That Last Little Spark

"She's right in there." a nurse smiled at Jess and pointed across the hall. Jess thanked her and quietly slipped through the doorway.

Andrea was sleeping soundly, an IV stuck in her hand. A blue and yellow bruise covered her right eye and temple. Her left hand was resting on her stomach. Jess hoped that it was a good sign.

Quietly, she sat down in a chair by the bed and began to write inside the card.

"Who...who are you?" a scratchy voice asked. Jess looked up and saw a pair of dark green eyes looking at her.

"Well, this might sound weird, but you were being brought in as I was leaving. My name's Jess." she explained.

"I'm Andrea, but...what are you doing here?" she asked. Suddenly, she blinked in realization. "You're Bam's girlfriend. I knew you looked familiar." she gasped. Jess nodded.

"You're prettier up close. He's lucky." Andrea smiled. Tears pricked at Jess' eyes, but she managed to blink them away.

"No...I think I'm the lucky one." Jess shook her head.

"What are you doing here, in my room, of all places?" Andrea asked.

"I had to know how you were doing." Jess explained as best she could.

"What do you mean?" Andrea asked.

"Last night, when you were being brought in, the doctors were yelling about someone attacking you in your apartment." Jess began.

"So you're here out of pity? Because I don't need it." Andrea's eyes hardened and her voice held a tone of disgust.

"No, I'm here because I know what it's like." Jess kicked off her shoes and pulled up the legs of her pants to reveal the gauze stll on the bottom of her feet and the cuts across her legs.

"Oh my god." Andrea gasped.

"Someone I thought I would never see again was waiting for me in my apartment last night. He had a gun. I was so close to giving up, so close to letting him win. I don't know what came over me...but I suddenly fought back. I remember jumping at him and both of us going through my glass coffee table. The next thing I remember is...shooting him with his gun." Jess took a deep breath.

"But last night, when I was leaving and you were being brought in, when I heard that you had been attacked too, I wondered what I had to be scared about. Here I was, walking out with minor cuts, and there you were on a stretcher. So no, I'm not here out of pity for you. I'm here because I know a little bit about how it feels." Jess explained as best she could.

"Yeah..." Andrea absentmindedly rubbed her stomach, where the small bump was visible under the blanket. "I guess so. Can I ask...what made you suddenly want to fight?" she asked.

"When I was about eight, my mom, my dad, and my unborn sister were all killed when someone broke into our house late at night. I'm not sure why, but I think they're the reason I fought back. Or it could've been that I'd been scared of this person all my life, and I didn't want him to have that...hold...over me. 'Fight or flight', my self defense teacher had always said in high school. I'd always chosen flight. Somehow, I found the way to fight." Jess nodded slowly.

"I hear that." Andrea looked down at her stomach.

"I hear nothing's scarier than fighting a pregnant mother." Jess smiled softly.

"How..." Andrea trailed off in confusion.

"The doctors were talking about it." Jess clarified.

"News travels fast, I guess. I don't know who's looking out for me up there," Andrea paused and looked at the ceiling. "But someone was watching last night. The doctors couldn't believe it. The bullet missed everything. They said that it had taken the one path that wouldn't hurt me or my baby." Andrea smiled at her stomach. Jess couldn't help smiling.

"Do you know if it's a boy or a girl?" she asked.

"My boyfriend and I just want him or her to be healthy. We won't mind either way." Andrea's smile grew.

"Any names in mind?" Jess asked.

"Zachary Michael if it's a boy, Gianna Faith if it's a girl." Andrea said.

"Ms. Rose? Someone's here to see you." a nurse came to the doorway, a young man beside her. He had a buzzcut and green eyes, and he was wearing an army t-shirt. Andrea covered her mouth and tears suddenly escaped her eyes. Jess reached out and touched Andrea's arm. Wordlessly, she nodded and Jess stood up, smiling at the man as she slipped past him, knowing that he had to have been Andrea's boyfriend.

Jess felt a strange sense of calm as she got on the elevator once more and rode back down to the first floor. Rain was just beginning to fall as she waved goodbye to the nurse at the front desk and walked outside.

She managed to catch a cab and slid into the backseat. The ride to her building was comfortably quiet, and the driver stopped by the closest bakery at her request.

The smell of fresh baking bread and coffee brought a sense of comfort and warmth on this chilly day. Jess picked out a few varieties of bagels and donuts that she thought Bam might like.

"Mornin' Ms. Walker." the Jeffery, the old man behind the counter tipped his hat. He had a charming Irish accent and made the best baked goods on the block.

"Morning, Jeffery." she replied cheerily, but tiredly.

"You're up early, lass." he observed.

"It seemed like a nice morning for a walk, before it started raining." she lied and put her money down on the counter.

"My dear, what happened to your hands?" he asked when she held out her hand for her change. She still had the gauze taped to her palms.

"You know that vase I bought last week? I was filling it with water to put flowers in when I dropped it. Stupid me tried to clean up the bigger pieces and I ended up cutting my hands." she shrugged like it had really happened, when in fact the vase was still intact on the dining room table. They made small talk for a few minutes before she said goodbye and walked out of the store.

The woman at the desk in the lobby eyed her curiously and whispered to one of the other women. They both stared at her as she walked to the elevator.

Bam was still sleeping on the couch when she entered her apartment. The blanket was on the floor and the pillow was back over his eyes. She rolled her eyes and put the bag of food down on the counter before looking at the clock to see that it was barely 8:30. Sighing, she left the food on the counter and quietly slipped down the hallway to her bedroom.

After shutting the door, she stripped off the nice shirt and pants and dug a pair of black velour sweatpants and a red t-shirt out of her dresser, a perfect outfit for an unseasonably chilly day in August.

She crept back into the living room and stared at Bam, sleeping on the huge couch. She tiptoed over to him and managed to lie down next to him, breathing in the faded scent of aftershave and laundry detergent as she closed her eyes.

And somewhere between that last moment of conciousness and falling asleep, she felt his arms wrap around her.