Page 72 of The Mouse and the Maestro

Jane woke in the hospital. That didn’t happen like she thought, either. She always imagined being pulled from somewhere else, a great foggy distance. In reality she snapped instantly alert, one minute unconscious, the next awake and in tune to what was happening around her.

She was hooked to an IV and monitor, and it was daylight. Nothing was in her throat, though it was a bit scratchy, as if she’d been intubated at some point. The IV felt vaguely uncomfortable, but she felt no pain, thanks to whatever was dripping benignly into her veins. She was alone in the room, and she was thirsty.Looks like I’m all caught up,Jane thought. Her most pressing concerns were Blue and Charles, in that order. Was Blue okay, and was Charles in jail? She had the horrible suspicion Charles had somehow managed to weasel away and escape, though she hoped against hope it wasn’t true.

As if thinking of him caused him to appear, Blue entered her room wearing his own hospital gown, though he wasn’t hooked to any monitor or device. “Jane,” he said, hobbling forward. He stopped by her bedside, gingerly leaned in and kissed her on the lips. Jane took the hand that wasn’t hooked to a monitor or IVand used it to draw him close, returning his kiss with as much interest as she could muster, which must have been a lot because eventually he broke it off and rested his head on her uninjured shoulder.

“I guess you’re doing okay,” he gasped.

“How are you?”

“Good. On concussion protocol for a week. Some things are a bit mixed up in my brain, but a bonk on the head will do that. Hopefully with a bit of rest things will clear up.” He sat in the chair beside the bed. “I have some bad news.”

“What?” Jane croaked, steeling herself for the worst.

“They had to do a bit of repair work on your shoulder. Your pitching career is over.”

“Just when I was getting good,” Jane said. “What about Charles?”

“He tried to get away, but the poor dope had a shoulder injury that left a trail and led us right to him. Let’s say he’s in federal custody and will be for a long, long time.” He picked up her hand and pressed it to his cheek. “My poor Janie. I can’t believe you got shot.”

“I can’t believe I shot a man, and you missed it,” she said.

“For the record, that was a new gun. And you’ve now fired it more times than I have, and definitely hit more targets,” he said, and she laughed. He took her hand and held it gently. “Are you too sick and weak to have our long overdue conversation?”

“Yes, but if you don’t talk right now, I’ll hunt you down and beat you with my IV bag,” she threatened. “Start six months ago.”

“First I realized meeting you was the magic cure to getting over Maggie. Next time I saw her after I dropped you off it was like seeing a pal, nothing more, certainly no inappropriate or unrequited crush. I’m happy to say it hasn’t returned in themonths since. At six months free, I think I’m officially cured and over her.”

“Congratulations,” Jane said. “Now get to all those other women you dated.”

“Right, that. I met a few dates online and did my usual amount of research. I went into those dates fully armed. With one woman I even looked at her dental records.”

“There’d better be anandhere,” Jane said.

“There is.Andit was horrible. So incredibly boring. Once you pointed out to me how wrong and invasive it was for me to do that much poking around in people’s private lives, I couldn’t unsee it. I felt creepy and kind of ill and, did I mention, so incredibly bored. There was no mystery, no excitement, no sense of wonder or anticipation. I missed my Jane who is a complete and utter mystery to me, a total question mark.” He pressed her palm to his lips. “Jane, my Jane, I don’t care anymore about your past. I don’t care who you are or where you came from or that you have no virtual footprint, or that your dad is likely some terrifying criminal warlord. I want to be with you, up to and including forever. I love you.”

“Blue, you are so incredibly much wow,” Jane said and groaned. “That was supposed to be poetic and charming.”

“You’re on a lot of heavy duty drugs,” Blue said, his tone sympathetic.

“Yes, but you know it wasn’t the drugs. You know it was the awkwardness that inhabits my life.”

“I do know, and I find it all kinds of adorable,” Blue said.

“I so badly want to kiss you, but I also so badly want a sip of water,” Jane said.

Blue stood painfully to his feet, hobbled to the sink, and brought her a drink of water. “Thank you,” Jane said, dribbling water down her chin in her attempt to drink.

Blue brushed the hair away from her face, and they spent a minute looking at each other in that adoring way that only new love brings, until a shadow fell in the doorway, announcing someone’s presence. Blue turned and saw his boss, rather his boss’s boss, Colonel Caruthers. He dashed to his feet, repressing a groan of pain.

“Colonel, sir,” Blue blurted. He was beyond shocked. The Colonel always dealt with Ridge. Except for when he first sprang him from prison all those years ago, Blue couldn’t remember a time when the man had come specifically to see him. “This is Jane Dunbar, sir.”

“As you were, Blue,” The Colonel replied. Then, noting that Blue continued to stand, albeit wobbly, snapped, “I said sit, son.”

Blue sat.

“As for the young lady, I’m familiar. And it’sDr. Jane Dunbar.” He went forward and took Jane’s hand. “How’s it going, Princess?”

“Pretty well, Daddy,” Jane returned, and Blue slumped forward onto the bed in an unconscious heap.

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