8

Every Dark Cloud

A/N: Thanks for all the comments and alerts. Appreciate both. It'll probably be a while before I post the next chapter. It is giving me major problems in terms of how to resolve the whole situation. Any suggestions?

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Chapter 8

"What's up, Myles?" Jack responded after checking his caller ID.

"We found them."

Relief washed over him with those three words.

"Great! How are they?" he asked excitedly. "They found them!" he shared with the rest of the search team. A small cheer went up.

"Sue insists she's fine."

"Naturally," Jack smiled. "I bet Bobby's giving you grief for taking so long to get to them."

There was a long pause. A tendril of unease began to grow.

"Myles? You there?"

"Yeah."

"I said…"

"I heard you." There was another pause. "About Bobby…"

"What about Bobby?" Jack asked sharply. Apprehension smothered his elation.

"Doesn't look good, Jack."

"What's wrong?"

"Hacking cough, high fever…I'm no expert but I think he may have pneumonia…a very serious case of pneumonia."

"It's treatable."

"I hope so."

Jack throat tightened.It was rare to hear the sardonic agent sounding so grave.

"What's your ETA at the nearest hospital?"

"Thirty minutes."

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"Room nine!" the nurse ordered as the orderlies wheeling an unconscious Bobby Manning through the doors of emergency. "I'm sorry but you can't go in there," she said blocking Sue from following the gurney.

"But…"

"The best thing you can do is stay here while we check him out," the nurse said firmly but kindly. "I'll let you know how he is as soon as I can."

Myles wrapped an arm around Sue's shoulder. "C'mon, Sue, let them do their job."

"I promised, Myles."

"There are some promises that are made to be broken," he responded soothingly. "This is one of them. Bobby will understand."

Large dark green eyes stared up at him.

"C'mon, you need to get checked out, too."

"I'm fine," she said shaking her head.

"I'm sure you are," he said patiently, "but for our peace of mind, we'd like confirmation from an official medical personnel…you know, like a doctor?"

"I second the motion," affirmed D as he approached with another nurse.

"Miss Thomas?" the nurse smiled. "Your turn."

"I'm fine," Sue repeated.

"Let's just make sure, shall we?"

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"Any news?" Sue asked anxiously as she approached the waiting group. Dimitrius and Jack had joined Myles.

"Not yet," Jack replied shaking his head. "How you doing?"

"Fine. Funny how a shower and change of clothing can make you feel so much better even though they are hospital scrubs."

"On you they look good."

"Thanks."

"Sue! Sue!" cried Lucy as she burst through the doors to emergency. Levi bounded forward tail wagging happily to see his mistress.

"Levi" Sue bent down to hug her canine companion. Two arms enveloped her as soon as she stood.

"I was so worried! I didn't know what to think!" Lucy said holding her at arms length. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine."

"My turn!" chimed Tara giving her friend a quick hug.

"If you're so fine, what's that?" Lucy asked pointing to the wrapped wrist.

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Just a sprain."

"Are you sure?"

"That's what the doctor says."

"And Bobby?"

Sue bit her lip and shrugged helplessly. "Sick…very sick."

"What does the doctor say?"

"No news," D responded tersely.

"Nothing?"

"Not a word."

"I think, perhaps, in this case, no news is definitely not good news," pronounced Myles recalling the unconscious form of his teammate during the helicopter ride to the hospital.

Taking a quick glance in Sue's direction, Myles turned so she wouldn't be able to read his lips. "It pains me to say it but I am incredibly concerned about him," he admitted. "He…he…I just hope we were in time."

Jack's lips tightened. "Don't even think it!" he spit out holding up a warning finger.

Myles bit back a heated retort when he realized that was exactly what Jack was afraid of.

"He's going to be fine," said Jack forcing a tone of optimism.

"Yeah, we have to remember this is Bobby we're talking about," reminded Tara trying to be upbeat. "Before we know it, he'll be giving the doctor and nurses a really bad time. You know how he hates hospitals."

"That's what he said," Sue remarked softly after catching her teammate's last few words.

"What?"

"He said no hospital," she repeated as tears welled in her eyes. "It's my fault. I should have gone for help. I knew he was sick but I didn't want to leave him. Maybe if I…"

Lucy's hands closed firmly around her roommate's shoulders. "Stop it! You did everything you could to help him,"

"I should have gone for help."

"Nonsense!" Myles declared. "Staying put was your best option."

"Maybe for me, but not for Bobby."

"It was the best option for both of you," Jack emphasized. "Wandering around in that kind of weather wouldn't have helped either one of you."

"I want to believe that."

"Believe it because it's true," he said as he squeezed her hand. "We're glad one of you exercised some good sense."

A tentative smile was his reward.

At the sound of footsteps nearing, Jack looked up—finally, a doctor was coming! Gripping Sue's hand, they turned to face the approaching woman. The rest of the team gathered around them.

"How is he, Doctor?" Sue asked anxiously.

"Agent Manning is resting comfortably."

"What took so long?" demanded Myles.

"We had to stabilize his condition first."

"Stabilize his condition?" Jack repeated sharply.

"Agent Manning experienced a seizure due to his prolonged high fever. Our first efforts were focused on bringing down his temperature and eliminating the seizures. I'm happy to say we were successful in that."

"Then why aren't you smiling?" Sue remarked gravely. "What's wrong?"

"Agent Manning is…" The young doctor paused as she formulated what she wanted to say. As skilled as she was in her profession, she still struggled to find the right words to say to a patient's loved ones.

"Just say it," Sue ordered softly. "I'd rather know the truth."

"All right," nodded the doctor. She took a deep breath. "Agent Manning is a sick man…a very sick man."

"But he is going to be okay, isn't he?" Jack broke in.

"That doesn't sound very optimistic," Myles commented accusingly.

"Are you saying he might…he might…." Sue couldn't bring herself to finish her question.

"It's a possibility we have to face," said the emergency room physician soberly. She looked at the sober faces. "It doesn't mean we're giving up on him. We're not. We'll continue to do everything we possibly can."

"Then we need to do our part, too," Sue said quietly.

"And what's that?" asked Myles impatiently.

"Pray."

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Jack stood outside the observation window of the Bobby's room sipping a steaming cup of coffee. Despite her fatigued state, Sue had adamantly refused to leave. She wouldn't….couldn't rest without knowing what was happening, she'd argued. Reluctantly, the rest of the team had acquiesced. After further heated discussion, it had been decided Jack would stay to keep her company while Lucy would bring fresh clothing the next morning. And so they had left, worry etched on all their faces.

And here he was maintaining his vigil. Fear crept into his thoughts no matter how hard he tried to banish them. There was his best friend lying so still…so pale against the white sheets in ICU. The oxygen mask covered his face…tubes snaked from the IV pole to one arm and wires attached to monitors were hooked up to the other. Would he recover?

His focus shifted from his friend to the woman at his bedside. What happened in that cabin? pondered Jack. The fact that Sue had wanted to stay was not a surprise given her compassionate nature. She'd been at his side when Billy had been shot and when he'd had his heart attack. What had been surprising was her flat out refusal to go home despite the urgings of the others.

The dynamics of her relationship with Bobby had changed during their shared experience, he concluded, but to what extent? Did his best friend share those same feelings? Bobby was a bright guy and didn't have the same hang-ups about relationships despite the history with his biological father. He'd once told his commitment phobic friend that when you found that special person, no fears—take that first step. Even after his relationship with Darcy had crumbled, he still held that same belief.

Jack wished he had had the guts to do that at one time. He'd thought he'd have all he time he wanted to take the next step with Sue but he'd waited too long. One day he'd woken up and realized she'd moved on. Who could blame her? He couldn't expect her to wait forever. Truth be told, he still wasn't ready, he thought regretfully.

He watched as the night duty nurse went in to check his friend's readings. He saw her stop to say a few words and Sue shake her head.

"I'll be back," he heard her say. A few quick steps and she returned holding a blanket which she draped over Sue's shoulders. With another few words and a smile, she left.

"Any change?" Jack inquired hopefully as the nurse jotted down the information on Bobby's chart.

"No, but he isn't any worse which is a good sign."

"It is?"

"Yup," she replied as she continued her scribbling. "Means the antibiotics are working and that's a good sign in my book."

"Then it's a good sign in my book, too. And it doesn't hurt that he has that pretty blonde in there rooting for him to pull through."

"The power of prayer?"

"Don't underestimate it."

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"…and when you're out of here, I'll make you that dinner I promise," Sue remarked trying to inject the sound of normalcy in her voice. "You know, the tuna casserole and Oreo dessert. I have a great meatloaf recipe, too, if you're interested." She stroked the limp hand in hers. "And…there are things we need to talk about. That is if you want to talk about them." She fell silent for a few moments. "If…if you don't want to talk about them, I'll be fine. I understand. Propinquity and all," she added with a small smile. The smile faded. "It's a dangerous thing. "

She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Jack. How much had he heard? she wondered.

"You're exhausted," Jack said quietly. "You need to get some rest."

"I can't…not yet."

He wasn't about to press the point so he changed the subject. "I spoke with Nurse Betty out there," Jack replied jerking his thumb in the direction of the nurses' station. "She said Bobby's holding his own. Said it's a good sign. Means the antibiotics are working…and so are the prayers."

"I'm glad." She turned back to the comatose figure. "Heard that, Bobby? Someone's listening. Now it's your turn."

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