Jody stood and hugged Denise tightly. "I promise, you'll never regret this. I'll do everything in my power to make you happy."

Denise looked at her and said, "You'd better, I know where you live."

Chapter Twenty-Eight.

Neither Jody nor Denise would leave the hospital. They slept in the same chairs they had been sitting in most of the afternoon. The morphine pump kept Ellen's pain at bay and allowed her to rest.

Jody squirmed in her chair, trying to get comfortable. She had reached a point beyond exhaustion. Her body was stiff from the endless hours of sitting. The dark circles beneath Denise's eyes made her wonder if she looked just as bad.

It was almost midnight when Ellen opened her eyes and was aware enough to talk. When she moved, Denise and Jody both hobbled from their chairs. Ellen blinked slowly and tried to lick her lips.

Denise grabbed the fresh cup of chipped ice that had been replaced several times already and put some on a spoon. "Eat some of this ice."

Jody tried to smile. She didn't want Ellen to see how frightened she had been.

"You two look like s.h.i.t," Ellen croaked. She started to move her arm and winced.

"There's always a critic," Jody said. "Are you hurting?" Ellen nodded and Jody pressed the morphine pump.

"I don't think I'll be dancing a jig anytime soon," Ellen said, her voice blurred with sleep. "Go home. Rest," she whispered as her eyes closed.

They continued to stand by the bed for several minutes watching her.

"Why don't you go home and rest, Denise? I'll stay," Jody offered.

"I can't leave her," Denise said.

Jody gazed at Denise. She could see exhaustion etched on her face. Jody didn't want to leave Ellen, but she knew she was probably going to sleep as long as they kept pumping the morphine into her. "One of us should go home," she offered. "We aren't going to be doing her any good if we make ourselves sick."

Denise looked at Ellen and slowly agreed.

"We'll toss a coin," Jody suggested. "Winner stays. Okay?"

"How long does the loser stay away?"

"Until eight. That's plenty of time to shower and sleep, and still be back before she's released in the morning."

Denise hesitated but finally nodded.

Jody dug into her pocket for a coin. "You toss," she said. She wouldn't admit that she was so tired, she was afraid she wouldn't be able to catch the coin.

"You call," Denise said as she took the nickel Jody held.

"Heads, I stay with her. Tails, I go home."

Denise tossed the coin. She caught it and cried out when heads appeared. "Best two out of three," she insisted.

"No. You agreed. You're going home. I don't want to see you before eight o'clock."

Denise picked up her purse but continued to stand by Ellen's bed. "You'll call me if there's any change, won't you?"

"Yes, I'll call you. Now go home and try to get some sleep."

"I should stay and you go."

"No. We had a deal. Now get going."

Denise nodded and reluctantly walked out of the room.

After she left, Jody returned to stand by Ellen's bed. She gently placed a hand on Ellen's forehead, the only area free of monitor wires, tubes or bandages. "Ellen, I know you can't hear me," she said. "I swear to you, no matter how long we're together, I'll never take another minute of our happiness for granted."

Ellen had stirred occasionally and cried out in pain each time. When she'd cry out, Jody clicked the morphine pump and prayed that the drug would quickly provide its numbing relief.

Jody was at the window staring out into the night's darkness when Ellen woke shortly before three. She heard her stir and rushed to the bedside. Ellen's eyes appeared less clouded with pain than they previously had been. She tried to move her arms and grimaced.

"Are you hurting?" Jody reached for the pump, but Ellen stopped her.

"No. Please don't do that. I'm tired of sleeping. That stuff makes my head feel as though it's stuffed with cotton."

"Are you sure? The nurse said we shouldn't let the pain get too bad."

Ellen moved her head slightly. "Trust me, I'm no martyr. I'll be the first to yell if I start hurting too much." She tried to lick her lips.

Jody took the gla.s.s of chipped ice and fed her some.

"I never thought I'd think something as simple as ice could taste so good," Ellen said, her voice still cracked and rough.

Jody continued to feed her the ice as they talked. "Where's Mom?"

"We worked out a schedule of four-hour shifts. She went home to rest. She'll be back around five."

"I'm impressed. It seems like you guys are getting along pretty well."

"We had time to talk and I think we've managed to reach a fairly reasonable agreement."

"What sort of an agreement?" Ellen frowned.

"She gets custody of you on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I get you Tuesday, Sat.u.r.day and Sunday and you're free on Thursday."

Ellen started to chuckle but gasped. "Oh. It hurts. Don't make me laugh."

"I'm sorry," Jody said and set the ice down. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, it just hurts like all get-out." She lay still for several seconds.

"Are you sure I shouldn't be clicking this thing?" Jody pointed to the morphine pump.

"No. Just save your funny stories for a later date. Tell me more about you and Mom. Has she really changed her mind about us?"

"I guess she's still having a few problems, but overall, I think she's going to be fine with it."

"I love you so much," Ellen whispered. "Thank you for not bailing out on me. Even though you probably should have."

"I think my bailing days are over." Jody saw Ellen frown in pain. "Close your eyes. I'll be right here."

"Talk to me," Ellen said.

"All right, but you have to close your eyes and rest. I'll tell you all about my conversation with Denise."

When Ellen closed her eyes, Jody quietly pressed the morphine pump. To cover the noise of the clicking, she told Ellen about the conversation she and Denise had shared. Jody had barely started the story when the frown of pain eased from Ellen's face and she slept.

Ellen was sleeping when Denise came back shortly before six. Dark circles smudged Denise's eyes, but her step was a little firmer.

"You're early," Jody said.

"I couldn't sleep. How is she?" Denise asked.

"No change. She was awake for a few minutes but has been sleeping the rest of the time. She's starting to complain about the morphine. She says she's tired of sleeping, but she was still in pain, so I cheated and gave it a couple of clicks when she wasn't looking."

Denise nodded. "I think she'll forgive you."

Jody tried to stand and felt herself sway.

Denise's hand steadied her. "Why don't you go home? I'll stay with her until she checks out and bring her to your house."

Jody shook her head. "No. I want to be here when she wakes up."

"Now who's being stubborn. At least, go home long enough to shower and lie down for an hour."

Jody hesitated. The idea of a hot shower tempted her. "Maybe I will run home long enough to shower."

"You look exhausted. Can you drive?"

Jody nodded. "I'll see you in a couple hours."

She started to walk away, but Denise called to her. "I think I could get used to having you as a daughter-in-law."

"I'll see you later, Mom," she called as she glanced over her shoulder.

Denise's head shot up. She pointed a finger at Jody and opened her mouth.

Jody made a shushing noise and pointed toward Ellen. Before Denise could recover, Jody made a quick escape.

Chapter Twenty-Nine.

When Jody returned to the hospital shortly after eight, she felt like a new person. She hadn't slept, but the long hot shower and food had revived her. She had taken time to run by the flower shop and select a dozen pink roses. They weren't roses from Belinda's Dream, but they were the same color, at least. The morning air was fresh and cool. It would be a good day for Ellen's return home.

The minute she walked into Ellen's room, she knew something had changed. Something had gone wrong.

Jody raced to Ellen's bedside and saw tears staining her cheeks. "You're in pain. Denise, why didn't you use the pump?" Jody reached for the morphine pump, but Ellen stopped her.

"I'm not in pain," she said in a voice so low Jody had to strain to hear.

"Then what's wrong?"

When Ellen didn't answer, Jody turned to Denise for an explanation.

Denise shrugged and rubbed her forehead. "When I went home, I found a note Beth left in her room. It was addressed to Ellen, so I brought it back with me. Right after you left, the nurses came in and got Ellen up to walk and I gave her the note afterward. She read it and ..." Denise waved her hand at Ellen and let Ellen's actions finish the rest of her sentence.

Jody was more interested in knowing that Ellen had gotten up than she was in Beth's note. "You were able to walk around?"

Ellen nodded.

"Ellen, that's wonderful. That almost guarantees they'll release you this morning," Jody said and leaned down to kiss Ellen's cheek. She froze as Ellen turned away. A small worm of doubt began to gnaw at her insides. What had Beth said in the note? "Ellen, where is Beth?" she asked.

"California. She left." New tears sprang to her eyes.

Jody took an involuntary step away from the bed, shocked by the extent of Ellen's distress over Beth's leaving. Jody tried to invent excuses for Ellen's behavior: Beth hadn't said good-bye, she had left while Ellen was in surgery. Or had Beth been so angry that she wrote something upsetting in the note? That was it. Beth had written something hateful to Ellen.

Jody looked around on the bed for the note but didn't see it. She glanced at the stand beside the bed and didn't see it there either. She started to ask about it when the door opened and Dr. Wray came in.

"h.e.l.lo, all," he called. "How's the patient this morning?" He pulled the chart from the end of the bed and began reading. "Everything looks good." He glanced up at Jody and Denise and smiled. "If I could ask you ladies to wait outside for a few minutes."

Jody nodded and followed Denise into the hallway. "What did the note say?" Jody asked as soon as the door closed.

Denise shrugged. "I don't know. Ellen read it and started crying. When I asked her what was wrong, she kept shaking her head and refusing to talk. When I persisted, she folded the paper and slid it beneath her. She's lying on it now."

Jody sat down on the window ledge. "She's pretty upset. She doesn't need more stress." Jody realized she was still holding the roses. She held them up. "I'm losing my mind. I forgot to give these to her."

The door opened and Dr. Wray came out. "Mrs. Murray, we will be releasing Ellen later this morning," he said without looking directly at them. "She would like to talk to you alone." Before they could say anything, he hurried away.

Denise looked at the closed door for a long second. She patted Jody's arm. "It's probably nothing," she said, trying to rea.s.sure Jody.

Jody knew better. She could feel it low in her gut. She had been here before. The last time it had been a note on the kitchen table. This time it would come from Denise.

Jody slowly handed the roses to Denise. "Give these to her."