HE AND JIMIN SAT IN SILENCE as the minutes ticked by. Jimin looked every bit as tired as Taehyung felt. But neither would rest until they saw Jennie.
He must have dozed momentarily because the opening door startled him.
“Are you Taehyung and Jimin?” a nurse asked.
Taehyung scrambled up. “Yes, ma’am, that’s us.”
She motioned for them to follow her outside.
Once in the hall, she turned concerned eyes on them. “We’ve moved Mrs. Kim from recovery, but she’s quite distraught. She’s asking for you. We don’t want to have to sedate her so soon after coming off the anesthesia. Maybe your presence will calm her.”
“Let’s go,” Taehyung demanded.
They followed the nurse and Taehyung had to check his stride in order not to pass her. His impatience nearly boiled over as he allowed her to lead them down the twisting halls to the elevator.
A lifetime later, the nurse entered a large room that housed several smaller cubicles. In the center stood the nurses station where two other nurses walked briskly to and from the cubicles.
“Mrs. Kim is at the end,” the nurse said.
She walked down and shoved aside the curtain and gestured Taehyung and Jimin in. Taehyung shoved past her. He sucked in his breath as he saw Jennie lying in the bed, a multitude of tubes and wires coming from everywhere.
Quiet sobs emanated from her, and tears spilled down her cheeks. She faced away from him, and he surged forward.
“Jennie. Jennie, baby, I’m here,” he said as he approached the bed.
Jimin followed closely, going to Jennie’s other side.
She closed her eyes and turned further away from Taehyung.
Jimin slipped a hand to her hair and bent to kiss her.
“You’re breaking my heart,” Jimin said in a hoarse voice.
“Jungkook,” she whispered. “Oh God, Jungkook.”
Taehyung bit the inside of his cheek to keep from breaking down. He leaned forward, needing to touch her, reassure himself she was alive. “Baby, Jungkook’s okay, I swear it. He’s down in the ER waiting for a room.”
She shook her head and moaned, the agony spilling from her throat.
“Jennie, listen to us,” Jimin pleaded. “It’s not good for you to be so upset.”
Taehyung watched her, panic rising fast within him. The nurse hovered in the doorway, concern etched in her face.
Jennie wasn’t cognizant of her surroundings. She was too caught up in her grief. She thought Jungkook was dead.
Taehyung turned to the nurse as Jimin continued to comfort Jennie. “Our brother, Jungkook is down in ER waiting for a room. Have them bring his bed up here.”
The nurse’s brow crinkled. “Absolutely not. We aren’t set up for a double room here. This is a step down unit. We have to be able to closely monitor our patients.”
“And I’m telling you the only way you’re going to calm her down is to bring him up here,” Taehyung gritted out. “I don’t care what you have to do to make it happen. Just do it.”
“I don’t have that kind of authority,” the nurse protested. “I’ll have to call the doctor in and risk sedating her.”
“And I’ll turn this damned hospital upside down if I have to,” Taehyung snarled. “Don’t fuck with me. Not over this. He needs a room. He needs the care. He can come here. There’s room for another bed. Hell, you could put him next door and take down the curtain. I don’t care how you get it done, just do it!”
“I can’t authorize something like that,” the nurse said. “Only the attending physician can.”
“Then call him up here,” he demanded. “I want to talk to him. Do it now. We’re wasting time.”
The nurse retreated, and a few seconds later, Dr. Han stuck his head in the door.
“Mr. Taehyung, what’s going on in here?”
Taehyung quickly explained his request. As he spoke, the doctor hustled to Jennie’s bedside and took in her quiet sobs. He glanced around the room as if considering his request. Then he sighed.
“I don’t take well to bullying, Mr. Taehyung. What you’re asking is highly irregular. However, I tend to agree that perhaps the best thing for this young lady is to see your brother. Maybe it will calm her. I’ll have to call the ER physician and arrange it with him, but I don’t see why we can’t make an exception this once. Much will depend on how stable your brother’s condition is. I understand he suffered a gunshot wound.”
Relief flood through him.
“Thank you, Doctor.”
Taehyung resumed his position next to Jennie’s bed, his hand curling around her uninjured one. Her left arm was surrounded by a cast and her entire chest and left shoulder were swathed in heavy bandages.
He’d never seen her looking so vulnerable. Tears continued to seep from her closed eyes, and his chest tightened in response. He leaned forward and kissed her temple.
“I love you, baby,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry I never told you.”
As he and Jimim kept watch over Jennie, she finally drifted off to sleep. Her breathing became more even, and the flow of tears finally stopped. Her head lay limply against the pillow, her face pale with red blotches from the crying.
A few minutes later, the same nurse Taehyung had gone up against came bustling in. She eyed him with a look of annoyance.
“I’ve been instructed to open up the cubicle next to Mrs. Kim’s. Since I don’t imagine you’ll agree to go home, I’m having a chair and a small sofa brought in as well.”
Taehyung eased his scowl. “Thank you,” he said sincerely. “This means the world to us.”
The nurse’s expression softened. “I know you’re worried about her. But we’re doing our best to take excellent care of her.” Then she grinned a little mischievously.
“Besides, chances are your brother would have ended up here anyway. The hospital’s pretty full, and he needs care beyond the floor, but he’s not a candidate for ICU. And from what I hear, he’s not exactly cooperative.”
Taehyung’s lips quirked into a smile. “Yep, that’s Jungkook. But he’ll straighten up when he’s able to see Jennie. He’s been pretty worried about her.”
Within the hour, the curtain between the two rooms had been pulled, and two orderlies hauled in a chair and a sofa and set them between the two beds.
Thirty minutes afterward, a nurse rounded the corner, pushing Jungkook in a wheelchair. She looked less than happy with her charge, and Jungkook didn’t look like he gave a fuck.
She rolled him toward the other bed, but he put his free hand down to jam the wheels. The nurse’s lips pressed together, and she shook her head.
“Into bed with you, Mr. Jungkook. You got your way. I took you up in a wheelchair when you shouldn’t be out of bed, but you’ll go now, or I’ll haul you back to the ER.”
Jungkook ignored her, his haunted eyes stroking over Jennie.
“Help me up,” he said hoarsely, his gaze going to Taehyung.
“Jungkook, you should be in bed,” he began.
“I have to see her,” Jungkook said.
Taehyung looked at the nurse who shrugged in defeat.
“Do whatever it is that will get him into bed the fastest,” she said.
“Give me a hand, Jimin,” Taehyung directed. “Let’s make this quick.
Taehyung bent over Jungkook, and Jungkook curled his good arm around Taehyung’s neck and pulled himself upwards. Sweat broke out on Jungkook’s forehead, and he trembled against Taehyung. His face had gone pasty white, and Taehyung knew it had cost him dearly to expend so much energy.
He and Jimin helped him to the bed where Jennie lay. Tears filled Jungkook’s eyes as he gazed down at her. He reached his hand out to touch her cheek then pulled it back to scrub the moisture from his own face.
YOU ARE READING
ꗃ: 𝗘𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗟 𔘓. 𝗍𝖺𝖾𝗃𝖾𝗇𝗆𝗂𝗇𝗄𝗈𝗈𝗄 ! 𓂅
Fanfiction繊細 ┊ 𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋 𝓓. elicate 𝓔. xquisite 𝙃𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵 ☁ ─ 𝒮 𔘓 ꞌꞋ ۪ ◌ ꕀ ׄ
