>>“Um, the doctor isn’t one-hundred percent sure. He’s suffered some sort of trauma but we can’t find it. What can be determined is that he is malnourished. Any other tests, we can’t do... Whenever we try to draw blood, or take readings, his body reacts by…um…transforming…like, into water. We were able to give him a relaxant so he can sleep. That seems to keep him solid so we could at least put the dressing gown on him, but, other than that, it seems like when he is awake he’s struggling to hold on.”

Transforming into water?...
Struggling to hold on?...

It was a logical step from Jorge's powers, although Gemma was currently struggling with logic or reason as emotions overwhelmed her. Would he... could he completely just... dissolve?... Was that what happened?...
Gemma was already sure she was not moving from his side; but knowing that for a fact made her resolve all the more sure.

>>“You’re name is Gemma, isn’t? The few times he’s been lucid, he calls for a ‘Gemma’.”

Gemma nodded slowly, biting back tears again as they welled up. He remembered her.

Leo took it upon himself to steed the nurse away and outside the room; one more thing she'd have to thank him for, later. Gemma sighed and started looking for a chair, just as she felt the gentle squeeze on her hand.

>>”I…know that…face”

She turned, and caught the small smile on the man's lips, and the dazed look in his eyes.

"Jorge!"

Gemma's smile was just as shaky as his, but she held his hand gently with one hand, and leaned over to touch his face with the other. He was worn, but he was awake. Some tears spilled over.

"How are you feeling?..."

It probably had to be the most perfect sight. She was the one ray of light that managed to shine through the clouds of confusion that had settled so heavily upon his mind, giving him an anchor, a direction to sail towards with hope and peace abound. Ever since he had washed up on the beach, the detective had been in a state of pain and panic, his body struggling to keep itself pieced together after spending so many years as part of the ocean, drifting so aimlessly. But now, there was only peace and serenity in her presence, the presence of the one thing that managed to keep his mind at least somewhat pieced together.

He was never leaving her side again.

He squeezed her hand. It felt warm, solid, much like those memories that he carried with him for so long but they were no match for the real thing. To feel the small creases between her fingers, the warmth her skin carried when they touched against his cooler skin, it was almost too good to be true and he was ready to blame the last moments of a psychotic, broken down man who was still drifting as millions of droplets throughout the endless waves. But this was real, wasn’t it? It was real…

Gemma turned when he spoke, wide-eyed and a little shaky as she pressed herself closer to him. He felt her fingers move across his jaw and he smiled at the sensation of feeling her so close again. It was dawning on him just how much he missed her.

”Hey Gem…” he said, weariness still tinging his voice.

It was truly a heaven sent to see this woman here. Just the relieved look on her face, the glint in her eye, well, it almost made him forget the time that he had spent away from her. For a brief moment, all notions of pain and suffering that he had endured had gone away – this right here was the only thing that mattered to him.

A sigh and Jorge blinked slowly, still trying to work the daze off that clouded into his head, it was like having his skull packed to breaking with cotton balls. All he wanted to do was close his eyes again, but he needed to stay awake for this. He waited too long.

>> ”How are you feeling?”

”Heh…better…now that you’re here,” he said as he gave her hand another squeeze. He winced at a nearby lamp and turned his gaze away from it. ”So…confused, though. Skin…hurts…”[/b] he sighed, trying to not to wince too hard from the haze he felt in his head. But, as soon as it started, it vanished as something more tangible appeared in his mind, something important. Eyes turned onto Gemma and he suddenly looked quite saddened. ”I…I’m sorry. I’ve…been gone…a long time…haven’t I?”

>>”Hey Gem…”

"Hey" she said softly, smiling at him. She was enjoying the mere fact that he was here, his smile, his voice, his face, even though all of them together told her that he had been through a lot, and it would be a long road to recovery. She worried, of course, she always worried... but at the same time, she was happy that she had something - someone - to worry about. She had him.

”Heh…better…now that you’re here. So…confused, though. Skin…hurts…”

"I'm sorry..."

She pulled her hand away from his face, suddenly feeling guilty that she caused him pain. He probably hurt all over, even with the medications they no doubt put him on. Gemma pulled up a chair and sat down by the bed. She wanted to be as close to hi as possible, but she also had to be careful to not cause him any more pain than what he already was feeling.

>>”I…I’m sorry. I’ve…been gone…a long time…haven’t I?”

"It's all right" Gemma said soothingly, resting her hand lightly on top of his covers, and smiled at him "You are back now."

He would catch up on everything later. It was probably a matter of hours before the MRC would find out, and they would come to debrief him. But he still had time to worry about those things later. For now, it was just the two of them.

"I missed you..."

She pulled her hand away. Deep down, he didn’t want her to do that. But, he had to admit, that at least his skin didn’t burn anymore. He knew that it was going to take a matter of getting used to things again, so he was thankful for Gemma’s understanding. Though it felt a little like free-floating again when she let go, he bore with it, needed a break from the sensation of her skin on his. It felt good and, at the same time, still burned. But, again, with time that’ll change. So long as she didn’t leave his side too soon, he was sure he could managed.

Jorge lay there, still a little hazy but better as the seconds ticked on. His eyes never left Gemma except for one point when he winced, trying to adjust himself so he could sit up a little more. The sensation of gravity pulling his upper torso down onto his waist was uncomfortable, and he shifted until he could find a comfortable spot. However, this only added to his haze so he quickly stopped so he wouldn’t feel so weightless anymore. Already he was irritated with how long he was taking to heal and he had been here only for a few hours.

Some things clearly never change.

But, he took a breath and started to calm, relaxing into the bed, feeling his body want to shut down again so that he could get a much needed deep sleep. Until that happened, however, he wanted to spend his time reunited with the woman he left before. The woman who had to suffer for god knows how long with the idea that he was dead. By all rights, he should be, but he was thankful to be back. Would that be enough to make up for all that time, though?

He whispered an apology. It was heartfelt as his eyes followed the shape her face, taking note of the fears and worries that she had to endure. Though he knew she wouldn’t blame him, he had to apologize anyway, if only for the sake of hearing himself say it outloud.

Another weak smile as she same a seat next to him, he felt her hand touch his from over the covers. Thank goodness that didn’t hurt as much, he hated the idea of recoiling from her touch again. That was something he wasn’t going to allow. And, as he mused this, she said those words that caused tears to well up in the corners of his eyes. He knew he missed her, her smile, her “don’t-give-me-shit” look whenever people gave her attitude, be they staff or student. But hearing her say it and knowing from the tone alone how much she meant it, actually caused the weight of his disappearance to drop on him a little harder.

”I missed you,” he admitted. His eyes started to feel heavier. His head laid back against the pillow again, vainly trying to fight against the exhaustion that quickly settled in. But, even as his eyes closed, he still was pained by the idea of be separated from her. Not for himself, mind you, but for Gemma. He didn’t want to leave her again. So, defiantly, he kept one, tired eye open, and gave her a tender smile. ”I…I won’t leave you again…” he promised. The eye closed as he nestled into the pillow, finally too tired to fight off sleep any longer. But just before he drifted off again, he whispered to her. ”I love you…”.

>>”I missed you... I…I won’t leave you again… I love you…”

Jorge was drifting, probably due to the medications and being exhausted, and Gemma let him. There would be time to talk later; for now, all he needed to know was that he was safe, and not alone.

"I love you too" she said softly, watching him fall asleep "I'll be here when you wake up."

She would be, too. She would probably have to have a longer talk with the doctors and the hospital staff about their policies - she couldn't lie forever, they probably checked, if they didn't already, Leo's alias had quite a few holes in it - but she would be here, whatever happened. She would call the MRC if she had to.

Gemma sat by the bed, watching Jorge sleep, knowing that her own aura kept him from struggling with his powers, and allowed him some peace. She would just wait until Leo and the nurse came back, and see if there was anything else she could do.

They'd taken maybe ten paces toward the nurse's station when the woman decided she was done answering inane questions.

"Look, you know and I know that you're just buying time for your parents to have their moment."

"Was it that obvious?"

"From the get go, kid." She smiled all the same. "Still, I think it got you some points with mom."

"Yeah?" Leo shifted the clipboard under his arm. "I mean, we haven't lived under the same roof for too long. I can use all the good grace I can get."

"Oh totally."

"So, what? You think like 5 minutes?"

"Maybe 8. If you're too timely, it might be obvious."

"Right, right. Yeah."

Leo grinned. The nurse grinned.

"You know, none of this gets you out of doing paperwork, right?"

---

Several minutes later, Leo had Googled up a couple more details. He almost had Jorge's direct form finished now, but the kid felt a bit guilty leveraging his skills to wheedle into Jorge's personal business. Yeah, they needed the paperwork done so that they could figure out if he was allergic to latex and stuff. He got that. It was so dumb that anyone had to fill this stuff out manually at all. Because the information was out there. Jorge's files were even ORCed. The hospitals should totally just set up an ingestion system, at least for public servants. Seriously. If they could just look at the police fitness tests and all the other forms Leo'd managed to get into, he wouldn't have to be doing this.

He glanced up and put the pen down once his 8 minutes were up.

They'd better not be kissing in there.

He knocked lightly and cleared his throat on the outside of the room and then counted to three just in case before he brushed through the door.

"Hey, Ms... uhm. Mom. You need anything? Should I head home?"

Gemma set in silence, watching Jorge breathe, and lost track of time. It could not have been more than a few minutes, but the quiet room, together with the weight of the knowledge that Jorge was back and he was alive, somehow managed to slow time to a halt, and block out the world... until the door was pushed open.

>>"Hey, Ms... uhm. Mom. You need anything? Should I head home?"

Gemma smiled a tired little smile at Leo's attempt to keep up appearances. His calling her "mom" reminded her that she'd have to call her children, let them know Jorge was alive. Later.

"Thank you Leo" she sighed, standing up to take the clipboards from him "I'll take over now. You can go home. Do you need a ride to the Mansion? I can call someone to pick you up..."

It was the least she could do, after Leo had done so much.