Disclaimer: This property does not belong to me unfortunately. Big kudos to SWWoman for looking this over once again.
Chapter 8 - Waking Up
Joss couldn't remember much after she was ambushed. All she could remember were the sensations. She recalled feeling violently cold and could feel something flooding into her body with such a force. The floating feeling was probably the most fearful one for her.
Was she dead? All she could see in her haze was the darkness and she just couldn't grasp what was going on. It was a strange sensation that she didn't want to experience anymore. Trying hard to move, she felt numb all over and her lungs felt like they becoming fuller by the second.
It was a sinking feeling that she felt for what could have been minutes or hours. Time was obscured in this part of her mental state.
Just as she had come to accept this feeling as her new reality, it just disappeared.
She remembered the feeling of being lifted up and a few moments later, there was a sudden and direct warmth traveling through her entire body. She had thought that it was something fleeting that would never return, but the feeling continued, becoming even stronger with each passing second.
She couldn't quite make out what it was. It was then that she felt the coldness wash away completely and she found she could move again. The only problem she needed to resolve now was opening her eyes.
Maybe she was just tired and needed her rest. She was just glad that she was going to be alright for her son's sake.
Now the question was when she would wake up and get some answers.
The noise of something being tinkered with reached her ears. Joss' body felt sore as hell, but she was feeling much better than she had moments ago.
She struggled for a moment to open her eyes as the first attempt was blinded by what she had assumed was a small bit of sunlight from a nearby window. She groaned as she tried again. Once she covered her eyes a bit, her eyes were able to adjust better. She was able to see blurry environment become clearer and she found herself first looking at a ceiling. The last thing she remembered was being in the park in looking for the informant.
Now she was in an apartment with soft sunlight streaming through the windows. She looked down to see that she was wrapped tightly inside a comforter which she thought explained the warm feeling she had been experiencing. She shifted her body slightly, feeling something different pressing against her skin.
She pulled herself up, letting the comforter slip down. Her eyes widen at her new attire that consisted of a man's white shirt and nothing else. She definitely didn't wear something like this before she left her house today.
Trying to get her bearings, Joss leaned her head against the headboard. This action caused a small amount of pain to shoot up her neck, causing a groan to escape her lips. This caught the attention of the other occupant of the apartment that she wasn't aware was still there.
"Well good to see you're awake" he said as she watched him messing around with a few things in his kitchen before coming over to her. She was taken aback by John's casual appearance. He was still wearing his signature white shirt and pants but he was barefoot. Another difference was that his shirt's first few buttons were undone.
She felt herself getting a little dizzy. She had accepted that he was consciously avoiding her these past few weeks and to see him so suddenly, especially like this, drove her a bit crazy.
"Hey take it easy" he said after noticing her reaching for her head.
"Where am I?"
"My place was closer to the park so I brought you here after what happened. Do you remember anything?"
She tried to recall the events in the park. "Well the last thing I remember was that I was in the park and the lights were suddenly cut on me. I tried to stand my ground but the guy got the drop on me in my blind spot."
"Where was your backup?"
"Um, I didn't really ask for one until I already got there." She could see the glowering look in his eyes and she spoke again before he could say what she knew he was going to. "I know I'm stubborn. I'm sorry but it's just that this case has got me all over the place and I'm not sure what to do anymore."
"Anything else?"
She shook her head. "What happened? Actually an even better question might be how you fit into this entire thing John."
He took a seat on the edge of the mattress. "Well I managed to get to the park after our source told me that you were going to be in trouble again. I stopped the guy from getting away but…"
"But…?" She could see him visibly struggle to recall the events. It was a strange sight to her.
"He had already thrown you into the lake. I heard the splash which was how I knew where you were. I got you out of the water and performed CPR. You were freezing and I doubt that you would be in the mood to answer any questions so I asked Fusco to take the guy into custody and for Finch to get your car out of there."
"Oh" she said. "So how bad was I?"
"I couldn't find a pulse and even after I managed to get the water out of your lungs, you were still freezing." He gazed upon her face to see her thinking of her next question.
"So I guess this is going to explain what the reason was for my change of clothes?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Sorry, I thought that it would be more comfortable for you while you warmed up. I'm drying your clothes in my machine. I'll be sure to give them back to you when it's finished."
"Thanks" she said. John could see the wheels in her head turning.
"So I guess that me being a POI is the only way I get to see you anymore huh?" she figured she would ask now than later.
"Well the problem is that I think you are connected to another number we got prior to yours."
"Really?" She felt herself sadden that he was quick to avoid the question and continue talking about the job.
"Yeah, it's Detective Szymanski's case that you seem to be taking a closer look at." He saw an emotion that he expected and prepared himself for the backlash of questions.
"Couldn't you have saved him!? What makes me so much more important than a good cop with a wife who is now a widow and wants answers as much as I do?" The rage in her voice was quite deep. She didn't like the circumstances in the slightest.
"It's just that our source is having problems and we got his number before we could do anything to help him. That may explain why your number came up. Maybe we can talk some more after you eat something?"
"You are supposed to be able to save people. What the hell happened this time?"
He tried to defend himself even though he had no right. "It was out of our hands. I know that's not the answer you want to hear, but it's the truth. I know that you cared quite a bit about him as an acquaintance and I'm sorry that I couldn't save him. I really am" he told her sincerely. "How about that food?"
She took a moment to think about what he told her before accepting his apology. "Yeah sure, hey John, look I'm sorry for snapping on you like that. It's just that I don't what's going on and I just don't like it."
"Don't apologize. I wanted you to know the truth rather than you find out some other way and you are a good cop too remember. Caring about the well-being of another cop like that is in your nature."
"I just wish that there was something we could have done for him. His wife is a good friend of mine too and I promised her that I would find out the truth."
"We are on this case because of the attempted murder on Quinn."
"I am too. It's too convenient because Bill had been taken into custody on the suspicion of bribery. I managed to work out a few of the details and get him released."
"So this thing with Quinn wasn't the first attempt to keep him from testify?" John asked, starting to see the missing pieces beginning to come together.
"No, I got that impression as well which is why I was looking into the details. I suspect that you managed to get in before they cleaned it up?"
He couldn't help but smile at her spot on guess. "You would be right. I did a little bit more digging and found a few things that say that this was a setup alright. That will be enough of that for now though, I'll bring you some food to eat here before we talk more about the case."
"Oh, that's fine. I can sit at the table" she reassured as she pulled back the blanket and threw her legs over to the edge.
"The thing is that you are just wearing my shirt Carter." She gave him an evil but playful glare. "Hey, I tried to be a gentleman but I didn't really have any clothes that were in your size."
"Just help me up from here. I feel like my legs are jelly right now."
"Sure." He waited for her to maneuver closer to the edge before taking her hand. He heard a sigh of content from her, understanding all too well why.
"You know we're going to have to talk about what actually happened John" she said, not at all referring to the case anymore.
"We will, I promise."
She took his word for it and got the assistance that she wanted. As she stood up, her body weight shifted forward and she felt his grip tighten around her. After straightening her body up, she gave him a smile of appreciation as they gingerly walked to the table.
"What's wrong with me?"
"It may have been from the impact of the water when you got thrown of the bridge" he stated as they made it to the table and she sat down. "I take it that your body isn't feeling too happy right now."
"Nope, I feel like I've been run over a dozen times, but I'll live thanks to you…again" the last part was said with an inflection in her voice. John caught it, but he chose to ignore it and continue on the task at hand.
He had been cooking up some food for her when he heard the groan from his bed. He fought the impulse to run to her side and instead acted casual. He was full of relief over her recovery, but now things were probably worse off now that she knew the situation.
Finishing up, he turned around and gave her a full plate before going to the fridge to get some orange juice. Joss couldn't help but laugh at how piled high the plate was. He had give her four pancakes, what looked to be five eggs worth of scrambled, two potatoes worth of hash browns and five sausages.
"What's so funny" he asked when he came back with a pitcher in his hand.
"I was just thinking that this was something my son Taylor would chug down before his day of school. Don't you think it's a little much?"
He poured her a glass. "Trust me, after what you've been through, you won't even be one-third full. You still need time to recover but at least you're awake and moving."
She nodded before digging in. She couldn't hold back the satisfaction on her face as she took a bite out of the eggs. The man knew his way around the kitchen better than she did, not that she would ever admit it. Instead, she decided to bring the topic back to earlier.
"So what's the plan with this case?"
John sat across from her with his own glass. "Well Finch is going to come by later to fill us in. He said that he's going to have Fusco question the guy, maybe get something off of his phone"
"Illegally of course" she said in a bit of grievance over his vigilante ways.
"Of course" he responded, giving her that mischievous smirk that warmed her heart ever so.
"Okay I'll clean up after I finished this" she said as she continued consuming her breakfast.
John just watched her, content that she was moving at all. He couldn't help but be worried about her status after he found her.
As he watched her, he knew he was right about the amount he had given her. In a matter of minutes, the contents of her plate had disappeared and she leaned back, her hunger sated.
She looked towards him, noticing the I told you so look as she realized what happened.
"Shut up, it would have been a waste."
"Whatever you say Detective."
"So how much longer is it going to take for my clothes to get cleaned?"
"After you wait a few minutes to let the food settle, I'll get your things before you go to the bathroom."
"Thanks" she said simply before then adding quickly "By the way John, it's good to see you again. She looked away as to hide her eyes. She didn't want him to read into about what she meant just yet.
Instead he just smiled and said, "It is also nice to see you too Detective."
There was a bit of tension due to what the real discussion had to be, but for now they would focus on the case. Personal matters would have to wait just a bit longer.
A/N: I hope that everyone was able to catch POI in it's new time slot. Be sure to tell your friends and have your friends tell their friends. Anyways I hope that everyone enjoyed this chapter as I know a lot of my reviewers were quite curious about what Joss' reaction was going to be when she woke up. Thanks again to SWWoman for the beta. You are awesome.