Physical Evidence
NOT CUPCAKE FRIENDLY. Angst. Sexual situations. Adult Language. Babe HEA!
Not mine. No profit. Belong to JE.
Thanks to my fabulous Beta, Jacqueline!
Chapter 13 – May 14, 2010 – 3:30 pm
Steph struggled to remember what happened to her and how she ended up in a hospital bed. More importantly, she wondered why the man of mystery left her room. A nurse opened the door to her room just then and seeing her awake, grinned. "You're awake."
Steph nodded absently and as she looked toward the closing door to her room, she glimpsed her mystery man being handcuffed in the hallway by a female police officer. She couldn't bring herself to look away. Just as the wooden door was about to steal him from her sight, the officer gave him a shove and he was gone. She closed her eyes tightly as a sense of loss overwhelmed her.
Once the nurse finished checking her vitals and informed her that the doctor would be in shortly, she left the room. Alone in the quiet, Steph wondered what the hell happened to her and started checking for injuries. Think, Steph. What happened today? Why are you in the hospital?
"Steph?" A voice startled her out of her reverie. She glanced up at the hulk of a man standing in front of her. "How are you feeling?"
"Lost." She answered truthfully. "Why am I here? Wait a minute…where am I?"
"You're at University Medical Center in Princeton."
"Why not St. Francis in Trenton?" She interrupted.
"Given your history of concussions, we wanted you to have the best care possible, so we transferred you here from St. Francis. This facility offers you more privacy plus it has an excellent neurology department."
"Neurology department?" Her eyebrows shot up to her hairline. What the hell happened to me?
"You have a severe concussion. You've been in a medically induced coma for four weeks because you suffered from brain edema caused from hitting your head. You don't remember what happened?" Tank inquired.
"Do I remember what happened?" Steph snapped. "Obviously not! I've never had a concussion before, so I don't know what you're talking about with the history of concussions. I know everyone who works at St. Francis, so I get why I was brought somewhere else. I hate the gossip mongers and do want my privacy. Now…who the hell are you?"
"Who am I?" Tank repeated. "You don't remember me?"
"I've never met you before today that I can remember. How do you know me?" Steph asked.
"Before I answer that, what do you remember?" Tank coaxed gently.
"I remember losing my fucking job at E.E. Martin. I remember going to see my disgusting excuse for a cousin for a filing job, but I don't remember if I ever made it there or what happened after that. Was I hurt in a car accident on the way there or something?" Steph asked confused.
"Let me go get the doctor, okay? She can answer your questions regarding your condition. If she says you're up for it, I'll answer all of your other questions. Alright?" Tank asked.
"Get her then! I want to know what's going on!" Steph commanded.
"Yes, Ma'am. I'll be right back." Tank smiled wryly as he slipped his bulky frame out of the room. Why did I have to ask if this day could get any worse? I should have known with Steph involved that it was a given!
As Tank walked out of the room, he glanced at Bobby and jerked his head in the direction of the room across the hall. Bobby crossed the hall and paused in the doorway, looking back at Ram.
"No one goes in that room until we come back out of this one. Understood?" Bobby asked. "Quinton may have dragged Ranger out of here, but that doesn't mean that she won't be back. I don't want her harassing Steph." He rubbed his chin with his fingers in thought. "If Morelli even breathes in this direction, you holler. Got it?" Ram nodded in understanding and Bobby followed Tank into the empty room.
Tank had his hands on his hips and his head hanging down between drooping shoulders.
"Steph okay?" Bobby asked, picking up on Tank's mood.
"This whole situation is totally FUCKED!" Tank exhaled and rubbed the heels of his hands over his eyes.
"What, Tank?" Bobby pushed.
"Steph doesn't know who I am, Bobby." Tank said quietly. "She doesn't know why she's here. The last thing she remembers is going to see Vinnie for a filing job." Tank looked at Bobby intensely. "Who the fuck is going to dispute this rape bull shit if Steph doesn't remember?"
"Don't panic! Don't panic!" Bobby said as he paced back and forth across the room. "Okay…she has a severe concussion. Severe concussions can cause memory loss. That doesn't mean that it's permanent. She may just need a few days to rest and recover."
"The number of concussions she has sustained in her career as a bounty hunter is…do we even know how many she has had?" Tank asked incredulously.
"Numerous. The problem is that there is no magic number that says how many is too many. But, concussions aren't head injuries…they are brain injuries. It's understandable that Steph may experience some memory loss from this incident. We don't know how she got hurt. If we did…it would help to determine the extent of her injuries." Bobby explained. "I can check her records on file at RangeMan and get an idea of how many concussions she's been diagnosed with…not that she always went to the hospital to get checked out." Bobby sighed.
"You need to go get the doctor." Tank said. "Maybe we should have another scan done…do you think?" Tank asked. When Bobby shrugged, Tank growled. "Do you want to explain to Ranger why Steph can't remember any of us?"
"Okay, okay…I'll get Dr. Washington." Bobby conceded.
Tank paced back and forth while Bobby looked for Steph's doctor. He was praying that whatever was wrong with Steph would be temporary. Now that she and Ranger had finally given in to their feelings, fate couldn't be so cruel as to take their future away. Tank took a few deep breaths and headed back into Steph's room. As he walked through the doorway, he heard her ripping into the nurse.
"When the hell are you going to give me something for this headache? Christ! I feel like my head's been rammed into a wall!" Steph snapped. "Where is the doctor? Are you capable of finding one in this God forsaken place? Or do you just like for your patients to suffer as much as possible?"
"Ma'am, the doctor has been paged. She will be with you…." The nurse started to explain.
"Just leave me alone! You're worthless!" Steph berated her.
"Stephanie!" Tank reprimanded. "That's enough!" He directed his attention to the nurse. "I'm sorry…she's not herself right now."
"Don't you apologize for me!" Steph yelled. "Who the hell do you think you are?"
The nurse scurried out of the room as Tank squared his shoulders and faced Stephanie.
"I am your friend…." He began.
"I told you already that I…." Steph interrupted.
"SHUT UP!" Tank snarled. Steph gasped and sat back into the pillow. "Now you listen and don't interrupt me again." Tank commanded. "I am your friend. I have your back and you have mine. We work together and I know you well enough to know that you are a terrible patient. Lord knows that you have been injured enough to see the inside of a hospital more times than any person needs to. I know you have a headache right now, but that doesn't give you the right to be a complete bitch to the people who are trying to help you. Always keep your words sweet in case you have to eat them later. Or have you forgotten how to be civil to people, too?"
"Ms. Plum, I'm Dr. Washington. Is everything okay in here?" The doctor asked as she looked between Tank and Stephanie, who were just glaring at each other.
"Everything's fine." Steph finally stated, breaking eye contact with Tank and shifting her gaze to Dr. Washington. "Why am I here and when can I leave?"
"Ms. Plum…you have suffered a severe concussion. Mr. Brown has brought to my attention that you may be experiencing some memory problems. Is that correct?"
"Who is Mr. Brown?" Steph asked.
"I am." Bobby spoke up. "You and I work together, Steph. I'm Bobby." He glanced at the doctor and asked, "How much can we tell her? Does she need to remember things on her own?"
"Why don't the two of you wait out in the hall? I'm going to assess Ms. Plum and I think I can do that more quickly if you aren't in the room." She gave both men a look that could compete with Ranger when he was giving orders.
"Yes, Ma'am." They both said in stereo and headed out the door.
Dr. Washington looked back at Stephanie. "Now, Ms. Plum. Let's talk, shall we?"
"What is the extent of my injuries?" Steph asked.
"Well, the concussion caused your brain to increasingly swell. I had to administer barbiturates into your system that put you into a coma for the past four weeks. Once the swelling had diminished enough to wean you off the meds, it took 5 days to wean you off completely. We have been waiting for you to wake up for the past week. Your body needed time to heal. I suspect that you have Post-Concussion Syndrome or PCS." Dr. Washington replied. "I want to do another MRI now that you are awake. How is your headache?"
"Horrendous." Steph snapped. "Can I get some aspirin or something? What is PCS?"
"I'll have the nurse bring you something after the MRI. PCS, in a nutshell, is a set of symptoms that a person may experience for weeks, months, or occasionally years after a concussion. Because of your history of concussions, you have a higher likelihood of developing these symptoms immediately following the brain injury."
"What symptoms exactly?" Steph asked aggravated.
"It depends on the patient. You might suffer from headaches, dizziness, varying degrees of memory loss, difficulty concentrating, anxiety, depression, irritability, emotional and behavioral disturbances, insomnia, and personality changes. How would you describe your headache? Is it a mild ache or more like a migraine?"
"Like a migraine." Steph answered.
"Headaches can vary from mild to severe. They may occur daily and can be quite debilitating. The degree of dizziness can range from lightheadedness to a spinning type of dizziness known as vertigo."
"I do feel slightly dizzy if I move my head too fast." Steph admitted.
"The only treatment for PCS is time. Many of the symptoms will clear within the first week after injury. Sometimes, it takes a few weeks for the headaches to subside. Usually, 3 to 6 months is about the time frame for complete recovery. Since you were in a coma for 4 weeks, we were unable to evaluate any of these symptoms until you woke up."
"Does that mean I will get my memory back? I don't remember those two men outside. There was a man in my room just as I was waking up and he kissed me and I don't know who he is." Steph confessed. "I think I want to though." She smiled and blushed. "He has a great ass!"
Dr. Washington chuckled. "That he does. Look Stephanie, I don't know that your memory will return. Usually, memory loss is temporary. However, we don't even know how you were injured in the first place. All we know is you were unconscious when you were brought in and you had a severe concussion. Unless you remember how you got that concussion, we can't guess as to how you are going to heal. Does that make sense?"
"I guess so." Steph said quietly. "Who brought me here?"
"Those two men out in the hall brought you in after they arranged for your transfer from St. Francis." Dr. Washington filled her in.
"How did I get to St. Francis?"
"You'll have to ask them. I'm sorry. I don't know all of the details. All I do know is that the man with the great ass…" Dr. Washington used air quotes. "…he was worried sick about you, sat vigil by your bed since the day you arrived and didn't want to leave you. The rest you will have to ask your friends. I'll send in a nurse to take you for the MRI. Sit tight. Do you want me to send the guys back in?"
Steph nodded her head and then hissed in pain. Dr. Washington smiled sympathetically and disappeared through the doorway. A few moments later, Tank and Bobby walked back into the room.
"Who was the man in my room that got arrested?" Stephanie fired away as they neared her bed.
"Ranger." Tank answered.
"Ranger? What kind of name is that?" Steph retorted.
"His street name. His given name is Ricardo Carlos Manoso." Bobby piped in.
"Why was he arrested?" Stephanie asked.
Bobby and Tank looked at each other.
"Just tell me the truth!" Steph directed.
"He was arrested for sexual assault." Tank answered.
Steph snorted. "Please! A man that looks like that doesn't have to force himself on someone. Who said he assaulted someone?" She asked skeptically.
"You did." A voice from the doorway announced.
A/N: As much as you all didn't want the amnesia to happen, it is an important part of the story. I promise the HEA will be worth it!