(Jasmine's POV)

Knock, knock.

"Come in," Dad calls.

A second later Ruby's head pops into sight. "Is this a good time?"

"Of course, it is," I tell her, a big smile on my face. God, I've missed my best friend so much.

"I brought you some things I thought you might need." She waves a pink duffle bag as she makes her way into the room.

"You're an angel!"

As Ruby leaves the bag on the end of my bed, Dad pushes himself to his feet. "Jas, I'm going to go home. I need to get cleaned up and change into some clean clothes. I'll leave you two ladies catch up."

"Of course, Dad. You'll come back later, right?" I look up at him anxiously as he puts on his weathered denim jacket.

"You try stopping me," he says with a smile. I beam up at him as he leans down and places a kiss on my forehead. "Good luck with your chat with Margaret."

I nod my head as a knot forms in my stomach. I'm not looking forward to that conversation at all, but I know how important it is. Dad and I had already agreed that he wouldn't be present for the conversation. I will tell him everything in my own time; when I'm ready. I'm hoping however that Ruby will stay with me for the chat so that I'm not on my own.

"Thanks, Dad. See you later."

He gives me a warm smile. "See you later, sweetheart." Dad makes his way towards the door but pauses to pull Ruby in for a hug. "Thank you for being here for her."

"I wouldn't be anywhere else, Charlie."

Dad pulls back from the hug. He gives me one last concerned look before leaving the room and shutting the door behind him.

"How are you feeling?" Ruby asks. She shrugs off her jacket, places it on the back of the chair Dad just vacated and then takes a seat.

"I'm ok," I tell her without even thinking. The automatic response is still engrained in my brain.

"Are you in pain?" I can tell she's trying a different approach to get the answers out of me.

I look at her and smile. "Only a little bit. They have me on some pretty strong meds."

Ruby nods her head and I can see the worry in her eyes.

"How's Mireya?"

Ruby's eyes light up at the mention of her daughter. She instantly jumps into rambling about the mischievous little toddler. "She's amazing. She's such a little chatterbox. She always has us in fits of laughter at the random stuff that she blurts out."

"I can't wait to see her."

"When you're back home I'll bring her around to you and you can spend time with her."

"I look forward to it," I tell her honestly.

I reach up and brush a strand of hair back from my face. The action has me wincing in pain as I feel a sharp pain in my side. "Ahh," I hiss.

"What's wrong?" Ruby asks, a slight panic in her voice.

I shake my head. "I'm fine. Just a bit tender." My arms shake under my weight as I readjust myself in the bed. My body screams in protest and pain wracks through every cell.

I clearly haven't masked my pain well enough as Ruby scolds me. "That is a lot more than just tenderness. You're in pain, Jas."

"I'm fine, honestly," I tell her, knowing that once I still the pain will return to the dull throbbing that I can handle. I smile up at her and I can see she doesn't believe me. "I'm fine. Stop worrying. If I need more meds, I just press this button." I point to the red button only inches from my left hand.

"Ok." I can tell she believes me.

"So," I ask, trying to remove the focus on my pain. "What's in the bag?"

She gives me a look that says I know what you're doing, before getting up and grabbing the bag she left at my feet.

Ruby puts it on her lap, unzips it and proceeds to pull item after item out.

"Some new pyjamas, underwear, fluffy socks, a journal, cleanser, shampoo, conditioner, a hairbrush and some magazines." Ruby glances up at me and gives me a smile. "Just some things I thought you might need. I'll also grab a change of clothes for you when you're ready to go home."

"Thanks, Ruby. That means a lot."

"No problem. Glad to help. Plus, it gave me an excuse to shop!"

I let out a laugh, the first one in what feels like forever. "As if you need an excuse to shop."

"True," Ruby giggles as she returns the items into the bag.

"I need to ask you something," I say, fumbling with the bedsheet.

"Sure."

"Margaret, from the station, is coming here soon to talk to me about... Well, about what happened."

"You want me to stay with you?"

"Would you?" I can hear the pleading in my own voice.

"Of course, I will. You don't even need to ask me, silly."

"Thanks, Rubs." I reach across and squeeze her hand in appreciation, the action only causing a slight pain.

"No problem. And before you even ask, whatever you say to Margaret won't leave my lips. I mention a word of any of it to Ryan or Matt."

I let out a sigh of relief that I didn't even know I was holding. Tears of gratitude fill my eyes and I just nod my head in thanks. Ruby seems to understand as she gives my hand a squeeze.

I clear my throat and blink away the tears. "What have you been up to since we last spoke?" I almost wince when I realise that it's been well over a year since we had a proper chat. I hate that Greg isolated me from my best friend.

"Well," Ruby starts sitting back in her chair and crossing her legs. "Mireya keeps me run off my feet as I'm sure you can imagine."

"I wouldn't put it past her."

Ruby chuckles before continuing. "You know how I done my online degree in Entrepreneurship and e-Commerce?"

I nod my head, remembering how excited Ruby was to finally get back to education. She always wanted to go to college, but it wasn't practical to go into full time education while raising a new-born. I was so proud of her the day she told me she had enrolled in an online university. The course she chose meant that she could do her college work around raising her daughter.

"Well," she continues. "I've finally put my learnings into practice."

"What do you mean?"

"I started my own business two months ago." Ruby's excitement is clear in both her voice and in the contagious smile spreading across her face.

"That's amazing! I'm so proud of you!"

"Thanks, Jas! I'm so excited about growing the busines. It's only in the early days so things are moving slow, but, so far so good!"

"That's great news! What kind of business is it?" I ask, though I know Ruby, so I know it will be something to do with clothing and fashion.

"It's an online clothing store. All these clothes I have on are from my store, as are the new pyjamas I brought you."

For the first time since she walked into the room my eyes run over Ruby from head to toe. The black jeans she wears hug her lean legs and the blue floral blouse compliments the colours of her eyes.

"Show me."

A smile spreads across her face at my words and she instantly jumps to her feet. Her face is set as she catwalks around my hospital room and I bite back a giggle. She finishes her act with a flamboyant spin.

"Ta-da!"

I giggle and clap my hands as Ruby bows and curtseys at the end of my bed.

"I hope I'm not interrupting." I turn my head to the door at the sound of the new voice.

"Margaret!" Ruby and I exclaim at the same time.

A smile breaks out across my face as the older woman strolls into the room.

"Hello, Jasmine, Ruby. It's so good to see you ladies." She closes the door behind her before looking at me and indicating to the other chair in the room. "May I?"

"Yes, of course."

Ruby and I have both known Margaret for years. She is a brilliant detective and I know she will jump straight into the conversation about Greg. She is completely dedicated to her job and, even though I'm not looking forward to what she's going to ask me, I'm glad it's her of all the officers in the station that's here with me.

Ruby pulls her chair right up beside my bed, sits down and reaches across to take my hands in hers before giving me an encouraging smile. "You've got this."

I close my eyes and take a deep, shaking breath. He's not here. He's not here.

"Okay," I say, finally opening my eyes. My heart is racing in my chest but thankfully no one can hear it as Sophie detached me from the heart monitor this morning. "I'm ready."

*****

Hello lovelies,

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please let me know your thoughts in the comments!

Di xx