This story picks up a few days after "Cop Hunch." Let me know what you think. Oh yeah, and it will be posted in parts. Sorry.

Love Is Not Enough

 By Terri D. Thomas

 Part 1

"Well, Tom, it looks like I'll be able to send you home soon." Dr. Miller looked down at the information that had been scribbled on his patient's chart.

"It's about time," Thomas Ryan said in a somewhat disgusted tone of voice. He had been recuperating in the hospital for over a week and a half and the boredom and inactivity was starting to drive him mad.

Dr. Miller chuckled at the man's attitude. "You seem to forget that you were shot twice and on the verge of death just a week and a half ago; not to mention the fact that you fought a heck of a fever for a few days." Tom didn't recall much of his first week in the hospital. It was all a blur. His shoulder wound had become infected and he spiked a fever 24 hours after his surgery. He remembered passing out during the middle of a conversation with Erin, and then nothing. The hospital staff told him that he was unconscious for over 12 hours. Tom spent the rest of the week battling the fever and trying to maintain some semblance of coherency.

Tom felt guilty, realizing that his ill humor could be mistaken for a lack of gratitude. "I'm sorry, Doc. I really appreciate everything you and your staff have done for me. I know that I was in pretty bad shape. It's just that I am so bored. I'm ready for a change of scenery."

"And you'll have it soon…possibly by next Monday if you behave yourself." The assisting nurse came in the room with more pills for the haggard detective. He turned up his nose, but swallowed the medication without further complaint. "I'll be back to check on you tonight," Dr. Miller continued. "If everything looks as good as it does now, you'll be out of here in a few days."

"Thanks, Doc." Tom watched the doctor leave, followed by the nurse. The room was quiet, except for the noise from the nurses' station down the hallway. Tom picked up a book on the bed stand and tried to read, but the attempt was unsuccessful. He tossed the book onto the bed and rubbed his sore right shoulder absently. The arm was stiff and felt confined in the tight sling, which held it against his chest.

The nurse had opened the blinds and the sun was shining into the room. God his missed the smell of fresh air. On impulse, he decided that he needed some exercise. If he were going to be heading home in a few days, then surely it wouldn't hurt to take a short walk around the hospital…maybe even head out to the patio for some sun.

Throwing back the covers with his left hand, he readjusted the robe he wore over his T-shirt and sweat pants, suddenly thankful that Erin had brought him clothes from home. Walking around in a flimsy hospital gown was no fun. Gingerly, he bent over and attempted to slip on his slippers. With one arm in the sling, it wasn't an easy task. Suddenly and unexpectedly he realized that bending over was probably not the smartest thing he could do. Dizziness overtook him as blackness grew in front of his eyes and his heart began pounding in his ears. He tried to rise up and grab the bed for steadiness, but was unsuccessful. Instead, he took a nosedive to the floor. The impact jarred his injuries and he cried out. He lay on the cold floor, unable to move, taking inventory of his pain.

He heard a familiar gasp from the doorway and a set of hands began to pull him to his feet. He slowly climbed to his knees and looked up into the blue eyes of his partner.

"Thomas Patrick Ryan, what in the hell do you think you're doing?" Cassandra St. John scolded.

"Hi Cass…I was just putting on my slippers," Tom replied innocently.

"From the prone position? That's a funny way of doing it." She pulled gently on Tom's left arm, helping him to ease his sore body back onto the bed.

Tom grinned sheepishly at his partner and shrugged his shoulders and then grimaced in pain, grabbing at the wounded arm. "Oh damn that hurt!"

Cassy shook her head in disbelief, "What kind of drugs does the Doc have you on? Obviously something that has affected your common sense."

Tom couldn't speak as knives ran through his shoulder and then down the length of his arm. His broken ribs then joined in for good measure. His eyes were squeezed tightly shut. Cassy, suddenly concerned, reached out to steady her partner and ease him back against the pillows. "Do you want me to call the nurse?"

Tom opened his eyes, taking a deep breath against the pain. He shook his head, "No…I'll be okay."

"Yeah right. I can see that." She raised her hand to his forehead, her palm then sliding to the side of his cheek and stopping under the guise of checking for fever, but really giving her the opportunity for a caring caress.

"Guess I'm not as far along as I thought." Tom smiled again, the sharp pain passing into a dull throb.

"Guess you're not," Cassy grinned back. "Are they giving you anything for the pain?" Cassy's hand moved from his face to his hand.

"Yeah, I just took a couple of pills a few minutes ago. Doesn't seem to be working, though."

"Well I suppose that falling out of bed isn't normally recommended in the recuperation process, huh?" Cassy couldn't help the mothering tone that entered her voice. She pulled the covers over her partner's legs and readjusted the pillow for him.

"I didn’t think you'd be stopping by today, with the sentencing and all."

"That's not until 10:00. I just wanted to make sure everything was okay." She paused and then patted his leg, "I'm glad I did, especially since you decided that sleeping on the floor was part of your recovery process."

"Hey, now, wait a sec. I can remember a couple of times that we ended up sleeping on the floor…and frankly it was damn comfortable." Tom winked at his ex-wife, watching the blush slowly rise in her cheeks.

"Oh, you're a riot, Ryan." Cassy decided it was time to change the subject before the line of the conversation progressed any further. "So I guess the D.A. decided he didn't need your testimony for the sentencing, huh.

"Nope. He said that since the deal had been struck he wasn't going to go after Harper with the death penalty. The sentencing should be a slam-dunk life sentence."

Cassy glanced at her watch. It was 8:45. She wanted to be at the Courthouse by 9:30 so that she could meet with the D.A. before the hearing. "Well, Partner, I think I need to get outta here."

"Do you have to? I'm going nuts here. The company is the only thing keeping me sane."

"Aren't your Mom and Dad going to stay with you today?"

"No. I sent them home yesterday. Dad needed to get back to the restaurant. There was really nothing that they could do but sit here and watch the paint dry. Mom offered to come back and stay with me when I go home in case I needed help."

"I figured Erin would be doing that for you."

Tom frowned at the mention of his new girlfriend's name. "I asked her to stay with me…help me with things for a couple of days. She told me that she thought her presence might hamper my recovery…"

Cassy laughed, "What? She's afraid you might breathe too hard and re-injure those ribs?"

Tom looked guilty all of the sudden, "Well, yeah. I guess I did mention that I would probably need to stay in bed for a few days…and that it would be a lot easier if she were near by."

Cassy laughed harder, "Well, if that's the case I guess it's a good thing that your heart wasn't damaged. That could have really put a kink in the old recovery process." Cassy hopped off the bed and placed a kiss on her ex-husband's cheek. "You take care. Oh yeah…and maybe you should ask the hospital to put some padding next to your bed, in case you decide to participate in any more floor exercises today."

"Ha, ha…funny." Tom grinned sarcastically, then his faced changed to his famous basset hound look, "You'll be back after the hearing, right?"

"You betcha. As soon as the sentencing is finished I'll be back here to give you the juicy details." He watched Cassy exit the room with a small wave as she left his vision. He was alone again.

At 11:30, Cassy entered Tom's room to find her partner asleep. The nurse had said that he had nodded off a half hour before. She tiptoed across the room and sat quietly in the chair next to his bed. His head was turned slightly, facing towards her. His hair was mussed, bangs falling in his eyes. She watched his face as he slept and had to fight the overwhelming urge to run her fingers through his hair and push the errant strands away from his face.

His face…it was so peaceful and a stark contrast from the pain and confusion she had seen on it just a week and a half before. God, had it really been that long ago that she almost lost him? The memory of seeing Tom's body lying in the hole, half-buried in dirt, still as death, came flooding back to Cassy. It seemed as if it had happened only yesterday. The vision in her mind made her sick to her stomach. She had rarely experienced that type of fear before in her life. In those few seconds she was convinced Tom was dead, and it terrified her.

Cassy's feelings about Tom had always been confusing, at best. She loved him, of that there was no doubt, but she found she had trouble being in love with him. There was a difference. As she had told Erin that night in the hospital while awaiting news of Tom's fate, she could never surrender completely to him. Her fear of betrayal always hampered the relationship. What was so frustrating was that she knew the fear was unfounded. Tom had never, despite Cassy's accusations to the contrary, done anything to betray her trust, at least nothing that she could prove. Cassy suddenly stopped her thought process and mentally kicked herself. Even when talking to herself she was accusatory about Tom's motives.

She reached out and lightly touched Tom's exposed left arm. The skin beneath her fingers was warm, but not with fever, only with life. She recalled kneeling next to him in the pit. His skin had been so cold. The shock had made the hue of his face a pasty white. The crimson stains on his shoulder and side stood out painfully against the pale background. In those moments, while Tom faded in and out of coherency, Cassy's only desire was to take away his pain and ease her own fears. A life without her partner and ex-husband flashed before her eyes and it was very lonely. And in those few moments she knew that she never wanted to experience that loneliness again.

The arm beneath her hand moved slightly, stirring Cassy from her thoughts. Tom's eyelids suddenly fluttered and opened. A smile appeared on his face instantly. "Hey there."

"Hi there, sleepyhead," Cassy smiled back, moving her hand from his arm to his hand.

"You been here long?" Tom's voice was raspy. Cassy reached over and poured him a glass of water.

"No. Just a few minutes." She handed the glass of water to her partner.

"Why didn't you wake me?" he asked between sips.

"Well, you looked so damn cute there that I just didn't have the heart to disturb you," she winked with her best flirtatious smile on her face. Tom sputtered on the water, somewhat embarrassed. He smiled at her again and handed the glass back.

"So how'd the sentencing go?"

"Harper got life. D.A.'s happy, Harry's happy, I think even Pamela's happy. She didn't seem too keen on the whole death penalty thing." Cassy paused for a moment as she watched Tom painfully push himself up and try to single-handedly rearrange the pillows behind him. It was turning into quite a fight. Watching his frustration growing as he lost the battle, Cassy sat on the side of the bed. She gently leaned Tom forward against her shoulder and reached behind him to fluff and restack the pillows. "Better?" she asked as she eased him back against them.

"Mmmm, much," he smiled. "Gee, can we do that again? Especially that shoulder thing?" It was Cassy's turn to blush slightly.

"You'd better straighten up, Ryan. I don't think Erin would be too pleased with thoughts like that. Speaking of which, has Erin been here yet?"

"I'm right here," a feminine voice said from behind. Startled, Cassy and Tom both looked towards the door. Erin stood there, arms full. One arm held a stack of magazines and the other a huge chocolate bar.

"Oh, hi Erin." Cassy stood quickly from her temporary seat on the edge of the bed. She felt guilty all of the sudden, but she wasn't really sure why.

Erin had a slight smile on her face, as if she had witnessed the exchange between the partners, but to her credit, she said nothing, "How are you doing, Cassy?" Erin asked pleasantly.

"I'm fine. I just stopped by to tell Tom about the sentencing."

"What happened?" she asked as she approached the opposite side of the bed. Tom smiled at the woman as she placed the magazines and chocolate bar on the bed stand next to him. Reaching over she kissed him lightly on the lips, her now freed right hand caressing his face.

"Two consecutive life sentences. I don't think she'll be out for a while."

"Good," Tom was surprised to see a hint of anger in Erin's eyes. Turning her attention back to the man, she sat on the edge of the bed, being careful not to jostle his shoulder. "So, how are you feeling today?"

"Pretty good. Doc Miller said I may be able to go home in a couple of days."

"Unfortunately, if Tom pulls any more stunts like he did this morning, he won't be going anywhere for a while," Cassy inserted.

"What did you do?" a look of concern now crossed Erin's features.

Tom didn't say anything at first, instead he just looked guilty. "Thomas Ryan, what did you do?" Erin repeated slowly, emphasizing each syllable.

"I, well, I kinda fell."

"Tom! Are you okay? How did you fall? Where was the nurse?" The questions were fired like machine gun bullets, not leaving Tom time to answer any of them.

Cassy interrupted again, "He says he's fine. He fell while trying to put his slippers on so he could take a walk. Some how he seemed to have gotten it through his head that he was ready to be independently mobile. I think he found out differently." Tom didn't say anything; he figured it was best to remain silent and let the women rant about his actions.

"I walked into the room and saw him lying on the floor. Just about gave me heart failure," Cassy continued.

"Did he re-injure himself?"

"I don't think so. He was in pain for awhile afterwards, but I think that's to be expected under the circumstances."

"Did the Doctor look at him to make sure everything was okay?"

"No. He said that he didn't need the doctor. That everything was fine."

Tom decided that this conversation about his health had gone on long enough. "Excuse me…if you don't mind, I'd like to speak for myself now." Both women looked at him with glares, causing him to flinch slightly and settle back into the mattress in retreat.
"Never mind," he said quietly. The room was silent for a moment and then both women broke out laughing.

Cassy leaned over her partner and gave him a peck on the cheek, "I've gotta run. I told Harry I'd be in by noon." Looking over at Erin, Cassy smiled "Take care of my partner…and don't be too rough on him…that's my job."

She waived at the couple and exited the room before Tom could respond.

End Part 1