Chapter 4
"Well, it's…it's been 8 hours, Doc. What now?" Peter asked, as the doctor emerged from Neal's room after his check.
The doctor nodded. "There are signs of improvement. Mr. Caffrey is responding to treatment. The damage to his liver and lung has been surgically repaired. We plan to leave him on the ventilator just a little while longer. His body needs time to heal. But don't get me wrong; while he has made some progress, he still has a lot of healing to do. He's still weak, and he's still getting blood. In another 4 hours…."
Peter just looked at the doctor. "You mean we are going to have to sit and wait and agonize for another 4 hours, and he still might not survive this?" Peter started to pace the hall.
"Look, Mr….Agent Burke, for all the reasons I told you, he needs more time. He's a young man, and he's strong, that's all in his favor. But his body was dealt a terrible blow. He needs time." The doctor explained. "I don't want to give you false hope. And I don't want to rush his treatment. It won't do either of you any good." The doctor began to walk away. "The best think you can do, we all can do, for him is to support him. Let him rest. Let him recover, in his time, Agent Burke, not in ours."
Peter understood. But it still didn't make the situation any easier to take. He still paced the room. He still hated himself that Neal had had to put his own life in danger to help him. And he, at times, hated Neal for being so stupid. But mostly Peter prayed, he prayed for Neal to get better. And he prayed that James Bennett would be caught. In all the confusion of that day, James has slipped away. And, as far as Peter knew, no one had any clue where he was.
Another critical 4 hours passed, each hour more slowly than the last. El, June, Mozzie, and Peter took turns staying with Neal. Members of the White Collar Division even came and visited with Neal. They were all anxious for Neal to wake up. They were very appreciative to Neal for what he did and wanted to tell him so. Peter wanted to tell him how much he, also, appreciated the incredibly stupid, utterly fool hearty, completely unselfish, and totally generous thing Neal had done for him.
"What's the deal now, Doctor Wilson?" Peter asked, the 4 hours had passed and the doctor had just finished his examination of Neal.
The doctor seemed to be considering his words carefully. "Mr. Caffrey's vitals are steady. He's not responding to stimuli. I'm still waiting. He's…."
"What aren't you telling us, Doctor?" June asked. "You said he is not responding, but before you said he was."
"Mr. Caffrey has…he shows every indication of having lapsed into a coma." The doctor stated.
"What…coma?" El said, not believing her ears. She could feel the tears welling up and she made no effort to stop them. "He was getting better. He…he was…." She put her arms around Peter and buried her head in his chest.
They each just stood for a second, trying to absorb the bad news, the thought of losing Neal too much to bear.
TBC