Time seemed to come almost to a standstill when Jack heard Cinders whinny in fear. He looked to his side to see Lisa throwing herself forward in her saddle in attempt to stay on as Cinders reared into an almost upright position. He watched in horror as before Lisa even had a chance to react her horse bolted forward sending her flying backwards through the air.
Jack was frozen and helpless as he watched her body arc towards the frozen ground. He might have shouted, he couldn't be sure. Lisa's body hit the ground with a resounding finality that sent a rush of adrenaline through Jack. He flung himself out of the saddle and rushed to Lisa's side, cold fear gripping his heart.
"Lis! Lis can you hear me?" he shouted desperately. There was no response, her face was slack, her eyes closed. Jack fumbled in his haste as he pulled off his gloves. With one hand he pulled his phone from his pocket and with the other he desperately felt at Lisa's neck for a pulse. A wave of relief nearly knocked him over when he found it, faint and thready, but a pulse nonetheless.
At that moment he caught sight of the blood flowing out from behind Lisa's hat, staining the snow-packed ground around her head an ominous crimson. Dread almost froze him in place for a second time but he forced himself to concentrate. The faint pulse beneath his fingertips the only hope he had as he frantically dialled the emergency services.
After that Jack's recall of events was blurry. He remembered waiting for what felt like hours for help to arrive. Afraid to move her but trying to stop the bleeding at the same time.
"Please wake up Lis, don't you go leaving me now," pleaded Jack, staring down at her pale face, doing his best to quell the waves of hopelessness threatening to surge to the surface. By the time help arrived Lisa was showing no signs of regaining consciousness and Jack was doing his best to convince himself that her pulse wasn't fading out, that he couldn't see the life draining from her still form. He couldn't even bare to look at the way her right leg seemed to be at an odd angle to her body, he just focused on her face, the features he looked at every day, the hollows of her cheeks, the slope of her lips, the line of her nose, all of it-even pale and lifeless it was still her. Jack shook himself at the word lifeless, he shuddered, Don't you be an idiot Jack Bartlett, she's a fighter don't you forget it.
There was a flurry of movement on the track once more when the paramedics arrived and Jack could hardly be torn from Lisa's side as they strapped a brace on her neck and leg and hoisted her onto a stretcher.
The next clear thought he had wasn't until he was in the waiting room, Lisa had been rushed to surgery immediately and Jack had been left to wait, and wait, and wait. He was too shocked to pace or to even think, he just sat in one of the hard chairs and stared at the walls, it wasn't until nearly an hour later he thought of the others at home. Shoot! Amy and Ty will be well up by now.
He pulled his phone out of his pocket, vaguely registering the blood still on his hands, he had attempted to clean it in the ambulance with a wipe a paramedic had given him but he had been too distracted to pay attention. Dialling Amy's cell he stood up and began pacing in agitation.
"Grandpa!" Amy answered the phone, she seemed relieved, a bit flustered maybe. "I was going to call you, I thought you guys would be back by now."
"Amy..it's.." Jack choked out struggling to find the words. Amy immediately picked up on his distress.
"Oh Grandpa, what's happened?" Sitting back down, Jack managed to recount the events, in bits and pieces, managing only small, few-syllable sound bites at a time.
When Jack finished Amy was silent for a few moments on the other end, she was at a loss for words. ""We'll be right there Grandpa" she finally managed to say, "You hang in there, we'll be there as soon as we can!"
Jack could hear her calling for Ty, something about watching the kids, before she had even hung up the phone.
By the time Lou and Amy rushed into the waiting room, faces drawn, Jack had taken to pacing the floor, his mind in turmoil. He kept trying to tell himself to have faith, to stop thinking the worst but he couldn't help it. In situations like these thinking the worst is exactly what the mind does. Jack didn't even know what to say to his granddaughters, words failed him. He couldn't put any of this mess into words. They ended up sitting in the hard chairs, Amy squeezing one hand, Lou the other, in an attempt to comfort him, and each other. They sat in silence as the minutes ticked by and people around them drifted in and out, unnoticed by the three.
After an hour that seemed to stretch into forever the surgeon finally came through the doors. Jack was on his feet in a heartbeat to hear the verdict.
"In addition to two fractured ribs and her right leg being broken in two places, Mrs. Stillman-Bartlett suffered a severe head trauma and cranium bleeding in her fall. We managed to stop the bleeding in her brain, however she remains unresponsive."
"Unresponsive?" Jack cut in, "Unresponsive? What does that mean?"
"Mr Bartlett, I am afraid your wife remains in a coma, however we strongly believe that she has a high chance of waking as further brain scans indicate no further swelling or bleeding from the trauma. The next 48 hours will be critical."
"But she will wake up" Amy said, herself and Lou had joined Jack.
"We believe so, but like I said the next 48 hours are critical in determining whether or not there will be any lasting damage" said the surgeon, nodding in Amy's direction.
"Can I... may I see her?" croaked Jack, his voice catching with emotion, a mixture of utter relief that she was alive and a sense of fear at the prospect of Lisa not regaining consciousness.
"Of course, she is one floor up, room 121."
"Thank you doctor, thank you" said Jack shaking his hand in sincere gratitude, unable to do or say anymore. He just needed to see her, see her with his own eyes, to reassure himself that she was alive.
Jack hesitated at the door to her room, he couldn't explain it, but he was almost afraid. Amy squeezed his hand comfortingly.
"We'll be right outside Grandpa" said Lou. Jack nodded and taking a deep breath, opened the door.
Inside the single bed-room the air was still. Completely still and the only sound was the beeping of the monitors at Lisa's bedside. Jack faltered at the sight of all the wires hooking Lisa up to the machines. It made her seem so fragile, so breakable. Jack tread quietly around the bed, as if she was asleep and settled in the chair on the opposite side. He picked up the hand that wasn't hooked up to an IV and held it. Her face was peaceful, as if she was merely asleep. Jack could almost fool himself into thinking she was if it weren't for the cold dread gnawing at his insides reminding him of reality. Under the thin hospital bed sheets he could see the plaster encasing her right leg, from her foot right up to her mid-thigh it seemed.
After a while there was a soft knock on the door and Lou and Amy entered. Jack hardly looked up, he was fixated on Lisa's face, willing her eyes to open. Amy came to stand behind his chair and put her arms around him, laying her head on his shoulder.
"She'll pull through Grandpa, she strong" she murmured, breaking his revere. He knew Lou and Amy were worried, about Lisa and probably about him, he's hardly said a word to them since they'd arrived, after all. His silence was probably driving them out of their minds.
"I just feel so helpless dammit. She shouldn't be lying there like that, it's just all wrong…she has to… she has to wake up!" he was exhausted, emotionally and mentally exhausted.
Lou looked worried, "I know Grandpa, but you got to have faith. You know Lisa, she wouldn't dare leave you alone to deal with all of us, she'll wake up. She'll wake up." It was almost a mantra.
Jack appreciated their efforts at comforting him but he just needed to be alone, with her, and his own thoughts right now. He had to try and make sense of everything, somehow. It's just not right. She can't be in a coma. She just can't. I need her, I need her. He shook off those thoughts and tried to clear his head. He had to accept the facts for what they were.
"You girls should go on home, Ty and Peter will be worried, not to mention climbing the walls after those kids of yours," Jack managed to force a smile, in a feeble attempt to convince them to go home. They exchanged a look but complied.
"Sure," sighed Amy, "but one of us will come back again later, ok? Do you want to grab something to eat before we go?"
Jack just shook his head, he couldn't possibly leave Lisa's side right now. They seemed reluctant to leave him, but slowly made their way towards the door. A thought occurred to Amy and she turned around at the foot of the bed.
"Oh Grandpa, Cinders turned up at Heartland just before I left, he was pretty shook up. I put him in the paddock. What happened to Paint?"
"We were near the top field near Big River when, when it happened, so I let him out there while the medics stabilised Lisa." He had almost entirely forgotten about either of the horses since the accident, at least Cinders had found his way back. "If someone gets a chance today they can bring him down and untack him."
"No problem" nodded Amy fervently.
"OK," said Lou, edging towards the door, "You'll let us know if you hear anything, right?"
"Sure I will Lou" He made a shooing motion with his hands and they left, letting the door swing shut behind them. He was alone with Lisa again, allowing him to think out loud.
"They're right, you know. You're strong, and you wouldn't dare leave me yet. You wouldn't. I know you're there Lis, and I know you're fighting. Just so you know, I'm here for you, rooting for you every step of the way."
"Always have been." He added after a moment.
He kissed her still hand and let the sound of the monitors wash over him. Some part of him found comfort in the sound, the steady beeping of her heart monitor reminding him she was alive, she wasn't letting go. He just had to trust her, and wait.