Chapter 50

Selena had stayed with Joe more than an hour past normal visiting hours Wednesday night. It was a great time for them just communicating and solidifying their bond. She spoke about all of the things she and Dr. Payne talked about, except the TeeFix. The doctor thought it was the most likely scenario, but didn't want Joe to bank on it and then be disappointed. They went over how they would handle his recovery, no matter which way the surgery went so that it would not interfere with her school work. They arranged Joe's transportation to the hotel if he were allowed to leave on Thursday and then his subsequent travel home. Joe called real estate friends to get a lead on an apartment for Jacob and his mother while arranging for Selena to take any follow-up calls Thursday morning trusting her to make the right decision, if it were necessary.

At that point Joe looked tired and Selena let his bed down and read her draft of her article for the WSGG newsletter. He asked her questions about salient points he thought of and then she felt she was ready to finish her project in the morning.

Finally Selena let the side of the bed down so she could lean from her chair and lay her lead on the pillow next to Joe's. They whispered their dedications to each other and kissed as she eventually turned her body to almost be over him while they began to neck hotly.

Selena's hands roved over his chest over and over until they eventually made their way past the bottom of his gown to hold his hardened cock.

"I'm sorry honey, I just had to touch you, and feel you in my hands. I don't want to leave you tonight and the nurse has been in twice to throw me out, but let her come in again, I don't care. She has to understand." She said as she held him tightly in her fist and sat back to look out towards the door.

Satisfied it was clear she bent and kissed the tip of Joe's cock and gave it a tonguey swizzle.

"If you're home tomorrow night I'll give you the best you ever had, my sweet lover." She said with a smile as she leaned back up to neck again.

Joe's fingers snaked up and he put two fingers inside the cup of her bra that showed in the vee of her light sweater top. Selena exhaled deeply and reached in to undo the front snap of the bra. She pulled the sweater down a bit and exposed one breast and leaned to have Joe kiss and suckle for a moment before closing herself up as not to be caught.

"You know once I finally get to bed tonight I'm going to jill off like crazy. Is that OK?"

"I wish I could be there to help you, I wish you could do me now, but with all the drugs and crap I don't know if it would happen, although the little fella seems to be quite ready right now." He chuckled.

The door opened and the nurse set the stay on it, keeping it open as Selena adjusted herself. The lights in the hallway had been dimmed as visiting hours were way over.

"Mrs. Johnson, you'll have to leave, your husband needs his rest before surgery tomorrow." She said quietly, but emphatically.

Being referred to as Mrs. Johnson made her happy and proud. She stood up and leaned back to kiss Joe one more time, saying goodnight and squeezing his hand with all she had before leaving with the nurse. They walked to the elevator together in the darkened hall and Selena made her way to the lobby and the short line of waiting cabs.

Once back in her room she called Joseph and Shanna and her parents to update them. She changed for bed and fell asleep exhausted with her hand in her pajama bottoms thinking of Joe.

At 6:55 a.m. Thursday morning her alarm went off and woke her from her deep sleep. She too must have been exhausted, both mentally and physically from the goings on and decision making of Wednesday. As she climbed from the shower some 25 minutes later, just before 7:30 her phone was ringing.

"Good morning Selena, this is Joseph. You sounded so tired last night I just wanted to make sure you were awake."

"Thank you Joseph, you are a friend."

"Could you use coffee as well?"

"You are a doll Joseph."

"Don't give me all the credit. Shanna is on her way up with coffee, hot homemade applesauce and oatmeal for you. She's worried you won't eat. Humor her, she worries about you."

"The two of you are amazing. I won't forget this. I'll call you when I hear from the Doctor." Selena said as she hung up.

She threw a robe on and headed toward the door to look for Shanna when she knocked.

They hugged and Shanna stayed while Selena ate and dried her hair, hoping to cheer her up a little and get her mind off things so she could relax.

After eating, primping and seeing Shanna off she quickly dressed and headed down to walk to work. She used the cool winter air to clear her head and get herself in a mood to write. Luckily she had all of her ideas on paper and just had to transpose them into paragraphs. Will Menard came out of the parking garage just as she was passing and he took her arm for the rest of the walk. John Branniff and Ross Curran were walking together from the opposite direction and all four went up the steps together. Jay Fountain was already there. They each wished her and Joe good luck and left her to her project, knowing she wanted to finish it before she left.

She went into her office and quickly packed up what few things she would bring back home and settled into her routine of TV and internet sites to check trends and markers. She had a call return to Slim Beepo and that would be her final chore before putting her fingers on the keyboard and her mind into the article for the newsletter.

As she compiled her notes she buzzed Deneigh, "Miss Myersen could you please place a call to Slim Beepo for me and put it through as soon as you locate him?"

"Certainly Miss Hanson, I'll IM you." Deneigh replied only happy to help her in this stressful time.

Selena dove into her article fully explaining the think tanks position on the president-elects healthcare plan. She covered everything in their official statement, but then she went into detail on each point and called attention to the things that had happened since their statement. She tried to make it as informative as possible without patting themselves too much on the back, but facts were facts. The TIME magazine article had hit the stands in the US on Wednesday without leaving anything but a small dent in early trading. Although nationalized healthcare sounded like a panacea, there were few places it had been tried successfully where it was administrated from the top levels of government. Over long term, none of the plans were rousing successes. She was pasting charts and graphs to her story when a blue box popped up.

"Miss Hanson, your call on line 3." It read.

She quickly punched up the line and said hello to Slim.

"Hey, I've been trying to get hold of that no good fiancé of yours for 2 days. Has he skipped town?" Slim said greeting her.

"Actually that's part of the reason I'm calling. Joe had a little accident on Monday and he's going for surgery today. Nothing life threatening, he tore up a knee."

"Trying new positions?" He said with his usual off-color tone.

"Ha, he wishes, he was trying to ice skate. He'll be home in front of the computer for 3 weeks so I'll bet you two will get fully reacquainted. Did you call me for a reason?" She wondered.

"No, just to congratulate you on the call you guys made before the TIME article hit. WSGG can stomp on a wildcats tail fast." He added.

"So have you made your arrangements to come on board here? They won't wait forever for an answer." Selena warned him.

"I'm busy and have a few things I have to... "

"Slim, get off your ass and stop feeling sorry for yourself. A couple members doubt you as flakey."

"Why flakey?"

"You broke up with your girl friend and now you want to move back home, like you either want to stalk her, or you've given up. I've let them know you planned on returning long before that ever happened. Slim, credibility means so much here. Don't screw it up."

"You're right, you're right, you're RIGHT! I'm putting off having to face everything, but I know I have to get on with my life." Slim said a little embarrassed.

"Listen, I don't have the time right now, but quickly let me tell you what I think. Get your affairs in order over there and take a leave, arrange a meeting here with us and make a decision. Don't worry about living arrangements, Joe and I can take care of that one way or another. I REALLY have to go and finish what I'm doing here and get to the hospital. Slim, be smart and be well." Selena said having to close the call abruptly.

She quickly dove into the project and as it always was with school work and studies, once she focused on it her projects were toast. Her focus was strong knowing she had somewhat of a deadline. At 11:40 she had just finished her cursory proof and was sending it to Deneigh for final proof when her inner office IM box popped up again. "Dr. Payne on line 3". Selena sent a quick "TY" and picked up.

"Selena, I just sent Joe to recovery. He's doing great. I'm looking at pictures of the inner suturing I did with TeeFix and I'm REAL happy with the results. It was long and intricate, but it's the most extensive micro sewing I've done. If he doesn't bust his seams these photos will end up in JAMA. Once he comes around, eats a little and proves he can urinate, has proper transportation and care, he can get out of here today. Have the nurse page me when you get here, I'll see you before I leave. He's in 4th floor recovery station 7." Doctor Payne told her quickly and abruptly, saving the personal things for when he saw her.

Selena called for a cab and got up quickly putting her things together from the office she wouldn't see for 6 months and put them in a box. With that under her arm with her brief in her other hand she went to the front to look for her cab.

With barely enough time to say goodbye to Deneigh, the cab pulled up and she was on her way. She gave the cabbie instructions to stop at the Four Seasons and wait before going to Lenox Hill. As luck would have it, Joseph greeted the cab and she handed off the box for him to put in the room. She kept her brief and her purse and was off to see her Joe.

Selena was up for the first test of her love for Joe. She would take care of him and nurse him back to health. In her mind she knew it was her responsibility to make sure he allowed it to heal as it should. Dr. Payne had already told her the knee would immobilized and he would either lay down or sit in the wheel chair with the leg out, braced up. He told her he would have an aide show her how the wheelchair would function and how she could help him bathe and take care of natures calling. As the cab pulled into the hospital she took a deep breath and after paying the fare headed to recovery station 7 on the 4th floor.

Opening the door she was greeted with a room with 3 other people and a sign "Wait until you are summoned."

She sat with the 3 other people and a man spoke up.

"When your party is able to sit up they'll come and get you."

Selena smiled and nodded at the man, still nervous about what lay ahead.

A nurse in sterile garb opened the door and asked. "Is anyone here for Joe Johnson?"

Selena stood up and followed her to an area with stalls, each with pull around curtains. There Joe sat in a rolling recliner, a little smile on his face, but obviously dazed and partly out of it.

Selena bent and kissed him.

"How are you doing?"

Joe just shrugged his shoulders and smiled.

"Out of it?" She asked.

He nodded his head vigorously.

She smiled back and petted the side of his face before tousling his hair and then taking a comb from her purse and combing him neat.

"He had a nerve block for the surgery, he has no feeling from just below his waist to the toe on that leg. You could pound nails into it and he wouldn't feel it. He shouldn't be too sore after it wears off in a few hours. He'll sober up from the other meds in a couple hours as well. Just let him be happy for a bit. He's doing fine." The nurse said as she came by.

"Joe, do you want a drink of ginger ale? It'll help get your system going again." The nurse said loudly to Joe.

He nodded and she brought him a small cup and a few saltines.

"Sit back and take a deep breath and take a few sips. The crackers will taste good and get something in your stomach." She emphasized in a loud voice.

Selena let Joe sit and slowly come out of his stupor as she looked for Dr. Payne to come by. Doctors were going in and out of the ambulatory ER every few minutes and Dr. Payne finally showed up.

"Hi Joe, Hi Selena. How are you doing Joe? (Joe shrugged again)" Dr. Payne said as he looked at Selena, but talked to Joe, Joe being a bit oblivious.