I am about to leave town for a few days and I wont have any internet connection where I am going so here is the new chapter! Sorry for the mistakes... this was a little rushed. Thanks for reading and leaving such great reviews! Enjoy!
"I can't believe how much it rained last night." Jane Benson said to her husband, Mike as they walked with an umbrella in between them down the sidewalk towards their floral shop. The sun was just making its way into the sky but the thick, heavy thunderclouds blocked out its warm rays and the city was a dark and dreary mass of bleakness.
Both of them stopped abruptly in their tracks when their eyes fell upon a small dark figure in front of their store window display. "Is that… a child?" Jane was shocked. She quickly left her husbands side and knelt down next to the still form on the ground. Her husband was on her heels and next to them within seconds. "Why would a kid be out in this storm all by himself?" Mike asked to no one in particular. He placed the umbrella over his wife and the small child as Jane re-positioned the boy into her lap. "Let's get him inside and call for an ambulance." Jane said when she realized that the boy was still unresponsive.
Before they had a chance to move Neal inside though, a small voice could be heard from behind them. Mike turned his head and realized the payphone was not hung up and someone was still on the other end. He quickly grabbed for it, maybe whoever was on the other line knew who this boy was. "Hello! We have a boy here. He's passed out." Mike said urgently as he grabbed a quarter from his back pocket and placed it into the slot for more time.
Peter's heart had almost stopped when he realized Neal was no longer on the phone but now that someone had found his nephew alive his breathing relaxed a bit. "I'm his uncle. I've been trying to wake him up for a couple of minutes. Can you tell me exactly where you are? My wife is on the phone with a 911 dispatcher right now."
After Mike told him the address to his store, Peter gave him his cell phone number so they could get Neal inside where it was warm.
"Peter? This is Mike. We have your nephew in our store now. My wife is just taking all his wet clothes off. How far away are you and the ambulance? He still hasn't woken up." Mike decided to put his phone on speaker as he helped his wife take all of Neal's sopping clothes off. His skin was so white and his lips had turned a dark shade of blue and purple. He quickly turned towards the thermostat and raised the heat up to a scorching temperature.
Peter slammed on the gas pedal even harder. He didn't want to hydroplane but he also was very anxious to get to Neal. The GPS told them they would be there in about three minutes. "We're almost there. The ambulance shouldn't be too far behind. If you have some sort of blanket or sheet, do you think you could cover him up and try to get him warm? I think he has a severe case of hypothermia."
When El and Peter reached the floral shop they quickly jumped out as soon as Peter parked in front of the store next to them so the ambulance could park out front. Elizabeth gasped slightly when she saw how frail and sickly Neal was lying on the big wooden worktable. "Oh Peter!" She said as she stroked the little boys' clammy cheek.
"His pulse was very weak when we first got him in here but it has gotten a lot stronger since we took his wet clothes off." Jane said as she came into the main room with three warm water bottles. "I think we should put these around his body until the ambulance comes" She said as she handed them to Peter and El.
"We can't thank you enough for what you did for our nephew. We had no idea he had even snuck out until we got his phone call. So thank you so much. You saved his life." El said as she took Jane in her arms and hugged her.
Neal could hear voices all around him, they were so far away. Where was he? Why was everything so icy and painful? He was still so cold. He could feel little areas of warmth though all around his body. It was helping a little bit but it felt like he was still freezing to death. His chest was tight and every breath he took was as if he was breathing under water. The voices were still there. They were quiet and far away. Maybe if he said something they would find him and take him home so he could go back to sleep next to Satchmo on the couch by the fireplace. It was so warm at his Uncle's and Aunt's house. That's where he wanted to be now.
Peter and El rushed to Neal's side once more when they heard the small whimper erupt from the boys' blue lips. "Neal, hey buddy. It's time to wake up now." Peter urged as he took the small blue cast in his hand. Most likely, the doctors were going to have to put a new cast on his arm. The old one was soaked through and filthy.
Neal slowly opened his eyes halfway but quickly shut them again when the fluorescent lights overhead cut through his skull like a knife. He slowly moaned again and rolled his head to the side.
Blaring sirens could be heard from down the street. The ambulance was almost here. Neal was not going to want to go to the hospital. Peter almost wished he was still passed out cold until after they had him hooked up to a hospital bed. "Neal, hey listen buddy. An ambulance is going to be here soon. It's going to take you to the hospital. I will ride in it with you though, alright bud? You're not going to be alone." Peter could tell Neal had heard what he had to say by the angry grimace that was now plastered on his face.
Neal didn't want to go to the hospital. The last time he was at a hospital, Mozzie had left him and he hadn't seen him since then. "Nnnooo…. Ddonn't w-want to g-ggo. 'M f-ffiine." The eight-year-olds voice was trembling so much, Peter could hardly understand him. He did understand the first word though.
By the time Neal had stopped him mumblings two paramedics had arrived. "What do we have here?" The first one asked as they jogged towards the table.
"My nephew, Neal has been out in the rain. I think he has hypothermia. He just woke up after he passed out just outside." Peter explained as the two paramedics took their place next to the boy and started to examine him.
"Hey Neal! My name is Oliver, this is Jackson." The older looking one said as he pointed to his partner. "It sure is cold outside, huh? Jackson and I are going to take a look at you, alright?" Neal just nodded his head slowly as the two paramedics took the sheet off of Neal's upper body. One listened to his heartbeat while the other one checked his temperature. After they finished one thing they quickly moved onto the next. One placed an oxygen mask on him while the other started an IV drip. The whole time Neal kept silent. Occasionally he would sneak a glance over at Peter and El who were just a few feet away from him. Worry and concern covered their faces but every time Neal looked over at them they quickly replaced it with a fake but encouraging smile.
A few minutes into the exam, Oliver spoke up. "Alright Neal, we're going to get you loaded up into the ambulance now." Neal's breath hitched in his throat. He didn't think he still had to go to the hospital. Couldn't he just go home and take a hot bath.
Neal moved his arm up to remove the oxygen mask that covered his mouth. He finally had something to say and it started with telling these people that he didn't have to go to the hospital. "Uh, nope. You gotta keep that on, Neal." Jackson said as he moved the gurney closer to the table. "Okay, we're going to move you onto this bed now so we can get you into the ambulance."
"Neal, I will ride over there with you. You have to go though." Peter said as he gently gave his shoulder a squeeze.
Once they were all loaded into the ambulance and on their way to the hospital, Neal's eyes started to droop closed. He was so exhausted and being outside for those few seconds while they loaded him up almost sent him into shock. They had dressed him in sweats and bundled him up in emergency and fleece blankets in the store but he just couldn't seem to get warm.
Once they were sure Neal was out cold, Oliver turned to Peter, "Mr. Burke, your nephew has a body temperature of 83 degrees. So he does have a case of Moderate Hypothermia but it is border lining on Severe. Also his breathing is very labored. In a lot of hypothermia cases, the patient will contract pneumonia. The doctor will most likely give him a chest X-ray to be sure his lungs aren't filling up with fluid. He's a very lucky little boy though."
"He's a crazy little boy. I still have no idea what he was thinking sneaking out like that. It just doesn't make sense." Peter said as he smoothed Neal's hair off of his forehead. His cheeks were so flushed.
"Kids do crazy things! I remember when I was little I took my Dad's Tomahawk's out in the yard without permission because I wanted to pretend like I was an Indian. My sister ran in front of the tree I was using as my "buffalo" and I sliced her leg open." Oliver chuckled as Peter gave him a disbelieving look. "He seems like a pretty calm kid, I am sure he would never do anything like that."
"To be honest, I barely know him. He has only been staying with me and my wife for a few days now. I didn't even know he existed. He has had a very hard life though from what I've gathered." Peter said as he continued to stroke Neal's forehead.
"Well, from what I have gathered, you two care about him very much. That's obviously all this little boy needs. People who care about him and love him. He's going to be just fine. Not just with this hypothermia but also in life."
Peter really hoped this EMT was telling the truth. Could he and Elizabeth really do this? Raise a child? He wished he could just ask Neal why he had snuck out of the house. Was he leaving? He had to know where Mozzie was. He was obviously running away to meet up with him. But then, where was the teenager now? He would wait till Neal was feeling more up to it. Then when the time was right, he was going to get to the bottom of everything. No more secrets, no more lies. If they were going to be a family, they had to start acting like one and that meant gaining one another's trust.
