Chapter 15
Morgan woke up in a hospital room. She became aware of machines beeping, and voices over an intercom calling for Doctor somebody or other. She felt very tired, her eyes didn’t seem to want to open at all. Instead of fighting her heavy eyelids, she lay still and let her mind navigate her surroundings.
Her back ached, and when she flexed her hand, she felt an IV in it. The beeping of the heart monitor was regular, that was a good sign. As she lay there, she started to remember how she’d come to be in a hospital. Zion! The thought ricocheted around her head, and then she forced her eyes open, determined to get ahold of someone to find out what had happened after she passed out.
Opening her eyes she looked around the room, she saw beautiful flowers on the table to her right, but there was no one in the room. Feeling around on the bed, she felt the box with the call button, picking it up, she depressed the button to call the nurse.
“Z!” Shayne called, hurrying into the waiting room. “She’s awake!”
Shayne had been purposefully hanging around the nurse’s station flirting with some of the younger nurses. Her purpose had been waiting to see if they said anything about Morgan or if she had woken up. Since none of them were family, there was no option for them getting updates on Morgan’s condition.
Zion looked up from the bed she sat in, a cast on one arm. “Did the nurse say anything?”
“No, but Morgan hit her call button,” Shayne related.
Zion nodded, feeling hopeful finally. It had been two days. Morgan had been taken from Fancy’s by ambulance to the hospital. She’d been unconscious. They knew she had surgery, and that she’d made it through, but the nicer lesbian doctor had rotated out, and no other doctor or nurse would give them information on her condition.
Ten minutes later the nurse appeared in the waiting room, summoning Zion.
“She’s asking for you,” the nurse, whose name tag read Janet, told her, smiling.
Zion followed the nurse to Morgan’s room. She almost fainted with relief when she saw Morgan was sitting up in bed. Striding to her, Zion reached her hand out, gently touching Morgan’s cheek, smiling down at her.
“The doctor should be in soon to talk to you,” Janet told them, then she left.
“Your arm…” Morgan gasped, seeing the cast on Zion’s arm.
“I’m okay,” Zion told her. “I’m more concerned about you.”
“I think I’m okay,” Morgan said.
“I’ll wait to hear that from a professional.”
Morgan bit her lip. “What happened after…”
Zion sighed loudly, her eyes widened. “You mean after the deranged lunatic shot you?” Morgan winced at the recollection. “She started to scream about how it was my fault she had to do that.” Zion shrugged. “I ran at her.”
“You…ran…at a woman holding a gun who’d already shot someone?” Morgan managed to say in shock.
“I wasn’t going to let her hurt anyone else,” Zion told her.
“But she could have shot you!” Morgan exclaimed.
“Oh, she did.” Zion held up her arm.
Morgan gasped. “My God!”
“It’s fine, I’m fine, and as long as you are too, that’s all that matters.” She gave Morgan a stern assessing look. “But do you want to tell me what the hell you were thinking doing what you did? You could have been killed!”
Morgan looked circumspect. “I was more afraid she’d kill you.”
“Morgan…” Zion began, shaking her head.
“It’s happened before,” Morgan told her, her tone grave. Zion tilted her head, giving Morgan a quizzical look. “I had my appointment with Charolotte, remember? I saw what happened with Davis and Sam.”
Zion drew in a deep breath. “Tell me.”
“I heard a gunshot!” Sam exclaimed, as he stared at the tableau before him.
Davis stood in the middle of the bookstore, his back to the front door. Jake was standing at the back of the store, his eyes wild, looking at Davis.
“It’s okay, Sam, I’m okay,” Davis said. He didn’t look back, he kept his eyes on Jake. “We’re okay, right Jake?”
Jake’s eyes shifted to Sam standing in the doorway, and his eyes welled up with tears. He reached up with the back of his hand to wipe the tears away. That’s when Sam realized that Jake was holding a gun in his hand.
“Oh my God!” Sam whispered in terror. He started to move toward Davis, but Davis held his hand up to try and stop Sam from edging any further forward.
“It’s okay, Sam,” Davis repeated, sparing a quick glance over his shoulder at his lover. “Go on home, I’ll be there later.”
“I can’t! You have to come with me now!” Sam insisted, seeing Jake’s eyes shift back and forth between them.
“I can’t,” Davis said, shaking his head, looking back at Jake again. “Jake and I need to talk this out, don’t we Jake?”
“No!” Sam said, striding forward toward where Davis stood. “We need to go.”
Jake began shaking his head. “Davis?” he uttered, his voice breaking.
Davis turned to take Sam’s hands in his. “Please go home,” he whispered.
“Please come with me,” Sam replied, his eyes glistened with tears.
“I’ll be there soon,” Davis told him.
Jake had begun pacing, his face suffused with color, his eyes darting back and forth, looking over at Davis and Sam, and then down at the gun in his hand.
“No!” Sam cried softly. “This isn’t safe, please just leave with me.”
“Baby…” Davis said. “I’ll be okay, it’ll be okay.”
“You won’t, he’s got a gun, please Davis…” Sam pleaded, as he stepped back, trying to pull Davis with him.
“I love you,” Davis uttered softly. “It will be okay, I just—”
“You love him!” Jake cried.
Davis turned around, dropping Sam’s hands and holding up his own. “Jake, please calm down, let’s talk about this…”
Jake shook his head, still pacing, it was obvious he was becoming more agitated, he was to the left of them, his pacing having shifted his position. “No, no!” Jake yelled. “He needs to go!”
“He’s going to go,” Davis told Jake, his voice soothing, “he is going to go now.” Looking over his shoulder at Sam, he nodded toward the door. “Go.”
“Davis…” Sam began.
“No! This isn’t right!” Jake screamed. “He’s taking you away from me!” With that Jake raised the gun, pointing it directly at Sam. “You need to go!” he shouted, as he squeezed the trigger.
“No!” Davis screeched.
Everything happened at once, the sound of the gun going off sounded like an explosion to Sam. As he realized Jake had fired the gun, the understanding hit him…he was probably going to die. He raised his eyes to Davis, and realized suddenly that Davis had stepped in front of him. The moment the bullet struck Davis in the back, Sam screamed his name. Suddenly Davis was falling forward. Sam did his best to catch him, and they both sunk to the floor, with Davis landing on top of him.
“Davis!” Sam cried, as he struggled to move. He wanted to see Davis’s face. “Talk to me!”
Sam could hear Jake crying, and he heard what he was sure was the gun clatter to the floor, but he didn’t care about that, he needed to see Davis’s face. He finally managed to shift enough to turn Davis face up. His breathing was labored, his hand reaching for Sam.
“Davis! Hold on!” Sam pleaded through sobs, but he could already see blood pooling around them. “No, baby, no…please hold on…please…”
“I…I…love you…” Davis gasped out, and before Sam could even respond, Davis took one, final shaky breath and died.
Sam felt dizzy and immediately sick to his stomach, his world seemed to shatter in that instant.
“So, you thought Jane would kill me, because Jake killed Davis,” Zion surmised.
“Yes!” Morgan insisted, tears glazing her eyes, just from the retelling of Davis’s murder. “It was so familiar, Zion, and I just knew that history would repeat itself. I couldn’t let that happen.”
“You could have been killed,” Zion insisted, reaching out a hand to brush over Morgan’s cheek.
“Better me than you,” Morgan whispered.
Zion looked back at Morgan for a long moment, sighing deeply. “I couldn’t live with myself if that had happened.”
“Thankfully, it didn’t.” Morgan smiled.
The doctor walked in, looking between the two women. “Hello, I’m Doctor Morrow.”
“Hello.” Morgan smiled somberly.
“Doctor.” Zion nodded, extending her hand to the doctor.
The doctor shook Zion’s hand. “We got really lucky here,” he told them. “The bullet missed all major arteries, and came out cleanly. You’ll probably be with us for another day or two, just so we can make sure there’s no infection, then you’ll be discharged.”
“Thank you,” Morgan said.
“Yes, thank you,” Zion added.
The doctor smiled, nodding, and then left the room.
“So, what happened to Jane?” Morgan asked.
Zion moved to sit in a chair, reaching out to take Morgan’s hand. “Well, after I tackled her, the cops arrived. Apparently, Zip was hiding behind the bar and calling them while everything was going on.”
“So, she was arrested?” Morgan asked hopefully.
Zion nodded. “Although, her powerful husband has already bailed her out.”
Morgan pressed her lips together. “She shoots two people and gets to bail out that easily?”
Zion shrugged. “Hopefully he’ll at least keep her in Sacramento until she’s charged.”
Morgan sighed; she was too tired to worry about it any further.
Morgan was released from the hospital the following evening. She and Zion had discussed where she would convalesce. They’d decided that Zion’s apartment would be easiest, since Morgan would likely have follow-up appointments at the same hospital. Little did she know that she would have a lot more support than she’d ever hoped for.
The morning after she was released, Zion got a call from the police department, they told her she needed to go down to the police station for more questions that the police had.
“Kenzie is on her way over to help you with anything you need, while I’m gone,” Zion told Morgan.
“I don’t want to put anyone out…” Morgan began, but Zion’s lips on hers stopped her.
“They want to help,” Zion said, cupping her face tenderly.
Morgan pressed her lips together in consternation, not wanting to seem ungrateful. “Okay, I’m sorry.”
“No need to be sorry,” Zion soothed, “just let us help you, okay?”
“Okay,” Morgan agreed.
An hour later, Zion left the apartment, just as Kenzie arrived.
“How are you feeling?” the redhead asked.
“A bit sore,” Morgan commented, “but I guess that’s to be expected.”
Kenzie nodded. “Definitely. Did Z have time to get you a coffee or tea or anything?”
Morgan shook her head. “She got the call and needed to get ready.”
“Okay, so what can I get you?”
Morgan was about to protest, even attempting to get up off the bed, but a searing pain in her back stopped her.
Kenzie rushed to her side. “Easy, easy!” she insisted, as she helped Morgan to settle against her pillows against the headboard. “Don’t get me into trouble with my partner’s best friend.” She winked.
Morgan chuckled softly. “Some tea would be lovely, with cream and sugar, please.”
When Kenzie brought back the tea, as well as a cup of coffee for herself, she sat in the lounge chair close to the bed.
“How did you and Dax meet?” Morgan asked. She was ever the inquisitive writer.
Kenzie grinned warmly. “Well, our first meeting was her insulting my footwear.”
Morgan blinked a couple of times. “I’m sorry?”
Kenzie chuckled, almost spilling hot coffee on herself but proceeded to describe her first meeting with Dax. “She apologized when she found out I was essentially going to be her boss, but it took a while for us to become friends.”
“How did it evolve to where you are today then?” Morgan asked, but she realized as soon as the question left her mouth that she might be overstepping. “I mean, if it’s okay that I ask.”
“It’s okay. I was pretty tough on Dax when we started off, I had a real issue with butch lesbians. But Dax was so patient.” Kenzie smiled softly as she remembered how much care her lover had taken with her. “She really put up with a lot from my damaged psyche.”
Morgan nodded, knowing she shouldn’t ask what she really wanted to ask. Kenzie, who was observant, much like Zion, saw it on her face. “You’re wondering why I had a problem with butch lesbians, right?”
Embarrassed that she’d been caught, Morgan grimaced guiltily. She nodded softly, as if in silent answer.
“I’d been in a horribly abusive relationship with a butch woman, and it really skewed my opinion on them as a whole.”
“I’m so sorry,” Morgan offered.
Kenzie accepted the sympathy. “Dax showed me that it wasn’t the type of lesbian that was abusive, but instead it was the type of person.”
“Zion is the first lesbian I’ve ever been truly intimate with,” Morgan commented. “But her level of gentility really amazes me.”
“Oh, Zion is definitely the epitome of a gentleman,” Kenzie agreed. “From what I understand that Fancy creature really destroyed her.”
Morgan recoiled. “Almost literally.”
“Yeah, she’s an extra helping of narcissist with a side of crazy.” Kenzie rolled her eyes.
Morgan chuckled at the description. “Apparently.”
“Hopefully Z can open the bar again soon.”
“It’s been closed?” Morgan asked, surprised.
“Ever since the night of the shooting.”
“Are the police keeping it closed?”
“I don’t think it’s them, I think Z just didn’t want to take time away from your recovery.” Kenzie shuffled on the spot, wondering if she’d just said too much.
Zion came home later that morning, taking over from Kenzie. She made Morgan lunch and they ate it sitting on the bed.
“It looks like the DA is going to charge Jane with two counts of attempted homicide, and a few other charges, like possessing and concealing an unregistered firearm,” Zion told Morgan.
Morgan exhaled, feeling relieved. Then she gave Zion a sideways glance. “Is the bar being closed because of me?”
Zion looked back at her for a long moment, then shrugged slightly. “I had more important things to worry about just then.”
Morgan’s pointed look made her sigh.
“Not just you, I needed to deal with the clean-up and stuff,” Zion added.
Morgan suspected that stuff meant her and being shot. “Did you worry about your own injury?”
Zion lifted her casted arm. “How could I not?”
Morgan nodded. “Are you in a lot of pain? Is that why you’re keeping the bar closed?”
Zion smiled softly. “No, you don’t have to worry about me.”
“Hey,” Morgan retorted, giving her a narrowed look, “if you get to worry about me and take care of me, it goes both ways.”
Regarding her for a long moment, Zion’s smile widened fondly. “Okay, I’ll let you worry about me.”
“And take care of you?”
Zion flattened her lips in a determined line, but Morgan’s stern look had her chuckling and holding her hands up in surrender. “Okay, okay.”
The next day, they were leaving the bar and were planning to go down to Morgan’s condo, so she could get more clothes. Zion was just locking up, when a man approached them both.
“Amy?” the man inquired.
Zion turned to look at the man, her eyes widening significantly. “Bobby?”
The man smiled, nodding emphatically as he stepped forward to embrace a slightly stunned Zion. When they parted, Zion examined and took in one of her eldest brothers.
“How…I mean, what…I mean…” Zion stammered.
“I saw your picture on the news, they said you owned this bar here in the Castro.”
Bobby looked over at Morgan his look questioning.
“Oh, sorry.” Zion shook her head. “This is Morgan, Morgan this is one of my oldest brothers, Bobby.”
Morgan looked surprised, but held out her hand to Bobby. He took it, shaking it gently.
“You were one shot trying to protect my sister, right?”
Morgan lowered her eyes modestly, but she nodded.
“Well, thank you for that.” Bobby smiled again, but then looked chagrinned. “I’m sorry, is this a bad time? I figured it was a better time than when you were open for business…” His voice trailed off as he realized that he’d assumed a lot already.
“It’s fine,” Zion offered. “Let’s go back inside, we can talk there.”
The trio walked into the bar.
Bobby looked around. “Wow, this place is pretty cool.”
Zion grinned, innately pleased that he thought so.
“Thanks.” She gestured to one of the larger tables. “We can sit down here. Do you want some coffee, Bobby?”
“No, I’m fine thanks,” he replied.
They settled into the chairs; Zion leaned forward on the table between them. “So, what are you doing here?” she asked. “I mean, here in San Francisco,” she added hurriedly when she saw the shocked look on his face.
“Oh.” He chuckled nervously. “I thought you were worried I was coming to get something from you,” he said honestly.
“I live here, well…I mean, in Novato, but here in California.”
“Wow!” Zion exclaimed. “How long have you lived here?”
“About two years now, my wife is a California girl.” He grinned.
“Wife?” Zion smiled. “How long?”
“Ten years now,” Bobby told her. “We’ve got two kids, a boy, Jasper, he’s seven, and a little girl, Amy. She’s three.”
“Amy huh?” Zion chuckled.
“I guess you didn’t need it anymore,” Bobby commented wryly.
“Uh, no.” Zion grimaced. “I wanted to get away from that.”
“And us, and home…” Bobby added.
Zion blew her breath out in a sigh. “I couldn’t be myself there, Bobby, you know that.”
Bobby nodded slowly. “Doesn’t mean we didn’t miss you.”
Zion curled her lips in disdain. “Did Dad miss me after that second letter?” she asked, referring to the letter where she’d admitted to being gay.
Bobby frowned. “He was pretty set in his ways.”
Zion wrinkled her nose. “Yeah, I knew that.”
“It doesn’t mean the rest of us were,” Bobby chided.
“Yeah, but how was I supposed to reach out to all of you, without him interfering?” Zion contested hotly. “And how did I know you guys would be okay with who I am now?”
Bobby pressed his lips together, knowing she was at least partly right; their father would have forbidden any of them, that still lived with him, from communicating with her. He shrugged in futility. “It’s moot point now…Dad died about two years ago.”
“How?” Zion asked, even as Morgan reached over and took her hand squeezing it gently.
“Heart attack,” Bobby stated flatly. It was obvious that their father hadn’t become more pleasant.
“You know he never bothered with eating healthy after Mom died. And his latest wife only indulged his bad diet and drinking.”
“Latest?” Zion queried.
“Yeah,” Bobby commented drily, “he ended up marrying Jenny Slattery about three months after you left. That didn’t work out. He got married three other times after that. Each one worse than the last.”
“None of them were Mom,” Zion stated wryly.
“Nope,” Bobby agreed. He reached out his hand to Zion. “But we are still family, and no matter what’s happened in the past, it doesn’t mean I don’t want to get to know you now, okay? We all missed you.”
Zion drew in a sharp breath, feeling tears glaze her eyes, she accepted what he was saying. “I’d like that. How is everyone?”
“Carl and Danny are both married, still living in New York,” he told her. “Eric was married, but it didn’t take, so he’s back on his own.” He rolled his eyes. “Whoring around Vegas, last time I heard.”
“Carl is Bobby’s twin,” Zion told Morgan. “Danny and Eric are twins too.”
“But nothing alike,” Bobby added with a laugh.
Zion laughed too. “Eric was always a ladies’ man, even when he was a kid.”
Morgan smiled; she was enjoying hearing about Zion’s family.
“Now Frankie, well he turned out like you.” His voice softened at the words.
Zion looked alarmed. “How did Dad take that?”
Bobby scowled at the memory. “About as well as you’d think.”
“Damn…” Zion breathed. “Where is he now?”
“Last time I talked to him, he’d broken up with his boyfriend in Rhode Island and was headed here.”
“To San Francisco?” Zion asked.
“Yep,” Bobby confirmed. “I’d bet he’s somewhere in the city as we speak.”
Zion shook her head. “Wow, yeah, he might be, we just don’t run in the same circles.” Bobby raised an eyebrow and Zion laughed. “This is a lesbian bar, genius, we don’t get a lot of gay men in here.”
Bobby had the temerity to look embarrassed. “I guess I should know better, huh?”
“Nah,” Zion conceded, “you wouldn’t know any better.”
“I’ll learn,” Bobby told her seriously.
Zion accepted his answer with a kind nod. “So what about Georgie?”
Bobby sighed loudly. “He’s been in and out of trouble for years.”
“What kind of trouble?”
“Stupid stuff, petty theft, boosted a car or two,” Bobby reeled.
“He got out of jail about a year ago. He seems to have cleaned up his act, but he’s having trouble finding a job with his record and all. Frankie was trying to talk to him into coming here, that way we could have kept an eye on him.”
Zion nodded, looking thoughtful. “If he comes here, I could offer him a job in the bar. I could even get him into affordable housing.”
“There’s affordable housing here?” Bobby questioned.
“Is Novato affordable?” Zion countered.
“No, but since I’m an architect, I can afford it.” Bobby grinned.
“Wow, architect huh?” Zion queried, clearly impressed.
“Yep.” He nodded. “Carl’s a lawyer, and Danny is a doctor.”
“Calvert boys are cleaning up.” Zion chuckled.
Bobby laughed at that. “So, affordable housing?”
“Yeah, I have some apartments I rent out for reasonable prices.”
“Some apartments?” Bobby asked, suspiciously.
Zion shrugged. “I own a few buildings. A couple of them are apartment buildings, I rent them out to friends and members of the community.”
“Community?” Bobby asked.
“The gay community,” Zion clarified.
“Very socially conscious of you.”
Zion narrowed her eyes at her older brother. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Bobby held up his hands. “Just what I said.” He shook his head.
“Leave it to you to take care of everyone,” he commented proudly.
“You have no idea,” Morgan murmured.
Bobby canted his head at her comment,
“Meaning?”
Morgan pressed her lips together as Zion gave her a glowering look. Zion sighed. “She means that I’ve kind of formed my only family, and we all take care of each other.”
“Your own family?”
“Other lesbians that sometimes have no one else,” Zion answered. “Some of them rent from me too.”
Bobby nodded and grinned. “I hope I get to meet this other family too.”
“I’ll make sure of it,” Zion told him.