Chapter 5

At twenty minutes past eight, the hospital visiting hours were nearly over. Steve noticed that the hall lights were already dimming and saw other visitors exiting through the front lobby. He quickly checked with the Information Desk for Jeannie's room number and made his way up to the 3rd floor.

A nurse stopped him as he was entering. "Visiting hours are almost over, and we just gave Miss Stone a sedative. She was very anxious and we need her to get a good night's sleep."

"Yes, ma'am," he quietly replied as he nodded to the nurse. "I'll just be a minute. I want to wish her good luck for tomorrow."

"Okay, but quickly," the nurse conceded.

Jeannie heard voices near the door and wondered if they were talking about her. Mike had left moments earlier and she couldn't imagine who it could be. Her head felt heavy on the pillow as she turned to face her visitor. "Steve?" she asked as fatigue was only beginning to set in.

"Hey, Jeannie. I just came by to see how you are doing." He forced a smile as he neared the bed. The young woman reached out to grab his hand. He responded by squeezing her hand tightly and then sat close to her on the edge of the bed.

"I'm okay. I'm having a biopsy tomorrow, but I guess you know that," she said as a sad look crept across her face.

"I heard...and you'll be fine. You have to keep a positive thought." He tried again to put on a warm smile as he still held tightly to her hand.

"I know. I'll admit I'm scared. It's been hard not knowing. And then when I think about my mother and what she went through..." She fought hard to not let another tear well in her eyes. She was determined to stay strong for him.

"It's too early to think about that, Jeannie. Besides, while your mom had the disease, don't forget that you are the daughter of Iron Mike. If you inherited half of his constution, you've got this one nailed."

She giggled at Steve's joke and then looked at her friend. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you, too. I'm sorry I haven't been around." He gently pulled her hand up to his lips and bowed his head for a moment. "I can't stay." Pulling back, a slow smile spread as he saw her growing drowsy.

"Don't go," she whispered as she fought to stay awake.

"You're tired and need your rest. Besides, the nurse is going to kick me out." He leaned over and gave Jeannie a peck on the cheek.

"Steve," she began.

"What is it?"

Her eyes became too heavy and she started to drift. He could barely hear her response. "I want you back in our lives."

He stood and watched as she fell deeply asleep. "Me, too." He felt a lump in is throat as he stroked the side of her cheek. "Sleep well, babe." He turned to leave the room but then stopped in his tracks.

The two men didn't speak until Mike broke the silence. "I left my hat on the window sill," he said as he walked over to retrieve the fedora. "I didn't expect you to be here."

Mike looked at his sleeping daughter, wanting nothing more than to take away the anxiety and any bad news the test results could have in store for them. As tears welled in his eyes, he said, "I just pray it goes well tomorrow for her." He looked over to his former partner who stood still looking, too, at Jeannie, noticing that the younger man had his hand resting on his chest. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine," Steve answered quietly. The reality was that he was genuinely moved by the young woman's situation and also prayed for her wellbeing. He had subconsciously placed a hand over his heart in response to his feelings. Nothing more.

"Gentlemen, visiting hours are over," the nurse said as she saw the men through the door. The pair exited after Mike kissed his daughter on the forehead.

They walked down the corridor in silence. There were so many questions Mike wanted to ask Steve, but he didn't know where to start. Likewise, Steve wanted to apologize for his absence especially at a time when Mike clearly needed support. As they walked through the hospital entrance and into the parking lot, Steve turned to his mentor. "Mike, I'm sorry. I've not been a good friend lately. Jeannie's illness drove that home to me."

"How did you find out?" Mike asked. He was relieved that Steve took the first step.

"I only just heard about it," Steve responded quietly.

"Yes, but how?"

"A friend paid me a visit." Steve hedged and didn't want to suggest anything that would violate the trust that Mike and Dan had built through the past year.

"A friend? Anyone I know?" Mike pressed further but secretly knew that his new partner had apparently tried to bridge the gap with the old.

"Does it matter? Look, it was a wake up call that needed to be made." Steve said with some agitation. It wasn't directed at Mike, but to himself.

"I see. Well, hotshot, let me ask you this..." he paused for a moment while Steve looked at him curiously. "Do you have time for some coffee?"

Steve smiled warmly. "Sure, I'd like that. Where do you want to go?"

"My place," Mike answered assuredly. "Follow me back and I'll make a pot of decaf. It's not like I'm going to get much sleep tonight, but I don't need a caffiene buzz."

A half hour later, the pair were seated in Mike's living room sipping on a couple of mugs of coffee and eating cookies that Jeannie had baked before she left for the hospital.

"Except for the ballgame last month, I've hardly seen you at all," Mike began.

"About the ballgame. Mike, I'm sorry that I just swooped in and out," Steve quickly countered.

"You had your reasons," Mike responded defensively.

"My reasons were lame. The fact is that I just haven't wanted to be with people lately. At least not in a social setting." Steve sighed and looked down on the floor.

"Since when am I 'people'?" he asked half seriously.

"You're right. You are definitely more than that. Frankly, I've just lost the drive to do things. I'm just trying to keep myself occupied without causing too much trouble."

Mike noticed the fatigue across Steve's face and thought there might be something more. "You got the weight of the world on you or something?"

"Something like that." Steve wanted to avoid the conversation that he knew was about to unfold.

"What? Does this have to do with your health?" Steve remained silent on the subject and that made Mike nervous. "I know that you had damage from the bullet. What haven't you told me? Is there more?"

"Well, my heart was weakened from the damage and you knew that. Initially, the cardiologist was hopeful that it would, for the most part, heal itself. Unfortunately, the tests have shown that the healing hasn't really occured. The chamber that was hit had more damage that was first realized and where they mended it, there's some scarring that's caused a problem. "

"I know you've been trying to be careful and have backed away from a lot. But I always thought that this was part of the recovery process for you. Lenny said that in addition to the physical side of things, that there would be a lot of emotional healing for you to go through. I just thought you needed more time to recover," Mike reasoned.

Steve sat silently and looked down.

"Steve?"

He quietly responded. "There's not much to recover. Unfortunately, the situation isn't good." Steve regretted he said that much as he saw the worry cross Mike's face, but his dear friend and mentor needed to know. My God, Mike. I don't want to put you through this, especially if you have to worry about Jeannie too.