-5-
After a few days, they saw his eyes flicker open. The machine monitoring his oxygen began to beep suddenly, as if telling the whole world that the patient can breathe on his own.
The nurses rushed inside. Irina stood by the end of the bed and watched them. Jack has a disconcerted look in his eyes and seemed like he's going to pass out again.
She couldn't hear the nurses talking, but their mouths are moving. She started lip-reading (they seem to be talking in German) and she discovered that this improvement is nothing but a miracle. They expected him to recover slowly because he was dying when they found him in the cave.
Irina watched as day after day, Jack's condition continue to get better. Sometimes, he'd look at her, since their beds are side by side. Irina could see anger in his face whenever he looks at her and whenever this happens, she always fights the urge to stand up and slap him on the head.
"You know, if that's the face I'm going to see when I wake up, I don't think I want to wake up anymore." Irina said after a while,
"Are you telling me you're quitting?" Kira asked, "If you're going to die now, how can you slap him in the face for shooting you in the head? For believing that you'll let him off the hook easily? For not knowing that it's not the real you?"
Irina sighed, "I want to wake up alone. I don't want to see me like this."
"Well, it seems that you have problems already." Kira answered sarcastically, "Don't you dare run away, Irina."
"I'm not running away." She answered; "I just don't want…" she trailed off and sighed as she looked away from her soul.
Kira waited for her to finish although she has a feeling she already knows what she's going to say to her, "That's the challenge of loving someone who doesn't seem to love you. You don't know how you can win."
Irina looked at her, "Kira…" she couldn't say it. How can she leave someone who has been with her ever since? Who had been with her through everything? Who had the option of leaving, but didn't?
"What is it?" Kira asked.
"I know how to get back."
-x-x-x-
In the first few days that he woke up, every move he made came with pain. He couldn't breathe properly and he felt like he was strapped in the bed.
As the days progressed, his felt his condition improving. It was on the third day when he noticed the person on the bed beside his. He was so shocked that he totally forgot about his discomfort. But as his surprise dissipated, his anger grew. If she's still alive then Sydney wasn't able to stop her. Half of the world is probably obliterated because of her.
'And she probably killed my daughter…' he thought as his fury swelled. He glared at her direction. There are machines around her, enabling her to breathe. When he gets his chance, he will pull her life support.
He had killed her once. He can kill her again. This time, he's sure that this is the right Irina.
Time passed him by. He could finally move his fingers, his toes and even his neck without wincing. He could raise his arms a little and he can stay conscious for more than three hours. He still couldn't stand though, so the fantasy of pulling Irina's life support is still that—a fantasy. He is also still in pain.
One day, as he was fumbling with his fork, Julian Sark entered the room. He has a limp and a cane assists his every step, but his swagger is still very evident in his walk.
"Oh, I didn't know you're awake." He said. The young man made it sound apologetic, but he heard an undercurrent of nastiness in his tone.
Sark headed straight towards Irina's side and checked on her, "I'm glad to see you haven't tried to kill her." he said dryly. She seems to be improving, but she still hasn't stirred yet.
"She deserves to die."
His lips thinned, "A coin has two sides, Agent Bristow. How is that you always only see your side?"
"I can see her side of the story and its pure madness." Jack answered. One of his wounds started to throb, but he ignored it. He strained his neck to look at Sark. He's checking Irina's clipboard.
Sark gave a disgruntled sound, "Your daughter will be contacted the moment Ms. Derevko's condition has been stabilized and been moved to another country. Unfortunately, her body has been abused badly by her captors, so it's possible that you might wait for a couple of weeks before you see your daughter again."
"What do you mean, abused badly by her captors?" Jack asked.
The young man looked at him with a raised brow, "I thought you can see her side of the story? You don't need to know what happened to her, Agent Bristow, because you don't care."
"And you do?" He sarcastically replied.
Sark smiled, "Let's just say, she owes me a pair of expensive shoes." And she probably owes Katya a hefty sum of money. It wasn't easy (or cheap) to locate her prison. Elena was very good in hiding people she doesn't want to be found.
He returned the clipboard back to its place and limped towards the door.
"Have a good day, Mr. Bristow." He said in a clipped manner and left the room.
Jack couldn't help but think about what Sark had said. Questions swiftly sprung up in his mind and thousands of possible answers came with it.
He suddenly had an urge to strangle Julian Sark with his bare hands. He gave him pieces of information, but he didn't give him everything. It was as if the young man wanted him to suffer mentally by making him think that it wasn't Irina doing all along.
He took a glance at Irina. She is the mother of his child, his wife, his lover, his enemy and his friend. A single look from her sends him to a whirlpool of emotions. He used to love her. He used to hate her. Now, he doesn't know what he feels about her.
Maybe you just don't want to know what you really feel about her.
Jack sighed. Sark implied that her condition hasn't stabilized yet. He tried not to think about what happened to her or what she went through. He doesn't want to feel anything positive for her. Maybe Sark was lying. Maybe he was just trying to stop him from killing her.
However, amidst all that, he wondered if she'll wake up. A little voice also asked him if he'd ever see that wonderful smile again.
-x-x-x-
The days flew and he could feel himself getting better. Sometimes, he'd catch himself wistfully looking at Irina's direction. How can she be so near and yet still unreachable?
One morning, he was awakened by a series of loud beeping. He frantically opened his eyes and tried to figure out what's going on.
He glanced at the general direction of his roommate. The oxygen mask is on the floor and the IV stand is overturned. He could hear someone crying and he turned his head to look for the source of the sound.
He felt his heart stop.
Irina's awake.
-x-x-x-
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