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Darkness, darkness and pain. Reese’s brain struggled to work out what it all meant but gave up the uneven struggle and sank back into unconsciousness.
Next time his brain resurfaced it was still dark, but at least the pain wasn’t as bad.
“How’re you feeling?” Fusco’s voice asked him.
“Rough. Why’s it so dark?”
“You have a blindfold on. No, don’t try and take it off. It’s there for a reason.”
“Why? What’s happened?”
“What do you remember?” Fusco sounded worried.
“Being on the roof. I presume the explosion happened, since I’m feeling like this.” Reese groaned.
“Yeah. We got you off and patched up.” Reese again tried to reach for the blindfold, and Fusco said, “Will you lie still. The doc’s said your eyesight will be fine, but you need to rest your eyes for a couple of days. I promised I’d make sure you did. It was either me or Shaw, and she said she’d tie your arms to the bedstead to stop you pulling the blindfold off. Of course, if you don’t lie still, I’ll have to call her.”
“What about Finch?”
“Glasses has gone on a trip.”
“What sort of trip? Is he all right?”
“He’s fine. He’s in Europe. Oh, and Bear’s with Shaw.”
“I’m glad everyone’s okay.”
Fusco snorted. “Oh, yeah, and my stitches should be coming out in a few days.”
“What stitches?” Reese paused, struggling to think back over the events of that day. “Sorry, I forgot about that.”
“It’s okay. I won’t hold it against you.”
Reese sensed he ought to reply, but his whole body felt heavy, so he gave in to the sleep which was calling.
When he woke the next time, it was to the sound of a low rumbling which seemed vaguely familiar. He realised it was Fusco snoring. “Turn over,” he groaned.
There was the sound of a bed creaking and what he assumed was Fusco sitting up. “Are you okay?” Fusco asked, sounding panicked. “What’s wrong?”
“Your snoring woke me up.”
“Oh, that all!”
“And now I’m awake I really need to relieve myself.”
“I’ll help you.”
“No you won’t. I think I can manage by myself.” Reese fiddled with the blindfold.
Fusco padded over. “Here, let me do it. We’ll keep the lights low and you should be all right, but you’ll have to put it on afterwards.”
“Whatever.” Reese couldn’t bring himself to argue.
He returned shortly afterwards and sat down on the bed with a sigh. “You wouldn’t believe such a short journey could be so tiring.”
“Well, go back to sleep.”
“May I remind you I was until you started snoring?”
Fusco snorted.
“You could join me in the bed,” Reese suggested. “That way I can just elbow you when you snore.”
Fusco muttered, but joined him, and Reese soon fell back asleep.
***
By the following afternoon, Fusco had given into Reese’s complaints and allowed him to remove the blindfold, provided they left the drapes closed to keep out most of the sunlight. Reese was finding it hard to settle, getting up and moving around the apartment for a few minutes before sitting down again when the pain grew too much.
“We’re safe here,” Fusco said. “You don’t need to keep patrolling the area.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“So why won’t you rest? It’s what you need after all.”
“I feel like I’m missing something. I should be doing something, but there’s nothing to do.”
“Yes, it’s finished. We’ve all got to come to terms with that.”
“Is that why Finch has left? Because it’s all over.”
“Yes and no!”
“What?”
“We all felt it would be wisest if he got away for a while. But also, he’d heard Grace was in Europe, and he wanted to see how she was.”
“Not just leaving us then?”
“How can you say that?” Fusco spoke sharply and then nodded. “Yeah, it would be easier for you if you’d been there when we discussed it. Although technically you were there, just not conscious.”
“That doesn’t count!”
Fusco chuckled. “Maybe not! Shaw, of course, will do whatever she thinks best. And that just left me. And you.”
“Separately or together?”
“Whatever you want, although together would be my preference.”
“I don’t know. I mean, yes together would be good. But is it wise?” Reese shook his head. “I can’t think straight at the moment.”
“Since you’re not going anywhere for some days, I don’t think you need to make any decisions just now. Look, I’ll rustle up some food and then you can get some more sleep, which you clearly need. And we can see what tomorrow brings. I may even open the drapes.”
“Lionel, you’re all heart!”
***
The speed of Reese’s recovery surprised Fusco but frustrated Reese, who was soon anxious to get out of the apartment and do more exercise.
“We are up two flights of stairs,” Fusco protested. “I don’t want you going out and then being too tired to walk up them again. And I’m sure as hell not carrying you!”
“I can do it. I know I can do it.”
Fusco raised his hands in acknowledgement. “Okay, prove it to me. Go down and up the first flight this morning, and we’ll go for a walk this afternoon.”
“All right!” Reese said. “I’ll show you.”
He left the apartment immediately. A few minutes later, Fusco put his head out the door and saw Reese sitting on one of the steps halfway down.
“I’m just getting my breath back,” Reese said.
Fusco nodded. “We’ll postpone our walk for the moment then.”
Reese glared at him but didn’t say anything. When he finally made it back to the apartment he collapsed on the sofa and said, “Okay, I’ll admit I’m not quite ready to make a major move yet, but I would like to discuss possible plans. Did you have anything in mind?”
“Yeah. I thought we could go on a road trip. Head out west, maybe find somewhere to settle down, start a new life somewhere nothing ever happens.”
“You’d get bored.”
“Probably, but I’d like to have the time to found out.”
Reese stretched, winced, and settled back on the sofa. “I admit it does have a certain appeal. Give it six months, move on again, find a nice place somewhere, maybe have the occasional house guest. Have you had any thought as to where?”
Fusco grinned and produced a highly annotated map. “What do you think I’ve been doing while you’ve been playing at Sleeping Beauty?”