Therapy Dog
Sequel to No-Good Dog Poacher
Ethan's fingers were surprisingly unsteady when he pinned the special pass that Luther had sent him to Molly's collar. He shook his hand out and clenched it when Molly wagged her tail happily and pulled at his hand on her collar.
"Thanks for bringing her," he told Julia, an uncomfortable smile on his face.
Julia nodded. She didn't know what to say. "No problem. Give him my love."
Ethan hadn't told Julia that it was unlikely that Declan was awake. He hadn't told her anything, really. He looked down at Molly. "Let's go."
The guard at the door to the hospital looked at the badge that said Molly was a Therapy Dog before he nodded them through.
The second floor was almost empty. Ethan hadn't had to go into one of those rooms for a while now, and he hadn't wanted to see one from the inside again. He had been done.
"The chopper crashed," Luther said, his voice tinny over the phone. "He's the only one who made it."
Ethan didn't reply, unwilling to believe Luther's words. "What?"
"Come to Central. Second floor. Jesus, just... come."
"I'll be right there."
Molly followed Ethan quietly down the corridor. She wagged her tail half-heartedly, but sped it up when Ethan opened the door to Declan's room. She barked once, rushing over to the bed and putting her front paws demandingly on the mattress of the bed.
Declan didn't move, didn't blink, didn't look at anything. Ethan looked at the monitors on either side of the bed and waited for a sign of life.
"He's still in artificial coma," a voice said from behind him. Ethan turned and nodded at the nurse who had come in.
"He's…"
The nurse smiled sadly. "He has good chances," she promised and walked to the foot of the bed where a chart was hanging from the bed frame. "The surgeons did their best, operated for four hours. Now he has to do the rest."
Molly licked at Declan's fingers and whined.
"Her daddy?" the nurse asked.
Ethan couldn't help but grin at that. A lot of people thought so. "No. The favorite uncle, though," he said and was interrupted by the nurse's sudden smile.
"Look," she said and pointed at the monitor to Declan's right. It beeped faster. "That's a good sign," she calmed Ethan's nerves.
"I'll stay here for a bit if that's okay," Ethan mumbled and nodded at the lounge chair in the corner. It looked comfortable enough to spend an hour watching TV. "I think he missed the last episode of the Miami Vice reruns."
"No problem. Just come to the nurses' station if you need anything."
"I will. Thank you."
"You're welcome. And you too," the nurse said to Molly before she left.
Ethan sat down and switched the TV on. An hour of pastel colored shirts and eighties hairdos sounded good right now. Molly wagged her tail, agreeing.