Hi, I am really sorry it has been so longer since I last updated. This is one of the first multi-chaptered pieces of writing I have ever done and I started to struggle. I needed a break. But I never forgot or give up and I am back now ready to try again. So if there is anyone out there still with me I would just like to say thank you so much for coming back to this story after so long. It means a lot to me that someone out there is reading this and I hope still enjoying it. So here goes with Act 2:
Chapter 10 – Fear and Frustration
Beads of sweat drenched his skin, his eyes ached with the intensity of his gaze, and his arms locked steadfastly in place while his hands worked furiously to stem the flow of the crimson tide. The steady rhythmic noises of the machinery around him seemed to echo in the silence of his attendants. Such was the efficiency engendered with and the familiarities bred between each other few words were needed to guide the surgeon or his team. Together they worked tirelessly to save the man that so desperately fought for life.
Caroline and Dup had made their way to the hospital as soon as the phone call had come through. So urgent was their need to get there they hadn't even questioned Olivia's decision to go with them. Alice had sounded absolutely distraught when they'd spoke and if this was to be Danny's goodbye it was Caroline's belief that Olivia had the right to a final moment with him and more than that she believed Danny would want it. So Charlotte left in Nomsa's safe hands the three of them had raced along dirt tracks and city roads alike before finally arriving at the huge brick building. The few moments it took to find Danny's room again felt like hours but finally they had arrived.
Coming to an abrupt stop in the doorway Caroline took in the scene that greeted her. Alice was sat on a cheap, plastic hospital chair beside an empty space where her fiancé should clearly have been. Bits of strange looking litter on the floor showed the haste with which Danny had left and the setting sun was robbing the room of its only source of light. The darkness seemed to envelope Alice's small form as she sat hunched over, her head in her hands. Noting the stillness of her body and the lack of awareness that she had company the older woman walked over to her friend and crouched beside her. "Alice… Alice Darling, are you alright? What's happened? What's happened to Danny?" Recognising the soft, kindly voice Alice finally looked up. "Caroline…Did Olivia get off ok?" Confused by the younger woman's complete blank on the subject that had driven them here, for the moment Caroline decided to go with it, not being able to shake the thought that hearing a bit of good news for once might just help her get through whatever this latest crisis was.
"Ahh well we have news on that front…"
Following her gaze Alice's eyes fell on Olivia stood nervously in the corner. Getting up and covering the distance between them she took the younger woman in a crushing embrace. "I'm so glad you decided to stay and Danny will be over the moon." Shrugging her shoulders the teenager said simply "I couldn't do it." For the first time in what seemed like forever Alice allowed a small smile to grace her lips. "Well I'm glad. I really am." Although Dup was pleased to see Alice looking a little brighter he was losing the battle he was waging within himself to stay quiet. He had tried to leave the talking to Caroline. But so far they knew no more about what had happened to Danny than they had when they'd left Leopard's Den and he needed to know. The urge to blurt it out was getting stronger and his control over his own mouth was weakening rapidly. Until eventually he could do no more "Alice, we have to know what the hell happened to Danny? Where is he? What's wrong with him?"
"Anders, that's enough!" Caroline cut him off and fought to regain control of the situation. Leading Alice back to the plastic chair she sat the frail young woman down and regained her crouched position beside her. Softly she tried again to solicit the information they all needed to hear. "Alice darling, what happened to Danny?"
"He was doing ok and then…and then I was losing him. His heart started to slow down. They said he'd had a bleed on the brain. He's in surgery to try and stop it, but he's been in for 2 hours now."
"But he's going to be ok right? I mean he is going to be ok isn't he?" Putting a comforting arm around the frightened teenagers shoulders Dup whispered "I don't know Liv, I wish to god I did."
As a family they waited for news, supporting each other, there for each other. Until finally some four hours later news came through. As the surgeon walked in the room and took a seat opposite her, Alice frantically appraised him but his downcast eyes and tired, haggard face gave nothing away. He gently took her hand in his, took a deep breath and began to speak. "Miss Collins I apologise for not speaking to you sooner. Mr Trevanion suffered a bleed on his brain as a consequence of his earlier operation. It is a rare but very serious complication. In this case the site of the bleed was in a very awkward position and made an already arduous procedure far more complicated. But your fiancé is a fighter Miss Collins and he pulled through. However he is very poorly and his condition remains critical. Two major surgeries in such a short space of time took a tremendous toll on his body. He began to suffer some breathing difficulties and it became necessary to put Mr Trevanion on a Ventilator. We are hoping this will just be a temporary measure. We'll review his status again when the time is right and if he has improved enough we'll start to reduce his oxygen intake from the machine. For now though the ventilator will breathe for him to allow his body the time it needs to recover".
By this time tears were streaming down Olivia's face and Dup's had lost all colour. Caroline summoned every bit of grit she had, determined to hold it together for Alice and Olivia's sake, and Alice just sat there numb. The surgeon sat quietly for a few seconds allowing the family a few precious moments to process everything they had just been told. Eventually Alice seemed to find a second wind from somewhere. Looking directly into the Physician's eyes she uttered the words he had been waiting for "I want to see him, I want to see Danny." Knowing now that they were as ready as they would ever be he silently stood and quickly left the room; listening all the time for the jumble of footsteps behind him.
The wires and tubes now attached to the ailing vet had taken all by surprise. No one had quite expected the sheer quantity of medical paraphernalia surrounding the bed and it hurt them to see the normally active and strong man so weak, so vulnerable, and so dependent on machinery and technology for every basic human function. The first time they entered the room they stood together as a family drawing strength from each other, both physically and emotionally. All the time fighting their own internal battles against fear and frustration; fighting hard to process the myriad of information, both aural and visual, that assaulted them. Every detail seen, every sound heard something new to add to already overloaded and overtired minds.
But Intensive Care was the shelter for those in the hardest of fights and the home to those with the skills and compassion to nurse even the weakest and furthest away and bring them back to those they love. So space was precious and the ability to be at their patient's side immediately and without delay, should the need arise, valued above all else. It was for this reason and so as not to sap what little strength the residents had that visiting was limited to two people only. Caroline, already pre-warned of such rules and knowing Alice would never leave Danny's side, ushered Dup and Olivia out of the door insisting they return home and rest for the night; recognising both would be needed awake and alert tomorrow. Resuming her vigil beside Alice, she put her arm around the younger woman's shoulders, took a deep breath and settled into the silence; knowing beyond doubt the twilight hours that stretched out before her would be the longest of her life.