Body Guard

Julie:
I let a small smile take over my face and I nodded. "You'd be a really good student," I told him. It was an honest statement. He was driven, hardworking...school would be a breeze for him. "You could get your GED with online classes and then go to college. You'd be great at it." I told him.

“I don’t know. I don’t know if I have the brains for it.” It was something I was concerned about. I figured a brain could only hold so much, and how much of my limit was full of martial arts, firearms training, and just being a damn good bodyguard.

“You ever want to go back to school?”

Julie:
"Are you kidding?" I asked, incredulously. "You're one of the smartest people I know," I argued. When he got out of here, I could help him look up schools and programs.

"I think a lot of people expect me to go into politics like Dad," I shrugged. "I was into the idea but with everything thats going on," I shrugged again and looked away. "It doesn't seem like a great idea anymore," I told him.

Scratching the side of my head I smiled faintly. She and I had different views on that, but that also extended many ways for us. “Maybe...I don’t even know if I will but it was an idea.”

I tousled my hair as she spoke, knowing my hair was getting longer than I was used too. “I mean I still think you’d make a good political candidate. You are driven, charismatic, you know when it’s better to stand firm or to bend. And if you are just worrying about what’s been going on...well stop. Look there is no reason to become a hermit.”

My eyes narrowed thoughtfully for a moment. “Is that why you haven’t been sleeping well? Jules...this is nothing. People get hurt, things get scary. But you have to push on. Make a difference in the lives of those who keep you safe.”

Julie:
I frowned at him and felt a spark of irrational anger. "Its not nothing," I said, pressing my lips together in a hard line. "People didn't get hurt. You did," I pressed my hands into fists and wrapped my arms around myself.

"Its not nothing," I mumbled again.

Her sudden anger had my brows shoot up in surprise. “But I’m alive Jules. And what makes me more important than any member of the staff? I know how to handle myself, I know what I should and should not do.”

Pressing a hand to my chest I continued, “I knew the risks. Your bodyguard out there knows the risks. Look around you, this is a state of the art hospital. If it wasn’t my need for bland food I’m sure even the food would kick ass. I’m being taken care of for my plight. Everything is fine.”

Julie:
"What makes you more important?" I asked, repeating the question with a slight sarcastic tilt. I shook my head and tried to stop the tears of frustration that were building up. I really had to get better control over crying, because it seemed like if I experienced too much of any emotion, the waterworks started.

"I guess kissing is too subtle for you," I said, my voice sounding rough and sarcastic. "I'll have to make it more clear next time that you're not like everyone else to me," I told him.

"And yeah, you knew the risks, but they were spelled out in a contract you never should have had to sign to begin with."

This wasn't a side of Jules I was used too. I'd annoyed her, made her cry, royally ticked her off, and gotten into battles of sarcasm and jokes. But frustrated? Sarcasm on top of that? Her tone? It was new.

I blinked, stunned into silence. What could I say to that? She wasn't wrong either. I knew the risks through my contract, but it was through knowing her that I found it worth it. "I..." I trailed off to frown at my blankets. "I can't think of a moment where I regretted putting my name on that contract...not after knowing you. Not after realizing how special you are."

Julie:
I wiped my hand across my cheek to get rid of the tears and bent over in the chair to grab my purse. I pulled out a folder and gently placed it on his lap, on top of the blanket. "Yeah, well I can regret it enough for the both of us," I told him. I couldn't look at him in that bed and no regret it.

I stood up and looked around the room through watery eyes to make sure he had everything he needed. "I'm gonna go. But I want you to look that over," I said, nodding towards the folder. "It's the contract you should have signed."

That frown remained on my face.  This had turned around so quickly, and it had been that way for the past few months really. The deal with Ryan, the kiss, Ben, now my hospital stay.  I barely glanced at the folder as I watched her.

Her final words made me stiffen. There was no frown anymore, my face was carefully blank as I stared at the folder.  “Goodbye Jules.”

Julie:
I practically ran from the room and Greg pushed off the wall with a concerned frown. I stopped him before he could even say a word. "I'm fine, Greg." I said, wiping my eyes again as more tears fell. "I just want to go home." I told him. He hesitated for only a second before he nodded and followed me back to the car.

This was what I had been worried about for weeks. Showing him the contract. It spelled out everything that should have been spelled out in the first contract. In the new contract, he would earn an actual salary. Sure, it was great for all his expenses to be paid while he worked for my family, but it was so wrong that as soon as he was fired, he had no money to his name.

The new contract also stated that he was free to come and go on the manor, no matter the state of his employment. My father was right about not letting disgruntled ex employees roam the grounds. But Cody was different.

I had also made sure to remove any parts of the contract that tried to have any sway over his emotions and his expression of those emotions.

There were pages and pages that went on much the same way, trying to fix mistakes that were made in his first contract. At the end, I included a note on a new position, that was his if he wanted it. Security Consultant. He could work on security plans, training programs, new hires. Whatever he wanted. If he didn't want to work anymore, I understood.

I thought for a moment about his room that I had refurnished and decorated for him to live in. That wasn't in the contract but I suppose if he didnt sign it, it wouldn't matter anyway.

I read through the contract three times before setting it aside and staring at the ceiling. All the dots were connecting now. Her sleepless nights, her question that never came, all of it. I understood it. I could even understand a little of why she was doing all of this.

I closed my eyes and rubbed my face. I didnt know what to do. Should I sign it? Did I want too? I’d signed a contract every year for my entire life. Did I want to do another? The terms this time were nice, amazing even, but that didn’t change the fact that it was another contract.

I didn’t sleep that night, I stared at the ceiling. Thinking it through. Early the next morning I made my choice and went with the nurse and Doctor to do my final paperwork and final tests. I left on the bed the folder, open to the very end where I signed my name.

Julie:
I started to feel bad about my lashing out during the drive home, but I knew it was more than time for him to know about the contract. He could sign it or he could not. It was his choice. I would have to be fine with it either way.

Even if the thought of him leaving gave me a pain in my chest that left me breathless.

I didn't sleep again that night, and I was that much more grateful for the nap I had taken at the hospital. When the sun started to rise, I got up and took a long shower, stalling the inevitable. I got dressed in a pair on jeans and and blouse. It was a far cry from my normal business attire, but it was the most dressed up I had been since the shooting.

I had Greg drive me back to the hospital and made my way to Codys room. I hesitated before knocking and poked my head in. The bed was empty. I frowned and pushed open the door more fully and stepped into the room. He was always here by the time I got in and it was jarring to see his bed empty.

Only his bed wasn't empty.

I bit my lip and nervously rung my hands as I approached the folder. When I got close enough to see, I released a slow deep breath that I didn't realize I was holding and smiled.

The doctor and nurse put me through my paces, ran half a dozen tests, and made me practice using a wheelchair. By the end of it I was happy to sit in the large shower they’d made available to me. Scrubbing myself and shaving I felt much better, even after the struggle of dressing myself in a plain t-shirt and pants. Dressed in normal clothes I felt like a new man. No longer letting everything out in a thin hospital gown.

I took the long way back to my room, wanting to get more used to the motions of getting around. Once I was back on my floor I paused outside my door eying Greg for a moment then offering my hand out to him. “I’m Cody. Thank you for watching after her.”

Greg:
I eyes cody for a moment before sticking my hand out and firmly shaking his hand. "I'm Greg. You don't really need an introduction though. You caused quite the stir." I told him. I also didn't accept his thanks. I was only doing my job. And so far, the only place Julie Devin had asked me to take her was this hospital room. Not exactly hard work so far.

I was sure when she got over the issues she had with leaving her room, she'd be a handful. Cody here was a physical testament to that.

"Pays to be polite, especially when I believe we will be seeing more of each other in the future. If I might make a suggestion. Check the armory safes, safe number twelve. Code is 0385. Inside I have some things that make it easier to keep tabs on Jules if you ever need it. Like a phone that constantly pings the location of her own phone, bugs you could place. Never needed to use it myself much but...still. It's there and yours now." I shrugged and adjusted myself within my wheel chair.

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