Okay, let me preface this by saying that some of you mistook the last part as the final chapter with a WTF/Twilight Zone ending. That was never intended to be the case. It was merely a cliffhanger leading into this one. Please keep in mind, I used to write cop shows and I did this all the time. If your vote was low because you thought that was a bad ending, please reconsider after reading this segment and amend your vote. The first page of this part was already written before the last chapter even posted. I would NEVER end a story on here as a dream, fantasy or mental delusion.
*
Sarah's question took me aback.
"Umm, huh?" I mumbled, still not fully awake.
"I said, what are you doing in bed with your patient?" she demanded. "You should be down in PT arranging a therapist to get her going as soon as possible."
I looked down, and to my tremendous relief I was not dressed in scrubs, but still in my street clothes from yesterday's events. It was real after all! So why wasn't Jenny responsive? What a scare she'd thrown at me!
"I, uh... I dozed off I guess." I replied groggily.
Sarah smiled.
"I was just having a little fun with you." she explained slyly. "I already set it up. Somebody will be here at Ten to take her down. In the meantime, why don't you take a shower and get cleaned up? You can go with her if you want. I'm giving you the night off tonight, so you can catch up on your sleep."
"Thanks." I replied. "Look, I'm sorry she snapped at you yesterday."
"She's been through a lot. I understand." Sarah responded, as she turned around. "Remember, Ten sharp!"
I reached out and shook Jenny's shoulder again, this time with more vigor.
"Hey Jenny!" I said loudly. "Wake up!"
Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled at me.
"Good morning." she said thickly, sticking her tongue out a few times. "Oh, I'm so thirsty!"
"I'll help you." I offered.
I raised the bed so she was in more of a seated position, and filled her cup with water. She took several sips through the straw and smiled again.
"Thank you. That's much better."
"Can you move at all?" I inquired.
Her fingers twitched slightly and she grinned proudly.
"Good Girl!" I exclaimed. "Keep practicing. Your physical therapist will be here shortly, to take you down to the gym and start working with you. I'll come along if you'd like."
Jenny nodded slightly.
"That would be great! Thank you Jack."
She sighed deeply.
"When this is over, I want everything we talked about to happen. In the meantime, I trust you with my life. I need you to contact my attorney in Lousyville and tell him what has happened. If my family is involved, he'll know how to stop their plans."
"Just hope he's not part of it." I cautioned. "That kind of money could corrupt a lot of people."
Jenny shook her head.
"No. Grandpa set this up with him for a reason. I trust him, Jack." she replied. "He's always handled my mishaps. You can trust him too. Please let him know I'm okay and what has happened. He'll know what to do."
I nodded and smiled; then kissed her on the forehead.
"Okay Sweetie." I responded. "Then I'll trust him too. He can handle all of the legalities while the investigation is going on. At the very least, he can get your accounts freed up so you can start managing some of your finances again. If sure all of your creditors including the insurance company, froze your accounts and closed them for non payment."
Jenny looked concerned.
"Do you think the insurance company will try to get out of paying? My bills here must be in the millions."
"They can try all right," I replied, "but they can't get out of paying if your policy was paid when the accident happened. As long as you catch all of your payments up, they'll have to continue honoring it too. Besides the hospital is at fault for what happened to you. If they send you a bill, they'd be stupid. Either way, don't worry about it; your lawyer will know how to handle all of that. Now, I'm going to take a shower and make myself presentable, so that I can follow you down to PT, okay?"
"Wish I could join you!" Jenny called out wistfully.
"Me too." I said with a smile. "All in good time. Do your best with your recovery, and the sooner you get your strength back, the sooner you can get out of here and get back to a normal life."
I accompanied her down the physical therapy area to encourage her while she did her best to try and get her muscles moving. Since waking up, more strength had returned and she was now able to wiggle her fingers fully, as well as her hands and feet. Over the next few weeks, she recovered quite well; although it would take months to regain her full strength and muscle structure. No worries though; we had plenty of time!
Three weeks later, she was discharged from the hospital and allowed to come home with me. I set her up on a workout schedule to help build initial strength back into her body. She could work on muscle tone later. For now, the physical therapist had approved of my workout routine so we were sticking to it. It also allowed me to work out with her at the same time so that we could encourage each other in our progress.
We were really getting along well; like we had known each other for years. Our only regret was that I had to go to work every night and leave her alone. She was pressuring me to quit and take my "allowance" to spend more time together, but I felt obligated to the hospital for some reason. That was, until I got called in to see the board of directors. I felt certain it had to do with Jenny, so I asked her to accompany me. She was more than happy to join me for a change.
We arrived at the mahogany and glass conference and office areas, where we were greeted by both Sarah and Laura. I wasn't expecting to see either of them there, so it came as a surprise when they both informed us that they'd been called in as well. We all sat down and waited for the receptionist to send us in for whatever it was we were summoned for.
"President Edelstein will see you now." she informed us, as though she was in charge of some inaugural ceremony in Washington, DC.
"I wonder what his Royal Hiney wants with all of us?" I wondered.
Sarah snickered, and the receptionist gave me a stern look.
"You shouldn't address our president that way." she admonished. "He's an honorable and respectable man."
"I'm sure he respects the 'all you can eat' buffet too." I muttered, eliciting snickers from everyone except the receptionist.
We were ushered into the conference room, where the egotistical balding butterball waved his hand to dismiss the receptionist. He was at the head of a long table, and several other men in suits were present as well, most likely the board of directors. He looked disdainfully at Jenny.
"And you are?" he inquired haughtily. "This is a closed meeting for disciplinary action. Are you an attorney for one of these employees?"
"No." I answered for her. "You mean you don't recognize her?"
"No, why should I?" he retorted in a most narcissistic manner.
