Chapter Eleven

Captain Stanley stood in his hospital room, next to the window. He had been waiting for one of the firemen; they had promised him that one of them would take him to his house. Only now, he could see smoke rising in the distance and could see fire trucks racing down the street. Not only was there 'something' that seemed to draw him to it, but it kept his mind off what the police had told him. Though, he had not asked them to point out who would be watching out for him. He was uncomfortable as it was.

"A warehouse is on fire." Jennifer's voice turned him away from the window.

"I didn't hear the door open." Captain Stanley walked back over to his bed and sat down while she sat down in a nearby chair.

"Johnny and Roy are downstairs. I asked them to give me a few minutes before they came up to get you." Jennifer apologized if she was out of line.

"You're not. What's wrong?" He couldn't help but ask the question, as she looked a little uneasy.

"Nothing...and everything." Jennifer shrugged her shoulders. "First, I wanted to apologize. I hear Cassie's been calling the hospital more than I realized.-even going so far as referring to you as Uncle Cap."

The captain chuckled. The young child had actually called his room a few times, the last one being just that morning. "She wasn't a bother, really. She's quite the character. Where is she?"

"In the coffee room with Dixie; your friend doesn't start her shift for another half hour. She offered to watch Cassie while I had a few minutes with you first. If that's alright with you." Jennifer answered.

Now the captain knew something had to be on Jennifer's mind. Why else would she leave Cassie with Dixie? "It's more than okay. I've been wanting to thank you personally for all you did for me anyway-without any interruption." He smiled-even as he thought on the phone calls from Cassie. The child had rambled on and on, something that might have been irritating only the way Cassie's tone of voice went up and down in her excitement had him fighting to keep from laughing.

"Once she gets comfortable around someone, Cassie does have a way of becoming quite the ham." Jennifer laughed before growing serious. "As I said before, it was no bother. Actually, helping you led to something I never expected." She wasn't surprised when a questioning look appeared in the captain's eyes. "I told you I taught school."

"You did." The captain nodded, keeping his eyes on Jennifer.

"I don't exactly know why only, as I took care of you, I started looking at my own life. While I, like Cassie, hope the two of us will continue to be friends, we won't be seeing a lot of each other from here on out." She told him.

"We'll still be friends." He assured her. "May ask what's going on?" He kept his eyes on his new friend.

"I'm switching from General Education to Special Education. There's additional certification that I need to get, and a whole lot of training. I'm going to be rather busy." Jennifer replied. She went on to say she was extremely grateful to see just how many friends he had who cared about him. "It's been far easier to get Cassie to accept that she doesn't need to worry about you. I also admit, it's a load off my mind as well. Though," Jennifer looked a bit embarrassed, "I still have to find a way to get her to stop saying Uncle Cap."

Captain Stanley started laughing a little. Once he stopped laughing, he told her, "If you really don't want her to, I'll back you up. Only, I really don't mind. I'm quite flattered."

Jennifer stood up and shook her head while her eyes laughed. "Maybe… in time. For now, I think it best I get her to see you need to know a person a little bit longer before you go 'adopting' them as a relative." She smiled and then bade him goodbye, but not before tell him she'd let Johnny and Roy know they were through. "See you later,"

"See you," Captain Stanley smiled back. Once Jennifer had left the room, the captain stood back up and went back to the window where he continued watching the smoke in the distance. Again, he felt an undeniable pull inside him. To him, it cemented in the fact that he was indeed connected to the firemen-even if he couldn't recall any specific experience.

While Captain Stanley watched the smoke, Johnny and Roy were standing in the corridor talking to Dr. Early, who had stopped them before they could reach the captain's room.

"I didn't say that." Dr. Early looked at Johnny. "I said the tests we're done have all come back negative, only he's having trouble sleeping. That very well may be from the stress caused by not knowing who he is, and the fact that he was mistaken for someone else. I simply don't want anyone putting it into his head that he needs to go right back to work. I think it would help if he simply rested for another week."

"Going to be hard for him to relax when he's probably wondering if someone is going to go after him again." Roy glanced down the hallway. "After all, they're probably afraid he'll identify them. When it comes to going back to work, I heard a couple of the men higher up in the department talking. It seems like the county is going to want him to take a test before he goes back to work. They, and I quote, 'want to know the accident hasn't robbed him of the knowledge he had when it comes to firefighting'. I won't say what I think of that."

"I won't either. Let's just assure him we're all keeping an eye out for him, that it's what friends are for. That should go in helping him more than anything." Dr. Early said before turning and walking away, leaving Roy and Johnny to go get Captain Stanley.