Ren - Shades of Grey Ch. 08

"Good afternoon. Your friend's still got her visitor," the nurse at the nurses' station said as he reached the desk.

Adam glanced back towards the doorway of Janey's room; he had passed it without a thought. His mind had been on the prospect of being able to take her back to his flat.

"Some patients have all the luck," the nurse thought as he turned away. "Two handsome men dancing attendance on her."

Adam came to an abrupt halt in the doorway of Janey's room as he recognised the man holding one limp hand and watching Janey sleep.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Adam demanded angrily, barely managing to keep his voice down.

The blonde guy looked up warily. He was obviously well aware that he should not be anywhere near Janey.

"I will thank you to keep your voice down!" The nurse said angrily as she walked towards Adam briskly.

Adam glanced towards her about to tell her to call security.

"Miss Wilkinson's blood pressure has returned to normal and she has been resting much more easily since her visitor arrived! If you are going to raise your voice I will be forced to ask you to leave," the nurse said forcefully.

"Janey's doing better?" Adam asked hopefully.

"Yes, and as I said she has been since her visitor there arrived," the nurse said as she brushed past Adam to check that Janey had not been disturbed.

"She's sound asleep," the blonde guy said softly as the nurse quickly checked Janey's blood pressure.

Adam hesitated in the doorway a moment then entered the room, ignoring the stern look the nurse sent him as she left the room. Adam watched as the other guy got to his feet uneasily. "Sit back down," Adam said grudgingly as he took a seat on the opposite side of the bed. "So is it true? Has Janey's blood pressure improved since you got here?" Adam demanded quietly.

"Yes, it's returned to normal. My name's Gabriel Renford by the way..."

"I know who you are," Adam snapped barely managing to keep his voice down.

Janey moaned softly and rolled onto her side, her back to Adam.

"It's alright, nothing to worry about," Ren crooned softly as he brushed her hair back off her face.

Adam felt something hot and hard twist in his chest as he watched the other man soothe Janey back into an undisturbed sleep.

Ren glanced at Adam uneasily then sat back down after soothing Janey.

"Her brother will be here in about an hour. It would be smart if you were gone before then. He'd tear you apart for being in the same city as her," Adam said tightly.

Ren regarded the other man silently for a few moments then gave a brief nod. "Thanks for the warning." Ren recognised jealousy in the other mans eyes and realised that he had some kind of a relationship with Janey.

Adam glanced down at Janey and noticed that she had her fingers curled around the hand of the other guy. He studied the way the guy was watching her, the way a faint smile came to his face when she moved his hand closer to her before he glanced warily up to meet his eyes.

"Janey said you tried to look out for her,' Adam said grudgingly.

"Yeah," Ren said almost bitterly, "too little too late."

"She didn't think it was fair that you and your mate got charged along with the bastard that took her," Adam said tightly. If not for the bond he could sense between Janey and the guy he could almost like him he realised.

Ren glanced up from his study of Janey's face and looked at Adam, "Why is the guy telling me this?" he wondered.

Janey rolled onto her back letting go of Ren's hand. She moved slightly and then settled again.

Adam watched Janey for a few seconds then met Ren's eyes across the bed. "It won't be long before she wakes up. You'd best leave before she does," he told him.

Ren realised with a jolt that the other man was jealous of him. Not only had he seemingly cured Janey's high blood pressure but he had also won her loyalty despite what she had endured. Ren looked down at Janey for a moment. One question demanded that he ask it. "How far along in the pregnancy is she?"

"It's mine!" Adam snapped immediately.

Ren nodded without looking up from Janey's face. He had hoped that there had been some slim chance, somehow...but that was a fools dream.

"It might be smart to get a move on to avoid any chance her brother catches wind you were here," Adam said quietly, obviously wanting him to leave.

Ren got to his feet slowly and eyed Janey for a moment. "I'll be here if you need me Blondie," he whispered softly then headed for the door. He paused in the doorway and looked back at Adam where he sat by her bed, "If it comes to her standing up in court and saying she told him no, it won't work. She won't be able to say it," Ren said quietly.

"What do you mean by that?" Adam demanded coldly thinking it was some kind of a threat.

"The guy who kidnapped her, he taught her not to say the word no, no matter what. If she said it he hurt her, hurt her so bad she was too scared to say it," Ren said softly and glanced at Adam.

In that instant Adam recognised the depth of Ren's feelings for Janey, and he recognised the self loathing Ren felt for not stepping in and preventing what he knew she had gone through in being conditioned not to say no. Adam gave a slight nod of acknowledgement and watched as the other man turned and left the room.

Adam turned his attention back to Janey where she slept in the bed and reached out to clasp her hand. He felt her move her hand slightly then clasp her fingers around his hand for a second before letting go.

Twenty minutes later when Janey opened sleep blurred eyes the first person she saw was Adam. She frowned and looked around confused for a few seconds then glanced down where he held her hand.

"Hey Janey. You awake sweetheart?" Adam asked softly.

"Hmmm, yeah," Janey said softly then licked her dry lips. "Drink."

"You thirsty?" Adam asked softly as he released her hand and reached for the jug of water and a glass that sat on her bedside unit. He poured a glass of water and reached behind her supporting her shoulders as she tried to sit up to drink.

The water was cool and felt good on Janey's parched throat as she drank it slowly. When she was finished with the water Adam put the glass down and eased her back onto her pillow.

"That better?" he asked her quietly.

"Yes thank you. Have you been here long?" She asked softly as she pulled the covers up to her chin.

"For a good while," Adam said.

Janey didn't say anything as she lay in the bed watching the ceiling fan rotate slowly. She had the dim sensation or maybe it was a memory?...that Ren had been with her, that he had been holding her hand and talking to her. "It must have been a dream," Janey thought after a few minutes of confusion.

"The patient awake is she?" the nurse asked as she walked into the room with a smile.

Adam was glad to see it was not the nurse who had been on when he had first arrived.

She moved around to the side of the bed and took Janey's vitals. "Any headache or blurred vision?" She asked as she took Janey's pulse.

"I feel fine, just a bit fuzzy in the head." Janey answered softly.

"A lingering effect of the sedative no doubt," the nurse said as she straightened the bedcovers. A sound in the doorway caught her attention and she looked across before turning back to her patient. "Looks like you got another visitor."

Janey turned her head towards the door expectantly but was disappointed when she saw it was her brother Robby.

"Well look who is awake. You were snoring like a locomotive this morning when I dropped in on you on my way home," Robby announced with a smile.

"I don't snore," Janey said indignantly then turned to Adam for conformation, "do I."

"Of course not," Adam said with a laugh.

Janey glanced towards the empty chair where the nurse had been standing and once again she had the faint impression that Ren had been there. Frowning she closed her eyes tightly for a few seconds and then opened them almost reluctantly.

"You alright?" Robby asked with concern watching her face as he sat on the chair.

Janey glanced at him and managed a half smile. "Guess I'm still half asleep." she said faintly.

"Janey's much better - everything's back to normal," Adam said with a smile at Janey.

"Good. I was starting to worry Mum and Dad were going to end up coming up here and kicking my rear. Oh and by the way I haven't told them you're in hospital. They would have only rushed up here to be with you and I though you would like a bit of space while you are in here," Robby explained to her.

"Smart move." Janey agreed with him.

"Any news on when you can leave here and head back to the flat?" Robby asked.

"I only just woke up so how could I be expected to know if I can escape this place?" Janey asked dryly.

"I might go see if I can find the doctor or learn something," Robby announced as he got to his feet.

Adam watched him leave the room before turning back to Janey. He saw how she was looking at the chair her brother had just vacated. It was almost as if she remembered the blonde guy being there earlier. Adam forced a smile onto his face as he cleared his throat.

"Did you say something?" Janey asked as she turned towards him dazedly.

"I hadn't realised just how much you mean to me until you ended up in here," Adam told her softly.

Janey looked at him uncertainly for a few seconds then smiled slightly. It was no avowal of love, and she could handle it.

Adam reached over and brushed a few stray hairs back behind her ear. He could have sworn he saw a dark shadow flicker across her face but then she smiled widely at him.

"Pretty dramatic tactics hey." She said with a laugh.

"Yes! And don't go scaring me like that again!" Adam said seriously.

Janey rolled onto her side facing him once again; she gripped his hand and closed her eyes. "Why doesn't holding his hand give me that safe feeling I had as I was waking up?" She wondered.

"You're not going to sleep on me again are you?" Adam asked softly.

"Just waking up properly," Janey said and then added to herself, "and trying to find that warm contented feeling again."

The return of Robby to the room interrupted their conversation and Janey opened her eyes to glance at her brother.

"The doctor has just started his evening rounds and should be here with the half hour," Robby told them.

"Good cause I want to get out of here," Janey said.

"If the doctor lets you out of here you won't be doing anything strenuous," Adam said firmly.

"Does that mean you'll be doing all the work?" Janey whispered with a cheeky smile meant only for Adam. She watched as colour suffused his face and he sent an uncomfortable glance towards her brother to see if he had heard her whispered comment.