Redemption

Chapter Seventy-Five

Her fingers softly glided across the wood of the dining table, her eyes scanning the rest of the apartment with a sigh. This was home, but there was something missing from her home. The photographs on the walls showed that little had changed and that he was still within the walls, but there was something wrong with the picture she was seeing. Where was Bobby?

The bedroom door was opened only a crack, but she saw his form sitting upon the bed, his shoulders hunched as he stared at his favored picture of the two of them. It was from her last birthday; a night that she would remember forever. He'd arranged for them to have their favorite restaurant all to themselves for the evening, leaving them to have a private dinner and the dance floor all to themselves. Marta, the owner, had even opted to take a photo of them while they were dancing, presenting it at the end of dinner, wrapped in a small, pink bow. It was one of the greatest presents Danni had received that day, but nothing was greater than the man who'd been holding her in his arms all night.

She heard him sniffle loudly as she entered the room, seeing for the first time that tears were trailing down his cheeks. "Bobby?" she asked, getting no response from him. He hadn't even flinched at the sound of her voice, knowing instantly that something wasn't right. She glanced around the bedroom, noticing the many boxes lying upon the floor, filled with her belongings. Her side of the closet was empty, his dress shirts and sweaters hanging there, without their feminine companions. If she'd had the ability to feel sick, she was sure her stomach would be reacting to the scene. "Bobby?" she asked again, rushing to his side.

"I tried," she heard him say with a sigh, sparing only a glance at the large pile of papers at his side. Curious, she looked to them, seeing the overdue credit card bills and the eviction notice. If she'd been able to feel, she was sure she would have felt her heart drop to her stomach. She didn't completely understand it, but she knew what he'd been reduced to and what had caused it.

She was dead—she concluded with a heart-breaking reality—and Bobby had fallen so deep into despair that he'd begun gambling again. As she looked into his tear-filled blue orbs, she saw that the light within them had completely disappeared, leaving them lifeless and vacant. The only thing she could still see was the love he'd had for her and nothing else. Her death had created such a void within him that he'd resorted to the only thing that could make him feel nothing else. His addiction had obviously taken hold of his heart and refused to let go.

How could this have all happened? Where was Jack in all of this? The other times when Bobby had sunk this low, Jack had been there for him and succeeded. Did he fail, this time? Or did he just give up all hope of ever helping his best friend again?

Danni needed to get out of here. The air was becoming thick and she was finding it difficult to breathe in the confines of Bobby's own tomb. She wanted to help him, for him to find his way back into the light, but there was nothing she could do. Changing what had happened would be the only way and she knew she had to succeed or be reduced to watching him ruin the rest of his existence. She couldn't let that happen. There was so much good still left for him to do in this world and she would make sure that nothing was in his way.

She turned toward the door to the living room, finding that it no longer led there. A bright, white light emanated from within and she was inclined to head toward it. She wasn't sure where it would lead, but there was something about it that told her this was where she needed to go. A sense of calm enveloped her as the bright light bored into her eyes, leaving her blinded for a second before she was able to look upon it without seeing spots.

Standing in front of it, she looked back toward Bobby and vowed: "I will change this, I promise," before taking the last step into the light.

Pain flowed through her in sharp intervals and she couldn't be happier. That disgusting, over-clean smell of the hospital entered her senses as her lungs filled with air, her heart beating at a slow, regular pace. It had never felt better to feel in her life, she concluded, her eyes slowly fluttering open. They closed as soon as the room had registered, a bright, white light blinding her for a second. She tried again, slowly allowing her eyes to adjust to the sunlight that entered the room via her window, the overhead lights turned off and letting the planet's natural light illuminate the room.

A soft sigh escaped her as she felt the rest of her body returning to her. The pain was there, but bearable enough to rest comfortably. Her legs felt stiff which made her want to get up and walk around a bit, but she was barely able to sit up on her own. Walking around would take more effort than she had available right now. Besides, sitting up would cause a lot of pain to her and possibly rip her stitches.

She furrowed her brow in confusion. She was aware of a lot more than she'd expected, especially since she'd been unconscious for God knows how long. She could remember what happened before getting shot and receiving the wound itself, but anything after that was a blur. She could remember Bobby leaning over her, her blood soaking his hands as he tried to stop it, but that was only a flash of a memory.

Bobby—her heart swelled at the thought. She'd felt the weight on her hand since she'd woken up, but unable to connect it to anything. Now, she understood and only wished she had enough energy to both turn her head and wake him. With as much effort as she could manage, she was able to turn her head to find him sleeping at her bedside, her hand in his and his head resting next to them. The smile that crossed her lips was automatic; it was something she couldn't help when he was in her vicinity.

"You have one sweet guy, there," a—whispered, unfamiliar—voice said, drawing Danni's attention away from her fiancée to the doorway, where a nurse stood, her beautiful, graying, red hair pulled back in a neat ponytail, her emerald green eyes smiling at the fact that her patient had finally awakened. She noticed that she's startled the girl and signed an apology, which seemed to confuse the bed-ridden woman even more. "I'm Elsie, your care nurse," she introduced herself, both speaking and signing.

Danni wanted to voice her question, but she was finding it difficult to speak, her usual dulcet tone was reduced to a squeak, leaving her speechless and making her resort to sign. "You know ASL?" she asked, finger-spelling since Bobby's death-grip on her hand made it impossible to properly sign.

So as not to wake up the handsome, sleeping man, Elsie had resorted to sign. She'd spent a lot of time talking to Bobby and noticed that he hadn't gotten much sleep, wondering when his body would finally make him drop. "I was talking to Bobby and he told me that your cousin is deaf and that you and your friends learned to sign from her. I have a daughter-in-law who's deaf and she's the one who taught me." The older woman smiled at the satisfied look Danni had given her from her explanation. There was more to the story than that, but over the years, she'd learned that the short version was always the way to go.

"My friends?" Danni asked, wondering if they'd been by to see her at all and if Jack was all right.

"They'll be stopping by this afternoon. They've sent you many well-wishes. I was just about to bring them in when I noticed you were awake." This woman was obviously loved by a lot of people and respected by them as well. The many caring faces she'd seen enter the room to see her had been heart-warming. Her cousin had even brought in her hearing dog for a visit. He'd apparently been whining relentlessly until he was allowed to visit the injured woman. Elsie couldn't help but roll her eyes at the memory. Even animals loved her. "And that one," she continued, pointing to Bobby, "hasn't left your side since you were moved to this room. He's been waiting for you to wake up and hasn't even gone to get anything to eat." She noticed the worried look in the young woman's eye and reassured her that she'd been making sure he ate something, bringing him something from the cafeteria every night. It was his prerogative if he ate it though and she was happy every morning when she discovered that his hunger had gotten the best of him.

"How long have I been here?" Danni had forgotten how difficult it was to finger-spell when the energy wasn't there to assist her in forming the words, so she'd only resorted to small questions and replies.

"Three days," Elsie concluded after trying to remember. Her conversations with Bobby had gone long into the night that it could have been months that she'd been lying in that bed. But, no, it had only been three measly days and she'd learned so much about the couple. "I hope you realize how wonderful a man you have there. Those ones are rare."

Danni smiled and nodded, tapping her temple with her fingers held together, "I know," she squeaked.

"I'll give you two time to talk," the older woman said, flashing her famous, motherly smile toward the young woman before exiting the room, closing the door behind her.

Finding that her strength and energy had increased, Danni turned her attention back to the sleeping Aussie, raising her free hand to the back of his head, letting her fingers glide through his soft hair. Someone had convinced him to clean up and that had included washing his hair. She'd almost forgotten the feel of it as it slid between her fingers, smiling as memories flashed through her mind of the last time she'd been able to do that.

His soft moan reached her ears and she couldn't help but let tears form in her eyes. Of all the things she could have lost, this would have been one of the things she would miss the most. His head moved under her touch, the tips of her fingers lightly brushing against the stubble on his chin. He could have at least shaved, she thought as she watched his head slowly lift from its place on her bed and turn to look at her.

She saw the puzzled wonderment in his eyes at the fact of her being awake and no one telling him about it. He was unsure of what was going on. Perhaps he'd had one too many dreams of this same situation and was wondering if this was real or not. "Danni?" he asked, raising his hand to his cheek to hold her soft hand against his stubble.

It wasn't a dream, he concluded as he saw the sparkle of her eyes staring up at him, her love for him emanating with just that one simple look. Her touch was real, he discovered as he let his fingers rub against the backs of both her hands. Her skin was as soft and smooth as it had always been.

He smiled, "I can't believe it." Fresh tears were now gracing his eyes, though he wasn't able to hold these ones at bay. They streamed down his cheeks, dripping from his chin to her clean, white sheets. "I thought I'd lost you."

She shook her head, tears forming in her own eyes as he looked down at her with a love that made her heart soar. She felt her pulse begin to race as he rested his forehead against hers, leaving their eyes to be connected as they stared into one another's souls. "You will never lose me," she whispered before his lips found hers. She was taken aback by the urgent ministrations, but they soon slowed, allowing the kiss to reflect Bobby's joy and happiness and Danni's love and admiration for him.

His lips teased and taunted hers, willing hers to part on a sigh when one of her hands found the back of his neck, drawing him closer. His tongue was gentle as it penetrated the barrier of her lips, making her elicit a low groan as her own tongue danced together with his and his fingers managed to thread themselves through her hair.

Their hearts were pounding in unison as he slowly drew back, him loving the fact that she wanted him to continue, before only soft chaste kisses were what were left of their interlude. Bobby couldn't help but chuckle as he reconnected their foreheads and stared back into her eyes. "I've been waiting to do that for four days," he whispered, placing a stray kiss upon her face every few seconds, witnessing the light pink splotches that were appearing from his actions.

"I'm so glad you didn't hold back," she teased, letting her tongue run over her now plumped lower lip and smiling. She inclined her head to return the favor, her mouth dancing only a breath a part from his. All it would take was one final once of effort and they would be joined together again.

"Oh, good, you're awake!" a familiar voice said, causing both Danni and Bobby to sigh with frustration before turning their attention to the doorway and the woman who stood there.

Danni's eyes went wide as Bobby groaned even louder, muttering "great" under his breath, wiping his mouth with his hand, her taste still lingering on the flesh as he tongue flicked out to moisten them. They both managed to put on the most sincere smiles they could muster as Danni addressed the person she least wanted to see right now. "Hi, mom."