Kelly looked back at Midnight, sensing the threat, even if Midnight hadn’t voiced one. Her eyes bounced to Quinn and then to Sebastian and Kashena who had both walked up behind Midnight. Her look changed and Quinn could see the bitch coming out in Kelly, and knew it was time to intervene.
“Kell,” Quinn said, moving forward slightly, “You don’t want to be stupid right now, trust me on that…” She said, her voice trailing off as she put her arm around Kelly’s shoulders and turned her in the opposite direction walking her away as she talked, “These people don’t take much crap from people like you and me, so we’re just gonna go down here.” She continued to talk as she walked Kelly away from the rest of the group.
Midnight glanced up at Sebastian and Kashena, “That one’s pretty effective, huh?” she said, grinning.
With that she walked back over to where she’d been sitting. Cat smiled, thinking that she didn’t want to be Kelly if she decided to be stupid and grateful to Quinn for intervening. The last thing they needed right now was a big ugly scene.
A few hours later, Jericho’s parents arrived. Midnight stood up, walking over to greet them.
“I’m Midnight Chevalier,” she said, extending her hand respectfully to Jericho’s father, “I called you, Jericho works for me.”
“I am Amir,” Jericho’s father said, inclining his head to Midnight, “This is my wife Teresa.” His accent was very clear.
Midnight turned to Jericho’s mother, extending her hand as well. Teresa Tehrani wore the hijab of the Iranian women in shades of green, her blue eyes so much like Jericho’s.
She took Midnight’s hand, “Thank you for calling us,” she said, her voice soft.
“How is our daughter?” Amir asked, his concern clear on his handsome face.
“She’s in critical condition at this point, but they’re still working on her.” Midnight said, her voice reflecting the concern she had.
“And was it Abdi after all?” Amir asked, his tone angry.
“Yes,” Midnight said, nodding, “But he’s dead, so he won’t be a concern any longer,” she said, her eyes steady as she said it.
“Good,” Amir practically spat, “Khāk to saret, dirt on his head.”
Teresa nodded agreement. Midnight wasn’t sure exactly what he meant, but she took it to mean that he was glad Abdi was dead.
“How did he die?” Teresa surprised Midnight by asking.
“He was shot,” Midnight said, “Once by Zoey, and then again by my bodyguard.”
“Zoey,” Teresa echoed, remembering Jericho mentioning that name in their last phone call with her. “This is the girl my daughter loves?”
“Yes ma’am,” Midnight said, both pleased and relieved that Jericho’s parents apparently knew about Zoey.
Midnight lead them over to Zoey, who looked up when they got there. Her eyes already looked haunted, Midnight couldn't help but think that the girl was going into shock. Even so, she looked down at Zoey.
“Zoey,” Midnight said, reaching out to touch her on the shoulder, “These are Jericho's parents.”
Zoey blinked a couple of times, struggling to assimilate the information. Then she moved to stand up on unsteady feet. It was obvious to Amir and Teresa that this girl was deeply affected by their daughter's condition. Without a word Teresa stepped toward Zoey and hugged her gently. Amir smiled softly, nodding his head.
After a few long moments, Teresa moved to sit Zoey down, and she sat down next to the girl, holding her hand. Amir took up a position on the other side of Zoey. Midnight watched with a warm smile, Jericho's parents had already taken possession of Zoey as part of their family. It warmed her heart to see it.
A couple of hours later Zoey's parents arrived. Marie moved to her daughter, hugging her.
"She'll be okay, honey," Marie said, "She's a very strong woman, she'll be okay." Zoey cried at hearing those words.
John looked at Amir and Teresa and knew this had to be Jericho's parents. He extended his hand to Jericho's father.
"I'm John Cabbott," he said, "Zoey's father."
Amir had stood when John extended his hand, he took John's hand shaking it, “I am Amir Tehrani, that is my wife Teresa."
"Pleasure sir," John said, smiling and nodding at Teresa, "I'm very sorry for what's happening here. My wife and I recently met Jericho, she's got a great head on her shoulders and a heart to match."
"Thank you," Amir said, grateful for the kind words.
It warmed Amir's heart to see so many people there for his daughter. She had apparently inspired great loyalty in a lot of friends and coworkers. It was very good to see.
It was still another five hours until a surgeon came out and called Jericho's name. His eyes widened as so many people stood up and moved toward. The poor man looked exhausted and Midnight took pity on him.
"Let's let Zoey and the families hear what's going on," Midnight said, gesturing for everyone to stay back a bit.
Everyone did as Midnight suggested.
"Thank you," the doctor said to Midnight graciously, then he looked at Zoey, her parents and the Tehranis. "Director Tehrani sustained severe injuries," he said, his tone grave, "But we've been working on her for..." his voice trailed off as he looked up at the clock on the wall, "About fifteen hours now. I think we've repaired most of the damage. Now it's a matter of time to see how well her body heals and to make sure there's no infection that sets in. I'm upgrading her to serious condition," he said, "But please know that her condition is very precarious at this point, but I'm very hopeful."
Zoey nodded, breathing a sigh of relief, "When can we see her?" she asked the doctor.
"She'll be in recovery for about three hours, but then you can see her," he said, looking at everyone around them, "It'll need to be short visits though."
"Can I stay with her?" Zoey asked, her look so earnest that the doctor honestly didn't have the heart to tell her no.
"I will make an exception, since Director Tehrani is who she is," he said, smiling warmly.
"Thank you doctor," Amir said, nodding to the man and extending his hand to him,
"You're welcome sir," the doctor said, smiling. "I'll have the nurse let you know when you can go back." He told them.
Three hours later, true to his word, the nurse told them they could go back and see Jericho. Zoey walked into the room and saw all the machines that were hooked up and felt a little faint. Steeling herself, she moved toward the bed. For all intents and purposes, Jericho looked completely normal. Her skin was still a bit pale, but her face was unmarked. Her arm was bandaged and the hospital gown covered the other bandages. It was hard to believe she was so gravely ill. Moving to her side, Zoey touched Jericho's face gently, then leaned down to kiss her on the cheek.
"Honey, your parents are here." She said, even though she wasn’t sure Jericho was at all conscious. "My mom and dad are here too."
Zoey moved out of the way, letting Teresa and Amir see their daughter. An hour later, the nurse came in saying that everyone needed to leave, but that the doctor had made an exception for Zoey. Zoey walked her parents and the Tehranis out to the waiting room, walking over to Sebastian.
"Sebastian, could you please take my parents and Jericho's to the house?" she said, looking at the Tehrani's, "I know she'd want you to stay at the house." She told them.
The Tehrani's nodded, "Thank you, we would be greatly honored."
It was a full week before Jericho regained consciousness. It was the middle of the night. Zoey had taken to curling up in the chair pulled as close to the side of the bed. Sebastian had brought in a cushioned chair absconded from a break room down the hall. Zoey had been grateful for the change. She slept under Jericho's DLE windbreaker, because it smelled like her.
When Jericho woke, she did so slowly, moving very carefully, her eyes staring up at the ceiling as she listened to the machines beep, click and whir. She knew she was badly hurt, Abdi had done some serious damage. She'd known that as it was happening, but she'd been bound and
determined to keep him from hurting anyone else around her, even if it had meant he killed her. The last statement he'd made, about raping Zoey, had meant she needed to stop him. She couldn't let him attack Zoey. She'd been conscious enough to know that he had been shot numerous times. She didn't know who had shot him though, that had been when the fight had left her.
Now lying in the hospital, she wondered how badly she was hurt. She could feel the pain meds pumping through her, and that meant she wasn't feeling near what she could be. Moving her neck around, she turned her head slowly, feeling a whole host of twinges, she looked over and saw Zoey. She was curled up, her blond hair back in a ponytail with tendrils of hair escaping, her hand curled around a handful of Jericho's windbreaker that she lay under.
It was obvious Zoey had been there awhile. Her laptop was there next to her in the chair, there was a book, a banana peel and a Jamba Juice cup. Jericho couldn't help but compare this time to the time she'd awaken in hospital in El Paso, with Kelly nowhere in evidence. It had taken her wife almost the whole day to show up, and even then, she'd stayed about an hour, and then made an excuse to get out of there. Her excuse was that she hated hospitals. Who liked hospitals?
Jericho stared at this beautiful girl who she was lucky enough to have found and thought about what would happen if she didn't pull through this, it broke her heart a little bit. That thought had her reaching out, calling Zoey's name softly.
Zoey opened her eyes, and stared at her in wonder.
"Jericho..." she breathed, like she thought she might be dreaming.
She moved out of the chair, moving to take Jericho's outstretched hand, holding it with both of hers. Her eyes searched Jericho's, as Jericho did everything in her power to stay awake, even though the medication was making her tired again.
"It's okay, honey," Zoey told her soothingly, "Go back to sleep. You need to rest, let your body heal. I'll be right here..." Zoey said, her hands smoothing Jericho's hair, touching her cheek soothingly.
Jericho shook her head, not wanting to sleep, "Love... you..." she said, her voice a rough whisper.
"I love you too, Jericho," Zoey said, leaning down to whisper into Jericho's ear, “I'm right here, come right back for me, okay? I need you here with me, I love you..."
Jericho drifted out again. Zoey was still thrilled to report to everyone that Jericho had awakened and had spoken to her, however briefly.
The next time Jericho awoke was two days later. This time it was light outside, Zoey was tapping away on her laptop when Jericho woke. She saw the movement of Jericho shifting on the bed. She immediately set her laptop aside and got up to look down at Jericho. Jericho hadn't opened her eyes yet, but she was moving her head around on the pillow and grimacing.
"What's wrong, babe?" Zoey asked, even as Amir and Teresa came into the room.
"Jericho, what's wrong?" Zoey asked softly, then she realized that Jericho was moving her head around like she did when her neck was tense.
Reaching over, she slid her hand under Jericho's neck, feeling her muscles corded tensely. She began to rub her neck, feeling Jericho sigh and settle more comfortably again. She was asleep again then, but it wasn't long before she awoke again that day.
Zoey's parents were there this time. They told her they were glad she was okay, and that she needed to keep getting stronger. Jericho managed a few words with them, but still wasn't really strong enough to talk a lot before she got tired. Her still healing lung was causing her to tire easily.
It was a few more days before Jericho started seeming more like herself. The doctor's had limited her visitors to family only, with the exception of Zoey. Surprisingly Kelly had been talked out of asserting her familial connection with Jericho to force a visit. She'd had it explained to her that if she forced her way into Jericho's hospital room and upset her, one of the many people who loved Jericho would find a way to repay that favor. Kelly had quieted instantly; she however, had not left.
One afternoon Jericho opened her eyes and looked over at Zoey, who was once again working on her laptop.
"You done with that dissertation yet?" Jericho queried, her voice still rough from disuse.
"Hey you!" Zoey exclaimed, surprised.
"Hey," Jericho said, smiling.
"Your parents will be right back," Zoey said.
Jericho nodded, her eyes taken in Zoey's face. "You look really tired, babe..." she said.
"I'm okay," Zoey said, "You don't waste energy worrying about me," she chided.
"My job," Jericho said, grinning.
"Not your job," Zoey countered.
"Yes, it is," Jericho said, the look in her blue eyes very serious.
Zoey canted her head at her, "Is that why you charged at him?"
Jericho looked back at her, not saying anything, but her eyes said everything.
"Jericho..." Zoey breathed, "He could have killed you."
"And that would have been okay," Jericho said, "Just not you."
"And what would I do without you?" Zoey asked, her eyes filling with tears.
"Don't cry..." Jericho said, reaching out to pull Zoey down to her. "I'm still here babe, I'm still here..." she soothed.
Neither of them had noticed that Amir and Teresa had walked in early in the conversation. They looked at each other, smiling because it was obvious their daughter had found her dtashe del-am, the fire of her heart.
Amir politely cleared his throat to let them know they were in the room. Zoey moved to stand, looking over at them. Jericho looked over at them, smiling.
"Pedar o' madar," Jericho said, smiling at her parents, calling them father and mother in Farsi, a sign of respect for her father's mother tongue.
"Dokhtar," Amir said, looking down at his daughter, "What have you done to yourself this time?" He asked, smiling fondly at Jericho.
"Always something..." Jericho said, grinning.
“This was too close, Jericho Jael Tehrani," Teresa said to her daughter.
Jericho grimaced, knowing that her mother meant what she was saying.
"Moteasesfam madar," Jericho said, apologizing in Farsi, her look mournful.
"As long as you're getting better now," Teresa said, her tone stern.
"Yes ma'am," Jericho said, grinning.
Later when Amir and Teresa had left for the evening, and after Jericho had slept for a while again, Zoey looked over at her.
"You were speaking Farsi earlier, weren't you?" Zoey asked.
Jericho nodded, trying to push herself up into a sitting position, Zoey immediately got up to help her.
"Thanks," Jericho said
"So I've never really heard you speak it before. I mean that day with Cat at the office when you were trying to figure out what he'd said to her, but never before that. Why?” Zoey asked.
Jericho shrugged, "I don't know, I guess I really don't use it here."
"Here? You mean California?" Zoey asked.
"America," Jericho clarified.
"Why?" Zoey asked.
"Well, probably for the same reason that many Muslims worry about wearing robes or hijabs or niqabs or thobes, Americans don't like it."
Zoey looked back at her, surprised by this. "But if it's you," she began.
"It's part of me," Jericho said, "But it's not all of me."
Zoey shook her head. Jericho was a constant revelation.
Cat crawled into bed next to Jovina, wrapping herself around the other woman and kissing her bare shoulder. Jovina sighed, laying there, enjoying the feel of Catalina's embrace. She'd been at the hospital so much over the last couple of weeks, it had been a few nights since Cat had been home.
After a few minutes Jovina turned over, looking at Cat, "How's Jericho?"
"Getting stronger every day," Cat said, "Midnight finally kicked me out," she said with a grin.
"I like Midnight so much..." Jovina said wistfully as she winked at Cat.
"Yeah, yeah..." Cat said, grinning.
"She sends my girl home to me, I'm not going to compla
in." Jovina said, snuggling closer to Cat.
"Your girl, huh?" Cat asked, grinning.
"Yes," Jovina said, giving her a narrowed look, "You gotta a problem with that?" She asked, her grin spoiling the attempt at a tough look.
"No problem at all," Cat said, leaning in to kiss Jovina's lips, "Actually I was thinking about that."
"That?" Jovina queried.
"Us," Cat clarified.
"Okay..." Jovina said, her tone hesitant.
"Don't do that," Cat said, her voice soft, "It's not a bad thing, okay?" Jovina drew in a deep breath, blowing it out and nodding.
"Babe, I know I've dropped bombs on you before, okay? But this isn't like that."
"Okay," Jovina said, her tone more positive this time.
"We've been doing good, right?" Cat asked. "I mean, I have, right? Better, since we talked?"
Jovina nodded, "Yes, you've been great," she said smiling.
Cat nodded, "Okay," she said, looking like she was still thinking things through.
"Did you change your mind about staying in LA?" Jovina asked, sounding worried.
"No, babe," Cat said, "Actually the exact opposite," she said, touching Jovina on the chin, "What do you think about us buying a place together?"
Jovina stared back at Cat, unable to believe those words had just come out of Cat's mouth.
"Are you serious?" Jovina had to ask.
Cat chuckled, "Wow, I didn't think I was that bad..." she said.
"No, you're not bad'," Jovina said, "But I really didn't think you'd be ready for something like that for a long time."
"Well, I think it's time I join the rest of the lesbians and move a bit faster with my relationships," Cat said, winking at Jovina. "There is a condition to this, though."
"What's the condition?" Jovina asked.
"I need to either sell the house in San Diego, or I need to get Bet to buy me out of it."
"Is she likely to do that?" Jovina asked, looking skeptical.
"Well, I had it written into the contract, so yeah she really won't have much of a choice. We can try to sell it, or she can buy me out."
Turning Tables (WeHo Book 3) Page 23