That Last Little Spark

It was well past three in the morning, pushing on four thirty. Jess was beginning to fall asleep in Bam's arms.

"Jess, you should go to bed and get some sleep." he sat up a little more. She shook her head against his shoulder and groaned.

"Jess, come on. You can't sleep here." he shook her gently. She mumbled and shook her head again.

"Alright," Bam laughed quietly and carefully picked her up. He left the TV on as he carried her down the dark hallway toward her bedroom.

He managed to flick the switch with his elbow and looked around her room. It was small, but cozy looking.

Bam carefully set Jess down on the bed and kissed her forehead as he covered her with a throw blanket that was at the end of her bed. Then he sighed as he looked down her. Tomorrow...technically today...they would have one full day together. On the 14th she would be going to the spa at the hotel the wedding party would be staying at, and then the wedding was on the 15th.

He would make her forget what happened in the last three hours. Even if she had seen everything about this city, he would see it with her.

So, with Blackberry in hand, he grabbed a pillow from the other side of the bed and kissed Jess' forehead one more time before he turned off the light on his way out the door.

He sat down on the couch with the pillow and was about to go on the Internet on his phone when he saw Jess' laptop sitting on the counter behind him. It was half-opened, so he decided to use that instead, figuring Jess wouldn't mind as long as he didn't screw anything up.

The screen went right to her desktop, where a document was idle, minimized at the bottom of the page. It was simply labeled, 'dress'. Bam looked down the dark hallway before clicking on it.

It was the picture Jess had sent him of her in the wedding dress. On his phone, he couldn't really see any detail because the picture was so small. But on her computer screen, the picture took his breath away. She looked like a bride in a magazine. Her cheeks were flushed and her hair spilled down onto her shoulders. The blood red roses and lipstick contrasted with her hair, her milky pale skin, and the white, lacy dress. A shy smile played on her lips as she looked down at the roses in her hands. The dress looked like it was made just for her.

A separate thought pushed itself into his mind. He smiled and minimized the picture before bringing up the Internet to Google attractions in New York City. On his way into town, he had seen a theater with an advertisement for Wicked. Hoping for two tickets, he searched the theater site and found out there were still tickets for sale, in surprisingly good seats in the dead center of the theater. The next show was the day after the wedding. Smiling, he bought and reserved them so they would be at the theater.

Next, he went back to look for more attractions, a list of ideas slowly growing in his head.

*
At six thirty-seven, Jess sat up in bed, panting and sweating. She'd slept fitfully for the last hour. Faded blue light filled the room, the last remnants of the night mixing with the heavy clouds in the sky that blocked out the sun. A nightmare had scared her awake.

Had everything been a nightmare? She kicked the blankets off with a small burst of hope that dimmed when she saw the scars up and down her shins and the gauze wrapped around her feet.

She reached out to wake Bam, still shaken from her nightmare. But her hand stretched on in the empty bed. She sat up and looked over, still not seeing him. Trying not to panic, she jumped up and slowly opened the door. Quietly, she crept through the silent apartment and into the living room.

Bam was there, sprawled out on the couch with a pillow over his eyes. He was still wearing the clothes from last night. The TV was off and she noticed her laptop on the floor next to the couch. A tiny smile flashed across her face as she rolled her eyes, grabbing the blanket off the back of the couch to cover him with it. Then she picked up her laptop and put it back in its place on the counter.

She returned to her bedroom after making sure everything was in order...well, as much of an order as it could be. The remains of the coffee table-the metal frame- had been pushed to the side of the living room until garbage day, or until the crime scene guys returned.

But she was too awake now. An hour of sleep would have to do until she could sleep tonight...if she could sleep tonight.

Instead of crawling back into bed, Jess looked at her reflection in her bathroom mirror for the first time in almost 12 hours. She looked pale, dark bags standing out under her tired brown eyes. Her hair was tangled and matted to her head. She looked like death itself.

Her mind suddenly drifted back to last night...or very early this morning. The girl being wheeled down the hallway, the one who had been shot in the stomach. The one who was pregnant. Had she survived? What about her baby? Jess had to know, but the girl’s name escaped her at the moment. How could she call the hospital asking about a girl she didn’t even know? Would anyone even be in at this hour?

Though it wasn’t the smartest thing she could’ve done so soon after what had just happened, Jess changed into a pair of dark gray trousers and a cream colored ruched top. Trying to make herself look as nice as possible for a girl whom she had never met, she did her makeup with subtle colors while trying to cover up the dark bags that plagued the skin under her eyes.

Jess tied her hair back into a low ponytail, seeing as that was all she could do at the moment until she could come back and take another shower.

Before she grabbed her purse, she wrote a note to Bam explaining how she was going to the hospital to visit the girl from last night and possibly pick up some breakfast. She even wrote down what time it was at the moment in case he freaked out and called her.

It was supposed to be chilly all day today, which Jess soon realized when she stepped outside to hail a cab. One stopped for her almost instantly to take her the seven blocks to the hospital.

“Thank you.” she handed the money to the driver as he pulled to a stop in the front loop of the hospital.

“Can I help you?” the nurse at the reception desk asked pleasantly, unaware of the ungodly hour she was awake at.

“Well...this is gonna sound weird, but I was treated in here last night and as I was leaving, a young woman was being brought in...shot by someone in her apartment? She was pregnant...” Jess trailed off.

“Are you related to her?” the nurse had her hands poised over the keyboard at her computer.

“Uh, no, actually. But last night, when I was brought in here, it was because I was attacked in my apartment, too...and...I don’t know...I just wanted to see if she was okay.” she bit her lip.

“I really should say no...but...the girl’s parents and relatives haven’t called back yet, and she hasn’t had any visitors yet. Let me call up and make sure it’s okay.” the nurse reached for the phone. She chatted for a few minutes with the person on the other line.

“Thanks, Casey, I’ll tell her.” she smiled at Jess and hung up.

“Fourth floor, ICU. The elevators are down that hallway and to the right.” the nurse pointed to a hallway off of the main room.

“Thank you!” Jess said, taking a short detour to the gift shop to her right. She bought a purple carnation from behind the desk and a small card from one of the many racks in the display windows.

With her purchases, she walked down the empty hallway to the elevators. She got there just as a few nurses were getting off. Inside, she pushed the button for the fourth floor.

It was then that her phone rang frantically in her purse. Lo and behold, Bam was calling her.

“Hello?” she asked, waiting for the panicked sound of Bam’s voice to assault her eardrums.

“What are you doing awake at seven in the asshole morning?” he yawned.

“Checking on the girl from last night.” she answered like she was talking about the weather. “And then I might stop by Dunkin Donuts on the way home.” she added.

“Girl from last night...girl from last night...” Bam mumbled under his breath, trying to remember.

“The girl who was being brought in when we were leaving.” Jess clarified.

“That girl? But...why?” he asked.

“I just feel like I need to.” she said quietly, hoping Bam wouldn’t ask any more about it. She couldn’t explain if even if she wanted to. It was as if she had this instinct to do it.

“Alright...just don’t be out too long.” he finally said, knowing he couldn’t push her to come back.

“I’ll be back in an hour or so. Just go back to sleep.” she teased as the elevaotr doors opened the the ICU.

“You got it, babe.” he yawned again before they both hung up.