Page 11 of Ghost of Christmas Future
“Good to know,” Jude mumbled. He opened his eyes to find himself standing in Ronan’s empty living room. He heard voices and headed for the kitchen. He found Everly and Ezra coloring at the kitchen table while Ronan read over what looked like the Mullins file. Jude wondered if Ronan had found any new evidence or if he was just refamiliarizing himself with the details. Tennyson stood at the kitchen island cutting lettuce. A cucumber, peppers, and grape tomatoes sat nearby. It was a perfect Sunday scene of a happy family enjoying time together.
Jude was about to ask Bertha why they were here in Ronan and Ten’s kitchen when Ronan’s phone rang.
Ronan, his attention still focused on the file in front of him, reached for his phone and took a quick glance at the screen. “Hey, Cope, what’s up?”
A terrified, high-pitched voice burst through the phone. Jude couldn’t tell who the caller was, or what they were saying, but thenews was obviously not good. Ronan set the phone on the table and hit the speaker button. “Take a deep breath, Wolfie, I can’t understand what you’re saying.”
Jude felt his ghostly knees start to buckle. Bertha grabbed his elbow and held on tight. Unless he missed his guess, Wolf was calling Ronan to tell him about Jude’s fall down the stairs.
“Daddy fell!” Wolf cried. “He fell down the stairs and there’s blood. Please save my Daddy.”
“Oh, no!” Everly’s eyes widened and filled with tears. She was out of her seat and running for the living room before Wolf had finished explaining what had happened.
“Call 911! I’ll be right there!” Ronan shouted. He shoved his phone back into his pocket and ran for the living room.
Jude followed along behind Ronan and Everly. By the time he reached the living room, Everly already had her sneakers on and was sticking an arm into her jacket. Ronan followed suit. “What do you see, little miss?” Ronan asked.
“Nothing, Daddy, but it’s bad, really bad.” Without waiting for Ronan to respond, Everly yanked open the front door and ran down the front steps. Ronan was right behind her. From the kitchen, Jude could hear Tennyson on the phone repeating what Wolf had said. He assumed Fitzgibbon was on the other end of the line. Seconds later, Tennyson ran into the living room and started putting on Ezra’s jacket, then his own. Ten grabbed his keys and ran out the door with Ezra in his arms.
“Wow,” Jude muttered. He walked to the front window and caught Tennyson running into his house. The front door was wide open. From a distance, he could hear the wail of sirens. The cavalry was coming. Jude turned to Bertha. “I get what you’redoing, trying to show me how Ronan and Everly reacted to news that I’d been hurt.” To be honest, Jude had expected no less.
“We’re not finished here.” Bertha took Jude’s hand.
Before Jude could ask what Bertha wanted him to see, he was transported to his own living room. Wolf and Lizbet were screaming. The kitchen timer was beeping. Running into his kitchen, Cope sprinted past him and shut off the oven timer. From the front door, came louder wails from the ambulance and police cars. Cisco and Fitz ran into the house just ahead of the paramedics.
In the midst of all the chaos, Jude’s full attention was on Everly, who had both arms wrapped around Wolf. His little face was bright red and streaked with tears. Jude had only seen his son this upset when he’d hurt himself falling off his bike, or that time he’d tried to fly off one of the backyard swings and bellyflopped to the ground.
Wolf’s raw pain made Jude’s heart and soul ache. Tennyson gathered Wolf close to him as something loud began bumping up the cellar stairs. Jude knew it would be the paramedics carrying him up the stairs. He watched silently as they placed him on the stretcher and strapped him down. Cope ran after the paramedics and shouted, “Jude, I can’t make it without you, please come back to me. I love you!”
Jude expected Cope’s reaction, but it still broke him to hear the absolute anguish in his husband’s voice. What Jude hadn’t expected was the look on Ronan’s face as he trudged up the stairs and into the kitchen. Ronan was white as a ghost, his hands stained with blood that was obviously Jude’s. He walked to Fitzgibbon and sobbed against his chest. “Fuck, Fitz, there’s blood everywhere. I don’t know if he’s gonna make it.” Ronan hiccupped. “What will I do without Jude? He’s the best friendI’ve ever had in my life. Jude makes me a better man. A better detective. Jesus, Fitz, we can’t lose him.”
Fitzgibbon pulled Ronan close. “Jude is the most stubborn man I’ve ever met in my life. It’s going to take a lot more than a fall down the stairs to take him out.” Fitz paused, looking to Jude like he was trying to get his emotions under control. “Cope, Lizbet, and Wolfie need us. Take a minute for yourself, then we’re going to the hospital.” Fitz headed for the living room.
Jude stayed in the kitchen with Ronan, who flipped on the faucet. He washed Jude’s blood from his hands and splashed water on his face, He grabbed blindly for a paper towel. Ronan turned and seemed to be staring at Jude. “I should have spent more time telling you how much I love you, instead of giving you shit and calling you an asshole. I promise that when you come home, I’ll do better. I’ll be a better friend, colleague, and neighbor, but you need to do your part too. Get better, Jude. Come home.” Ronan tossed his paper towel into the trash and walked out of the kitchen.
“This is what you wanted me to see,” Jude said, spying Bertha near the still-open cellar door.
“It is. You just got a chance to see what I’ve witnessed for years now, just how much Ronan loves you. When he says you’re his brother, he means it. Ronan didn’t hesitate to run to your side when he heard you’d been hurt. Follow me.” Bertha descended the cellar stairs.
Jude reluctantly followed Bertha. He’d walked through enough crime scenes in his days to know what he was going to see. Halfway down to the bottom, Jude saw blood and what looked like a hank of his hair on the edge of the tread. Drying blood was streaked down the center of each step, with a large puddle on the floor in front of the stairs, which Jude assumed was wherehe landed. He looked up at the kitchen, marveling at just how far he’d fallen. “Jesus, Bertha. The fall alone should have killed me.” Jude saw the two boxes of ornaments that lay on the cellar floor. Both were burst open, with Christmas memories scattered around them.
“I was hoping you’d notice that very thing.” Bertha looped an arm around Jude. “You’re still here for a reason. To grow old with your husband. To walk your daughter down the aisle. To cuddle your son’s kids. I would have givenanythingto have a second chance to be with my sons. I fought like a wildcat until my very last breath to stay here. To have held their babies and danced at their weddings.” Bertha sniffled. “Take this second chance and run with it Jude. Run!” With those words Bertha vanished.
Jude walked back upstairs and tried to close the basement door behind him. He’d momentarily forgotten that he wasn’t really standing in his kitchen. If he focused his energy, he could feel his body shiver from the cold packs placed all over him, could feel the respirator tube irritating his throat, and the pain ricocheting through his head.
Based on how far and how hard he’d fallen, the recovery from this accident wasn’t going to be quick or easy. Jude was going to need to fight with everything he had to make a full comeback. It was a good thing he had an amazing group of family and friends to give him strength.
8
Cope
Cope hadn’t slept one wink. He’d wanted to spend the night in the hospital with Jude, but Ronan had insisted Cope get some rest, that he’d stay with Jude. The plan was for Fitzgibbon to pick Cope up in the morning and bring him back to the hospital. Either Ronan or Cisco would stay the next night with Jude. After nearly dying at the hands of Salem Mercy’s killer angel two years ago, Jude wasn’t going to be left alone for even one second.
There had been a brief argument about Cope staying the night, but Ten had convinced him to go home. The kids were sleeping over at Ronan’s house and Ten had made the couch up for Cope. He’d been unable to say no.
He’d plastered a smile on his face during dinner. The kids had eaten peanut butter and fluff sandwiches like they’d all had dates in the morning with the electric chair. Cope hadn’t wanted to eat, but the mix of chunky peanut butter with marshmallow crème was too much for him to resist.
After dinner, the kids sat in the living room and watched movies;Finding Nemo, Frozen, and Toy Story,which was Jude’s favorite. While the kids laughed, Cope used his gift to check on Jude. Even twelve hours after Jude’s accident, he wasn’t able to see anything.
