Daylight




"You'd think that people would check their answering machines." Dave told Simonne as he worked hard moving his blockbuster card back and forth through the hole between the door and the doorframe.

While Simonne watched Dave work, she noticed that his muscles in his arms seemed more pronounced than she was expecting. 'Damn he's sexy one,' she thought. Quickly she moved her eyes back to the door they were breaking into.

Dave noticed her watching him said nothing. Her eyes moved from the door to him then back towards the door again. He was starting to think that maybe Simonne was starting to develop feelings for him.

"So should I ask how you became so good at this?" Simonne asked him.

Dave stopped what he was doing for a moment and stood silently staring at her.

"Probably not for the reasons you're thinking," he quietly told her. "Actually, I have a very bad habit of loosing my keys, for some reason it's always easier to figure out how to open the door without them, than to figure out where I left them last."

"You don't keep them on the same ring as your car keys?" Simonne asked him teasingly. Dave smiled mischievously at her for a moment, then returned to breaking into john's house. After a few moments he replied.

"I could, but then I won't get to practice opening doors," and as he was speaking he pushed the door gently and was reassured when it opened. Pushing it all the way in, he waved his hand in improvised flourish, motioning for her to go first.

Simonne stepped hesitantly in the doorway and tried to peer into the darkened house. Dave started down the hallway moving slowly, he turned to see where Simonne was, as he did, he brushed up against a small end table and neatly knocking it over. Startled he stopped to right it. Simonne, starting to feel a bit of trepidation at actually breaking into someone's house and grabbed his arm with a death grip.

"This is like some stupid horror movie." She whispered to him.

"Yeah, but at least here you won't have to worry about gigantic spiders descending from the ceiling." Dave whispered back.

Simonne glared at him. Dave smiled an incredibly infuriating smile at her, pretending to look at a point near her shoulder he said. "Oh, is that a daddy long leg on your shoulder. "

He watched, as her glare seemed to increase. "Mr." she told him mockingly. "That does not impress me!"

Dave watched, as she briefly glanced over at her shoulder. Then just as quickly back to him. She dared him with her eyes to say something. Dave grinned rakishly then impulsively kissed her briefly on the lips.

Surprised Simonne stared at him, a look of shock on her face.

"You're probably going to hit me now?" Dave told her teasingly, but with a tad bit of worry showing in both his tone of voice and on his face.

Simonne said nothing for quite a while before letting a small smile appear on her face. She placed a light hand on his arm then kissed him back. Tentatively at first, then more deeply. As their kiss intensified, they clearly heard John in the background.

"Should I ask what you two are doing in my hallway, or should I just go back to bed?"

* * * * * * * * *

Kerry's room was silent. Dr. Romano watched her sleep for a few minutes. Normally he would have someone else handle Kerry's postoperative instructions, but Kerry's case was different. He often pushed Kerry to limits most women would not go through. He liked testing people's mettle, it wasn't often someone had the guts to push back. Kerry was one of the few. The fact that she had told him off earlier hadn't made him angry it had just intrigued him. He liked a good Fight; he just didn't appreciate the feelings of guilt he had associated with this woman. He looked up when Shirley came into the room.

"Dr. Romano, I've set up the x-ray's outside if you care to look." Shirley said in her quiet but firm manner.

Romano looked at Shirley. "Efficient as always Shirley."

He paused at Kerry's bedside for a brief moment before leaving the room to attend to his work.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

John entered the room quietly. He hesitated a brief moment before nearing Kerry's bed. An unnatural paleness seemed to have attached itself to her face. He looked around for a chair then pulled it close to her bed. The nurse on duty stated that she had woken up only briefly, but had been given a more powerful pain killer and that it might be some time before she woke next. After a long talk with Dr. Romano and Dr. Corday, John felt a little better about her physical condition, but not enough to assuage his guilt.

John sat quietly watching Kerry's face. He obsessively worried about how angry Kerry would be when she woke up. He knew she had every right to be angry with him, after all he should have been here! He faced the fact that she might not want to have anything more to do with him. Watching her lying there, motionless, was probably the hardest thing he had ever had to do. John felt the immense weight of guilt upon his shoulders; again he had failed someone who trusted him.

His thoughts seemed to be a chaotic mess, stressing him almost to the breaking point. He was so confused. He wanted her to forgive him, for them to go back to their earlier, easier relationship. Mostly, he wanted her to wake up and be OK. He sighed and settled back in his chair, prepared for a long wait. Castigating him self with every moment that passed.

He watched Kerry sleeping for almost an hour before the events of the last few days started to catch up with him. He felt his eyelids droop downward, with a start he jerked himself awake. Determined not to fall asleep, he moved his chair backwards and stood up to stretch. The motion of his chair moving backwards awakened her. He noticed her eyes open slowly and gently touched her hand.

"Hey red," he told her softly then stroked her hand gently, waiting for to fully awaken.

"Don't call me that." Kerry slurred the words, her eyes focusing on the room she inhabited. She took in the bad still life on the wall, the pale walls that desperately needed attention. 'You'd think' she thought fuzzily, 'they would have gotten her a better room. After all the former chief of the County's E.R. should be given something better than this,' but considering everything that had happened she was grateful just to be alive. She glared automatically at John still annoyed at his comment. Her face however softened as she took in his five o'clock shadow, and the haggard expression he wore.

"Flame top?" John ventured, grateful she was feeling well enough to glare. He noticed her droopy eyelids and half-awake stance. He waited for her eye contact before pushing the PCA button near her bed. He watched her slight sigh of relief when the morphine kicked in and Immediately started doing its usual fantastic job.

He was surprised when she made a sudden move to sit up. She had obviously forgotten about her shoulder wound and was immediately beset by a tremendous amount of pain. Reclining immediately she waited several moments for the pain to start its downwards decent and recede slightly.

John watched, concerned until the pain seemed to lessen. The silence in the room seemed to surround them. He gently thought of all the things he wanted to tell her, but here, now in this room, they all seemed so unimportant. 'Kerry's the important one.' He thought to himself. His self-recriminations and self-blame would wait.

"Do me a favor will you?" He told her softly. Gently taking her bandaged hand into his own, he traced circles ever so slightly across the bandage with a gentle thumb.

Kerry looked at him for a moment, willing him silently to continue.

"Don't ever do this to my heart again," he told her quietly. "You scared ten years out of my life."

She smiled at him tremulously then lay back exhausted, her brief movements almost to much for her tired and abused body. She waited for the ever-present nausea that accompanied her pain to settle before speaking. Then covered his hand with her other one.

"So, I'm dating a teenager now?" She replied softly.

John glared at her, after all the waiting and all the worrying she had no right to make light of this situation. He completely ignored the fact that he started the entire conversation.

Kerry moved slightly, trying to seek a more comfortable spot in the bed; her movements immediately set off a twinge of pain. John watched as she ceased all movement and closed her eyes, waiting for the pain to recede.

John moved slightly smoothing her hair back from her forehead with a trembling hand.

"I'm sorry, I should have been here. I should have never gotten angry with you in the first place." John felt a sense of overwhelming failure at not being there to protect her, his emotions clearly showed on his expressive face.

Kerry placed her hand over his, "Shhh. I'm more than halfway responsible you know.. I should have never left the hospital without you, I don't know how many times we've talked about this."

John watched as slow tears leaked out of Kerry's eyes. His guilt increased. "I should have kept my temper.."

"Doesn't matter now does it.." Kerry told him, she was tired, confused and in pain, but the overwhelming thought in her mind now that she realized that she and John would be OK. She asked how that slimy little bastard was doing. "Did they catch him!" she asked him

"Mark talked to Mercy, he came in 5 minutes before you did, you should be proud, you did a great job on him. However, the police want to talk to you later on, when you feel ready." John told her quietly. His eyes expressed his concern and anguish over what happened.

"Concussion?" Kerry asked him, morbidly curious about how much she had hurt him. On one level she was the concerned doctor, on another level the self-righteous victim!

"Yeah, remind me never to get you angry enough at me that you'll actually use your cane on me!" John told her quietly.

Kerry just smiled, then quietly told him, "Right now, all I really want to do is sleep." She yawned loudly, covering her yawn with her free hand. "Although, if you call me red again, I might just figure out where my cane is." She murmured sleepily to him.

John smiled, then hiding his relief at her being OK; he stood up and took off his coat. As he did he heard Kerry whisper. "Don't go anywhere," she told him softly. Her appeal touched his heart.

"I won't. This time, I promise I'm staying." John quietly told her. He pulled up a chair, and leaned back.

Within minutes his eyes were closed, and he proceeded to catch up on his lost sleep.



Part 16
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