite song? What were her dreams?
He wondered what happened to Aaron's father. What was the secret she was so desperately trying to hide? What would happen if that secret was exposed?
Would she keep her promise and explain everything or would she just thank Jack for everything he did and continue to her life after she woke up?
No.
Jack wouldn't let that happen. He had questions and he needed answers. Of course there was also the strong connection he felt towards her. Malcolm was wrong. It was nothing like the feeling he felt towards Sarah. This was different. Completely different…
When he was miserable, when he had no hope for his future, these two people had come to his life.
Even though Jack had refused to believe in these kind of things, he was starting to think about this being fate.
"I'm hungry." Aaron said from the top of the stairs. Margo closed the book she was reading and went up to to meet the boy.
"Good morning sweetie. Did you have a good nights sleep?"
Aaron only nodded. He was still shy around Margo, which was very normal. But she really wanted to help him and he wouldn't let her. It had been two days since the accident and with every day that passed, Aaron closed himself more. Jack not coming to see him didn't help as well.
She tried talking to him but for every question she asked he just answered with simple, one-sentence answers and go off to do something else.
His favorite thing to do was play around with the dog.
Ronin, was the Shepherd Family's dog for almost 11 years. But despite the Labrador's old age, he was still very energetic and playful. He, just like Margo, was excited to see a new face, a child, at the house.
"Okay then, what would you like to have for breakfast."
The boy shrugged. Margo sighed and knelt down next to the child. She took his hand in hers.
"Aaron, I want you to feel like you're at home here. I know you feel alone and it's a very different environment but you have nothing to be scared or shy about. I want you to have a great time here until your mommy comes because you know what?" She said and went closer to whisper in his ear, like it's a big secret. "You're the best guest I've ever had!"
The boy got excited and with a huge grin on his face he said: "Pancakes. I want to eat pancakes." After he was finished with his sentence her remembered something and quickly added it in "Please."
He didn't want to be a rude boy like his mommy said he would be if he didn't use his please and thank yous.
"Okay honey, you go downstairs and find where Ronin is hiding. I'll be at the kitchen, making your pancakes. They should be ready as quick as a wink!"
Twenty minutes later Margo walked into the living room and found Aaron sitting cross-legged on the floor, next to the old dog. He was talking to him, telling him stories about this "adventure" he and his mom were having. Margo decided to stay back and listen. Maybe she could learn more about this boy and his mother this way.
"Mommy and I are having the biggest road trip ever! But we had to stop for a while because my mommy got really hurt. She had blood coming out from right here." He said quietly and pointed at his tummy. "But Jack saved her. She's going to be just fine and then she will come and pick me up then we will continue to our adventure! No, Ronin don't be sad. I will come and visit you and Aunt Margo and Jack. Maybe you can come with us!" He said enthusiastically when he came up with the great idea.
"It's so much fun because mommy has all the songs that I like. We sing them together and sometimes she stops the car, we get out and dance together. It's so much fun!
She even let me take all my toys with me. She said I should take everything I wanted cause we are not going back home. I forgot to take my batman toy, but that's okay. Mommy said she'll get me a new one." He explained innocently, not realizing that Margo was listening.
Afterwards the cartoon that came up on the TV distracted him and he started watching bugs bunny dress up as a woman to distract Egghead.
He was lying on the floor with his head on the dogs soft fur. After letting him watch the cartoon for a few more minutes, Margo decided to call him for breakfast. The boy got up quickly and rushed to the kitchen. She helped him get up on the tall stool and placed a huge stack of pancakes in front of him.
His face lit up when he saw how tall the stack was.
Soon, the hungry little boy's face was covered in maple syrup.
Margo started laughing at the adorable sight in front of her.
"Did you like it Aaron?"
"I was delicious! Just like my grandma's."
She decided that this was the best chance to make him talk about his family which his mother denied to have.
"Does your grandma make you a lot of pancakes?"
"Yes but she also-" he realized what he was doing and quickly covered his mouth.
"What's wrong Aaron?" Margo asked.
"Mommy gets sad when I talk about grandma."
"Why does she get sad?"
He thought for a while and remembered the long conversation he had with his mom. "She died. She's in heaven now." He replied.
"Oh..." Margo said a little disappointed. She felt like they were hiding something but apparently it had nothing to do with his grandmother. She was about to ask him about his father when the doorbell rang.
"It's Jack!" The boy screamed and jumped off the stool. "Maybe he brought mommy with him!"
He ran to the door, the old woman chasing him. She stopped Aaron and told him to never answer the door on his own, even if it was Jack. She couldn't tell him that he was there illegally and if someone found out about this, both she and Jack would probably end up in jail.
There you go! I hope you liked it.
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