Chapter sixty

Wednesday morning, Nicole opened Jake's door, not surprised to find Rick sitting beside her bed. Jake was much as she'd left her the night before--pale and unconscious.

" Hey, Rick."

" Hey. I didn't expect you back already. The nurse said you'd been here most of the night."

" Yes. I didn't want to leave her." Nicole moved closer to the bed. " Shouldn't she be awake by now? " she whispered. " It's going on three days."

" Soon, they say."

" That's what they said last night."

" They said all her vitals are good."

Nicole picked up Jake's limp hand, wrapping her fingers around it. " She's so pale. She looks so fragile."

" Yeah, I know. She didn't look like this the first time. She came to right away, and she was cranky as hell."

" She lost a lot of blood. I hope--"

" No. They said she was fine. They told me earlier that it'd probably be another couple of hours before she woke."

Nicole touched Jake's face once, then bent quickly and placed a light kiss on her dry lips. " I should probably get going then. Get some work out of the way while she's out."

" Yeah, I see you're back to the suits, " Rick said, pointing to her outfit.

Nicole smoothed her hands over her gray skirt. " Catherine didn't waste any time in getting my appointments scheduled. I'll come back this afternoon to see her. If she wakes, please tell her I was here."

Rick nodded. " Of course. I'm just going to hang out for awhile. I don't want her to come to and there not be anyone here, you know."

Nicole felt a blanket of guilt cover her. She should be here when Jake woke. She owed Jake her life. Part of her wanted to say the hell with her practice. The appointments would just have to wait. But then she heard Dorothy's voice, her words from last night echoing in her brain.

" It's time to put this in the past, Nicole, and get on with your life. You've got to get your appointments scheduled again. When the full story hits the paper, God knows what will happen. You could lose half your patients."

So, Nicole had called Catherine at home last night, told her to be at the office. A handful of appointments today. The group session tomorrow. Despite everything that had happened, nothing had really changed.

" By the way, how was Cheyenne last night? "

" Restless. She's one smart dog. I swear, I'm talking to her like she's human, telling her Jake was in the hospital. She looked right into my eyes. I do believe she understood every word."

" You may be right." She squeezed Rick's shoulder as she turned away. " I'll be back this afternoon, as soon as I've got the office squared away."

Rick just nodded, his eyes still focused on Jake.

Nicole rounded the corner on her way out and bumped into Steven, literally. He grabbed her arm to steady her, then laughed.

" High heels will get you every time."

" Hi, Steven. Yes, a week out of them. I am a little wobbly." She bent to sniff the flowers he held. " Beautiful."

" Is she awake yet? "

" No. Rick's there. He said a few more hours."

" Oh. Well, I'm still on forced vacation, so I thought I'd come and sit with her."

Nicole affectionately squeezed his hand. " Are you okay about... everything? I know you met with the police psychologist yesterday."

" Yes. And I've got to meet with him again this afternoon."

" And? "

He looked away. " It's still hard for me to come to terms with what I did." His voice lowered. " Nicole, I took a man's life."

" Steven, listen to me. You did not take that man's life. His life was over, one way or the other. What you did was save three people's lives." She felt tears gather in her eyes and watched as Steven's misted over as well. " We wouldn't be here today visiting Jake, we'd be at a cemetery burying her, Steven, if you hadn't been there." She squeezed his hand again. " Don't forget that."

" I shot him in the back."

" You did what you had to do. I would have done the same thing, Steven. He was about to kill Jake, " she whispered. " If you hadn't been there, I would have been next, then Joni." She bent closer and kissed him lightly on the lips. " So I thank you with all my heart for being there." She pulled away from him, gently wiping at a tear that escaped his eye. " You're a good guy, Stevie. Your wife is very lucky."

He stepped back and cleared his throat, but the blush on his face was still bright. " Thank you. I just might be able to live with this now."

Rick looked up when the door opened, smiling slightly when Steven stuck his head inside.

" Hey, man."

" Rick."

" She's still out."

" Yeah, I talked to Nicole." He pulled the other chair from against the wall and sat down, sliding his roses onto a table. " They won't let me go back to work yet so I thought I'd hang out here."

" Internal Affairs? "

Steven nodded. " I've got to meet with the shrink again this afternoon."

" I've never had to do that. Jake says it's a bitch."

" I'd much rather talk to someone like Nicole, you know. She has this compassion about her. Dr. Rinehart is just so... clinical."

" Nicole was back in her power suit today."

" Yes. She looked nice."

" That's Jake's gauge."

" What? "

" The bigger the power suit, the less Jake fits in her life."

" What do you mean? I thought they were a couple, " Steven said.

Rick shook his head. " No, not really. This case kinda threw them together."

" But that night, Jake told me she loved Nicole, that's why she went in without backup."

" Damn stubborn woman, " Rick murmured. " But yeah, Jake's got it bad for her. I don't think Nicole feels the same."

" That's too bad. Jake, she's... she's something special."

Rick nodded. " Yeah, she is."

Steven cleared his throat. " I think they're really cute together, though."

Rick laughed. " Jesus, we're sitting here discussing two lesbians. How pathetic is that? "

But Steven didn't answer. He was staring at Jake. " She moved her hand, Rick."

Rick watched Jake and sure enough, the fingers on her left hand moved against the white sheet of her hospital bed. Rick stood quickly, taking those fingers in his hand.

" Jake? You back with us? " He touched her cheek, urging her to wake. " Come on, Jake. Talk to me. Wake up." He saw her eyelids flutter, but not open. Finally, a low moan and a squeeze of her fingers.

" Thirsty, " she breathed.

" Oh, thank God." Rick reached for the water that the nurse had placed beside the bed. " Tiny sip, Jake, " he said, placing the straw against her dry lips. She managed one sip before turning her head away.

" Ricky? "

" I'm here."

" Nicole? Okay? "

" Yes, she's fine. She was here earlier. She had appointments today." Rick watched as Jake's eyes tried to open, but failed.

" Steven okay? " she murmured.

Steven stood and walked to the bed, squeezing Jake's good shoulder. " I'm here, Jake, " he said.

" My own James Bond. Thank you, " she whispered, before drifting back into unconsciousness.

Steven turned away, trying to hide his tears from Rick. He wiped them away quickly.

" You okay, man? "

" Yes."

Rick grabbed his arm and turned him around, shocked by the tears in his eyes. " Steven? "

" It's nothing."

" James Bond? "

Steven managed a smile. " Private joke."