SpiritoftheBlackRose: heheh... Thanks as always!
star jelly: I'm sorry if it's sad... I try to toss some comedy into each chapter. Thanks for the review!
BlackAngel of Paris: Thanks you for the awesome review. The suspense isn't as bad this time around, I promise.
Thanks to all you guys for the reviews, I'm shooting for 10 days for the next chapter to be up. GO DALE JR!!! -- Wildthing
"Gracie! GRACIE!" Eric bent down closer to her face, yelling. He took both her hands and looked right into her eyes. "Gracie, relax! You're okay! You're okay! You're in the hospital!" Her hand broke loose and swung for his head. He ducked and bent towards her again.
"It's me Gracie! It's me!"
The hyperventilation continued, but the machine's screaming was slowing down. She was relaxing. "Cheryl's okay, Vick's okay, and both Morningsides are in jail. Macdonald's got you here until he thinks you're alright. I'm here until you're back on duty…"
She was still panting, but the monitor had finally quit its ear-piercing shrieks. He ran his fingers down her gauze-covered face. Her ACE wrapped hand found his cheek; her smile barely visible under the bandages. He gave her other hand a tight squeeze.
The door burst open and Jamie slid into the room, remisicent of Sienfeld's Kramer. She stopped at Gracie's bed, panting.
"Hear' monitor… 260… Alri'?" She was bent over and heaving, her eyes focused on Gracie.
"Yeah, she's alright." Eric said, incredulous to Jamie's asthmatic entrance. "She just woke up." Jamie nodded, heaving.
"Y'all don' ski up…six goddamn flights a' stairs." She put a hand to her pager. "Nurse's station called me…" She walked closer to Gracie. "Name's Jamie. I'm yer nurse… Y'all don' ever hesitate ta call me. Jus' hit the lil' blue button." She gave Gracie a pat on the shoulder, and then the unmistakable beep of a pager drew her attention. She glanced down.
"Ah, shit… six floors down." She smiled at the both. "Y'all take care." She turned and jogged out.
"She's like that. Wait until you meet Doc Jacobs." Eric explained. Gracie laughed, her stomach twitching up and down.
"Harte, you were amazing…" Eric began, "I'm so, so sorry… I had no idea what you were trying to tell me when you were onstage. I thought you were calling Macdonald a devil…" he hesitated, the tears developing in his eyes. "I was trying to get up behind the statue, and I forgot they were already on high alert 'cuz you were there anyway, and Gracie, I cocked my gun to climb the stairs, and there was a security guard there, he cocked his at my head. I had to beat him off…" He felt tears in his eyes. "I had to fight him off, we made a whole lot of noise, and the guard didn't see Frank. If I hadn't cocked that gun…" His voice trailed off. Her fingers wiped the water from his eyes and she shook her head, telling him it wasn't his fault. He smiled down at her, bending closer and closer to her face. She wrapped her arms around him, and they kissed.