Chapter Twelve
Drew and Rick were holding hands as they entered her front door after apart for six months the two did not seem to want to let go of each other. Claudia thought it was sweet. Her niece was so glad her other daddy was home, she excitedly told her aunt that her two daddies were with her. She had run ahead to look at Claudia's fish tank. She loved how colorful it was. Claudia made the very dish that her brother went without for six months.
Pork chops.
The apple sauce, smashed potatoes and corn were secondary. Rick had made his famous extra spicy general tso's chicken for lunch. Skylar had popcorn chicken with ketchup.
"Did you see all your little friends?" Claudia teased Drew.
Skylar interrupted by saying she saw bunnies. Her aunt asked her when the two were going to have another slumber party. Her daddies deserved a couple's night after months apart.
"No soon, 'dia," she said. "I stay with dada."
Drew was totally on board with that. He didn't want to be separated from his child any time soon unless it was for work and that was three weeks away. Rick was fine with that too. She hadn't sneaked out of her crib and into their bed on that first night. She had climbed out of her bed and woke Drew the next morning. The crib had been lowered to toddler bed level earlier since she was going to "make a jailbreak" either way. And then she wouldn't get a nasty fall. Both men had a feeling Skylar might want to sleep with them for a while and they would let her for a few nights.
"No more climb?" Skylar had asked looking at her "new" bed.
She looked almost disappointed.
"Nope. This way you can get out of your bed by yourself and not get hurt," Drew told her.
Without the rail he wondered if she would still "jump-jump" on her mattress. At least the fall would be shorter.
"'Ou go to da hospital and 'ack for beakfast?"
It was Drew's first night back at the ER. He was explaining to Skylar that he was only be at the hospital, not half way across the world as he had been before. He did it showing her a map they had, showing her where they lived and where the hospital was versus the war zone he had been in.
"That's right. I'll be home for breakfast. Don't eat all my cereal," he said, tickling her.
Likely he would have keep telling his little one this for a few more nights before it sunk for her but he could understand her young mind's need for reassurance. Tonight a green balloon was a good distraction. Tomorrow night was Drew's welcome home party. Rick was already making preparations in the kitchen. Claudia had been over earlier and did some decorating. Hence the balloons.
"You're gonna give her that and just leave?" Rick said, as their daughter chased the balloon.
"Yes," Drew smiled as Rick kissed him. "Have fun. It might wear her out."
"Or wind her up."
Drew only grinned. "I'm gonna be late."
Drew's first shift back at San Antonio Memorial was a rush. An hour into shift after stitching up the hand of culinary student, the chaos started. Three teenagers, two female and one male were rushed in, All found responsive at a rave party. Three more were on the way.. Two of the students were star students at their high school and the local news had done stories on both being they were cousins who accepted to top colleges and were NFL prospects. Now they were on ventilators, both showing signs of permanent liver and brain damage. Both would survive but their futures were forever altered by their own doing. The third patient, a girl who had begun to seize when she was being unloaded from the ambulance. From there she lapsed into a coma.
The girl had cheated death once before, surviving a rare form of cancer thanks to experimental treatment in Canada. Drew was able to resuscitate her–twice, in twenty minutes. Like her friends she was now on a ventilator. Unlike her friends, because of her history she had preexisting brain damage. Her brain scan just enough activity to keep her heart beating. Drew and TC agreed that they didn't know how long that would last.
"What a damn waste," Drew said.
The two boys had the brightest of futures ahead and threw it away. The girl had been given a miracle and gave it up for a night of partying. Being young might mean a certain level of stupidity but when stupidity led to this it was beyond his comprehension.
"Do teenagers even think?" He asked Topher, frustrated.
Drew hoped that when his own daughter was a teenager she would be smart enough to use her brain and common sense to leave an occurrence off her life experience list. By the end of his shift, the girl's parents had arrived. They tearfully thanked Drew for all he had done to save their daughter however given the bleak prospects of recovery, they signed a DNR, hoped and waited.