Del didn’t waste any time, busting through the doors and trying to locate her witch. She was stopped on multiple occasions and had to eventually resign herself to waiting in the private waiting room. She sat heavily in a chair, her head in her hands.
Kasey followed her friend, and once she found the location of the waiting room went to the nearest bathroom to grab wet paper towels and brought them back to the blonde. “Here...clean off your hands. You don’t want to see Raelin all messy.”
Del grabbed the napkins, and started cleaning her hands robotically; continuing to wipe them even after most of the blood was gone. Tears finally fell over her cheeks, and she couldn’t hold back the pained sob.
“I’m so sorry Delaney...this is entirely my fault. I thought that she could protect herself, and that’s the only reason I allowed her to go in.” Kasey had her hands stuffed in her pockets and her head bowed.
“She can protect herself. She didn’t use magic because I made her promise to stop using it just to protect me. It costs her time off her life to use magic that strong. Now because of that, she might not make it past tonight, let alone the end of her lifetime,” Del said between sobs.
Del looked up when Jenny and the Director came in, followed closely by a doctor in surgical scrubs. Del stood, her knees shaking. “Is she okay? What’s happening with her?”
“Are any of you family?” The older man asked. “I can only discuss Ms. Montrose’s condition with next of kin.”
“I’m her partner,” Del said angrily. “You wouldn’t have a problem telling me if I was her boyfriend or husband.”
Kasey laid a hand on her arm as Jenny stepped forward. “Excuse me, I’m her niece, Jenny LeBlanc, and you can tell everyone whatever they need to know.”
The doctor looked over the group of women and relented. “Ms. Montrose is in serious condition. The bullet pierced a lung and lodged in a rib behind it. She was touch and go for a while there, but she’s in surgery right now. We’re working as hard as we can, but it might be a while before we know for sure. I’m sorry; we’ll do everything we can.”
Del felt her body go stiff at the news, trying her best not to crumble in front of this stranger. “Thank you for telling us,” she said, struggling to keep her voice from cracking.
“I’ll keep you updated as best I can,” the doctor said before turning and heading back to his patient.
Jenny went over and put her arm around Delaney’s waist, offering her support with her touch. “Raelin’s strong, Del. She wants to be with you and she’s a fighter. You have faith in your love for each other, and she’ll be good in no time.”
“All of this was supposed to be over, and I was going to take her home, cook a good meal and celebrate with her without the bullshit of this case looming over us,” Del said, her voice thick with tears. “I’m sorry, this must be hard on you too, and all I can think of is me,” the blonde whispered, leaning her head on Jenny’s shoulder.
“You’re in love with her, and that’s the difference. At least you can show your love for her. All I can do is look at Kasey when I all want to do to go over and hug her,” Jenny kept her voice low so not to be overheard.
Del wrapped her arms around Jenny’s waist, offering her own support for the young woman. “You know, the case is over. All that’s left now is for the lawyers to take over. The F.B.I. is done with it, so technically the conflict of interest problem is void. The bureau can’t punish her for dating. As of now, you’re just a regular civilian,” Del whispered back.
“Excuse me ma’am, but I believe that I should turn this in to you.” Kasey offered Director Jacobs her badge. “I’m the reason that Ms. Montrose is here, and I accept full responsibility for my actions.”
Del’s head snapped around to watch what was unfolding behind them.
“Spaulding, I have to agree. You knowingly let a civilian in an operation, resulting in serious injuries. This is your first investigation and I can’t let that slide. Having said that, it’s cause for serious punishment, but not necessarily your release from the bureau. Are you positive you wish to resign?” the Director asked seriously.
“Yes ma’am, and I’d like it to go into effect immediately if you wouldn’t mind,” Kasey’s voice was firm with conviction.
The Director nodded and accepted both the badge and gun offered to her. “I’m sad to see you go, Spaulding. I had high hopes for you, but I respect your decision. You did good work and aside from this one incident, you should be proud of the work you did.”
Jenny had stood up during the conversation and was holding onto Del’s hand, wondering what would happen next.
Kasey took a deep breath, feeling a weight come off. She looked at her ex-Boss. “Thank you, Director. It was a pleasure working for you. Now, if you’ll excuse me for a moment,” she grinned and turned to Jenny, gently taking the young girls face in her hands and kissing her softly.
Wrapping her arms around the taller woman’s waist, Jenny leaned into the kiss, pulling away only when she had to breathe. Looking up into very warm chocolate eyes, the auburn haired woman asked, “Why did you do that? You didn’t have to quit.”
“Because it’s my fault Rae is here at all. I let her come in, even though I knew she was supposed to wait outside. I’m so sorry Jenny,” Kasey said sadly.
Reaching up to cup Kasey’s cheek, Jenny whispered, “I don’t think that you would have been able to keep her out. She would have found a way to be close to Delaney. You just happen to be it.”
“I’m a Federal Agent Jenn. I could have found the resources to keep her safe. I take responsibility for my actions and accept the consequences. It wasn’t a minor mistake; it’s a life or death mistake. Del trusted me to keep her safe and I didn’t,” she said quietly, looking away. “I’m surprised both of you can even stand to look at me after what happened.”
Delaney stood up and put a hand on Kasey’s shoulder. “You’re not a Federal Agent any longer, and your girl is right. Raelin is nothing if not determined and she’d have found a way in there if she had to blow a hole in a wall to do it.”
It was several hours later when the doctor made another appearance in the waiting room only to find Jenny asleep with her head in Kasey’s lap while Delaney was wearing a path pacing from one end of the room to the other.
The doctor peeled his gloves off as the women in the room turned to look at him. “Ms. Montrose has come out of surgery and is currently in recovery. We nearly lost her at one point, but she’s a tough one and didn’t give in. The bullet did some significant damage to the lung, but we were able to repair it, and we were also able to recover the bullet. Director, it’s been bagged for evidence. It’s going to be a long time before she’s up to one hundred percent. She was touch and go, but I’m hopeful for a full recovery. We’ll keep her here for a while and see how she makes out. She’s pretty heavily sedated right now for the pain, and she’s got a breathing tube in place, but I’ll allow her visitors. You’ve got one hour with her, and then after that I’ll allow one person to stay with her if you wish. We can have a cot brought up for whoever is going to be staying. Any questions?”
“So around all of that doctor speak, she’s going to be okay?” Del asked anxiously.
“It seems that way, but we’ll need to keep a close eye on her just in case. Would you like to see her now?”
“Yes, please,” Del answered quickly and then turned to the three other women. “Are you guys coming?”
All three women shook their heads, and Kasey answered for them. “This is all you kiddo. You tell her that we’re rooting for her, and I’ll make sure that Jenny is here tomorrow to see her.”
Jenny walked over and hugged the blonde. “Tell her that we love her and I’ll take care of Rori until she gets home.”
“Thank you...for everything,” she said, returning Jenny’s hug. She gave them a weak smile and nodded to the doctor, letting him lead her to the room Raelin was currently in.
After a few more words of caution from th
e doctor, he stepped aside and let Del enter the room. As she stepped in, she felt the breath sucked out of her. She’d never seen Raelin look so frail and weak and it broke her heart. She looked small in the large hospital bed and her normally glowing bronze skin was pale and clammy. There were tubes and wires everywhere and her normally silky brown hair was tangled under her head. The only sound in the room was the steady beeping of the monitor and Del felt tears track over her cheeks.
She approached the bed and gently took Raelin’s hand, feeling her chest tighten when the witch didn’t even stir. She thought she’d prepared herself for what she’d see, but nothing could have prepared her for seeing Raelin so lifeless. She leaned over her witch and brushed the hair off her forehead. “Hey Darlin’, I’m not sure you can hear me, but I just wanted let you know I was here. I love you, and I’ll be right here waiting when you’re ready. Jenny and Kasey are taking care of Rori and the house, so the only thing you have to worry about is resting and getting better. Jenny said to tell you she loves you, and she’ll be here to visit you,” Del whispered, gently kissing Raelin’s forehead.
She sat down, one hand gently holding Raelin’s, and her other hand caressing her hair. She took a deep breath and settled in for what she knew would be a long vigil over her witch.
j
The ride back to Raelin’s house was quiet as Kasey kept going over the events of the day, wondering if she could have kept Raelin out of the Kingsley’s home, but somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew that both Jenny and Del were right. If Raelin had wanted to be there, she would have gotten in another way.
Jenny reached over to take her lover’s hand. “You beating yourself up isn’t doing yourself any good. I don’t blame you, and I know that Del doesn’t either.”
“I know that I do. I also know I can’t live in what ifs, but I do. All I can think about is how I was the one that gave her the go-ahead. Then I think about how if Raelin hadn’t been there, Del would be the one laying in that hospital bed, and I hate myself for thinking like that,” Kasey whispered keeping her attention on her driving as they turned onto the road that would take them to Raelin’s.
“Well, I think that if it were Delaney lying in that bed, Raelin would be using more magic to heal her, and that would really piss Del off.” Jenny let her fingers trace lazy patterns on Kasey’s hand.
Smiling weakly at how true that was, she finally pulled into the yard and parked the Jeep. She turned to look at her girlfriend. “You’re probably right. I think I would have hated it if either of them were in that bed. I’ve developed a good friendship with both of them, especially Delaney. It’s hard seeing them suffering.”
“Let’s just concentrate on sending positive energy to Raelin; she needs all the help she can get. Now let’s go inside, take a shower, and get all of today’s grime off us.” Jenny raised Kasey’s hand and kissed her knuckles.
“Yeah, and one of us is going to have to let Rori know what’s going on,” she murmured, leaning over to give Jenny a quick kiss.
“Let’s go inside, and I’ll tell him. I just hope that he doesn’t decide to run all the way to Canal City,” Jenny murmured against Kasey’s lips. “Let go inside.”
Kasey hopped out of Del’s Jeep and waited for Jenny before heading into the house. She did a quick check, making sure nothing was amiss before she joined Jenny in the kitchen, watching as the younger girl lovingly prepared dinner for the pacing Rori. “Hello Rori.”
j
Insistent beeps crept into her consciousness and the feel of the sheets underneath her hands made Raelin realize that she wasn’t at home in bed with Delaney. She tried to move her head, but couldn’t, and when she tried to talk, she realized there was a tube down her throat. She closed her eyes and moaned, thinking that she hadn’t been able to save Delaney. She was alone once again, and tears started to flow down her cheeks.
“Hey, are you in pain? Do you need me to get the doctor?” Del asked her voice thick with sleep. She had sensed Raelin coming to and had snapped her head up from where she’d been slumped over Raelin’s bed for the night. She reached up and wiped the tears from Raelin’s face.
Raelin’s eyes widened at the sight of her lover, and she tried to reach up to caress her face, but her arm was held down by wires and tubes.
“Don’t move baby. You need to rest and relax and get better. I’ve been with you all night, and I’m not going anywhere. You saved my life, Raelin. I’ll never be able to pay you back for that, but I’m going to try every day of my life,” she reached up and ran her fingers through Raelin’s dark hair. “Jenny and Kasey should be coming in today to see you. They are taking care of the house for us.”
“So I suppose I should fill you in on the number you did on yourself huh. Well, you’ve got a breathing tube in, that’s why you can’t talk. They’ll probably leave that in for a few days. The wires are a mixture of IV’s and a heart monitor. The doctor said the bullet damaged your right lung and lodged in the rib behind it. They managed to repair the damage and get the bullet out. It’s going to be a while before you’re up to full speed, but they’re pretty confident you’re going to make a complete recovery,” she said, kissing Raelin’s cheek. “They’ve got you on some pretty heavy medications so I imagine you’ll be sleeping a lot.”
Carefully moving her other arm, Raelin slowly moved it until she grabbed Delaney’s hand and turned it over. She then began to trace letters into the blonde’s palm. ‘I-L-O-V-E-U’.
“Oh Darlin’, I love you too. Now why don’t you go back to sleep? I can see those beautiful eyes of yours struggling to stay open. I’m not going to leave your side, I promise.” The detective smiled, pressing a soft kiss the corner of Raelin’s mouth.
Raelin’s eyes were so heavy, but she needed to know one thing, so she traced her question. ‘R-U-H-U-R-T-?’
“No, I came out just fine thanks to you. Now stop fighting it and sleep.” Del smiled.
Blinking twice, the wounded woman succumbed to the drugs and fell back asleep.
A Chapter 25 a
Kasey smiled when she looked over and saw Jenny struggling to stay awake. It had been a late night by the time they’d calmed Rori down and an early morning because Jenny wanted to get back to the hospital. They’d grabbed Del’s go bag, knowing the clothes she’d worn yesterday had been ruined, and Jenny had grabbed a few changes of clothes for Raelin too for when the witch was up to changing. She reached over and gave a gentle pat to Jenny’s leg.
“Almost there Jenn, we just entered the city,” she said softly, smiling when Jenny roused.
Suddenly a dark mass jumped up onto the armrest between them and Kasey swerved to the side of the road and stopped. “Rori? What are you doing here?”
The cat meowed and settled in Jenny’s lap. “Hey fella. The distance might be disrupting their connection, and he needs to see for himself that she’s all right. We’ve come too far to turn around so we’re gonna have to sneak him in.” Jenny scratched him behind his ears and listened to him purr.
Kasey sighed, knowing Jenny was right. ”You are a sneaky man, Rori. We’ll get you in to see your witch though,” she reached over and gave his chin a gentle scratch, before she resumed the drive to the hospital.
j
Del yawned as she woke up and looked up to find Raelin looking blearily back at her. “Morning Darlin’. The doctors are going to be in to check on you soon,” she got up and went into the bathroom, returning with a damp face cloth and wiped Raelin’s face. “That probably feels better,” she smiled and turned when she heard the door open.
“Oh good, she’s awake. We’ll make this quick, so she can go back to sleep.” The older gentleman smiled. He turned to Del and offered his hand, giving Del’s hand a gentle shake. “Dr. Woodman. I’ll be taking care of Ms. Montrose.”
“Delaney Delacroix. Thanks for everything you did last night,” she said sincerely.
He gave her a friendly nod. ”You are welcome.”
He turned to Raelin and sta
rted checking her over. ”It’s good to see you awake. You gave us a bit of a scare yesterday, but we’ll get you patched up as best we can.”
He took a long listen to her lungs as she breathed and checked her medications. ”Well, I’m going to leave that breathing tube in for just another day to be safe, but I’ll be back again tonight to take a look and depending on how you make out we’ll see about getting it out tomorrow. I’m going to leave your meds the way they are, so you’ll be in and out for a while. Once we start seeing some further signs of recovery, we’ll see about reducing them so you’re a little more yourself,” he said to Raelin. He was always very careful about not talking about his patients as if they weren’t there. “All in all, things are looking better. Ms. Delacroix, we’ll have that cot brought in just a little while. I’m sorry it wasn’t here sooner. I’ll leave you to rest now, Ms. Montrose. The nurses will check in from time to time.”
With that, he made some notes on Raelin’s chart and left the women alone.
When the Doctor left, Raelin turned to look at her lover and held out her hand.
Delaney put her hand underneath Rae’s and waited.
‘D-I-D-U-S-L-E-E-P’
“I did a little. I’m fine, don’t worry about anything, but getting yourself better. Are you up to seeing anyone? Jenny and Kasey should be coming in soon,” Del asked, brushing thick waves off Raelin’s face with her free hand.
‘W-A-N-T-A-K-I-S-S’
Smiling she leaned over and placed a gentle kiss to the corner of Raelin’s mouth. “That will have to do until they take that tube out. Anything else I can get you?” Del asked seriously. “Are you in pain?”
‘N-O-I-M-S-R-Y’
“You have nothing to be apologizing for. What you did was incredibly brave, Raelin. I sat here thinking for a long time last night while you slept. My knee jerk reaction is to be upset that you went in that house at all, but then I realize that had the situations been reversed, I wouldn’t have hesitated to jump in front of that gun for you. I made you promise not to use magic to protect me anymore, and that’s what you did, but I don’t want to dwell on it, and I don’t want you feeling guilty. We can’t change it now. We can only move forward. The only thing I expect from you is for you to get better. We have a life to build together, and I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty excited to get started on it. Okay?” Del asked, pressing a kiss to Raelin’s knuckles.
Insight Page 52
