I woke again to find out that I was not alone in the room; I jerked out of reflex and was instantly calmed by the soothing voice of my boss who was sitting next to me in the comfy seat. I looked at him and saw that he was looking so much better in such a short time and was mobile enough to walk without support. I looked at him in the face and he smiled as he took my hand and brushed the fringe off my face.
"I really need to get that damn fringe cut!" I whispered as my throat was rough.
He looked at me and laughed gently; I grinned slightly and tried to shuffle up the bed and get more comfortable.
"You look well boss – a couple of days in bed and you're looking stronger!"
"It's been more than a couple of days since I was shot Mac – it's been nearly two weeks. When you were brought to the hospital you suffered a seizure caused by your medication – it's a rare side effect and one we were warned about. The main thing is you are now awake and have made remarkable improvement over the last two days since you first opened your eyes again. How do you feel?" he whispered.
I knew it had been at most a couple of days but nearly two weeks was a huge time to be unconscious, I sat up straight as possible and winced at the strained feeling in my shoulder and massaged it.
"My head is clearer and I don't feel like I am hearing things through a drywall. Two weeks huh, induced coma to keep my functions intact?"
He nodded and passed me my medical chart – he knew me well and that I would want to know what was happening and happened over the last few days. I leaned back and looked at him, the test results were coming back cleaner than before – but what worried everyone was that I was hypothermic and drunk when I was found – I don't remember the drink too much?
"You have been sober for over ten years – why?" he asked.
I looked at him, my eyes cloudy – the one thing we shared was being a recovered alcoholic – he wanted answers.
"It always numbed me out when I was younger, maybe I just…..i don't know to be honest boss – I don't know what was going through my head!" I replied honestly.
He took my hand and squeezed it tightly.
"And that is the right answer I needed to hear from you. The team are due in from a call in a couple of minutes – Spike has dibs – he's been a nightmare recently," he replied.
"I am so sorry!" I whispered.
"Not your fault and we need to discuss this later on with Spike – you two are at the stage of going either forward or separate – he can't take this stress – he needs to know you won't leave him like others have!"
I was just about to speak when I heard a noise and looked at the door; I was still very pale and the shock of my dark hair against my skin reminded him of the girl out of the film 'the ring'.
"You're awake – how long?" he said grinning.
"About ten minutes – are you alright?" I said pointing to his hands.
"Yeah, stupid accident with a rope nothing major to report – boss!" he whispered back.
"She's good for visitors, be gentle!" he whispered to him.
I watched the boss leave and Spike come in looking pale; I knew this whole issue was killing him inside and even though we had planned for it as requested; it still hit hard. He came over to me and lowered the bed rails; within seconds he had his shoes off and climbed into the bed with me and pulled me close to him – he let me settled and wrapped the blanket over me to cocoon me in the warmth.
I snuggled into him and took his hand and wrapped my fingers around his; the deep grating sobs just came out of me from nowhere and I couldn't control them. They just wracked my body over and over and he just held me tightly to keep me from running away.
"This is not your fault Mac – we were warned about this and we took precautions – no-one blames you – the medical tests prove that you had no control of what happened!" he whispered.
Parker came back in with a doctor at the sound of the monitor alarm going off and checked my vital signs – my heart rate was going crazy and I felt like I was hyperventilating on the spot. I could hear them all telling me to calm my breathing down; it would work for a moment then I would get another round of pure emotion and start off on another cycle. The doctor called the nurse and within moments he was injecting something into my hand and Spike had to take some of my weight as I zoned out.
"Sorry guys, she had to be sedated – if you want to stay then please do – it would be good for her to waken up with a familiar face beside her. The drug will keep her calm overnight – don't expect an easy few days as this was a severe reaction." The doctor whispered as he wrote on the notes.
Spike and Parker looked at me lying on the bed – I looked like the young girl they saw from my family albums taken before the accident that claimed the life of my family. Parker and Spike both took a hand and sat on opposite sides of my bed.
"Is she going to be alright boss – she had her weapon and all her meds up there – she was delusional – she could have killed herself!"
"We know what happens – she is off all her medication and will have a traumatic couple of weeks due to withdrawal – she will get passed this with our help and support." Parker replied.
Spike squeezed my hand and lay his head down on the bed.