Chapter 16-We Haven't Had Enough Time Together
An hour or so later, Hank felt Jenna's hand move in his. He looked up at her and could see her eyes starting to flutter. She started moving, and he moved to sit next to her on the bed. "Jenna, open your eyes. It's ok. You're safe."
Jenna moved her arm to her abdomen, and Hank could tell she was in a lot of pain. Tears squeezed out of her eyes, ripping his heart out all over again. Finally, her eyes slowly opened. "Jenna," Hank said, standing up until her eyes found him. "There you are."
"Hank," she whispered through her tears.
"Hey beautiful," he said as he sat back down next to her.
"You're here? This is real?"
Hank gently stroked her cheek. "It's real, I promise. It's ok," he said, fighting back his own tears. "You're safe. You're at the hospital. Everything is ok now."
"Hurts," Jenna said softly.
He continued softly stroking her forehead and her cheek, longing to scoop her up in his arms, but knowing the excruciating pain it would cause her. "I know, honey. I know it hurts. I'm going to call and see if you can have more pain medicine. It's going to take a little while to regulate, but I'm here, for whatever you need, ok?"
"Don't leave me alone. Please," Jenna begged.
"I promise. I'm not going anywhere." Jenna closed her eyes again, her tears coming harder, a mix of pain and medication reaction. Hank gently wiped them.
"I'm sorry," she said tearfully.
"It's ok. It's just hard to see you cry. But you're ok. You had some surgery, and they took care of everything, so now we work on getting you better, ok?"
Jenna nodded as he continued wiping her tears.
Natalie came in with more pain medicine. "Hi Jenna. I'm going to give you more pain medicine. It's going to make you sleepy, but hopefully it will help get things under control."
"Thank you."
Natalie reached for the IV, but Jenna stopped her. "Wait." She looked up at Hank. "Promise me you'll be here when I wake up."
Hank leaned down close to her face, stroking her cheek as he squeezed her hand. "Honey, I promise, I'm not going anywhere. I'm not leaving your side. I'll be right here. You're safe now. The men that hurt you are all dead. I have an officer posted outside this room, and I'm not leaving until I can take you out of here with me. Ok?"
"Ok," she whispered.
He gently kissed her forehead several times. "I love you Jen."
"I love you."
Natalie injected the medicine into her IV, and minutes later, she was asleep again. Hank softly kissed her hand, saying a silent prayer of thanksgiving for her life. He leaned over and rested his head against the bed, trying desperately to choke down his anger. He knew that he needed to be calm and levelheaded for Jenna, but he was struggling. While he was grateful that Pulpo was gone, that they'd never have to wonder about him showing up again, a part of him felt like Pulpo got off easy. Hank knew their lives were better without him, but seeing Jenna in so much pain, so broken and so scared, he wished that Pulpo could've felt a portion of that pain before he was killed.
Hank shook his head, trying to push thoughts of Pulpo out of his mind. Jenna was here, and she was alive and needed him. He would do anything to keep her safe and help her move on from this nightmare. Her recovery was all that mattered.
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After their shift, Jay and Erin stopped by the hospital to check on Jenna. When they stepped into Jenna's room, she was sleeping, but Hank waved them in, walking to the door to talk to them.
"How is she?" Erin asked as she hugged him.
"She's…hanging in there. She woke up awhile ago in a lot of pain, so Dr. Manning gave her more pain medicine. She's been asleep since then."
"Did you get to question her about any of this?" Jay asked.
Hank shook his head. "She wasn't in any position to be answering questions. She wasn't awake for long, and I spent the whole time reassuring her that she was safe, and it was all over, and I wasn't leaving her side."
"Is there anything you need?" Erin asked. "Anything we can do for you?"
"I'm good for now. But thank you." He turned to look back at Jenna for a moment. "I can't…believe this is where we are. I'm so glad she's alive, but she has such a long recovery ahead of her."
"Then she's lucky she has you to help her through it," Erin said, putting her hand on Hank's shoulder and giving him a small smile.
"Thanks kid. You two should get home. It's been a long, hard day. I'll be sure to tell Jenna that you stopped by."
Erin hugged him again. "Take care of yourself too, ok?"
"I'll try."
When they were gone, Hank sat back down in his chair beside Jenna, cradling her hand between his again. He sat back in his chair and after a few minutes, he let himself drift off to sleep.
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Later that evening, Jenna woke up again, her head a little clearer than before. "Hey beautiful," Hank said, forcing a tiny smile.
"Hey," she said sleepily.
"How's your pain?"
"Hurts but I'm ok."
"Need anything?"
Jenna shook her head. "Just you," she said, squeezing his hand as tears came to her eyes again.
Hank kissed Jenna's hand softly. "I'm glad you're awake. I'm glad you're here."
"Me too. I was really scared."
"I was too," Hank said, stroking her cheek.
"When he was beating me, I thought...I didn't think I would live, and all I could think about was you."
"Jenna, don't," he started.
"I just kept thinking about you, and how much I love you, and how badly I didn't want to leave you. We haven't had enough time together," she said tearfully.
Hank choked down his own tears. "Don't think about that. You're here, and we're together, and soon we're going to leave this hospital together and get on with our life. Ok?"
Jenna nodded, wiping at her tears.
Hank stood up, leaning over to give her a gentle kiss. "I love you."
"I love you."
Jenna closed her eyes for a moment, gathering the strength she needed to ask the question she was dreading the answer to. "Can you tell me what my injuries are?"
"Are you sure you want to know right now?"
Jenna nodded. "I do. I think it will help. I've been imagining things since this whole thing started."
"Ok. I'll do the best I can," Hank said. He took a deep breath before starting the answer to her question. "You have a concussion, but it's not bad. You have stitches in a nasty gash on the left side of your forehead. Your face is pretty bruised, both eyes are black, and they were afraid you had a broken eye socket and jaw, but thankfully they aren't broken, just some intense bruising that's probably going to hurt for awhile. It also appeared that you were stabbed in your left shoulder."
"I was. That happened after the first phone call he made to you. I was fighting really hard to get away, so he stabbed me to try to keep me still."
Hank squeezed her hand. "I'm so sorry."
"I'm ok. Keep going."
Hank carefully went through the rest of her injuries while continually reassuring her that everything would be ok. "They are going to keep you in ICU for a day or two, but you're going to be just fine."
Jenna closed her eyes as tears rolled down her face. Hank moved to sit on the bed next to her, wiping her tears. "Please don't cry."
"It's just a lot," Jenna tearfully whispered.
"It is. But you're so strong. You're going to come through this, and in a few weeks, this will all be over and we will barely even remember any of it."
"I hope so."
Hank closed his eyes for a moment, preparing to bring up the one question he desperately needed answered, but that also terrified him. "I need to ask you a question, and I'm sorry to do this now, but it's been weighing on me. I asked the doctors, and they told me you said no, but I feel like I need to ask again, because you were so out of it earlier."
"Sure. What is it?"
He gently stroked her hand and arm with his fingers. "Jen, you were in just your bra and underwear when we found you. Did he..."
Jenna closed her eyes for a moment, realizing what he was asking. She squeezed his hand. "No Hank. He didn't. He took my top and my jeans off, and he threatened to do more, especially if you didn't come through with what he wanted, but no, he didn't."
Hank let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. "Good. I've been really worried. He's unpredictable, and he's evil, so I didn't know what he would do to you. I don't know if he told you any of the history he has with our unit, but he's found multiple ways to hurt us. Knowing he's the one who took you…I was terrified."
Jenna squeezed his hand again. "It's ok Hank. I'm going to be fine. I'm here, because you found me. I'm glad your unit is the one who came for me, and I'm glad you're here with me now."
He kissed her forehead. "I love you, and I'm not letting you go through any of this alone."
"I love you. I know we aren't supposed to, but will you lay here with me?"
"I will sure try." Hank kicked off his boots and very carefully climbed onto the bed next to her. He laid on his side next to her and put his arm around her, careful not to disturb her stitches or broken ribs, kissing the side of her head. Jenna leaned into him as best she could, already feeling better by being closer to him. Almost immediately, he felt her relax, and within minutes, she drifted off to sleep.
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Jenna spent a week under observation in the hospital. Hank was her rock, never leaving her side, not for even a moment. As Jenna healed, she and Hank grew even closer, this painful time of life opening their eyes to what was really important and how much they truly cared for each other.
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When Jenna was released from the hospital, Hank drove her home. He held onto Jenna's arm as they walked to her apartment. When they got into the elevator, Jenna pulled her arm away from him. "I can walk, Hank."
Hank carefully pulled her toward him. "Jen. You just got out of the hospital, you just had surgery, you have a bunch of stitches. I just need you to be careful and not overdo it."
Jenna sighed. "I know babe, and I appreciate it, but I'm going to be fine."
They walked hand in hand to Jenna's door. When they reached it, Jenna took a couple of steps back. "Honey, what is it?" Hank asked.
"I just...I've been so ready to get out of the hospital, but I hadn't really thought about going HOME. I don't...know if I can go in there."
Hank took her in his arms, holding her close. "If you don't want to be here, we can go to my place. You know I love having you there. The stairs may be a problem, but we can work through it."
Jenna shook her head. "No, no, I can do this. I need to do this."
Hank stuck the key in the door, but stopped, turning his head toward her. "I had everything cleaned while you were in the hospital. Everything should be back to normal."
"Thank you for that."
Jenna took a deep breath as Hank pushed the door open. As she stepped inside, she looked around. Everything looked normal, no signs of the struggle or attack visible. She felt herself relax a little, but she still wanted Hank next to her.
Hank put his arm around her. "Deep breaths. I'm here, you're safe, and everything is going to be fine."
Jenna nodded. "I'm ok. I can do this."
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They ordered pizza and watched a movie on the couch. Partway through the movie, Jenna fell asleep in Hank's arms. Hank carefully carried her into her room, gently laying her on her bed and covering her up before climbing in next to her. He softly brushed the hair away from her face, stroking her cheek and gently kissing her forehead.
"I love you," Jenna mumbled softly.
Hank kissed her forehead again. "I love you. Let's get some sleep."
Jenna snuggled closer to him, laying her head on his chest. Hank softly stroked her arm, listening to her breathing. He had been longing for a night like this, a night that felt somewhat normal. The last week of their lives had been hell, and he was grateful they were finally on the other side. He had been so afraid he was going to lose her, and he knew now, more than ever, that living without her was not an option. Before he drifted off to sleep, he made a decision about his future, their future. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.