AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update, this past year was definitely once for the record books! I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy and thanks for sticking around! This is a short-ish chapter but I wanted to get something published, and I've already got the next chapter partly written! I'm winging it here as far as hospital protocol, I'm sure that in real life it's a lot more strict in a pediatric ICU. Just remember this is fiction!
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I watched as my body entered the tube of the MRI machine and then loud banging noises filled the room.
Last night I had watched Daddy sitting by my bedside, holding my hand, until he fell asleep sitting up. Then he briefly woke up and shuffled over to the loveseat and curled up. I guess I had drifted into sleep, too, and then woken up when my body was being wheeled out of the room-I stayed with my body.
Once the MRI was done, the nurses shifted my body back on the bed and wheeled it back to the room. I was surprised to see Daddy standing by the sofa, talking to someone.
The nurse spoke up. "We're all done with the testing for now. Once the doctor looks at the images he'll be in to talk to you."
"Thank you." Daddy said stiffly.
The other person turned and I saw it was Addi's father. He and Daddy walked over to the bed and looked down at my body.
"She's been unconscious the whole time?" Mr. Jim asked.
Daddy leaned down to stroke my hair off of my forehead and give me a kiss. He straightened up and then pulled the covers up and tucked them around my body. "Yeah, the doctors aren't sure what's going on. No bleeding on the brain, at least."
Mt. Jim grimaced. "I had no idea that Darlene never made the girls wear their helmets. I'm so sorry that this happened to Charlie."
Daddy rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, well...thanks."
Mr. Jim glanced at his watch. "Well, I should get back to Addi's room, the nurse said they're going to discharge her today. I'll be in touch when I get more information from the lawyer."
Daddy nodded. "Yeah, okay."
"I know you said you didn't want to get involved, but...think about it. If we have two people making a case it'll have a better chance of being taken seriously."
Daddy looked uncomfortable. "I'll think about it."
There was a knock on the door and Grandpa John came in, holding a cardboard drink carrier and a white paper bag. "Brought coffee and bagels."
"Thanks, let me take that." Daddy took everything from Grandpa John and set it on the tray table next to the bed.
"Hey, John," Mr. Jim offered his hand, and Grandpa John shook it.
"Didn't expect to see you here," Grandpa John said to him.
"Addi broke her wrist in the fall and had to get a pin placed in the bone. It's usually outpatient, but they decided to keep her overnight." Jim explained.
"Tell her we hope she feels better."
"Will do. Dean, I'll be in touch." Mr. Jim shook Daddy's hand and left the room.
Daddy gestured over at a small table that was up against the wall. There was a teddy bear holding a small balloon that said "Get Well Soon!" sitting on it. "JIm brought this by, I guess we should send something to Addi as well." He scrubbed his hand over his face. "He also wanted to tell me that they're going to try to bring a lawsuit against the kid who was bothering them and caused the accident. Apparently, he's been harassing a lot of the kids and he was one of the kids involved in taking Charlie into the house. He's been in trouble before and been picked up by Jody a number of times." He looked uncomfortable. "Jim wants me to join the lawsuit, but I really don't want to get involved in it."
Grandpa John sighed. "I know, Dean. But even you don't sue the kid yourself, Charlie may get called in as a witness."
Daddy grimaced. "Maybe we can dissuade them…"
"I can talk to Jody, see what she thinks about the whole prospect." Grandpa John said assuringly. He walked over to the side of the bed and looked down at my body. "No change?"
Daddy ran his hand through his hair. "No, they took her for another MRI this morning, the doc will be in later to talk about the results."
Grandpa John gestured at the bag. "You should eat something."
"I was going to go grab something from the vending machines but Jim came in to talk to me, so I didn't get a chance." Daddy walked over and opened the bag, peering into started to remove things from the bag- napkins, small plastic containers, and a couple of plastic knives. "Oh, you got me an onion bagel, sweet!" He said enthusiastically. He removed a bagel and set it on the tray table. He busied himself spreading cream cheese on it. "And Sam won't be here to complain about it." He joked, but then his face got serious, and his eyes looked sad. He looked at Grandpa John. "He talk to you since yesterday?"
Grandpa John shook his head. "He told me as we left that he was going back to Imani's."
Daddy sighed.
"I know, Dean. You two still have some things to work out. There will be time to talk about everything."
Daddy took a bite of his bagel and gestured to the table. "Grab one for yourself."
Grandpa John shook his head. "I already ate, thanks." He sat down on the edge of the bed, facing my body. He took my hand in his and kissed it. "Hey, little one." He said gently. He held my hand in his and cupped my cheek with his other hand. "How are you doing today? You gonna wake up soon and come back to us? We're waiting here for you." He took something out of an inner jacket pocket- a paperback book. "I brought the first Harry Potter book, I thought we could read out loud to her." He said to Daddy.
Daddy frowned. "What's that gonna do?"
"You know that studies have shown that people that are in a coma are often helped by having nurses and family talk to them and read to them."
Daddy huffed and closed his eyes tightly. "I don't-she's not-they don't even know what this is!" He burst out. He opened his eyes and glared at Grandpa John.
Grandpa John's voice was gentle. "It can't hurt to try, Dean. Maybe she can hear us and it will help her come back from wherever she is."
Daddy sank down into the chair against the wall, leaning his elbows on his knees and looking at the floor. "Well, you go for it."
Grandpa John turned back to my body in the bed, and opened the book. He read out loud, "Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much."
There was a knock on the door and the doctor came in, wheeling a cart with a laptop on it.
Daddy stood up, wiping his hands on his jeans, and Grandpa John stood up as well.
"Good morning," Dr. Washington shook their hands. "Well, Charlie's MRI looks as good as can be expected. Her injuries are not worse, and there's no swelling or bleeding on the brain." He showed them an image on the computer.
"When is she gonna wake up, doc?" Daddy asked.
"Is she in a coma?" Grandpa John asked at the same time.
The doctor looked perplexed. "Well, we're just not sure-it doesn't appear to be a coma. Every person is different, and how their brain and body reacts to an injury is different. Charlie may just need more rest at this time. I'm hopeful that she's going to wake up soon."
Daddy huffed a short laugh. "Yeah, me too."
"We're going to keep her here for the time being, but visitors are okay. Usually the rule is one or two family members, but she can have a couple more." The doctor looked at Grandpa John. "Just don't get too rowdy."
Grandpa John smiled. "We won't."
"Please don't hesitate to grab a nurse or call me if there's any questions. I'll be checking her again tomorrow."
"Thanks, Dr. Washington." Daddy said. They all shook hands again, and the doctor left.
Daddy rubbed his hands through his hair again. "Now, we wait."
"Do you want to run home and take a shower, and I'll stay with her?" Grandpa John asked.
Daddy shook his head. "No, I'm good for now. It's just- this is the part I hate the most, the waiting and uncertainty."
"I know, Dean. We can take turns reading." Grandpa John sat down on the bed again and opened the book.
Daddy walked over to the chair and slumped down in it, closing his eyes and resting his hand over them.
Grandpa John had only read a couple more sentences when there was a knock at the door.
Daddy stood up, looking apprehensive. "Come in." He called.
The door swung open, and Uncle Sam walked in, followed by Imani. She stood slightly back from Sam, closer to the door. She held a ceramic mug that said "Get Well Soon!" in brightly colored letters. There was a small plush monkey clinging to the handle of the mug. She held it up. "I saw this in the gift shop, thought it might make Charlie smile."
Grandpa John stood up again. "Hey, Sam, Imani." He nodded to both of them and took the mug from her. "That was nice of you." He placed the mug next to the stuffed bear on the table.
"Any news?" Uncle Sam asked.
Daddy walked over to stand at the end of the bed. "No change. The injuries aren't worse and there's no swelling or bleeding in her brain."
Uncle Sam looked relieved. He glanced at Imani. "That's a good sign, isn't it?"
She nodded. "And the doctors still don't know why she's still unconscious?" She asked Grandpa John. She seemed to be avoiding looking at Daddy.
Grandpa John shook his head.
Daddy stepped closer to Uncle Sam, his hands out, palms up. He looked back and forth between Uncle Sam and Imani as he spoke. "Listen- I just- I fucked up before, okay? I know I said some shitty things to-"
Imani nodded at Daddy. "I know you and Sam have some things to work out." She said cooly. "Right now we all need to concentrate on Charlie."
Just then I realized- maybe I could talk to her! Since we had been in the veil together, and talked to each other in our heads, maybe she'd be able to hear me! I rushed over to her and stood right in front of her. "IMANI! I'M HERE! CAN YOU HEAR ME?" I shouted.
She recoiled, taking a step back.
Sam turned to her. "What's wrong?"
She put her hand up to her head, frowning.
Uncle Sam leaned down to look at her face. "Are you okay?"
"Imani I'm in front of you! Help me!" I exclaimed.
"Charlie-" Imani said.
Daddy and Grandpa John both looked at my body in the bed and then back at Imani, staring at her.
"Charlie what?" Daddy asked urgently.
"She just-she's talking to me." Imani said.
Daddy hurried over to her. "What's she saying? Is she okay? Why isn't she awake?"
Imani looked at Daddy. "She says she's in front of me, and she needs help."
Daddy looked around. "What does that mean?"
"I woke up here and I'm not in my body and I don't know how to get back into it, I'm scared!" I babbled, starting to cry.
Imani swayed, and Uncle Sam put his arm around her. "Whoa! Come sit down."
He led her over to a chair and sat her down, keeping his hand on her shoulder. "What's going on?" His forehead wrinkled with concern.
She looked up at him, and then over at Daddy. "Charlie's communication is very-strong. She says she's not in her body and she doesn't know how to get back into it."
"Oh, shit." Daddy raked his hand through his hair.
Grandpa John looked over at my body in the bed. "How can we be sure it's really Charlie you're talking to, and not some rogue spirit?"
Imani closed her eyes for a moment, and I felt her reaching out to me. I saw her energy come toward me and I held my hand up. Her energy touched my hand, and I felt her worry and relief.
"I'll help you, Charlie. We'll figure this out." She told me calmly.
She opened her eyes. "It's her, I just checked her energy."
Daddy let out a breath. "Is she-"
"She's scared." Imani said. "I told her that we'll figure this out."
Daddy looked around the room. "So she's here? Can she hear us?"
"Yes, I can hear everyone and see everything. I hafta stay with my body though, I can't leave the room." I said quickly.
"Yes, she says she can see and hear us, but she has to stay with her body." Imani reported.
"How in the hell did this happen?" Daddy asked.
"Let me talk to her, find out about the accident." Imani said. She sat up straight and took a deep breath, and then put her hands together like she was praying. She closed her eyes, and then put her hands on her knees with the palms up. She chanted something quietly in another language.
I saw her energy reach out toward me again, it looked like an outline of her body, except see-through and surrounded by light. I took hold of her hands- it felt warm, like I was holding hands with someone who had been wearing gloves.
"Charlie, I want you to tell me about the accident, and I'm going to look you over." She told me.
I thought about the accident, how I had been riding my bike with Addison skating next to me. The images of what I was thinking were in front of me, and I could feel that she was seeing them too. I showed her everything, including seeing my body from a distance. "I don't know what happened, after everything got gray, when I came back again I was outside of my body. And it was like I didn't recognize that that was me at first." I began to cry, remembering how confused I had felt.
I felt her energy wrapping around me, like she was hugging me. "I know you're scared." She said. "It's all right."
After a few moments, she released me and pulled back. "I want to examine your aura and your chi. It will feel warm."
"What's chi?" I asked.
"Your energy." She held her hands up, palms facing each other, and chanted something quietly. A glowing bunch of sparkles coalesced into a ball shape, and she held it in front of me. She brought her hands together and the glowing went into her hands. She reached out and touched me, starting with the top of my head. She brought her hands down like she was smoothing my hair down, and then touched the center of my forehead. I felt it get very warm for a moment, and a twinge of pain.
"Ow," I muttered.
"That...that's your brain injury." She frowned. She moved her hands down my body, hovering over my chest and stomach, and I felt warmth over my heart and in my stomach. She moved her hands down the sides of my body, closing her eyes. "Oh…" She frowned slightly. "I don't know-" I felt the warmth from her hands increase, and could see the light around her hands get brighter. After a moment, she stopped and opened her eyes. "I can't-" She said. She took a deep breath, moving her hands up to my head again and holding them up on either side of my head as she chanted something in a quiet voice. She took another deep breath, and when she exhaled, she put her hands down.
She looked at me. "You aren't in a coma, but the special cords between your body and spirit-some of them got broken. That's why you aren't in your body."
"Why'd that happen? Am I stuck like this?" I started to cry again.
I felt her warmth circling me like a hug again. "I'm not sure how this happened, but we're going to get you back into your body. I need to make sure you're safe here."
She released me and pulled back, speaking in a guttural language. She traced a symbol in the air. Her hand left a trail of glowing sparkles. She said something else in a chanting voice, drawing symbols over my head and in front of my chest.
"This will help keep you bound to your body and also keep you safe while you are in this space."
"Okay." I sniffled. "What do I do now?"
"You try to relax. Let me know if anything happens or if you see or hear anything."
"Okay. Thanks, Imani. Tell Daddy and Uncle Sam and Grandpa John that I love them."
She smiled. "I will."
Her energy pulled back, and I saw her body sigh heavily. After a moment, she opened her eyes and looked around. Her face looked tired.
Everyone was watching her. "So, what'd she say?" Daddy asked.
"She showed me the accident." Imani said. "And I checked her over." She looked at Daddy. "She's not in a coma, but some of the ethereal cords that bind the soul to the body were severed, most likely in the accident, and that's why she's not in her body. I tried to re-bind them, but I'm not strong enough."
"What the hell, I've never heard of that." Daddy said. He glanced at Grandpa John and Uncle Sam. "Have any of you?"
"We can check the lore for anything like this, and ask Bobby to ask the psychics that he knows." Uncle Sam said.
"And I'll call Missouri." Grandpa John added.
Uncle Sam looked down at Imani. "I hate to cut the visit short, but I'd like to get to work on this."
She smiled up at him. "I understand, I want to look for a spell to get her back into her body." She looked over at Daddy. "She said to tell the three of you that she loves you."
Daddy's eyes got wet for a moment, and he rubbed them as he sighed. "How do we make sure she's safe?"
"I said a prayer while I was talking to her and traced some protection sigils around her." Imani said.
Grandpa John set the Harry Potter book on the side table. " I'll call as soon as I know anything."
"Okay. Thanks, Dad." Daddy took a deep breath. "And thanks, Sam and Imani."
Uncle Sam came over and put his hand on Daddy's shoulder. "We'll get her back. I know it."
Daddy put his hand on top of Uncle Sam's. "Yeah. We will. Thanks."
Uncle Sam came over to the bed and leaned down to kiss my forehead. "We'll help you, Charlie, I promise."
Imani stood up, and then her face went pale and her knees buckled. "Whoa!" Uncle Sam was right by her side. "What's the matter?"
"I'm okay, just- I think talking to Charlie took a lot out of me."
"Do you want some water?" Grandpa John asked. Imani shook her head.
"How about you rest when we get home and I'll work." Sam put his arm around her waist. "Lean on me, okay?"
She took his arm and they walked slowly out of the room.
Grandpa John came over to the bed. He smoothed my hair back from my face. "You try not to worry, and we're gonna get you back as soon as we can. I love you, little one." He dropped a kiss on top of my head.
After they left, Daddy gulped down the rest of his coffee and came over to the bed. He sat down facing me, taking my hands in his. "Come on, Charlie. Are you here right now? Give me a sign. Come on."
I walked over next to him. "I'm here, Daddy! Right next to you! Can you hear me?"
He leaned down to look at my face. "Can you squeeze my hand if you can hear me? Or twitch your eyelids? Come on, baby."
I concentrated. I tried to move my body, but nothing happened. "Daddy, I can't!" I said. "I can't do anything with my body!" I jumped up and down with frustration. "DADDY I'M RIGHT HERE! WHY CAN'T YOU TELL?"
I stopped for a moment. Imani and I could feel each other's energy. What if I could send some of my energy to Daddy? Would he feel it?
I took a deep breath, thinking about the light that I had seen inside of myself when I had been in the veil. I imagined the light collecting into a ball, and then I pushed it out of my middle, hurling it at Daddy. "DADDY!" I screamed with all my might.
The machines by the side of the bed started to make funny beeping noises. Daddy touched my head. "Charlie? What the-" He looked at the machines, and then got up and ran into the hallway. I heard him calling for help.
A nurse came hurrying into the room. She looked at the readouts on the machines.
"What's happening? Is she-"
The nurse pressed a button and the blood pressure cuff on my arm inflated. She held my other wrist and looked at her watch. When the machine had beeped, she said, "It looks like there was a spike in her blood pressure, but it wasn't that high, and it's gone back to normal. We'll keep an eye on it."
"Why did it happen? Does that mean she's-she's getting-"
"Sometimes it just happens." She said reassuringly. " Like I said, we'll keep an eye on things. If it happens again we'll draw some more labs and see if there's anything going on with her organs. Try not to worry." She left the room.
Daddy slumped down on the edge of the bed, his head in his hands. "Jesus, kiddo, what was that?" He muttered.
"I'm sorry, Daddy!" I began to cry. "I didn't mean to scare you!"
Daddy sat still for a long moment. When he lifted his head again, I was shocked to see his eyes were full of tears. "Don't do this to me," he said in a strangled voice. "C'mon, Charlie, you've got to fight. Come back, you've got to come out of this and be okay! I can't-I need you to be okay. Please, Charlie-" A tear slid down his cheek and he buried his face in his hands, his shoulders slumping.
"Daddy-" I sobbed. I tried to put my arms around him, but I couldn't. I stood next to him as he cried.
After a couple of minutes, he shook his shoulders and sat up, wiping his face with his palms. He went to the bathroom and I heard the water running. When he came out his face was dry, but his eyes were red. He picked up the remote and turned on the TV, then he sat down next to the bed. He flipped through the channels until he found a baseball game, and leaned back to watch it. Eventually his eyelids fluttered closed and he slept.