Lavon awoke the next morning with a stiff neck and sore back. He fell asleep on one of the couches while keeping Zoe company. He got up to make coffee and saw Zoe sound asleep on the other couch clutching one of Wade's flannel shirts in her hands. Lavon knew this was a big habit of hers when he wasn't around. She needed his scent in order to sleep sometimes so she often grabbed one of his shirts.
He didn't hear any noise outside, so he ventured out onto the porch and saw that the rain has let up and was only a slight drizzle now. Thankfully the storm has passed and the house was still standing. There were many trees in the yard that toppled over, but it didn't look like much damage. He came back inside and saw that Lucas was standing up in the travel bed. "Von!" he waved. Lavon knew he wanted to get out, so he went over and lifted him up and brought him into the kitchen with him so as not to wake Zoe. "Daddy home", asked Lucas. Lavon just looked at him and said "Not yet, but we'll go and look for him in a little while". That seemed to answer his question for the time being, so Lavon set him in the high chair and proceeded to make the coffee. He then got Lucas a bowl of cereal and sat down while Lucas made a mess of it. After a while Zoe wandered into the kitchen. "Have you checked the weather, Lavon?" she asked. "I did", he said "It blew over and it's only drizzling out now. Once we're done here, we can take a ride and see how the Rammer Jammer made out". He was hesitant to bring up Wade's name, but Zoe did anyway. "You mean to see if Wade is OK, don't you? You don't have to pussyfoot around me Lavon, I know the situation" she said sadly. "Big Z, you look like hell. How much sleep did you get last night?" he asked. "Not much", she said. "I only fell asleep a little while ago.".
Lemon and Earl both picked that time to come into the kitchen. Lemon just looked at her and said "Zoe, are you doing ok? I know you were really worried last night". "I still am", said Zoe. "I need to know that he's OK". Earl came over and put his arm around her. "Keep thinking positive. Things have a way of working out where my boy is concerned". He walked over to Lucas and lifted him out of the chair even though he was covered in cereral. "Hi Poppy" said Lucas when he came over. "Hug?" And his Poppy gave him a big hug. "He is so like his father" said Earl with tears in his eyes.
They ate breakfast in silence, each one wrapped up in their own thoughts about what today was going to bring. When they were done and the dishes cleared, Zoe said "Lemon, could you watch Lucas while we go out and see what we can find out?" She was hesitant to mention Wade's name in front of Lucas because she didn't want him to start crying for his father. "Of course. I'd be happy to", she said. "You do what you have to do and don't worry about us at all". "Thanks, Lemon. You're a great friend". Zoe said.
Lavon, Earl and Zoe got up and just looked at each other. "Let's get going", said Lavon. I want to check your house quickly to see if it's still standing". They all got into the SUV and headed out. It was amazing to see how many trees were down since the storm wasn't even a hurricane. The winds must have been pretty close though in order to cause this much damage. They arrived at the Kinsella' s house and thankfully the only damage was that they lost a few shingles and roofing tiles. The yard was a mess and everything that was in it was now scattered all over the place, but compared to the damage that could have happened, this was minor. They got back in the vehicle and off they went to the Rammer Jammer.
When they got there, Zoe could barely breathe. There was a huge tree that fell and put a hole in the roof of the building. It was just laying there on top. It was a dangerous situation, but they had no choice but to try and get in. They noticed that all the windows were boarded up, but they didn't hear any noise. Zoe ran to the door and yanked it open "Wade! Are you in here?" she yelled. All of a sudden she stopped short and let out a scream "Wade!". She saw him lying on the floor with a beam across him and debris piled all over him. She yelled back to Lavon "See if the phones are back on yet. They were working on them earlier. Call 911 and also get Brick over here". Lavon made the calls and Brick said that he would be right there. Zoe ran over to Wade and got down on her knees next to him "Baby, can you hear me? We're here now, you're going to be OK. We'll get you out of this mess. Please just answer me". She kept trying, but Wade just lay there without moving. She removed a lot of the debris, but was unable to move the beam that fell on him. She checked out what she could and saw that his arm was at a strange angle, and definitely looked like it was broken. Lavon and Earl came over to see if they could help with the beam. "We need to get a few more people in here to help move it", she said. Earl immediately left and went to the closest people that he could find to ask them to help out. Since everybody loved Wade, it wasn't hard to round up a few burly guys. Once they all got there, Lavon supervised and as they all gathered around Wade, Lavon said "OK guys, on the count of three we all lift this beam and put it down to the right of Wade. I don't want to risk moving him if I don't have to because I don't know what kind of injuries he might have.". Brick walked in at that moment and ran over to Zoe "How is he?" Brick asked. "I don't know all the injuries yet" said Zoe, fighting back tears. "Once they remove the beam we'll be able to tell more. 911 should be here shortly also". Zoe, Earl and Brick backed up while the volunteers and Lavon got prepared to lift the beam. Lavon said "On the count of three, lift and then slowly bring it back down once we've cleared Wade's body" "Everybody ready?" he asked. After everyone acknowledged, he said "OK. One…. Two…. Three! Lift!" The guys did as Lavon directed and hoisted up the beam and gently laid it down next to Wade. They all quickly moved out of the way as Zoe and Brick ran over to him. "Baby, please, can you hear me?" she cried. Still no response. Brick said "Zoe, it looks like he got hit in the head with something as there's quite a bit of dried blood in his hair". She looked through his hair until she found the gash that caused the blood. "It looks like it's stopped for the most part, but it's still seeping a little bit". The also examined the rest of his body and he did indeed have a broken arm. They couldn't tell if his ribs were broke or not but would know more once they got him to the hospital. His legs seemed to be OK also. Zoe just sat there in the water, cradling Wade until the emergency crews got there. They gently lifted Wade onto the gurney and put him in the ambulance. Zoe told them that she was a doctor and also his wife and that she was going with them. They allowed it seeing how she was not going to take no for an answer and immediately sped off to the hospital. Lavon thanked everyone for their help and then Lavon, Earl and Brick sped off to the hospital.
When they got there, Zoe was pacing, tears running down her face. Brick said "Have they said anything yet?" he asked. "I'll go and try and find out what's going on if they haven't updated you yet." Zoe just looked at him sadly. "They said that he has a broken arm, three broken ribs, and a ton of bruises. They put stitches in his head to close the cut but" and then Zoe just about collapsed. Lavon ran over to her and helped her stand. "Zoe, what is it?" he asked in a shaky voice. Earl came over and took her hand. Zoe just said with a blank stare "He's in a coma".
