OZZY
For the third day in a row, we’re scouting the outside of a jewelry store, tracking the head security guard.
Mainly, we’re learning his habits, where he goes during lunch and after work, while Lex digs into his family life. We’re supposed to rough him up until he gives us the information to a locked safety deposit at a bank a few towns over, but first, we need to gather leverage over him.
The why is not our business, so I’m sticking to the task at hand, waiting to see where our mark is heading after work today. It’s almost closing time, and I’m hoping this big, burly man decides to call it a night, because I’m ready to do the same.
Watching him drink beer with his buddies or hit a strip club isn’t how I want to spend my evening. We’ve got five more days before the deadline, but I’d rather get home to Fallon than stalk some mid-level rent-a-cop until the sun goes down.
Oliver is in the passenger seat, relaying any movement, while Max is in the back studying cameras and reviewing all the information streamlined in by Lex, who’s at the house with the girls.
I’m the driver, usually pretty skilled at trailing a mark without being caught or noticed.
Hang back a few cars, stay back at a reasonable distance, and most importantly, don’t spook the target.
It’s not rocket science, but still, we don’t want to be made before we have the dirt.
“God, I think watching paint dry would be better than following this idiot. Home, work, home, work – what a fucking life,” Oliver groans, his patience running very thin.
“What do you do that’s so extravagant?”
“If someone watched my daily life, they’d feel the same fucking way.” He rolls his eyes, but before I can push his buttons a little more, Max gets a call from Lex.
“We’re about to be on the move. What’s up?” He asks, listening for a few beats before his eyes widen.
Lex usually communicates more subtly than this, so the fact that he used the burner is a sign that something might be wrong.
It’s only him, Pepper, and Fallon at home, and my mind starts racing, the panic setting in that she could’ve been taken from me again – or worse.
“Fuck. Yeah, he’s right here. Is she okay?”
“Hand me the phone, now,” I say, my heart pounding so loudly that I can’t hear anything else.
All the blood feels like it’s been drained from my body, and I can’t take a breath because if I do, I’m afraid I’ll pass out.
“Put it on speaker. What’s going on, Lex?” Oliver asks, taking over for me.
Just like when Fallon was kidnapped, he was my voice, even though his face is redder than the devil, and his hands shake as he reaches for the phone.
This can’t be fucking happening again.
“Fallon’s not in trouble, she just fell. There was a lot of blood, and she’s unconscious, but Pepper called an ambulance. We’re on the way to the hospital now,” Lex explains, and before he can even take a breath, I put the van in drive, peeling out of this abandoned lot.
“What the hell happened?” I yell, my knuckles white from gripping the steering wheel.
“I don’t know, Pep, here, talk to Ozzy,” he says, the muffled sound of her tears and the phone being passed are the only things we can hear. “Hello?”
My patience is gone. I need to know what happened to Fallon. My body is on autopilot, racing to find her as fast as I can, but I don’t even know what hospital she’s in.
“Pepper, what’s going on? I need to know where she is and what you know,” I say, attempting to keep my anxiety from turning into unfiltered rage.
“I knocked on the door to borrow her mascara, but when she didn’t open, I walked in to find her on the floor. The curling iron was on, and there was blood … oh my god, everywhere ,” she sobs, and her emotions aren’t helping me calm down, not in the slightest.
“Tell us about the hospital. We’ll meet you two there,” Oliver says, hanging up the phone and bringing some quiet back into this van.
I know Pepper loves Fallon, but sometimes her dramatics send my rage over the edge, and this is one of those moments.
“Oz, pull over. Let one of us drive.” Max lobbies, but I wave him off.
No speed limit is going to slow me down, and Max’s grandmotherly way of driving isn’t going to help ease my mind right now. God, for all I know, they could be taking my Bambi into surgery .
I’m not her legal husband, and she has no other next of kin, so who knows if they’d even let me see her?
“No, I’m good. We’re ten minutes out, according to the GPS. If we get a ticket, the Boss can pay for it,” I say, sarcasm dripping from my lips as I rev the engine through a yellow light.
“Hey, she’s going to be alright. It’s Fallon we’re talking about,” Oliver whispers, but I shake my head.
“ She’s not indestructible, and I really wish she’d fucking understand that, just once! ”
There it is, my anxiousness is transforming into rage, and I can’t find the switch inside me to control it, not until I see her, not until I know she’s alright.
We’ve never come up with a plan for this sort of thing.
Am I her emergency contact?
She’d be mine in a heartbeat, and if not her, then Oliver. That’s something I need to add to our to-do list, because this uncertainty is threatening to swallow me whole, and there’s probably a million other things I should know in a scenario like this.
What’s her blood type? Pepper said there was blood everywhere, what if she needs a transfusion?
Is she allergic to any medication? They’ll likely give her something — morphine or medical fentanyl — but what if those incite a reaction?
I feel so useless right now, borderline incompetent.
After she was kidnapped, we should’ve taken the time to learn these things about each other, maybe even writing them down somewhere for easy access. It’s not like we work traditional office jobs, either.
We put our lives on the line every day, with a revenge-thirsty predator who always seems to be two steps ahead of us, and this kind of shit is something we should prepare for – not just Fallon and I, but all of us.
We’re each other’s family, and it’s time to make that legit by exchanging life-saving information about ourselves.
“It’s up here on the right. Pull over, and we’ll let you out,” Max says, and I do as he asks, flipping on the hazards as I move into the breakdown lane.
It’s a desperate version of a Chinese Fire Drill, all of us running in a circle around the van, but we’re trying to optimize the best way to get to Fallon, rather than playing a silly teenage game.
I hop into the passenger seat, anxiously chewing my lip as Max obeys the ‘ No Turn on Red ’ sign dangling from the traffic light, and the tick-tick-tick of the blinker is about to send me over the edge.
“Fucking go! There’s nobody around!” I yell, and he nearly jumps out of his skin, stepping on the gas and veering into the hospital’s parking lot.
Before he can come to a full-stop, I dash from the van, my feet hitting the sidewalk with a thump as I run toward the emergency room doors. They automatically open, and I frantically search the lobby until I find the nurse’s station.
“Hi. I’m looking for Fallon Mariano,” I say, and the nurse nods, typing into her computer.
“She’s in the ICU,” she informs me, her eyes barely glancing from the screen as she addresses me.
Fuck .
I take off running, down the corridor, making a left, and then a quick right before reaching the ICU. Another nurse at a similar desk eyes me, not speaking a word as she hands me a clipboard.
“Fill this out. Name, age, and birthday of the person you’re here to see. I need a copy of your driver’s license,” she recites, and I don’t hesitate, tossing my real ID on the counter.
It’s been months since I pulled it out from the compartment in my wallet that resembled our life in North Carolina, but today, I don’t care who knows where we are.
I can’t risk having Fallon call me by the wrong name, or relay incorrect information, not when I don’t know her condition.
For the first time in a while, I’m relieved to be Ozzy Michaels again, and all I need is the girl who will eventually don the same last name beside me before I can feel alright.
“Thank you, Mr. Michaels. Please fill out those papers and have a seat.” She smiles blandly, like my arrival has completely thrown a wrench in her fucking day.
For me, this is one of the worst moments of my life, and I’m barely able to fill out the paperwork as my hands shake against the clipboard.
The only obstacle is that our last names differ, and we have nothing to prove that we’re a couple, let alone a married one. If they want to go hard with protocol, they can bar me from seeing Fallon, let alone updating me on her status, and that’s beginning to take a serious toll on my wellbeing.
“Hey!” I hear from down the hall, and Pepper and Lex are hightailing it toward me.
I update them on what we know, but my frustrations boil over, and I can’t help but rip into him a little.
“From now on, we give the ID guy the same last name. I can’t sit here and fucking worry about if they’ll let me see her or not!” I groan, dropping my head in my hands.
“They’ll let you see her, Oz. There’s no suspicion of domestic violence, as you and I weren’t home,” he says carefully, his eyes not wavering from mine.
I receive his message loud and clear, but it’s not one that eases my worries in the slightest.
“Did you see her?”
“Kind of. It didn’t look bad, but it didn’t seem good, either. I’m sorry.” We talk in hushed voices until a man in dark blue scrubs approaches, asking if we’re the family of Fallon Mariano.
“Yes. I’m her husband.” I stand, reminding myself not to hesitate, or blink in a way that’ll seem like I’m lying.
“I’m Dr. Newburn. Your wife seemed to have a foreign substance inserted into the first layers of her scalp. It’s something I’ve never seen before, but she’s awake, and asking for you,” he explains, his wrinkled brow and firm stance showing that he’s treading carefully around me.
“I don’t understand? Is she going to be okay?”
“We’re running a heavy metals blood test, and once that comes back we’ll have more information. It’s too early to know what we’re dealing with.”
“Can I see her?” I ask, my reserve breaking at the idea of finally laying my eyes on Fallon, the ability to see and speak to her.
It’s been over an hour since Lex called, and by his calculations, two hours since Pepper found her. I need to be with her, and the only thing standing between me, and that happening, is this doctor.
I’ll scale the walls, crawl under equipment, and even steal a lab coat to blend in, as long as that means I can get into the same room as my girl. Nothing will stop me, and by the looks of the place, security isn’t too high, meaning I could take anyone, especially with a little technical help from Lex.
“Shortly, yes. I’ll have a nurse come get you once we finish drawing blood,” he finishes, offering his hand for me to shake.
Luckily, she’s okay, and I’ll be able to see her, but something about this whole situation is weird. A foreign object? Heavy metal testing?
My mind is spinning.
“Lex, any idea what he was talking about?”
“I can’t say for sure, but it sounds like with her passing out, they’re ruling out metal poisoning. Metal in her head … I don’t know, Oz. Let’s try to keep our cool, okay? They said she’s alright,” he explains, and his words actually give me a sense of relief.
If anyone can remain calm, it’s Lex, and I’m thankful he came to wait this out with me. Pepper’s finally settled down as well, the tears stopping once she heard Fallon was going to be fine.
After what feels like hours, a nurse comes out to the waiting room, and my eyes are trained on her until she calls out a name. Finally, she sets her sights on me, and begins walking toward us.
I stand, meeting her halfway, more than ready to see my girl.
“Mr. Micheals?” She asks, and I nod, my hands nearly shaking with anticipation. “Follow me and we’ll get you back to see your wife.”
I turn back to Pepper and Lex, but they both wave, perfectly content to hang back and let me go without question.
I follow the nurse through the double doors, and every inch of this hallway is cloaked in white, so much so that it’s a bit suffocating. It’s almost as if I’m in some sort of insane asylum, even the floors are tiled in a shade of white, and it’s like I’m in a house of mirrors, everything blending together to make me nauseous.
“She’s right in here.” The nurse holds the door open for me, and instantly, the tension in my shoulders evaporates. “Hey, Fallon. I found your husband, let me know if you need anything!”
I practically run across the room, almost pouncing into Fallon’s arms as she looks at me with a loopy smile on her face, and a gauze bandage wrapped around her head.
I try not to stare, but my curiosity is getting the best of me, and I’m terrified of what lies beneath the fluffy white cotton.
“Baby! You found me,” she slurs, and I notice the IV in her arm, likely pumping her full of pain medicine.
“I’d move mountains to find you, Bambi. How are you feeling?”
“I’m just peachy. I missed you, where were you? They brought me here, but I don’t know why. Oh my gosh, Ozzy. They stole my blood! We need to get it back,” she whispers, and I have to bite my lip to keep from laughing.
She’s high, but not like the time she did coke. This is comical, and although I have no idea what’s going on, I’m relieved to see her in such good spirits.
“They’re borrowing it to make sure you’re okay. You took a nasty fall,” I tell her, taking in her relaxed posture and the mounds of blankets on her bed.
Fallon gets cold easily, so I’m sure that in her dazed state, she begged for more blankets, but she looks comfortable, well taken care of, and that’s all I can ask for when I’m not around to do it myself.
She’s not scared, or concerned about her health, thanks to the medication, so I can finally breathe easier.
“I made dinner!” She exclaims, her voice echoing around the room, and probably down the hallway.
“It’s okay, we’ll get you something to eat once the doctors say you can.” I stroke her hair, looking into those very-dilated, but beautiful, brown eyes of hers.
She squeezes my hand, smiling at me as if I hung the stars in the sky, but at this point, I think she’d be happy to see any friendly face.
“No, silly. I made you dinner. I was getting pretty … and then, my leg was on fire,” she says, and I’m even more lost than I was a few seconds ago.
Thankfully, the doctor I met earlier comes in, and this time, I’m hoping he’s bringing answers with him.
“So, Ms. Mariano, your test results came back, and you’re going to be okay, but we did find slightly elevated levels of copper in your bloodstream,” he explains, pulling a bag marked as evidence from his lab coat pocket.
“What. How?” I ask, and he hands me the baggie with a tiny circular disc inside that’s smaller than a lithium battery.
“This came from the wound on Fallon’s scalp. It seems to be a device made of silicone and copper, hence why it was in her bloodstream. Wherever this came from, it was slowly poisoning her, until her body rejected it,” he concludes, and I look to Fallon, but she’s completely lost in the hospital-grade sauce.
“What happens now?”
“We’re flushing her system with fluids and giving her medication to keep her comfortable. The fall was severe, as she was rendered unconscious, and she also suffered a serious burn on her leg. She’ll be ready for discharge tomorrow afternoon, as long as the copper continuously flows out of her blood,” he says, offering me a handshake again as he sanitizes his hands and checks Fallon’s bandages.
“Ouch! Ozzy! Stop him, he’s poking me,” she shrieks, attempting to squirm away, but I only hold her hand tighter, directing her attention back to me.
“Hey, Bambi. Did you know that the average cloud weighs more than a jet?”
“Jumbo jets are like... five-hundreds . Clouds can’t be that heavy, or they’d fall on our heads,” she answers, slight sarcasm in her voice as she rolls her eyes.
“Okay, Ms. Know-it-all, what’s the rainiest country on Earth?” I ask, keeping my eye on the Doctor as he rewraps her bandage.
“India, duh. You can’t stump me, I’m the Jeopardy nerd.”
“We’re all settled here. She’ll be checked once more in the morning, but in all likelihood, we’ll be able to discharge her,” he whispers, leaving a few papers on the dresser as he exits the room.
It takes a while, but Fallon finally succumbs to the medicine and falls sound asleep. I take a moment to update everyone, letting them know it’s alright to head home. I’m not leaving her side, even if the intercom keeps reminding me every five minutes that visiting hours are almost over.
They can drag me out of here if necessary, but I’d scale the building and climb through the window to be with my girl — that much I can guarantee.
I take the liberty of tucking her in better, adjusting her pillow how she likes, and rolling the food tray back into the corner. The bright buzzing of the fluorescent lights will certainly give her a headache, especially since she hasn’t eaten, so I turn them off, bringing a small sense of comfort to an otherwise crappy set of circumstances.
I glance over the papers the doctor left, which are mainly aftercare instructions for when we’re discharged. It’s simple enough, no alcohol, no aspirin since it is considered a blood thinner, and no operating heavy machinery after the medication they doped her up with.
There’s also tips on keeping her wound clean and infection-free, which we’ll be following down to the punctuation.
A light tap on the door rips me from the light reading, and I whisper softly, encouraging whoever it is to come in.
To my surprise, it’s Pepper.
“Hi, I told them I was her sister, but I only have a minute. I brought a change of clothes for you both, and dinner. She was planning a date night for the two of you, and it didn’t feel right to let it go to waste.”
“Thank you, Pepper. This was so kind of you,” I say, taking a quick look through the bag she packed.
She grabbed a change of pajamas for each of us, clothes for the morning, and our toothbrushes. Whatever Fallon cooked smells incredible, and Pepper packed it nicely into two throwaway containers.
“Is there anything else I can do?”
“Actually, yes. Can you give this to Lex? It’s what they pulled from her wound, and I’d like him to try to figure out what it is,” I explain, passing her the plastic bag from the doctor.
“Got it. Call if there’s any update or if you need anything. Oliver is practically going insane, pacing around like an anxious tiger, so I’m sure he’d be happy to help or listen.”
Pepper has a heart of gold, just as big as Fallon's when it comes to people she cares about, and it’s one of the many reasons why she fits into this family so well.
Once Pepper is gone, I settle onto the chair beside Fallon’s bed, resting my feet on the edge of the mattress, that way I won’t disturb her.
I’ve had my own hospital stay, and I know that the nurses never leave you alone, so I try to steal a few minutes of sleep before someone inevitably pops their head into the room.
Instead, a raspy whisper pulls me back to the surface, and when I open my eyes, Fallon’s sitting straight up in the bed.
“ Ozzy . You came back.”
“I’ve never moved, Bambi. Can I get you something?”
“We’re having a baby. I think it’s a boy.” She giggles, and I cock my head to the side, wondering if there’s a memo I may have missed.
Then it hits me, she’s still high, and thinks this is the first time she’s been to the hospital.
When she went in for stitches, and left with an abortion that created a massive hole in her heart.
In her haze, she’s convinced that I came back in time, before she had the chance to do the irreversible. My heart is shattering, not wanting to break the news, or the bubble she’s safely tucked in.
“We should name him Angel,” I whisper, taking her hand in mine, forcing the biggest smile I can muster.
“ Angel ,” she repeats, laying back down and tugging the blankets over her shoulder. “Jell-O. Can you get me Jell-O? Oh! And a sandwich. Not a yucky one, something perfect.”
Her appetite seems normal, and that much I’m thankful for. Instead of rushing off, or God forbid, leaving her alone while she’s so out of it, I take Pepper’s suggestion, shooting a quick text to Oliver.
It’s better than having her wake up and realize I’m gone, or bringing the pain she holds onto so tightly to the front of her mind.
That’s not going to help her right now.
“Absolutely, Fallon. I’ll get you anything you want,” I tell her, but she’s already snoring, the medicine taking her back under.
I rake my hand through my curls, tugging at the tangles and letting out a frustrated sigh. The weight of what’s happened today is finally hitting me like a freight train, sending my thoughts into a panic-induced frenzy.
There’s nothing easy about this situation, and admittedly, I feel helpless. I can’t stop what’s happening inside her mind, the drugs that are flashing her back in time, or the dull ache that’s going to cascade over her as the wound on her scalp heals.
It’s like I’m useless, fighting against something I can’t define.
What was that metal doing inside of her, burrowed under layers of skin, and more importantly, how did it get there?
Until those answers bring themselves to light, all I can do is keep Fallon comfortable, but it doesn’t feel like enough .
Am I enough to hold this beautifully broken woman together in the face of such uncertainty?
It’s just another question that I don’t have an answer to, and it’s the most terrifying one of them all.