One week later...
John and Jessie both continued to improve. John enough to be discharged and Jessie enough to be moved out of ICU and into a private room. Bailey walked into John's room as he was getting dressed while listening to a nurse give him his discharge instructions.
"That's about it, Mr. Grant...remember if you find any redness, swelling or discharge from the graph sites or sutures, please come in or see your physician right away. We've made an appointment for you, for next Wednesday, to have some or possibly all of the sutures removed." She nodded towards a pair of crutches. "Make sure you use those...you may feel that you don't need them, but they will help move along the recovery, and the pain won't be so bad if you don't have to carry your weight on that leg."
"He'll use them, I'll make sure of it," Bailey said from behind them.
"Thanks, Bailey." John grinned, but it was fake.
"Okay, any questions?" The nurse asked, smiling at the both of them.
"No. Thank you."
"Okay. I'll have an Orderly bring in a wheelchair and you can be on your way."
"That won't be necessary, I'm not leaving yet. My sister was admitted here the same time I was, I'm going to see her."
"Oh okay." The nurse handed John his crutches. "Do you know what floor she's on and the room number? I can look it up for you."
"I have it. Thank you." Bailey told her.
"That's it then, Mr. Grant. Take care of yourself and make sure you follow those instructions. I hope your sister feels better and is discharged soon. Have a nice day, gentleman."
"Thank you." They said in unison.
Bailey picked up John's bag and put his discharge papers in it. "I uh...made arrangements for you to give a statement for Boston P.D. at two o'clock. I'll drive you over there. Since you and Jessie witnessed the same things I made it so she won't have to make a statement..."
"That's good, thanks, Bailey."
"The rest of the team is headed back to Georgia...we have another case. I'll be going back after your statement. The Chief is giving you whatever time you need, even after you're clear for duty, but he does hope you'll be back-"
"I'm not leaving the VCTF, Bailey. Relax. Actually, I'm going to ask Jessie to come with me to Georgia...to stay...I'll understand if she doesn't want to leave, but I'm hoping she gives it a try...I think it's something we both need. I'm going to talk to Robert about it, to see what he thinks."
Bailey nodded. "Sounds good. I hope she comes with you...it would be nice to have her around. John, I haven't had a chance to tell you...I just wanted to say, I'm sorry...for the way things turned out. I should have-"
"Bailey, you're not...are you blaming yourself for what happened? Don't. We did everything we could...there's no one to blame here."
"Patrick...you and he seemed to be getting along...re-establishing a relationship...you should have had more time."
John looked down at the floor for a few moments. He would have liked to have had more time with Patrick, definitely. "You're right," He told Bailey. "But it's okay...What little time we had was better than nothing. I'm happy that I no longer have to remember my Father as the abusive drunk I grew up with...that I got to know the new man he became. He introduced me to a sister I love like I've known her all my life...he saved my life back in that warehouse, and I got to tell him I loved him before he died. It's not the ending I would have liked, but it's something I could live with." He looked up at Bailey. "You could've kept me off the case...things could have turned out much worse...there's no telling what would have happened to Jessie if she had been taken alone...they would probably both be dead... and with you guys in Boston, they would've had no problem getting to me in Georgia. The three of us needed to be together...thank you, for that...for getting me through those first couple of days and keeping me on the case."
Bailey grinned, put his hand on John's shoulder and squeezed. The silence between them spoke volumes. Each silently telling the other they appreciated and cared for each other. After all, they were family. "C'mon, let's go see how Jessie's doing."
Robert was sitting outside Jessie's room when John and Bailey stepped off the elevator and walked towards him. He stood up as they approached and clapped John on the back.
"They gave you your walkin' papers, huh?"
"Well, I'm not exactly walking." He looked down at his crutches. "But yeah, I've been discharged."
"Well, that's good to hear."
"How's Jessie?" Bailey asked, nodding towards her room.
"She's getting better...but she's miserable. She hates being here...she's not getting enough sleep...and it's probably just a matter of time before she signs herself out. I'm hoping that being in her own room and out of ICU will help, but I don't think it will last long."
"Can't they give her something to help her sleep?"
"She won't take it, Bailey, I've already tried. She doesn't like the way they make her feel."
"What are the nightmares about?" John asked though he was pretty sure they were somewhat similar to the one she had at the warehouse.
Robert shook his head. "She's not talking about them...they could be the same ones she had before this happened or they could be new ones...I'm guessing a little of both."
"She sleeping now?"
"No, she's taking a shower. Joey brought some clothes for her last night, so she's finally getting out of the hospital gown...which she is very happy about."
"You look beat, Robert."
"I'm okay, Bailey. I'm getting a little more sleep than she is...I just can't leave her alone, right now...she needs me."
"Look, I have an appointment with Boston P.D. at two, I'm gonna hang out with her until then...why don't you go get some sleep...grab a shower...have a decent meal... ya know, get out of this place for a while. Jessie will understand and she won't be alone."
Robert thought for a moment, it sounded good to him. "Yeah, okay. Thanks, John. What time should I be back?"
"One-thirty will give us plenty of time to get there," Bailey told him.
"Okay. Let me just make sure she's okay and tell her I'm leaving for a bit." He went into Jessie's room and knocked on the bathroom door. "Jessie, you okay in there?"
"I'm fine Robert...I can handle taking a shower and getting dressed."
"I know you can Jess, I was just..." He took a deep breath. "John's here. I'm going to leave for a little while...he's going to stay with you until I get back, Okay?"
"Sure..." She opened the door and stepped out. "You're coming back though, right?"
"I'll be back before he leaves." He leaned over and kissed her forehead. "Is there anything I can bring you?"
"No, I don't want anything."
"Okay then, I'll be back at one-thirty...call if you think of anything you want." He helped her get settled into bed and kissed her forehead again. "I'll see you later, Jess. Try to get some sleep...and don't give the nurses any trouble."
She smiled innocently. "Yeah, yeah."
John and Bailey walked in as Robert was leaving. She noticed John was in regular clothes and a wave of anger washed over her. If he was well enough to leave, why wasn't she? The anger disappeared as quick as it came when he got closer to the bed, and she realized how happy she was to see him. She waited until he set his crutches aside, then sat up and wrapped her arms around him.
"Mmmm...it's good to see you too." John held her against his chest, swaying slightly. "I'm so happy you're okay...you had us scared for awhile...I missed you." He whispered into her hair, then kissed the top of her head. He pulled away and held her face in his hands. He wiped tears away with his thumbs. "You okay?"
"It's just... good to see you." She sniffed and wiped at her eyes.
He kissed the top of her head again and then dropped his head down so that their foreheads were touching. "Everything's gonna be okay, Jess. I promise."
She nodded against him. She saw Bailey out of the corner of her eye and moved away from John. She had forgotten he had come in also. "Bailey..."
Bailey smiled and stepped up to the bed. "Hey, kiddo..." He leaned down and kissed her cheek. "How're you doing?"
"I feel a lot better...enough to get out of here, I think." She looked at John. "How did you get out?"
"It won't be much longer, Jess-"
"Doctor Buccannon said, at the very least, it could be another week...maybe two. I'm not gonna last that long, I'll tell you that right now."
"You need to do what he says if he's keeping you here, I'm sure there's a good reason. It's not gonna do you any good to leave before you're ready, wind up sick and then end up back here anyway."
"I know, Bailey." She gave him a half-smile. "Have you been talking to Robert?"
"No, but I've known your Brother long enough to recognize that stubborn streak..."
"Hey!" John tried to act offended, but he couldn't help laughing.
"Where's everyone else? Nathan, George, Grace, and Sam?"
"They had to go back to Georgia for another case. I'll be headed back this afternoon, but we'll be back the weekend to see how everyone's doing."
She looked at John. "You're not going?"
"Nope, you're stuck with me for a while. After I give Boston P.D. my statement, I'll be free to hang with you... for however long it takes."
"Statement?"
"I have to make a statement about what happened to us, Jessie...about them taking us from the penthouse...and everything that happened at the warehouse."
Panic flashed through her eyes. "Do I have to do that too?" She looked nervously between both men. "I don't...I can't do that...please-"
Bailey put his hand on her shoulder. "You won't have to...I made sure that John's statement would be enough."
Jessie breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you. If you're giving a statement...it's really over, isn't it? Were they caught? Uncle...Roy and that other guy, the one that kind of helped us?
"It's over. Thomas Krieger, he was the other guy, killed Roy Langston, and then he killed himself."
"That's good...I'm glad they're dead...I just wish I could have seen it...I wish I could have watched them die." Jessie said quietly. She couldn't look at either of them as she said it or afterward. She stared at her hands as they twisted and pulled the fabric of her shirt.
John and Bailey looked at each other, then watched as she played with her shirt nervously. John was about to say something, when Bailey's cell phone buzzed, from his jacket pocket. He pulled it out and glanced at the number displayed on the screen.
"It's Nathan. I'll take it outside, it's probably about the new case." Bailey glanced back at Jessie as he left the room. She had not looked up since she had last spoken. "I'll be back..."
"Hey..." When Jessie didn't stop fumbling with her shirt or look up at him, he put his hands over hers and held them still. "Jessie, look at me." He almost regretted saying it. When she looked up at him, he saw a steely coldness that unnerved him, then she blinked and it was gone, and what he saw in its place were sadness and guilt. "Jessie, I understand how you feel...I felt that way too...it's just the grief-"
Jessie shook her head and that steely coldness flickered in her eyes again. "It was me talking. I meant what I said. I saw what they did to Sal...I watched as Dad was shot and killed...what?...maybe three feet away from me...I hate them... and I would've like to watch them die. If I could have done it myself ...I would have." She looked away from him for a moment, when she turned back she looked like herself again. She changed the subject. "How's your thigh? I didn't hear that bionic noise, The Six Million Dollar Man's legs made when you walked in."
He was caught off guard by the sudden change in subject and he lost his train of thought. He started to open his mouth, to say something, but decided, for two reasons, to let it go for now. One, he knew she wasn't sleeping and her emotions were raw and stretched thin, and two, he didn't like how quickly she had changed. How blank her face had become. The cold, dark look in her eyes. It was like turning a light switch on and off. He didn't like it, not at all. It just wasn't her. She reminded him of Patrick. The Patrick he knew when he was a kid. The Patrick he and his Mother ran away from. A chill ran down his back and he shook inwardly. He shook his head. 'No.' He told himself. 'You're imagining things. Jessie's just tired...she's hurt and scared...she misses Patrick and Sal...she's been through hell...'
"Hey, Earth to John...you there?" She was smiling and waving her hand in front of him, to get his attention.
"Um...sorry, I zoned out...what?"
"How's your thigh? Is everything okay?"
"I didn't get that bionic leg I wanted, but after it's healed up and I do a couple months of physical therapy...I'll be good as new. Thanks to you...you saved my leg."
She smiled but shook her head. "I just did what you told me to, John. I couldn't have done it without you there..."
"But, you did a great job. I couldn't have done it myself...I couldn't have done enough for myself to save my leg."
"Well, let's just say we saved each other because you saved me...if I had been alone down there, I would've never made it..." She looked at him, her smile nowhere to be found. "I would have given up and died down there."
He hadn't imagined this time. That quick change from dark to light, then back again and the last thing she had said, was that regret in her voice? He looked at her and smiled, trying to hide his concern. "Yeah, we saved each other." He told her. 'But it looks like one of us needs a bit more saving.' He said to himself.
Tbc...
