Leap of Faith Ch. 05

The sound of voices penetrated the fog in Nicole's mind. For a while she lay listening to the sounds around her, unable to differentiate between what was real and what was a dream. She felt strange; not herself at all. Her body felt immobile and slightly numb. Where was she?

"I think she's coming round." The voice sounded familiar, but she couldn't quite place it. Slowly she opened her eyes, blinking at the bright lights in the room. The pale green walls swam in and out of focus, but gradually everything became clear.

"Hey," Rob said as she tilted her head to look at him. He had a large dressing taped to the side of his head and he looked terrible. "How're you feeling?"

"I'm not sure. What happened?"

"You can't remember?"

Nicole sifted through the mess in her head. "I remember the club...thereafter it all goes hazy. Why am I here and what's happened to your head?"

Rob sighed. He glanced across the room and Nicole followed his gaze. She saw the uniformed officer standing in the doorway with a grave expression and she began to feel frightened. It had to be bad if the police were there.

"We were attacked by two men. I got knocked out." He pointed to his head. "When I came round, you weren't there. I yelled out and a couple came running from a nearby house. They said they'd heard some screaming -- guess it must have been you."

Nicole shivered. She didn't remember much of it.

"We found you in a garden, lying in the rain with your leg all twisted. You kept drifting in and out of consciousness, saying stuff that made no sense." He gripped her hand tightly and she saw the worry etched across his face.

"There was no sign of the two men - they must have run off before I came round. Somebody called an ambulance and here we are."

"What time is it?" Nicole craned her head, but she couldn't see a clock anywhere. It appeared to be nighttime as the curtains in the room were closed.

"You've lost a day -- it's just gone ten o'clock. Not only did you break your leg, you also bashed your head as you fell. They had to operate on your leg when they brought you in -- hence the nice plaster cast on it." Nicole touched the rigid plaster encasing her right leg and felt faint. How on earth was she going to manage for the next month or so? There was no way she could work while her leg was in plaster.

Tears pricked her eyes and she tried to stem the tide of emotion before it erupted. "I can't remember anything!" she sniffed as she held Rob's hand. Her head was beginning to ache and her leg throbbed. The painkillers must be wearing off.

They both looked up as the policeman entered the room. He stood at the foot of the bed and showed them his ID card. "Detective Constable Higgins, Ma'am. When you're feeling up to it, I need to take a statement." He smiled kindly and Nicole felt slightly reassured. Surely the police would catch whoever did this; they had to.

"I'm trying to remember it all -- but so far it's a blank." It was so frustrating. Vague images fluttered at the edge of her mind but as soon as she tried to grasp them, they swam away into the ether. Tiredness began to wash over her once more and she yawned heavily.

A stern looking nurse strode in and said; "I think this lady needs some peace and quiet for a while."

The policeman nodded and walked out into the corridor.

"I'll be back in the morning, okay?" Rob bent over the bed and kissed her gently. Nicole's eyes began to close of their own accord and she murmured something unintelligible. "Love you," he whispered into her ear, but she was already asleep.

"Come on now, you need to get some rest too. You'll be no good to her if you end up back in here!" The nurse waggled her finger at him and Rob took the hint. He left the room with a last lingering glance at Nicole's wan face on the pillow. She looked so vulnerable and lost.

The policeman was waiting for him in the corridor. He had lots of questions and plenty of time. They were directed to an empty room near the nurses' station where Rob took a seat and told the man all he knew. He just hoped it was enough to give the police something to go on. He couldn't bear the thought of anything else happening to Nicole. She meant far too much to him.

* * *

Nicole was lost in thought, staring out of the window at the sunshine. The sky was deep blue with no clouds to be seen. It looked like a beautiful day outside, yet here she was, stuck in here for the time being. It was horribly depressing.

The doctor had been to see her that morning and checked over her leg. He told her she would have the plaster on for at least eight weeks, as the break had been serious. She would need lots of physiotherapy to rebuild the muscle tone. It couldn't have happened at a worse time, all things considered. How the hell she was going to manage was something that she hardly dared to think about.

Rob had been there as soon as visiting time began and had only just left. He'd promised to be back later in that afternoon and already she was missing him. Danni had sent a message to say she'd be there that evening.

Her leg itched terribly. She had tried to look at it now that her head had cleared and she felt a little better. The bruising was evident and her foot was currently a lovely shade of purple. God only knew what the rest of her leg looked like. It was unlikely to be a pretty sight for a while.

The door opening attracted her attention and she looked up expecting to see either one of the nurses or Rob. Instead, in walked a huge bunch of flowers attached to a pair of denim-clad legs. Nicole's curiosity was piqued before her face broke out in a huge smile.

"Rob!" she laughed in delight. "You didn't have to buy the whole shop!"

"Who's Rob?" asked a man's voice and Nicole turned ashen white, her smile vanishing in a heartbeat.

"Sean -- what are you doing here?"

The flowers were placed on the side table and Nicole's ex boyfriend came and stood beside the bed, a very contrite expression on his handsome face.

"The Police told your mum and Kate. She told me."

"You're still together then?" Nicole said bitterly. Sean reached out to grasp Nicole's hand but she snatched it away. "Oh just don't!"

"Nicole...I..." He struggled to find the words. "We're sorry for what happened. We never meant for you to find out like that." He slumped down on one of the hard plastic chairs and looked at the floor brokenly. For a moment Nicole felt her anger wavering as she realised how upset he was. Then she reminded herself what he'd done to her and she felt her feelings harden again.

"Why?" she said. "Just tell me that much at least."

Sean looked up, his face a picture of conflicting emotions. "I can't tell you why. It just crept up on us." He glanced away and went silent for a few moments.

Nicole watched him, trying to understand why he had come here. Was he looking for some kind of forgiveness? If so, she wasn't so sure she was ready to forgive and forget yet.

"I loved you, you know." His use of past tense did not go unnoticed and she felt something finally wither and die inside as he continued, "I had always been attracted to Kate -- she was so different to you in so many ways. It was only when she got drunk at Miranda's birthday party that I realised she felt the same way."

"Didn't I leave early that night?" Nicole remembered now. She'd been suffering all week from the flu and on the night of the party she had gone home about nine o'clock, after making a token appearance for Miranda's sake. She recalled that Sean had gone back to the party on the pretext of talking to Rich about some bike ride they were planning. Clearly riding bikes was not the only exercise he had had in mind.

"Nothing happened that night," he said hurriedly when he saw her dark expression. "We just talked and that was all. I honestly believed that nothing was going to come of it. She was your sister for God's sake!"

Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive...

Who wrote that, thought Nicole as she saw her pain mirrored on Sean's face. It seemed very apt all of a sudden.

"Well apparently your conscience deserted you fairly quickly after that, didn't it?"

Sean visibly flinched at the sarcasm in her words. But he knew it was the truth so he didn't deny it. He wasn't here to try and sugar coat what had happened. He was here to make amends and to convince Nicole to forgive Kate somehow; the pain was killing all of them.

"Do you love her?" She was surprised to realise how much this mattered to her.

"Yes." His reply was short and sweet and told Nicole all she needed to know. She sighed. Strangely, she found she didn't care any more. Much of the pain and horror had passed and she needed to move on with her life. Lying here, immobile in her hospital bed, she looked at the face of the man she had loved so deeply and found it hard to understand why she had ever loved him at all. He seemed so much smaller and less worthy than he had before. He was the past, not the future.

But Kate was her sister and despite the terrible hurt she had inflicted, Nicole recognised that she needed to forgive her. She couldn't hate her forever. Nor did she want to.

"Where's Kate?"

"She's back at the flat. She wanted to come, but I thought it was better that I saw you alone first. Will you see her?"

Nicole turned away and stared out of the window again. Gulls wheeled and soared high in the sky. They were so free, she thought wistfully. How she wished she could fly away like they did. Instead she was stuck here, in this bed.

Did she want to see Kate? She thought about it and realised that yes, she did. She had missed her these last few weeks. She'd missed talking to her, sharing silly gossip over cups of tea and chocolate biscuits. Just doing all the things sisters did. She even missed Kate stealing her clothes and leaving them dirty and scrunched up on the bathroom floor.

Despite everything, she loved her sister and she needed her in her life. Okay, so it was going to take some getting used to seeing her and Sean together as a couple. But she had Rob now. Her face lit up in a smile when she thought about him.

"Yes, I'll see her. We need to clear the air," said Nicole quietly as she turned to face Sean again.

He looked visibly relieved at the news. "Thank you, Nic. It means a lot to both of us."

In all honesty he had not expected Nicole to even give him the time of day. He had warned Kate not to get her hopes up, but she had insisted that they try at least. Kate had been wretched since the whole damn mess had erupted. Guilt was a terrible burden to carry and it mattered to both of them that at least some of the bridges were mended. They knew the clock could never be turned back, but at least this was a step in the right direction.

"I'll leave you to it now. I need to go and ring Kate." He stood to go before unexpectedly leaning over the bed to embrace her. "We had some good times, didn't we?" he asked as he stood back up.

Nicole was surprised by the gesture. The intimacy they'd had was no longer there; he was like a stranger to her. But he was right -- they had had many good times. "Yes, we did," she smiled.

"Be happy, Nicole," he whispered softly. Then he turned and walked out of the room, the large bunch of flowers on the table the only reminder he had ever been there. Their scent filled the small space, clashing with the strong antiseptic aroma filtering in from the corridor. It made Nicole feel slightly queasy.

* * *

Rob stood outside her room, half hidden behind the door and feeling stunned. His own bunch of flowers paled in comparison to the one her visitor had left. Who in the hell was that? Jealousy ripped through him as he considered the possibility she had another bloke. But that didn't make sense. They had been spending too much time together for her to have been seeing someone else. Besides, he felt certain she wasn't that kind of girl.

She wasn't Lizzie, he reminded himself firmly. So who was her visitor? There was only one way to find out. He had no intention of being messed about again. So he pushed open the door firmly and strode into the small room.

Nicole wiped a stray tear away as she looked up again. The encounter with Sean had left her feeling emotionally drained and wrung out. The sight of Rob instantly gave her a lift that was more than welcome. To her surprise he looked slightly wary. Then she realised he must have seen Sean leaving and her heart fell. Oh no, what must he be thinking!

"They're beautiful," she said softly as she looked at the bunch of freesias in his hand. "They're my favourite flowers."

"Thanks, although I can't exactly compete with THAT bunch." His voice had an edge to it as he cast a derisory glance at the ostentatious bouquet lying on the table. Nicole immediately wished she could jump out of the damned bed and wrap her arms round him tightly and she silently cursed her immobility.

"I much prefer your flowers," she smiled reassuringly.

"So...who was your visitor?"

"It was Sean -- my ex boyfriend." She briefly closed her eyes and wondered just why her life had to be so bloody complicated.

"And what did he want?" Rob tensed himself. He half expected Nicole to blurt out that they were getting back together and she was sorry, but she still loved the cheating bastard and he, Rob, had just been a temporary fling. That would be typical of his experiences with women. Then he realised she was saying something and he hurriedly tuned back in.

"...wants me to talk to Kate. I guess he has a point really." She looked at him and wondered if he'd heard a word she had said. Oh god, she'd fucked it up big time. He looked totally pissed off with her. But it wasn't her fault Sean had turned up! She wanted to scream in frustration at the sheer stupidity of the situation, but instead she took a deep breath and forced herself to stay calm.

"It was good to see him," she continued, noting the tight line of Rob's mouth while he gripped the flowers as if his life depended on it. "It made me realise that I don't give a damn about him anymore."

"What about us? Do you give a damn about me?" He blurted the words out before he had a chance to think about it.

Nicole was shocked. He looked at her intently and she could see the tiredness etched all over his face. Several deep bruises were just beginning to flower across his cheek and jaw and she knew he'd been hurt like she had. "You know I do," she whispered, tears beginning to well up in the corner of her eyes. He meant the world to her -- she saw this now.

"When I saw Sean, well I thought..." Rob sighed, his shoulders beginning to droop slightly. "I didn't know what to think, to be honest. Lizzie was always messing me about, playing me off against other men—"

"—I'm not Lizzie!" she interrupted crossly.

"Yes, I know that. I'm sorry, I just care about you." He walked around the bed and sat down on the side of the mattress, trying not to knock the leg that was encased in plaster.

Nicole reached out and stroked his bruised cheek gently. "I care about you too," she said softly.

"Good, I'm glad we've established we care about each other!" Rob smiled, his sense of humour beginning to peek out once more. "I just hope you're not stuck in here for too long."

"Oh, why's that?" Nicole asked innocently.

"Because..." he replied. He leaned over and kissed her lips.

Two hands grasped his head and pulled him down, deepening the kiss until they were both short of breath. "I'm not sure this is good for my blood pressure," she giggled when they parted.

"Sod that," he growled as he slid his hand under the sheet that covered her body.

Nicole murmured encouragement when he found the curve of her breast. All thoughts of the frightening encounter in the dark garden evaporated. Desire lit up within her, taking hold and focusing her attention until all that remained in her world was just the two of them.

"Mmm," she sighed with pleasure. "Don't stop!"

"I'm gonna have to in a minute -- or I'll be chucked out of here!"

She giggled at his pained expression as her hand stroked his hard cock through his jeans.

"Now then you two -- this young lady has to rest or the doctor won't allow her to leave!" The pair of them jumped apart like they had been electrocuted. Nicole felt her face turn bright red as the Nurse stood in the doorway with a stern expression on her face.

"Sorry, Nurse..." Rob peered at the name badge pinned to the woman's ample bosom. "Margaret! He grinned sheepishly and the woman allowed a faint smile to reach her eyes.

"Tell you what," she said, "I have to go and fetch my notes. You have five more minutes of visiting time before I throw you out. Okay?"

"Thanks, Nurse Margaret!" Rob said cheerfully. The nurse winked at them and walked off down the corridor, pulling the door closed behind her.

"Now then, where were we?" he muttered as he sat back down on the bed and took Nicole's hand in his.

"Well I was doing this," she replied as her hand stroked his crotch, "and you were doing that." She grabbed his hand and placed it on her breast, with one eye on the door this time.

"Oh yes..." he grinned, "How could I forget?"

They giggled like naughty teenagers caught kissing behind the bike sheds then Nicole's expression turned more serious.

"I don't know how I'm going to manage when I get out of here," she said quietly. "I won't be able to work for a while and I don't have any money saved to tide me over. I can't go back to Angela's like this. It wouldn't be fair on her and I couldn't afford to pay her rent anyhow." Her eyes welled up and Rob pulled her into his embrace.

"Why are you worrying about that?" he asked incredulously. "Surely you realise that you are moving back in with me and Danni?"

"But—"

"No buts!" he said firmly. "It's a done deal. Danni agrees with me -- you need looking after and we need someone to referee the arguments. She had a word with Sue and it's all sorted out with Angela. Once you're well again, we are BOTH invited to go back and live with Angela, thus leaving my darling sister blissfully alone in her own flat once again."

Nicole smiled through her tears. "What did I ever do to deserve you?" she asked.

"Something bloody terrible!" exclaimed a loud voice as the door swung open and hit the table.

"For god's sake! Don't you ever fucking KNOCK?" Rob growled as his sister appeared clutching a box of chocolates.

"Language!" she scolded in a prissy voice. "You'll upset the sick people. Oh I forgot - YOU'RE the sick one -- sick in the head!"

Nicole closed her eyes in resignation. Nothing changed it seemed. As soon as the pair of them found themselves in the same room, they just had to bicker. It was like old times already.

Danni sat on the other side of the bed and ignored Rob's frosty glare. "Choccy anyone?" she asked innocently. "No? Oh dear, I'll just have to eat them all!"

Nicole grinned. "Thanks, Danni!"

"So, how are you?" Danni asked with a grave expression.

"Oh I'm okay, thanks."

"Do the police have any idea who attacked you?" For all her jibes at Rob, Danni had been horrified when she heard the news. Her brother was a royal pain in the arse, but she loved him to bits and she certainly didn't want anything to happen to him. She had also grown very fond of Nicole and she had been delighted to realise they had finally got it together.

"No, not so far," Rob said with a frown. "There were no witnesses and I didn't recognise either of the blokes."

"Well hopefully someone knows something. I would hate anything else to happen to either of you." She smiled and squeezed Nicole's hand. "I'd be bored on my own in the flat!"

There was a discreet cough from the doorway and they all looked up to see Nurse Margaret standing there with her file of notes. "Right you lot, visiting time is officially over now, so come back tomorrow please."