Marsha and Lila hopped into her pink Porsche and headed down to Mertens hospital, which is where the majority of the injured were taken since it was best equipped to deal with this. When Marsha arrived, her body went into an adrenaline frenzy as she found herself ditching her car at the entrance and leaving Lila to park the car. Marsha quickly rushed to the receptionist's desk and asked where her husband was and after a minute or two she smiled and said "Room 12, ICU". Before she could ask if Marsha needed help, she took off and reached the ICU within 10 minutes, which seemed like days to her.
After checking in at the Nurse's station, she headed to his room, her heart pounding as the numbers on the doors got closer to 12. Just as she prepared to open the door handle, another hand fell on top of hers; it was Lila's and with a nod, they pushed the door open together. After opening the door, she was shocked at the sight of her husband draped in wires but she smiled at the sight of Gwen gripping his hand. It warmed her heart to know that someone was here by his side from the beginning up to now. She walked over to Gwen and shook her awake and said "Thanks for looking out for him". Gwen looked down at the floor and said "I-It's no problem".
Marsha tried to grab her hand but she jerked away and continued not to look at her. Marsha said "Is something wrong, did I do something?" and that's when Gwen lost it. Tears began to trickle down her cheek as she said "How can I dare look my friend's wife in the face while knowing that I'm the reason her husband is lying in this hospital". Marsha looked at her and said "I don't understand" and Gwen looked at her with tears in her eyes and said "Jamie got hurt because I called him in on his vacation and to make it worse, when we were thrown in the air by the blast, he didn't worry about how to cushion himself, instead he cushioned me! and he threw himself over me as the metal fell on us".
Gwen continued and said "A-after he dragged me to safety, he went out rescuing people, pulling them to safety, where he got shot twice and finally trapped under a piece of the ceiling which knocked him out and he hasn't been up since... don't you see, it's my fault, I should've tried harder to stop him". By now, Gwen had lost all composure and burst into tears, causing Marsha to pull her into a tight hug. She smiled and said "listen and you listen good, none of this is your fault, it's not like you know someone was plotting a terrorist attack on your store". Gwen was about to speak but Marsha cut her off and said "believe me when I say, you could've pulled Jamie away with all your might and he still woulda ran back to help those folks". Jamie is very laid back but he is also very caring and you know he would help someone in need in a heartbeat".
Marsha continued and said," he wouldn't be my Jamie if he had walked out those doors without trying to save others, because that's just who he is as a person". Marsha called for Lila who had left the room and told her to come in. As soon as she did, she gave her one of her cards and said "Take Gwen back home to my house, buy her anything she wants, and see to it that she gets some rest and then you go on home if you want to but I prefer not to leave her alone". Gwen looked at Marsha and said "B-but" and Marsha looked her in the eyes and said, "The only way I'm gonna be mad at you is if you keep blaming yourself, so my advice is to stop and understand this was way outta your control". Gwen nodded and left with Lila, leaving a wounded husband and his grief-stricken wife, alone.
She smiled and grasped her husband's bruised hand; noticing that his wedding ring was scratched up but still remained on his finger. It put a smile on her face as she looked at him and shook her head in disbelief. She sighed and said "You dummy...I know you had to save those people, but you still need to remember when to quit...you always think about everyone but yourself at times when you should". She smiled and said," If you can hear me, Jamie, don't you dare leave me like this, don't you dare". By now, Marsha had lost her composure and tears finally trickled down her face just as a nurse walked in followed by Mr. Blackwell. His heart sank as he saw his daughter crying and he immediately rushed over to her and held her.
In truth, Marsha wasn't the only one who changed, in fact after losing his daughter, Mr. Blackwell began to treat her less like a trophy and more like a daughter. They became closer and he and Jamie spent time together on the regular, mostly discussing business and personal hobbies and at times they took trips together. It hurt not just to see his daughter in agony but to see his son-in-law laying in a hospital bed fighting for his life really sent it home to him and the very stoic man began to tear up himself. The atmosphere in the room was intensifying and showed no signs of relief.
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Underneath the skin: Open Wounds
RomanceJamie finds himself caught up in a terrorist attack and Marsha's psychotic Besties return. The ensuing chaos opens Old wounds as well as new ones and the question is will they survive or will their intrusive feelings destroy them both? Read to find...
