A/N: Thank you for your comments, they always cheer me up :D
My next update might take a couple of weeks because of my holidays. I promise to try my best to update sooner, if not, sorry for the delay but I promise to be back after 2 weeks time.
Enoy!
Chapter 17:
"Theresa is in the hospital" Nick's voice is laced with obvious panic. The words drum in my ears and I feel all the blood in my veins being drained from my face. Nick's sister is in the hospital. What happened? How bad is it? Is there any possibility that BC has anything to do with her current state? All those questions pop in my mind at once and I see the reflection of my own mental turmoil in Nick's eyes.
He looks at me dead on, then starts towards the door grabbing his keys and jacket in the process.
"Hey, hey, hey" I grab his sleeve before he reaches the elevator, my heartbeats thrum in my neck and my head throbs "I'm coming with you"
His eyes scan the room quickly then come back to my face "I appreciate the offer, but you need to stay here with Kelly"
His comment brings a frown to my face. I want to be with him during such a crucial moment, comfort him, tell him she's going to be okay, be that pillar he can lean on just the way he's been mine during the past months. Holding my ground, I cross my arms and state firmly "I'm dropping Kelly at Rosalee and Monroe's place. You can leave first; I'm joining you shortly after"
Nick hesitates briefly then nods and disappears in the elevator
Alright, I need to calm down and thing straight. I grab baby bottles I fixed earlier from the fridge and place them in Kelly's baby bag, in addition to diapers, wipes, baby powder and other necessities. I lift my baby from his crib and head to the door, texting Rose quickly before starting the car.
Promising Rose and Monroe to call them as soon as I have any news, I kiss Kelly goodbye and speed in the highway to the hospital. Once I arrive to St John's and ask the receptionist after Theresa Burkhadt, she says nobody under this name was admitted during the past 24 hours.
"You have to check again, there has to be a mistake" I insist with a now annoyed receptionist, suddenly a commotion coming from one of the halls gets my attention. A familiar voice is shouting. Ignoring the receptionist's protest, I scurry to Nick's side.
"She's my fucking sister" he shouts at two behemoths in black suits standing by a room door. If not for the seriousness of the situation, it would be comical. The guys look like wrestlers squeezed in tight suits from the man in black.
"We told you, Sir" says the shorter and bulkier one, with a bold head "Nobody's allowed inside this room"
Nick is about to snap at him when I brush his arm with my hand in a reassuring gesture. Nick jolts in surprise then a flicker of relief crosses his eyes "Hey, let's sit down a little, they will let you in eventually"
Nick starts to protest but I convince him that Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dom over there are not giving up anytime soon. Reluctantly, he sits in the waiting room as I go grab the both of us coffees from the vending machine. Holding the foam cups in my hands, I join Nick and hand him his while I take a small sip from mine. Nick's body is rigid. He's bending forward, elbows resting on his knees, while his shoulders go stiff. Just as I'm about to sit beside him a familiar voice calls my name. Nick glances behind my back warily as I swirl around.
My eyes scan first the tall, large body standing before my eyes, hard muscles obvious under his outfit, my eyes travel slowly to his face, buried under a blond beard. Despite the harshness of his features, he is breathtakingly handsome "Meisner!" I exclaim in undisguised surprise, his face breaks in one of those rare smiles I believe to be the only one gratified with. Without thinking, I run to him and take him in a hug. It's been so long since I last saw him, and seeing him now brings to the surface the friendly affection I've nourished for him during the past years. His arms circle my shoulders tightly. Nick clears his throat behind me, making me take a step back only to realize he's standing right behind me, with his arms folded on his chest and his eyes drilling holes in Martin's face. To my horror, Meisner has the exact same look on his face and I see a muscle twitch on his face.
Both men engage in a sort of stare down contest that makes me cringe.
Children, I roll my eyes
"This is my friend, Martin Meisner" I break the awkward silence in an attempt to put an end to that ridiculous tension "Martin, this is Nick Burkhardt…errr…mmm…he…" I have no idea how to introduce him. As my baby's father? The man I live with? Guess I could even add that we sleep on the same bed "His sister was admitted here" I blurt out, at loss of any better thing to say.
Nick's face is flabbergast and he sends me a death glare before turning his attention back to Meisner. I decide not to read too much into it, because now is not the moment.
Meisner extends his hand and Nick shakes it reluctantly. From the strained looks on their faces, I bet the both squeezed a tad bit too tightly.
"Burkhardt, huh! You're Trouble's brother" Meisner exclaims
"Trouble!" I'm surprised anyone other than Nick would use her nickname
Meisner smiles faintly, seeming to have an internal joke "Well, if you don't want to be ignored, you'd better call her that"
Nick interjects, clearly out of patience "How do you know my sister?"
Still holding his stare, Meinser answers in an equal cool voice "She works in my team" he glances quickly at me, then his cold eyes settle back on Nick "Look, I know you're worried, but Trouble is fine now"
"What happened?" Nick demands through greeted teeth, taking shallow breaths
Meisner sighs in resignation "Long story short, she blew her cover during her mission"
Nick groans and walks past us, not failing to bump Meinser's shoulder in the process. When he makes it to his sister's hospital room, Meisner nods at the agents standing by the door who clear the way to let Nick in.
"I should…" I leave my sentence hanging in the air
His gaze softens when he looks at me again "Yeah, I was going in there too"
When we enter the room, I'm shocked to see Theresa's motionless body on the bed. She's got bruises and cuts on her face and the visible part of her arms, under her hospital gown. She's got a serum infusion on one arm and a blood transfusion on the other. The steady bips of the machine beside her indicates that her heart is steady.
Nick reaches for a strand of her raven silky hair and tucks it away from her beautiful face. She looks so young when sleeping. Nick runs a hand in his hair and sighs heavily. He looks so much in pain, so wrecked and tortured. I can only imagine all the bad memories that must have resurfaced the second he stepped in the hospital.
The very hospital his mother died at.
Instinctively, I take a step towards him and hold his hand in mine, without looking away from his sister's limp body, his squeezes my hand in his.
"She's sedated" Meisner informs us, eyes traveling from our intertwined hands to Nick's face "She needs rest but her condition is steady"
As Meisner starts to leave, I excuse myself from Nick and rush behind my friend who's walking purposefully towards the exit.
"Meisner, wait"
He turns around in surprise "What is it, Adalind?"
I chew on my lower lip, summoning the strength to ask the question that's been nagging at me from the moment I knew Theresa was in the hospital. Albeit dreading the answer, I still want to know it.
I stutter on my words a few times before finally asking "Was…was it Black Claw?"
Meisner's usually expressionless face looks pained for a second "Adalind"
"Please" I beg with pleading eyes "I need to know, Martin"
He sighs and I know the answer
A striking pain envelopes my whole body, my heart contracts and I feel my lower lip quivering. I don't realize that tears are sliding down my face until Meisner rushes to me and takes me in an embrace.
"Calm down, Adalind…Hey, it's not your fault" his deep voice a complete contrast with his reassuring words.
I jump to the sound of Nick's uncharacteristically cool voice "Sorry to interrupt" I turn around and I'm instantly hit by the look of pure fury on his face "I'm heading home, thought you'd want to know" with that, he heads to the exit without waiting for an answer.
I wipe my tears and stare blankly at his retreating back
"I really don't know what's wrong with him. He's taking all his frustrating on us, I guess" I shrug
Martin shakes his head, staring at the exit as well "I don't think that's his problem"
I don't question Martin on his affirmation, instead I say my goodbyes and head to my car. To my relief Nick hasn't left yet, actually he's leaning against the passenger door and the moment our eyes meet, he opens it and gestures for me to get in "We'll get your car tomorrow"
The ride home is silent. I don't feel like speaking to him. He's been particularly rude tonight and the only reason I'm letting it pass is because I'm blaming it on his preoccupation for Theresa. But when we arrive to the loft, he's still on edge.
He drops his keys loudly on the kitchen counter
"Look" I start, unable to take it anymore "I understand your frustration right now. Seeing Theresa on that hospital bed is heartbreaking…"
"Didn't seem like it" he cuts me off with so much bite
"What's wrong with you?" I snap, grateful Kelly is spending the night at Rosalee's, or else our loud voices would have shaken him awake.
He stalks toward me again, eyes red with anger and lips thinning "Me? nothing. How about you? I take it you're angry because I interrupted your intimate moment with your boyfriend"
"My what?" he can't be serious! If I didn't know better, I'd think he's jealous, but that's impossible, right? "He's not my boyfriend" not that he deserves any explanation.
"Sure" he says dismissively as he starts pacing nervously "For all I care, you can be with whoever you want, whenever you want, as long as it doesn't affect my son in the process…Because after all, it's all you are" he glares at me pointedly "My son's mother"
My heart leaps and my eyes moist
Nick's horrified expression tells me he's understood the impact of his words
"Adalind" he calls in a soft voice, but it's too late. The damage is already done. I run to the bathroom, because it's the only room with locks and enclose myself inside. Nick pounds on the door "Adalind, please, open the door. I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything I said…Please, Adalind" he begs on and on but I can't look at him right now, I don't want to hear his explanation. I sit on the floor against the bathroom door and bring my knees to my chest, chewing at my lip to stop it from quivering.
I'm just his baby's mother. Why does it hurt so much? Few months ago, this seemed pretty accurate, so why it's not anymore? Why do I care so much for what he thinks of me? why does it matter that he regards as more than that? It shouldn't. It mustn't. I still have control over my feelings, I repeat in my head over and over wishing for the words to sink in.
"Adalind, please" his voice is barely a whisper now "You are…Oh God, I'm so sorry…Seeing my sister like that made me lose it, I know it's no excuse but I swear I didn't mean a single word…You're not just my baby's mother Adalind…You're…you're my friend…This person that manages to make me smile when all I want is to crawl in bed. This person who claims she's an awful cook but always makes sure there's a hot meal waiting for me when I come from work, the person who rushes to my side at the mere sign of distress for my part, this woman who keeps her head high despite all the pain she's going through..."
He goes on and on and the icicle around my heart cracks. He seems genuinely surprised as I open the door, finding him sitting on the floor against the door, the same way I was earlier. He jumps to his feet, his expression hopeful and filled with regret.
"Adalind" he breathes
"I don't owe you any explanation" I try to keep my cool and not surrender to those puppy eyes he's displaying now "But, I wasn't enjoying myself with Meisner while you were worried sick about your sister"
Nick nods vigorously, muttering "I know"
"He was simply comforting me because I was upset" I add
Out of the blue, Nick brings me to his chest and holds me tightly. Being held tightly against his rock hard chest feels nothing like being in Martin's arms. With Nick's arms around me, my heart flutters, a nest of butterflies settles in my stomach and I feel dizzy and drunk in his wonderful smell.
I could stay like this forever. I briefly close my eyes and relish in the moment
"I'm sorry" he whispers against my hair
Slowly, I envelope him in a hug of my own "It's fine"
%%%
Nick and I go to Rosalee and Monroe's house to get Kelly, I can't believe how much I missed my son. I hold him tightly in my chest, but after few seconds only Nick tells me it's his turn to hold his son.
We go then to the hospital to get my car. Nick asks me if I can get a bed ready for Theresa because he wants to bring her home today. I hurry to the loft, grateful Rosalee took care of Kelly's bath and food. I place him in his crib and let him play with his toys while I get the bed that was supposed to be Nick's when we first moved here ready. Fresh sheets, soft pillows, a pair of pajamas just in case.
Back to my bedroom, I start to organize Kelly's baby bag only to run into the folded paper Henrietta had given me.
Diana's nanny takes her to Laurelhurst Park every Sunday afternoon
The Nanny and the bodyguard have an affair and they always take
Some time off from watching Diana when she's playing with Ducks at the pond
Their break doesn't last more than ten minutes
Sunday is two days from now only. I need to think of a plan. I need to act fast