Chapter 4

"We will be discharging your mother tomorrow morning Ms. McInerney." The doctor announced.

"That's great Dr. Grey. Thank you so much for all your efforts. I cannot thank you enough for bringing my mother back to me." She replied to the kind lady who had done everything to save her mom.

"You don't have to thank me dear. It's my job. I am glad that your mother fought to be here with you and also thankful to God that the accident wasn't as bad as it could have been."

Shane nodded with a smile and tears in her eyes.

"Would it be okay for her to travel to Denver with me tomorrow?" she asked.

"Yes, that should be fine. I will give you that in writing when we draw up the discharge papers tomorrow morning. I have a colleague at Denver Mercy you can reach out to, for her follow-up appointments."

"Thank you so much doctor." Shane smiled.

A couple of hours later, she sat by her mother who was asleep when her laptop dinged with her search results. She smiled, then looked at her watch which showed 10:05 pm.

####

Oliver had returned to Denver yesterday and attended a very boring Department Head Meeting this morning. Though he was happy to be back to Denver, he missed Shane terribly. Only if he had a smartphone to video call her and see her beautiful face and talk to her. "FaceTime" as Rita had mentioned once.

It was Thursday night and Oliver was sitting at home with a cup of coffee. He had his dinner at Donatello's with Rita and Norman. He looked down at his cup of coffee and then at the wall clock that struck 8 pm. It would be 10 pm for Shane. Could he call her so late at night? He hadn't heard her voice since last night when he spoke with her briefly to let her know he was home. He wanted to tell her that Rita and Norman managed to find Gabe.

He was contemplating when his phone rang. He jumped up, ran to it and picked up the receiver.

"Shane!" He called out with all the love in the world.

"Oliver." She replied in a similar tone.

"How are you, my love?" He asked.

"I'm okay. Missing you. But I have news." She replied.

"I have news too."

"What is it?" she asked.

"Norman and Rita found Gabe. He plays at the state capital every Sunday, so this Sunday we will be paying him a visit."

"That's amazing, Mr. O'Toole." She said, making him chuckle and continued, "Well, I think Hattie is alive. I found tax records under the name of A. G. Hattfield who spent 3 days trapped in the super dome and then evacuated to Houston, which is probably why she dropped off the rolls of Louisiana." Shane informed.

"I'm so happy to hear that, Ms. McInerney." Oliver smiled.

"I know but I'm not 100% sure that it is her. But from what I can tell, if it is her, it seems that she's started over again in Austin. I only have a street address, no number."

"I can go get her tomorrow." Oliver offered.

"Well, I was thinking I'll go get her. But to be able to do that, I have to ask you for a favour."

"What is it?"

"I was thinking may be, either you or your dad can pick my mother up from the airport tomorrow?"

Oliver smiled wide hearing that.

"Shane, why did you not tell me this in the very beginning of our conversation?"

Shane laughed and replied, "Where's the fun in that my darling?"

####

Next morning, after Sharon was discharged, Shane took her home and packed a bag for her mother. She found two flights around the same time, one to Denver and the other to Austin. At the counter, she had made senior citizen arrangements for her mother with medical assistance since she had the doctor's letter. She also sent her luggage with her mom to Denver and carried an overnight bag, since she had to stay over in Austin that night.

Shane's flight was an hour after her mother's, so she had just helped her mother board the plane to Denver and texted Joe the flight details, so that either he or Oliver could be there to pick her up. She walked back to her gate when she heard someone call her.

"Shane!" came the voice again, louder this time.

Shane turned to find Steve walking towards her, about to give her a hug when she stepped away.

"Hello Steve." She greeted with a serious face.

"What are you doing here in Richmond?" he asked.

"I had come to meet my mother and now I'm headed out to Austin to meet a friend." She replied, not wanting to divulge the details of her trip too much.

"Have you moved?" He asked.

"Why would I do that? Denver is my home. Where my life and family are now." She replied.

"Family? I thought you said your mother is in Richmond." He interrogated.

"Yeah, but my boyfriend is in Denver. So is my work. Not that it is any of your business." She replied, raising her left eyebrow.

"Of course not." Steve lowered his eyes.

"Anyway, I gotta go now. Goodbye Steve."

"Bye Shane." He replied as she turned on her heel and continued to walk towards her gate for boarding.

####

Shane was at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport because all the flights from Richmond to Austin had a layover, and this one was the most suitable since it gave her time to help her mother board her flight to Denver. She was waiting at the gate when she got a call from Joe.

"Hello Joe!" She greeted.

"Shane, it's me."

"Oliver." She grinned hearing his voice.

"Your mother is all settled at your home and Rita is staying the night with her."

"Please thank Rita for me. I wanted to ask you if you told your dad, Rita and Norman about us?" She asked.

"Of course, I have. I don't want to hide what we have, my love." He replied.

"Okay good. I just wanted to check; in case I have to behave a certain way when we are with them."

"Just be yourself. I love you the way you are."

"Even when I'm teasing you?" She asked.

"Even then." She heard his voice and knew he was smiling on the other end.

"I'm at Atlanta. Just about to board my flight to Austin. I should be there 9 pm local time which would be around 8 pm in Denver."

"Call me when you land. Are planning to go over to Hattie's tonight?" He asked.

"Yes. I googled it and it said the club is open from 7 pm to 12 am." She replied.

"I do not understand what you did, but I heard the timings, so you should be able to find her. Are you staying the night or taking a flight back tonight?" He asked.

"The earliest flight is tomorrow at 9 am so I will have to stay the night. Let me get to Hattie and if it is her, I would like to ask her if she wants to come back with me. I will then book tickets accordingly. Is there any way I can inform you of my decision?"

"Yes. I'm leaving your place now with my dad, so you can call me on my telephone at home. Be it any time of the night, I'll be awake to take your phone call." He replied making Shane smile.

"Okay Oliver. They've started boarding. I'll call you once I'm in Austin. I love you." She said.

"I love you too, my Shane. Have a safe flight." He wished.

####

She entered Hattie's Backstreet Blues Club and the place was packed. She walked over to the bar counter and saw a young boy making a drink.

"Excuse me, I'm here to meet Hattie."

"Let me get her for you." He replied and went away. She turned around to look at the band playing, enjoying the music.

"You were looking for me?" came a voice from behind.

She turned to find a lady behind the counter.

"Uh, yes. I'm looking for Hattie from New Orleans?" Shane asked.

"That's me. May I ask why?"

"I'm Shane McInerney from the USPS. I have a letter for you that has been lost for a long time. It's been in the system since 2005."

Hattie's eyes widened in shock.

"It's from Gabe. I hope you remember him?" Shane continued.

"Oh my lord! Now, are you telling me he's still alive?" she asked in surprise.

"He is. I do not have the actual letter with me, so here is a photo.", Shane said, opening a picture of the letter she had on her phone and handing it over to Hattie.

####

"Hello my love." Oliver answered the phone in the first ring, knowing it has to be Shane calling so late at night.

"Hello Oliver. Just wanted to let you know that I'm coming back to Denver tomorrow. Hattie said she will be taking a flight later in the evening so she can meet Gabe on Sunday morning."

"I'm so glad to hear that. I'll be there at the airport at 10:30 am." He smiled.

"How did you know it reaches Denver at 10:30?", she enquired.

"I had my father look up the flight you mentioned on his phone using the mobile internet." He replied with a wide grin and a bounce on his feet.

"I'm sorry, who are you and what have you done with my Oliver?" came her question making him chuckle.

"Oh, I'm here. Just learning your language while you're away." He replied, she giggled.

"Well, for your information, an earlier flight opened up which reaches Denver at 8 am. Can you make it to the airport by then?"

"I'll be there." He smiled.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Oliver. Goodnight."

"Goodnight Shane. Sweet dreams." He said and disconnected the call.

####

Oliver stood at the arrivals gate with a bouquet of yellow roses. He removed his pocket watch for the fifth time in 10 minutes. The flight landed 15 minutes ago and she still wasn't out. She didn't even have any luggage with her. He looked down at his pocket watch again when he heard Shane's voice calling out for him.

He looked up to find his beautiful Shane running towards him, and he ran towards her to meet her half way. He held her close and swooped down to kiss her.

"I'm so glad you're back." He said as they broke apart.

"I am too. And for that kinda welcome, I need to go out of town more often." She teased.

"You don't have to go anywhere to get kisses from me, do you?" He retorted.

"No, you're all mine." She held the lapels of his coat and pecked his lips.

Oliver smiled and looked around. He found the bouquet of yellow roses on the ground. He picked it up and handed it over to Shane, "There are for you."

"Thank you. Let's get home." She said tucking her arm into his.

Oliver smiled and turned to walk towards the parking lot with Shane's arm tucked into his. He was thinking how nice it was to have his love back home, in his arms and he couldn't help but wonder if his home was with her.

-x-x-x-

Disclaimer: All characters and dialogues that you recognize from the canon belong to the very amazing Martha Williamson. A big thank you to Eric Mabius, Kristin Booth, Crystal Lowe and Geoff Gustafson for their amazing portrayal of Oliver, Shane, Rita and Norman respectively.

A/N: Thank you so much for all the lovely reviews so far. I'm glad to see that so many of you are enjoying my version of Higher Ground. The amount of love and encouragement the entire #POstables community has given to my story is unreal. THANK YOU! ~ Mina xoxo