CHAPTER 38

  While Dylan was trying to work out her current predicament with her enemy,her mind flew back to the hospital situation. She was just a few metres from where Carly's son was,a few metres from the hallway to the children's ward. It was nearer to the entrance than the general word where she was at. She didn't know why she felt like she needed to go see him but she felt it anyway. Her closeness with his mother surely hadn't amounted to nothing. Also,their misunderstanding and breakup had occurred years ago and now that Carly was back, she realized that maybe they needed to get past that. Or maybe she was just curious to see her ex girlfriend's son,to see how he looked like. She tried to imagine his image but all that came to her head was an image of Carly smiling distantly and the look in her eyes almost apologetic. What had been in her mind? Their past relationship? ‘No, don't go there. It might mess up your mind for nothing.’ She warned herself and pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind.

      Her mind went back to what had happened earlier. Her bedroom window had been intact,there was no sign that someone had entered the apartment through it. They had definitely not used the front one because Rockie would have warned her. So, how had they gotten the little package on top of her bed?

  She realized what she had to do. She needed some surveillance in and outside the apartment. Of course she would have to ask the owner for permission to install a surveillance camera in the hallway but knew it wouldn't be so hard. She was a police officer after all. She made a mental note to do that in the evening.

      All had been quiet and she didn't have much to do. She took a magazine from a pile on a desk a few paces away then sat back down. She wasn't one to read about fashion but she found herself looking at it. A familiar name caught her eye and sure enough, the face confirmed her guesses. Taylor Lockwood had always had a thing about fashion and now it seemed like everything had gone well for her. Her face graced the second page of the magazine and several photos of her modelling for her own clothing brand. Now she was even being recognized in magazines. She smiled. At least some of her friends got to have what they had wanted and that made her feel happy for them. The thought of Taylor however,reminded her of a moment they'd had some years back. Taylor had just broken up with Carl and had come bawling to her which now that she was giving it a thought seemed odd. Knowing how a heartbreak felt like made her pity her. She had comforted her and at that moment, she had believed that the McAdams really were heartbreakers. The comforting had escalated and they had ended up having sex. Taylor had seemed so heartbroken and as if Carl had taken the life out of her. She had had sex with her best friend's girlfriend,ex- girlfriend by then but still, that wasn't the way to go. It was the worst thing she had done behind a friend's back and remembering it now didn't feel so good. Carl would hate her if he ever knew especially because, she had asked his side of the story and it had been so different. It was likely that Taylor had been the one who broke his heart. Anyway, she had apologized to Taylor the next morning when she realized what she had done and she had dismissed it as a minor flip or loss of control and emotions from both of them and it had ended there. Taylor had then moved away and here she was, ambassador for her own fashion brand and she was happy for her.

        The door to her victim's room clicked then opened and a doctor came out. She closed the magazine and immediately stood up.

                 "How is he doing,is he gonna be okay?"

                  "Oh yes. You did a great job with him back there. Otherwise it would have been too late for us to revive him. Now we are hoping the meds will do their magic and he will be back to his usual self within no time,"the doctor replied. "You want him talking, right?"

                      "Yeah, thanks doctor," she replied with a smile not wanting to give up more information.

                   "I believe we have done our part well. Now it's up to him, whether he wants to live or not."

    She nodded then went back down to the chair. It would at least take a few more hours for the patient to be ready for the transfer to the recovery room. She wouldn't be there when that happened because her shift would end in an hour and whoever detective Watson was would replace her. She just hoped that he wouldn't be a prick and that he would be good at his work as the top guys from secret service were presumed to be.

                           ★★★

       Carly waited patiently beside her son's bed. He had been sedated earlier and had been sleeping for the last two hours and it was now around lunch time. Her parents had left a while ago after making sure that she would be okay alone with him. She had assured them that there was no need for all of them to be there. Furthermore,there needed to be someone to receive them when they went home even though she was yet to know if it would be that evening or the next morning. Carl had brought her a change of clothes. She had used the shower in her son's room. Thank God they had gotten a private room. The services were not five star but at least they were better than in the general ward with shared services. The food though, wasn't great. It was recommended but knowing her son,he wouldn't manage to get it past his gut without retching and spilling the contents.

                 "You are still here?" he asked in a tiny voice,his eyes half closed.

She smiled,"Yes baby. I wanted to look after you as you slept."

                   "You should have gone with grandma and grandpa to rest. I'm okay."

                  "I know you are but I wouldn't manage to rest if I am away from you. I'm quite comfortable here." He yawned. "Whoa, someone is hungry," she commented with a laugh.

                      "The food here sucks,"he replied and gasped then covered his mouth with his hand. Too late the word had already come out.

  Carly laughed,"Oh my God, what is America doing to you? One day in and you are already using those ‘words’?" she quoted words and raised her eyebrows causing Teddy to laugh. She joined in the laughter then patted him lightly. "Welcome to my world. But..." She gave him a stern face and a warning finger,"Don't ever repeat that,got it?"

    He nodded with a smile,"Got it mommy."

                  "That's my sweet baby. There's a food truck across the road. I'm gonna go see if there's something good for you and be back in a few." He made as if to say something, probably what he wanted to eat but she beat him to it. "I'm sorry but you don't get to decide. We can't go overboard with your diet,at least not now. We have your health to consider so, just lay back and wait as I go get something appropriate."

                    "Okay, okay. Can I play games on your tablet though?"

                   "I'm sorry,I forgot to ask Uncle Carl to bring it. I have one in my phone though,is that okay?"

                    "Yeah."

                     "Okay," she handed him the phone then kissed his forehead lightly and ruffled his hair. "I'll be back in a few minutes. Don't go anywhere."

She grabbed her purse and headed out.

                             ★★★

        Some minutes to two in the afternoon,a fairly tall guy in a suit approached her. At first he seemed serious, the no nonsense straight to business kind of guy and Dylan immediately guessed he must be the one coming to take over the next shift. He had some sort of tablet in his hand which he looked at then looked at her before stopping right in front of her. His lips extended into a smile then stretched out his hand for a greeting.

                 "You must be officer Lewis  from LAPD?" he asked. She nodded but looked at him quizzically. She didn't have a description of the guy who was supposed to relieve her. That and the fact that she needed to be vigilant and wary of anyone. He noticed her doubts and reached into the inside pocket of his coat and produced his credentials. An ID and a badge showing his identity. "Kennedy Watson, secret service."

   She nodded and shook his hand firmly,"Pleasure to meet you detective,"she said in her most polite voice.

                "Since we are going to be working together,or relieving each other from this duty rather,I would like it if we weren't too official. At least we aren't in our normal official duties. Just address me as Ken or Kenny."

 So, she had been assigned to another talkative partner. Great. She silently was thankful they wouldn't be spending any time together and she could always dismiss his talks. The last thing she needed was an annoying know it all partner. On the bright side,he seemed to be nice enough and kept time. He didn't seem like the controlling and annoying detectives in their department. That though didn't mean she wanted to spend another minute talking to him. She had loads of work to do besides this.

                 "You can call me Dylan," she offered.

                "I know. Your full profile is kinda in the system," he said, showing his tablet.

                   "Of course it is," she replied trying to hide the scorn in her voice. She hated feeling like she was being watched or investigated but lately, that seemed like what was happening. "Anyway,I should get going. Good luck."

                    "I hope we get to talk some more Dylan."

                   "I doubt we ever will. This is just a job, not a social meet up,"she replied as she walked away and heard him chuckle. She walked with calculated steps, turned at the end of the hallway and then headed down the one that led outside. 

A thought struck her as she walked past the place she had met Carly earlier. She stopped for a minute undecided, whether to just head home and work on her issues or go see her son. She knew that she didn't owe her anything but she wasn't surprised that she still cared about her. Her son rather,as she tried to convince herself. Maybe it was both of them. It wouldn't hurt to go see how he was doing but then didn't think she wanted to be around Carly again that day. She moved forward and headed outside but just as she was going down the side steps, guilt overcame her. Carly had told her that her son wasn't well and here she was letting her feelings get in the way. What did that make her? Selfish? Uncaring? Insensitive? That wasn't her at all. She half turned and took a second to make up her mind.

                "Fuck it!" she cussed under her breath then turned around fully and headed back inside. She walked up to the reception desk. She however didn't know which name to provide so she went by what she could. 

                 "Hey, there's a kid I would like to see. I don't really know his name but he is a McAdams. His mother is Carly McAdams."

She at first doubted she would be given any information because who the fuck didn't know the name of the person they wanted to see? The lady entered some information in the computer then looked up.

                 "Yeah,he came in early this morning. He's in room one hundred and eight. Are you a relative?"

                "No,I am just a close friend of his mother. You can ring her up to confirm though."

                "That's okay,you go ahead officer."

    Dylan figured that there hadn't been much questioning because she had a police badge. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been given the details. First mistake that people did just from looking at the physical appearance of a person. She walked down the hallway and located the room almost at the end. She stood at the door and exhaled. She hesitated only for a moment before lifting her hand to knock. It felt heavy and almost as if it would drop back down without knocking but she managed.

                   "Come in," she heard a little voice say but that was definitely not Carly's. She frowned, wondering if she had missed the number. She double checked and she was not lost. She pushed the door slowly and poked her head inside. Little but curious eyes looked up from a phone and met hers. She pushed the door wider and walked in. Carly was nowhere in sight.

                "Hey little man,"she smiled as she walked closer to the bed.

Teddy looked at her quizzically. He had sharp blue eyes and blonde hair but other than that, he looked exactly like Carly.

                "Who are you? Is my mom in trouble?" he asked but didn't show any sigh of fear. She was impressed. Her uniform though must have alarmed him.

                   "No,no your mom is not in trouble. I'm her friend, just coming from work and thought I could come see how you are doing. She mentioned you weren't well earlier," she paused. "My name is Dylan."

                    "It's you," he stated with a smile but continued to look at her curiously. The statement startled her, wondering what it meant. Had Carly mentioned her to him? And if yes, how much had she told him about her,their relationship? Her heart skipped at the thought. She didn't know what that would mean if it was the case but she knew it would make a difference in the manner she approached her son.

                  "What do you mean, you know who I am?"

                 "Not really. My mom mentioned that you were friends and I like your name. It's cool. She was upset though when she came back after she saw you," he added innocently but before she could say anything, ask why she was upset,he stretched his hand to introduce himself. "I am Teddy."

    His last statement now distracted her from whatever else he had said before. The name struck a bolt and opened up a memory from their past during their highschool years and when they had been so in love. It was during one of their many  escapades, planning their "future" together. The topic about kids had come up. It had turned out that they had both wanted a kid,but only if they had him or her together. She remembered the conversation too well or rather the words rang clearly in her head.

                "If we have a boy,we should call him Theodore and if it's a girl then she can be Theodora," she had suggested.

                  "I definitely want a boy. Girls are filled with drama especially if she turns out like me. I know that because I have lived through it,I know how dramatic I can be." They had both laughed at the statement and as usual, she had reassured her that she wasn't as bad as she considered herself to be. They had kissed for a while. She could see the image clearly in her head.

                   "Teddy would be a super cute and very sweet name for our baby," Carly had whispered after. 

Only that now, she had named him that with another person. At this point she didn't know whether to laugh or cry. It was a bittersweet moment,but the bitterness combined with the sweetness at the same time, not one following the other. It felt good and at the same time,it hurt.

                   "Dylan?" The voice transported her back to the present. "Are you okay?"

 She shifted and composed herself,"Teddy,huh?" she said with a light chuckle. "Cool name." She looked around. "So,where is your mom?"

                 "She went out to get lunch. She might be heading back now, you can wait for her."

                  "I don't think I can right now,I have to be somewhere and I might be late if I stay," she lied. There was nothing that needed quick attention  but she was now sure she didn't want to face Carly after the latest discovery. "It was nice to meet you Teddy and I hope you get well soon." She turned to leave.

                    "Thanks Dylan, come back if you can."

    She smiled at him. He was a sweet kid and hard not to like. "I will."

   His smile widened but was more of a grin. Oh yeah, Carl's cute grin. "Okay,bye." That was interesting.

   She nodded then walked out of the room more confused than she had been before. The unexpected turn of events affected her and now she couldn't stop questioning why Carly had decided to name her son that even though they had broken up. Could it be possible that she had still been holding on even after her marriage? But then,it was probably nothing. At least to Carly. For her, the name had meant everything and maybe Carly had had no idea. She however tried to diffuse the situation by allowing other thoughts to occupy her mind.