Chapter 33
Adriana softly stepped into the small hospital room,
and did the sign of the cross. It was something she had done since she was a child and her grandfather entered
the hospital. She closed her eyes and said a quick prayer before entering the rest of the way. She made her
way over to the chair on the left side of the bed, and sat down in it. Looking at the small, frail figure in
the monstrous bed she shook her head. Was this the same peppy attorney that entered her office every morning
thirty minutes ahead of time? Was this the woman she considered a close friend?
A single tear slipped down her cheek, and she wiped it away. ‘I’m not going to cry, I’m not going to cry.’ She
chanted over and over again in her head.
"Well, Gwen." She chuckled slightly, "Seems like you’ve got more people here for you then you
ever realized. Don’t make them suffer. They all care about you so much." Deciding to change the mood, she
went to a lighter note. "The case is coming along, especially since you’re back. Wagner was giving us a
little trouble, you know, cocking an attitude. But now that you’re back, he’ll be singin’ our song. Oh and
guess what! I talked to the Attorney General this past week, and you’re going to get three weeks paid vacation
and any therapy you need! That’s pretty good, considering you’re new! So you gotta get well so you can take
your vacae." Adriana looked around at the beeping monitors, and sighed. She sat there for a few more minutes,
listening. She breathed in deeply and stood.
"I’ll be back later Gwen, but I think you need to see that Hank. He seems to really want to see you."
Leaning over Gwen’s ear, she whispered, "You were right, he is a stud. Catch ya later." Adriana walked
out with a bounce in her step. She knew Gwen would come around, she could just sense it.
Sheridan watched as Adriana walked out of Gwen’s room. She headed in the direction of the cafeteria. Sheridan’s
attention was turned back to Hank, who was studying the floor.
"Hank." She called, causing his eyes to meet hers. "Do you want to see Gwen now, or me?"
"You haven’t seen her yet?" Hank asked.
"No." Sheridan replied.
"You see her first. When I get in there, I won’t be leaving." Hank admitted. Sheridan grabbed his
hand and squeezed it before getting up and walking to Gwen’s room.
She entered the room, and glanced around at her surroundings. It was exactly like the room she was in when she
was in her comma. Her eyes finally landed on the small creature laying in the hospital bed. Gwen’s hair was
laying loosely around her face, and she was very pale. She wore an ugly hospital gown, and was covered by a
standard hospital blanket.
Sheridan closed her eyes to blink away the tears forming and walked over to her friend’s bedside. She leaned
over the metal railing and gently brushed some of Gwen’s hair back.
"Gwen, honey, you have to get out of here. This hospital gown does nothing for your figure. How are you
ever going to impress Hank?" Sheridan joked. "Hon, if you don’t wake up soon, you do realize you’re
going to drive him completely crazy. Plus, Luis told me that your parents were giving him a rough time."
Sheridan sighed heavily. "I don’t want you to wake up for me, save that for Hank. But don’t make him sleep
in this chair too long, it’s mighty uncomfortable. Wake up soon sweetheart." Sheridan whispered.
She bent over and kissed Gwen’s forehead. A small tear escaped her eye, but she let it fall. Inhaling and exhaling,
she walked out the door and into the waiting room. Hank was still in his same position, Luis near him. Sheridan
walked to him and kneeled down in front of him.
"Your turn Hank." She stated, smiling weakly. Hank looked at her and nodded. Slowly he made his way
up, and with wobbly legs, he walked away from them and to Gwen’s room. They watched him disappear around the
corner before looking at each other and sitting down.
"You were right, he loves her." Luis said, breaking the silence and thinking back to their dinner at
The Blue Note.
"And you were too. It took something big for him to admit it." Sheridan commented.
"She admitted it first." Luis replied.
"Really?" Sheridan asked, amazed.
"Yep. Hank never got a chance to reply." Luis confirmed.
"Oh God. Poor Hank. If it wasn’t hard enough on him." Sheridan said, brining her hand up to her mouth.
"I know. It’s eating him up inside." Luis sighed, running his hand through his hair.
"Where’s Sam?" Sheridan asked. When she went in to see Gwen Sam was still in the waiting room. Now
he was nowhere in sight.
"He went home, said he’d be back later. He wanted to let everyone know. I think we should expect them to
come and be here for Hank later."
"They really care about him, don’t they?" Sheridan asked.
"His nieces adore him, as does Grace." Luis commented.
"It must be wonderful to have your extended family care about you so much." Sheridan said wishfully,
thinking of how her immediate family didn’t care half as much.
"Hank and Gwen will both be fine, as long as they have our support." Luis said, squeezing her hand.
Kay perked up as she heard the door open and shut. Whipping her head around she smiled as her father entered
the living room.
"Hi dad. I was waiting for you. What’s up?" She asked.
"A lot. Gwen Hotchkiss was shot tonight. She’s in a comma at the hospital." Sam sighed, sinking down
into his leather chair.
"Oh my God! How’s Uncle Hank?" Kay asked, her mind immediately racing to her uncle.
"You knew?" Sam asked, furrowing his brow.
"Yep. When are you going back to the hospital. I wanna go with you." Kay stated.
"I’m not going back until early tomorrow morning. I’ll wake you." Sam said, running his hand through
his hair.
"Please do. G’night dad." Kay smiled, getting up and kissing her father on the forehead. Sam watched
as his daughter ran up the stairs. She was so like her uncle. He blew out air and got up, heading up the stairs
to talk to Grace, and tell her the whole story. |
