Strong Enough? [Marcus]

[marcus]

Marcus had tried to explain to Jo that the guy she kept seeing in her dreams were just that, in her dreams. However, he wasn't sure he had convinced her, because her response was a little guarded. He wasn't the one who had been stabbed though, and he wasn't the one who was having these nightmares. So what did it matter what he said? If he was having nightmares like Jo was having, then he might not believe what he had just said to her either. He gave her a weak smile.

"Just know that I wont let anything happen to ye again, at least I'll do me damn best." It would be difficult when they didn't live together. How was he supposed to make sure she was always alright? Other than having some sort of camera on her twenty four seven, and he wasn't going to do that. He just hoped for Jo's sake she wouldn't ever have to face him again. If she did, then he hoped he would be close at hand to give the bastard a piece of his mind.

Jo had asked what he had planned for their evening, and when he told her, she apologised. Marcus shook his head. "Hey, don't worry yourself lass, ye couldn't exactly help it, could ye?" He said the words really softly. "All that matters right now, is ye getting yourself better, aye?" He then gave her another soft and quick kiss, he was doing them like that, because he was scared he would hurt her and he didn't want to do that.

Jo then said she wanted to rest for a bit. "Alright Jo, lass. I'll be right here if ye need me." He then went back to the chair which was further away from the bed. He then wondered if maybe Jo's mam should be contacted. "Actually Jo, ye want me call your mam for ye?" He could do that, he wouldn't be gone long, and he would make sure a nurse watched over Jo while he was out making the phone call.

[Josephine Harding]

When Jo had apologised for ruining the night, Marcus shook his head, and said not to worry about it, and that she couldn't help it. His words were said so softly, and Jo liked that, only because it helped with her head, which was starting to pound a little. Then Marcus said that all that matters was getting herself better. Jo had to agree with that. She wanted to get better, in order to get out of the hospital, and just be with Marcus. She wanted so much to give Marcus a hug, but knew that if she did, something might happen, like her stitches might break or something. But then Marcus gave her a soft kiss, which felt nice.

Jo smiled weakly when Marcus acknowledged that she wanted to rest, saying that he would be right here if she needed him. Just as Jo was about to close her eyes, Marcus spoke, asking if she wanted him to call her mum for her. Jo nodded slowly, "Thanks Marcus. That would be great." Jo swallowed, and then began to relax herself in the bed. She moved her right arm a bit, to gently rest on her body, as her left arm had the line in, which was giving her the blood transfusion. All Jo heard as she drifted off to sleep was a pair of shoes heading out of the room.

Jo couldn't go to sleep right away, but was glad for the quiet to think. She loved having Marcus there, to just be there for her. She loved him for that. But she was really exhausted, and needed to just lay there, not doing anything, including talking. She thought about the time that she and Marcus had spent together. She just couldn't believe such a tough chick like herself, had actually seemed appealing to a guy like Marcus. Normally guys would run a mile when they knew hat she could do, but no. Marcus was different, and seemed to like what she had to offer.

Jo hoped that she wouldn't see that guy's face, as she finally drifted off to sleep. Once again Jo had another dream. She didn't remember much of it, but this time around it only involved Marcus, and no one else.

[marcus]

When Marcus had asked Jo if she wanted him to contact her mam for her, she had thanked him and said it would be great. "No worries Jo, lass." He then took that opportunity to walk out of the room. He went straight to the nurses station.

"I'm just going to phone Jo's mam to let her know of the situation. Can ye just keep an eye on her for me, she's been having nightmares."

The nurse looked at Marcus with an understanding face, "Of course we can keep an eye on her for you." With that one of the nurses went into Jo's room immediately. Marcus smiled at the nurse he had spoken to. "Thanks me good woman." He noticed the nurse blush then, he shook his head smiling. What was it with women and his accent?

He then made his way outside this time, so he could use his mobile phone and to get a breath of fresh air. He looked through the contacts and then dialled the number.

Marcus: Hi Mrs Harding, Jo's boyfriend Marcus, here, sorry I'm the one to tell you, but Jo's had a bit of a run in with some guy, she's in the local hospital, I reckon ye might want to come visit her.

Mrs Harding: Oh my god, is she badly hurt?

Marcus: It's been tough for her aye, but she seems to be doing alright now.

Mrs Harding: Thanks for letting me know, I'll get down as soon as I can.

Marcus: You're welcome, bye.

Mrs Harding: Bye Marcus.

With that Marcus began to make his way back into the hospital, and as soon as he got near to Jo's room and was approaching the nurses station, the one he had spoken to before going to make the call, gave him a warm smile. Marcus just shook his head again and smiled back at her.

He walked into the room, and the nurse who had gone in, nodded her head to him, and began to walk out, Marcus whispered in a soft voice so as not to disturb Jo if she was indeed asleep. "Thanks." She smiled at him, and then Marcus sat down on the chair opposite the bed, and leaned back, closing his own eyes again.

[Josephine Harding]

**** 8 hours later ****

It was getting on early morning the next day, and Jo started to stir a little. She sleeping a bit better, with hardly any interruptions. Maybe it was a good thing. She wanted to just lay in Marcus' arms as she fell asleep, but knew it wasn't possible, as she need to lay still and let her body recover from the attack and from the surgery. Though who knew how long that would take. Hopefully not too long.

Her eyes flickered open, and she saw a nurse near her bed. She kind of stared at what she was doing, looking like she was checking the bag of blood that was still going into Jo. The nurse noticed Jo looking. "Hi Jo. Looks like this bag is finishing up, and it will be the last one. So once it is done, which should be before breakfast, I will come back and take it out of your arm. Okay?" Jo sort of nodded at the nurse, who also said one last thing. "Oh, and your mum was here later last night, after your boyfriend rang. Though you were were asleep, so she only stayed for a few moments, but she said that she would be back first thing this morning." The nurse then took Jo's blood pressure, and the rest of the vitals, and then left Jo to rest.

Looking at the clock on the wall, Jo saw that it was only 5:45am. She then rested again in the bed, and felt a bit of pain coming from where the operation must have been. Jo wondered when her mum would be coming up. She knew that her mum would have been a bit frantic, but even more so when she heard what happened when Jo finally spoke to her. Jo then thought about who else might come and visit her as well: The police. They would surely be there sometime this morning to get her statement.

[marcus]

**** 8 hours later ****

Marcus had slept the whole time Jo had, however that said, if Jo had woken with a nightmare, Marcus would have been sure to waken as well. He was just shifting himself into a better position when he heard some muffled voices. He then sat up a little, and opened his eyes slowly, trying to focus, and noticed the nurse was in changing one of the blood bags again, and she was talking to Jo.

Obviously he didn't want to interrupt the nurse, so he just sat where he was, but shifted himself to be in a more upright position and smiled as he heard her tell Jo her mam had been up after he had called her. Marcus had obviously missed her arriving as well, what kind of impression would that have given Jo's mam, her boyfriend asleep on the chair beside her daughter's bed? Hopefully a good one actually, proving he was the caring boyfriend staying by his girlfriend's side all night.

Once the nurse had left, he watched to see if Jo was going to fall asleep again. She didn't seem to close her eyes, but he did notice she was obviously still resting, which was a good thing, that's what she should be doing. He leaned more forward then, with his hands clasped together, under his chin. "Hey, how ye feeling this morning Jo, lass?" He said the words softly, because he didn't want to startle her as the room was so quiet already anyway, apart from the bleeping of the machine which was pumping the blood back into Jo. He hoped she was beginning to feel a little better, although he knew it was still probably too soon for that to be the case.

[Josephine Harding]

As Jo tried to get herself more comfortable, she heard a very familiar voice. Trying to not seem like she was in too much pain, she put on a smile for him. But she was happy in a way that he was there when she woke up. That hadn't happened yet for them, her waking up beside him the next morning. This was different. She wasn't beside him in bed, but it was still okay.

"Hey Marcus." She paused, shifted a little, which brought on a bit more pain, and then continued. "Okay. A little better. Still some discomfort, which is annoying. I don't want to move in case something happens." Though Jo wondered when they would start walking her around again. It was only her stomach that was operated on, not her legs, but she didn't want to strain herself.

Jo closed her eyes for a few seconds, trying to not move too much. But because she was still a little exausted from it all, her eyes remained closed. After fifteen minutes, Jo's eyes fluttered open, as she heard a beeping noise. Then she saw a nurse walk in, and head towards the bag of blood that was pumping the blood into her. Jo licked her lips, feeling that her mouth was dry. She watched as the nurse carefully pulled out the line in her arm, which attached her to the bag of blood. She winced a little at it coming out. Then the nurse put a dressing over where it had been removed.

Once the nurse was gone, Jo motioned for Marcus to come and sit on the edge of her bed, patting part of the bed that was free. Once he was there, she took his hand. "Thanks for staying last night. It means alot." She then coughed. Pointing to the water beside her bed, she asked, "Could you bring the water over. My mouth is so dry right now." Once it was there, Jo took a few sips, but not drinking it too fast. Just enough to have something to drink. It felt like it had been forever since she had had a drink.

[marcus]

After Marcus had asked Jo how she was feeling, he watched as she shifted slightly, which he could see had brought on a bit of pain, how he wished he could just take it away from her. If he could he would. He was going to bring the bastard down who did this to her. He gave her a warm smile, even though inside he was aching for her, and then he listened to what she had to say with regards to how she was feeling.

"Aye, I can only imagine how ye must be feeling Jo, lass. Wish I could do more for ye, but.." He trailed off, as he ran his hands messily through his hair. He hated seeing her like this, she was such a strong woman, but lying here, like this, she was far from strong. He then watched as she closed her eyes again. He would be so happy when she was much better and able to get out of this place. Between Emma and Jo, he'd seen his fill of a hospital. He hoped the next time he was having to come here, it would be to witness the birth of his child, or to come visiting his sister after giving birth to her child.

A nurse then came and took the line out of Jo's arm which had been pumping the blood into her. That was the start of a good sign, all they needed was for Jo to heal physically, and Marcus knew already he'd be there with her through it all. After the nurse left, Marcus saw Jo pat the edge of the bed, for him to go and sit there, which of course he did without hesitation. He then felt her take his hand, and before he knew it, she was thanking him for staying.

He just looked at her, and gave her a warm smile, but with a serious voice he replied, "How I could I not? I love ye, course I'm going to stay." When Jo coughed, he used his free hand to move some hair away from her face, and then she asked for the water, which was beside her bed. "Sure lass." He reached over for it, and handed her the glass of water. "Hope ye start to feel better soon, I'm worried about ye, I really wished I'd have been there, I got this god damned ability on me, and twice I been unable to help the people I love." He said it in a sad voice, it really pained him, knowing, other than mental manipulation, he could be unharmed, when now both his sister and his girlfriend had been seriously injured. It made him feel worthless.

[Josephine Harding]

Jo felt a bit better this morning, except for the pain coming and going from where the operation had been done. Though she felt much better, knowing that Marcus was there to be with her. Normally Jo didn't fear much, but she certainly feared that guy coming back to finish off the job he had done on her. Knowing him, he probably wanted to kill her for some reason, but luckily, she survived the stabbing and the operation. She was glad for that, so that she could see Marcus again, and live well enough to spend her life with him.

Jo listened to Marcus talk to her, as she sipped at the water through the straw. "I hope to get better soon too. I hate feeling helpless. And I feel like that here, lying in this bed." Jo paused, sipping a bit more of the water, before handing Marcus the water, and laid back down. Taking his hand in hers, Jo continued. "Don't worry Marcus. I am sure the worst is over for now. The operation went okay, and all I have to do now is just rest and let my body heal itself." Looking deep into Marcus' eyes, she said, "I love you so much Marcus. And I love how you would have protected me from that guy, if you had been there."

Jo closed her eyes for a couple of seconds, and breathed deeply. There was some pain now, and she wondered if she should worry anyone, and tell them. No, she was strong and should be able to handle anything. Jo then looked at Marcus, and smiled. "It's going to be okay, okay? I should be the one worrying about you. Have you even eaten since you have been here last night?"

Jo waited for Marcus' reply, and then closed her eyes again. Yep, she thought, I so need to just rest for now. Opening her eyes again, she looked at Marcus. "I think I might like to rest for a while. I just want to shake off this pain I have." There she goes, she told someone, and it wasn't a nurse. She didn't care if Marcus told anyone. Jo was sure whatever they wanted to give her, they would just inject her with it, or just wake her up with the medication.

Jo moved her hands, so that they were resting gently over her stomach, and then closed her eyes. Taking a few deep breaths, she felt herself drift off to sleep. Hopefully this would help her to relax a little and finally get some well deserved rest.

[marcus]

Marcus felt sad as he listened to Jo speak about how helpless she felt lying in the bed, he couldn't exactly deny that, knowing the pain she was in, and knowing what had happened to her, he knew she would be feeling helpless. Just so long as she wasn't coming away with Emma's rubbish of not looking beautiful. Because he had remembered Emma saying that, and she had been so wrong, despite the injuries, she had still been his beautiful sister.

As Jo took Marcus' hand, he gave it a gentle squeeze and then just gave Jo a weak smile as she said she wanted to get better as well, and that she was sure the worst of it was over now. Didn't stop him from feeling so useless, when he knew he could have stopped her from landing up in here in the first place. But it was too late now. "I know ye'll get better soon, and maybe I shouldn't be worrying as much, but I can't help it." Then Jo was locking eyes with him, and the next words out her mouth, made his heart melt. "I love ye too Jo, so very much." He gave her a slightly brighter smile, when she added that she loved how he would have protected her if he could have. "Well, it's me job to protect ye, next time we're going out, I'm coming to meet ye at your home."

He would not, and could not allow for something like this to happen to Jo again. Meeting her at the house, when going out anywhere, meant that should anybody try to attack her, then he could throw himself in front of her, and be her shield. He would do it without even having to think twice. He then watched as she closed her eyes again. She really needed her rest, maybe he should go home and freshen up and come back later. Yet at the same time he didn't want to leave. Then Jo spoke again, saying everything was going to be okay and had he eaten since last night.

He looked at her, with another weak smile, "I haven't eaten, no. Haven't really felt like it, but now ye've mentioned it, maybe I should go get meself something." Although, he still didn't want to leave her. Then Jo mentioned she had to rest for a while, to try and shake of the pain she was feeling. Marcus stood up then. "Aright Jo, lass, I'm going to get one of the nurses to come in and I'll go home and get freshened up and have something to eat, and I'll come back and see you in a few hours. Ye'll be fine till I get back, aye?" He waited for her response, before he left the room.