Chapter 3:"The Calm Before the Storm
Jess sat outside in her wheelchair in the hospital garden. She took a deep breath and inhaled the fresh air. She closed her eyes and just felt the sun rays hit her skin. It felt like heaven. It had been two weeks since the shooting. She was healing nicely but still had a way to go. She had nerve damage to her left arm. The doctor was hopeful that with physical therapy, she would regain full motion. She hoped too. There were other complications as well that she didn't want to think about at the moment and pushed to the back of her mind. Right now, Jess was just thankful. Thankful she was alive, thankful for her family and friends who had been by her side since she woke, thankful for the beautiful day she was enjoying, and most of all, thankful for Don.
A smile came across her face as she thought of Don. It had been a whirlwind of emotions the past two weeks—fear, sadness, anger, relief, and happiness felt by all who loved and worried about her. She felt them all too. But through it all, Don had been her rock. She didn't know how he stayed so calm and supportive throughout her recovery. But somehow he did. He never fumed like Sherry. He never said, "I told you this would happen," like Chris. He never looked at her like she was broken like her dad. Don was just there for her, being strong for her, which is all she needed. The way he was handling the shooting made her love him more. Not that Don knew that yet. And Jess was thankful she still had the chance to tell Don that someday.
"Hey, you," Don's voice interrupted her thoughts. Jess opened her eyes to see Don walking towards her.
"Hey back," Jess said.
Don leaned down lightly, placing a kiss on her lips. He was so thankful he was able to still feel her lips. It had been a close call—too close. How close she came to death, how close he came to losing her. He had faced the lowest criminals, serial killers, murderers, he even had come face to face with death himself, and yet he was never as scared as he was that day in the diner. The images of Jess laying in her blood on the floor still haunted him. Don pushed those images to the back of his mind. Right now, he needed to be there for Jess. Nothing else mattered.
"I see you got your way," He smirked at her as he took a seat next to her on the bench.
"I usually do," she smiled back. Don took in her smile. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
"What?" Jess continued, catching the look on Don's face.
"Nothing, just… you have a beautiful smile," Don replied.
Jess rolled her eyes. "Don't get sappy on me, detective," she joked.
Don smiled again. Once again, he was delighted that Jess was here to joke with him. "Anyways," Jess laughed. She really was having a good day. Don could see that too. It had been take each day as it came—some were bad and some were good.
"I've been meaning to ask you, what happened to my bracelet and my mom's engagement ring? I had both on…" Jess let her sentence hang, not wanting to say when she had been shot. Although both of them knew it wasn't like it was a secret, but it was a good day, and she didn't want to bring herself down.
Don reached into his pocket and pulled out the bracelet. He had given it to her months ago at Christmas. It had black and brown beads and a brown strip that pulled it together. Jess loved that bracelet, and she always had it on. She wore her mother's engagement ring around her neck in her memory. Both she had on that day, but had been removed by the nurse when she came into the ER. He had been given her personal effects.
"I've been holding onto it for you," Don said, slipping the bracelet back around her wrist where it belonged. "Your dad has the ring; he felt he should hold on to it."
Jess nodded and let the bracelet slide down her wrist. She was so glad to have it back on.
"What about my badge and my gun?"
"O'Bryan has them for ya, for when you get back," Don replied.
"If I get back," Jess sighed.
Don got up from the bench and walked around to kneel in front of Jess. "You got this."
That's all that was needed. "I got this," Jess agreed. "Let's go for a walk."
Jess lay curled up in the hospital bed. She was taking a nap; the walk had worn her out. She had taken her pain medicine. She hated taking them, but they gave her a peaceful sleep. The past few nights, the nightmares had started. Jess had kept that new development to herself.
It was easy enough to keep it a secret at night, as she had convinced everyone she could stay by herself, so she would deal with the nightmares on her own.
But Don was spending the day with Jess, and he was sitting in her room with her. So, Jess took a pill and crashed.
Don watched Jess sleep. He knew the walk was too much for her, but he knew she needed to feel in control.
He sighed and went back to the laptop he had resting on his lap. He had been working on locating Cade for the past two weeks. It killed him that the person who had shot Jess was still out there. Don had vowed to himself he would do whatever it took to bring him to justice.
Jess had very little memory of what happened that day, and Don was thankful for that. She wasn't ready to find out; she hadn't asked too many questions. But Don knew that there would be a day when she would be ready. She would want to know everything, and he wanted to be able to tell her that the bastard who shot her was taken care of.
He needed to do this for her—and a little for himself too.
He looked up from his laptop; he needed a break from it. Going through old files and known associates of Cade wasn't enough. He wanted to be out there searching. He wanted blood, but Mac and O'Bryan wouldn't let him near the case—not in the field anyhow.
He took a deep breath and sighed; he was beyond frustrated with the entire situation. He looked over at Jess. She was still sleeping. He smiled and thought how beautiful she was, and he was thankful he had this moment with her—not the most ideal moment, but he was so thankful they were given time—time to make more moments with her.
Don closed his eyes for a moment.
Flack," he said into the phone.
"Tonight - - you, me, a bottle of wine. I'll wear that black negligee I know you like," Jess said seductively.
"Mom?" Flack asked with an amused look on his face.
"Ugh. Never mind. What are you doing?" Jess asked.
"Breaking up with an old friend… you?" Flack replied.
"Babysitting. Taking Conner Dunbrook over to the grand jury with a murder rap hanging over his head. He's decided to save his own ass and testify against daddy… It'll be enough to put Robert Dunbrook away for at least 20 years... the good son is treating us to breakfast," She said.
"Oh yea? Let me guess: Tillary Diner—two eggs over easy, turkey bacon on the crispy side, a glass of O.J.," he said, guessing what she ordered.
"Am I that predictable?" she asked.
"Yes, you are that predictable," Flack replied, laughing.
"Ha-ha," she giggled.
"All right, well tonight sounds great… I'll pick up some stuff. I'll be over to your place about..." But Flack never got the chance to finish his sentence… he could hear a loud crash and gunfire.
"Jess…?" Flack yelled into the phone. No, she's okay, she has to be okay, he thought. "Get out! Get out!" Flack screamed at Terrence as he hit the sirens and floored it to Tillary Diner.
Then Don was in Tillary's diner, screaming her name. "Jess! Jess!" He ran to her. "Hey, babe, I'm here," Don said, placing his hand on her cheek. "Hey, look at me, where is the ambulance!" Don's voice called frantically. He looked down at her side and saw her wound. He knew Jess was losing a lot of blood… too much blood.
"Don!" Lindsay shook him awake. He was back in the hospital. Jess was sleeping, not bleeding. She was safe, and he had been having a nightmare. He must have dozed off. Every time he closed his eyes, he was back in the diner, back in that moment. "Are you okay?" she asked once Don was fully awake.
"Yeah, yeah," Don replied, red invading his cheeks as he was embarrassed. He was hoping he wasn't screaming too loud. He looked over; Jess was still sleeping.
Lindsay eyed him. "I'm fine," he said, hoping Lindsay would believe him.
She didn't and promised herself she would keep an eye on Don but didn't push it today. He didn't need that right now. Both of her friends just needed support.
"Don, they found Cade," she told him. "He's in a warehouse uptown. Mac is getting a team together to bring him in."
Don closed the laptop. "Stay with Jess," he told Lindsay.
"You are not going to be part of the takedown," Lindsay stated. "Mac and O'Bryan felt you had the right to know, but they won't let you anywhere near it."
"Watch me," Don stated, grabbing his jacket and keys and heading out the door.
He was going to bring down the bastard who hurt Jess, if it was the last thing he did.