Forever With You

Chapter Twenty-Five

          Dr. Richardson walks into Franky's room where Alan and Bridget are anxiously awaiting news. "Well, first of all, I don't know if Franky is just strong or stubborn..." Alan and Bridget both look at the doctor. "Both." They say in unison. Bridget blushes at the comment. The doctor is taken aback briefly, then continues. "Since you, Bridget, had noticed signs of a fever a week ago, Friday night I believe..." Bridget nods in agreement. "Then I am surprised she is not in a worse state. Before surgery, we had determined that she was suffering from peritonitis, which is from an inflammation of the abdominal wall due to the stabbing. However, since she never mentioned any pain or discomfort until yesterday, it has since developed into sepsis...where the infection has spread throughout her body." Bridget looks at him with confusion. "But shouldn't you have picked up on that through her bloodwork? I mean, you've been taking it twice a day since her surgery. Surely you would have seen a spike in her white blood cell count, at the very least." The doctor frowns. "We are looking into that." Alan takes Bridget's hand to attempt to comfort her. "What is that supposed to mean?" Nurse Kelly stops in the doorway, feeling the tension in the room. "Her bloodwork has come back normal every time. There was no reason for concern going by that." Bridget lets out a loud huff in disgust. "We are looking into what may have happened." Bridget looks at him with eyes dark with fury. "I'll tell you what happened. Some idiot has been mixing up the paperwork. I..." Part of Ferguson's conversation suddenly pops in her mind. 'I'll see to it that I end you. Franky is all I need to make that happen. Good luck this week.' She says with her evil smile. The doctor sees where she is going with her thoughts. "I'll look into it personally to see who was drawing the blood and processing her bloodwork." Nurse Kelly takes the opportunity to step into the room. "If I may interject doctor. The new tech, Jonas, has been administering her bloodwork. He has seemed pretty adamant that he be the one to do it." Bridget feels her chest tighten. 'It can't be a coincidence. Joan, Joanne, Jonas. And what did Joanne say her sister's name was.... Joely.' She sits in the chair behind her. "Can you check the blood type as well? Franky is AB+."

"What do you mean she isn't dead yet? You promised me she would go into shock and then organ failure by the end of the week!" Ferguson holds the phone so tight she loses feeling in her fingers, which are white at the knuckles. "You are a pathetic excuse for a human being. You and your sister both." Joan takes a deep breath, trying to calm herself before attracting the attention of the guards. "Speaking of, where is your sister?"

Three days later, Franky wakes to find Bridget dozing against the side of her bed, still holding her hand. She watches the love of her life as a quiet snore slips from her and she can't help but smile. 'I do not snore. You must have woken yourself up.' She shifts slightly, trying not to wake the sleeping beauty next to her. She feels something touch her inner thigh and looks under the blankets. 'Oh, bloody hell.' She drops her head back against her pillow just as she feels the blonde stir. Bridget sits up and rubs her eyes with the back of her free hand. She feels Franky squeeze her hand and looks up at her and smiles. "Hey baby. How are you feeling?" Franky looks in her eyes and reaches out to move a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "Hey Spunky. Better." They smile as Bridget leans in and kisses her gently. Franky runs her fingers through the blonde hair against her neck and pulls her closer. They kiss again before Franky breaks the kiss and backs away slightly. "I have to brush my teeth." Bridget smiles and pulls her closer. "I don't care." She whispers against her lips before kissing her passionately. When they break for air, Bridget leans her forehead against Franky's and looks deep into her eyes. "Don't ever scare me like that again." Franky nods and pulls her in for another kiss.

Fessler dials Erica's number after hanging up with Alan. She types fiercely on her keyboard, looking for any records of Ferguson's kin in the system. 'How the fuck did we miss this? You weren't looking for them.' She thinks to herself. "Erica. Do you have minute? Something has come up." She hears Erica talk to someone in the background and a door close. "I can give you about five minutes. What's up?" Fessler takes a deep breath. "I need you to have your lackeys look up any and all living family of Ferguson. She had her nephew switching Franky's bloodwork at the hospital. She went septic..." Erica gasps as she recalls the nurses running into Franky's room as she was walking down the hallway earlier this week. "Not a problem. What about my request?" She knows the answer doesn't matter in this situation, but she's curious as to what Fessler has decided. "It's done." Fessler says before hanging up the phone.