The Protector

15

In the mercilessly bright lights of the ICU room, Cavanaugh sat sleeplessly next to Jamie, watching for the slightest flicker of her eyelids, the slightest twitch around her mouth. The respirator had been removed from her throat. Her chest rose and fell on its own. The flashing, beeping monitors for her pulse, blood pressure, and heart rhythms showed steady improvement.

"Twenty-four hours, and no setbacks," her surgeon said. "An excellent sign."

Cavanaugh nodded, hoping.

"Why don't you go away for a couple of hours and get some rest?" the surgeon suggested.

"If it's all right with you, I'm staying."

At 6:37 in the morning (Cavanaugh noted the time precisely), Jamie's green eyes finally opened. She looked groggy, dazed, in pain. But when she recognized him, her bruised face managed a look of affection.

"Can you understand me?" he asked.

She nodded almost imperceptibly, the effort tiring her.

"In case you don't remember, I'll tell you often," Cavanaugh said. "As soon as you're able, we're going back to Wyoming. We're heading home. We're staying."

Groggy, she tried to study him.

"If I'd agreed to go home when you wanted, you wouldn't have gotten shot. I don't know how to make it up to you, but somehow I will."

With effort, she asked, " Prescott?"

"I found him."

Worry clouded her eyes.

"He's alive. John has him in custody," Cavanaugh assured her.

The beeping of the monitors filled the silence between them.

"I want to prove to you how sorry I am," Cavanaugh said. "You're more important to me than anything. From now on, there's nothing I won't do for you."

Her eyelids weakened.

"I'm sure that's too much for you to understand right now. But I'll be here the next time you wake up, and I'll tell you again. I'll keep telling you." Cavanaugh had trouble with his voice. "Until you forgive me."

Cavanaugh touched her hand.

Jamie's fingers nudged his, almost too faintly to be noticed. But it was enough.

"I'll be here," Cavanaugh said. "Feel how steady my hand is." The antidote was working. "I'll watch over you."

She nodded, her closed eyelids relaxing. As she drifted back to sleep, her bruised lips formed what might have been a smile.