Trigger warning for discussions of abuse and some minor scenes of violence at some point.
I'm not a doctor/medical professional. Anything I'm referencing, I've used Google to help me with. Thank you.
It's not a long story (kind of like my other "movie" style stories). It was originally inspired by an episode from Chicago Fire.
Thank you for reading.
A prayer for hope
The sound of monitors beeping around him was what brought Arthur Bishop back to consciousness slowly. He felt sore all over, and it hurt a little to breathe. He lifted his arm, relieved not to find it handcuffed to the bedrail. He noticed, however, that his left hand was wrapped just around his palm, and he vaguely remembered putting it up to protect his face and getting sliced by a knife.
He looked around the room, seeing that the curtain was pulled shut around the bed next to him. He felt mildly curious as to who his roommate was, but he knew it was for the best if they did not get to know him. He tried to push himself up on his elbows slowly, and a hiss of pain escaped his lips. He sank back down, knowing he wasn't about to be leaving here anytime soon.
He evened his breathing, reflecting on how he'd even gotten here. He'd gone to finish a job that was a long time coming, and he'd taken a few hits before getting out of there. He'd disposed of his weapons and burned the layers of clothing that had other people's DNA on it before trying to get back to his safe house. Unfortunately, someone had jumped him from behind, and that's all he really remembered.
Somehow, he'd ended up here.
Voices sounded in the hallway and got louder as they came closer. Arthur looked to see an Asian male doctor speaking with an African American man, who was looking deeply concerned.
"You're sure?" he pressed. "You're sure he wasn't a match?"
"I'm sorry, Reggie," the doctor replied. "He was not."
Arthur watched as Reggie looked like he might cry while glancing at the closed curtain. He was feeling intrigued now.
"A 100% sure?" Reggie asked, looking back at the doctor.
"Yes, and I'm afraid we must stop discussing this here. It'll upset her."
"I'm not made of glass," a female voice said now, and Arthur saw movement behind the curtain now. It was pulled open by Reggie, and a brown haired, Caucasian woman was revealed on the hospital bed. Arthur immediately noticed how unwell she looked. He moved his head so as not to be caught staring. He even closed his eyes for good measure to pretend he was asleep, but the brokenness in her blue eyes stared out at him even still.
"Kate, I'm so sorry," Reggie said to her. "I really thought he would be a match."
"It's okay, Reg," Kate said quietly.
"Ms. Macer, we will keep looking for a donor match," the doctor said now. "I promise you."
"Okay," Kate replied. Arthur heard steps leave, and he knew it was just Reggie and Kate in the room now. He opened his eyes again, unable to help himself, and took peeks at her. There was something about her that spoke to him; he couldn't explain it.
"This is so unfair," Reggie said, his voice tight with emotion.
"Reg, it's okay." Kate's voice was soft. "I think I'm just meant to accept my fate."
"No way! You've got so much life left to live," Reggie insisted. "You can't just give up!"
"I'm not, but there's no sense in hoping for something that isn't going to come," she insisted back. "I've been waiting eight months for a match, and it's not coming. I think it's meant to be."
"I still can't believe that none of your family or I are a match," Reggie said.
"It's the hand I was dealt," Kate replied. "It's okay, Reggie."
"Well, I mean, you haven't tried all of your family..."
"No," Kate said sharply, cutting him off. "Not him. Never him." She held Reggie's gaze sharply, and it made him clear his throat and apologize.
Arthur found himself feeling bad for this woman. He didn't know her or her life story, but knowing that she was probably going to die if a match wasn't found for whatever it was she needed was tugging at his conscience. He closed his eyes again when his peripheral vision picked up on Reggie looking over at him.
"Shit," Reggie said with a sigh. "I gotta go. I'm sorry."
"It's okay. You've got a job to do. I'm not going anywhere."
"Alright. I'll be back later. Just take it easy, okay?"
"I will."
Reggie's footsteps left the room, and now it was just Arthur and Kate alone together. He wondered if she'd fallen asleep when she spoke.
"You can stop the fake sleeping act," she said dryly. "I know you heard it all."
Arthur decided not to deny it. He opened his eyes and turned his head to face her. She was looking at him with a half smile on her lips. It flickered through him again, that feeling that she was going to be meaningful to him somehow, but he didn't know how, especially if she was going to die soon.
"Sorry," he said. It came out a bit more hoarse than he thought. He cleared his throat.
"Whatever. We're stuck in the same room, Mr. Art Kipper. Nothing is a secret." Kate gave him a look with a raised brow, and he smiled a little.
"Fair enough."
"So, what landed you this delightful hospital stay?" she asked. "I heard you were found half dead. Did you get up to something no good?"
"I guess I got jumped," Arthur answered. "I don't really remember much about it." It was true; he didn't. It came in bits and pieces, the fight he'd been in on his way to his car.
"Well, Art, I'm sorry to hear that," she said, slightly smirking.
"It's Arthur," he advised.
"Ah, and here I thought it was a fake name," she said with a chuckle. Arthur resisted laughing because she was half right.
"So what are you in for, Kate Macer?" he asked. She shifted on the bed and swallowed.
"Cancer," she answered. Arthur could see how much it killed her to say that word out loud. He felt another twinge to his conscience.
"You need a donor?"
"Yea," she answered. "Bone marrow." She grimaced a little, and Arthur chewed on his bottom lip. He couldn't imagine being in her position, waiting for someone to be able to save her.
"I'm sorry," he said.
"Don't," she countered, a bit sharply, "don't feel sorry for me." Her blue eyes held a fierceness in them now that overshadowed the brokenness, and it made Arthur feel even more drawn to her than he already did.
"Okay," he said, holding up his hands in mock surrender. "I will never feel sorry for you from here on out."
"Thank you. I don't need any more pity." Kate picked at her blanket absently. Arthur observed for a moment before looking away. He was thinking of what else to say when a nurse came in and over to him.
"Hi, Mr. Kipper," she said cheerfully. "So glad to see you awake! How do you feel?"
"Like a million bucks," Arthur replied, a hint of sarcasm in his tone. He heard Kate snicker, which made a small smile appear on his lips.
"You took quite the beating," the nurse went on, looking at his chart. "We got you all fixed up and are just monitoring you for any brain bleeds or other complications since we don't really know what other injuries you sustained outside of what we know. They've sent your bloodwork away just to make sure nothing comes up since you were dosed with ketamine. The majority of your injuries were on your upper torso with a few bruised ribs and what looked like stab wounds. We put stitches in your hand and side for those, but otherwise, you're very lucky nothing worse happened and lucky someone brought you in."
"Yes, very lucky," Arthur agreed dryly. Dosed? What the hell? He struggled to remember that. "How did you know it was Special K?"
"The person ran off and dropped the needle with it," she answered. "You didn't get the full dose from the look of it."
"Oh." Who would dose him? He'd taken care of what he'd needed to take care of. He felt confused. Who had attacked him? Were they linked to the group he'd dealt with? Or from something else?
"Get comfy," the nurse advised, closing his chart and slipping it back into its holder at the foot of his bed. "You're gonna be here for a bit while we wait for results and such."
"Swell."
She smiled at him and then went over to Kate. "And how are you doing?"
"Just dandy," Kate replied. "Waiting to die."
"Oh, dear," the nurse said, sounding sympathetic. "I really do hope someone comes through for you, Ms. Macer."
"Yea," Kate said, sounding a little bit annoyed. Arthur understood. The peppiness of that nurse was getting to him too.
"Just ding if you need me," the nurse said now, beaming at them both before disappearing. Arthur looked over at Kate, who looked back at him.
"I hate her," she said, making him laugh. "I don't like to hate, but I can't take her 'everything's gonna be okay' attitude right now. I know it's not going to be."
"You don't know that," Arthur pointed out, calming down a little. "Some white knight in shining armor might come and save you."
"Ha," Kate scoffed. "Sure. Cos they exist." She rolled her eyes and rested her head back down onto her pillow. "Sounds like you really did have quite the adventure before arriving here."
"Apparently." Arthur didn't say anything else when she closed her eyes, deciding she probably wanted to have some peace and quiet anyway. He turned his head to look out the window, watching the clouds form and move. He wondered who had attacked him. He had enough enemies out there, but he was technically dead after all to most of the world. He hoped the person wasn't going to come there and finish the job. He didn't want Kate in any danger because of him.
But for now, there really wasn't anything else he could do but wait.
...
Kate was trying to get some rest. She felt so tired, but sometimes sleep just wouldn't come no matter how heavy her eyelids were. She still couldn't believe that this had happened to her. She had just gone in for a routine check with her doctor, and they'd told her that her blood levels weren't right, and then they found the cancer. Kate endured a lot since then with Reggie by her side. Her parents had come to stay with her for a bit, and her three brothers had reached out to give her moral support, but she was basically on her own.
It was her own fault for moving so far away from everyone all those years ago.
She'd had to get out of her hometown. The pain from there was too suffocating...she couldn't do her day to day life surrounded by it anymore. So, her family came to see her when they could. When her uncle called, she just never answered the phone and deleted his messages. Thankfully, he had the sense to not show up in person.
Only Reggie knew what had happened to her when she was younger. Kate had never been brave enough to tell her father that his brother was doing inappropriate things to her from age 11 to 13. She'd also believed her uncle when he'd said he'd hurt her family if she told.
After her first breakdown in her early 20s, she went to therapy, but she hadn't been able to build good rapport with the therapist and thus did not share what had happened. She'd found some anonymous support groups online and participated a little in them, but she mostly took her healing into her own hands by reading books and processing it on her own. She felt like she had a good handle on it for the most part. When she was working a kidnap case that involved sexual assault a couple of years ago, she'd lost her cool by accident when the offender had lied his ass off about it, which was when Reggie had put it together. He'd been so supportive and validating, and she was grateful for that.
She didn't have the best luck with romantic relationships. She was either too guarded or too open, and one of those times had nearly ended very badly for her. Evan had given up on having her be fully vulnerable with him and divorced her (why he'd even married her was still a mystery to her...she guessed he thought he could fix her), and Ted had tried to strangle her. Other men in between just ghosted her or she ghosted them, and she didn't really care if she was honest. She'd never felt that kind of attraction that told her she was head over heels in love, and now that she was dying, she figured it was probably just as well. No one would be hurt when she was gone, except her parents and siblings. And Reggie. He was her best friend after all.
It really pissed her off that she was the one to get cancer after everything. Was the world just against her? Was she just meant to always fight for a normal life? Even Evan had tested to see if he was a match after finding out, and she'd just learned a few moments ago that he wasn't. He hadn't come back to see her since coming and offering to test, which she didn't blame him. It would be awkward now, especially with his new wife hating her for some reason. Unfortunately, Evan was her last hope at this point because no way in hell was she going to ask her uncle to see if he was compatible. She'd rather die. A tear slipped out despite her efforts to try and contain it. She was glad Arthur couldn't see it. She hated being weak in front of people, and for whatever reason, she really didn't want to be weak in front of him.
He intrigued her. She had no idea who he was or where he came from, but there was something about him that made her feel drawn to him. Maybe it was the fact he was seeing her at her worst and vice versa. They were both vulnerable at the same time.
Her phone vibrated with a text, and she reached to pick it up. Everything was an effort these days, which frustrated her. She read the message, gritting her teeth a moment later. She deleted it without responding. Why couldn't her uncle get the hint? She wanted nothing to do with him. He'd taken something from her that she could never get back, that she'd spent so long trying to run from, heal from, and she didn't want to face it again. She couldn't.
She fell into a fitful doze, dreaming of being chased and held down by a faceless man with the wickedest laugh she'd ever heard.
...
Arthur heard Kate whimpering, and he looked to see her kicking her legs. He recognized a nightmare when he saw one, so he got up, ignoring the pain in his body, and went over to try and help her out.
"Hey," he said, putting his hand on her arm lightly. "Kate, wake up." He barely dodged the fist coming at him, jerking back and feeling the wind of her punch pass under his chin. "Hey! Whoa! Kate, it's just me." He watched her eyes fling open and take a moment to register where she was. She was panting and looked a bit scared, but then she forced herself to take some breaths and unclenched her fists.
"Sorry," she said. "Might I suggest you don't touch me next time? It'll save you a black eye."
"Duly noted," he chuckled. "You okay?"
"Yea," she muttered, rubbing her face with a hand. "I'm fine."
Arthur was pretty sure she was lying, but he didn't press. He hobbled back to his bed and groaned as he got back into it. He really wanted to find and kill the bastard that did this to him, but he had no idea who it could be.
When things feel apart with Gina, he'd left and tried to rediscover himself. He didn't return to assassin work because he was technically dead (again) and because he'd had enough of it. He'd only come back to the States because he'd caught wind that his childhood kidnappers were here, and he thought that by finishing them off, perhaps he'd finally get closure and move on with his life. He'd succeeded, but...
He ended up here in the hospital.
He heard Kate answer her phone and greet Reggie. Arthur wondered if the guy was in love with Kate by the way he was acting so far. Or maybe they were just really close friends. The little twinge of jealousy took him by surprise. He barely knew her after all.
"I don't know, Reg, I've been out of the game too long now. I think it's in my desk...bottom drawer, but if not, then I have no idea. Alright. Talk later."
Arthur was curious now. He waited a moment before saying anything, but then he posed his question. "What do you do for work? Or did, I should say."
"I'm an FBI agent," Kate answered, and Arthur just about choked. He did his best to stay very neutral on the outside, but his heart was beating a bit fast from anxiety. How could he be placed in the same room as a bloody FBI agent?! What were the odds?!
"Cool," he said, managing to sound casual.
"And you?"
"Oh...I'm a mechanic." It was a half truth, really. That's what they called him.
"A car guy, huh? That's...fun," she said, not sounding convinced. He forced a chuckle.
"Someone's gotta do it," he reasoned, and she made a nonverbal sound of agreement. He wondered how she would feel to know that she was sharing a room with a killer. It was just such irony. He briefly considered that she might have worked on one of his jobs, but he always took care to make them look like accidents. What were the odds that she would have figured out they weren't?
"FBI, huh," he said after a moment. "You must solve some big crimes then."
"I work the kidnap response team," she replied. Arthur mulled this over. Very high chances she'd never even heard of one of his jobs then.
"You always get the guy?" he asked.
"Not always," she answered quietly. He felt bad for asking then. Clearly, there were some cases that were still haunting her.
"Well, I'm sure you'll get back out there before too long," he said, not knowing what else to say. She gave a grim smile in return. He felt like he was intruding on her space now, so he stopped talking. Kate fell asleep again after a bit, and he couldn't help but watch her.
He wished he knew what it was about her that was making him feel the way he was, but then again, that would take the spark out of it, and he wasn't ready to lose that spark just yet.