Chapter 6: Confused and Confounded

Ada was all but sprinting out of Ingrid's home, the front door rebounded off the wall and the sound made Skadi jump to her feet as if she'd been kicked. It set off a long line of nervous barking and Ingrid immediately bent down to comfort her beloved pet, rhythmically murmuring soothing words and smoothing out her coat.

Fearing a noise complaint, Ingrid remained at her house despite wanting to accompany Ada. Leon's wife hadn't given Ingrid the chance to ask if she wanted to come along for the ride.

It took Hunnigan several minutes to calm her dog down before gathering her things. Her overnight bag was in a closet within the entryway of the house, awaiting such situations and was now called upon.

Her earpiece buzzed as she waited for the line to be accepted. A groggy voice came through. An old friend, one that had been in the business as long as she had, gave her updates.

"Havenwood– that's a medical school ain't it?" Ingrid asked as she started her car.

Her friend's reply rang out in her ears, "Yes but there is an operational working hospital connected to the teaching facility too. It is located just outside city limits."

"Why was Agent Kennedy taken to a civilian hospital?" She fired off another question and barely made it past an amber light.

There was a sigh on the other end. "I'm not sure. I'm drawing up a blank here. It's like his records are being purposefully hidden."

Hunnigan frowned at that response. She could only access the database on her work issued laptop that was in her office. Fifteen minutes later, she was on the roof of DSO headquarters and inside one of their private helicopters that was taking off.

She had her laptop balanced on her knees, the screen cast a faint green glow on her visage as she furiously typed away on the keyboard. Occasionally the chopper would drop or lift as the air churned and Ingrid would clutch her device, white-knuckled. Her fingers brought out the archives, searching for information that could, in any way, pertain to where Leon had been found and where he had been previously.

- RESTRICTED ACCESS -

LOG IN: _

Ingrid entered her password. Rejected. She attempted it again and once more it was rejected.

"What the hell?"

The pilot's voice ran over the comms, "Somethin' the matter?"

Hunnigan slammed her laptop closed. "No. How much longer?" If she wasn't in such a noisy environment, she would have done this old fashioned way by calling the hospital to get the rest of John Doe's information. But it didn't hurt to try.

At Havenwood hospital, John Doe lay unconscious in bed. His head was wrapped up, injury caused by blunt force trauma and bruises of varying shades of purple and yellow marred his face. The staff said he was lucky to be alive. His identity remained unknown to them as he had yet to awaken but the presence of a suited man indicated that this patient was a special individual.

In the distance, Ada was thankful the roads were relatively clear at this time of night and the drive out of the city wasn't too long. The tyres of her car screeched to a halt upon reaching the parking lot situated behind the two-storey facility. Ada tugged on a red leather jacket and had just stepped out of the vehicle before an older agent approached her, flashing his DSO staff pass in her face, "This way, ma'am."

A long time ago, she would have restrained any stranger that approached her, just to verify his identity. But tonight, she wasn't in the mood. Her nerves were frayed and she was just on the edge. If this was a trap, they would have gotten to her already.

However, there was something familiar about this middle-aged bespectacled man… Didn't she encounter him recently in the past week? That's right, he was at the bio-security conference.

Before she could say anything more, he had already turned away from her and Ada had no choice but to follow him into the hospital. His quick gait indicated he was not in the mood to chat.

The scent of antiseptic hit her nose as soon as she was escorted down the sterile white hallways. The interior of the building looked fairly decent and nothing was unsettling her. After a few more left turns, she was led to a room situated at the end of the corridor.

Ada had been briefed about Leon's condition by the mysterious agent. Her husband remained in a coma after receiving some trauma to the head and had yet to wake up. Her lips settled into a grim, thin line upon hearing about his medical status. Head injuries often had long-term complications.

The man remained outside as Ada disinfected her hands and waited for the doors to slide open before she entered the ICU properly. Her footsteps slowed as she took a good look at the patient lying there on the bed.

The first thing that caught her attention was Leon's head. It was all bandaged up but small tufts of golden hair peeked out from underneath the dressing and glistened from light coming from the bedside lamp. It was an unmistakable shade of blonde that belonged to her husband. That was definitely him.

His handsome face was almost unrecognisable with the myriad of contusions and it broke her heart to see him in this state. Her only consolation was the absence of a breathing tube which indicated that he could breathe on his own. The rest of his body was covered under the sheet. She could only hope it was relatively unscathed. With a sigh, she took a chair and pulled it over to his bedside.

Another fifteen minutes later and the DSO helicopter touched down on the hospital roof. Ingrid waved off the chopper pilot and took the stairs, two at a time until she reached the desired floor. Suite 2012A, Intensive Care. It must have been worse than she had imagined. Anxiety wrapped her stomach into knots. Breathing heavily from sprinting down a few flights of stairs, she located the nurses station, presented her badge and asked to be shown to his room.

The nurse practitioner walked ahead of her, reciting procedures while in the room. Hands cleaned and absolutely no outside food should be given to the patient. She categorised the information, creating a list in her head.

She dropped her bags outside his room, pushing it well out of the flow of traffic in the hall. A sink and cleaning station was just outside the door. From the window, she could see Ada sitting beside the hospital bed. But she still couldn't see Leon.

There was another person that caught her attention though, DSO Director Martin was lingering at the other end of the corridor, talking into his phone. His presence answered the mystery on who was pulling the strings… Ingrid would have to tread carefully but right now, her friend was in need.

Hunnigan went to the sink and turned on the faucet, meticulously picking under her nails, the industrial grade soap pungent in her nostrils. She dried her hands and held her breath as she opened the door.

It felt like the wind was knocked out of her when she finally saw him. His eyes were puffy and remained closed. Skin had an awful violet tinge to it against the bleached, sterile room. Gauze criss crossed his cranium, a few wild blonde locks sprung forth like weeds through concrete sidewalks. His lips were split, cracked at the corners.

For a moment, she tried to tell herself she had the wrong room. Leon would never look like this, so broken and bruised. This man looked small in the bed, as if he'd been there for a hundred years. It was Ada's presence that remained sharp, like a hard slap to the face. No need to pinch her, she knew this was no dream.

She stood in the same spot for several minutes, waiting to be acknowledged. Her eyes dropped to the medical chart hanging at the foot of his bed. Tried to make out words in the illegible scrawl. Things like "hematoma" and "contusion" caught her eye.

Leon's thoughts were hazy, an unfocused dream filled with scrambled images and muffled voices. He could see Lanshiang, with all the smoke and fire everywhere. There was Ada and the mutated Simmons, on the tower high above the ground. Leon had to protect her. He could see a helicopter, and Helena. They had boarded it, and he found the compact left by Ada. Leon thought they had taken off, but the images became even hazier. He needed to wake up.

The blonde man grumbled and moaned as he began to stir. His whole body felt sore and stiff. Leon opened his eyes and saw the hospital ceiling above, and felt himself lying in a bed. At least he was somewhere comfortable. He tried to sit up, but it took great effort, he felt his head beginning to spin from the attempt and he abandoned the idea.

"Ugh, my head…" Leon mumbled as he rubbed his temple and felt the bandage. He looked up and saw Hunnigan. Not surprising. Then he saw Ada, which he found very surprising. Both women looked quite worried as they stared at him.

"Ada?" Leon asked, feeling very confused. "What are you doing here? What happened? Did we make it out of Lanshiang?"

She would never simply come to him like this. Something must have been seriously wrong if she was here keeping vigil at his bedside. Plus, her outfit looked entirely different from when he saw her last.

Ada was vaguely aware of Ingrid's presence in the room but she was too focused on her husband. How badly hurt was he? Would he ever wake up?

Then, her wishes were granted as he stirred and groaned. His words made her heart sink.

Lanshiang?

Ada shared a worried glance with Hunnigan before gazing back at Leon.

Ingrid held Ada's glance for a moment, it was uncomfortable but she'd rather have her eyes anywhere than on Leon's broken and bruised body, the strange outline under the white sheets forcing her mind to imagine the limits his body had been pushed to. What lay beneath those sheets?

Both women shared the same thought- how serious was his concussion?

"You should take it easy with your head injury," Ada replied as she reached forward to adjust the blanket that had fallen off his shoulders. Hopefully he would be able to spot the wedding ring on her finger as she did so. She also thumbed a switch on the side of the bed that would help to elevate Leon's upper back.

Indeed, Leon did notice the wedding ring, making him raise an eyebrow. It was not the kind of thing he had ever seen the Asian woman wear. While he was appreciative of the change in his posture, he just kept quiet, still wondering if this was a sick trick. An after effect of being in an environment tainted by the C-virus?

An uncomfortable stillness fell over the room as Ada tended to Leon, anxious fingers tugging and pulling at the pillow behind his head, the blankets draped over his shoulders. The one good thing was that he did not pull away from her touch even though his expression screamed wariness.

"I am your next of kin, handsome," Ada said softly as she looked into his blue eyes sincerely before continuing her words. "And Lanshiang was almost three years ago."

The silence that ensued was awkward… Ada was not sure how Leon would react to the news. He was a different man back then, almost jaded, until they finally sealed their union. And he slowly embarked on a path of healing, to become an even better man for himself and her.

It took a few seconds for Leon to process the information. What Ada told him was utterly confusing. She was his wife, and Lanshiang was three years ago?

"What?" Leon whispered in disbelief as Ada adjusted his blanket, staring back into her eyes. She appeared to be honest with her response, but he just could not be sure around her… He felt a dull throb arising in his temples from the current situation.

Thankfully the tension was interrupted by a middle-aged male doctor who entered the room.

"Ah, it's good that you have woken up. And what a relief it is to see that you have friends."

Ada glared at him coolly, "I'm his spouse."

The doctor failed to notice her icy stare. "Then we can discuss your husband's condition…" He turned to look at Hunnigan, "If you don't mind, please vacate the room if you're not related to the patient. You may visit him later."

Ingrid was more than ready to comply and barely got off the chair when Mrs Kennedy intervened. "She can stay. She's his work supervisor and deserves to know," Ada lied easily. Plus, she owed the brunette after abandoning her so suddenly. This was the next best thing she could do in this situation.

It was a stretch of the truth.

The doc shrugged and walked over to Leon to check his vitals. "Well, you have suffered quite a concussion, sir. There was some serious swelling and bruising but they seemed to have subsided slightly. Good news is you have no broken bones and the other parts of your body are unaffected."

He gave his patient a somewhat stern look after he was satisfied by Leon's pupil dilation response, "You still need to take it easy though. Don't want to open the stitches on your forehead and get it infected now either. Even though you were in a four day coma, you might need some time to walk again.

"He also has amnesia too. The past three years are missing," Ada added on.

"I see," the medical professional replied flatly. "Head injuries may cause some memory loss. Give it time for him to recover."

The raven haired woman made a small 'hmm' noise and helped to adjust Leon's pillow a little more. "How long would it take?"

"It differs from person to person. It can range from hours to months," the doctor said matter-of-factly.

"I can transfer his past medical history, if it'll help with the prognosis," Ingrid quipped, the doctor turned to her, lips pursed a moment before looking back towards Ada. Ingrid looked between him and her, "I'll relay all the information to them both later. I believe they need some time to catch up."

There was a polite nod of her head and the FOS agent turned her attention towards Leon.

"Relax, rest up. I'll handle everything else." There was a poignant smile on her lips, briefly there and then gone as she pushed her glasses up and moved out of the room.

Ada returned Hunnigan's nod, grateful that Leon had a trusted colleague and friend after all these years.

Outside the room, Reginald was nowhere to be seen. Ingrid lifted her bag and carried it towards the nurses station. Once there, she brought out the laptop and logged into the archives to fetch his medical files. Heavily censored to protect him and the DSO but as complete as possible to allow the medical professionals unhindered care.

She retrieved her phone and created a text message.

[txt] Heading out once his doctor prints his medical files. Please, keep me updated.

Ada's cell buzzed moments after the brunette left the room. It was probably a text from Hunnigan and she would read it later. For now, all her thoughts were on Leon, who had not spoken a word at all.

The blonde's countenance remained blank as everyone in the room spoke. Leon was stunned, and at that moment nothing seemed real. It had to be some sort of weird dream he was having, he just had to still be sleeping or in some kind of coma.

Leon could only lean back on his pillow, staring vacantly at nothing. The ache had subsided for now but he could not form a coherent thought for several moments, as his mind tried to piece everything together. He finally turned to look back at Ada, with a twinge of nervousness.

"Is this real?" The blonde asked Ada, the woman he had been pining after for years to no avail, whom he suddenly found himself married to. "We're together now? We've… been together?" Leon hoped Ada knew what the last question meant.

Ada's hazel eyes met the doc's gray ones and the older man cleared his throat, "Don't stress if you can't remember anything, sir. Just take it easy for now. Your recovery is most important. I'll take my leave."

When they were finally alone, Ada finally answered his questions. "Yes, yes, and you have to be more specific," she teased him gently, hoping that he would know that she was being genuine.

Seeing how dry his lips were, Ada poured a cup of water from the conveniently placed pitcher on his bedside table. "Are you thirsty?"

"Yes, I am. Thanks," Leon replied and watched as she found a bundle of wrapped straws from a small container beside the pitcher. She unwrapped the plastic and placed the straw into the cup, holding it gingerly against his lips.

"Take it slow, you don't want to choke."

He nodded and took the water from Ada, still feeling very uneasy when her finger was an inch away from his mouth. But deep down, he was still glad when the doctor left, giving him and Ada some alone time. The blond gingerly sipped the water and licked his parched lips. It did not seem like this was a dream after all.

"You know what I mean." He said after he drank his fill and Ada set the cup aside. "Have we had sex?" He did not feel like teasing him was appropriate right now, but Leon really could not be mad at Ada in most situations. "How long have we been married? How were you not taken to prison?"

Somewhere in his heart, he honestly hoped that he was married to Ada, living a happy life together, but he had been badly burned in the past and it all seemed too good to be true. The blonde wished he could remember anything.

Her husband's words did sting but there was no point being upset over his memory loss. Since he was not convinced by her loving wife demeanour, Ada put on her default cool cat expression, "Naturally. Numerous times a day." There was a small smile on her lips as she gazed at him with yet another playful look.

Leon blushed at Ada's reply about sex and broke eye contact with her. He inwardly cursed his amnesia.

Her eyes softened after she answered his first question. "We'll be married for two years this summer," the raven haired woman exhaled another soft sigh as she poured water for herself and drank deeply from the same cup her husband just used.

"Lanshiang is a long, complicated story. All the answers were on the flashdrive I left for you." This was not the right time to go into detail about Carla, it would just befuddle the blonde's mind even more.

"I guess everything worked out fine then. The world didn't end. We're still here, alive." The agent said softly. He remembered the call from Chris, telling him that Ada was dead, and how relieved he was when he saw she was still living.

"I'm glad you're okay," Leon told his wife. "I was worried about you. I always am, but I see things have changed a lot." He sunk back down into the pillow a little more, finally beginning to relax a little. "I hope this amnesia is only temporary. No one's died since Lanshiang, have they?

Chris's partner died… and there were also the civilians in the city that paid the ultimate price due to Carla's skewed quest for vengeance. Her husband, though strong on the surface, was still soft at heart. If she told him the bad news, she feared it might aggravate his current condition.

"Death is part and parcel of life, Leon," Ada replied cryptically. "But if you mean anyone from Raccoon, they are still well." How long will their luck last however, she will never know. For now, they were content with each passing day.

"Okay," Leon replied, satisfied with her answer.

Ada leaned back in her chair and got comfortable, "Just rest now, handsome." She won't run away and she will be there for him this time.

Her husband closed his eyes but his mind was still fretting. Plus, the sensation of being hooked up in two places made him uncomfortable. After more than ten minutes of restlessness, he grunted and Ada tilted her head, "How can I help?"

He was feeling bashful about his complaint. But if the woman in front of him vowed to be with him in good times and bad, he should be comfortable around her. There was nothing that she hadn't seen already. Leon pointed to his arm and the urinary drainage bag, "These are bothering me. I wonder if they can remove them now that I'm conscious."

"Let me call for a staff," His wife pressed a button and a nurse appeared a minute later. "Is it possible to remove the IV and catheter?"

"I'll need to check the doctor's orders for this." The nurse departed as swiftly as she entered.

A hush fell over the couple once more as Leon gazed around the room. Ada decided he needed some space for himself.

"I'll be returning home for a short while and I can bring some photographs to help jog your memory. Do you need me to bring anything else? Toiletries? I'm sure you would like to brush your teeth and maybe have a shower once you are cleared to walk."

Ada was certain he would request shampoo and his hair gel. Leon was always looking presentable.

"Yeah, my toothbrush and toothpaste. And… whatever else you think I need, like hair products."

Leon felt self-conscious mentioning this to her, a bit embarrassed that Ada already knew all the little things about him, but now he did not know hers. Everything was going to be awkward for him. Leon began thinking it would be best if he tried to piece things together from what he last remembered. That could be saved for later. Now, he just wanted to rest his mind.

"One more thing, where do we live?" He asked before she departed.

Ada watched as Leon went quiet. She knew he was slightly frustrated at his memory loss but she did not want him to shut her out. At the same time though, she was still peeved that he left his watch and ring behind. Her emotions were torn between relief and annoyance. For now, she would remain as neutral as possible.

"A two-storey house just outside DC with two cats. I can bring you pictures of them."

Leon liked the thought of a house instead of his apartment. The cats were a tad unexpected, but that was fine.

Ada reached over and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "I'll see you later."

He looked down at Ada's hand, enjoying her tender touch. It was a comforting feeling. This marriage had to be real then.

"See ya around, Ada." The blonde replied hopefully.

There was a ghost of a smile on his wife's lips as she remembered a time when she used the same phrase on him. After a moment of relishing the warmth of his fingers, Ada released her grip and left the room.

Amnesia aside, Leon was thankful his injuries weren't worse, or that he might have suffered a more devastating type of brain damage. He did wonder what sort of mission he had been on when he was injured. Leon hoped that he had not just slipped on a wet floor, or something ridiculous like that.

Ada noticed the middle aged man from before was standing guard outside Leon's room. Were they expecting her husband to be assassinated?

"Is there anyone from your company that I can speak to?"

Without glancing at her, Director Martin shook his head. Ada frowned, "Then who knew that I was his next-of-kin and contacted me? Who told you to keep a lookout for me as I pulled up into the hospital? And I would prefer that we don't waste each other's time and you give me the answers I need."

He sighed and motioned her to follow him to the visitor's lounge which was thankfully empty. His voice was a whisper, "I contacted you ma'am. He has a picture of you on his desk so that was how I identified you."

Ada raised an eyebrow, "Let me guess, you used a voice modulator when you called me and you were also related to the secret assignment he was sent on. Not only that, he is not in a DSO medical facility so you want this off the book." Her voice had a dark edge to it as she said the last sentence.

Reginald gazed at her with a hardened expression, impressed that Leon married a formidable lady who was his equal. "You are certainly astute."

"My previous employment required me to analyze situations." She crossed her arms and glowered at him. "I have no desire to know the details of his assignment. I need reassurance that he will be able to receive adequate medical care here because he has amnesia at the moment. And that his health is not compromised because he is not in a DSO facility."

The man's nostrils flared slightly, "Ma'am, Agent Kennedy is one of our best agents and we do not want any further harm to come to him either. I could have asked my subordinates to do this but I am taking personal responsibility as one of the directors of this mission. Is that enough for you, Mrs. Kennedy?"

Ada quirked a smile. "Indeed. If his health deteriorates in any way, I shall hold you accountable. Is that fair?"

Reginald nodded, "You have my word."

"Good."

Without another word, Ada strode off with her heels echoing through the ICU wing and left the hospital.

Author's Note: No affectionate kisses, hugs or smut just yet. :P

There will be some slight angst and frustration before they earn a well deserved reunion.

To kelley28: Hi there! Glad you are enjoying this story so far. I will definitely be updating this so stay tuned. :)