BruisedHearts - Part III
Oliver woke up feeling stiff. He looked at his pocket watch and noticed it was just past 6am. There was a nurse in the room helping Shane sit up in bed and placing a pillow behind her back. The nurse had apparently brushed Shane's hair and pulled it back into a ponytail. She had also given her some sort of sponge bath as the dried blood on her arms and legs was gone. Shane looked a little better and both her eyes were a little more open this morning.
"Good morning." he said, smiling at her. "Good morning." she said shyly. "How are you feeling this morning?" Oliver asked. She seemed more self conscious this morning and not looking at him, she said, "I'm feeling a bit better, thank you." Her voice sounded almost normal. It had already recovered much of its natural tone. Still, she didn't look at him and seemed keen to hide her face from him. He wrinkled his brow and asked, "Is there a problem, Shane? Are you in pain?" She shook her head but said nothing.
Oliver waited for the nurse to finish checking all the lines and machines, write up relevant notes on a clipboard and leave. Once they were alone, he reached out to take her hand but she moved it away. Oliver was unfazed. He reached for her hand again and grabbed it, bringing it to his lips and kissing it tenderly. He suspected he knew what the problem was, but decided to tread carefully. "Did you sleep well?" He played for time. "Yes." "Have you had breakfast yet?" "No, not yet. I'm not really hungry." She said and turned her head away. Oliver sighed and decided to address the problem head on. "I can see you already had a bit of a bath this morning. You're looking great." Shane shook her head and tears started falling from her eyes. He knew he had touched the sore spot. Obviously, she had seen her reflection in a mirror. Oliver wished she hadn't. "Shane, darling, what's the problem?" He reached for her face and gently turned it towards him. She closed her eyes and sobbed. Oliver laid her hand flat against his face holding his hand over hers and waited for her to calm down enough to talk some more. Her voice was shaky due to the tears she was trying unsuccessfully to contain.
"How can you bear to even look at me?" "Oh my sweetheart, those bruises are just skin deep. They are already looking better this morning than they did last night. The sooner you get stronger and get some proper food inside you, the sooner you will feel better." He carried on trying to impart as much confidence to her as he could. "You will see in a few weeks, you will be as good as new." She then looked towards him and asked, "Why are you being so nice to me?" He wished he could look deeply into her eyes at this moment so she could see the sincerity in his own. "Don't you know?" he asked. "Maybe… But I'd like to hear it from you." she replied. He sighed, raked his fingers through his hair and wondered if it was too soon to say what was on his heart. As soon as the doubts started to invade his mind, he quickly expelled them with brutal force. He was no longer going to be held hostage to his insecurities.
He grabbed both her hands and said, "Shane McInerney, I'm in love with you. The mere thought of losing you drives me insane." She smiled the best smile yet under her stitches and bruises. "Ah!" she said, seemingly lost for words. He waited, but when she said nothing, he gave her a lopsided smile. "Ms. McInerney, have I effectively silenced you?" She then pulled his hand to her and touching it to her lips, she kissed it gently. "Yes, I think you have, Mr. O'Toole."
She sighed, leaned her head back on the pillow and spoke: "You know, you're the reason why I never gave up." Amazed by this confession, Oliver sat back in the chair and allowed her time to gather her thoughts. "Every time I thought it would be better and easier to just die, I'd remember you and the desire to survive it all would come back stronger than ever. I decided I'd show them, so I'd defy them again." Oliver nodded and gently encouraged her to go on. "There were quite a few of us kidnapped, mostly men. Only 2 women were among the group; me and a medical doctor, I think. She was too useful to them, so they didn't torture her. In fact they sent her to me a couple of times to check on my condition and injuries. She had nothing to work with apart from trying to stem blood flow from my arms and legs with pieces of filthy rags. As for me, my use was to provide them with passwords to unlock our systems and hack into our secure networks. When I locked everything down instead of doing what they wanted, they got really mad. Every day they threatened me with all kinds of torture, including death. Thankfully, they never went any further than just hitting me with their fists." She choked up and stopped talking, letting her tears run freely. Oliver gritted his teeth in anger hearing about these assaults on the love of his life. He continued to hold her hand against his face while trying to control his breathing. He never asked any questions. He just allowed her to tell the story at her own pace. After a few minutes, she composed herself and continued.
"One day, a new man came in. A much more polished one wearing a suit. He spoke perfect English with a British accent and smiled at me like he was my next door neighbour. He asked how I was and if I had family. I didn't answer his questions. The whole time he was talking to me softly, but it felt more menacing than the ruffians I had gotten used to by then. He never resorted to violence. In fact he brushed his hands over my face, arms, shoulders and my legs. I thought he was going to rape me." She covered her face and sobbed again. Oliver sat up on the bed beside her and pulled her into his arms. She nestled closely into his chest and cried for a long time. He cried with her. She felt Oliver's strength holding her and she breathed in his scent. How she had missed him! Eventually she continued, telling him about the rest of her ordeal. "Once he left, they turned up the pressure on me to do what they wanted and the torture went up a notch. The torture seemed to focus on the areas where that man had touched me. They used both sharp and blunt objects, along with strings to cut off my circulation. I was bleeding all over and I thought I'd die of infection from the open wounds. It's a miracle I didn't." Oliver remembered he prayed a lot for her in the beginning, but not as much lately when she needed it the most. He closed his eyes in abject misery. He could kick himself! He deserved a beating worse than she had received. Fortunately for him, Shane continued with her story, bringing him out of his self loathing.
"Eventually I was so weak they left me alone. Whatever food they provided to me before, they stopped giving to me altogether. It wasn't plenty to start with. If I got anything at all, it was just a bit of crusty old bread and a tiny bit of water. One day they put me in a car and dumped me, discarded, somewhere near a village, although I didn't know that at the time. I was too weak to walk, and with a broken ankle, I was helpless. So, I laid under a bush and prayed I'd die quickly. I didn't want to be eaten alive by wild animals." She stopped and looked at Oliver with more tears running down her face. "I prayed for you as well. I prayed that you'd forgive me and eventually be able to move on with your life and find happiness with a good woman who would deserve you." Oliver could not hold the tears back, this was torture. "Oh Shane... my love... I don't think I'd have survived..." He rested his head over her head and they both cried holding on to each other.
Shane continued. "But I don't think it was my time to die as I was found by a shepherd, a kid, about 11 or 12 years old. He made me a walking stick, took me by the hand and very patiently walked me to the village that was a mile or two down the road, I don't know. All I know is that it took us a long time, but he was not in a hurry and held my hand the whole time. He never stopped talking to me… ever so gently, despite knowing I didn't understand a word he said. He was the gentlest boy ever." Shane looked at Oliver, and for the first time since she started sharing her story, she asked a question. "Oliver, do you believe in angels?" "Oh yes, I do." Oliver responded firmly. "I think he was an angel." Shane said wistfully. "When we arrived at the village, he took me directly to an American soldier who happened to be passing through the village. It was like he knew the soldier would be there at that precise moment. I know you don't believe in coincidences. Well neither do I, not anymore."
Oliver released a breath he didn't even realise he was holding. "Wow!" was all he could say. Shane continued. "The American soldier was on his way back to our camp, just happening to pass through this village he had already searched the day before looking for us. Most of the hostages, apart from me and the doctor, had already been rescued. I still don't know if they found the doctor. He took me back to the camp and they put me on the first flight out to the US, home!"
At that moment there was a gentle knock on the door and Sharon came in bringing coffee and muffins. She looked rested and much better. Oliver accepted the breakfast as he realized he was very hungry, having missed dinner the night before. They talked for awhile and then he decided he'd go to the hotel, have a shower and finish up his other morning ablutions and return soon. Sharon suggested he take the morning off and come back in the afternoon. While a practical suggestion, Oliver couldn't stand the thought of being away from Shane for any amount of time. "We will see how it goes." he responded and left.
As Oliver stepped through the door, he saw Steve Marek sitting in the same waiting room he had been in the night before. When Steve saw him, he stood up and took a defensive stance. Oliver realised, amused, that he would never be able to surprise Steve again. He noticed Steve had a black eye. He felt a wicked sense of satisfaction. "What are you doing here?" Oliver asked drily.
"I need to speak with Shane."
"Well, you're not going to."
"You're not Shane's husband, Oliver. I need to debrief her."
"No, you don't and you won't." Oliver spread his legs as if bracing himself for a fight.
Steve smiled with a sarcastic grin on his face. "Do you think you can take me down again? Would you like to try it now that I can see you coming or are you too much of a coward that you need the element of surprise on your side to best me?"
Oliver wouldn't allow Steve to rattle him. "What are you upset about Steve? That she chose me?"
Steve eyed him darkly. "She didn't choose you, Oliver. She left with me, remember?"
Now it was Oliver's turn to laugh sarcastically. "Yes, under the pretence of a cyber attack. As if you couldn't have gotten a hundred other hackers in DC with a snap of a finger. You had to go all the way to Denver instead… And as far as choosing you, didn't she tell you flat out that she was in love with me and you couldn't tempt her with an apartment in Washington and 4 times the money?"
Steve's jaw dropped in disbelief that Shane would tell Oliver about their conversation in the restaurant. "Did she tell you that?"
Oliver didn't want to lie, but he didn't want to tell Steve he had eavesdropped on their conversation either. "No, she didn't tell me, but I heard about it."
With that, Steve knew he had lost this round and he needed another tactic. "Well, it doesn't matter now. I still need to see her." he said with finality.
Oliver thought about it for a moment and then made a decision. "Ok, Mr. Marek," he spat the name. "I will ask her if she wants to see you. If she doesn't, will you leave like a gentleman and send someone else to debrief her?"
Steve had no other option but to agree. "Ok, I will."
Oliver nodded, turned and walked back into Shane's room again; approaching her he held her hand in his and lovingly kissed it. He asked "Shane, Mr. Marek is outside and asking to see you. I said no, but I think it has to be your decision. Would you like to see him? He says he needs to debrief you."
Shane took a deep breath and said, "Yes, I need to see him. I have a message for him." Oliver looked disappointed, but Shane said quickly, "I won't be debriefed now, at least not by him. You two can stay." Turning to her mother she asked, "Mom, could you go and get him, please?"
Sharon left the room and was back almost immediately. Steve came in and saw Shane holding Oliver's hand. Steve cleared his throat and said, "I need to see you alone, Shane. I need to debrief you."
"Well, you won't." Shane looked at him and spoke with such firmness that Steve was taken by surprise. He expected... hoped, almost wished really to see her broken so he could put the pieces back together again and be her hero. Shane continued, "Please send somebody else. And, oh, Steve, if I ever find you on my front porch again and touching my porch swing, I will have you arrested for trespassing. Good day to you." The little group then glared at him as he turned towards the door. Steve left feeling more humiliated than he ever had in his entire life. "Women!" he muttered under his breath, "Who needs them?"
