Apologies for the delay, work and family commitments have been overwhelming. One more chapter to go! A million thanks to everyone who has reviewed!
Chapter 25
After a battery of tests in the emergency room, Jamie was admitted to the ICU where for two days his body alternated between burning with fever to shaking from an unsettling chill that ran down his spine. And more than once, he threw the doctors for a loop with irregular heartbeats which would set off alarms that would have staff rushing into his room. Eddie was pushed to the side while the doctors and nurses worked to stabilize him, but she refused to leave the room, taking full advantage of the very large hook that permitted her around-the-clock access to her husband.
Despite the fact that he had finally been listed as stable and transferred to a regular room, his body was heavy and weak, still feeling the last of the effects of the drugs that coursed through his veins. Visits with family had been limited as the doctors preferred to keep his environment calm and serene. That meant that no one had discussed with him any of the events of the kidnapping and his experiences after Noble had poisoned him, but he knew that short respite would soon come to an end and he would be bombarded from all sides - his family, his brother as the detective wrapping up the case, and undoubtedly by both the hospital and department shrinks.
Jamie stared at Eddie through gap in the bedrail as she slept soundly in the recliner next to him. His eyes burned, desperate to close and rest after the events of the previous few days. But every time they did, they'd snap open because sleep only brought back the vivid hallucinations centered around Noble shooting Eddie point-blank in the chest. Even with her right next to him and her warm, soft hand grasped firmly in his along the edge of the bed, Jamie couldn't get his mind let go of that horrible nightmare. That was how he had spent that last few nights, battling against sleep until he lost only to awaken from the same nightmare, sweaty and gasping for breath until Eddie proved it all to be untrue with her gentle touch and soothing words.
Eddie's eyes fluttered open. Her body begged for more rest, but she could feel a certain pair of blue eyes focused on her even in sleep. "Hey," she whispered when she met Jamie's bloodshot eyes. She could see the exhaustion on his face and his continued attempts to deny himself sleep. "You need to rest, Jamie," she admonished gently.
"Tried...can't," he rasped.
"Why not? You're exhausted," Eddie asked, but she knew the answer to that question already. She just hoped he would come clean with her about all of it. It didn't have to be right at this moment considering his current state, but she hoped opening up to her would help heal all of the wounds Sanfino had left behind...God knew she had a few of her own to deal with.
Jamie's eyes shifted down to their clasped hands. "Every time I close my eyes I see...," he began, too tired to deny her claim, but he trailed off just at the mention of the nightmares waiting to revisit his already weary mind.
Eddie nodded in understanding before sitting up. She balled up the thin blanket his nurse had brought her and toed off her shoes.
"What are you doing?" Jamie asked curiously.
"It's no picnic sleeping in that chair, I don't care if they call it a recliner. Scooch, Reagan," Eddie instructed him. She'd been tempted to do this a few times up in the ICU.
Jamie pursed his lips to hide the first urge he'd had to smile in several days and grateful that his wife could always anticipate his needs. He would never have been able to voice his desire to crawl into her arms, to feel her holding him tight, even when it was exactly what he needed.
Eddie got herself situated on one side of the bed, making sure to keep the IV and heart monitor lines he was connected to clear. "Much better," she sighed.
Jamie settled his head onto of her shoulder and immediately began to relax against her warmth. "I know what you're doing, Janko," he whispered as his left arm went around her waist.
Eddie laid a gentle kiss on his forehead. "Trying to get some sleep?" she replied, running her fingers across his scalp while minding the bruise on the side of his head. If there was one sure fire way to relax him, this was it. After several minutes minutes of silence, Eddie thought she had managed to get him to sleep, but he proved her wrong.
"Every time I close my eyes I see him shooting you over and over again," he confessed.
Eddie's heart clenched. She, in turn, could still hear the heart-wrenching wails that erupted from his mouth after Noble fired the gun over her shoulder. "Wasn't real, babe," she reminded him.
"It felt real...was real in my head. I've never been more scared in my life, Eddie," he admitted. "I didn't know what I was going to do without you."
This was the most he'd spoken at once since he was brought into the emergency room. Eddie was saddened by the pain in his voice. She was also battling her own demons and revealed some of her own fears, not to burden him but to encourage him to open up to her. "Me too. I didn't know if I'd ever see you again. I couldn't understand most of the things you two were arguing about, none of it made sense to me and when they found me at that restaurant, I was afraid there was nothing I could tell your dad and Danny that would help find you."
"I should of let his family deal with him all those years ago," Jamie whispered.
"Hey," she said, tapping his chin to get his attention, "we went through this already. You wouldn't be you if you hadn't helped him. It was the right thing to do and it's one of the things I love about you most, babe."
Jamie could hear the sincerity in her voice and her pleas to let go of the guilt, but he couldn't help feeling responsible, especially where she was concerned. "Yeah and look where it got us."
"Never change who you are, Jamie," she stated firmly.
Jamie sighed against her chest, stuck on how badly he wanted to pull the trigger when he had Noble pinned to the ground. "I almost did."
"What do you mean?" Eddie asked in confusion.
"I came so close to killing him back there. All I kept seeing was you bleeding and Noble laughing in my face. If it wasn't for Danny -"
"That wasn't your fault," she interrupted. "And from what Danny said, even with all of that poison in your system, you still didn't let yourself go through with it."
Part of him knew she was right, still he wouldn't forget the utter rage he felt for Noble and that was something else that scared him to death.
"Sleep, Reagan," she prodded gently, "otherwise the docs won't let you out of here. And I just want to sleep in our own bed again."
"I love you," he said, lulled by the sound of her beating heart.
"I love you too," she whispered back.
Jamie sat in the hospital chair enjoying a few moments of solitude, the first since he'd been admitted to the hospital. He knew this time was limited as one family member always magically appeared after another had just left. He'd taken a long, hot shower after being freed from the I.V., another sign that he was just that much closer to getting out of there. Jamie rested his head against the back of the recliner as the mid-day news program droned on in the background.
A soft knock signaled his next visitor...like clockwork, he mused to himself. "Hey, dad," he smiled as his father stepped through the door.
Frank grinned in return. He was happy to see Jamie out of bed and his keen eye immediately noticed the complete lack of medical equipment connected to him with only a bandage visible and covering the area where the IV catheter once was. "You're looking good, son," Frank commented. Although his boy remained a bit gaunt and fatigued after his ordeal, he was much improved compared to his condition just days ago. He took a seat in the empty guest chair across from Jamie, still finding it difficult to accept what had been done to him and Eddie. "So, a little birdie told me you're getting booted out of this place tomorrow."
Jamie smirked and had no doubt his wife had played a part in delivering that news which they had just received during his doctor's early morning rounds...probably when she was coordinating his visitor schedule for the day. "That birdie about 5'4" with the metabolism of a D-1 football-playing frat boy?" he joked.
Frank chuckled. "I guess so...where is Eddie?" he asked. He knew she'd be gone most of the afternoon, but hadn't inquired as to where when they spoke since he already had plans to come by the hospital.
"Erin and Nicky took her to lunch. Then they were going to help her get the apartment restocked for when we get home tomorrow."
Frank nodded as he recalled a conversation he'd had with Jamie at the beginning of the week. "You two okay going back to the apartment? You know you can come stay with me and Pop."
"I know, dad. But now that Noble's behind bars, I think we both just need a little privacy," he replied.
"I get that," Frank sighed. He could see that they both needed their lives to return to some semblance of normal, even with everything Sanfino had done to them in their own home. "You two still thinking of moving?"
"Yeah, I think we are, but we'll see. It depends on what we find. Eddie already talked to her mom, she has connections and was going to help line up some places to look at once I get out of here," Jamie advised.
"Well, I don't think you'll have any shortage of volunteers to help you move when that time comes. And I think they'll all work cheap...for food and beer," Frank predicted with a smirk.
Jamie smiled at the comment, but said nothing in return.
Despite his improvement during his admission, Frank wasn't oblivious to the fact that his youngest had a lot more healing to do. And he could tell that there was something he wanted to ask. "What's on your mind, son?" he prodded.
Jamie chewed on his bottom lip thoughtfully before deciding to just come out with it. "What's going on with Noble? Danny was by earlier to take my statement but he wouldn't tell me much."
They had waited until they had the okay from Jamie's doctors to officially take his statement. And with him less than a day from being discharged, Danny decided to come in and get it out of the way. Eddie had reported to them that he had been speaking to her and the hospital psychologist about the ordeal, but he hadn't been very expressive with the rest of the family and they certainly had not pushed him to talk...so long as he was talking to somebody, that was all that mattered. So Frank was surprised to hear Jamie asking about Sanfino and reacted automatically the way any father would. "You don't need to be worrying about that right now. All you need to worry about is getting better," he said.
Jamie couldn't help the annoyed sigh that passed through his lips. "I am getting better and I'm not gonna fall apart just because his name is mentioned," he argued.
Frank took a moment as a pair of blue eyes dared him to be less than forthright when answering his question. Jamie would find out anyway, Frank reasoned, and the boy did deserve to know what was happening. "I know you aren't. Your sister is working with the Brooklyn and Manhattan DAs to figure out how to charge him."
"What's to figure out?" he asked, while the list of charges was lengthy, it was all very clear cut and dry; he could even list them out for them.
"It's a unique set of circumstances what with him having been in WitSec."
"I get that, dad. But Noble needs to pay for what he did," Jamie declared. He was through cutting him any slack.
"And he will, Jamie," Frank assured him as he held his hands out to keep his son calm, "don't you doubt that for a second. But it's not just him we're worried about. A big public trial puts the spotlight on you and your part in taking down his family."
Oh, Jamie thought to himself as his shoulders sagged. With his brain being fried the past week, he'd forgotten about what trying Noble would mean for them, and not only the risk it put on his head with the two mob families, but both he and Eddie would have to testify as well.
Frank could see that he understood what they were dealing with, but he didn't want him worrying about it. "He's not getting away with any this," he promised. "I'll see to it myself. You just worry about getting better so you can hit the streets again." That was his next big hurdle to returning to normal.
Jamie nodded. He knew to never doubt his old man and as as much as he hated having to leave it in someone else's hands, there was no one else he trusted more to see to it that Noble was dealt with once and for all.