Chapter Fifteen

The trip to Maryland was a turning point in many different lives. The most dramatic changes were for both Marchettis. Jaime pushed harder than ever to get movement back into her legs and a sense of normalcy to her life. Michael, instead of remaining cloaked in near-catatonic silence, became wildly angry, demanding a lawyer and some private time alone with his wife. For the time being, he got neither.

Steve and Jenn spent most evenings visiting with Jaime, keeping her company and buoying her spirits. And although the consultation with the neurologist had been disappointing (surgery would be of no use in Jaime's case), Rudy set about devising a therapy routine that would hopefully cause Jaime's nerve endings to find new connections on their own. She cooperated willingly and whole-heartedly but for several days there were no results.

One morning, Rudy had just arrived at the hospital and barely put on his lab coat when he heard Jaime calling to him from her room all the way down the hall. In her excitement, she was shouting his name instead of pushing the call button. Fearing the worst, he hurried to her bedside.

Jaime was beaming. "Look!" she exclaimed triumphantly. "My toes!" Indeed, her toes were waving hello to her dedicated friend and doctor.

"Jaime, that's wonderful!" Rudy agreed, breaking protocol and giving his patient a joy-filled hug for her efforts. After breakfast, they worked together until Jaime was bending her knees and rotating her ankles as well. By lunchtime, she was stubbornly insisting on getting out of bed. Although Rudy worried that it was too soon and dreaded the thought of her becoming discouraged, he held her gently around the waist as she took her first few steps and plopped down in the chair by the window, smiling beatifically.

"I did it – I mean, we did it!" she exulted.

"You did it, Honey....and I'm so proud of you."

That evening, Jaime surprised Jenn and Steve by rising from her bed and taking a few tentative steps toward them to give them each a hug. They were jubilant. It seemed that everything was falling into place.

- - -

The next evening, Callahan dropped in to see Jaime after work, bearing a box of Jaime's favorite donuts. Surprisingly, Jaime wasn't in her room. The wheelchair sat unused beside the bed and although Peggy waited for nearly half an hour, there was no sign of her friend. She wrote a quick, brief note and stuck it into the donut box, leaving the whole package on the bed. She turned around to see Jenn Austin eying her curiously.

"Steve's not here?" Jenn asked.

Callahan shrugged. "I don't even know where Jaime is."

Jenn frowned. "I was supposed to meet him here an hour ago but I had...some errands that took longer than I thought."

"Maybe Jaime went somewhere with him?" Callahan suggested. She blushed, realizing how that might've sounded to Steve's still-new wife. "I mean...um.."

"Don't worry," Jenn said, laughing. "I trust my husband...and my friend. If they went anywhere, it was probably to grab a bite to eat."

"You wanna get a cup of coffee or something?" Peggy asked. "Since neither or us have much to do right now?"

"Sounds like a plan." They headed into the parking lot, nearly bumping into Rudy who was rushing headlong from his car toward the building, muttering something about 'that damn car of mine' as he disappeared through the entrance.

"Must be a full moon tonight," Jenn giggled.

- - -

Jaime was in her bed by the time Rudy threw on his lab coat, checked her chart and downed a fast cup of coffee. He couldn't help noticing that she was pale and trembling just a little bit.

"I'm...really tired," she sighed when he questioned her sudden change in condition. "I have to confess...I...got a little over-eager tonight."

"Oh?" Rudy noted that her vital signs were all just slightly askew. Respiration was too fast and her pulse was racing. Had she over-exerted herself? "What happened?" he asked gently.

"I..." Jaime hesitated before her admission. "I decided to get some fresh air."

"You went outside? By yourself?" Rudy was stunned. "Please tell me you at least went out in your chair."

"Um...no. But...I think I did okay."

Rudy shook his head and did a little more mumbling to himself as he tended to his errant patient.

- - -

The next morning brought a visitor before Jaime's breakfast tray was delivered. Oscar poked his head into Rudy's office first. "Get the Austins down here," he requested in a firm, no-nonsense tone. "Wake them up if you have to." He paced the hallway in a swift, grim fashion until Steve and Jenn arrived, then paraded them (along with Rudy) down to Jaime's room.

"I'm afraid I have some bad news," he said without preamble. He looked sadly at Jaime, then scanned the group with dark eyes before continuing. "The guards sedated Michael last night, just after dinner. This morning, when they went in to check on him....he was dead. The initial report is that this appears to be a murder."

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