by Bella Juarez
“Please, Jack. Please leave,” Anna whispered.
Thinking that Anna was concerned for him just as he’d been concerned for Alex, Jack smiled and leaned closer to her.
“It’s okay. I’ll be here until you get better,” Jack said.
“Please,” Anna urged.
“Anna, just rest. You’re not getting rid of me that easy,” Jack teased gently.
“No, you don’t understand…”
Jack watched as tears started rolling down her flushed cheeks. Anna closed her eyes as she struggled with her words.
“What’s the matter?” Jack asked as he reached for her hand.
“You’re keeping me here. I want to go,” Anna cried hoarsely.
“What are you talking about?”
“I want to be with my daughter and you’re keeping me here. Please, please let go. Leave,” Anna cried.
What the hell is she saying? It took a moment for Anna’s words to register with Jack. When it did, the blood in his body ran cold. Now she was really scaring the hell out of him. Anna was telling him to leave because she wanted to die. Jack pulled his chair close and touched her face. He wiped the tears away as they fell. Her skin was hot to his touch because of her burning fever. She couldn’t possibly understand what she was asking. She had to be delusional.
“Anna, you’ll be okay. Just hang in there. I’m not leaving you.”
Anna was crying in earnest. “Please, please just let me go. Let me go.”
Jack was moved more than he’d ever been in his life. He hated crying women and found that when it involved him, it was usually for show. This was no show. Anna was genuinely ill and probably scared beyond reason. This wasn’t one of his guys and he was suddenly at a loss as to how to handle a situation. She needed comfort and a sense of security.
Better not think, just do. And hope you don’t screw it up. Jack was on very shaky ground as he took a deep breath and stood. He lowered the rail on Anna’s bed and carefully slipped in next to her. As gently as he could, he put his arms around her and held her close.
“Oh God, no! Please don’t! Let me go. I want to be with my daughter,” Anna cried.
Jack gently put his forehead to Anna’s feverish one.
“I can’t do that, baby. I can’t let you go,” Jack whispered. He had to take a moment to collect himself. “I’m not leaving you. You and I will get through this together. You’ll be fine. Please, please trust me.”
“I can’t do this anymore. I’m so tired,” Anna whispered. Jack wiped away the tears and let her continue. “Please, please let me go. I want to go to her. She’s calling me.”
Jack waited for the lump in his throat to clear before he tried to speak again.
“Anna…baby, you need to live. If nothing else, you need to live—for her—your daughter. Her life ended way too early. I don’t think she’d want that for you. Think about it. Was she a fighter?”
Anna went still and stared at him. For a fleeting moment she looked lucid and Jack seemed to have reached her feverish mind. She inhaled and stared at him for a moment.
“It’s almost as if you knew her,” Anna whispered.
“No, I didn’t. But I know you. And you don’t give up that easy. I imagine she was just like you. Tell me about her, Anna. I don’t want to know how she died. I want to know how she lived.”
Anna’s tears started flowing again. Jack held her and continued to wipe them away. She closed her eyes.
“She was so beautiful and smart. She was talented, too,” Anna said.
“Sounds like her momma,” Jack whispered.
“No, nothing like me. She was better. Alyssa was so confident. She never met a challenge she couldn’t overcome. Nothing ever stopped her. She shouldn’t have died so young,” Anna cried.
Jack kept Anna talking for a few minutes. He helped her fight the demons that for so long kept her unable to live again. She was starting to nod off even though she was talking.
“I’m tired, Jack. I want to sleep.”
Jack was starting to get cold. He briefly wondered how Anna could stand that damned chill mat they had her lying on. He separated his efforts from the discomfort he was feeling. He’d been cold and wet the whole time he was in BUD/S as well as several other missions. He could do it again. He cupped her face gently and redoubled his efforts.
“Stay awake with me a little while longer. Tell me more. This time, tell me about you. There’s so much I don’t know,” Jack said.
“What do you want to know? You already know it all,” Anna said weakly.
Jack smiled and kissed the tip of Anna’s nose.
“Where did you grow up?” Jack asked.
“Here in San Antonio and also in Kingsville. My grandparents lived there. My grandpa has a ranch just outside of Kingsville. I spent most of my summers there and I lived with them when I went to college.”
“When were you in Kingsville?”
“I was there from 1983 until 1987. When I got married, we moved to Austin for a little while and I went to chef school there. And then we moved to Harlingen.”
“Really? I went to pilot school in Kingsville, for eighteen months. I got there in 1985. He’s lucky I didn’t meet you first,” Jack teased.
“Who?”
“Marc. I would have swept you up and never let anyone near you again.”
“You think? You don’t think we would be divorced? You can be a real jerk sometimes.”
“Nope, you would’ve been very busy. Between screwing your brains out and having kids you wouldn’t have time for anything else. I would’ve kept you barefoot and pregnant. We would’ve had ten kids by now,” Jack teased.
“You’re right. We wouldn’t be divorced. You would be dead and I would be in prison.”
Jack started to chuckle and Anna smiled at him. They talked quietly for a while longer until it was clear that she could no longer stay awake.
“I’ll be okay, Jack. Please let me sleep. I can’t stay awake anymore,” Anna said.
“Promise me you’ll wake up. I’ll be here waiting for you,” Jack said.
“I promise…” Anna whispered as she closed her eyes
“Good night, Anna baby.” Jack snuggled closer.
Closing his eyes briefly, Jack prayed for Anna’s survival.
Chapter 32
Brooke Army Medical Center, Texas
Trauma Intensive Care Unit
August 23, 2008/1059 Zulu
Jack opened his eyes when something roused him from his short nap. It only seemed like a few minutes when he opened his eyes again, but in reality it had been a lot longer. It was dawn. Anna was staring at him. He smiled as he reached up and gently cupped her face in his hand.
“Good morning,” Jack said.
“Good morning,” Anna whispered back.
“The last time I slept with you I woke up alone,” Jack teased.
“You would’ve again, if I weren’t tied to this bed,” Anna quipped.
“I know. That’s why I had you tied. Quit trying to use my own moves against me,” Jack said with a kiss.
As Jack was gently stroking Anna’s face, he noticed something had changed. He felt her face more genuinely and realized the chill mat was off and she was no longer burning with fever.
“Your fever’s gone. You feel better?” Jack asked quietly.
“Yes. I feel a lot better,” Anna said.
Jack continued to stroke her cheek. Grateful that something might finally be turning around, he noticed Anna’s expression changed.
“No more moves, Jack. Game over,” Anna said.
“What are you talking about? I’ve tried to tell you you’re not getting rid of me that easy. This is just the end of level one.”
“No. I’m not playing any more games with you.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Oh my God, you’re the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen in my life. I can’t believe you’re here with me. I could wake up next to you every day. Every time I’m around you I can’t help myself, it
’s so hard not to touch you. Jack please…” Anna choked.
Jack blinked, trying to clear the fog. Anna had a way of rendering him speechless.
“Baby…” Jack finally managed to whisper.
Anna craned her neck and kissed Jack. As she latched onto his mouth he melted. He closed his eyes and pulled her closer to him. He moved his hand up her back and could feel her bare skin. It was better than he remembered. She was so soft and warm. He was getting one hell of a hard-on and wondering how he would relieve it when she suddenly cried out in pain. His eyes flew open and he quickly released her.
“What happened?” Jack demanded.
“My shoulder…Don’t touch my shoulder.” Anna winced.
“I’m sorry,” Jack whispered.
Jack wanted to pull away, but his senses wouldn’t obey. He carefully bent to continue the most emotionally intimate kiss he’d ever experienced.
“It’s okay,” Anna said.
Jack barely heard her words as he covered her mouth with his. He kissed her, this time using his tongue to explore her mouth. Anna responded with a sultry moan. The vibrations of her voice went straight to his cock. He returned his hands to her body, careful not to reach up to her shoulders. He wanted to pull her closer. Something kept telling him to stop because this was wrong.
Jack ignored it as he continued stroking Anna’s indulgent skin. He wanted her naked again so that he could taste her. He separated himself for a moment from her. He realized where they were and stopped. It was the most difficult thing he’d ever done. She was in no shape to be fooling around like this. He tried to regain a semblance of control. He watched as her eyes started to close again.
“Go back to sleep, Anna,” Jack said softly.
“Okay,” Anna whispered.
Anna closed her eyes and Jack felt her relax as she quickly fell asleep. He watched her for a moment before moving again. He got up and sat at the edge of the bed, dazed. In all his experiences with women, none of them could shake him to his very core the way she seemed to do without effort. He could still feel her skin and taste her kiss. Jack tried to brush it off. He stood and went to the bathroom and was washing his face when he heard Alex come into the room. Alex had a knowing smile as he logged into the computer in Anna’s room.
“Sleep good, Rock?” Alex asked.
Jack shook his head. “It’s not what you think. She was talking really crazy last night, Doc. I didn’t know what else to do.”
“Rigggght. Her fever broke about four in the morning I was awake so I came down to check on her and saw that you were taking care of her just fine. All I did was turn off the chill mat. It obviously wasn’t working.”
“Jesus, Doc! She ain’t in no condition for that kind of entertainment,” Jack said defensively.
“What the hell? You’re married to her, aren’t you? You might as well enjoy it while you can,” Alex chided.
“Stop it, Alex,” Jack said.
Alex turned a bit more serious as he went through the motions of checking Anna’s vitals and medications. Jack watched as Alex loosely tied the back of Anna’s gown and then looked at Jack with a wide grin. When the hell did that come undone?
“I’m doing one more round of antibiotics in a couple of hours. Hopefully she’s turning around. This damn bug she’s got is very unpredictable,” Alex said.
“Have you heard from the CDC?” Jack questioned, knowing the answer but hoping for a miracle.
“No, it’s too early. I probably won’t be hearing from them for another day or so, tomorrow at the earliest.”
“What about the lab here?”
“They’ve got nothing they can identify. They keep trying, but her doctor knows what the hell he’s doing. The only thing they could identify was it possibly being bacterial rather than viral. That was good news. I’d never heard of this antibiotic. It’s new. It works good and quick,” Alex said he held up the bag of medication. He logged into the computer in her room and started to open her chart. “I’ve got to remember this one,” he commented to himself.
Jack said nothing as he thought about last night and how right Alex was.
“Speaking of her next of kin, we’ll have to call her family before someone thinks she’s gone missing,” Jack said.
“Yeah, we sure as hell don’t need that,” Alex snorted.
“No, we don’t. I dealt with Colonel Jackson. Whiskey and Mac can make the other calls.” Jack stretched.
Jack looked at Anna, sleeping peacefully for the first time since all of this had started, and swallowed hard. That was by far the sexiest kiss he’d ever experienced with his clothes on. He thought about what she did to him when she was healthy and shivered.
“I’m going home to take a shower and change. I’ll be back in an hour. If everything’s okay, you can go when I get back,” Jack said.
“A cold one?” Alex grinned.
Jack turned and looked at Alex.
“Say what?” Jack frowned.
“I know I needed a cold shower after taking off her clothes. Too bad she was unconscious. I sure as hell would have needed one if I would’ve slept next to her,” Alex said.
“I told you, enough,” Jack snapped.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Skipper. I forgot. She’s your wife. You got good taste, boss. She’s sexy and looks really good in red,” Alex chided.
“Jesus! Alex! She’s lying right there, for Christ’s sake. What the hell is wrong with you?” Jack demanded.
Alex waved his hand dismissively in Anna’s direction.
“At the dosage that morphine drip on, she’s knocked out,” Alex said. He sucked his breath in. “Hell, we could both have her and she would never know what happened. I could turn it up and we could have us a nice little party…”
Something inside Jack snapped. He stopped listening and started to get really pissed. It took every ounce of strength Jack possessed not to pick up and throw Alex through the glass wall that separated Anna’s room from the outside.
“I told you that was enough. That means shut the fuck up! As far as you or anybody for that matter is concerned, she is my wife. If I ever hear you talk about her that way again, I’ll rip off your fucking head, Senior Chief. You read me?” Jack growled.
Alex was visibly taken aback.
“I read you, Captain,” Alex said.
“If you can’t take care of her properly, then I’ll get someone else in here. I’ve got eight other medics. I’ll replace you with one that can do this job right.”
“No need for that, sir. I get it.” Alex looked back at the computer.
Jack turned and stalked out of the room.
* * * *
Alex stared at the space Jack had just vacated.
“Fuck me sideways!” Alex whispered.
Alex looked at Anna and returned his gaze to where Jack had stood. Rock never acted like that, especially when it came to women. Usually he would chime right in and have better comebacks. What the hell just happened?
Alex replayed what he saw when he’d come in at four in the morning and saw Jack and Anna curled up together. He watched as Anna moved and Jack kissed her forehead in his sleep. Jack had held her as if he’d done it before. Alex brushed it off. Rock would have avoided her like the plague if he’d fucked her already.
Alex recalled his little fantasy from yesterday. He also remembered what had sparked it all. The guessing about what was under that red dress. At the reception, Mac had seated Anna in an empty chair next to Liz. Alex had been at that table and the chair separating Alex and Liz was the seat Anna took. He recalled the scathing look Mac had given him as he let his eyes run up and down Anna. He’d assisted the medical staff in removing Anna’s jewelry and clothes. He got to find out exactly what was underneath and it had been worth the wait.
Jack was a lucky man.
Chapter 33
Brooke Army Medical Center, Texas
Trauma Intensive Care Unit
August 23, 2008/1945 Zulu
Beatrice Espinoza arrived
at the entrance to the intensive care unit with Tammy. They were both very concerned and scared. When Master Chief McGuire came by to see Mrs. Espinoza, he’d assured her Anna was out of danger, but he didn’t explain the last two days. Tammy was angry when Commander Wilson had called and informed her of Anna’s status. Tammy wasn’t convinced and needed to see Anna to be assured that everything was indeed all right. Tammy’s intuition was nagging her because she just knew there was something else going on here.
Tammy opened the double steel doors and guided Anna’s mom into the ICU where Anna was being held. There were several rooms, so they went to for the nurse’s station in the middle of the ward ask for Anna. She and Anna’s mother were met by a blond man in scrubs. He smiled and introduced himself.
“Mrs. Espinoza, I’m Senior Chief Richards. I’m Anna’s nurse. Please come this way,” he said, addressing Anna’s mother.
Tammy frowned. Senior Chief? What the hell?
That wasn’t Army or Air Force. Most of the nurses in the military were officers. Tammy’s intuition was raw with suspicion, and she wouldn’t feel better until she talked with Anna. The Senior Chief led them to a room in the far corner of the ICU ward. There were no other patients in this section of the ICU. As the Senior Chief led them he started to explain.
“I’m sorry it took so long for us to notify you. We had to quarantine Anna until we were sure the virus she had wasn’t contagious. It’s pretty standard procedure,” he informed them.
My sweet ass! Tammy’s Spidey senses were off the charts now. Something was indeed fishy here. Her suspicions were confirmed as soon as she walked into the room and saw Captain O’Malley sitting next to Anna’s bed.
Senior Chief and the captain? This “nurse” was a Navy medic and by the looks of him probably a SEAL. Tammy said nothing as Captain O’Malley stood to greet Anna’s mother. These bastards were keeping the lid on something fishy here.
“Mrs. Espinoza. Mrs. Zerrachi? I’m Captain Jack O’Malley. Anna’s been looking forward to seeing you both,” Captain O’Malley said politely.
Both women looked at Anna, who was sleeping. Tammy could see that Anna’s mother was on the verge of tears. They were both relieved but worried. Anna looked really pale and very sick. There were monitors everywhere and medications seemed to be feeding into her from every direction. Tammy looked at Captain O’Malley.
