Chapter 10

As the nurse left, Red noticed the form of a guard standing just outside the door. She felt her body tense, her muscles trying to work but if she'd been in a coma and even with treatment, her muscles weren't up to moving her just yet. She clenched her fingers into a fist again, releasing it as she worked to get her other hand moving to do the same. Her brain tried to work out why she was under guard. Had she done something wrong and they were afraid she'd run if she woke? Or was she under guard to protect her from something or someone?

Her mind buzzed around in circles trying desperately to figure it out. She finally took a deep breath, trying to calm herself or she'd use up what little energy she had. It seemed like an eternity before anyone came back into the room but the next person was obviously a doctor, followed by the nurse. She watched both of them, feeling that she shouldn't trust anyone until she got some answers.

The doctor came over to her bed and started to check the monitors and her vitals. She had to endure having the penlight flashed in her eyes one at a time and then he looked down at her. "I'm Dr. Larry O'Shea. I've been the doctor in charge of your case since they brought you up from the Fort Worth Base Hospital," he stated as he moved over to the other side of her bed so the nurse could finish her work. "Think you could handle some news?" he asked Red, keeping his voice calm and level.

Red knew that she needed to know the extent of her injuries. With a slight nod to the doc, she heard him exhale a little. "Major, I'd like to say that you'd be up and back to your old self in no time but the truth of the matter is that you have a long recovery ahead of you."

"You've been in a coma for over four months. Your first surgery took sixteen hours to repair the worst damage from the accident and get you stabilized. We've had you into surgery six more times to repair other issues that couldn't be taken care of the first time around. Both arms were broken in multiple places. You had multiple fractures and breaks in seventeen other bones in your body. Some of the bones were shattered and have been replaced with titanium rods or plates. Your right leg was broken in two places, the bone shattered between the two breaks. The leg bone has been replaced with a surgical steel rod that seems to have been accepted by your body," he said, taking a moment to pause. The Major's eyes hadn't changed in their attention to him, their coldness seeming to go right through him.

"You had some internal bleeding in a few places that has finally stopped. The burns to your left side and back have been treated with skin graphs in the worst areas. You have lacerations in several places that cut into a few muscle groups we've stitched them together so that the muscles would mend with less difficulty." Dr O'Shea grew quiet for a moment, "I won't candy coat it major. You've got a long road to recovery and full health but with your will power and with how well your body has healed these past four months, I think you'll recover fairly quickly. But it won't be easy," he said, giving Red an honest look.

Red's eyes moved over towards the nurse for a moment then back up at the doctor. She gave a very slight nod to her head to indicate she understood. What little energy she had kept in reserve was now spent. She felt her eyes close though she tried to fight it. Soon she found herself drifting back to sleep, hearing the voice of the doctor and the nurse conversing quietly about her condition

When she managed to drag herself up out the darkness of sleep, she heard someone turn the page of a book before she managed to open her eyes. Someone was in the room with her, sitting to her left. She slowly opened her eyes and looked in that direction. MacGyver sat in a chair he'd pulled up next to her bed. He sat facing her with a book in his lap, one elbow on the arm of the chair, holding his head up with his hand as he read.

She watched him for a few moments, taking in the details of someone who had been there for her when she needed it the most. He had been there all those years ago and was here again. She finally spoke to get his attention. "Hi handsome," she said, her voice coming out more of a hoarse whisper. She had to smile a little at his reaction to hearing her speak.

He almost leapt out of the chair, startled. Yet the excitement that showed on his face made her feel some comfort. He stood up and came to the edge of her bed, looking down at her. "Hi yourself," he replied with that charming smile of his. "How you feeling?"

She blinked slowly, everything seeming to move in slow motion with her. "Sore. Tired," she said in simple enough terms to get her meaning across.

He looked at her with concern, "Want me to call the nurse?" he asked.

She moved her head a little from side to side, "No. I'm ok." She offered a tired smile up at him as she shifted a little. "How long?" she asked as if trying to figure out a few things. She could remember what the doctor said to her earlier about her injuries, but she trusted MacGyver more than she'd trust the word of some strange doctor.

MacGyver pulled up his chair and sat down right next to her bed. "The crash was on October 27th. It's now March 20th." He watched her for a moment, letting her slowly absorb the time frame that he'd just laid out.

Red lifted a hand slowly and moved it toward him and he took the invitation and took her hand in his. She nodded a little. "Favor please?" she asked.

He nodded, "Sure hon. You name it."

She was quiet for a long moment, her eyes closing as if she'd fallen asleep again. But she finally opened them, "Go to the cabin tomorrow. West ridge on the east side of the lake. On the top of the ridge…," she said, taking in a slow breath, "….is the family cemetery. Put flowers on Hawke's grave for me." She swallowed back the lump in her throat and worked around the dryness in her throat.

MacGyver relaxed a little at her request. Her memories hadn't suffered and she seemed quite capable to remember things. March 21st was the anniversary of her real father's death. He had been to the cemetery once. Her great grandparents, grandparents, father, uncle, cousin and Dominic Santini were all buried there. He was just thankful he wasn't going to have to add another person to the small cemetery. It was the last thing he wanted to think about. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "I'll take Sam with me tomorrow and we'll clean up the cemetery for the year and make sure that all's in order and leave flowers for him." He leaned forward and kissed her fingers.

Her eyes seemed to focus a little for a moment, "How's Sam?" she asked.

MacGyver had had his suspicions about there being something between Sam and Red, but he didn't want to push it. After Red had been home over the summer for a week of vacation, something had happened between the two of them that Sam wasn't willing to talk about but he was a bundle of nerves half the time when anyone brought up the subject of Red. When the news of the crash came, Sam became a nervous wreck. He tried not to ask questions but he seemed to hang off every word in regards to her condition.

MacGyver smiled at Red. "He's fine other than being a bundle of twisted nerves."

She was quiet for a moment, "Why?" was all she asked.

MacGyver cleared his throat, "Well, I think it has something to do with you," he stated, clearly watching for her reaction. "Unfortunately he doesn't have the clearance I do to come on base. When we got the news that you were awake, he just about pushed me out the door to get here to see you for myself. I get a feeling I'll be skillfully interrogated by not only him but also Rachelle and Erica when I get back to the hanger." He heard her heart monitor beat just a little faster and there was actually some color to her face as she blushed.

She seemed a little more alert, "Call him?" she asked almost in a whisper.

MacGyver chuckled and reached for the phone and nodded. He picked up the receiver and dialed the number to the hanger. The phone rang once and was answered by Rachelle. "Hi Rachelle. It's MacGyver. Is Sam there?" he asked, pausing as he heard the reply. "Can I talk to him for a minute?" While he waited for Sam to get to the phone, he looked over at Red, seeing some of that spark of life come back to her.

He heard his son answer the phone, "Hi Sam. Hey, can you hang on just a minute?" he asked, then put the phone up to Red's ear, her hand lifting sluggishly to hold to the base.

She swallowed, "Hi Sam," she whispered, her voice dry and still a bit tired sounding.

Sam had been handed the phone by Rachelle, mouthing 'It's your Dad.' He took the phone from her, "This is Sam," he said only to hear MacGyver ask him to hold on for a moment. He sighed inwardly. He wanted to ask him how Red was doing but he hadn't even got a chance before he was told to wait.

What surprised him was the voice he heard on the line soon after that, a voice he had been afraid he'd never hear again. He looked like he'd been struck by lightening. "Red!" he said aloud finally. "Oh my God. It's you!"

Before he could do so much as turn around, both Rachelle and Erica were at the desk with him, straining to hear what was said, Erica nearly bouncing like a rubber ball.

Red swallowed again, "Yeah...me. Your dad said you don't have clearance. So a phone call was…next best thing." She felt like she had molasses in her mouth and in her brain as her short burst of energy started to fade.

Sam noticed her slowness but also knew they must have her on pain killers or drugs that made her drowsy. "God Red, we've all been so worried." His mind was full of a thousand things he wanted to say to her but he couldn't seem to think of a single one to get his mouth to speak it.

There was a long pause, "Miss y'all. Sam…?" She paused for a moment.

"Yeah…?" he asked as if trying to get her to spit out what she was hesitating over.

"I'm sorry…," she said, her words held a hint of a slur and she seemed unable to express something.

He went to speak but heard MacGyver on the line then. "She just dropped back off to sleep Sam. I think she had more to say but we're lucky she was awake this long. I'll talk to the doctors to see how long they think it'll be till we can get her home."

Sam's shoulders sagged a little, "Its ok dad. We all hope it's soon," he stated, getting a nod from Rachelle and Erica. "Talk to you later."

As soon as Sam had hung up the phone, Rachelle and Erica converged on him to interrogate him, wanting every detail of their short discussion.

MacGyver had pulled the phone away as he saw her drop back to sleep. Her last words were 'I'm sorry' to Sam. He knew she wanted to say more but if she did well, she'd have a lot more time in the near future to talk to Sam. He talked to Sam for a moment and then hung up, putting the phone back on the nightstand. He sighed lightly and thought about all that had led up to her being here.

He wasn't going to fill her in on the details until she was out of the hospital. He didn't need her being paranoid while she was still here. He needed to get her out of here as soon as possible. And one way to get that to happen was to keep her from being edgy around everyone who came in here to read her vitals or get her up and moving.

He sat with her for another few hours but knew his time was almost up for the day. The nurse had been in twice to check on her before quietly leaving. Finally as the sun set on the last day of winter, he got up and stretched. He leaned over the bed and kissed her forehead. Tomorrow as the first full day of spring and hopefully a new start for her.