Author's Note:
Thank you again, for the reviews. They really make my day and make me happy. That said, This chapter I am issuing a kleenex alert. I teared up a little writing it. Please continue to read and review.
Who am I?
Chapter 5
When Spike awoke, he was aware three things. The first thing was that he was not in Melanie's cabin any longer. The second thing he had a growing awareness of was that He was, instead, in a stark, white room in a bed with an IV in his arm. His other arm was still in a cast. The third thing he become aware of was the fact that it was daylight. The last thing he remembered was that he was having a conversation with Jamie in their driveway at night.
He opened his eyes slowly, He could see Jamie and Melanie conversing by the window and felt relief that they were there with him. Melanie looked, well, numb as a good way to describe it. Jamie on the other hand looked very upset. He was just about to get their attention, when the doctor walked in and saw him awake. Spike lifted a finger to his lips, pleading for silence. Unfortunately, Jamie saw him and came over to the bed.
"Hey Mike. How are you doing? It's good to see you awake. That was some serious crack you took on the head when you fell." Jamie said, perching himself on the edge of the bed and scratching his head. Spike raised an eyebrow in silent inquiry. Melanie had come over and held his hand, while Spike smiled at her. She didn't smile back. The doctor took over explaining what had happened and what the results were.
"Mike. From what Jamie tells me, you and he were talking in the driveway and he told you something that apparently jogged a memory. You were overwhelmed with emotions and you, for lack of a better phrase, passed out. When you fell, you hit your head on the ice. Jamie's quick thinking, calling for his mother and calling an ambulance saved your life. You had a concussion, You were in a light coma for a week." Spike closed his eyes.
"Am I going to be alright? What about the memories that I recovered? I remember most of what I knew before the accident. I remember vague details of what Jamie and I spoke about. How soon will I be able to go home?" The doctor reassured him that he should make a full recovery and that he would be kept in the hospital for another week to run tests and that after that, he would be free to leave.
After the doctor left to go on some rounds, Melanie excused herself quietly to go to the cafeteria, Jamie declined. After she had left, Jamie looked at Spike. He seemed cold, so he put an extra blanket on and earned a grateful smile from Spike. Jamie seemed, almost sad once more and sat in the chair. Spike could tell there was something on his mind and decided to ask instead of waiting. Jamie beat him to it.
"Spike. The doctor recognized you as a member of the Police Strategic Response Unit. He Called Greg Parker and told him that you were here. They should be here in a couple hours. He also told Mom. Mom knows you are a cop. She's actually taking it really well, but I have a feeling that we are going to be making a quick, clean break. Mom mentioned something about wanting to wait to make sure you had somewhere to go after you were released." Spike nodded.
"Jamie, that's ok. I belong with the SRU. I really like you and I really, really like your mom, and I will ALWAYS be grateful for what you have done for me, but I understand that she's not fond of cops and I really hope that someday I will know why. I wish you much luck and peace on your journey. If you ever want to talk, for any reason, you can call the SRU headquarters and ask for Spike. They will find me." Spike took a deep breath and continued.
"As soon as I remember my cell phone number, I will give it to you. I see you as a little brother you know. And I would like it if every so often you would call to let me know how you and your mom are doing. I promise I won't trace the call, I won't attempt to find you, I won't even ask where you guys are at if that is what you want." He reached his hand out to Jamie and drew him into a quick hug.
Jamie burst into tears. He couldn't help it. He didn't see Spike as a substitute Father figure. He saw him as an older brother. One that he could really talk to. He laid his head on the bed and cried like a baby. He didn't want to leave Spike and go elsewhere. That was when Jamie decided that Spike deserved to know what exactly was going on. He wiped his face and looked at Spike laying there in the bed.
"Mom hates cops because my father has many of them under his thumb. My father is the esteemed Mayor of Toronto. My father just so happens to also be a pedophile. He abused me for about three years before I told mom. She planned and planned and finally when he left on a business trip of some kind, we left. We have been on the run for about 4 months now. We were originally heading to Lousiana to live, but now I don't know." Spike nodded.
"I'm sorry that you had to go through that. Running doesn't solve anything. You will always be looking over your shoulder, wondering if the person behind you works for your dad. I want to help you, but I understand your mother's stance. If there is anything at all that I can do, Please let me know. Anytime, day or night. If you are in the neighborhood, you can drop by the station." Jamie nodded and smiled at him. Just then, Melanie walked through the door.
"You will always be Mike to me, and no, I don't regret saving you. I'm glad that I got the chance to know you. Even if you couldn't remember a lot about yourself. You brought a light to my son's eyes that I haven't seen in a while, and for that alone, I thank you. But you have to understand that the discovery of who you really are, a police officer, does not change my resolve to take my son out of this area. If anything, it strengthens it." Spike nodded.
"I know, and I also know that there is nothing that I can say or do to possibly keep you here any longer than you want to remain. Jamie told me who your husband is and what he did. The man belongs in jail and god willing, we will put him there soon. While I am sorry that he did that to your son, to you, I am not sorry that I met you. I do like you Melanie, and I wish things could have been different." Spike took a breath and continued.
"Will you at least stick around for a short while until I get discharged so I can collect my stuff from your cabin? You know I'm kind of attached to some of the stuff. If not I would understand. You could always throw it in the bag and drop it off." Spike smiled sadly at her. He hated to be someone that had hurt her. She'd had enough of that in her life with her soon to be ex husband. He held out his hand.
Melanie nodded, shook his hand and sat there for a few more minutes before she said that she should get back home. She told Jamie to say his goobyes and meet her in the hall. Jamie looked at Spike and burst into tears again. He didn't want to leave. Spike wiped away the tears that had sprung to his eyes. He didn't realize that saying good bye would hurt so bad. He shook Jamie's hand like a man and smiled at him.
"Goodbye Spike. I wish we would have known each other longer. I wish that Mom could see what it is I see when I look at you. An awesome person that isn't afraid to say that they love someone. I wish you nothing but safety and health on the job. And as soon as I can, I will try to come and visit if I can. I will pack up your stuff in the duffle bags so that you can pick it up and go when you get released." Jamie looked to the door and saw his mother beckoning.
"Thank you Spike, for showing me what it is I want to do with my life when I get out of school and done with College. Maybe we will see each other on the street someday. I am going to have to go now Spike. Mom's waiting for me. I think she wants out of here before your friends show up. I will call you someday if I can. Until we see each other again." Then Jamie walked out and joined his mom and Spike cried.
When the tears finally stopped, Spike was emotionally exhausted. The nurse had come in, taken his vitals and charted his mood. He rolled his eyes at her when she attempted to make him feel better by saying that they would be back in the morning. When she finally left, He burrowed under the covers and turned on his side. His heart hurt for what they went through. His heart hurt because he loved them, and they were gone from his life.
He was so exhausted that he slept. When he awoke, it was mid afternoon, according to the clock. 1pm to be specific. He looked around and stretched before sitting up in bed. There were some flowers that weren't there before. There was a duffle bag that he didn't recognize at first and then realized that it belonged to Ed. That meant that at least Greg and Ed were here. He had a sneaking suspicion though that the whole team was here.
He took a quick look around the room and noted that no one was in the room. That meant that they were either eating or they were getting fresh air. He was fine with that. He had to go to the bathroom badly and rang a nurse. When she came in, he told her what he needed and she helped him to the bathroom. When he was finished he got back into bed and turned the tv on low to watch some boring news program.
He heard them before he saw them. They weren't exactly making an effort to be quiet. He was glad. He had missed them. He sat up in bed and watched the door. Sure enough after 20 seconds, there they were in the doorway. Well, Greg and Ed were. Who knew where Wordy, Jules and Sam were. He smiled at them and waved them in. They came in and took a seat while handing him a magazine and a little potted plant.
"Hey Boss, Hey Ed. How are you guys? How are things going back at the station? Where's everyone else? Are they here or did they stay behind?" Ed and Greg looked at each other. Ed settled back while Greg crossed over to the big window. He smiled to put Spike at ease. Spike set the plant and the magazine on the bedside table and faced them again. Greg decided to be upfront with him.
"We decided after the doctor told us that we weren't sure if you could handle all of the extra stimulation. So it's just me and Eddie here to come pick you up and take you home. We were worried when you didn't return our calls or texts. At first we figured that you were enjoying your vacation and ignoring the phone was a way to destress for you. We get that. My heart stopped when I had heard that you were in a car accident and had lost your memory."
"Speaking of your memory, How is it doing? Do you remember everything or are there things you are still fuzzy about?" Spike shook his head. He felt as though his memory had returned in full and that was alright with him. His heart was still hurting over Melanie and Jamie leaving. For the first time, he had wanted to get on his knees and beg her to stay. To let him help. But he knew that she was too strong willed for that.
"No. I'm good. As soon as I am cleared to go back to work, I think I would be ready and eager to get back to work. It was a nice rest, if it could be called that, But I need the routine now. Get up, go to work, keep the peace, Go home, go to bed. Get up and do it all over again. So was there anything I missed?" They passed the next couple hours just chatting and laughing about the things he'd missed being gone. After awhile, the doctor came in.
"Mike. We are going to release you from here and transfer you to a hospital closer to home. It's my understanding that you will have more suppot there. Your friends here will be able to drive you correct?" Greg agreed that they would make sure he got to the hospital and settled in and promised that the doctor from there would call would call to confirm that he was there. With that, the doctor did one more exam and released him.
Ed handed Spike the bag and explained that he had gone to the house and had his mother get him some clean clothes together. They left him to get dressed and came back in when he called out the ok to do so. Ed put his shoes on for him and tied them real fast. When he was ready, a nurse came in with a wheelchair and helped him into it. She quickly went over the general directions before handing Greg a packet of papers for the transfer.
Once they were on their way, Spike directed Ed, who was driving, to Melanie's cabin. He explained that he needed to pick up his bags that had been in his car. He also wanted to make arrangements for the car to be transfered to Jamie's to name. He wanted to keep that promise. When they got ther, Spike said he would be just a minute and got out of the car. He walked to the door and knocked. After a moment, the door opened.
"Spike! Hi. Are you doing better?" Jamie smiled and gave him a quick one armed hug. Spike smiled and stepped in. He looked around and could see some boxes lying about. He knew that Melanie was packing to leave. The thought hurt a little bit. He saw Melanie sitting in the other room and announced his presence. She called back ok and continued to pack. He turned to see Jamie who was holding his bags.
Spike visually swept the room and noticed nothing of his remained. That was good. He told Jamie he would be a moment and to go outside and get the title for the truck and bring it back inside. Jamie left and he went into the bedroom. Melanie was sitting there quiet with tears sliding down her cheeks. Spike couldn't help but wince as he was the cause of the tears. He sat down on the bed next to her and took her hand.
"Melanie. I'm sorry. I wish you much luck and peace on your journey. I told Jamie that if he ever needed or wanted to talk, he could call me. I tell you the same. I'm sorry you are leaving and I pray you make it to Louisiana safely. The angels will watch over you as you do. If there is anything that I can do for you, please do not hesitate to ask. I have something for you." He handed her the manila envelope that he brought in and handed it to her.
"In this envelope are the necessary documents for you to cross into the United States. I have a friend who was able to draw me up two passports for you and Jamie. They are legally binding and usuable. You just have to sign them and get them Stamped. I also included a sheet of paper that has my contact information on it should you need to get ahold of me. Also, a word of advice, the car you are driving, dump it." He looked at her and continued.
"I'm sure that your husband knows what car you are driving. Don't sell it, just leave it here. After awhile, I will sell it for you, if you sign it over to me and wire you the money if you so desire. I want you to think about it first. I am signing over my truck to Jamie. I promised him, I am also paying him for one month's labor on the truck." Melanie nodded, touched that he cared that much to get her passports so they could leave.
"One more thing Melanie. I fell for you during the time I spent here. I love you, even though you are still married, I love you. And maybe someday, you will like me enough to accept that. But for now, there is only one thing that I can do." Spike smiled at her confused look. Of course he loved her. He hated that she was still married, but if he had his way about things, she would come to realize that he wasn't like her husband.
"What's that Spike?" Spike smirked and leaned a little bit closer. Melanie found herself smiling back at him. This wouldn't do. But she didn't care anymore. He kissed her. When he was done, he left without a word, signed the truck over to Jamie, Accepted the title for the car that Melanie signed over to him, and walked out the door with his bags. He put them in the back seat and climbed in.
Ed and Greg didn't say a word, though they could see the beginnings of tears in their friends eyes. "Spike? Are you ready to go home now?" Ed said before pulling out of the driveway. Spike nodded.
"Yeah. Let's go home."