Chapter 15

Patrick lay propped up against pillows listening to the conversations in the small hospital room. It was good to see everyone again. Kasey and Rachel were having some sort of hushed conversation, and he couldn’t help but notice the look of concern on Leena’s face. It was the look of a predator ready to pounce on Chris’s face that set off the warning bells of a well-trained cop. Without looking at Rhonda, who stood beside his bed, he spoke to her so only she would hear.

Lass, are you picking up on us being left out of something here?

I was just thinking the same thing, Pat. Cora won’t even look me directly in the eye.

Well then. He tried to speak loud enough to be heard over the chatter, but not enough he would trigger more coughing. “So, who is going to fill me in… on what’s happening?” All conversations stopped at the same time. Everyone turned to look at him. Even in his weakened state his look and words filled the room with an aura of authority.

Chris who had been leaning against the wall just observing straightened up. “I tried to tell them you would know.” He put his hands in his pockets. “I don’t know all the details. You would have to speak to your Captain to get those…” He paused in response to the glare on Patrick’s face at the mention of his Captain. “One of the Sergeants assigned to guard your door was attacked this afternoon when he left to go home.” Rhonda tensed beside him.

“He’s okay, just a few abrasions and cuts.” Chris added quickly.

Patrick felt more alert than he had the whole time he’d been here.

“They wanted information on how you were doing, Pat.”

The news didn’t surprise him. In fact, it would have if they hadn’t tried to something. “I need to speak to Captain...” He looked at Steven and then started coughing. It was a few moments before he was able to speak again. “Is there a slightly larger… area…” He paused catching his breath, “…we could all fit in, that I can get to?” He glanced around at the others in the room. “We need to discuss some things.”

Steven was silent for a moment. “I’ll go see what I can arrange. I’ll get the guards to reach the Captain for you.” He ran a hand down Rachel’s back and walked from the room.

Turning to Rhonda, he studied her for a moment. “You… stay in whatever room I’m in.” He took a few breaths. “…going to rest until the Doc… back.”

She didn’t argue.

When Steven returned, he informed him they could use one of the larger lounges, after visiting hours were over. This way no one would still be in the hospital who wasn’t supposed to be. Patrick knew the possibility of Jack Williams getting to someone inside were high, but since he didn’t have many options, he would have to hope it hadn’t happened yet. The chances were slim. They wouldn’t have used the Sergeant for information if they had access to a staff member.

Patrick was completely surrounded and protected by the witches as they moved him to the lounge in a wheelchair. Although, he didn’t say anything out loud it made him feel much better. Right beside his chair was Rhonda. I feel like a rock star or something.

Don’t let it go to your head, all this attention is temporary. After a while it gets quite annoying as well. She grinned down at him.

I’ll be more than happy to be well enough to blend into the shadows again.

Rhonda shook her head. Yes, because blending in at the size you are happened before you were hurt.

He looked up at her and winked.

Dade looked at the couple then over them at Steven. “Feel like I’ve been left out of an imaginary conversation.”

Steven laughed. “I wished I could communicate like they do. Imagine the fun I could have with Rach.”

Rachel smiled over at him. “I’m not fun enough for you now?”

“I didn’t say that, angel. I would never say that.” She laughed and stepped forward to open the door to the private lounge area.

Patrick was surprised to see Justin, Gwen and Jean already sitting in the lounge with his Captain. Gwen smiled at him.

“Gang’s all here.” He said quietly.

Kevin immediately moved away from the group and went to sit beside Jean. She smiled at him but continued to sit on the edge of the couch stiffly. “Hey, beautiful.”

“Hi.”

Justin shook his head and grinned at Patrick. “How are you holding out?”

Patrick grimaced. “So far I haven’t been awake… long enough to know.” He noticed the Captain looking anxiously toward the doors. “It’s all good, Cap.” He huffed out a breath, “…if I’m not safe with this lot, then I never will be.” As he said it Owen moved to the door at the same time Dade moved over to the windows. He took a few steady breaths. “Did the Sergeant see who?”

“No, he just knows there were two of them and one was fairly small.”

Patrick stared down at the floor for a few minutes. Small. He didn’t know any of them to be small. Unless… “Do you have a line on Bob…Robert Cleege?”

The Captain frowned and took out his notebook. Patrick waited while he flipped through pages then looked up and shook his head. “He was Dusty’s accountant… the nervous twitchy butterball.”

The Captain wrote quickly.

“There’s a file on him with my reports from the spring.”

The Captain nodded.

He had to stop talking for a moment and settle his breathing. “Okay then… I asked for this meeting to come up with some sort of game plan.” Everyone was silently looking at him. “I don’t like being here… where there is no way to control… who comes and goes.”

Steven sat on the arm of a chair. “Chris and I have been working on that since this afternoon. But I need at least another day.”

Patrick nodded. “Fine.” He turned and looked at Rhonda for a moment. “I don’t want Rhonda leaving the hospital… until I do, then no one can follow her…” he had to stop to take a few breaths, again. He’d never imagined something as simple as talking could be so difficult. “Her place is still listed in Dade’s name… so there’s no way to trace her there if… she doesn’t go back right now.”

The Captain and Chris both nodded in unison, understanding where he was going with it. Chris smirked at him. “Have you asked Rhonda if she minds her place being the hide out?”

Rhonda turned and looked at Chris then back to Patrick. “What are you thinking, Pat?”

He wrapped his arm around his ribs and cleared his throat trying to stop the cough he felt coming on. No one spoke or rushed him. “If they don’t know where you live… or who you are, since you haven’t… left here, your place is the safest solution… for where to go.” He looked around at everyone for a moment. “As long as they see Dade… come and go from time to time… they’ll think he still lives there and just spends his time with Cora.”

Dade grinned as he realized what he was saying. “That would work out. We can all come and go, without suspicion and keep a watch.”

Patrick grinned. “Much easier to control the environment there...” he looked at Rhonda for a moment then to the Captain. “You know he’s going to come after me.” The Captain scowled but nodded. “And if he has Walt with him…it’s not a good thing…for me.” He settled his breathing once more. “Once we’re tucked away, it will be easier…to focus on locating them.” He exhaled slowly. “I’m figuring the two attackers…looking for information were probably Walt and Bob…but I don’t know if Jack…had any part-timers he could turn to, for certain.”

Putting the notebook away, the Captain stood up and paced for a few minutes. “So, you want me to just send you off to a house in suburbia with no officers to keep you safe?”

Patrick shrugged as gingerly as he could without pain. “Having uniforms posted outside the house is a like… having a neon sign… telling them I’m there.” The Captain was silent for a moment then sighed and nodded.

Rhonda studied him for a moment. “What do we do until you’re at my place? And how are we going to get you there, or me, without being seen?”

Owen turned from the door he’d been looking out and winked at Rhonda. “No worries there, Rhonda. Kevin and I have been working on both those problems.”

“And the solution is?” Leena looked over at him.

Owen grinned at her. “Until he’s out of here, and even after we’re going to take turns keeping an eye on things.”

“Add us to that list please.”

All heads turned to look at Gwen as she spoke. Owen smiled. “Will do.”

Leena turned back to her husband. “And getting them out of here?”

Kevin chuckled. “It just so happens I have an ambulance at my disposal and the fact it comes and goes from the hospital all the time, makes it the perfect mode of transportation.”

Owen glanced back out the door as he spoke. “We’ll just have Dade’s van at the station when Kevin takes the ambulance there.”

Patrick remained silent, mostly because he hurt and wanted to lie down again, but also because their ideas worked, and he couldn’t come up with anything better. “So be it then.”

Chris turned back to Steven. “You give me a list of what you need at Rhonda’s for Patrick to be comfortable and I’ll make it happen.”

Steven shook his head and smiled. “Leave the nursing to me and we’ll be set.”

Justin cleared his throat. “I have another option to throw in here. I don’t know how many of you remember him, but Dexter Tringali is back from overseas and is a security specialist.”

The captain’s eyebrows went up. “A security specialist?”

Justin smirked. “As in, he takes the jobs no one else will touch.”

“Ah.”

Dade grinned. “Dex is back?” Justin nodded. “Well, I feel better about all of this already.” He smiled at the puzzled look Patrick had. “Trust me, we want him on our side.”

Patrick had no choice but to accept what Dade said. He trusted Dade’s judgment. “All right then. What’s his role in all of this?”

Justin grinned. “He’s agreed to be your personal bodyguard Patrick. Rhonda’s too.” He put his arm around Gwen. “It was actually why we were coming tonight, when we met up with Owen and Leena and decided to crash the meeting.”

The Captain pulled out his notebook and looked at Justin. “Do I want to run this Dexter?”

Dade cleared his throat. “Ah, I probably wouldn’t if I were you, Captain Bentley.”

Patrick smirked as the Captain put the book away quickly.

Gwen sat forward and looked at Rhonda. “I have to ask, dear, we usually get together, well this group is now much larger as you can see, for Yule. Can we plan it for your place this year?”

Patrick watched a shocked but pleased expression appear on Rhonda’s face. “Absolutely, I think it’s what all of us need.”

Gwen chuckled. “Very well then, we have a celebration to organize in roughly three weeks.”

Patrick frowned. He’d forgotten the time of year. This was not how he had planned to spend Yule with Rhonda.

Stop looking like a bear.

He turned and raised an eyebrow at her. I just lost track of when it is. Is there snow yet?

She smiled at him. Yes, and once you’re at my place and safe we’ll even let you play in it.

He started to laugh then felt a cough gurgling in his chest.

Justin looked over at Chris. “Did we miss something?”

Chris shook his head. “No. We all did.” He glanced at the Captain, then figured if he didn’t realize what they could all do by now, it was too bad. “They just have a private path of communication that we’re all lacking.”

“Oh, how wonderful.” Gwen snuggled back into Justin’s shoulder.

The Captain straightened his jacket. “I don’t understand and don’t want to. But anytime any of you want on the force, I’ll have a badge for you in a few hours’ time.” Everyone laughed. “Well folks, I have to get out of here.” He stopped beside Patrick and put a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll be in touch.”

Patrick nodded and watched him go. He turned and looked at the twelve people spread out around the room, it gave him a feeling of peace inside, something he wasn’t sure he’d ever felt before. Perhaps it was the medication making him sappy, but he didn’t care. He glanced at Steven. “I think we covered it all…” He let out a long breath. “I need to go lie down again… I have a huge amount of progress… to make to get out of here quickly.” He took a few breaths, “and I’d like to begin first thing in the morning.”

Kasey popped up from the chair she’d been silently sitting on through the whole meeting. “I have stones I’d like you to take, Patrick.” She moved quickly to stand in front of him. “I spent the last few days working on them.”

“Appreciate it, Kasey,” hHe said quietly, as she slipped the loose cord around his neck. He’d examine her choice later when he wasn’t so tired, but knew her stone work to be hugely successful and felt honored to have them. “Thank you.” He reached out and squeezed her hand for a few seconds.

Owen straightened from the door. “I’ll be by in the morning to start doing some work to your shoulder blade and see if we can’t get your arm moving a bit better.”

Patrick just nodded and was going to thank him when Leena stepped over to him.

“I made some tea, it will help you get some strength back.” She smiled at him as she handed the pouch to Rhonda. “It will be good for both of you.”

“Thanks Leena.” Rhonda took the pouch and smiled at Patrick. “With this kind of help we’ll have you well in no time.”

Patrick couldn’t do more than just smile back at her. He’d been surrounded with darkness most of his life, and all of this was starting to feel a bit overwhelming. Damn medication had turned his brain to mush.

Steven cleared his throat and stood up. He studied Pat for a minute and a look of understanding was in his eyes. The Doctor knew Pat was out of his comfort zone. “I think it’s time I take the patient back to his room.”

Kevin leaned back beside Jean. “I have first watch detail, mostly because I’m trying to get into the groove for a new shift at work so I’ll be hanging around outside the room most of the night.” He winked at Rhonda. “If he gets grumpy, just come and get me.”

Rhonda laughed at the snarl Patrick gave him. “I’m sure I’ll manage, Kevin, but thank you.”

Jean stood up. “I can stay for a bit and keep you company, Kevin, my class is going on a trip with the other teachers tomorrow, so I don’t have to be at work.”

Kevin’s grin widened. “My lucky night indeed.”

Patrick waited until all the good wishes were done and everyone finally left. He waited until the nurse checked over everything, more than once. He waited through the half-listened to play-by-play of what Steven wanted to do in the morning, disconnecting tubes and things was the gist of it. When they were all finally gone and the room was quiet, he looked over at Rhonda. “You look worn out right now, lass.”

She sighed. “I am. I’ve spent most of my time alone since the handfasts and all these people are just, exhausting.” She laughed quietly. “Did that sound ungrateful?”

He grinned at her. “No, just the truth of it, is all.”

“How are you doing?”

He puffed out his cheeks and let out a slow breath. “I feel like I’m in someone else’s body to be honest.”

Rhonda grinned and walked over to him. It hadn’t taken as long to get him up and into the bed. He was getting used to how he could and couldn’t move. “Do you want a drink or anything?”

“No, I’d just like to lie here and see if I can… try my luck at having you lie with me again.” He grinned at her.

“I’m sure your luck is good in that area.”

His lifted the blanket and held his arm out of the way. “I managed to move over so I didn’t take all the space.”

“You take almost all of the bed, but being wee, as you say, I don’t need a lot of room.”

“Just get up here so I can close my heavy eyes.”

“Very well, grumpy.”

He tried to look serious at her words, but in truth he was completely worn out and just wanted to rest again. After she snuggled carefully into his shoulder, he placed his arm around her and kissed the top of her head. “Night.”

“Mmm, night, Pat,” she sighed quietly.