“Javier,” she said softly. “Wake up. Come on. Wake up.” At her voice, Jav moaned softly and his eyelids fluttered once and then slowly opened. He turned slumberous eyes on the voice who had willed him from the reaches of sleep. Tracy's breath caught at the seductive look his expression gave as he gazed at her. She blushed slightly.
“Tracy...” he whispered again. The woman in question started not only at her name on his lips, but the fact he knew who she was.
“How...” she murmured to herself.
“Sir, do you know where you are? What your name is?” Natalie asked as she began to check his vitals.
“Water...” he muttered. After sipping cool water from a cup Tracy presented, he formulated his answer. “Name's Javier Valesquez. I guess I'm in a hospital in...?” he questioned.
“New Orleans. You were in a plane crash. You're one of few people who survived. What do you remember?” Natalie asked as she began to take notes.
“I was on my way from Madrid to visit a friend of mine, Nicholas Renaud, when we had turbulence. I don't remember anything after that. My mind draws a blank.”
“The plane crashed. Everyone who survived was brought to New Orleans General, where you are right now. You've been in a coma for several weeks now. Both Nick and Ursula have been by to visit. I can have a nurse inform them of your recovery,” Natalie stated.
“Yeah, I want to see them. I want to get out of here. When can I leave?” Javier asked impatiently.
“Mr. Valesquez, you are in no condition to be leaving anytime soon. You will need physical therapy for at least two months and we need to check you out thoroughly, just as a precaution. Once you're strong enough, you can be released. I'll be right back,” Natalie said just before she left the room. When they were alone, Javier asked Tracy, “Who are you?” Just as she asked, “How did you know my name?”
They both started and Tracy spoke first. “I'm Nick's new partner. Tracy Vetter, at your service.” Javier smirked. “Natalie's my best friend. I found out about you when she was on call one night. How did you know my name?” she asked again.
“I don't know. It just came out. I had a dream...about a blond woman,” he said, his eyes glazed over, remembering something Tracy couldn't understand.
“I don't doubt it,” she blurted out before thinking. Javier looked at her sharply, eyebrows raised. He blinked once and then said, “Unfortunately, it wasn't one of those dreams,” as he flashed a smile. Tracy blushed again and stuttered, “I did not mean for that to come out the way it did. I just meant...” He looked at her intently, unerringly knowing she was not being truthful. “Okay, okay, that was the way I meant it, but I didn't mean to say it out loud.”
“Darlin', we never do,” he said as he smirked again, his brown eyes twinkling. Just then Natalie walked in, realizing at once she had walked into something by the looks on Tracy's and Javier's faces.
“Nick and Ursula are on their way. Are you hungry?”
“No. I don't want anything to eat. Actually, I'm tired. I think I'll rest more before Nick and Urs get here,” Javier said his eyes began to drift closed. Nat and Tracy left.
An angelic face appeared through the mist surrounding him. Javier at once did not know the woman and at the same time, knew her. She was a dear friend, perhaps even more, Javier thought as the woman's lips brushed his. A second later, Javier found himself surrounded in a plushly decorated box. In an instant he knew he was in a coffin. Lightning quick, the coffin was gone and he found himself in a tomblike room, candles scattered across the grand stairwells and mantles that littered over the area. She was there. She crossed the room to stand in front of him, her face inches from his own, her lips a breath a way. Leaning in, she kissed his lips for a brief second. A moment later, Javier felt pain, fire burning through his chest, radiating out. A wordless cry escaped his lips, and he looked down in surprise and shock. Her hand, crimson with his blood, held a thick piece of wood, a stake, his mind absently supplied. The stake protruded from his chest. His last glimpse of earth was her sweet face contorted in undescribable anguish, baby blue eyes dark pools of pain. Darkness fell...
Javier awoke in a sweat, heart pounding, sheets tangled about his body, the last vestiges of the dream slipping away from the tendrils of his consciousness. He remembered one thing, one element that was as clear as crystal: her, the woman from his dreams. She was Tracy, the woman he had met earlier, or at least looked like her. Get a grip, Javier, he reprimanded himself silently. Whatever that dream was, the only reason the woman in your dream looks like Tracy Vetter is because... Well he had no clear explanation for that, but he wasn't crazy. He looked up at the sound of a knock, and was surprised to find the object of his thoughts standing in the door.
“Hey, how are you doing?” she asked quietly.
“Pretty good considering I was almost toast on that plane. Learned my lesson.”
“You just need to get back on the proverbial horse,” Tracy said as she walked further into the room. She pulled up a chair by the side of his bed.
“Ahh, however, it is one thing to say it; it's quite another to do it. Whatever. Anyway.... Why aren't you out chasing the bad guys? I thought you would be out chasing the murdering thugs of New Orleans,” Jav said with a slight smirk.
“Yes, well, seems like they have decided to give us a break the past few days. There hasn't been a murder in over two weeks. Not that we don't have to solve a couple of older cases, but I'm glad the bad guys have taken a break from the usual blood and gore.”
“Shh,” Jav said mockingly. Tracy frowned, clearly not understanding him. “If you talk about your good fortune, then your caseload will pick up. Always does. Know what they say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.” Tracy smiled.
Natalie was fixing herself a cup of coffee in the employee's lounge when a knock sounded at the door. She looked through the glass and saw Nick's hesitant face. She motioned him in.
“Front desk said you were back here. How's Javier?”
“He's awake and alert, talking to Tracy as we speak. The hospital has already informed Ursula of Javier's recovery.”
“I read up on comas and research said that sometimes the patient loses his memory.”
“Everything seems fine. Javier seems all right, but to be sure, I've ordered a CAT scan.”
“Good,” Nick nodded in agreement. “Can I see him?”
“Follow me,” Nat answered. She led him outside and down the corridor. She knocked softly and announced herself.
“Come in,” Javier's muffled voice came through the door. Nick and Nat walked through the door.
“Hey, partner,” Tracy greeted teasingly. He smiled slightly, but his attention was solely focused on his friend.
“How are you doing, Javs?” Nick asked his old friend, unconsciously using his childhood nickname.
“I've been better, but I'll be fine. How's Urs? Where is she?” Javier asked Nick, his brown eyes searching intently into Nick's.
“Right here,” Urs said from the door. Jav's head turned to the door, as did everyone else's.
“Baby doll, what took you so long?” Jav cracked. Urs walked swiftly to his side, where Tracy was sitting. Tracy backed away, feeling suddenly out of place. Urs didn't even glance her way as she gave her friend and former lover a hug.
“Hung up in traffic. It's a bitch out there,” she mumbled through his scrubs. “I was so worried about you. You just had to fly over, didn't you?” Urs reprimanded him.
“Well, it was either that or take a boat over. And weeks seemed too long a wait to see your lovely face and Nick's scraggly body.”
Urs laughed. “Well, next time you visit, take the boat. I'll even pay for the ticket. So, when can you get out of this place? I'll make you your favorite, fried chicken, white rice, and black beans.”
As Tracy listened to their banter, a slow burn began in her heart. Jealousy and something akin to envy gripped her. She didn't know why this jealousy was inside her, but she didn't like it. She didn't like instantly hating someone. It wasn't her nature. Normally, she was a very affectionate, trusting, I-like-everyone kind of person, but since meeting Ursula, she had developed an unnatural malevolence toward the blond pixie.
Natalie watched as her friend struggled with her feelings. Tracy was an open book and right now, her eyes spoke of everything she was troubled with. Her blue eyes were turbulent and dark, signifying her emotions. Tracy liked Javier Valesquez. That was apparent. And Ursula represented an obstacle that Trace would have to get over. And even though she had only seen the two of them together a handful of times since he awoke, Natalie could tell that Javier also liked her best friend. There was a chemistry between them.
Tracy began to feel insignificant and the room was beginning to feel stifling. “I'm going outside to catch some fresh air. I'll be back later,” she murmured, as she glanced one last time over at Javier, her eyes lingering, a sadness engulfing her gaze for a brief moment, before flickering out, making Natalie wonder if she had really seen it. Natalie's gaze sharply rested on Javier's. She watched him watch Tracy walk out, totally oblivious to Ursula, who was talking his ear off.
Don't leave, Javier wanted to shout out to Tracy as she reluctantly left his hospital room. He wanted her to stay, and as much as it made him feel guilty, he wanted Dr. Lombardi, Nick and Urs all to leave. For them to leave so Tracy would stay. So he could have her to himself and get to know her even more. There was so much he didn't know. But, instead, he impatiently paid attention to Urs, who was telling him about what she'd been doing the past months.
About fifteen minutes later he was thanking God because Natalie, Nick, and Urs left him alone. He waited for over an hour, but Tracy never came back. He tamed his disappointment and soon, his eyelids began to droop, and before he knew it, sleep had once again claimed him.
Javier awoke later in need of the bathroom and so he dragged himself into the little alcove that served as a restroom in his hospital room and relieved himself. When he opened the curtain, he was surprised to find Tracy there, standing him front of him, her back to his front. An impulse claimed him, and Jav snuck up on her, his bare feet silent upon the linoleum floor. “Boo,” he said right into Tracy's ear. She jumped a foot and spun around.
“Why'd you do that? You nearly gave me a heart attack!” she sputtered, incensed.
“Because I can,” he replied smartly. Tracy's blue eyes narrowed.
“Smartass,” she replied tartly. A strong feeling of deja vu swept over her. At the same time a sense of recognition passed through Javier. “You feel it too,” she stated, daring him to contradict her.
“Yeah. It's like kismet. Maybe we knew each other in a previous life,” he joked. They laughed over the absurdity of the thought. His expression turned serious. “So, why'd you come back?”
“I said I would,” she said simply.
He smiled, a slow smile that spoke without words of his pleasure. “I'm glad.”
They sat down on Jav's hospital bed and talked more about Tracy's family, his travels, and especially about ex’s. “I've had exactly four boyfriends since I was a teenager. Two of them were in high school, and the other two were in college, one a fellow student, and I still can't believe I went out with my professor.”
“Miss Tracy Vetter dated her teacher. I'm surprised. Naughty girl,” Javier teased. “Well, when I was a teenager, Urs and I had a thing going for about a year, but then I turned 18 and shot out of America, as far away as I could possibly get on the kind of cash I had. Since then, a string of girls that meant nothing to me, a lot of one night stands trying to forget who I was, and where I came from. I've been running since I was a kid, and so far, I haven't found a reason to stop.”
Tracy looked at him pensively. I'll give you a reason to stop, she thought, and for a horrifying moment, she thought she had spoken aloud. Javier gave her a puzzled look at the expression on her face. “Did I say something wrong?” he asked.
“Oh, no. I was thinking about something else.”
“So, who exactly was this professor you dated in college?”
“Well, he was my philosophy instructor. I...” Tracy went on and told Javier about the brief affair with Professor Robert Ellens and Mark Thomson, a law student. Javier told her about his one night stands and about Urs, what she was like in her teens, and his brief life as Nick and Urs' foster brother in one of their homes. Later, Tracy got a beep on her pager and she had to leave to go to the station, but she said she'd be back later. On impulse, she reached over to kiss Javier on the cheek, and at the last minute he turned his head so her lips brushed his. Tracy froze for a second and then brushed her lips across his one more time, as if she couldn't help herself, and then left quickly, not looking Javier in the eyes.