Marlowe sat silently with Shawn, Juliet, and Karen, watching people pass through the waiting room. Some looked relieved, some sad. A few were crying. But everyone looked exhausted. Please be okay. I need you. Marlowe repeated to herself as she watched a young woman crying silently holding tightly to another woman standing next to her. Don't leave me alone.

The sun blared aggressively through the windows, shining on their faces and forcing them to squint to see.

"Carlton Lassiter?"

Marlowe jumped up quickly and walked over, Shawn, Juliet, and Karen following quietly behind her.

"I'm Marlowe Lassiter, I'm his wife."

"My name is Dr. Weller, I will be coordinating your husband's care. Come with me," Dr. Weller said, leading the group into a room with bright white walls and a long table in the middle. He took a seat on one side and let everyone else get situated across from him.

"I have an update on Carlton's condition," he said directly to Marlowe. "Are you okay with them knowing this information?"

"Of course I am," she said, "this is his family."

She glanced over at Juliet who grabbed her hand as she took a deep breath. Please be okay.

"Mrs. Lassiter, I am so sorry. I know that this is a very scary and overwhelming place to be. Our goal is to give you all of the information that we can as we know it, but I want to start with a disclaimer, which is this: the brain can be an unpredictable system in the body. Different people react differently. No two conditions are the same and neither are any two outcomes. We will do what we can and adjust as we go. But I want to be upfront about that now because it can feel frustrating when you are in the middle of it."

Marlowe nodded, trying to take everything in. "So is he okay?"

"We did a CT scan which shows us the blood flowing through his brain. It revealed he did in fact have a malignant ischemic stroke on the right side of his brain in the middle cerebral artery."

"An ishe… a what? Where?" It already felt like too much. The words piled onto her shoulders, threatening to push her to the ground.

"An ischemic stroke. It means that he had a clot that got stuck in a bigger blood vessel in his brain. This makes it impossible for blood, and therefore oxygen, to get to certain parts of his brain, which alters functioning in that area. That's why you saw symptoms like slurred speech and left-sided weakness." Dr. Weller nodded towards Juliet. "But there are also symptoms related to the swelling and pressure in his brain like changes in his vital signs"

"Well, how long do the symptoms last?" Marlowe asked slowly, afraid to know the answer.

"It depends on the patient," Dr. Weller said with a sympathetic smile. "We did get him in very quickly and were able to start treatments and monitoring in good time."

"So, what treatment did you do?" Karen asked.

"Unfortunately, he wasn't a good candidate for tPA, which is the typical first step. We have started him on some other medications that have been shown to help with the symptoms he is experiencing. Currently, we are monitoring him for increased pressure in his brai-"

Too much. Marlowe thought, tuning out of the conversation. Please be okay. I want to see you. I just need to see you.

"Can I see him?" Marlowe asked, cutting off the doctor. She couldn't listen to this anymore. She wasn't hearing him anyways.

"Yes," Dr. Weller said, "He is mostly stable and has been admitted to the intensive care unit. However, he needs rest, and cannot have too much stimulation at one time, so no more than one visitor at a time."

But I can't be alone.

"Can Juliet come with me?" Marlowe asked, still holding onto her hand. "I can't go alone."

Dr. Weller smiled softly. "Okay, but not for too long. Are you two alright waiting here?" he asked, turning to the chief and Shawn. "A nurse can help you back to the waiting room shortly."

"Of course," Karen said.

"Alright," Dr. Weller said, standing up and reaching out to shake Shawn and Chief's hands. "It was nice to meet both of you." He handed them both a small business card. "If you have any questions, don't hesitate to call me."

Marlowe could feel her heart speeding up and stopping, pushing her out of the room and towards her husband. Please be okay.

"The two of you can follow me." Dr. Weller said, leading them down a hall and up an elevator. Right after they stepped off the elevator, he pulled Marlowe and Juliet aside.

"I know that it looks scary. But know that we are keeping a careful eye on him and everything in the room is helping us do so."

Marlowe nodded silently. Just take me to him.

They walked through a brightly lit unit with sliding glass doors and monitors everywhere. Bells and alarms of different tones were going off in every room. Nurses and doctors were hustling around, very few giving them more than a quick grin. Finally, Dr. Weller stopped in front of one of the dim rooms and slid the door open.

"Come on," Juliet whispered gently to Marlowe, giving her hand a gentle tug. "It's okay."

But it didn't look okay. Her husband, the love of her life, was laying in a bed, jaw slightly unhinged. His face was slack, and he had a blanket resting messily over his legs. He had been changed out of his nice suit that she last saw him in and a stiff hospital gown had been thrown over his chest. There were monitors and cords tangled all around him with milky white and yellow fluids dripping into both arms.

"You can go in and talk to him if you'd like," Dr. Weller said, before taking a step back to slide the door closed. "He's sleepy because of some of the medications he is on, but he can hear you. I'll give you a little time together."

Juliet stood still at the door and let Marlowe walk in ahead of her.

"Hi, sweetheart," Marlowe said, pulling over the thin wooden chair and sitting down next to her husband. She pulled his hand gently into her own and kissed the top of it. It felt weak, like it was made of rubber. "I love you so much. I need you to be okay, okay?"

The tears started flowing for what felt like the hundredth time that day. "I need you, Carlton. I need you and Lily needs you. I can't do this without you."

She started crying harder, her hand unable to wipe away the salt that stung her cheeks as quickly as it fell.

Juliet came up behind her and placed her hands on her back. "You're okay. You're doing great."

Marlowe gratefully accepted the support. She sat quietly for a moment just watching his chest rise and fall. It was uneven and forced, but she could see it moving. Up and down.

It was quiet in the room for a moment before alarms started beeping aggressively. Marlowe looked up and watched her husband's face twitching. He started twisting his head back and forth. His right hand reached up to rub his forehead and started coughing. He opened his eyes and jerked forward before beginning to dry heave again.

"elpf," he tried to speak between heaves.

"Carlton!" Marlowe jumped up to start rubbing his back, but before she could reach out to him she was pushed out of the way by several nurses and doctors rushing into the room.

"BP rising, pulse is dropping," one of the nurses said loudly over the commotion.

"Uneven pupils, slow to react," another nurse responded.

Marlowe stood staring as big words washed over her head. She felt a hand grab her own and pull her out of the room. She turned her head back as she was pulled out and saw nurses and doctors surrounding the bed where her husband laid, helpless.