Who Says Timing Isn't Everything by Sammi M.The room seemed quieter to Jim as he stood in the doorway. *Of course it does. She's not connected to as much hardware as before. That has to be a good sign.*
Naomi looked up from the hand she was gripping tightly and conveyed her welcome in her smile. "You can come in. A couple of the nurses are taking pity on me since I have to pull double duty with two sick kids. They've relaxed the ten-minute rule and they said you could join me." She held out her free hand. "Come on; I promise not to bite."
The detective grabbed a chair and positioned it beside the older woman. When he was seated, she patted his arm and turned back to the quiet figure in the bed. "How is she? I noticed there weren't as many wires and tubes as last time. That's good, right?"
"Very good. The doctors have said for every day she holds on the more she has a chance." She caressed the peaceful face. "She's a fighter; she'll get past this, just like she has before." Naomi continued to touch her daughter as if reassuring herself she was still there. "I meant to tell you thank you."
"For what?"
"For running the halls, in your condition, so that neither of them would feel alone when I was with the other. For being a big brother when they needed you. For accepting Schuy into your heart even when you didn't have to. For opening your heart and your home to Blair and for bringing them both back to me."
"I didn't bring them back. They're probably like this *because* of me. I sort of lost it at the "
Naomi turned back to the struggling man and took his hands in hers. "No matter what happened at that warehouse, you were willing to go in there and turn your back on a man who could have killed you without a second glance." Seeing his look. "Schuyler *cannot* keep anything away from me, no matter how much she wants to. It might take years, but I eventually get the whole story. When she came home after her meetings, I knew something was bothering her, so I asked her and the whole plan came out." She tightened her hold. "She also told me how frightened she was and how much she was relying on your strength."
"Schuy does *not* need anyone else's strength; she has plenty. Both your children do."
"Blair is strong he had to be with what's he's faced. I remember him as a little boy and no matter what life threw at him, he always bounced back literally. But Schuy She puts on this big act, but that's all it is. I have seen her facing off someone three-times her size and then I've had to hold her through the night when the demons have gotten to be too much." She sighed, "I know my daughter, Jim. She comes off as this tough little cookie, but underneath, she's still that terrified thirteen-year-old crying for her mother to come make everything all right." Naomi turned her head and stared at the wall deep in her memories. "This is almost exactly like before. Two rooms, two different floors and my feeling helpless and out of control. Granted, I don't have the guilt factor from before, which is a definite improvement, but it's still close enough."
It was Jim's turn to offer comfort. "Blair told us what happened and nothing I heard led me to believe you could have done anything to stop it; in fact, you might have been an added attraction. Neither of them blames you."
"But, I blame me. No matter how much I meditate and try to purge all of the negativity surrounding that time, I can't get past one thing. I let my children down. If I had been there, I would have gladly taken their places, but I wasn't. I don't believe on dwelling on the past what good does it do you except as a life lesson but you don't know how many times I've wished I never accepted that invitation."
"Naomi, I know this is probably hard for you to hear, but sometimes we have to accept things do happen for a reason good or bad. It's taken me most of my life to realize that, but I have." He smiled. "Certain things that happened to me when I was in the army were so horrible it hurts to remember them, but if they hadn't happened, I might never have met Blair. And, I'd rather go through them again ten times over than to think of my life without him around." Taking a deep breath. "I know what they went through was horrible, but look at the people they are now. Your son would go out of his way to help someone and your daughter would probably be right beside him. She threw herself in front of a firing gun to protect us and I was around when Blair dragged himself and this guy who had given him grief down to the ground to protect the guy from being run over by a truck. Your kids did these things without thought of themselves because they've experienced the pains and agonies and they don't want anyone else to have to go through that. Instead of dwelling on how bad things were then, be thankful they survived and are the special people they are now."
The little light that usually danced in the elder Sandburg's eyes which had been noticeably absent since she arrived at the hospital suddenly sparked to back to life. Jim could tell she still wasn't completely over the guilt, but she had started to feel better about her part in everything.
"My children tell me they've adopted you."
"That's what they tell me, though, why they'd want to claim someone with my set ways is beyond me." His smile returned. "But, I think I'm the luckier for it. I know I definitely came out with the best part of the deal."
Naomi suddenly seemed to come to life and the detective wondered if this was where the kids got it. "Is that what you think? *They* got the better deal? I think you're underestimating yourself and when they're both up and about, they'll probably relieve you of that notion. From what they told me, they consider themselves very lucky to have 'big brother' like you." She raised her hand and cupped his face, "And if my children consider themselves blessed to have you in the family, then who am I to say different - even if I'm not old enough to have a son your age?" She took his other hand and placed a maternal kiss on the back of it. "Welcome to the family, Jim. What we lack in size, we more than make up in love."
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%Several days had passed, and, though the doctors were optimistic, Schuyler still hadn't awakened. Because she no longer required the constant monitoring or the vent, she'd been moved down to an intermediate care floor and her family had taken advantage of the less strict rules and camped out.
Blair had been released the day before with a list of dos and don'ts and he had agreed to all of them as they wheeled him out to Jim's truck. But, as soon as the nurse was out of sight, he and Jim had sneaked back up the elevator after re-parking the vehicle and headed straight for Schuy's room. Blair's doctor had been expecting the move and was waiting with a few admonitions and a rollaway bed so his patient could rest while he stood watch. A red-faced Jim promised to make sure the younger man took all of his pills on time and took frequent naps while they waited. Naomi just sat beside the bed and laughed until her sides hurt.
After they were sure the doctor was gone, Blair glared at his mother. "That was not funny. Do you realize what he did to my heart when we turned the corner and there he was. I thought they were going to have to re-admit me!"
Jim was pouting. "I can't understand why he came down so hard on me. I mean, granted, I wasn't just released from the hospital, but he turned those Blair eyes on me and what could I say. You're his mother, you know the damage they could do. I didn't stand a chance."
Seeing Jim's put upon look set Naomi off again and soon they all were laughing until a nice nurse poked her head in. "Though I am a firm believer that laughter can cure many ills and is probably best in this situation, I think the rest of the floor would greatly appreciate it if you'd keep it down a little bit."
The older adults sobered quickly, but Blair decided to take advantage of the situation. *After all, she is a nurse and I'm only an hour or so from having been a patient, and she is pretty * "Umm, could you come over here and please check my shoulder. I think I might have hurt something with all of my laughter."
The nurse grinned at him. "I have to make rounds right now, but if it's still hurting later, I'll check it. Otherwise, I'll leave my home number at the desk so you can pick it up at your leisure." She winked at him. "I like a man who thinks fast on his feet or off of them."
The young lady left the room closing the door tightly because that had set the other two off again.
The night had passed quietly and the next day found all of them in less than positive moods. This was taking too long and none of them liked seeing the normally vibrant young woman so still. Old fears were starting to resurface and it was taking all of their strength not to show their worry.
Jim decided they needed something to distract them. "Okay, tell me about the bear. How did you find one like that?"
Blair smiled and his excitement filled the room. "Her shrinks had told us she needed something to make her feel safe when neither of us were around. I asked them what kind of something and they said a stuffed animal or a dog you know, a comfort factor. Well, I knew with a pet there'd be a clean-up factor and I was so not into that, so I went looking for a stuffed animal. I went all over Cascade, but nothing screamed at me 'protection', so I tried Seacouver and then Seattle. I was just about to give up when I went into this guy's shop that specialized in homemade stuffed animals. I told him my story and how I'd searched everywhere only to come up empty-handed. The strangest smile came over his face and he asked me to come into his workshop in back."
"You followed a strange man to a back room without anybody knowing where you were?"
"Jim, kill the cop for a minute." He rolled his eyes. "Man, it's like a disease. Anyway, I followed him and in the corner was this massive bear. I mean it was huge! He told me he'd made it for a bit in a movie about these killer teddy bears that were terrorizing this little town in Canada. I looked for it to come out in the theatre but it never did. I found out it went straight to video and after seeing it, I knew why. I mean, you should have seen how cheap the sets "
"Sandburg!"
"Oh, right. Sorry. Anyway, he told me the filming company didn't want to keep it even though they'd paid an outrageous amount for it and he'd been keeping it back there until he could figure out what to do with it. He looked at it as fate I'd walked through his door.
"Now, I was prepared to shell out a couple of hundred bucks if I had to so my sister could feel secure, but there was no way I could afford something as huge as that bear. I told him thanks for thinking of it, but I couldn't afford it and I turned to leave. The old guy called me back and asked me if I had a dollar. Since he'd taken the time, I thought I could give him the dollar so he could get himself a coke. He took the buck, wrote out a bill of sale and helped me tie it down on my car. I still don't remember half of the trip, but I do remember the stares and the warning from a cop I got on the highway. But, it was worth it to see her face when she saw it. That's something I'll never forget." He casually wiped around his eyes and tried to downplay it. "And that's how Schuy came to have Bear Blair. She named him after the nickname she gave me when she was in first grade Hair Blair or H.B. for short."
Naomi shook her head and beamed. "I always love hearing that story. Makes me love my guy more."
"Me too, but it's Blair Bear. He never could get it right," a weak voice answered from the bed.
Three sets of eyes turned to the now open grey eyes and three sets of yells filled the room as the newly awakened Schuyler found herself wrapped in three sets of loving arms.
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