Chapter Seven: In Times Like These
"Mr. White? Mrs. White? You'll be able to see Mr. Pinkman soon," Dr. Hendrickson tells them. "He's still unconscious but he's stabilized; we're just keeping an eye on him for a little while longer before you can see him."
"What's his prognosis?" Walt asks desperately.
"It's too soon to tell, Mr. White. All we can do is wait and see how long he takes to come out of the coma."
"Coma?" Skyler chimes in, horrified.
"Now, try not to jump to conclusions," the doctor counsels, "We won't know what we're dealing with, in terms of possible brain damage, until he wakes up. In the meantime, we're keeping him comfortable." Walt looks sedated, then suddenly alarmed.
"What kind of painkillers?" he demands.
"Morphine…" the doctor begins.
"Jesse is a former opiate addict, you moron!" Walt snaps. "What are you thinking?"
"It's standard proc…"
"The last time he was in here – when he had half of his face bashed in might I add, he refused painkillers for just that reason!"
"Walt," Skyler tries to cut in.
"Mr. White, I think it's best in this…" the doctor continues, ignoring Skyler. Skyler waits a beat and then cuts in again.
"Are there non-opiate painkillers that would be as effective?" she asks.
"No," the doctor replies, "The strongest thing we could give him would be prescription-strength ibuprofen." Walt opens his mouth.
"Walt," Skyler snaps, "Would you rather have him potentially…" She holds up her hands, "Only potentially – relapsing for a brief period, or in unbearable pain?"
"Skyler, stay out of this. You weren't there. You don't understand what those drugs did to Jesse." What those drugs made me do to Jesse, Walt adds silently. What those drugs brought about. Wayfarer 515, would she even believe it?
"Walt," Skyler cuts in.
"No, Skyler, listen to me. I don't want him re-addicted, I don't want him going through withdrawal, I don't want…"
"Walt, he might not live long enough to go through withdrawal," Skyler tells him bluntly. "Give him the pain meds and we can deal with the aftermath when he is out of this."
"We? Where did 'we' come into this? I'm the one looking after Jesse's best interests!"
"Yes, in the future. You are too blinded by emotion and grief to think clearly. You need to think about this logically and do what is best for Jesse now." Skyler locks eyes with her husband, and Walt looks over to the doctor.
"It's your call, Mr. White."
Walt sighs.
"Give him the painkillers," he whispers, trying not to think that this might be the last decision regarding Jesse that he'll ever have to make, a decision that hinges on the fact that he might not see another day.
Gus Fring stands on the edge of a bridge, with Jesse next to him. If Jesse had to guess, he'd assume the bridge was made out of metal, because looking down he can see right through the cracks. Looking over the bridge, he sees nothing but clouds and fog; he wonders how far up this is, or how far away this is. Is it in another dimension? Another planet? Has he been spirited away, or is his body still lying on the ground or in some operating room?
Gus simply looks over the edge for a long time, before he speaks.
"You asked why I chose to stay," he begins, turning to look straight at Jesse. "I'd like you to meet someone, Pinkman."
Gus turns and begins to walk. Jesse follows, silent, wondering exactly how he got here, to this place, to the ground falling out from under him.
"Maximo," Gus calls, and a man who can't be much older than Jesse appears, bronze-skinned and wide-eyed.
"Gustavo," the man replies simply, his eyes lighting up. Jesse looks back and forth from one to the other before locking eyes with Gus, as if to ask, is this what it looks like?
"Jesse, this is Maximo. My former business partner. My first cook."
"It's nice to meet you," Jesse replies, shrugging one shoulder. The look in Gus' eyes is one that Jesse has never seen before, and it's sort of freaking him out. "Are you two..." Gus looks at him.
"Yes?" he inquires. Jesse decides that even in the afterlife, Gus is the last person he wants to question the sexuality of.
"Never mind," he murmurs quickly. "So you stayed for him?"
Gus smiles – as Jesse manages to hold back a shudder – and replies simply, "Wouldn't you?"
"Do you think we ought to call this Andrea girl?" Skyler suggests as they wait for word on when Jesse will be stable enough for visitors.
"And say what?" Walt retorts, "She's probably just another one of Jesse's user junkie girlfriends." Skyler recoils.
"That's harsh. What experience are you drawing from?" she inquires, looking at him quizzically.
"His last…" Walt begins, but the last person he wants to start talking about is Jane. "Jesse's just – he's a little gullible. He doesn't have the best taste in friends."
"We should still let her know, at least once he's stable. Do you know how to contact any of his other friends? His parents?"
"Jesse's parents disowned him. And his friends have names like… Hedgehog, and things like that." Skyler rolls his eyes.
"Mr. White? Mrs. White?" Dr. Hendrickson interrupts as he emerges in front of them. "You can come see Mr. Pinkman now."
The two are led down a hall that reminds Walt of something out of The Shining; the walls are a dismal gray and the tiles are a dull, off-turquoise color. He suspects there to be a tide of blood rushing over the tiles any moment now.
A door opens and they walk inside. Jesse is lying there, tubes and bandages covering much of his thin frame. He looks so much like a kid, like… an innocent child. Gus sent this boy to Mexico and who knows what he saw? Walt wonders. I can't… He sent this boy to Mexico and I let him go…