.
Elise dutifuly ate two slices of pizza with Nate, although she kept checking her watch and her MComm.
"Will you RELAX? Christ, your blood sugar is going to be better, but you're going to have heartburn from hell."
Elise slammed her glass down on the table and glared at Nate. "We should've just gone to the hospital cafeteria."
Nate snorted. "Hospital food is crap and you know it. Besides, we're just across the street. He's FINE, Elise."
Elise glared again, raising an eyebrow for emphasis.
"OK, maybe "fine" was a poor choice of words...but he's being taken care of and he's GOING to be fine. Now me? If I don't make sure you're taking care of yourself, Brodi's going to kick my ass. Think of it as self-preservation for me if it makes you feel any better about it."
Elise had to laugh in spite of herself. "I don't think you have anything to worry about. Brodi's big, but he doesn't fight."
"Doesn't mean he can't."
"And you outweigh him by probably 10 pounds."
"It's my thick head. Now finish that last slice and we'll go back and check on him. Keep your vigil while you can, because as soon as he can talk worth a damn, he's going to send your cute little ass home to rest."
Elise ate the last two bites of the pizza, and they stood and started making their way back across the street to the hospital. When the sliding doors opened to the main entrance, they should've left the cold behind them, but Elise felt like the chill had followed her inside. And she felt downright icy when she saw that Rahzel was waiting for them in the main lobby.
As he approached them, he was trying to keep a calm facade, but Elise knew worry on the man's face when she saw it. She looked at Nate, who shrugged, then back to Rahzel.
"Hey guys. Want to step in here with me for a few minutes?" He pointed to one of the smaller waiting areas.
"No offense, Rahz, but Nate has kept me out of Brodi's room long enough. Someone needs to be with him."
"Elise," he rested his hand on her shoulder in a fatherly fashion. Crap, what was going on? "You can't go upstairs right now."
Elise jerked her shoulder away from Rahzel's hand. "Why not? Cut the crap, Rahz. What's going on? I've told you guys I'm FINE. Now cut this alphamale crap and let me go!"
"That's not the reason, Elise..."
This time Nate stepped in. "Just out with it, Rahzel. You're driving us crazy, and Elise is going to have an aneurysm if you don't just spit it out."
"Brodi had a problem while you guys were gone. He's back in surgery."
Elise caught a sharp breath. "What do you mean, back in surgery? What the hell happened"
"He went into cardiac arrest...and he stopped breathing altogether. They're working on him now."
"NO!" Elise shouted, looking from Rahzel to Nate. "We were only gone for 30 minutes. He was awake when we left. He was TALKING, Rahzel. TALKING. He gave Nate a thumb's up."
She kept backing up, but hit Nate's arm as he stretched it out to support her.
"Elise, let's go sit down in here until they come to talk to us."
Elise turned viciously on Nate, slapping him and beating her fists on his chest. "DAMN YOU. WHY did you make me leave him? WHY? I should have been in there, I shouldn't have left him, I..I.."
Nate let her beat into him, then wrapped his arms around her and held her to him as she stopped yelling and broke down into sobs. Then he and Rahzel started gently guiding her into the seating area, where Nate sat down and took her into his lap, holding her like a child while she drained herself of tears.
Rahzel sat beside Nate and leaned into his forearms, resting his weight on his knees. When her sobs were down to little more than hiccups and gasps of breath, Rahzel started to speak again.
"Elise, it wouldn't have mattered if you were in there. No one knows what happened yet, but it wouldn't have made any difference if you were in there or not."
Elise rubbed her palm clumsily against her eyes, then rested her head on Nate's shoulder. "How do you know that? I don't know that."
"Because *I* was in there, and I know he got help immediately. I don't know why it happened. I just know that none of us could have prevented it." He looked down for a moment, then back up at his two companions. "I knew Nate would be here to check on you, so I came in in case he needed help talking you into getting something to eat, or rest, or whatever it is you needed. Brodi was awake, so I hung out with him for a little while. He seemed OK, was just drifting in and out of sleep. A nurse came in doing her rounds, checked him over, checked the machines, and gave him his next dose of medication through his IV. She left, and within five minutes all hell was breaking loose. He grabbed for the bedrail, so I moved in closer to him. He grabbed my hand and was trying to say something, but then he passed out and the machines started going nuts. A medical team shows up, I got kicked out, and now we're waiting. End of story."
"What was he given?" Nate asked hoarsely. "Pain medicine? The antibiotics should have already been in the banana bag."
"I don't know." Rahzel admitted. "His nurse wasn't very talkative when she was in there, and the rest of it happened so fast; I'm sure if he had an allergic reaction to something his doctors will find out."
"Brodi's not allergic to anything." Elise said curtly.
"Brodi doesn't TAKE anything, either, Elise, so it's possible that there was something he didn't know about." Rahzel said. He looked about ready to say something else when the waiting room door opened and one of Brodi's surgeons walked in. They all stood up immediately.
"Dr. Adams." Elise began. "How is he?"
The doctor cleared his throat, and Elise reached to squeeze Nate's hand. It seemed like years before the doctor answered.
"He's stable for now." He began finally. "I'm keeping him on a respirator for a little while, for a day or two at least. There was no damage to his heart that we could find, so for now we're working under the assumption that it was his breathing problems that stressed his heart too much."
"Assumption?"
"He's in the ICU, so he'll be monitored constantly. I've also placed him in a medically-induced coma—now, just relax. It's not as scary as it sounds. He's just heavily sedated. It'll keep him from fighting the respirator. It'll also help slow down the brain swelling."
Elise sat down suddenly. "Brain swelling?"
The good doctor nodded. "From his concussion. It's not extreme yet, and maybe if we keep him sedated for a day or two it'll stop. We're going to be monitoring it, Ms. Riggs. He's not in any danger."
Elise buried her head in her hands. "You'll forgive me if I don't jump for joy, doctor. He went into cardiac arrest and stopped breathing. That doesn't exactly inspire me to relax." She looked up suddenly. "Can we see him?"
"No more than two at a time, preferably only one at a time, and for short periods. 10,15 minutes max."
Elise nodded blankly, but it was Rahzel who said, "Thank you, doctor. For everything."
Dr. Adams nodded. "He's getting very good care. I assure you the nurses in the ICU are the best. Please let me know if you need anything."
As the doctor took his leave, Elise deflated even more. Nate sat down beside her and rested a hand on her knee, and Rahzel stood in front of her.
"Elise? Are you up for seeing him?"
Elise nodded. "I have to. I need to."
"OK, you want me or Nate to go with you?"
"I, uhm..I'd rather go alone, if that's all right."
Nate brought his hand up to her shoulder. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"
Elise smiled grimly and brought her hand up over his. "I'll be OK. He's still Brodi, right?"
She looked up at Rahzel, who looked away. Then she looked at Nate.
"OK. I'll say just this. I don't care WHAT that doctor says. When you go in there, you talk to him. You hold his hand, you talk to him. Coma, no coma, he will hear you. You understand?"
Elise nodded at Nate, then, taking a deep breath, stood up.
"We'll be right here, sweetheart," Rahzel said as she reached the door. She looked back and nodded, then headed out to the ICU.
