Chapter 17 – A little TLC

Jo was pulled from her thoughts as a car pulled up in front of the hospital and the familiar figure of Alice Graham sprang from the passenger side to head straight for the entrance, her bond curls shining under the floodlights that lit the car park. Jo immediately turned and headed for the door telling the others that the Grahams were there.

Jo intercepted Alice and Hank as they paused in the entrance looking around uncertainly wondering where they should go. Alice's face broke into a huge smile as she spotted Jo. "Jo? She's okay isn't she? Lindsay said they were keeping her under observation. She's not hurt is she?"

Jo found herself enveloped in a spontaneous bear-bug from the effusive woman. "No she's fine but she was a little dehydrated when she was brought in so they decided it was best to keep her in overnight just to make sure and because you weren't here. Also ..." Jo paused for a moment. "... she didn't want to leave Mac."

Hank put a reassuring arm around his wife. "Yes the young woman who phoned … Lindsay?" Jo nodded. "... she said that Mac was injured?"

Jo nodded. "Yes he sustained a few injuries but he's fine." Jo grimaced. She couldn't believe she was saying that. Apparently nor did Alice who harrumphed in indignation setting her corkscrew curls bouncing like springs.

"Mac Taylor would say he was fine even if he was knocking at death's door," she stated waving her hands. Jo's lips twitched in amusement. Alice clearly had Mac summed up. Jo was about to say that she would accompany them to Stacy's room when Alice took her by the arms and, looking her up and down, asked how she was doing. Jo was a little taken-aback. "I'm fine..." she began instantly upbraiding herself for using Mac's favourite phrase. Alice looked at her intently. She could see the dark shadows under her eyes and the lines of worry in her face. For some strange reason Jo felt tears pricking at her eyes. She swallowed. "Now I know they're both safe, I'll be okay." Alice nodded apparently satisfied. "Come on. I'll show you to Stacy's room." Jo led them to the elevators and up to the third floor. As they emerged a young nurse with dark brown hair approached. "Hello Madeleine, these are Stacy's foster parents, Mr and Mrs Graham."

The pretty young woman smiled broadly. "It's nice to meet you. Stacy's in her room. It's this way. She's doing fine and she's feeling a lot better now that we've got some fluids into her. She's had a shower and something to eat. Did you manage to bring her a clean set of clothes?" They both nodded and Hank waved a small bag. "I'm afraid her clothes were in quite a state when she arrived. You'll probably have to trash them." Alice and Hank nodded. "Here we are. Oh and when you have a moment could you call at the nurse's station to complete the paperwork? There's no hurry. Take your time." She gestured towards a doorway. As they entered Stacy looked up from the book she was reading.

"Alice! Hank!"

Jo watched as Alice and Hank rushed across the room and threw their arms around their foster daughter. They remained like that for some minutes each just glad to be able to hold the others in their arms. Jo hovered in the doorway for a moment and then feeling as though she was intruding, she quietly left retracing her steps down the corridor.

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Jo opened the door quietly and peered into the dimly lit room. She squinted at the shape in the bed as her eyes adjusted from the bright lights of the corridor.

"Hey!"

Jo closed the door quietly and crossed the room surprised to find him awake propped up among what seemed like a dozen pillows. "Hey yourself," she began. "How are you feeling?" She was mortified to feel tears welling up in her eyes. Mac must have heard the tremor in her voice as he stretched out an arm.

"Come here."

Jo sank onto the edge of the bed and felt his good arm wrap around her. Slowly she leaned forward until their foreheads were touching. They sat for a few moments before Jo pulled back to look at him. She winced at the sight of the mass of bruising along the side of his face. Gently she lifted her hand to cup his cheek. She ran a finger over the bristle on his chin.

"You need a shave."

Mac laughed, a soft low rumble that made a shiver tingle down her spine. "Yeah, that could be a bit of a challenge with this." He nodded to his shoulder that was now tightly strapped to his body with a sling.

"What did the doctor say?"

"Well it'll take time to heal. There's no lasting damage just some bruising and swelling. And a minor tear to the rotator cuff."

"A minor tear to the rotator cuff?" Jo gazed at him intently.

"Yeah like I said nothing major." Jo huffed earning herself a glare.

"And that?" She nodded to his side.

"That's nothing major either. Doc cleaned it and has set me on a course of antibiotics. They should clear up the infection in a few days. I'm fine."

Jo shook her head and gave an irritated little mewl of disapproval. "We really have to work on your definition of fine."

Mac smiled and looked into her eyes. It was as though he could read all the raw emotion in them, the worry, the fear, the concern and something else. "Are you all right?"

"Me?" Jo nodded and pulled her lips into a smile. "Of course." She was lying and he knew it.

He wasn't sure what made him him do it but without really thinking he raised his hand to her hair, pulling her towards him and placed a soft gentle kiss on her lips. "Thank you."

Jo gasped despite herself at the touch of his lips on hers. It was so fleeting that for a moment she thought she had imagined it but his soft smile and the unreadable look in his eyes told her that it was real. "What for?" she whispered.

"For coming to find us. For being here. For staying."

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Mac lifted the cover on the main dish and stared at the supper tray with a frown. Soup, chicken and potatoes and some form of unidentifiable pink mousse that Don was eyeing hopefully. He started on the soup before it got any colder and while he worked out how he was going to manage the chicken with one hand. After a tentative sip of the thick green liquid he discovered that it wasn't too bad. He just hoped no one asked him to identify exactly what it was.

"We processed the bathroom but came up with so many biologicals it would have taken weeks to process." Danny was saying. "Speaking of which, how did you know we'd find that message?"

Mac looked nonchalant. "I didn't but the place was clearly used regularly despite being abandoned. They were empty beer cans, a bottle of tequila with an intact label, and high-grade engine oil that clearly hadn't been there long as well as a lot of cigarette stubs. So I thought who would rendezvous at the back of an abandoned garage in the middle of nowhere for an alcohol fuelled evening that required high-grade engine oil?"

Danny nodded. "Illegal street racers."

Mac smiled smugly. "Saturday night, I was hoping that they'd use it again and see the message."

"Well luckily for you it was Randall Wade out looking for them," Don added.

"Then we got the call about the van. So while I checked it out, Don and Jo came looking for you," Danny explained as he lounged on the end of the bed. He looked at Don to pick up the tale.

"So were just about to check out the cabin ..." Mac couldn't take it any more and, dropping his soup spoon, he handed the dish of pink goo to Don who positively snatched it before scooping up a spare spoon from Mac's tray. Mac rolled his eyes at Jo who was sitting by his side curled up in what she had discovered was a surprisingly comfortable chair. She smiled as she cradled her hands around a cup of steaming tea. "... imagine our surprise when this bike roars up. " Don stuffed a large mouthful of the pink stuff into his mouth with a satisfied 'Mm'. Mac grimaced wondering what particular combination of synthetic ingredients, artificial sweeteners and lurid food colourings had gone into that particular concoction. Don however didn't seem bothered as he eagerly dipped the spoon in again. Jo sniggered into her tea at the opposing looks of delight and disgust on their faces. "So we sneak after him ..." Another mouthful. "...and I hear him giving your name to Mason so I take him down." Another mouthful.

"He give you anything?" interrupted Mac.

"Mmm. Singing like a baby..." Don assiduously scooped the last of the candy-floss coloured fluff into his mouth and licked his lips like a cat that thinks he should have been given a bigger portion. "...the only problem is he don't know nothing." Mac looked at him in consternation surprised that Zeke Dryer would talk. Don grinned. "Seems you ain't the only head of a crime lab that puts the fear of God into criminals. Just mentioned the name Horatio Caine and the outstanding warrant … something to do with his prints on a gun..." Don started eyeing Mac's chicken and potatoes. Mac surreptitiously pulled his tray a little closer. Having started on the soup he discovered he was actually starving. "So we're hoping you can tell us ..." Don broke off as the door opened.

For a moment there was complete silence. "Visiting hours are over," announced the newcomer in a strident voice. Don and Danny unconsciously straightened up a little as the red-headed woman glared at them. She set an imposing figure being tall and well-padded with long hair pulled tightly back into an elaborate chignon. Her uniform was a pristine white and her name tag gave her name as Deirdre. She folded her arms under her ample bosom and stared pointedly at Danny who decided that maybe he shouldn't be sitting on the bed. He got up and nervously smoothed down the cover. For some strange reason she reminded him of his fifth-grade teacher. He gulped involuntarily and stepped away from the bed.

Don put on his best smile and pointed to the badge on his belt. "Oh but we're..."

"Don't be thinking showing shiny badges will make the slightest bit of difference to me, young man. This is a hospital not an interrogation room. Mr Taylor needs his rest. You may come back tomorrow. Visiting hours are from nine. Not before." Don's smile faded from his face under Deirdre's piercing gaze. He mumbled something incoherent and glanced at Danny. Deirdre unfolded her arms and walked purposefully to the end of the bed to scoop up the chart from it's plastic holder but not before flicking some invisible bit of fluff from the bottom of the bed clearly indicating it had been wilfully deposited there by Danny. She pulled a pen from her pocket and, looking at her watch, noted down the time. She looked up at Don and Danny with a look that would scare the hardiest of souls. "Well?" She pointed to the door with the pen. Don and Danny tried appealing to Mac who was watching the whole scene with an air of mild amusement but he just gazed back at them with benign benevolence. They realized he looked utterly exhausted.

"Er night Mac."

"Night Mac, you take it easy."

They both looked unsure as to whether it was safe to leave him with Deirdre. Jo got up too but Deirdre suddenly metamorphosed from dragon to darling. "Don't get up dear. You can stay with your husband until he's finished his dinner. I think he may be needing a little help with that chicken." She turned to the door on hearing the barely-concealed sniggers emanating from the mouths of Don and Danny as Jo flushed a deep shade of red. The dragon re-emerged. "Out!" she ordered. They almost fell over one another in their eagerness to escape.

Deirdre turned back to Mac, her angel look back in place. "Now then Mr Taylor, I'll leave you to your dinner but I'll be back shortly with your pain medication. How bad is it on a scale of one to ten?"

Mac opened his mouth with a small shake of his head, his lips forming the words "I'm fi ..." He broke off as Dragon Deirdre glared at him. "Five" She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Six ..." he muttered. Dragon Deirdre arched an eyebrow. "… and a half!" She scratched something onto his chart and sailed out of the door.

Mac glanced at Jo who had placed her tea on the table. The smile on her face was spectacular. She picked up his knife and fork. "Shall I cut this up for you … dear?" He laughed in spite of himself.

"Yes please."

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