Author's notes: Thank you for your wonderful reviews, it's so kind of you to take the time to respond. I hope you like this chapter, it's a little reflective on Teresa's part.
The doctor sweeps back the curtain and finally Teresa sees her husband. He's alone, and she moves closer to him, while his doctor scans his chart, satisfied with what he reads.
"I'll come see him when he's settled in his room. It shouldn't be long before he's moved."
Teresa tears her eyes away from her husband and nods at him. The doctor smiles reassuringly and retreats. She turns her eyes back to Patrick and searches his face.
She pleased to note that his features are relaxed, no trace of the torment he was suffering. She leans over and kisses him on the lips and on his cheek, moving towards his ear.
"Stay with me Patrick, we can get through this, I can help you. I love you, Maddy loves you, and Austin loves you. We want you home with us."
She stands up and studies him, there's no change. Did she expect any? In her deepest of hearts, she wanted her voice to wake him up and he takes one look at her and announces that he loves her, that he remembers everything. That everything's as it should be. But life's rarely a fairy tale.
She smiles to herself as the thought brings back a memory of before Austin was born and he insisted that there were to be no fairy tale books in the house. Teresa had looked at him in disbelief, she'd loved reading the elaborately decorated books as a child. Sometimes imagining herself as the princess and but more often as the prince.
"Why not? I loved them, when I was a girl."
Patrick had looked at her, an exaggerated look of shock on his face.
"You surprise me Agent Lisbon. They downgrade woman, needing a man to rescue them from peril, or their awful lives. Not to mention the false idea of 'happily ever after'. No. I don't want my child exposed to such nonsense."
"They're just stories that ignite imagination and bring hours of pleasure."
Patrick had snorted.
"Hours of pleasure. Do you know that the real stories are gruesome and immoral and not fit for my eyes never mind our childs."
"Thankfully they were revised and cleaned up and they're the only ones our child will read."
Then a thought struck her and she began to pick up the entire set of books. Patrick protested:
"Hey, what are you doing?"
She started to count off with the fingers of her free hand.
"Toy Story, one two and three. Bugs life, Shark's tale, Finding Nemo, Up. I could go on, but I've ran out of fingers."
"And what's your point?"
"Modern Day fairy tales, and you've bought them all."
Patrick's mouth gaped open and raised his finger.
"Now, they're different."
She'd stared at him, demanding his reasoning..
"Better female characters.."
Teresa looks at him unconvinced.
"Some do, some not, but they have happy ever after.. not that I'm complaining, there's nothing wrong with a child believing in that for a little while."
She'd bought the whole range and credit to Patrick, he never objected when, every night Austin wanted him to read one to him.
Her thoughts are interrupted when the curtain is pulled back and the small cubicle becomes filled with people. Two nurses and a porter. One of the nurses announces to Patrick:
"Time to get you to your ward Patrick."
The Porter moves to the head of the bed, while the nurses pile hospital paraphernalia on top of it. The nurse that spoke addresses Teresa.
"You must be his wife?"
Teresa nods.
"We're taking him to ward 34, it'll take a while to get him settled in, if you want to get a cup of coffee."
Teresa doesn't like the idea of being parted from him so quickly, she'd never forgive herself if she wasn't with him when he wakes up. If he found himself alone. She doesn't know what to expect, but she's hoping her presence can keep him grounded in the present.
"If it's alright, I prefer to stay with him."
The nurse can see the worry and panic in Teresa eyes and smiles reassuringly.
"Of course, that's fine. We never mind an extra pair of hands to get everything upstairs."
Teresa smiles gratefully and, relunctantly, letting go of Patrick's hand she stands up.
The nurse hands her a small carrier bag, when she opens it, she sees, it contains his personal belongings. His wallet, and keys, and a handkerchief. Also three smooth stones, of different colours, with beautiful markings. She blinks away tears that suddenly threaten. Going through Patrick's pockets is always like going through a six year olds. The stones are a remnant of a walk that he and the children took around the neighbourhood two days ago. If she called him on it, he would protest that he'd forgotten about them, depending on her mood at the time, she may or may not point out that he'd since transferred his belongings from one pair of trousers to another.
She feels a hand on her shoulder, followed by a sympathetic voice:
"Are you alright Mrs. Jane?"
Teresa tries a smile.
"I'm fine…it's just….."
Teresa doesn't know how to articulate all she feels, all she's – they've been through, in just a few words, and lets it trickle away. The nurse squeezes her arm.
"I've worked with Doctor Armitage a long time. He's an excellent doctor."
Teresa nods her head.
The nurses lift up the sides of the gurney, and with the porter, take up their stations around the bed.
"Now let's get out of here."
They've just left the cubicle when security guards come rushing in.
"There's a fire in the toilets, get everyone out that can be moved until we've got it under control and we're sure that it's safe. Those who can't be moved, prep them so they can.
Instead of being in the ward, Teresa finds herself standing by Patrick's bed in a corner of the carpark furthest away from the building. They parked him there and went off to help remove other patients. The nurse that seemed in charge, had laid her hand on her arm and apologised, telling her that he will moved back inside and to the ward as soon as possible.
Teresa looked around her, there were people pouring out of the doors, milling around, talking to each other about this unexpected development. A security guard was trying his best to direct them to safety, but most weren't listening to him. His was red in the face, running from one group of people to the next, trying to get their co-operation. She turns from the scene to look at her husband, who's sleeping through the excitement.
There's no shade and the sun is shining on Patrick's face, causing his blond locks to glow. The glow and his peaceful sleep, make him appear much younger. Younger than when he first came into her life. She wishes she'd known him then, but then she remembers the taste she'd received while he was in his fugue state, and she wonders if she would have liked him. He was a flirt, a thief, devious and unscrupulous. She strokes his cheek.
"Now is enough for me. Give that to me Patrick if you can. You want it too and you're very good at getting what you want."
The air erupts as a fire engine approaches the hospital, its lights and sirens blazing, the sound's deafening and Teresa covers her ears against the sound. As the truck comes to a stop and firefighters come pouring out, the thought crosses her mind how much Austin would have loved it – Patrick too. She removes her hands from her ears and instinctively reaches for Patrick's hand. She's startled when she feels movement against her skin, and immediately turns to look at him.
His eyes are still closed but now she denotes tension in his features. She squeezes his hand and moves closer. Bending down she tries to reassure him.
"Patrick, you're okay, it's me Teresa. "
"Charlotte! No!"
His eyes suddenly pop open, full of terror and torment. Teresa places her hands on his shoulders as he attempts to sit up, he fights against her, his torment increasing his strength, She knows she can't hold him for long. She tries to get through to him.
"Patrick, it's me Teresa, you're in the hospital, you need to stay in bed."
She's aware of help as stronger hands join her own. She looks up to find the doctor there.
He nods towards the bottom of the bed and Teresa can see a nurse injecting something into Patrick's I.V. line. All the time Patrick is repeating Angela and Charlotte's name and Red John.
The medicine quickly takes it effect and Teresa can feel her husband weakening under her hand. Doctor Armitage releases his hold and stands up.
"Let's get him up to the ward now."
Patrick's eyes are closed once more as he's whisked away. The doctor indicates for Teresa to walk with him as they follow the bed.
"I'm sorry, I didn't find out that he wasn't in the ward until I attempted to see him, to regulate his wakening procedure. The fire alarm didn't effect out part of the building, The fire's out now, by the way."
They lose track of the bed as they're delayed by the swarms of beds and people making their way back into the hospital. Teresa searches for a sight of him and catches him as elevator doors closes taking him further into the building.
"What happens now? He's still locked in the past."
The doctor can here the concern and disappointment in Teresa's voice.
"The medicine I gave him, was to relax him, I should be able to talk to him when we get upstairs and the goal is to move him through the memories and bring him back to here."
"You think that's possible?"
They're, now, at the elevators and step in as one opens. He looks intently at Teresa.
"I'm very hopeful. He's coped with his past, he dealt with it and learnt to move on. Those memories are in there too. He just needs help to focus on them rather than the ones causing him distress."
"What if the distressful ones are all he remembers?"
The doctor gives her a tight smile.
"That's where the hope comes in."