I woke up in the middle of the night when I turned onto my left side in my sleep and yelped at the pain, which woke Doc up. “Meredith, you can’t sleep on that side yet.”

“But I want to!”

He laughed. “You can’t always have what you want. Lie on your back for a while if you need to.”

I lay on my back and he snuggled up to me and put his arm over me, taking care to not touch the surgical area.

“I’m sorry I woke you up, honey.”

“That’s okay, Meredith. You were asleep. We can’t control what we do while sleeping.”

I shifted position a little so that I was lying half on my back, half on my side and Doc snuggled closer. We both fell back asleep and didn’t wake up until morning.

Doc made me some toast for breakfast after taking one look at the “hot” cereal on my tray. Then he went downstairs to get some good coffee for us and toast for himself. I thought he should have just made a couple slices in the kitchenette but he said it was for patients, not staff or visitors. While we were having our coffee, he said “Hon, I want to take a look at your incision and wounds after you’re finished your coffee. If the wounds have closed up, you can have a shower. I can cover the incision so it won’t get wet, as well as your foot and hand.”

“Oh, that would be great, Doc! I haven’t had a shower since Monday.” It was now Friday.

“After that, I’m going to go to the staff showers for one. That way I don’t have to leave the hospital.”

“But what about clothes, Doc? You always change your clothes every day. And shave, too.”

“I’ll wear scrubs until we go home. There’s a shaving kit in my trunk, I‘ll go to the parking lot and get it. I usually keep a change of clothes in there, too, but I haven‘t replaced them since I got dirty and had to change at work a few days before all this happened.”

“What about underwear?”

“Oh, darn, I hadn’t thought of that.” He contemplated it for a moment, then said “Maybe I can get Curt to pick me up a package when he goes home tonight and bring it in tomorrow. In the meantime, I can go commando for one day, I suppose.” I giggled. “What’s that for, hon?”

“I just thought of sliding a hand down your pants when you bend over me or give me a hug, Doc.”

“Meredith, you are one of a kind. Everything you’ve been through and you are thinking of sex!”

“You have that effect on me, Doc.”

Doc shook his head. “Finished your coffee?” I nodded. “I’ll wash my hands, then I will look at your back.”

“Your cuts look good, hon”, he said after he removed the dressings. “They are healing over. Let me see if I can find something to cover your incision and your cast with. I think the wrappings on your hand can come off for a bit.”

He was back a few minutes later with some materials. “I found some plastic wrap for your incision and a bag for your foot.” He lifted my gown and took the gauze dressing off. I looked down. It looked awful to me, but Doc said it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was. “Remember, I had to re-open the initial incision, hon. It’s going to take a bit longer to heal. It’s a little red, but I will keep an eye on it. In fact, I may put you on antibiotics just to make sure it doesn’t get infected.”

“Aw, Doc…I don’t like antibiotics, they give me a yeast infection.”

“I know, hon.” No “Don’t ‘Aw, Doc’ me”…?? What has gotten into him? “But sometimes they are necessary. A yeast infection is a small price to pay to avoid sepsis.”

I thought he was jumping the gun on it, but given his past, I understood why, so I gave in. “Okay, Doc. I will take them.”

“Good. Now, let me get this covered and then your foot.”

The shower felt glorious! I didn’t want to get out, I wanted to sit there on the shower seat forever, holding the hand held shower head and letting the hot water run over me. Doc bathed me and washed my hair, then towelled me off and gave me a clean gown to put on. He tied it in back for me, then I got in the wheelchair and he took me back to my bed.

I wanted to sit up in a chair for a while, but the shower had tired me out. This was very frustrating. “Be a patient patient, hon”, he said as he pulled the clean blankets over my legs - a PCA had changed the bed while I was in the shower. “You’ve been through a lot this week. You are going to tire easily for a while, but it will get better day by day. I’m going to go to the staff showers and have one myself. I’ll be back in a bit, you close your eyes and have a nap, okay? I won‘t be long. I don‘t want to leave you longer than necessary.” I nodded and he gave me a kiss before leaving the room.

Next thing I knew, I was opening my eyes and Doc was sitting in his chair beside the bed, reading. He was dressed in the hospital’s blue scrubs. He must have felt my eyes on him as he looked up at me over his reading glasses. I took the opportunity to tease him a bit. “Won’t be long before you’ll need bifocals, Doc.”

“Just you wait until you get to be this age, young lady.” This was a routine exchange between us.

“I’m not going to get old, I’m going to stay this age forever.”

Doc laughed. “You will always be Ms Hottie to me, hon. No matter how old and grey you are.”

“You are sweet, Doc. But, thanks to Ms Clairol, I’m not going to go grey.”

Just then, the cop at the door came in and asked Doc to go out and approve a visitor. He came back with Curt Wilcox in tow. Even other doctors had to be approved by Doc. That told me that the police thought Jane was a serious threat.

“How are you feeling?” Curt asked me.

“A bit better”, I replied. “But not as ‘better’ as I want to be.”

“It will take time. I see your sats are coming up. That is good. Keep up with the inhalers.”

“Julian is making sure I do!”

“He’s taking good care of you. You be sure to heed what he says.”

“I do. Sometimes.” Doc coughed. “You okay, Doc?”

“Just a tickle in my throat, hon.”

“Curt, maybe you should look at Julian. Make sure he’s not coming down with something.” I took great pleasure in turning it around on Doc. How many times had he said something similar when I sighed or groaned?

“I’m okay, Curt. Meredith is giving me payback for what I do to her.”

“She might be right”, Curt said, winking at me. “You could be coming down with something. I can check you out.”

“I’m fine, Curt. Really.”

“Well, if you have any more coughing, give me a call.”

“Very funny, Curt. Hey, could you do me a favour tonight?”

“Sure, Julian. What can I do?

“Could you pick me up a package of briefs? I don’t want to leave the hospital until Meredith is discharged. I can wear scrubs but the hospital does not provide underwear.”

“Sure, I can do that.” Doc told him his size and what type of undies he wanted.

Just as Curt was leaving, Dr Beckett arrived. I had not seen him in a few days. “Sorry for not coming to see you sooner”, he apologized. “I was home with a mild case of the flu.”

“Oh, my”, I said. “I hope you are better now.”

“I am and don’t worry, I’m no longer contagious. How’s the foot?”

“It was getting better until yesterday.”

“I heard about what happened. Fortunately, you didn’t do any damage to it, but it will hurt for a while. Have you been walking yet?”

“No.”

“She can’t walk on crutches yet because of her hand”, Doc interrupted. “I’m hoping to get her up in a day or so.”

“Yes, that hand is a hindrance for crutches. How is it doing, Meredith?”

“It’s getting better. Still a bit sore but not nearly as bad as it was.”

“Good. I’ll order a pair of crutches to be sent here to your room and you can try walking when you feel up to it. How tall are you?”

“5’2”

“I’ll have them set for that height and if it’s off at all, someone from PT can come up and adjust them for you.”

I fell asleep again after Curt left. When I woke up, Doc said to me “Your antibiotic came up while you were sleeping. Here, take it now.” He handed me one of those shot glass type cups that they give pills to patients in. I took the pill and swallowed it down with some water. “The lunch trays are up, too. Do you want hospital fare or the soup Karen brought last night?”

“No contest, Doc - the soup!”

“I thought you’d say that. I’ll go heat it up for you.”

“Have some, too, Doc. I’m sure Karen brought way more than I can eat.”

“I’ll get something downstairs, you can have any leftovers for supper.”

When he brought the heated-up soup in, Doc said “I’m going to go down to the café and get us some coffee and grab a sandwich while I’m there. Do you want me to get you anything else besides coffee?”

“No, I’m good. Thanks, Doc.”

The soup was too hot to eat, so I lay back and waited for Doc to get back. When he returned to my room and saw that I hadn’t touched it, he started to lecture me. “Meredith, I know you don’t feel like eating, but getting proper nutrition will help you heal.”

“Doc”, I interrupted. “I’m going to eat it - after it cools down a bit. It’s too hot.”

“Oh. Sorry about that, hon. The microwave here is different than the one at home. It seems to be set higher.”

I had my soup while Doc ate his sandwich, then we had our coffee. “What’s the biggest thing you are looking forward to when we go home, Doc?” I asked him.

“Sleeping properly in bed with you, hon. By ‘properly’, I mean under the covers, cuddled up with you, holding you tight.”

“You are sweet, Doc.”

“What about you, hon? What are you looking forward to most? You can’t say sleeping with me. Has to be something else.”

“Spending time with my horses and Jessie.”

“Doesn’t surprise me that you say that.”

“It sure shouldn’t, Doc!” I took the final sip of my coffee. “Hey, Doc - I’ve been meaning to suggest this for a while, but you wearing scrubs reminded me of it. We should get a pair for use at home. You look so yummy in them!”

“There you go thinking about sex again! Yes, that can be arranged. Do you prefer scrubs to shirt, tie and lab coat?”

“I like both. We can change it up. Also, scrubs with lab coat.”

“Yes, we can do that. But you won’t be engaging in sex for a while.”

“Doesn’t mean I can’t get up on the table, Doc.”

Doc laughed. “If you can get up there on your own power, I will give you an exam. After the cops leave! I don’t want them interrupting us.”

“Good point about the cops, Doc.” I sighed. “I hope that is all over soon.”

“Me too, hon.”

“Have you heard from Detective Fletcher?”

“Not a word.”

“In this case, no news is not good news. I want to hear the news that they caught Jane.”

“We will hear that, Meredith. I’m confident of it.”

“I need a nap, Doc. When will I stop being so tired?”

“Like I said earlier, it may take a bit of time, hon. But you’ll get better day by day. Sleep as much as you need to. Do you need your pain meds?” I nodded. “I’ll go get them.”

After he injected the medication into my IV, he surprised me by sitting on the bed and leaning back against the raised head. I lay my head and banged up hand on his chest. “I’m so sorry, hon”, he said as he stroked my hair.

“For what?” I asked, lifting my head to look up at him.

“For this happening to you. It’s my fault.”

I had been meaning to talk to him about this. “It’s not your fault, Doc.”

“Yes it is. If I hadn’t got involved with Jane, this wouldn’t have happened.”

“You had no way of knowing how things would go with your relationship with her and that she would do this all these years later.”

“I know, but I still feel responsible.”

“Well, you aren’t. Jane is. Nobody else.”

“You don’t resent me for this?”

“Not one bit, Doc. And I don’t blame her for wanting you back. She realizes what a good man you are and probably wishes she had not driven you away with her violence. I do blame her for what she has done to both of us. You, all those years ago and me, now. I can count on one hand how many people I‘ve hated in my lifetime and she‘s one of them.”

“I am so lucky to have you, hon. I’ve been fully expecting you to tell me to get lost.”

“That is not going to happen, Doc. Whatever Jane does, we are in this together. Unless you want to leave me so that she doesn‘t go after you.”

“I’m so glad you don’t blame me. No, I am not going to leave you, Meredith. As you said, we are in this together. Now go to sleep, sweetie.” He gently pushed my head back down and resumed stroking my hair. The medication was taking effect and I was feeling very drowsy.

When I woke up, Doc was still on the bed, fast asleep. I didn’t want to wake him, so I lay there quietly. I must have fallen back asleep as the buzzing of his phone woke me up, as well as him. He got it out of his pocket and answered it. When he was done with the call, he said “That was Detective Fletcher. There’s nothing new, they are still looking for Jane and the woman who’s been using her credit cards.”

He looked at his watch. “Your supper tray should be up, I’ll go get it.” He was back in a moment, empty handed. “I don’t think you will want what’s on your tray, hon. I’ll get you something from the café. What would you like?”

“Chili would be great, Doc. Thanks.”

Doc came back with chili and coffee for both of us. “I’d like to sit in a chair and eat my supper, if I can, Doc”, I said.

“Sure, hon. Let me help you get up.” We sat and had our meal, then talked over coffee. It was so nice to be sitting up in a chair. I felt human again, instead of like an invalid confined to bed.

A nurse came in with my antibiotic and changed my IV bag. I asked Doc when I could ditch it. “Other than coffee, you haven’t been drinking very much, Meredith. I need to see you drink at least 5 glasses of water in a day to take it off, but the cannula will remain in until you are discharged. That is just in case we need to give you something intravenously - we won’t have to start a new one.”

“Come on, Doc, coffee is water run over coffee beans. It should count toward my water requirement.”

Doc laughed. “Nice try, hon. Caffeine dehydrates you.”

“But this is decaf.”

“Yes, but the coffees you had during the day weren’t. The best I can do is count this as one glass.” I sighed. “Is the IV hurting you? Is that why you are so anxious to have it out? Remember, the cannula stays in until you are discharged.”

“No, it doesn’t hurt. It just feels like I’m attached to an umbilical cord.”

“Drink enough water tomorrow and I’ll unhook it on Sunday, ok?”

“Ok, Doc, but I’d like to be home by then.”

“I’m thinking I might be able to discharge you on Monday if your sats have come up enough by then.”

“I can’t wait, Doc!”

“How would you like that catheter to come out tomorrow?”

“I don’t know, Doc. I kinda like not having to get up to go pee.” We both laughed. “Ouch, that was a mistake”, I said, clutching my side.

“Hurts to laugh?”

“Yeah. No watching cartoons or reading comics for a while.” I winced.

“Would you like some pain meds, hon?”

“No, Doc. Not until bedtime. I’ll be fine until then.”

We talked a while longer, then Doc read his medical journal and I read some of my book. Detective Fletcher had suggested I stay off Facebook and any message boards until Jane was caught, so I didn‘t do anything on my notebook that Doc had had Karen bring in for me.

After reading for a bit, I was ready for bed. Doc helped me back into it, making sure my tubings were not twisted or anything, then he went to get my pain medication. After injecting it into my IV line, he turned off the light behind the bed and lay down with me. It didn’t take long for me to fall asleep, snuggled up to Doc.

The next afternoon, Doc asked me if I wanted to try walking with the crutches.

“Where to?” I asked.

“Just down the hall to the sunroom. We usually try to get patients up and walking as soon as possible after surgery, but we couldn’t with you because your foot is in a cast and your hand has been too banged up to use crutches. But if you feel up to it, you can try today.”

“That would be cool, Doc. I don’t know how far I can get, but I would love to try.”

“Just go as far as you can. I can get a wheelchair to bring you back if need be.”

Doc got me a small catheter bag and a portable cardiac monitor that hangs from your neck. He said he didn’t want me without the latter in case walking changed my heart activity. He also hooked me up to a portable oxygen tank, which he wheeled along with us. A nurse came along with a wheelchair in case I needed it. One of the undercover cops followed us.

It felt good to be on my feet - or should I say foot - again. My left hand hurt using that crutch, but I was determined to at least get to the sun room on my own power. It was slow going, but I did it. When we got there, I sat down in one of the chairs. Doc sat beside me. The undercover cop sat in a seat by the door.

Other than our entourage, there was only one other person in the room - a woman sitting in the far corner. She had a scarf over her head and was wearing sunglasses. She was clutching a purse which was in her lap on top of a winter coat folded neatly across it. I assumed she was a relative of a patient and was maybe wearing sunglasses to hide eyes red from crying or had a sensitivity to light.

The nurse left the wheelchair with us and went back to her duties with instructions to call her if we needed her. I was pretty sure I’d need the chair to get back to my room. Getting down the hall had taken every ounce of strength I possessed. I hated to admit it, but Doc was right that I wasn’t ready to go home yet.

We sat for a while, looking out the window at the city and talking. We weren’t really paying attention to the woman in the corner. After a while, out of the corner of my eye I saw her get up and walk toward the door. She had to pass by us to get there. The wheelchair was in front of Doc. The lady tripped over it and almost landed in my lap. Doc caught her and helped her steady herself. She seemed very embarrassed.

“I’m so sorry”, she said. “I wasn’t paying attention.”

“Don’t worry about it, are you okay?” Doc asked her.

“Yes, I’m fine, but I need to go.”

“Sit down for a minute. I’m a doctor, let me make sure you are all right.”

“I’m fine.” She hurried away out the door.

“I hope she’s okay”, I said. “I understand how it’s embarrassing, but she should have sat down for a moment.”

“What’s that in your lap, hon?” I looked down and saw a white envelope.

“I don’t know.” I picked it up. It had “Julian and Meredith” typed on the outside. It was not sealed. I opened it and there was a piece of paper inside. I took it out and read the message which was typed in capital letters.

I KNOW WHERE BOTH OF YOU ARE AND I KNOW WHERE THE PLAINCLOTHES COPS ARE.