Chapter 8

Stunned, Lee and Billy remained silent as Dr. Lore jerked the door open. "Do you think we can take this to a place a little more suitable for conversation? Or better yet, Mr. Stetson, do you think we can get you into your room so that some of us might be able to finally get some sleep after this?"

Lee looked down into his lap and with a subtle nod, Billy pushed him into the hallway. He could feel the heat of the eyes of the nurses in the hall watching him as they returned to the door outside of Emily's room where the orderly was waiting.

"Dr. Lore, please, can I have just a minute to check in with Mrs. Farnsworth? I promise it won't be any longer than that," Billy requested.

Dr. Lore glanced at his watch and exhaled loudly. "One minute, no more. The staff has been very accommodating to the NEST doctors and I don't want to push our luck any further this evening."

Billy bobbed his head and slipped into Emily's room. "Emily, are you all right?"

Emily inhaled a shaky breath but assured him, "Yes, Bill, I'm better now. Sally is a wonderful nurse and I'm thankful I had her to talk to for a few minutes. She's told me this happens more than they want to admit… anger… fear… it takes over all rational thought. Once we calm down… well, we think with a clearer head. I'm sure Lee will do the same."

Sally, the nurse, beamed at Emily. "I promise you, everything will be a-okay in a day or two. Just you watch."

"Thank you, nurse. I'm sure you have other patients to attend to and Mrs. Farnsworth needs her rest." Billy flashed a grateful smile at Sally before he patted Emily's hand on the edge of the bed. "You know Lee didn't mean any of it, don't you, Emily? He's just scared for his family and when he can't control the situation…"

"Don't be so hard on him. He lashes out at everyone and everything around him. I remember," Emily placed her free hand over Billy's. "I'm going to get some rest before these pain meds wear off and I won't be able to sleep. That nerve block or whatever they called it, is a miracle drug but we both know it won't last forever."

Billy pursed his lips together. "No, it won't. Take it easy. I'll come back tomorrow and we can go over what you know about Barta and Krejci's plan."

Without another word, Emily settled back against the pillows and closed her eyes. Billy returned to the hallway where Dr. Lore was instructing the orderly, "Take Mr. Stetson directly to room 801C. It's directly across from the nurses' station and the agent assigned to him is already in place."

Lee, appearing extremely uncomfortable in the wheelchair, lifted his head, confused. "I thought we were going to discuss what's going on with Amanda?"

"We are," Dr. Lore informed him. "But I need to get you in your room before the head nurse in Recovery calls out a search party for you. This has been an unprecedented event, Mr. Stetson. Normally, patients don't leave recovery to see other patients."

"I'm not just any patient, Doc, and this isn't any normal event," Lee retorted.

"Precisely. I'll meet you in a few minutes. I was paged by William's neurosurgeon," Dr. Lore replied cryptically before he stepped into a nearby office and closed the door.

The orderly began pushing Lee away from the office as he tried to twist in the narrow seat, calling out, "What's going on with my son?"

"Dr. Lore will give you an update once you're in your room," the orderly stated as he pushed Lee to the other end of the unit and around the corner. They reached his room in the opposite hall, several minutes later. "Here you go, Mr. Stetson. It's a private room, so you won't have to worry about sharing anything," the orderly pointed out.

"Scarecrow." The agent at the door stood and acknowledged Lee.

Lee frowned for a moment before he glanced back at Billy. "What? Did you find every agent on the off-duty roster this week?"

"Something like that. We put the call out and these were the first four agents to respond. I guess you're liked a lot more than you think." Billy's face creased with a grin.

"Thank you, Scott. I'll be sure to repay the favor." Lee reached his good hand out to shake hands with the agent standing before him.

Once the agent stepped back and lowered himself back into his chair, the orderly pushed Lee into the room. "I need to…" Lee's voice trailed off as they passed the en-suite bathroom. The orderly stopped moving immediately and carefully helped Lee to his feet. He guided him into the small room where Lee chuckled. "I think I can handle this part myself."

"I'll be right outside the door, Mr. Stetson," the orderly assured him.

A few minutes later, Lee appeared in the doorway. The orderly, along with a nurse, helped guide Lee onto the bed. The nurse was just checking his vitals when Dr. Lore sauntered into the room. "Have we stopped acting like children or do I need to put you two in a timeout?"

Billy rolled his eyes as Lee groaned. "Come on, Doc. Can you cut with the sarcasm and just tell me what's going on?"

Dr. Lore leaned against the wall and crossed one foot over the other. He flipped the metal medical file open and stated, "Mrs. Stetson is being prepped for surgery to repair a laceration… a tear... in her spleen. That appears to be the source of her internal bleeding from what we can see on the MRI. It's a relatively simple procedure and she should heal just fine from it. Worst case… if the tear is larger or deeper than we originally thought, the surgeon will remove the organ. She can still live a long and healthy life without it. She will just need to be mindful of infection if it comes to that."

Lee pressed his lips together tightly and rocked slightly as he processed the information. "So you're saying she should be fine after the surgery and you'll bring her out of the coma?"

"No, what I'm saying is we've isolated the cause of her bleeding. That's the first step in this uphill battle. Once the internal bleeding is under control, we have to re-evaluate her other injuries to determine the best course of treatment for her." Dr. Lore closed the file and peered at Lee. "Mr. Stetson, I want to tell you we only put someone in this state as a last resort. We have to monitor your wife very carefully as the coma itself has its side effects. The drugs we use lowers blood pressure, and that can be a serious problem. It can also dull the heart muscle and cause heart failure."

Lee bit the inside of his lip and chose his words carefully. "If you know putting her in a coma could cause other problems, why do it?"

"In your wife's case, we needed to do this to ensure she doesn't have any lasting brain injury from the cardiac event that occurred during the crash. And, given your wife's history, we have to assume her heart is strong enough to survive these traumatic events." Dr. Lore hugged the file to his chest and waited for more questions.

"When you say her history… you mean what happened in California after she was shot and then again after our son was born?" Lee asked.

"From what I've read about your wife's shooting, that event was due to a coronary artery air embolism, a rare and usually fatal side effect. Now, the myocardial ischemia that occurred due to the postpartum hemorrhage after your son was born is a completely different event. She was very very lucky she survived that. Not many women do," Dr. Lore explained.

"And now?" Lee questioned.

Dr. Lore pushed away from the wall and stood at the end of Lee's bed. "Your wife is the luckiest woman I've ever met."