| Jenai pulled a stool over and sat beside Justin�s bedside, as Nickolas stood at the door and watched. Jenai just looked at Justin and took his hand in hers. She just continued looking at him, happy he was still alive. She sat there with him for awhile before she felt his fingers move in her hand. She looked at his hand and heard, �JJ.� She looked and grinned. �Hey.� �Hey.� �How do ya feel?� �Do you have to ask?� �Sorry.� He gave a little grin. �Dr. Erikson said you�re going to be just fine.� �Don�t lie to me.� �I�m not. Dr. Erikson said you�ll be fine.� �I was shot by the spine, JJ, so don�t give me that.� She just looked at him. �I know what the consequences are.� �Can you feel your legs?� �Yes.� �So shut up then, because you�re going to be fine. A little rehabilitation though, but you�re going to be fine.� �Great; my first real big case and I end up in rehab to get the use of my legs back.� �It�s not like you won�t get any money. I mean you�ll have a medical excuse not to work or you can collect unemployment or even disability.� He just looked at her unamused. �I was joking.� �And this is me when I�m not laughing.� �Justin, it�s not going to be that bad. Just think of it as a long vacation.� �It�s not that simple, JJ. You�re not the one who was shot.� �Thanks to you. When you pushed me out of the way you knew the consequences of what was going to happen.� �And I�d do it again.� �See you didn�t care what was going to happen.� �No; I did care about what was going to happen to me, but I cared about you more. I couldn�t�� �I heard the patient was awake,� Dr. Erikson interrupted and they looked. �How are you feeling? Any pain?� �Not really,� Justin replied. �Can you wiggle your toes for me?� Dr. Erikson asked and Justin did so. �That�s good.� She looked at Jenai. �Could you step outside while I examine him?� �Of course,� Jenai said getting up. �I�ll be right back.� Justin nodded and Jenai walked out into the hall and saw Nickolas. �Hey.� �Hey,� Nickolas said looking at her. �How is he?� �I think he�s going to be fine,� Jenai answered. �He�s upset, but he�ll get over it.� �Are ya sure?� �Yeah; I dated him for three years remember?� �Right.� �How would you react if you were shot in the same spot Justin was?� �I�d be pretty pissed.� �That�s exactly how Justin feels.� Nickolas nodded and they just stood there a few minutes waiting for the doctor. Nickolas looked at Jenai and asked, �So does this change things between you two?� She looked at him and he looked at her closely. �How do ya mean?� �Romantically and all that shit.� �Oh.� �Well he did take a bullet for ya and that usually changes the way a person feels about someone. I know it would change the way I feel.� She just looked at him. �You guys already do share a lot and then he takes a bullet for you almost ruining his career. I just figure�� �Detective, shut up.� He looked at her and raised an eyebrow, as she grinned. �I ain�t going back to J just because he took a bullet saving my life.� �Well th-that�s good. You shouldn�t get with someone just because they saved your life. It just�� �Are you jealous?� �What? No.� He gave her a weird look. �I think you are.� �Well I�m not.� �Whatever. I think you�re jealous, because it wasn�t you who pushed me out of the way and took that bullet. You think I�m going to fall in love with the hero and you�re jealous because it wasn�t you this time.� She smiled. �Am I right?� �Harldy. You have too much time on your hands, Miss Richardson.� She shook her head and said, �Not to burst your bubble, but I don�t plan on falling in love with the hero. This is the real life and not Hollywood.� �Right.� They looked at each other. �I�m not jealous though.� �Ok; you just keep telling yourself that.� She smiled and the doctor walked out. �Is Justin all right?� �He�s going to be fine,� Dr. Erikson stated. �He does need to rest though so if you can keep the visiting to a minimum that�ll be great. It�ll also be good for him.� �Ok,� Jenai said. �That won�t be a problem.� �The first 24 hours are always critical,� Dr. Erikson pointed out. �I just don�t want him to get too much excitement.� �Of course not,� Nickolas said. �We�ll keep the excitement out of the room.� �Thank you,� Dr. Erikson said. �If there�s nothing else I have other patients to see.� �Thank you, Doctor,� Nickolas said and she walked away. �I knew he was going to be fine,� Jenai said. �If you want to go in and see him�� Nickolas began and Jenai looked in the room. �I think I�m just going to let him get some rest,� Jenai stated. �He was shot after all, ya know.� Nickolas nodded. �I�m going to go get something to drink.� �Alright,� Nickolas said and she grinned. He watched her walk away and stood there a moment then went after her. CHAPTER 19 HOME |