In The Wrong Place
Chapter 16
Before Steve got any further Jeannie came out of the house and came running down the steps to meet them...
Mike! Steve!...I thought you two were never coming home...What took you so long?"
Reaching Steve first at the end of the steps Jeannie planted an unexpected kiss on his cheek and then bounded over to her father... Steve was slightly taken aback by the unsuspecting kiss but then smiled as he admired Jeannie's youthful energy and enthusiasm as she threw her arms around Mike in a bear hug...
"Sorry sweetheart...Something unexpected came up..."Mike answered as he hugged her back...
"Ok Mike, Never mind...You're here now. Wait till you guys see what I made!
Meatloaf for dinner, apple pie for dessert and chocolate chip cookies!..."
"Well, you've certainly been busy...haven't you?"
"Well, I had plenty of time on my hands waiting for you two so I thought I'd put it to good use...I hope you two are hungry..."
"Sounds delicious honey but unfortunately I have to go back to the office for a little while...We just apprehended our chief suspect in the killing of Officer Shaffer so I have to go and interview him...I just wanted to drop Steve home first but I promise I won't be too long..."
"Oh Mike!...Can't someone else interview him?..."
"No honey...I promised Mel's family I'd take care of it...I'm sorry...I'll be back as soon as I can..."
Looking over at Steve, he saw him leaning heavily against the side wall of the steps...He looked terrible...So leaning in to Jeannie he pointed to where Steve was and spoke softly...
" Now let's get Steve inside before he falls down...Ok?"
Looking to where Mike was pointing and seeing for herself how bad Steve looked...Jeannie exchanged a worried glance with Mike and whispered to him...
"Alright Mike...How is he?"
"He's very tired...Make sure he gets some sleep...And the wound on his back was bleeding again earlier... I cleaned it and redressed it but try to keep an eye on it...Ok? Oh and he's had some dizzy spells so make sure he takes things nice and slow...Are you going to be able to manage all that until I get back sweetheart?"
"Sure Mike...I can handle it...Don't worry...I'll take care of him..."
Mike retrieved Steve's bag from the back of the car and got his pharmacy bag from the glovebox and crossed over to where Steve was standing...
"Just let me bring up your bag and then I'll come back down and help you...Ok buddy boy?" Mike said studying the young man closely...
"Ok, Mike..."
Then turning , Mike bounded up the steps and left Steve's bag inside the house and headed back down...Just as he was coming back down the steps..Jeannie crossed over to where Steve was again catching him off guard and taking his right hand she put it around her shoulders and her other arm around his waist and addressed her father...
"You go ahead Mike...I can help Steve up to the house and get him settled..."
Seeing the determined look on his daughter's face Mike knew Jeannie well enough to know that when she had that look, there was really no point in arguing...Looking at Steve to see how he felt about Jeannie helping him, Mike saw that Steve was certainly surprised and astonished by Jeannie's offer but he was also grinning from ear to ear so he didn't seem to mind too much...
"You sure you can manage sweetheart?" Mike asked questioningly...
"Yes... I got it Mike! It's ok."
"You do huh?" Mike asked again watching Steve's amused reaction..."Ok...He's in your hands!"
"Don't worry Mike...We'll be fine..."Jeannie replied even more determinedly ...
"Ok...ok...If you say so sweetheart...Steve, you take it easy and get some rest,ok buddy boy? Jeannie, I'll be back as soon as I can and if you need me for anything call me ok? I'll see you two later...Bye!..." and then patting Steve on the back and kissing Jeannie he got back into the car and drove off waving as he went...
Turning back to look at Steve, Jeannie smiled ...
"Well, what do think Steven Keller? You ready to climb these steps with me?"
Steve chuckled..."Sure, for you Jeannie, I'd climb a mountain...There's just one thing though..."
"What?" Jeannie asked confused...
"You think you could swap over and hold my other side instead?" Steve said smiling as Jeannie realized that it was Steve's injured side she was holding around his waist...Turning a shade of crimson Jeannie dropped her hand and quickly changed sides putting Steve's left arm around her shoulders so that she was now supporting his right side instead...
"Sorry Steve!...Did I...I hurt you?" Jeannie said still very embarrassed ...
"No, not at all...It's just if I stumble on those steps I'd rather you grab my right side than my left..."...Steve said smiling.
Jeannie smiled back and together they starting climbing the steps. Although Jeannie was helping him Steve didn't want to lean too much weight on her but it meant that he was leaning more on his injured side and every step sent a stabbing pain through his back...He was trying to breathe normally so as not to alert Jeannie to the discomfort he was in but by the ninth step that was becoming more difficult...As he placed his foot on the tenth step the pain became too much and Steve sucked in his breath and couldn't stifle the groan that left his lips...He grabbed his back with his right hand and stopped his ascent...
"Jeannie...need to...stop for a minute"...he gasped, closing his eyes...not wanting to catch Jeannie's eye. He cursed himself for showing weakness again and as another spasm went through his side he groaned again...
"Need to...sit down...Sorry Jean..."
Jeannie was very astute and realized from square one that Steve was purposely not leaning on her...Typical male bravado!...She was just about to chastise him for his stubbornness when Steve had moaned in agony and startled her...She tightened her hold on him and swore in that moment that he had turned white in the face...She knew by the way he was holding his side and gasping for breath that he was in terrible pain..Her first instinct was to call for help but then she checked herself...What's the matter with you Jeannie Stone?...Pull yourself together...she thought to herself...You're a Stone! You can handle this...Just do what Mike would do...
"Ok...Steve...Let's sit you down on the step...It's alright...Just take it easy!"
And holding him firmly she helped to ease him down until he was sitting on the concrete step...She was very concerned about him...She could see the pain hadn't eased up from the pained expression on his face...She was torn between wanting to help take his pain away and wanting to scold him for his stubbornness ...!
"Steven Keller! You should have leaned more on me! I know you were trying not to but I'm not as fragile as I look you know!...You are supposed to be taking the weight off that side!...Oh Steve...please let me help you...I really want to you know...Does it hurt really bad?" Seeing Steve suffering suddenly made her feel mad as hell and feeling her anger rise she cursed..."Oh DAMN that Joe Landers!..."
The last sentence brought Steve out of his agony induced trance and looking at Jeannie and pretending to be shocked Steve half-smiled and said...
"Jeannie Stone! Is that language coming out of you?"
"Well he deserves it!...Look what he's put you through...I hope they lock him up and throw away the key..."
Steve laughed as he saw Jeannie's cheeks flush with anger...It was one of the things Steve loved about her...her fiery temper...especially when she was defending things or people she cared about...Since sitting down the pain was easing and although his side was still sore to the touch Jeannie's tirade had taken his mind away from it...
"Easy tiger!...The man is to be pitied not incarcerated...And you're right I should have leaned on you more...Sorry!..."
"Apology accepted!"Jeannie said giving him her widest smile ever and feeling her anger cool down..." And you're right...That's what Mike would say too but I don't know how you two can be so forgiving..."
"It's easy to hate someone Jeannie or to hold a grudge but my grandfather used to say that it takes a better man to forgive and forget..."
Looking at Steve and admiring his integrity Jeannie swatted him playfully on the shoulder and asked...
"How did you get to be so wise...huh?"
"Working with your Dad!..." Steve stated and they both laughed...
When they stopped laughing Steve took a deep breath and announced...
"Ok...I think I'm ready to continue...and I've learnt my lesson...I'll lean on you ok? But if I'm too heavy you'll tell me right?"
"Steve Keller! ..I've fed pigeons outside my college dorm window that weighed more than you!"...Jeannie said laughing..."But my home cooking for the next week will fix that!"...
Helping Steve up, Jeannie lost her footing on the step and stumbled...Quick as a flash Steve reached out and grabbed her and pulled her close to him preventing her from falling..."JEANNIE !"
Now closer physically than they had ever been, both friends stayed caught up in the fright of the moment...
"Are you ok?"Steve asked, his heart pounding...He wasn't sure if it was pounding from the fright he got at seeing her fall or from the fact that she was now pressed so close to him.
"Yes...Thanks to you!..." Jeannie said also feeling slightly unnerved by what had just happened..."Some help I am!...I'm supposed to be stopping you from falling and I nearly fall and kill myself instead"...Then realizing that they were still in a very compromising position she added smiling broadly..."I'm ok now Steve...You can let me go now..."
It was Steve's turn to be embarrassed as he released her quickly and turned a deep shade of red..."Of course...sorry...You just gave me a scare... Shall we keep moving?... "
Steve regained his composure and once again with Jeannie's help they made it up the last few steps and over the threshold into the house...The exertion of climbing the steps took a lot out of Steve and he felt fit to drop ...He was also feeling light-headed again and slightly off balance...His side was throbbing painfully and he feared that he might keel over...something he did not want to do in front of Jeannie so he decided he would be better off to admit his dizziness and ask to sit down ... Jeannie was already way ahead of him however and noticed how unsteady he was on his feet...He was also leaning more heavily on her which she knew he would never do unless he had no choice in the matter ...Still supporting him as firmly as she could she looked up in his face and was scared by what she saw...He looked very drawn and uncomfortable and so she spoke first before he had a chance to...
"Steve?...You're not going to make it up to the spare room are you?...I think we better put you over there on the couch instead...Ok?...Do you think you'll make it that far? You look very shaky...Steve?...Talk to me...You're scaring me..."
Blackness was closing in on Steve and he shook his head to clear it...He heard Jeannie talking but struggled to answer...Shaking his head a second time finally helped and the fog in his brain cleared a little ...Seeing Jeannie's worried face made him feel guilty so making a extra effort to pull himself together,he managed to speak...
"Couch is a good idea... need to...sit down...dizzy..."
Together they staggered over to the couch and as carefully as she was able she lowered Steve down onto it. Steve was trying really hard not to pass out but he felt like he was losing the fight...He could feel the blackness again closing in on him and tried to breathe nice and slowly to prevent it...
"Steve!...Steve!...Talk to me...Steve, you're scaring me...What's wrong?"