Robert was surprised when he walked into Jessie's room, at one-thirty, and she was sleeping. John and Bailey were sitting by the window talking quietly. He set his briefcase down and walked over to them.

"How did you manage that?" He nodded towards Jessie.

"I don't know." John shrugged. "One minute, we were talking and laughing...Bailey was telling her stories he thought were funny about me...the next thing I knew, I looked down and she's asleep."

"We probably bored her to sleep." Bailey laughed.

Robert laughed with him. "Hey, whatever works."

"John, we need to get going." Bailey glanced at his watch, then fished his keys from his pocket.

"Yeah, okay." John limped to the side of Jessie's bed and picked up his crutches. He stayed at the side of her bed, for a moment, to watch her sleep. She was lying on her back, he reached over and laid his hand on her head, she turned towards him, on to her side. He buried his fingers in her hair, then opened and closed his hand slowly, letting his fingers slide gently, back and forth, over her scalp.

"John..." Bailey urged.

"Coming..." He leaned over and placed a feather-lite kiss on her temple. "I'll be back later." He said softly, as he straightened up and started to follow Bailey out of the room. "I shouldn't be more than a couple hours. If you guys need anything call me."

"I will. See you later, John. Hey, Bailey, I'll see you over the weekend, right?"

"Yeah, I'll be back Friday night."

"Okay, see you then. Good luck with the new case. Be careful." Robert walked them out of the room and waited for them to get into the elevator, before going back inside Jessie's room. He picked up his briefcase, sat down in one of the chairs by the window, and took out a pile of mail, he had picked up from his apartment and the penthouse and started going through it. 'This should keep me busy for a while.' He told himself.


John had gotten through most of his interview, with the Boston Detectives in charge of Patrick's case, with ease, but when it came to the details of the events leading up to and including Patrick's death, he broke down. Everyone, but Bailey, left the room to give him whatever time he needed to compose himself and continue. Fifteen minutes later, he was able to continue and he made it through the rest of his statement without needing to stop. When he was through, the Detectives shook his hand, thanked him, offered their condolences for Patrick, wished Jessie well, and told him that as far as they were concerned the case was closed.

"You okay, John?" Bailey asked as the Detectives left the room. Looking at John, he could tell the interview had taken its toll, physically as well as mentally.

"Yeah," John said quietly. He cleared his throat and took a deep breath. "I didn't think it would be that hard...I just thought...I guess I'm not as okay with everything as I thought I was."

Bailey nodded in understanding. "You've been through a lot, John, don't expect things to be settled inside you, so soon, it will take some time, but eventually it will happen."

"I know. Settled..." He thought of the look he had seen in Jessie's eyes earlier and something clicked inside his head. "Unsettled..."

"What's wrong?" Bailey watched John. He could tell, by the look on his friend's face, that he was lost in thought and that something was bothering him.

"I'm worried about Jessie...what I saw today...Bailey, I don't want to lose her, to what I saw today...to that darkness I saw in her eyes...she looked...she looked like my Dad...the Dad I knew as a kid. I can't let her turn in to that."

"You won't, John," Bailey told him matter-of-factly. He put his hand on John's shoulder. "No one else is going to let it happen either, understand? Look, no one knows her right now, better than Robert, so talk to him. Between the two of you, you'll figure something out...you'll figure Jessie out." He moved his hand from John's shoulder to his cheek and tapped it gently. "C'mon, let's get out of here. I have a plane to catch and you need to go back to the hospital to be with Jessie."

John nodded. He smiled as he followed Bailey out of the room. Bailey always seemed to know what to say and do to ease his worries and he didn't think he could ever say thank you or be grateful enough, but he would try. For as long as he lived, he would try.


Robert had dozed off after going through half of the mail. With Jessie sleeping, the room was quiet and it was easy to let his eyelids slide close and his body relax. It was a light sleep, though. He had heard Jessie's nurse come in and change her I.V. and he had heard a couple walk in, mistaking Jessie's room for someone else's, and then walk out again. He smiled as they walked out because he heard a light slap and an 'I told you so.'

He sat by the window, his eyes still closed, and debated on whether to continue with the mail or start on the other paperwork he had brought. When he heard Jessie whimper from across the room, he opened his eyes and turned his head to see if she was awake or asleep. She was still asleep. Moving around the bed restlessly, she whimpered while her hands rubbed at her eyes and then, moved to brush something away from different parts of her body. He got up and walked quickly to the bed. He grabbed her wrists and held her hands still. She became more agitated and struggled to pull away from him.

"Stop it! No! Please..." She begged in her sleep.

Robert let go of her but laid his arm across her to limit her movements. A cold sweat dampened her clothes and it sent goosebumps up his arm. He put his other hand on her shoulder and shook it gently. "Jessie...Jessie wake up. It's just a dream, honey, wake up."

"Stop...please...let me go...T.J. can't get out...T.J.!" She sat up, breathing heavily and pushed his arm off her. "Don't touch me!"

Robert pushed wet curls from her face. "It's okay, Jess...it was just a dream...it's okay." She leaned away from his hand and it surprised him. "Hey..." His brow furrowed with concern. "Jessie..."

"Don't." She held her hand up to him. She was still groggy and disoriented from the nightmare and was struggling to keep her composure. "Please..."

Ignoring her request, Robert put his hand under her chin and turned her to face him. An array of emotions swam in her eyes and he moved his hand to her shoulder. "Jessie, you can't push me away, okay? I can't help you if you push me away."

"I'm okay." She said quietly. Her voice shook and she drew in a quivering breath trying to steady it. "I'm okay." She repeated, a bit stronger this time.

"You're not...but that's okay, it's understandable." He pulled her to him and hugged her tight, holding her head against his chest. She didn't respond to him at first, but then she wrapped her arms around his back and snuggled her head closer to him. He smiled and ran his fingers through the back of her hair. "We're gonna get through it, Jess...all of it...but, you have to let me help you when you need it...you can't push me away. You can do that, can't you? Let me help you?" She nodded against him and he kissed the top of her head. "Thank you. Do you want to tell me about it? You can tell me as little or as much as you want."

"Langston...he was...he was holding me and I couldn't get away from him. It was like...it was like he had a dozen arms...his hands were all over me ...touching me everywhere. I could hear T.J. calling for me...there was so much smoke...it was burning my eyes. He wouldn't let me go to the car to help him...he kept saying I was his...that everyone was dead and... now I was his."

He felt her shiver against him and he held her tighter, rubbing her back. "It was just a dream, Jessie. I'm still here...John's still here and Roy Langston is dead. You're not his and he can't hurt you...it was just a dream." He pulled away from her so he can see her face. "Are you okay?"

She gave him a half-smile. "Yeah, I'm okay."

"Thank you for telling me about your dream...it'll get better, ya know...I promise." She nodded and he tugged at the sleeve of her shirt. "You should change before you get cold...I'll have the Nurse come in and change the sheets. I think you have a pair of sweatpants and a tee-shirt in the closet. I'll get someone to bring some more clothes over here later...oh hey, that reminds me...I saw Joey today, he wants to come by and see you."

"And he feels like he has to ask?" Jessie got her clothes from the closet and headed for the bathroom.

"I guess. C'mon you know him. He wanted to make sure you were feeling up to seeing him before he just shows up. He misses you."

"Of coarse, I would want to see him, no matter how sick I was... he's clueless sometimes...must be a guy thing." She smiled when Robert looked at her, pretending to be offended. "I'll call him."

"No! He didn't want you to know that he was coming. I'll call him and tell him it's okay to come."

"Alright, alright...you call him."

"I'll tell him to come about six, then, you guys can have dinner...me and John will eat in the cafeteria, so you two can have some alone time. Oh, and I'll have him bring some more clothes." He stopped her before she could close the bathroom door. "Is there anything special you want? In the food or clothes department?"

"Something from Ray's...he knows what I like, and as far as the clothes go...just some tee-shirts and pajama bottoms...they're the most comfortable thing to lay around in."

"Got it. I'll send the Nurse in and then I'll call him."

While the Nurse changed the bedding, Robert stepped out of the room to get a better signal, so he could call Joey. John stepped off the elevator and walked up to him as he finished the call.

"What's up? Is the Doctor with Jessie?"

"No. She's changing her clothes and a Nurse is in there changing the bed linens."

"Was she sick? Is she okay?"

"She's fine. She had a nightmare and sweated everything up. How'd your statement go?"

"It was harder than I thought it would be, but it's done now...it's over. Jessie's okay though? After the nightmare, was she okay? Was she...was she herself?"

Robert looked at him questioningly. "Herself? I'm not sure what you mean, but she's okay now...really. She was upset about it, but we talked through it. I don't think she acted any different than she has before after she's had a nightmare."

The Nurse came out of Jessie's room. "Everything's all set in there. If you want, I could talk to Dr, Buccannon about adding a mild sedative to her I.V...she'll sleep better and the nightmares won't be as frequent."

"Thank you. I'll talk to her about it." Robert told her.

"I'll be at the Nurse's station if you need anything else." She smiled at the two men as she walked away.

"Jessie won't take sedatives." Robert ran a hand through his hair and then rubbed the back of his neck, trying to ease his frustration. "I think it's being stuck in here, that's causing the frequency of the nightmares...I think once she's home, she'll be better...or at the very least, like she was before all this crazy shit happened. Joey's coming by at six to spend some time with her, that should help...he'll be a good distraction for her."

John looked confused. "Uh...Joey? Joey, Joey? Patrick's driver, Joey?"

Robert laughed, as he watched John slip into 'older brother mode' so easily. "That's right...you don't know about Jessie and Joey, huh? Well, don't feel bad because Patrick didn't either. Anyway, they've been seeing each other for about six months. They've kept it quiet, so I'm not sure how serious it is, but he's been good to her...he's been good for her."

John's mind instantly went to the conversation he and Jessie had, in the bunker of the warehouse...something about being bitten...the new millennium...having sex...he shook his head trying to erase the memory from his head. 'Great. Just great.'

Robert patted John's shoulder. "Breathe, buddy, breathe." He laughed.

"You're okay with that? With Jessie being...ya know, with him?"

"God, now I remember why we didn't tell Patrick. John even if I wasn't okay with it, it wouldn't matter, she's twenty-one...I have no say in who chooses to go out with. If I wasn't okay with it, we would just have to agree to disagree." He smiled. "But, thank God, her choices have been good so far...I'd hate to look like you do right now."

"Ha ha." John shook his head. "I don't know how you did it when she was younger...I can barely deal with it now."

"C'mon," He said putting his arm around John's slumped shoulders and laughed. "Let's get in there before she thinks I got lost."

When they walked in Jessie couldn't help noticing the look on both of their faces. Robert couldn't stop smiling and John looked like he'd been kicked in the shin.

"Hey, what's up?" She asked them. She looked at Robert and nodded towards John. "What's wrong with him?"

"John didn't know about you and Joey...now he does." Robert grinned from ear to ear.

Jessie laughed. "Oops..."

"I'm glad you two find me amusing..." He pouted, but couldn't help smiling.

Jessie was still laughing. "Just promise me you won't say or do anything stupid when he gets here...he's very sensitive, and he'll freak out if he thinks... you're freaking out. Remember when we told Sal about us?" She asked Robert.

"Priceless...it was priceless. Sal said something about giving Joey cement shoes and being shark bait, and the poor kid turned sheet white and started to hyperventilate. I thought he was going to pass out, at Sal's feet. Sal felt bad about it later...but not too bad. Joey still cringes when we joke with him about it." He shook his head grinning. "I swear, if it had been Patrick he was telling, he would have spontaneously combusted right there."

"You didn't help the poor guy out?" John asked Jessie, as she and Robert laughed at their memory.

"I was too busy laughing. Robert was right, the look of pure panic on faces when Sal said shark bait, was priceless."

"You guys are cruel."

"Maybe...but damn, it was funny. So, unless you want to be cruel too and make us laugh...leave the poor guy alone when he gets here. No comments, no funny looks...just pretend you still don't know...or, better yet, pretend you do know and you don't care."

John frowned, "Yeah that'll work."


Tbc...