Dating A Cop (The Dating Series Book 1)

by Love, B. T.

  “Okay,” I said with a nod. “I’ll be there as quick as I can.”

  I hung up and rushed over to my boss to explain the situation. Without hesitation he told me to leave and to be safe myself while driving there. I grabbed my purse and ran outside to my car. Once I was in I started the engine and pulled my phone from my purse, noticing right away the dozens of missed calls from Mark. I dialed my mom’s number and waited impatiently for her to answer as I sped out of the parking lot.

  “Hi sweetie,” she answered after too many rings.

  “Mom, listen, James has been shot.”

  “Shot? What do you mean?”

  “I don’t know the details but I’m on my way to the hospital in Elmswood right now. I need you to get Hailey from school for me. Tell her what happened but let her know it will all be okay and that I will call her soon. Can you do that for me?” The words all came out in a rush; I was hoping she understood them.

  “Absolutely I will. I’m so sorry Kate.”

  “I need to go Mom. Thank you for taking care of Hailey for me.”

  “It’s okay. You be careful getting to that hospital and call me as soon as you can, okay?”

  “Okay.” I hung up and sped my way to Elmswood.

  * * *

  Mark, Susan, and James’s parents were all standing in the waiting room with worried faces. Susan looked relieved when she saw me walk through the glass doors.

  “Oh my god, Kate,” she said as she rushed up to me with open arms. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

  I hugged her tightly. “How is he?”

  “We don’t know,” she said as we released our grip on one another. “We all just got here not too long ago. The only thing they told us is that he’s in surgery.”

  “Surgery?” my voice shook. “Is it that bad?”

  “Yeah,” Mark said as he approached us. “From what whoever it was who called me said, he was shot at and was hit twice.”

  “Twice?” James’s parents came up to our semi-circle and I gave them each a hug. “I am so sorry,” I told them through the cracking in my voice.

  “So am I,” his mom said. “I can’t lose my boy.”

  “You won’t, Mom,” Mark said as he draped his arm around her. “You raised some strong men.”

  “That’s right,” his dad agreed. He himself was all shaken up, his eyes bloodshot from the obvious effects of crying.

  I turned to Mark. “You said someone called you. Was it the hospital?”

  “No, it was someone from his work. He listed me as his emergency contact after his divorce and I guess he never changed it.”

  “And what exactly did they say?”

  “They said they couldn’t tell me any details because it was a part of an investigation or some crap like that. They just said they had to fly him out because he was shot twice.”

  I was completely devastated. “This is horrible.”

  “It is,” his mother agreed as a tear rolled down her cheek.

  “And the hospital won’t tell us anything either,” Susan said. “So now we all just have to wait.”

  “Does Tyler know?” I asked.

  “I called his mom,” Susan said. “She flipped out and said she would be down here when she could make it, whatever that means.”

  I nodded blankly. “Okay. Well, I guess all we can do now is wait.”

  * * *

  My face was in my palms. I was completely void of emotion; I didn’t know how to react to the situation. I had already cried on the drive down to the hospital and for the first thirty minutes that we sat in the waiting room. After an hour I was trying to be strong and positive, working hard at lifting everyone up even though I wasn’t sure what the outcome of James’s situation would be. But after another hour had passed I was depleted. I was all cried out; I was done being positive. Now all I could think about was losing him, losing the man I was so in love with.

  The smooth sound of the glass doors opening drew our attention, and a man dressed in green scrubs came into the room. “Is the family of James Brown in here?” he asked.

  We all jumped up at his question. “Yes,” Martha answered. “We’re his family; I’m his mother.”

  The man came closer and crossed his arms. “I just finished operating on your son and his condition is stable for now. He is currently in the ICU.”

  “What happened to him?” Robert asked. “We were told he was shot twice.”

  “Yes, he was shot through his left lung as well as through his left side. It appears he was shot at close range with an AK-47, that of which created enough force to penetrate his bullet proof vest and enter his body without creating an exit wound. It collapsed his lung and caused a sufficient amount of blood to enter into the lung space.”

  “Oh my god,” I moaned in despair.

  “We had to sedate him,” the doctor continued. “He is currently intubated.”

  “For how long?” Robert asked.

  The doctor let out a lengthy breath. “Well, we don’t know for sure. If he shows signs that he is reestablishing his lung function on his own then we can wake him up and take the tube out so he can try breathing with the assistance of an oxygen mask.”

  Martha shook her head with a sob. “Is he okay? Will he survive this?”

  “Your son seems like a real fighter. He’s in good health and he’s still young, so that is definitely working in his favor. But the first night is always the toughest with cases like this. If he can make it through tonight in the ICU then his chances are probably fair that he will pull through.”

  “Can we see him?” Mark asked.

  “Yes but it’s strictly family only. He’s still in a very fragile condition and he needs to rest. Are you all in his immediate family?”

  “We’re his parents,” Robert said while hugging his wife against him.

  “And I'm his brother,” Mark said. He pointed to Susan. “This is my wife.”

  Panic. That's what I felt creeping into my body. I wasn't immediate family; I wouldn't be allowed in to see him.

  “This is his fiancé,” Martha spoke up, pointing at me. “I hope you will allow her inside.”

  The doctor nodded. “That shouldn't be a problem. I'll send a nurse to bring you back after we get him more settled.”

  “Thank you,” Robert told him.

  “You're welcome. I’m sorry this has happened.” With that remark he gave us a down-turned smile and left the room.

  “Thank you,” I told Martha. “I was worried I wouldn't be able to see him. That was quick thinking on your part.”

  “Well there's no way we would leave you out here. You're our family.”

  * * *

  “My god,” I sobbed, cupping my hands over my mouth. I was the last one to come into the room; I wanted his family to see him first.

  Susan squeezed my arm. “It's a hard sight to see, but you're strong and he needs you.”

  I nodded and stepped closer to the side of the hospital bed. He didn't look like the James I knew. A tube was running into his mouth and was taped against his face, the tube itself running down his chest and into a machine that was breathing for him. His face was slightly swollen and he had a neck brace on; I.V.’s were pumping fluids into him. He looked so fragile.

  I ran my hand across his hair. “James,” I called quietly to him, trying my best to steady my voice. “It's me; I'm here. You're gonna be okay. You'll get through this. We're all here rooting for you. And Tyler will be here soon to see you.” I leaned in closer and placed a tender kiss against his warm forehead. “I love you.”

  Susan put her arm around my shoulders. “He’ll be okay. Let's go sit down.”

  I nodded and let her lead me to a chair that was nestled in the corner of the room. “I was afraid this was going to happen,” I vented through my tears. “And I was right. Look at him Susan; he might die.”

  “Don't say that,” she shushed me. “You heard what the doctor said. He’s young and healthy; he has a good chance of surviving this.” />
  “I hope so. He's my everything. And he’s a father. God, Tyler . . . The poor thing’s going to be devastated.”

  “Yeah, he really loves his dad. We’ll just have to help him through it. He should be here soon.”

  “You said Tyler's mom freaked out when you called and told her?”

  “Yeah,” she nodded. “It was weird. She started crying and screaming.”

  “Really? That is weird.”

  “You met her before, didn't you?”

  “Yeah when James picked Tyler up one time I went with him. She was cordial to me.”

  “That's good.”

  “Yeah.”

  Mark came over and crossed his arms. “You okay?” he asked me.

  “As okay as I can be under the circumstances. How are you holding up?”

  He shrugged. “I'm handling it. It's Mom and Dad that I'm worried about. I convinced them to get a hotel room so they can rest. Who knows how long it will be until he wakes up.”

  “I'd like to stay here if I can, if you all don't mind.”

  “Of course we don't mind. I’m staying, too.”

  There was a commotion in the hallway outside the room. “Is someone yelling?” Susan asked.

  Mark turned around and glanced at the door. “Sounds like it.”

  We strained to listen. Seconds later a nurse came in the room. “Excuse me,” she huffed, “but I have an irate woman out here saying she's the wife of the patient. I thought you were the patient’s wife,” she said while pointing her finger at me.

  “Jesus,” Mark groaned. “It's probably Heather, my brother’s ex-wife. And this woman you're pointing at is his fiancé.”

  The nurse put her hands on her hips. “That better be the case because it's immediate family allowed in here only. I wouldn't allow the woman out there in this room but she has a boy with her and she says it's the patient’s son.”

  “Yeah that's probably them,” Robert said. “You can let them in.”

  The nurse spun around with irritation and left the room. Moments later Heather and Tyler rushed in.

  “Dad!” Tyler cried out as they both hurried over to the side of the bed. “Wake up, Dad, please!”

  Heather was looking at James the same way I did: She was crying and running her hand over his hair. I exchanged glances between Susan and Mark; we were all a little put off by how she was acting.

  Tyler moved away from his dad and into the arms of his grandparents. “Is he going to be okay?” he sobbed the question.

  Robert knelt down in front of him and put a hand on each of his shoulders. “Your dad will be fine. He's strong, like you.”

  “Don't give him false hope!” Heather shouted. “Look at him! How can he survive something like this?”

  “Knock it off, Heather,” Mark said, walking over to stand beside her. “You need to calm down. I can't believe you would say that in front of your poor son, and James for that matter. He can probably hear you.”

  “He's in a coma; he can't hear a word I'm saying.”

  “No, he’s not in a coma; he's sedated. We need to speak comforting things to him in case he can hear.”

  She pulled in her lips, obviously irritated with what Mark was saying. “Fine,” she clucked. “I'll speak comforting words to him then.” She turned back to James and leaned in, stroking his hair once more. “Hi baby,” she cooed. “It's your wife.”

  My blood was boiling. How dare she talk like that to him. But I wasn't too surprised; James told me she was crazy. Beautiful, but crazy.

  Susan put her arm around me. “Don't worry,” she whispered. “She’s crazy.”

  I wiped my eyes and laughed quietly. “Yeah, I know. I've heard a lot of stories about her.”

  “Well whatever James told you it's true.”

  Tyler came over to us, his blue eyes filled with tears. “Hi Kate,” he said in a small voice.

  I smiled and grabbed onto him. “Hi buddy. You doing okay?”

  “No.”

  I squeezed him as hard as I could. “Yeah, me either.”

  Heather looked over at her son, avoiding eye contact with me. “Let's go, Tyler. It's getting late.”

  “You're leaving already?” Martha asked. “Tyler can stay with us if he wants.”

  “No. I don’t want him around all this negativity.”

  “Negativity?” Mark asked with disbelief. “Your son needs to see his dad,” he told her, being careful to speak down low so Tyler couldn't hear. “He could die.”

  Heather’s eyebrows lifted. “Shush shush, Mark. Your brother might hear you, remember?”

  Mark’s eyes narrowed. “It's a good thing you're leaving; you don't belong in here anyway.”

  I patted Tyler on the back. “Hey, can you do me a huge favor?”

  “What?”

  “I need you to call Hailey and talk to her, let her know that you saw your dad and that he's going to be okay. Do you think you can do that for me?”

  “Yeah,” he said, giving me a tiny smile. He looked so much like his dad.

  “Good boy.” I pulled him in for another hug and then let him go, releasing him into the custody of his crazy mother.

  She stuck her hand out for him to take and left the room, pulling him behind her, not saying goodbye to anyone.

  “Well that was weird,” Mark said.

  * * *

  The nurse was checking James’s vitals in the dimly lit hospital room. Susan, Martha, and Robert all went back to the hotel room to get some rest. Mark was asleep in the chair in the corner. I was leaning against the counter, waiting for the nurse to finish.

  She wrote something down on a clipboard and hung it on the end of his bed. “He seems to be doing well,” she told me quietly. “It's late; why don't you try and get some rest?”

  “I don't want to leave him. I’m afraid he’ll wake up when I'm not here,” I confessed.

  “I understand, but we’re keeping him heavily sedated. He won't wake up until the doctor reverses that.”

  “I know, but, I think I'll stay.”

  She smiled warmly. “I understand.”

  When she left the room I went to the side of his bed and sat on the chair that was pulled up next to it, taking his hand in mine. I stroked his fingers, carefully tracing over his knuckles while trying to avoid the I.V. that was poked deep into his skin, taking in the beauty in just that part of his body. I smiled. “Even your hands are attractive. And strong; so strong. Gentle. Rough, yet gentle.” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Your mom told the doctor I was your fiancé. That's the only reason I'm in here right now, otherwise I'd be pacing the waiting room. They let Susan in too so that was nice of them. They're nice here; I think they're doing a good job of taking care of you.” Silence. I laughed lightly. “I have to admit I like being called your fiancé, although I would never relay that little piece of information to you.” Welling of tears. I leaned forward, placing my elbows on the bed, and brought his hand to my face. “Please be okay,” I sobbed quietly in the muted room. “I can't lose you.” After a few moments I kissed his fingertips and looked up at his peaceful face. “I wish I could see your beautiful blue eyes.” Silence. “You know, I fell in love with your eyes right away. The way you look at me is just . . .” My words trailed off. The machines beeped calmly around him. “The way you look at me, James. I need you to look at me again. Hold me in your stare; hold me in these arms . . .” I ran my hand along his bicep and stopped on his tattoo. “I love you. I've always loved you. Please, make it through this.”

  Silence. Calm beeping. Low lights. Quiet tears.

  Fourteen

  “Kate?”

  A warm hand was on my shoulder, and a warm hand was holding one of my own. My eyes fluttered open and I saw my fingers laced together with James’s. I sat up and looked at the man next to me. It was Robert. “Oh, hi,” I said tiredly.

  “How are you doing, sweetheart?”

  “Uh, okay. I must have fallen asleep.” I looked over at James. He seemed to have a littl
e more color in his face.

  “The doctor’s going to take him off of the sedatives today.”

  “Really? So soon?”

  “Yeah, I guess the longer they keep him on the ventilator the more potential problems can arise. The doctor came and assessed him early this morning. You must have slept through it.”

  “I'm surprised he didn't try to wake me up.”

  “I know. He seems like a caring doctor; maybe he didn't feel it was necessary to disturb you.”

  I smiled and looked back at James. “He looks better today.”

  “He does.”

  “And he made it through the night without any problems, so that's good.” I stood and squeezed James’s hand before letting it go; my fingers were sore from being intertwined with his all night.

  “Why don't you go get something to eat? You need to keep your health up just as much as he does.”

  I smiled lovingly at James as I brushed his cheek with the back of my hand. “I'm not too hungry, but I can use a coffee.”

  “Atta girl. I’m going to have a chat with my son while you're gone.”

  “I'm sure he'll love that.” I bent down and kissed James on his forehead. “I love you.”

  * * *

  I sat in the corner with Susan and watched as the medical staff brought James out of sedation. It was a slow process, in fact they spent the majority of the day easing him out of it.

  Martha turned around and looked at us with hope. “I think he's finally waking up.” She was by the side of his bed along with Robert and Mark, all of them patiently waiting for him to open his eyes.

  “I bet it's hard for you to be back here, huh?” Susan asked.

  I nodded. “Yeah, but they are his real family. They deserve to be the first faces he sees when he opens his eyes.”

  “You're his real family, too.”

  “I know; you know what I mean.”

  “They want you up there with them.”

  “I know they do, but, I want to give them their own time with him. Don't worry, I'll get up there real quick.” I gave her a reassured smile.

  I wanted to be up there; I wanted to be the first person he saw when he opened his beautiful blue eyes. But I also was a mother. If Hailey was in the same situation I would want to be right there to see that she was okay. I was giving his family the space to experience that miraculous moment. He was Martha and Robert’s baby.