Please Give Mercy - Ending

Chad nodded his understanding and promised to visit again soon. He also promised some more wine and sandwiches when he came.

Chad was sure that one of the four was Tom Jones. He had to just draw the man out.

Thus began a new chapter in the search for Tom. Chad would come around the downtown area a couple of times a week. Most of the time he would connect with the quartet. Occasionally one might be absent for some reason. There were times that someone new would be there. They all wanted the muscatel that Chad would spring for and most liked the food. Other nights Chad still visited other areas rife with homeless in his search as he wasn't absolutely positive he had found Tom.

He also was leery of saying something that might spook Tom. He didn't want to have to track him down again.

Chad brought Julie down one night and had her observe the quartet. He kept her back a ways since Tom might get spooked if Julie walked up to any of the men. He was hoping that there might be something in how his target held himself, walked or just appeared that might single Tom out of the crowd. Julie observed from a distance but couldn't be sure. Each man was approximately the same height. All were very thin from poor nutrition and excessive drinking. They all wore layers of clothing and hats all the time. Also they seldom walked very far from their chosen spot.

Over time Chad gained the trust of some of the quartet. Ralph always mumbled and looked down. He seldom made eye contact with anyone. Jed stated quietly once that he thought Ralph was wanted for something and Chad looked like a cop with his short hair. Chad tried to reassure the quartet that he was just an ex-military dude but he doubted Ralph believed him. Paranoia was not an unusual trait.

Dink was absorbed with the voices in his head. He never smiled and he seldom focused on anyone. Actually there was never a smile on any of the fours' faces. Their lives were hell and doomed to be short.

Chad finally was forced to resort to some subterfuge in finding out which man might be Tom Jones. One by one he retrieved a whisker hair from each man and secured it in a baggie after leaving them. It took many visits to finally get a sample from each. He then went to Julie and they found an old comb with some hairs still in the teeth. Julie had not changed or moved anything from the master bedroom after "The Night", as she called it, so Tom's comb was still in its accustomed spot.

The results came back a few weeks later. Chad wasn't surprised at the result. Dink was actually Tom Jones. He almost raced to the spot where the quartet lived. Dink wasn't there. When he asked Jed told him that Dink wasn't feeling well. He had been coughing a lot recently and had gone to the free clinic for some help. Chad got directions from Jeb and headed over to the clinic.

At the clinic Chad had to wait. It was late evening and the staff was tired and ready to close down. They were trying to get as many of the indigent out and back on the streets as possible. Chad waited until they were finally ready to shut the door. He accosted a nurse and asked about Dink. She had no idea whom he was asking about. Finally he realized that Dink might have had to give his real name. When he mentioned Tom Jones her face lit up. "Yes, I remember him from earlier today. He was diagnosed with tuberculosis and sent to County General for treatment. He should be admitted there for a few days to start his treatment and get some nutrition."

Chad fervently thanked her and raced outside and called Julie and told her where to find Tom. He then called the precinct and spoke to the night duty officer with the news that the missing man had been positively identified and his location.

Julie almost ran from the house to her car. Tom was ill and needed her. She almost forgot his old medication list in her haste but remembered to grab it as she went out the door. She barely held it under the speed limit and was frustrated so much she banged her hands on her steering wheel at every traffic light that was red. It only took about twenty minutes to get to County General but it seemed to take forever.

On her arrival she almost left the car in the "No Parking Zone" but finally found a spot in the lot not far from the door. She immediately headed for the admissions clerk and asked for Tom Jones. She found the room number and headed for the elevator bank. She found her man in a bed in the Intensive Care Unit. It was after visiting hours but when she mentioned she had Tom's medication list the nurses immediately let her in to see Tom while they made the appropriate notations in his chart and called the attending physician about the medications Tom needed to be put on immediately along with the medications for his tuberculosis.

Julie stood and looked at her husband. He was so gaunt. His eyes were sunken in. She knew that he was nutritionally lacking from living on the street but this was bad. She felt his forehead. He had a fever. There were various IV lines attached to him. She didn't understand the names on the bags but she hoped they were helping.

The nurses must have decided that Tom needed sprucing up. While not fully shaving him they had reduced his beard to a shorter version and had trimmed under his chin. His hair was clean now and brushed smooth. He had also been bathed and his body sores had been treated. One nurse came in behind Julie and told her that they had used a solution that kills body lice since most homeless were afflicted with lice. "We even had his clothes burned. Most of these guys are upset with us but we try to find them some different clothes that aren't contaminated when they leave."

Julie dried her eyes. "I understand but I need to take this man home with me. He will get better there."

The nurse nodded and left to find the doctor. When he came in he greeted Julie and then informed her that Tom was very dehydrated and malnourished. His TB wasn't very advanced and could be managed if Tom could curb his drinking and was on a good diet. If he went back into the streets he might last another year but not much more.

Julie understood and assured the overworked doctor that she would do everything she could to make Tom come home and live a long and healthy life. She also wanted Tom to see his therapist as soon as possible after getting back on his medications. The nurse noted the therapist's number and assured them that she would personally call the therapist.

Julie stayed in the background as Tom progressed. She didn't push Tom to acknowledge her in any way. By leaving the room when he was awake and just sitting quietly while he got the needed restful sleep she watched over him as he improved. He may have known she was there but he didn't call any attention to her.

After a week his vision was clear. There were no more nightmares. He was eating solid food again and his skin was improved. His cough was no longer a body shaking attempt to expel the disease. He was breathing easier as he slept. Finally he turned to Julie when he woke early in the morning. His voice was still a little scratchy from not being used much but she could understand him. "Why are you here? Are you planning some more punishment for me to endure?"

She started to cry as she shook her head. "No, I just want you healthy again. I know you won't be whole but I needed you to hear how sorry I am for what I did. I don't know what possessed me to act like I did except that I was angry when I thought you had slept with some bimbo and that she had called the house while you were gone. Now I know it was a prank call by some juvenile teens and I fell for their prank like a stupid woman. I should have talked to you. I put you in harm's way by hiding your medication and then deliberately inflicting the maximum humiliation that I could."

She looked him directly in the eyes. "I just want you to know that one of the guys I fucked has been tirelessly looking for you since that night. Once he found out about your depression and how I had lied to him and the other man, Jake, he made finding you his only goal. If not for him you might have died on that street. He is a good man, not just a cock I picked up. He has felt terrible since that night. And no, I have never had sex with him again. It was a one-off deal with him."

Tom nodded. He could remember Chad but only in a fuzzy way as he had been drunk most of the time when Chad would visit the quartet. Also the voices didn't want anyone to interfere so he had tuned out Chad most of the time. Now the voices were muted and under control again thanks to the medications and the renewed visits with the therapist.

Julie went on. "I won't lie to you. After you disappeared I did some other stupid things as I wallowed in my guilt for destroying you and then accidently shooting you. I got drunk a lot. I was in the hospital for a while on suicide watch. I am on medication now to help with that and I am seeing a therapist. I also visited some bars and hooked up with some strange cock a couple of times. I am not proud of what I became for a while. Once I wised up I started back to work, in spite of the righteous condemnation of the others there. My team had developed three more widgets for market. Before we found you my life was just work, sleep, eat a light meal and then work again.

Since we found you I have spent every moment I could right here waiting for you to wake. I wish to have a serious talk with you before you file for divorce. I have kept you on my insurance once your benefits ran out. Wilson Widgets reluctantly filled your position about six months ago. They, actually we, thought you had drowned in the river but that no one had found your body yet.

I had still held out some hope so that is why I put you on my insurance, just in case. If you desire, Wilson Widgets wants you to come back in some capacity when you are well enough. They will make room for you."

Tom nodded his understanding as she paused to catch her breath. There was so much she wanted and needed to tell this man and the words were getting jumbled as she tried to get them out. "Your doctor wants you to live in a clean and healthy environment when you are well enough to leave here. I want the same thing. I still have the house. It was nip and tuck for a while to make the payments without your income but I managed. I moved into the guest bedroom after 'The Night'. I refuse to sleep in the master bedroom unless you are willing to occupy it with me."

She took a deep breath. "If that is not acceptable then we will sell the house and get a couple of apartments. I want to be close to you to make sure you eat well and get enough sleep. I don't want to see you die from this terrible disease any sooner than necessary. If you try to disappear on me again then Chad will track you down again and bring you back. He has already promised this."

She stopped to let Tom speak. "Why would I believe you? I asked you for only one thing after you were done fucking those two and you wouldn't honor my request. There was only one thing you had to do and you failed me."

Julie started to cry again. "I couldn't. I loved you and I had hurt you and I had forgiven you as I hurt you. I only wanted you to love me again. I couldn't hurt you anymore. I was planning on getting you back on your meds and we could go forward. We could start our family. There would be no more cheating by either of us. We would be able to see how much it hurt the other. It all fell apart when Chad made me angry and I wanted them to just leave so we could be together and I could help you but he fought with me when I ordered him out and grabbed the pistol. It went off accidently and I shot you. I was so scared for you."

She stopped as she buried her face in her hands. She just kept repeating over and over. "I never wanted to hurt you. I couldn't give you mercy. I couldn't kill you in cold blood."

The nightmares Tom had suffered many times now made some sense. The part of the night that he was so fuzzy about was between the fucking and the shooting. His despair that night was so deep that the events were jumbled and confusing. Now he could make some sense of them. He didn't remember asking her to shoot him until just now when she mentioned mercy. When the bullet hit his shoulder his mind had cleared for a short time and he could vividly remember the struggle and her naked body on the floor and her lover trying to untie him while trying to stop the blood. He remembered hitting Chad and then running from the house before the darkness swallowed him and then never let him go until he was here in the hospital.

Julie was still crying and she laid her head on his legs and she clutched those same legs as though he was trying to run away again. Tom traced the small scar where the bullet had entered his skin. There had been no exit wound so the bullet was probably still in him somewhere.

"Julie, stop this. I am not leaving, at least right now. What the future holds I do not know. I am sick physically right now but I was sick mentally. You caused that. You took my meds to make my depression return then you blatantly fucked two men after you tied me to a chair and gagged me. I could have drowned in my own puke when I threw up but you were too involved with your buddies. How can I believe that you love me? Look at this without emotion. In what way is denying your true love his medications, tying him to a chair, gagging him, and then fucking not one but two men right in front of him an act of love?"

She continued to clutch at his legs as her crying became worse, if that was possible. Tom was now lucid enough to feel disgust with his wife. Yes, he still loved her. Damn it but he couldn't just turn it off but he didn't like her much right now. He was beginning to understand how love and like were different. What she had done to him had harmed their relationship and did have the potential to cause him irreparable harm. As the darkness receded and his thoughts were now clearer he had to face the past and try to decide on his future. Would he be better off alone and looking for a new relationship or would he be better off staying with Julie?

Tom fell asleep while trying to figure out the answer to the basic dilemma of whether to stay married or divorce. It is a dilemma faced by many each and every day.

As Tom regained his health and his strength he became more and more the old Tom that Julie had fallen in love with and married. His confidence was also coming back and he was now making his own decisions. One of those was to direct Julie to return to work. He had to assure her that he would not disappear on her. He also had to agree to return to their former home when he was released from the hospital.

Chad came to visit and reassure himself that Tom was getting better. Chad admitted to Tom that the act of trying to find Tom had helped his own inner demons lose their battle to destroy him. Chad also assured Tom that the other three of the quartet were getting some help also. Jeb, Street, and Ralph had helped Tom many times while his depression was ruling his life. Tom didn't want to forget his friends.

This is where I will end this tale. Of course, like any life story, there are questions still unanswered. Do Tom and Julie resume a full married life and maybe have kids together or does Tom's ED become worse? Does Julie look for some strange cock with or without Tom's blessing? Does Chad find someone? Does someone meet Jake in a dark alley and take out his knees? Those questions, dear readers, might be a tale for another time.