The Next Chapter (Sequel to A New Story)

7 ~Katie & JP~

Katie and JP sat across from each other, the only two left in the waiting room after several hours. Katie sat, hunched over with her face in her hands on one side of the small waiting room and JP leaned back, head against the wall and eyes closed, on the other side. They sat in silence, both in their own private pain over what Maria had gone through—what she was suffering through now.

JP's eyes opened when he heard sobbing across from him. He was dealing with his own battle—blaming himself for not catching up to the man who had intruded upon Maria's life—but seeing Katie in such torment made his heart break further. He stood, stepped across the short distance between them, and sat down beside her. After a moment of thought, he reached and put an arm around her shoulders, giving her a gentle hug.

She turned and leaned into him, crying into his shoulder. He did his best to comfort her. "Shh, it's going to be okay—Maria is one of the strongest women we know—right?"

Katie nodded into his shoulder, and when she spoke again he was reminded again of her Scottish heritage. He'd gotten so used to her accent, he sometimes took it for granted. But when she was upset, as she was now, the accent became thick. "But she's already gone through so much in her life..."

"Yes, and she'll make it through this too. She has Daniel, and you, and me, and the girls. She'll make it through because we'll all be here to be sure she does."

Katie took a deep breath and her tears seem to calm. She sat up and gave JP a weak smile. "Thank you."

"You don't need to thank me. We're all in this together."

"I know, but I was not nice to you this morning at the coffee shop and—"

He sighed. Leave it to Katie to still be tormenting herself over their earlier argument, despite what had happened since. "You spoke your mind... I spoke mine... it's what we do, Katie."

"Yes, but... I was cruel..." She looked down at her hands, then back up at him. "I know you're not like that JP—like those men I mentioned."

He gave her a gentle smile. "I'm glad you feel that way." He sighed. "But you were right about some things... maybe I—"

At that moment, a nurse walked into the room. "Excuse me, Ms. McKinnon?"

Katie sat up straight. "Yes?"

"Mr. Statten has asked if you could please come to Mrs. Blakestone's room."

**--**--**

Katie came into the doorway of Maria's room and saw Daniel sitting in a chair by the bed, staring at the back of Maria's head as she looked out the window. She took a deep breath and came in, resting a hand on Daniel's shoulder. He looked up and gave a weak smile before standing.

"Maria, sweetie." He spoke gently to the woman who remained still in the hospital bed, facing away from them. "I'm headed to pick up the girls from school now, okay? Katie is here and she'll sit with you until I get back with the girls."

Katie watched as Daniel stood and released a sad sigh as he looked down at Maria. He motioned for her to follow him outside the doorway where they whispered.

"She's terrified, Katie. She won't—I can't even hold her hand right now because touching her terrifies her."

"How terrible... I'm so sorry, Daniel..." She sighed and looked in on her friend. "We'll get through this."

Daniel sighed and shook his head. "It's going to be a long road, but yes, we will. I'm glad we have you and JP by our side. I don't think we could do this on our own. Just... just be there for her if she needs anything."

"You don't have to even ask," she said with a nod, and he was on his way.

After watching Daniel's hesitation before he left, Katie slipped back in and sat by the bed. "Hey, I'll be right here, if you need anything."

She watched her friend shift on the bed, turning enough to look at her. Her eyes looked hollow, but she gave the slightest of smiles.

"Hi, Katie."

"Hey, sweetheart. Anything I can do for you?"

Maria shook her head. "No. Well, yes. I just wanted to thank you and JP for... for everything you did this morning. Will you tell him when you see him?"

Katie smiled. "Of course. Of course, I will. He's out in the waiting room. Would you like me to go get him?"

"No, no. That's all right," she mumbled as she fiddled with the edge of the blanket pulled up to her chest. "Just let him know next time you see him."

"Okay. Anything else I can do?"

Maria shook her head. "No... I think... I think I'd just like to rest," she said before taking a deep breath and closing her eyes.

Katie watched her friend for a few moments before turning her attention to a magazine she found on the side table. She pretended to flip through the pages for the next hour while awaiting Daniel's return.