Isobel

ISOBEL Chapter 24

It had taken Callen, with the help of Alexander, a bit of convincing to persuade Sophie, Georgia, and Caitlin to leave Isobel to rest. But it was hard to explain why Callen and their grandpa were staying with her. The truth was that they needed to tell Isobel things that they didn't want the girls to be there for.

Michelle and Sam had found them a couple of rooms in a hotel near the hospital to take Alexander and the girls. Their luggage had been sent straight from the airport to the Hotel. Sophie was the hardest to convince, as she wanted to be with Jack when he woke up. Callen had promised her that once she had slept, that Sam would bring her back to sit with Jack.

It was late and Isobel started to doze off again. But her sleep was a restless one, with her body jolting awake every now and then from flashbacks. Callen persuaded Marcus to lay down on the makeshift bed the nurse had brought into her room to get some sleep. He understood why Marcus couldn't leave his daughter, and he had no intention of forcing him to do so. Callen gently laid beside Issy and closed his eyes, hoping they would all get some form of sleep.

Gentle footsteps into the room inevitably woke Callen from his sleep. It was Jack's doctor, Hugh Wallace, looking for him. "Jack's awake asking for you," he whispered, not wanting to wake up Isobel or Marcus.

Callen nodded, carefully moving from Issy's side to follow the doctor along the ward, through to ICU, at the other end of the same floor.

As Callen reached the door to Jack's room, he paused. He braced himself at what he would see once he entered the room. He took in a deep breath and slowly released it before he stepped through the door. Jack was cushioned up by pillows and surrounded by machines and tubes. A blood pack hung on a stand, which regulated drops of blood down a tube into the back of his left hand.

It was the colour of Jack's face, or the lack thereof, that struck Callen first. His son, fifteen and frail-looking, instead of the strength and fullness of life he usually possessed. He almost turned around to exit the room, thinking he had entered the wrong room.

"Dad!" Jack's soft voice pulled Callen back towards his son's bedside.

"Jack!" He moved the final distance between them and sat carefully on his son's bed. His normally bright blue eyes looked glassy from the anesthetic. Callen assessed Jack from head to toe and he tried hard to hide the turbulence that threatened to rumble through his body from seeing his son like this. He needed to be strong for him. He turned back to Jack's eyes and he could see questions burning in them.

Jack lifted his hand to grab his dad's. He was worried about his mom and grandma. "Where's Sophie? Are Mom and Grandma..." His voice was hoarse and weak from the ordeal. The last thing he remembered was his mom being held at gunpoint and his grandma being hit by a bullet. He had run to his grandma's aide when he felt the heat of impact of another bullet rip through his abdomen.

"Uncle Sam and Aunt Michelle have booked everyone into a hotel nearby. Your Grandpa is asleep on a makeshift bed down the hall." He paused knowing the next bit was going to be hard. He hadn't even been able to tell Isobel yet.

Jack saw grief flash through his dad's eyes before Callen hid the emotion again. "Dad?" Dread filled Jack's mind over what he hadn't yet been told.

"You're Mom tried hard to fight off the man with the gun," Callen swallowed hard. "She was shot in the shoulder." Callen could see the tears well up in Jack's eyes. "She'll be okay, Jack. Just like you will be..." Tears threatened to spill as they welled up in Callen's eyes. The events of that day had been traumatic even for the seasoned agent.

"Grandma?" Jack choked out, as tears spilled down his cheeks.

Callen leaned down and hugged his son ever so gently. "It's going to be okay, son. You need to rest for you to get better again so you can get out of here, okay?" he whispered into his son's ear. Callen sat back up. "Do you think you can do that, Jack? Not be stubborn like your old man here and do as the doctor and nurses tell you?"