“Would you like a drink of water?” Stacy asked quickly, reaching for the cup on the bedside stand.
Randy simply nodded and took a few tentative sips of water from the straw as Stacy held it for her. She grabbed Stacy’s hand as she turned to put the cup down again. “Are you sure.. that you’re ok?” She said, trying to keep her heavy eyes open.
“Are you kidding me? Don’t worry about me; you’re the one laying her with a bullet hole in her leg!” Stacy carefully sat on the edge of the bed. “You need to get some rest.” She didn’t miss the fact that Randy was still holding her hand.
Randy closed her eyes for so long that Stacy thought she had fallen asleep. When she opened them again, she lifted her heavy hand up to Stacy’s cheek. “As long as you’re ok, I’ll be fine. I was scared to death that he was going to pull the trigger before you got to the end of the aisle and I couldn’t do a damn thing.”
“Really, I’m okay. Thank you for saving me even though you were crazy to do it.” Stacy said as she gently squeezed Randy’s hand. “You get some rest.” She carefully got up from the bed and slipped out the door.
Her heart was racing and she felt like her cheek was on fire. It’s just the emotion from the incident. She said goodbye to Jeff, heading out to her car. Tomorrow would be hellish as she would certainly have mandatory meetings with Internal Affairs and the department psychologist.
As she lay in bed after she got home, her mind continued to replay the shooting over and over. She tried to figure out what she could have done differently. If I had tried to pull my weapon he would have fired before I could get it out of the holster. She closed her eyes tighter, trying to forget about Randy’s blood all over the floor and all over her.
She drifted off finally thinking about the conflicting feelings that had cursed through her when Randy had touched her cheek so gently.
****
“I think if I get any bigger, you might as well just get the wheel barrow out to move me around with.” Rebecca complained as Shawn helped her into their car following a routine doctor’s appointment.
Shawn grinned as she tucked the seatbelt under Rebecca’s very large belly. “I’d happily move you around in a wheel barrow but maybe we should stick to something a little more hip, like a scooter?”
Rebecca gave her a piercing glance. “Ha ha. You just keep poking at me lady and we’ll see how long you can last without my touch.”
“Uncle, I cry uncle. I freely admit that I cannot last long without your touch. In fact, I kind of need it right now.” She reached over and pulled Rebecca’s hand towards her crotch.
“Shawn! Someone could see us!” Rebecca said in an exasperated tone. “You can wait until we get home and if you’re a good girl, I will make sure you are rewarded.”
Shawn grinned and pulled out of the parking space. “I can’t believe tomorrow is already the baby shower. Time has seemed to have flown by. You only have nine more weeks to go to make it full-term.”
“There is no way in hell this body is going to be able to hold these babies for another nine weeks. You heard the doctor. She is going to be happy with four more weeks, which is why we are going with the steroid shots to help get their lungs developed more quickly.” Rebecca shifted uncomfortably in the seat.
Shawn nodded, knowing that the strain on Rebecca’s petite body was taking its toll. She would be lucky if she made it another four weeks, which is why the doctor had also talked about her working only another two weeks and then starting her maternity leave early.
“Have you talked to Stacy?” Rebecca asked.
Shawn nodded. “Briefly. She seems off and I’m worried about her. She hardly said ten words during the conversation. When I asked if she had been up to see Randy, she changed the subject and then said she would have to call me back.”
“Maybe you should stop by her apartment. You might get her to talk to you face to face easier than on the phone. At least it’s harder to get rid of you! Have you heard how Randy’s doing?”
“Nope. Maybe we should check on that today. Maybe her condition is not good and that’s why Stacy is avoiding the subject?” Shawn said with dread. “I hope that’s not it.”
Rebecca picked up her cell phone and dialed. “I’ll call John Marshall. He’ll let me know what her status is.” She said as she dialed. John Marshall was the charge nurse on days in the trauma wing. After a few minutes, she was transferred to his portable. “John? This is Rebecca Johns. I was calling to check on the status of a patient of yours. Randy Cash. Yes, the police officer. Oh. Okay, well thank you!” She hung up and looked at Shawn with a perplexed look on her face.
“Well, what did he say?” Shawn prodded.
“He said she was released this morning. Her partner, Jeff, transported her home.” Rebecca repeated the charge nurses’ information.
Shawn looked back and Rebecca with a concerned look on her face. “Well that bothers me for a couple of reasons. Why didn’t Stacy know that and didn’t she say that Randy didn’t have any family? Who is going to take care of her until she’s able to get around without crutches?”
“Maybe you should drop me off at the house and go have a talk with Stacy. It seems there is more going on then we realized.” Rebecca said reassuringly. “We’ll get to the bottom of it. I have a feeling I might know what the problem is, but let’s see what you find out.”
“What do you think it is?” Shawn
