If the nurses and Al had come to check up on them during the night, neither one of them knew. Conrad was the first to wake up as things got a bit busier in the ICU. Julia was still in the same position they had fallen asleep in and as he bent down to look at her face, he noticed she had rosier cheeks. The monitors indicated that she was still stable.
Seeing his son awake, Marshall who had only slept a couple of hours in a chair, entered the room quietly and looked at them.
Conrad noticed something in his father's eyes that he had never seen before. "What is it?"
"She's tough and I mean that in every sense of the word."
"What do you mean?"
"When I found out you two had started dating, I told her to put an end to it."
Conrad furrowed his brow in anger. "Why?"
"One, because I didn't want her to be in a delicate situation where she had to willingly keep information from you. And two, to protect you. If you found out what was happening, I knew there was no way you'd sit it out. And after she told me what happened to her brother, I didn't want the same thing to happen to you."
Marshall's eyes landed on Julia. "I'm happy she told me to mind my own business, that it was her personal life and had nothing to do with what we were doing, because you deserve to have a woman like Julia in your life, you deserve to be happy, and she makes you happy."
"I can't even to begin thinking about what my life would have been like if she had died yesterday. A world without her in it would have been impossible."
"She's the one, I guess?" said Marshall.
It didn't take a long time for Conrad to answer. "Yes, she's the one."
"Then whatever you do son, don't lose her. Don't let her go. That kind of love is so rare."
Conrad smiled as he looked at her.
"Any news from the FBI?"
"That's what I was initially coming in here for. They found Kim at the airport early this morning. He was headed to the Cayman Islands. He's in custody and has been charged with first-degree attempted murder. They are still looking for Cain."
One down, one to go thought Conrad. He would have given anything to hunt that bastard down himself but being by Julia's side was more important. She needed him.
Three days later, one of the two FBI agents came and advised Julia and Conrad that Cain had been found in Mexico and had been extradited back to the US where he was also being charged with first-degree attempted murder. One had pulled the trigger and the second had lit the fires, not only in an attempt to get rid of evidence, but also to kill willingly and intentionally.
With both in custody, stripped from their freedom and no bail, the security detail had been removed from Julia's room and things went down a notch. Neither one of them said anything, but they were both relieved.
Julia was getting stronger by the day even though she still slept a lot.
On day four, with Conrad's help and upon request from her doctor friends, she got out of bed and set out for her first walk. Holding on to Conrad's arms, they walked around the ICU ward.
"It's good to see you walking around, Doctor Adams," said one of the OR nurses Julia worked regularly with, as they brought in a new patient.
"Thanks, Candice," she had responded smiling.
However, she suddenly stopped walking and Conrad looked at her. Beads of sweat were trickling down her face. Maybe it had been too soon, he thought, for her to exert herself, even if it was minimal.
"We should get you back in bed," he said.
She shook her head. "I don't think I can make it back," she said slightly out of breath.
He looked around, but there was no wheelchair in sight. Even though he was worried about her, he smiled. He bent down and placed his hand under her legs, lifting her off the floor, cradling her in his arms.
She looked toward the nurse's station and saw them looking in their direction.
"If there weren't so many people, I'd find this quite romantic. Instead, I feel so weak."
He said nothing as he walked back to the room and placed her on the bed, hooking her back up to the monitors.
"You don't need to overdo it. And if you ask me, you're stronger than you think. And regardless, I found that quite romantic."
As the monitors started to pick up the information he frowned, and she noticed. "You have a temperature."
She turned and looked at the screen, it was 102.2. "Hey," she said as she placed her hand reassuringly on his cheek, "it's not uncommon after surgery. Just run a full blood test and urine test and we'll go from there."
There were times he forgot she was a surgeon and doctor. She was right, it could have been just a small infection, but post-operative pneumonia was common, and he didn't want her to go through that.
He called one of the nurses over. "Page Doctor Nolan."
"Right away Doctor Hawkins," she replied and headed back to the desk.
Al walked in. He still had a hard time digesting the fact that Julia and Conrad were together, but he tried hard to hide it, not wanting to give Julia a hard time.
"Morning Al," said Julia.
"Hey Jules. How's it going?"
Seeing that Julia had started the conversation and not wanting to overseed Al, Conrad let her keep going.
"I've got a temperature and I'm not worried, but maybe we could do a full blood work and urine check to see if there's anything?"
Al looked at the monitor. "Can't be too careful. I'll get that done ASAP."
"Great. Thanks Al and sorry for calling you over for that, but as a patient, it's not like I can put in the request myself."
Al looked at Conrad. In response Conrad put his hands up. "I'm not her doctor, you are."
"Fair enough," said Al. "I'll let you know the minute the results are back."
Julia watched as he walked out.
"He's not a happy guy," said Conrad making Julia shift her attention to him.
"I think he's finally come to terms with the fact that he and I will never get back together again."
"Well, it's not as if you hadn't tried to tell him."
Conrad paused for a minute.
"Although I can't blame him for trying. If for some reason I'd lost you, I think I'd try everything I could to win you back."
Julia gave him a menacing look. "Well, to begin with, I'd hope you wouldn't do anything that would make it so that I left you."
"I wouldn't even think of it. All I'm saying, is that I get what he's going through and why he was so persistent. Sometimes you only realize what you've lost when it's gone and too late. A fool wouldn't even try to fix things, at least he had to courage to try."
She giggled. "I can't believe it, you are finding excuses for Al. Maybe we should check your temperature as well."
Conrad smiled. If the temperature was nothing and if she continued to recuperate like she did, she could leave the hospital in a couple of days. He wanted to be by her side every single moment and after everything that had happened, he didn't want to take the time they had together for granted. He knew what he wanted but he didn't know if it was the same for her. Saying 'I love you' was one thing, but for everything to come… well it was an all-different ball game.
"You want to tell me where your thoughts are taking you?" he heard her ask, not realizing that he had zoned out.
He took a deep breath and was about to answer her when the nurse walked in.
"Dr. Nolan asked that we gave you paracetamol to bring down your temperature."
"Thanks Tilda," said Julia as the nurse hooked up the bag of meds to her IV.
Tilda looked at Conrad. "Let me know if the temperature doesn't go down in an hour."
"Count on it."
He thought with Tilda interrupting them that he was off the hook, but Julia was smarter than that.
"So, your thoughts?"
He passed his hand in his hair. Maybe saying it directly was better than beating about the bush.
"I was thinking about when you would leave the hospital. I was thinking that we could officially move in together."
She tilted her head slightly to the side as her eyes searched his, a smile growing on her face.
"I'd like that. A lot."
He smiled. "Really?"
"No. It's the temperature making me delirious."
She giggled.
"No, seriously, I think it's a great idea. It's the next step in our relationship. It makes perfect sense, and I don't think I could spend time away from you. I mean you're already squatting my hospital room."
He walked over and sat by her side on the bed.
"Squatting? Is that what I'm doing?"
He then narrowed his eyes and a grin settled on his lips. "You're lucky you are post-op and are in a hospital room because, I can think of a lot of things I want to do that don't have anything to do with me squatting."
"Hmm… keep those things nice and warm for when we get home."
He brought his face close to hers and kissed her.
"You do remember that ICU rooms have full windows, and everyone can see you…"
They parted and looked at Irving and Jessica standing at the door beaming.
"I didn't know there was a rule about not being to kiss my girlfriend in the ICU."
"Well, there should be," joked around Irving, "I mean it's disgusting."
"We wanted to come and check up on you," said Jessica as they walked into the room.
"Aside from a bit of a temperature, I'm fine," said Julia. "I'm glad to see you guys."
She then turned her attention to Conrad.
"Seeing I have some company; you should go and get some fresh air and stretch your legs. Oh, and maybe have a decent meal."
Conrad seemed to hesitate.
"I've got to keep an eye on your temp."
Julia gave him a mean look. "I am very capable of keeping an eye on that myself and Jessica will let the nurses know if it's not the case."
Jessica nodded. "Absolutely, you and Irving should grab a bite to eat."
"OK," said Conrad, "but you keep me posted."
Jessica pulled him off the bed. "We will, now skedaddle."