A/N: This is the last chapter. In case you're wondering why Gooshie isn't in this story, it's a nod to Dennis Wolfberg's passing from melanoma in October of '94.
CHAPTER 4
The next thing Sam heard was Teresa's voice saying, "Dr. Pollan? I think he's com-ing around."
Sammy Jo got out her penlight, rushed over to Sam's bedside, and shone the light in his eyes and mouth. "Dad? If you can hear me, squeeze my hand," she instructed as she put her light away and took his hand.
Sam squeezed his daughter's hand as his eyes fluttered. What's going on? he wondered. Why is she asking me to do this?
"Welcome back, sleepyhead," Sammy Jo smiled as Sam's eyes fluttered again.
"Was I really asleep?" Sam asked sleepily.
Sammy Jo and the nurse laughed gently as the nurse wrapped the blood pressure cuff around his arm. "You drifted off while I was sedating you for the MRI," Sammy Jo explained as she rubbed Sam's shoulder. "Do you know where you are?"
"Elk Ridge, Indiana, Thanksgiving weekend, 1969?" Sam guessed.
"No, you're in the recovery room of the hospital at Project Quantum Leap headquarters, and it's April 1, 2016," Sammy Jo answered as she rubbed his arm while Sam tried to go back to sleep. Then she said to the nurse, "He's still a little disoriented, so you might want to page Dr. Benitez."
"Yes, Dr. Pollan," the nurse answered.
"Dad? Open your eyes, Dad," Sammy Jo said as she gently shook Sam's shoulder.
Sam slowly opened his eyes, and after a moment, he could clearly see Sammy Jo standing over him and stroking his hair, and Teresa standing on the other side, rubbing his arm, as well as an oxygen mask covering half his face. "How are you feeling, Dad?" she asked.
"I haven't felt this bad since—since I had that electroshock treatment," Sam said as he coughed behind the mask.
"Oh," Sammy Jo said sympathetically as she removed the oxygen mask and wiped around Sam's mouth with a paper towel from the nearby sink while Sam let out another cough.
"Shh," Teresa whispered as she picked up Sam's wrist to check his pulse, then laid his arm across his chest. "Your procedure is over. You did just fine."
"Wh...what's going on?" Sam asked, looking first at Teresa, then at Sammy Jo.
"Did you know you had that second seizure as we were taking you out of the MRI machine?" Sammy Jo asked as she turned on her penlight and shone it in his eyes while Teresa mopped his forehead with the wet washcloth.
"Really?" Sam asked in surprise. "Damn, I must have been pretty out of it."
"Mm-hm."
That would also explain Sammy Jo's instructions to squeeze her hands as I was waking up, Sam thought.
"That's because you were under twilight anesthesia," Sammy Jo reminded him. Then she said to the nurse, "Pupils round and sluggish...Anyway, Dad, we brought you in here as quickly as we could. For some reason, it was a little harder to stop this seizure activity than the other one. In fact, it took three rounds of meds to control it. Dr. Benitez and I were talking just before you woke up, and he does believe that you do, in fact, have epilepsy. And just as we suspected, it was from all that leaping around you've done over the years. He's going to try some different meds to see which one has the best effect on you."
Sam coughed as he tried to get up. "No, don't try to get up, Dad," Sammy Jo said gently as she grabbed his shoulders and helped him lie back down. "You're still a little weak from that last seizure and groggy from the sedation, and we don't want you to fall. You've also had a pretty rough day, and need to rest. I also hate to disappoint you, but Dr. Benitez wants you to stay one more night."
"Should I page the doctor now?" Teresa asked.
"Yes," Sammy Jo answered. "It shouldn't take too long for him to get here."
"Oh, boy," Sam sighed as he fell back against the pillow. In less than a minute, he was fast asleep again.
Poor Dad, Sammy Jo thought sadly as she brushed his hair off his forehead and laid the back of her hand against the spot as Dr. Benitez was being paged. I'll bet you wish you'd never agreed to participate in this crazy cartoon in the first place.
Several minutes later, Sam suddenly opened his eyes and said, "Abigail?"
"Shh," Sammy Jo said soothingly as she rubbed his shoulder and arm. "My mother died of cancer about sixteen years ago."
"I—I saw her, just as clear as I'm seeing you now," Sam said as the nurse prepared to check his vital signs.
"It's all right," Sammy Jo said as the thermometer beeped. When she got a good look at the thermometer box and saw that it read 102, she thought, Well, no wonder he was dreaming about Mom. Wonder what's in that sedative to cause this complication?
"Don't leave me," Sam begged as he tightened his grip on his daughter's arm.
"It's okay, Dad, I'm not going anywhere," Sammy Jo reassured him as Dr. Rice entered the room and unhooked the EKG. After a brief exam, Sam started shivering as he re-leased Sammy Jo's arm, and the two women covered him with a blanket.
Just then, Dr. Benitez came in as the nurse was wiping Sam's hands and face with a wet washcloth. "How's he doing?" he asked, turning on his penlight and examining Sam's eyes as the nurse left.
"Well, he's just spiked another fever, and his was also dreaming about my mother, who's been dead for about sixteen years," Sammy Jo answered.
Just then, the nurse returned to take Sam's temperature as Dr. Benitez did a neuro exam. "Fever's gone," she said.
"And his neurological functions are intact," Dr. Benitez added. "Let's get him back to his room."
When they returned to Sam's room and put him to bed, Dr. Benitez continued, "I want to start a regimen of anti-seizure meds, and we'll try different ones until we find the one that works the best for him, and doesn't make him sick, drowsy, dizzy, or anything like that."
"Just as long as it'll help him," Sammy Jo said, taking her father's hand and rubbing his back.
"Dr. Pollan, you have my word that your father's in good hands," Dr. Benitez said. "And like I said, his condition is manageable. There's no reason why he shouldn't live as normal a life as possible. However, there's an 8% chance that no meds will work, and he'd need surgery to stop his seizures, but that shouldn't happen."
"So, when do we start?" Sam asked.
"Well, I'll have the nurse get one now, then we'll try it to see what kind of effect it has on you," Dr. Benitez answered. "If it's not the right one, we'll keep switching out the meds every few hours until we find it."
Sam nodded as Dr. Benitez left the room. A few minutes later, the nurse returned with a cup of pills. "There's two in there," she told him. "Take them very carefully, and if you start to feel sick or dizzy, I want you to page me or Dr. Benitez immediately."
"Right," Sam agreed as he took one of the pills and very tentatively popped it in his mouth. If this doesn't work, I'm really going to be pissed, he thought as he took a sip of water.
"Now, this may take a few seconds to take effect," the nurse pointed out. "And like Dr. Benitez said, this is so we can tell which medication is right for you."
"Mm-hm," Sam agreed as he took the other pill.
"Call me if he starts feeling sick or dizzy," the nurse said before she left.
"Right," Sammy Jo said.
"How are you feeling, Dr. Beckett?" Dr. Benitez asked a few minutes later as he re-turned.
"It's too soon to tell," Sammy Jo answered. "The real test will be when we get him out of bed to move around."
Dr. Benitez nodded as he put on his stethoscope and prepared to examine Sam. After he finished, Sam said, "I need to go to the bathroom.
"I'll let the nurse know," Dr. Benitez said as he pressed the call button. A few minutes later, the nurse came in.
"I need to go to the bathroom," Sam told her.
"All right," the nurse said as she lowered the bedrail. Once Sam was on his feet, she asked, "How are you feeling?"
"Better," Sam answered. He made it to the bathroom and had just come out when he started wobbling back and forth.
"Dad?" Sammy Jo asked in alarm. "Dad, what's wrong?"
Sam started to fall, but Sammy Jo and the nurse caught him by the arms and held him up. "Dr. Beckett?" the nurse asked as Sammy Jo tightened her grip on his arm.
"I'm okay," Sam answered as he regained his balance and loosened his grip on the nurse's arm. "I think those pills just made me dizzy, like Dr. Benitez warned they might."
The two women helped Sam back to bed, then the nurse said, "We'll try another med at dinner time to see how that one works."
"Okay," Sam agreed before he fell asleep again.
Sammy Jo held her father's hand until he fell asleep, then she went out into the hall for a snack, where she ran into Dr. Beeks. "How is he?" the doctor asked.
"Well," Sammy Jo said, "my father would spike a fever after waking up from sedation, and it's happened both yesterday and today. In addition to that, he had a panic attack before yesterday's MRI, but Dr. Rice was able to help him out—for the most part—by using hypnosis. He also had another seizure as we were taking him out of the MRI mach-ine after today's repeat scan. He's already tried one med that made him dizzy. We'll try another one at dinner time to see how that one works."
"Good luck," Dr. Beeks said as she started down the hall.
"Thanks," Sammy Jo called after her as she got a bag of microwave popcorn out of the machine. After buying a can of Pepsi, she went into the lounge to pop the bag of popcorn and returned to Sam's room as he was starting to wake up.
"How are you feeling, Dad?" Sammy Jo asked, setting the snack on the tray, taking his hand, and running her other hand down his cheek. "Well, you don't have a fever, so that's good. Are you still feeling a little dizzy?"
"No, not really," Sam answered as Sammy Jo released his hand. "I think it's passed. Hey, can I have some of that?"
"Sure," Sammy Jo answered as she got a cup out of the little cup holder beside the sink while Sam opened the bag of popcorn. Sammy Jo poured half the can of Pepsi into the cup and put it on the tray, then she got out a paper towel and helped her father shake some popcorn out onto it.
"Now, all I need is a dry or light beer, and I'm all set," Sam joked.
As the two of them started eating, Dr. Beeks poked her head in the doorway. "Hey, Dr. Beckett," she said. "How's it going?"
"Well, I was feeling dizzy earlier, but I think it's passed," Sam answered as he took a sip of Pepsi. "And I think my fever's gone, too."
"Good," Dr. Beeks said. "And good luck finding a med that will work for you."
"Thanks," Sam said, popping the last bite of popcorn in his mouth, wiping his fingers with the paper towel, and handing it and the empty cup to Sammy Jo as Dr. Beeks left.
After Sammy Jo threw their trash away, she said, "Well, I hope I didn't spoil your dinner. The nurse should be here soon with your meal, and another med for you to try."
"It's okay," Sam said. "Actually, I think that helped my appetite."
The nurse came in to check Sam's vital signs, then left again, only to return a few minutes later with Sam's dinner tray. "There's only one this time," she said, pointing out the cup. "Now, I want you to take the pill first, in case it makes you sick to your stomach, and if that happens, let me know."
Sam nodded as he reached for the pill, popped it in his mouth, and took a sip of his drink. He managed a few bites before saying, "Nurse? I think it's happening."
The nurse grabbed an emesis basin from under the sink and handed it to Sam, who just coughed into it, but nothing came up. "Is it staying down?" she asked.
Sam paused for a few seconds before answering, "Wait a second—yeah, I think it is."
"Just remember not to eat too much too soon."
"I know," Sam said as he handed the basin back to the nurse, and she put it on the counter. "Anyway, like I said, I think it might be working."
"I think this is the right one, too, but we'll try another one at bedtime, just to be sure."
After the nurse left, Sammy Jo said, "Wait, Dad, I'll be right back."
Sammy Jo left the room and returned a few minutes later who looked about seven-teen and fourteen, and a boy who looked about sixteen. The older of the two girls had her hair pulled back in a ponytail, and the other had hers in a French braid. All three of them were dressed similarly to their mother, and had features similar to hers, but the boy had the closest resemblance to Sammy Jo.
"Hi, there," Sam smiled as he raised the head of the bed and reached for the younger girl's hand.
"Mom?" she asked apprehensively.
"It's okay, sweetie," Sammy Jo reassured her. "He's a good guy."
"Okay," her daughter said.
"These are the kids I was telling you about," Sammy Jo explained. "Laura just turned seventeen in January, and like I said, she'll be majoring in astrogeophysics at USC in the fall, and has inherited my IQ of 194. She's currently a post-secondary student. Will turned sixteen last month, and is considering an early entrance to college, where he'll be doing a two-year nursing program at the community college, building on the courses he's taking now, along with his status as a post-secondary student, and has an IQ of 190. And Abigail—or Abby, as we call her—turned fourteen this past December, and is finishing her sophomore year of high school, but will be a post-secondary student next year, as well as taking some biology courses, and has an IQ of 192. Kids, I never thought I'd live to hear myself say this, but this man in the bed is your grandfather, and he's my real father that I never knew existed until yesterday."
"You're so beautiful," Sam said as he released Abby's hand and ran his hand over her left cheek. Abby smiled and rested a hand on his shoulder.
"Thank you," Laura said as she leaned over, took his hand, and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"Um, what do we call you?" Will asked as he sat on the bed.
"How about 'Grandfather'?" Sam suggested as Laura released his hand. "Or maybe 'Grandpa', 'Gramps', 'Pop', whatever you feel comfortable with."
"Sure, no problem—Grandpa," Abby smiled, patting his shoulder, as she joined her brother on the bed, kissed Sam's cheek, and threw her arms around his neck. Donna slipped into the room and stood off to the side.
And Sam smiled right back as he hugged his youngest granddaughter. He was so happy, he forgot about telling off Dr. Beeks. As he settled back on the bed and fell asleep, he couldn't help feeling happy, being surrounded by his daughter and grandchildren, and he knew that going through all the leaping, seizures, and everything else was all worth it. And what better way to spend his retirement years?
THE END
