Thorne: Restoration of the Heart
by Atonia
Part 2
Friday at the designated time Toni and Max arrived at the hospital and met Dino just inside the door.
Toni carried a large purse on her shoulder and walked up to the desk and signed in to visit her husband. She was a little alarmed to find he was in the common area and not in his room. She found him staring out a window. She walked up to him.
“Terry?” and slid her arm around his waist.
“Toni,” he put his arms around her and held on.
“Terry is it possible to go to your room?”
“Yeah, it’s down this way.” He didn’t let her go during the walk down the corridor to his room.
Once inside with the door closed, “How are you today, darling?”
“Better I think, I’m not right; I can’t concentrate for very long, I can’t think straight, Toni.”
“Listen, Terry, we’re getting you out of here today; there’s a car out front and a plane waiting to take us to the House.”
“No,” he started shaking his head, “I can’t go yet; they said another week.”
“Honey, I’m not going to leave you here for another week, don’t you know once we get to the House you’ll be well, no more pills, no more hospital.”
“No more hospital, well…let’s go then.”
“It’s not that easy you can’t just walk out of here with me because they don’t want you to go yet, you haven’t completed their treatment schedule or something…are you with me?”
“No…you’re going to take me out but you can’t.”
Toni began unloading her bag with Max’s clothes, “Will you put these clothes on, darling?”
“Why?”
“We have a plan, Terry; Dino and Max are out front. Well what we’re trying to do is make you look like Max so you can walk out of here with Dino.”
Terry stared at her and she was afraid he wasn’t understanding her at all until, “It’s a K&R thing.”
She smiled, “Yes it is; we’re going to rescue you, lover.”
She had him dressed and parted his hair down the middle and combed it the way Max did his and stood back and looked at him, except for being pale looking and a little vacant he looked very much like his brother. “Now you stay here until Max and Dino come in okay?”
“I want to go with you.”
“You have to wait for Max and Dino, I’ll be right outside waiting for you. Please do it, darling.”
“I’ll wait for Dino.”
She quickly went back down the hall and motioned for Dino and Max to sign in, neither of them signed their right names, Max was M. Thorne, brother and Dino was D.Thorne, cousin. Once they went into the room she started chatting up the woman behind the desk and was still doing so when Dino came down the hall with Terry in Max’s clothes. He stopped when he saw Toni but Dino pulled him along to the door. Toni wouldn’t look at him afraid he’d blow it. She looked at her watch; “I’d better go get my brother in law, thanks for the tip about the hair colorist.”
She walked quickly down the hall and opened the door to Terry’s room Max rushed out, “I am glad to see you is he out of here?”
“Yes, Dino took him through the doors, we have to hurry, Max.” She heard someone saying, “Excuse me Mrs. Thorne?” But she kept on walking until she and Max were outside and they ran to the car provided by SI with the blacked out windows and were away.
“Good job, Toni,” Dino gave her a high five.
“Take these off,” Terry said removing Max’s spare glasses. “I couldn’t see; where are we going?”
“To the airport, darling.” She held onto his arm.
“I wonder if they’ve missed him yet?” Max said.
“Missed who?” Terry asked.
“You, ya dimwit you ain’t there anymore.” Dino poked him in the arm.
“I’ll feel better when we’re in the air. What are you looking for, Terry?” He was opening his jacket and feeling in pockets.
“Passport, I have to have it for the airport.”
“I’ve got it along with your wallet, do you remember the men taking it from you?” Toni asked.
“No, what men?”
“Don’t worry about that now, Terry,” Max patted him on the knee, “Toni do something with his hair, it’s like looking in a mirror about six years ago.”
Toni found a comb and got rid of the center part and parted it on the side. He sat quietly while she messed with his hair. His eyes never left her.
“He’s too quiet,” Dino said, “I could probably get away with telling him what a worthless piece of shit I think he is, mama’s boy, sucking up,” he had his attention now and saw a flash come and go; he was in there somewhere.”
“Fuck you, Dino.” Terry said.
“That’s my boy.” Dino grinned.
He was quiet and docile until they got him on the plane and buckled his seat belt, the belt triggered something and he didn’t want to be tied down.
“You’re not tied only buckled and when we’re in the air it can come off, it won’t stay, Terry, I promise you,” Toni told him. She sat beside him and held his hand, he needed to be touched, and he needed her.
They were finally in the air and Max had the information his doctor had given him about the medication and the schedule they had him on at the rehab center. Terry would need a pill in two hours. He looked across the aisle at his brother, strong, independent, fearless brother, and it hurt him to see Terry like he was, docile and not quite there all the time and Toni, she was his strength right now. He noticed the way she held onto him, her chin up. The same woman he held while she sobbed for him last week when she needed some strength. He knew she would never be his again and that somehow he was going to have to find his own life now. It was hard to let go; like she’d told him, you don’t turn it off like a faucet.
Toni had been dosing but when Terry’s grip on her hand became increasingly tight she woke and felt the tremors through his hand. He was trying awfully hard to control them she watched the muscles in his forearms bunch. “Max, Max wake up.”
“Mmm, Toni?”
“When is he supposed to take his medication?”
“Bollocks,” He stood up and pulled his little bag down and got the pill bottle out, “thirty minutes ago Toni, sorry. Could we get some water?” he asked the attendant.
“How often Max?”
“Every six hours. These are not as strong as he was getting at the rehab Toni.”
Terry quickly swallowed the pill, “I’m sorry.” He was shaking his head.
“Sorry for what darling, you don’t need to be sorry for anything.”
“I don’t want to be like this.”
“I know and soon you won’t be, try and sleep honey,” she placed her hand on his cheek, ”I love you.”
“Love you.”
“I don’t know when I’ve ever been so glad to see land,” Toni said peeping out of the window as they circled Boston.”
“We’re home,” Terry said trying to hold it together, he needed to walk off the plane and make it through the airport.
Toni thought about what he said about it being home, he was thinking of the House of course but that wasn’t really home, not anymore. Max and Dino paved the way as well as they could for Terry, he did walk and made it through customs. Their luggage consisted of small bags they had on the plane and Max and Dino carried them. Dino had arranged for a vehicle and by the time they got Terry in the back of it he wasn’t doing too well. Toni gave him another pill with a bottle of water and got him to lay down in the back seat with his head on her lap. It had only been eight days since he was rescued and she thought he was handling it pretty good.
It was nearly 8:00 by the time they got to the House, Toni insisted Terry be taken straight to his room and put to bed. She helped him undress and made him lie down. He wouldn’t let go of her so she lay down on top of him fitting her little belly under his ribs and laced her hands in his.
“I’m right here Terry, don’t fight it honey, don’t fight it go to sleep.”
“I’m not, not going to fight it.” He locked his eyes onto hers and soon she felt his muscles relaxing. As she lay on top of him she could feel the energy hovering above her and she thought if she looked up she could see it but she didn’t take her eyes away from his. As he relaxed his lashes fluttered and closed. His breathing became steady and she eased herself off him so that energy could settle and make him well again.
Toni was spent and longed to lay beside him, but she didn’t want to interfere with the magic at work and so she pulled her knit pants back on and her pullover and left the room.
Downstairs the boys were feasting, not having had a decent meal since breakfast. Toni took a cup of coffee and sat down at the table, “He’s finally given it up. What an ordeal this has been.”
“You have handled very well, Toni, I’m proud of you.” Max said
“I couldn’t have made it without help, I would have been a heap in the bed.”
“I doubt that Toni, you’re a pretty strong woman, you’d have to be to be married to Terry.”
“Oh thanks Dino. This kind of strength I don’t need. No more…no more of this.”
“I’d like to put a man on him, Toni, you met Mean Marine.”
“A bodyguard? He won’t go for that, Dino you know that, you want to piss him off after all this?”
“I’d love to piss him off, get that temper he’s got red hot.”
“I’ve never seen his temper, Dino.”
“It ain’t pretty, Toni but it don’t show up very often; he controls himself very well, cool and calm that’s why he’s so good at what he does.”
“When was the last time you ate, Toni?” Max asked.
“I had a sandwich on the plane.” She watched Max fill a plate for her and find a knife and fork.
It wasn’t quite daylight when he woke and felt around for Toni; she wasn’t there but he knew where he was. He ran his hand over his face and felt the beard and went into his bathroom shaved and took a shower, wash it all away, he thought, standing under the water and letting it run over his body. It felt good to feel something again. He dried himself off and with a towel around his waist went next door to Toni’s room. He stood by the bed watching her sleep for a minute and eased himself down beside her, lightly touching her and teased her lips with his tongue.
“Terry!” Her arms went around his shoulders and pulled him down to her.
The sun was shining through the French doors in her room and Terry’s hand was on her belly feeling his baby. “I want to go home, Toni, home to Virginia.”
“We will as soon as you’re ready.”
“I’m ready now, luv, we haven’t even had a chance to be pregnant. I want to be with you, every day, every minute.”
“We have a nursery to get ready and lots of shopping to do…and a lot of time to make up.”
“We can’t make it up but we can make it better, I want to make it good for you and for him. I love you, Toni.”
She received his kiss, “Terry Thorne I love you too and I am not,” she touched her finger on his nose and then his lips, “going to let you out of my sight for a very, very long time.”
He looked toward the sunshine spilling into the room, “We need to get up and wake the house guests up and figure out where everybody else is going.”
“Dino’s not going with us?”
“Hell no, it’s just going to be the two of us; Dino can figure out his own shit and Max can go home.”
“Terry, Max is out, out of his movie now just like you and Dino, so is John.”
“Really, well he’s not moving in with us.”
“He doesn’t have to he has his flat in London and the chateau in France, he’ll be okay.”
“Good, I’m glad he wasn’t just dumped out on the street. What about John?”
“He has his family and his town.”
“And Jack?”
“Jack lives in two worlds, he’ll never be truly out he doesn’t want to be.”
“I owe him a lot.”
“He wouldn’t take payment of anything you could say.”
“As much as I appreciate all they have done for you and for me, if it’s all right with you I’d like not to see them for awhile.”
“That suits me, but Jack in particular asked if he could come when little Terrance is born.”
“I guess I’ll need somebody to brag to and smoke a cigar with. You don’t seem to be sickish this morning, is that over with?”
“I don’t know for sure, but I feel awfully good this morning. I think all I needed was you.”
“You’ve got me but can you take it?”
“To the edge and back again.”
“Drown me, Toni.”
And she did.
Epilogue:
Terrance John Maximillan Thorne was born on a cold blustery February morning. He weighed in at 7lbs 15 oz. He was a perfect baby, with his father’s eyes and his mother’s hair. Mother and baby are doing fine and should be home from the hospital tomorrow.
A rather dashing looking blond man was spotted peering through the nursery glass at Terrance with a wide smile on his face. He was joined by a handsome clean-shaven man with chestnut hair and his son’s eyes.
The mother was somewhere in a room nearly hidden by dozens of roses. White roses, pink roses, red roses and yellow roses with a fiery center. It is rumored she is writing again.
