Blackbird Song (17)

In these broken places, hope may arise.

[Narrator]

Jared isn't prepared when he finally is able to see Jenna.

He isn't prepared for the hurt that has been inflicted on her body. Worse, the fact that she's in a medically induced coma so they could set the broken bones in her arm, and she hasn't spoken a single word, even when she was conscious.

He doesn't know if the broken bones are from the car accident, or something worse. The something worse being her abductor.

The mess of stitches on her back, those he knows are from that bastard, who took it in his head to cut her back open with what looks like a horsewhip.
At the thought of that, at the thought of him hurting Jenna, beautiful, kind, warm, caring Jenna, he feels his jaw clench and his hands roll into fists.

Worse still, the time he put his hand on hers, she flinched in her sleep, and pulled away, a hurt moan low in her throat.

When he talks to Jenna's doctor, and the doctor mentions the worst fear in Jared's heart, his expression changes into something like horror. His worst fear is that he raped her. That he somehow broke her spirit as badly as he tried to break her body.

The doctor assures him that there is no sign of rape, but he lists her numerous injuries until Jared's head reels.

As Jared sits watching Jenna, and not touching her, it's enough to just look at her.
It's enough to know that when she wakes up, he'll be here to tell her that she's safe, that he loves her, and he's going to spend the rest of his life making up for whatever happened.

Jared just wanted to do what he could to take away her burdens, to make them his. In that instant, he prays that she will find the ability to move past this, to get over it, to recover. He promises her sleeping body that he will be with her every step of the way. He promises that when she's at her breaking point, he will be there.

He leans forward, intent on the rise and fall of her chest, the line of her profile in the fluorescent lights, and he starts to sing to her, softly, to ward off those bad dreams. He sings so softly that it's like a caress, and deep in her coma, Jenna hears him. She hears him, and all at once she's searching for him in the dark, searching for him by the sound of his voice.

He sings the only song that would be able to reach her, and as she's just given up on finding Jared in all the dark, she sees him in her dreams.

As he continues singing, he sees her face relax, and one corner of her mouth quirks up, the ghost of a smile on it.

He sees that, and doesn't even realize it when a single tear tracks down his cheek. He just keeps singing, because where ever she is, it may be dark, and he wants her to know he's with her.

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