Going to check on Lesley, Jessie was gonna make sure that she was okay for awhile but concerns started to rise when she had seen that Lesley was on the other side of the bed on the floor by her nightstand.
" Lesley?!" Jessie called out
Jessie went over by Lesley's vanity table where she found Lesley unconscious but alive.
" Lesley... You're gonna be okay I'm gonna call for an ambulance right now.. hang on Lesley.." Jessie stated when she first checked to find a pulse.
Jessie called for an ambulance and then immediately after she called Rick at the hospital to notify him that she had taken another fall hitting her head along the side railing to the bed
" Jessie, just tell me one thing... Is she alright?!" Rick spoke up
" I still had a pulse Rick but Lesley lost alot of blood from the fall. It looks like she may have fallen over trying to get up to go for the bathroom. She also hit her head too and I think that's where the loss of blood is coming from... I have to get off of here the ambulance is pulling up now we will see you over there." Jessie explained as fast and had to hang up to let the paramedics in.
" Patient is Lesley Webber. I had a pulse from what I saw going in, she had a fall and suffered a hit to the head, amount of blood loss unknown, no signs of any other trauma..."
" Pupils are dilated and she's tachycardic. Are there any medications that she could be on?" The paramedics asked
" Just anti nausea medications and anti-rejection medication, she's a cancer patient on Chemotherapy as well as a transplant patient." Jessie answered and rode with the ambulance to General and helped as much as she could with the EMTs when Lesley went into a seizure following the fall.
~~~
Rick paced back and forth waiting in emergency while the ambulance was on it's way and he didn't know if Lesley was alright and what scared him the most was the unknown and rather or not Lesley was gonna have to fight for her life again
" Rick she's gonna be okay.. you need to keep that in mind." Steve exclaimed
" I know Steve and you are right but she's been through so much this year and she just got through beating Leukemia she had barely and the last thing she needed was to be admitted right back into General..." Rick turned around and sat in the waiting area.
The paramedics brought Lesley in as Monica and Martinson were on call
" Rick, you're gonna have to wait outside." Martinson said when he and Monica went in the emergency exam room to examine and assess Lesley's condition.
" Jessie, I shouldn't have left her side until you got there… How could I have left her alone." Rick got out
" Rick listen to me Lesley will be alright she will make it when I found her the first thing I did was look for a pulse and I had it.. it wasn't steady Rick but it was there... The next thing I did was to call for an ambulance and I then called you right away. I never left her side, not once until now... Rick she will make it through just as she's always done before." Jessie replied trying to assure Rick
" I remember the last time she took a fall... She split open her forehead on the side of her side table but almost made her way to the bathroom... It scared me that day as she didn't answer the phone when I tried to call and I had Rose drop me off at the house and I went upstairs and I found her on the floor... My heart sank in my chest when I found her because at that time she was real real sick.. and I didn't know if she had died on us or if she just had passed out..."
Rick and Jessie talked for another 20 minutes before Monica had come out and they were moving Lesley up to the ICU after she had another seizure following the first 2 she had while on the way to the hospital.
" Lesley!" Rick stood up
" Rick she's gonna be okay she's not out of the woods but we will get her stabilized." Monica answered Rick's question
Rick sat up by Lesley's side while he had the time to talk to her. " I'm right by your side Les, and everything's gonna be fine.. sometimes I forget what a stubborn fighter you can turn out to be.."
After a couple hours Lesley started to wake up to see Rick watching but grinning like a complete fool because she was okay and he knew he was gonna be able to have alittle fun with her there.
" Rick, why do you keep smiling like that."
" I'm smiling because I forgot how stubborn you are but also because you're gonna be okay and with you here I'm gonna have alot of fun." Rick grinned but leaned over to give Lesley a kiss
" The cancer is almost gone Rick and I have never felt better than I have in a long time... I'm just sorry that I ended up here again and took another fall..."
" Don't be Lesley, in fact you made it alot more fun for me which you might end up with being mad at me later but in the end for me it'll be worth it."
" Richard Webber, you better not plan anything funny. While i'm here recovering."
Rick grinned " Me… would I do that? No I wouldn't try to do that… you rest and later I'm gonna be here to be with you for the night."
" Rick… please I don't want a big fuss over anything." Lesley looked slightly towards Rick
After another couple of weeks Lesley finally finished treatment and had Rick by her side to do the honors of clipping off her medical Chemo wrist band as they went out to celebrate at Dino's where Rick stood up.
" Everybody... I want to thank you for joining me tonight to not only celebrate this evening, but to celebrate with someone who to me is a very determined but is a very special person in my life... These last few months were touch and go and it was difficult some of the time for Lesley to believe she would make it... Like me, she was scared about if she was gonna get to see everyone again but she also proved again that she is one tough nut to crack and a very stubborn little fighter. Lesley almost 40 years ago I made the best choice of my life when I finally chose to screw my head on straight to have the greatest love of my life back… Lesley I am one proud man because I have you and I am grateful to God that you are here by my side and I get to share this upcoming holidays with my son Riley, my daughters Genesis and Jesslyn and my beautiful wife. Here's to Lesley and her strong determination..."
Rick sat down but noticed that Lesley had snuck out and had taken a moment to herself with Jessie outside
" Thanks Jessie..."
" Let's go back inside and you can tell him how you feel... Tell him what you have been waiting to tell him, Lesley.." Jessie replied
Rick came outside to see if Lesley was okay and to see if she needed anything
" Les sweetheart are you alright..." Rick asked when he crouched down beside her
" I'm okay" Lesley sniffled " I'm sorry I just needed alittle bit of time..."
" Sweetheart you don't have to be sorry not for anything… I meant every word I said in there. I am a proud man because I have you on my side and to top it all together you were able to put up a brave fight where you got through the biggest battle you had to face... You got through these last few weeks and I'm proud of you for that scared or not. You faced your situation like a stubborn bug but not just any kind of bug." Rick paused and grinned when she looked up at him
" Oh and just what kind of a bug are you suggesting that I am..." Lesley raised a brow and tilted her head slightly at Rick's grin
" Les, you fought like a stubborn bug but you're... You're my stubborn little bug and I'm proud of it, because you're the best thing I have in my life..." Rick stopped talking when Lesley wrapped her arms around him and tucked her head into his shoulder
" Everything is okay now... You're getting better and you can go wherever you want to go I'll take you... So how about we take the kids and we go up into the mountains?" Rick suggested
" Could we go away after Labor day?... I'd like to spend that with everybody this year..." Lesley sat back to look up at Rick
" I think that's a perfect idea and come Thanksgiving and Christmas the 6 of us can go up into the mountains in Aspen..." Rick kissed Lesley before she could draw a breath and went back inside with her..
Lesley spent the rest of the night talking with a few of her friends before starting to feel that she was starting to feel tired but started to feel slightly dizzy.
" Lesley, are you feeling okay?" Audrey asked
" Ah yeah I'm alright it's nothing… I think it's just getting late and I'm still weaker than usual from the Chemotherapy but I'm okay. It's just slightly difficult still for me to stand when trying to get in and out of the chair..." Lesley downplayed when she was about ready to have Rick and Jessie take her home to head to bed for the night.
Rick and Jessie finally took Lesley home so she can sleep for the night and Rick took off from the hospital so he could spend the next couple days home with her while she was still recovering
" Jessie, thank you for your help with tonight and surprising Lesley, I really appreciate it. Tomorrow Lesley and I will call you. I'll be home the next couple days so you can fill in at the hospital."
" It was no problem Rick, I enjoyed it and Lesley did too… you just get some decent sleep." Jessie returned a smile and gave Rick a hug then looked around to see that Lesley was asleep in the car " you better get her inside and up to bed she's out cold for the night."
" Goodnight Jessie." Rick carried Lesley carefully up to bed so she could sleep for the night.
" I'm sorry my little bug, I didn't mean to wake you." Rick whispered while slightly pulling the comforter up and making sure Lesley was comfortable
" You didn't…. Come to bed.. you're just as exhausted as I am.." Lesley replied with a small smile
" l will in alittle bit but before you go back to sleep… you gotta take your medication.." Rick took a few minutes to get Lesley's medication and then brought up a glass of water.
" Rick sometimes l still wonder what l did to deserve to have you especially because you take very good care of me." Lesley looked up at him as she took her medication before getting ready to go back to sleep.
Rick quickly changed into his night clothes and eased into his side of the bed to pull Lesley closer to him " I will always take care of my little bug…." Rick gave Lesley a kiss before falling asleep for the rest of the night.
~~~
Over the next couple of weeks Lesley finally started to go back to work which for her was perfect timing as her monthly follow up with her oncologist was approaching and although she continued to say she was fine Jessie knew otherwise that Lesley was not okay and her concern rose as Lesley had a cough that seemed like it wasn't gonna go away.
" Jessie I'm alright it's nothing it's just a cough." Lesley insisted
" It's not just a little cough you've been coughing alot lately.. you should be at home where you can rest." Jessie replied and pointed out
" I lost enough of my work from the last few months and the last year. It's time that I get back to my work and I have my upcoming appointment with Jerry so I can do this…"
" Lesley you need to take it easy..." Jessie pointed out.
" I will Jessie I promise... And if I need you I promise you I will call for you... Has Rick called at all?" Lesley replied
" I spoke to him this morning he said to tell you that he loves you and that he hopes you take an easy while he's away"
" Jessie, will you do me a favor and assure him that it is just a little cough and a sinus build up and I'll be fine..." Lesley shot back and went to work
Through the next few hours Lesley was finally able to catch a small break... But was starting to feel under the weather and decided to check her vital signs again ' damn..' Lesley started to think to herself and thought she should tell Jessie and just as she was about to call for Jessie a long distance call came through and Lesley knew it had to be Rick.
" Hi... Rick, how's Nevada..?" Lesley asked
" Nevada's fine, the convention is alright um sweetheart... Something told me to check on you.. sweetheart are you feeling alright...?" Rick replied and asked
" Rick, I'm gonna be fine... I don't want you to worry about me I'm just alittle bit under the weather and I was just about ready to have Jessie take me home for the afternoon so I can relax and hopefully get some sleep before the kids get home..." Lesley answered while hoping he would be convinced that she was alright
" Lesley I don't mean to sound harsh but sweetheart you don't sound good... Now I want you to go home and I want you to get some rest... I can hear the congestion in you and I don't like the sound of that cough... You only just got back into a normal routine with what you had to go through... Please Les, please sweetheart go home and rest so when I come home I can get the chance to spend alone time with you and just have the time for myself to hold you.." Rick got out
" Rick before you go and I get off of here... I want to tell you something..."
" Oh and what's that darlin?" Rick asked
