"Nothing new. He's stable. They say he's doing exactly what he should be doing. Everything is normal. We just wait for him to heal. I keep asking how much longer he'll be kept in a coma, but no one has the answers. They just tell me he's not there yet." Lance focused on the food Franks had brought. A delicious looking chicken breast with rice and mixed vegetables. "Tell Gretta thank you. This smells amazing."
"I'll let her know. She's a great cook. I know she wishes she could do more to help." Franks finally stepped away from the bed. "Where's Betty? I don't want to sit in her lap."
Lance pointed to where Betty sat and Franks took the other chair.
"Now tell me where Betty's been." Franks looked over to where Betty was and raised a brow. "You had everyone scared."
"We've already yelled at her for scaring us, but her reasoning was justified. She saved Angus's life." Lance went on to tell Franks what Betty had done and why she hadn't been around for several days. "I can't believe it's only been a few days. It feels like I've been sitting here for weeks waiting for him to wake up."
Franks smiled at where Betty was. "Thank you for saving him. I don't know how you knew what to do, but thank you isn't enough. I wish I could hug you and buy you dinner or something."
Betty laughed. "Knowing he's going to live is enough reward."
Lance repeated what Betty said, then smiled at Franks. "I'm sure Angus will find a way to thank you once he's awake. I don't know if he'll remember anything, but I hope he does. Betty said they were able to see each other and talk while she was holding him together."
"Just when I think the world can't get any stranger." Franks laughed. "I'm sure Lizzy and Martin are ecstatic that you're back and so thankful for what you did."
"We're all thankful for what you've done. In less than a week you found the person responsible. That's a big deal."
"It was just about asking the right questions to the right people. Once we found out the blast came from the bakery and that Hillary Hilton was the last person in the bakery, it wasn't too hard to figure out who to put the pressure on. I feel for her daughter though. She lost her father in the explosion, now she'll lose her mother to prison. Seems Tom Hilton must have sensed trouble coming. He changed his life insurance recently, so it all goes to his daughter. Nothing says bad marriage quicker than changing beneficiaries."
"What exactly did she do?" Betty asked.
Lance asked the question to Franks for her.
"Not really sure. I'm guessing since she thought the smell of gas would close down business for the night, she probably just turned on the gas oven, left the doors open, and hoped the smell would be strong enough to alert people in the restaurant. I was so mad at her when she admitted she'd caused this that I didn't bother asking for more information. I probably should have, but all I could think was that my partner was fighting for his life because of what she did. I let Detective Burns handle her after that." Franks nodded to Lance. "Eat. You need to stay strong."
"I'm going to gain weight if anything. Everyone keeps dropping off snacks. Even the nurses sneak me in treats throughout the day." Lance took another bite of the chicken.
"At least you're being taken care of. I hate the idea of you here in that chair every night. I wish you'd let me stay with him for a while so you can go home and rest a little."
"Thanks, but I rest here. The chair reclines. It's not uncomfortable. I'm not going anywhere until I can look him inthe eyes and make sure he's okay. I know Betty said he's in there, but I need to see it for myself. I promise I'm okay. I won't push myself too hard. I need to be strong once he's awake." Lance was more worried about missing work if this went on longer than a few weeks, but he'd find a new job if it came to that. He had enough money saved up he could forget about work for a few months if needed. He hoped that it would only be a few weeks. Once he knew Angus was awake and going to heal, he'd go back to work and spend the evenings with Angus at the hospital.
"Do you need anything?" Franks asked.
"Nope, Jackson is handling everything for me. He's probably regretting coming home with all the stuff I've hefted on his shoulders the last few days. Haunt was my main worry, but Jackson's taking care of her, and Lizzy offered to take her if needed."
"She's welcome at my place as well if you need. Gretta's moving in and one of us will be around at night," Franks offered.
"Gretta's moving in? That's great. So, things are going well for the two of you?" Lance asked.
"We're just friends." Franks laughed. "Why does everyone think it's more?"
"I did see you kiss her." Lance remembered the night waiting for Angus to get out of surgery.
"Yeah, but it's just a friendly kiss. It might turn into more, but she wants to take things slow. I made a move, we kissed a bit, then backed off when she said she wasn't ready for anything. I like having her around. The house isn't so quiet and empty when I get home. She's staying in the guest room. If things advance at some point, I'll be happy, but for now, I'm just glad for the company. She's got a lot to recover from. Her marriage wasn't good. I'll give her the time she needs to decide what she wants. If we're never more than good friends, I'll respect that."
Lance hoped this didn't end up with Franks getting his heart broken, but he didn't see Gretta as the type to string him along if she wasn't interested. It was none of his business anyway. He was just glad the two had found someone to lean on. Franks had been alone a long time.
"Well, I can't stay long. I need to get home. I've got an early meeting in the morning with ATF. It's going to be a long week of paperwork and interviews to make sure they have a solid case against Mrs. Hilton, and I still need to run by Lizzy's house." Franks stood. "You sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, this dinner is amazing, and your news was even better. Tell Gretta thanks for the food and thank Amy for helping you with the case. You two found answers in a matter of days. That's impressive." Lance was so glad someone would pay for what had been done to Angus and the others. He hated to be vengeful, but damn it, Angus nearly died. Others had died.
"I wasn't going to stop until we knew what happened. Not just for Angus, but those in the burn unit we interviewed. So many suffered, and for what? I'm disgusted by the reasoning behind all this."
"So am I." Lance sighed. "Let's just hope the courts are as angry about it as we are and make her pay."
"We'll make sure of it. Those victim statements will be important when the time comes." Franks gently touched Angus's blanket covered foot. "I'll call you tomorrow to check in. Call me if anything changes or you need anything."
