Okay, okay… but you don't get to tell me this is a cop-out! Thank you for the reviews, please bear with my morbidity and keep reading!
"Sophie!" Nate called out to and gently shook the grifter who was trembling and whimpering in his arms. "Come on, honey, wake up!"
He hoped that the gentle pull to consciousness would sooth whatever image was haunting her ailing mind unfortunately everything from her sensory perception came with her. Her field of vision was blurry behind the tears as she sobbed uncontrollably. She knew where she was remembering Donavan offering the use of the master bedroom for her to try to nap, but every sight, every smell, every scent clung to her.
"Whatever it was, it was just a dream. Sophie, it's not real." He encouraged rubbing her back to try to calm her down.
She knew that but she could feel… she felt… 'oh God' she thought feeling the bile rising in her throat before shooting up and darting over to the connected restroom making it just in time to crouch over the loo heaving.
Nate followed her, haplessly watching her as he ran the water from the sink to dampen a cloth and catch in the tumbler sitting on the vanity. After it appeared she emptied the contents of her stomach Sophie sat back resting against the slate wall. He handed her the glass to help her rinse her mouth and sat down next to her allowing her to rest her head against his shoulder while he pat down the sweat beads from her brow. He massaged her scalp waiting for the breathing to eventually calm before saying anything.
"Is everything okay in here?" Donavan asked poking his head through the open door.
She gave a slight assuring nod. "How's Eliot?"
"He's…well, hanging in there. Can I get you anything?" He asked still concerned with her pallor.
"No; what did you get from the CT scan?" She questioned.
"You have any crackers… juice?" Nate requested for her.
"Yeah, I think I have…"
"No." Sophie stopped him. Nate had hoped to get the update himself first but it was apparent she needed it now. "Please, just…"
Nate gave the nod of approval.
"The scan showed some impact damage, or bruising, to both the frontal and occipital lobe indicative of a coup-contrecoup injury and another sizeable concussion to the temporal. I've given him some medication to reduce the level of cerebral spinal fluid build up; this evening I'd like to run another scan to make sure it's helping…"
"If it's not?" Nate asked.
"If not we… um… we'd need to get him to the hospital in order to drill a hole into his skull to relieve the pressure before it kills off the oxygen entering his brain."
"Oh." Sophie responded not needing a medical license to know that was bad.
"Look; I know this is sounding bad, and I don't mean to scare you. Truth is, it could be a lot worse, besides the bruising there's no internal bleeding that we're dealing with. He doesn't appear to be in any risk for hemorrhaging or stroking, and the medication should help."
"How are his vitals?" Sophie pressed.
"Strong; I mean it, his heart beat, blood pressure…. Oxygen levels, all within normal range; even his temperature is getting close."
"That's… that's a good thing." Nate encouraged kissing Sophie's forehead.
"Glasgow?" Sophie questioned looking at Donavan for a straight answer.
"Six." He responded honestly. "Which… which has gone up since last night."
"Don." She pushed herself up shakily. "Forget, for a second, that I'm your friend. If this were any other patient, what would you be telling me?"
"I'd tell you that statistically the odds of a full recovery are within 34%. It's still early, and everything is indicative of the fact that he's holding strong." The doctor replied.
"Okay." She responded and walked past him.
"Sophie…" Donavan turned toward her, the name still sounding weird as he said it.
"Right now; she really just needs to be with him." Nate whispered.
"Should I still get that snack?"
Nate nodded. Now, more than ever, he needed the rest of his family to stay strong.
XXXXX
"Parker?" Sophie questioned coming into the guest room. "What are you doing?"
"I. um… didn't want to leave him alone." The thief responded. "And I, ah, got bored."
"So you decided to braid his hair?"
"Just a couple… like he's had it before. Jaidee said as long as I'm not moving his head around or pulling at the scalp it was okay, and she's a pediatrician, which she says is a doctor, so…"
"Parker, it's okay, and yes a pediatrician is a doctor. Why don't you go see what Hardison is up to? What?" Sophie questioned the girl's expression.
"He's lost in his computer world; has been for hours. How was your nap?"
"Not as restful as I had hoped." She responded as vaguely as possible.
"Come on Sparky, we're falling apart here." Parker prompted the hitter.
