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Love's Redemption	By : mthorsta Category: -Multi-Age > Het - Male/Female Views: 7108 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own the Lord of the Rings (and associated) book series, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Chapter 1 - Of Love and Loss
"When all is taken from one, the only hope that remains is what is given by another. Through this giving, both are redeemed." - Regettavok Oorpah; Book 2, Entry 1071, Item 54
  �Charging to 300.�

  �Clear!� The lifeless body jolted up off the gurney.

  �Patient is still in asystole.��Starting chest compressions.� She leaned over her patient pumping furiously on his chest, unfazed even after she felt a definite snap. She knew immediately she had broken one of the patient�s ribs.

  �Time?!� she called out.

  �Twenty minutes.� One of the nurses stated.

  �Dr. Blakely�� She didn�t hear him. She was so intently determined to save her patient, she didn�t realize that Dr. Goldstein and rest of the E.R. staff had stopped their resuscitation efforts and were staring blankly at her. Sweat was forming on her brow and her breathing was ragged. She stopped only to wipe the rivulets of perspiration away with her sleeve.

  �Jordan!� Dr. Goldstein snapped. Jordan looked around the room.

  �What�s the matter with all of you?!� she yelled. �Help me! Get me 3 mg of Atropine, now!� Dr. Goldstein walked around to the other side of the gurney placing his hand on Jordan�s shoulder.

  �Call it.�

  �No!�

  �He�s gone, Jordan. Even if you manage to get a rhythm, he will have sustained significant brain damage. You know that. We did everything we could.�

  She stopped the chest compressions and stumbled back from the gurney and out of the grasp of her colleague. Gazing down at the lifeless man; she studied his face for a moment. She wondered what his name was. The paramedics had little time to convey any personal information, just his vitals and that he was victim in what looked like a robbery attempt with multiple gunshot wounds to the upper chest and abdomen. For what? Some cash to buy drugs? Senseless. She didn�t understand people. She rubbed her forehead with her hand. Everything was a blur.

  �Call it.� Dr. Goldstein said softly. Jordan looked up at the clock.

  �Time of death: 1:15 a.m.��
~~~~~
  �Miss?�

  Jordan Blakely, seemingly in a trance, blinked her eyes a few times. She was consumed in thought until she heard a woman�s voice.

  �Miss?�

  �Huh?...What?�

  Jordan looked up into the face of a smiling young woman in a stewardess� uniform and she finally became aware of her surroundings again. She was on a plane to New Mexico.

  �Would you like something to drink?� The young woman asked.

  �Uhh�I�ll have a glass of Merlot, please.�

  �Certainly. I�ll be right back� The young woman said pleasantly and then adding, �Are you alright, miss?� Jordan seemed to look through her rather than at her.

  �Oh�yeah�I�m fine, thanks.� She said.

  The young stewardess was unconvinced but moved on to other passengers. Jordan turned her head again to gaze out the window. She was in her fourth year of residency at Valley View hospital, about to obtain her fellowship in emergency medicine. She had earned the respect of her colleagues; demonstrating the knowledge and ability of someone beyond her years. She should have been happy. How did it come to this? She thought back to her decision to go medical school. She pictured a life of success, a chance to help people, meeting and marrying a wonderful man, and eventually having children. Back then, she had her whole life in front of her.
  Her father had been a little disappointed with her career choice. He had hoped she would follow in his footsteps as an archeologist. As a renowned member of the D�ni Restoration Council for many years, he would have been proud to have her work beside him. She sensed his disappointment and during her summers off from medical school, accompanied him on several expeditions to the ancient D�ni ruins situated in an expansive cavern under the New Mexico desert. She enjoyed the time spent with her father and actually assisted him and his team in recovering an important missing manuscript. However, archeology was not where her interests lied. She preferred saving the living, not digging up the dead. After that, Jordan and her father slowly drifted apart. But she remembered being quite taken with the ancient D�ni city and its ages. Its beauty was unparalleled and certainly a feat of architectural engineering. But for all its beauty there was the shadow of bitter loss and grief that mingled amongst the ancient stone walls of the city; the echoes of lives lived and lost. If she closed her eyes, she could almost hear them. Lively conversations in the Great Tree pub; the laughter of children playing in the fountain; the hushed tones of lovers in the dark.
  In her first year of residency, she met Christian, a trauma surgeon. He was six years her senior but still had boyish good looks, unequaled charm, and a personality everyone seemed to be drawn to. Although it was well known around the hospital he came from a very wealthy, affluent family, he seemed very down-to-earth; not haughty or arrogant. When he asked her out to dinner for the first time, every eligible woman in the hospital was jealous. At the time, she actually felt proud he would consider her. They embarked on a whirlwind romance. He was her knight in shining armor, swooping in and bringing light to her life when it seemed most dark � when she lost her mother to leukemia. When he asked her to move in with him, she readily accepted. They actually were pretty happy for a time. The subject of marriage came up a few times, but it always seemed to take a backseat to their careers. She wasn�t in any hurry, though. She was certain it would happen�after he made chief of surgery�after he got his research grant�something was always a higher priority � for him.
  She found herself making excuses on the outside, but on the inside, her hope and faith were beginning to waiver. Somehow, Christian had changed. His focus shifted to advancing his career and financial dealings; things that hadn�t been of much importance to him in the past. They argued constantly. He was quick to anger and she was slow to forgive. He became increasingly distant and cold, spending much of his time at the hospital. After two years or so, she watched her future crumble at her feet as it was revealed that he had been having a lengthy affair with a co-worker.
  Her mother had always been the one she confided in, the one she could always count on to listen without being judgmental. Now she was gone. About a year or so after her mother�s death, her father suffered a heart attack which he survived but it left his heart weakened. In her mother�s absence, she took it upon herself to monitor his health, but with a couple hundred miles between them, it was limited to an occasional phone call. It brought them closer but their relationship was still strained at best.
  There was no one she felt close enough to share her hurts and fears with, not even her father, so she kept it inside and it ate at her. She tried to fill the void that was left with work; numbing her mind to everything else. She logged countless hours, often times sleeping at the hospital. Her new apartment only served as a reminder of her failed relationship. She forced herself to maintain friendly relations with her co-workers but kept her distance. On the outside it appeared to them that she was taking this blow rather well and mistook her actions simply as a renewed dedication and passion for her work. They didn�t see the darkness and self-doubt that lay just below the surface.
  She began a downward spiral into the darkest depths. She missed the closeness her and her mother had shared and she missed the comfort and familiarity that came with having a partner, a lover. Someone you knew every intimate detail of; to share your joy, your thoughts, and fears. Her heart ached to feel that, to love and be loved. But she had seen enough and experienced first hand at how people treat love so casually. She knew she could never trust in love again.
~~~~~
  �Miss?� Jarred from her thoughts again, Jordan looked up at the young woman with the smile still plastered on her face. �Your drink?�

  �Oh, thanks.� Jordan took the glass. Did I order this? She drank it down in two gulps. Maybe it will help calm my nerves. �I�ll take another one, please.� She handed the glass back to the now wide-eyed stewardess. She hated flying. It seemed so�unnatural.
  She was ever growing weary at the pain people seemed to cause each other. She saw it everyday in her work; she saw it on the news; senseless violence, destruction, abuse, selfishness, and the decay of morality. There was so much hurt in the world and it only deepened the hurt she felt in her own heart. People in general, especially men, she increasing found as shallow, self-absorbed, immature, and irresponsible. She began to find she just couldn�t relate to most people anymore and sometimes she felt like she didn�t belong in this world at all.
  In her little if any spare time, she would read novels set in times long since past - of kings and queens and brave knights. When honor and valor were held in the utmost highest regard and a man would just assume die by his own sword than to dishonor his lady, and the women were fair and beautiful. No one had affairs with their co-workers. Her clinical mind told her that it was a form of escapism secondary to depression. The stories were only romanticized versions, not a true representation of life at the time. However, sometimes, more often than she�d like to admit, she wished to be part of those stories. To have such a love unlike any other; a bond that nothing or no one could break, withstanding even time itself. One look, one touch, and you knew. In his eyes, love and kindness; in his arms, strength and comfort.
   Although she did her best to hide it, the long hours and emptiness inside began to take its toll. The darkness was winning and the impending defeat was etched on her face. Her skin was pale and eyes that once sparkled were now dark and lifeless. She thought of the cold beauty of the old D�ni city and the sadness that hung in the air and she was reminded of herself. We are one, my sister and she raised her glass in toast.
   The cheerful stewardess returned to retrieve her empty glass and informed her, much to her relief, that they would be landing soon. Shortly after, the seat belt sign came on and the captain announced they would begin their descent.
~~~~~
   Getting through baggage claim and securing a car rental went without incident. She put her backpack and other bags in the trunk and began the four hour drive through the New Mexico desert to the cleft. The idea to go to D�ni started off as nothing more than a fleeting thought but once it entered her head, it wouldn�t let go. She tried to push the thought from her mind, but it would come drifting back in like a gentle voice carried on the wind. Some unseen force was calling her there and it would not go unanswered. For weeks, it gnawed at her, unrelenting. At the same time, as if it were fate, Jordan�s supervisor and mentor at the Hospital had been noticing her emotional struggle and requested that Jordan take a leave of absence. With this new-found time on her hands, she was now free to answer that call. She contacted Dr. Richard Watson, a colleague and long-time friend of her father�s, to see if a visit could be arranged. He was the head of the D�ni Restoration Council and if any one could get her access to the ancient city, it was him. She was surprised to learn that there was still a restoration team on site and Dr. Watson was more than willing to accommodate her. Plans were now taking shape and she felt almost as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She requested to be allowed to stay in the now reconstructed guest houses in Kirel, one of the D�ni neighborhoods, much to Dr. Watson�s dismay. She rationalized to him that she would rather not spend her time traveling back and forth to the site. I almost forgot to call him! She grabbed her cell phone. Luckily, she still had a signal.
   �Hello?�

   �Can I speak to Dr. Watson please? This is Jordan Blakely.�

   �Jordan! Good to hear from you again. I assume you made it to New Mexico?�

   �Yes.� Jordan replied. �I�ve rented a car. I�m on my way out to the cleft right now.�

   �Oh! So soon? I thought you�d at least rest up in a hotel for a night. It�s just as well. Victor Laxman - not sure if you met him on your previous expeditions - he�s got his team out there stationed in Ae�gura restoring one of the ages discovered fairly recently, Tagirha I believe. He always has at least one or two members of his team on the surface near the cleft. I�ll let them know you are coming and someone can accompany you into the cavern.�

   Okay.� She said. �And Dr. Watson�I appreciate you setting this up for me.�

   �It�s no trouble, although I must admit I am curious to know why you have taken an interest in D�ni again. You haven�t been back since your father was on the Restoration Council.�

   �Um, I�m not really sure. I, well, I had some time off of work and�.� Her voice trailed off.

  �You�ve felt the call, haven�t you? The call of D�ni.� He said quietly. There was silence on the line and then a sigh.

   �Honestly, I don�t know. I feel something�that maybe I �� She searched for a way to explain without revealing the depth of her fragile emotional state, �That maybe there is something more for me and maybe that something is in D�ni.� She finally got out.

   �I hope, then, you find what you�re looking for.� Dr. Watson said kindly. �Oh! I probably should mention that Jeff Zandi, Elias Zandi�s son, is out there as well.� His tone turned serious. �He and the DRC had, well, a kind of falling out due to circumstances I won�t get into at this time. He�s heading up his own research now. You might do well to steer clear of him, if possible. Lately, he has been strongly opposed to any outside visitors�

   �I�ll take that into consideration. Thanks.�

   �Okay, be careful, Jordan.� He replied. �D�ni can still be a dangerous place. Make sure you stick to the DRC-approved areas okay? If there is any question, ask Victor.�

   �Thank you. Goodbye Dr. Watson.� And with that she hung up the phone.
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Love's Redemption