Title: Trouble at Home; Chapter 5
Author: Em Walters
Rating: G-There's nothing bad, violent or anything like that this chapter
Author's Notes: Well, chapter five is here, it's a little short, sorry in advance. I'll try to have chapter 6 up tonight or tomorrow. Thanks to all 28 of you who reviewed chapter four, let's make it 35 reviews for chapter 5!!! If I get a lot tonight, I'll post six tonight as well!! Okay, I'll stop rambling again, and let you read!!
*All Disclaimers apply*
Doctor Travis cleared his throat, "Mr. Waite is out of surgery and in recovery at this moment, we repaired the punctured lung and stopped the internal bleeding as quickly as we could. His knee was broken badly, and we stabilized that as well. He also had a concussion, and fortunately that did not lead to any detected brain damage. What we were most concerned about was the internal bleeding and collapsed lung." The doctor stopped, this was always difficult to explain. "The problem is, Jamie has slipped into a coma due to the prolonged trauma. If your suspicions are right, he hasn't eaten for nearly two weeks, and the lack of nutrients have weakened his immune system. It's very difficult for me to tell you this, but he may not make it through the night. There's a 30 percent chance of survival at this point. If you need anything, please do not hesitate to ask. Now, we have not contacted his father, due to the way he acquired these injuries, but is there any other family that should be contacted?"
Catie shook her head. "Jamie never mentioned any close family."
"I am willing to act as Jamie's guardian until this is all worked out." Alex spoke up.
Doctor Travis nodded. "We have a social worker coming, and you can discuss this with her."
"When can we see him?" Catie asked, tears still running down her cheeks.
"He'll be coming out of recovery in about 45 minutes, and placed in an ICU room. Normally I would say only family, but in this case it will be alright for you to see him. Only 1 or 2 at a time though. Now, if you will excuse me, I have rounds. ICU is on the fourth floor, and there is a waiting room that you can go to until you are able to see him. I will have a nurse tell you when he is brought up." With that Dr. Travis left, leaving the shell-shocked group behind.
Alex was the first to speak up. "Come on guys, we should probably head up there." he led the group to the elevator and to the fourth floor.
Alex pushed open the door to the waiting room, and to his shock no one else was in there. He figured that was a good thing, that way the kids could be in there without any other anguished relatives of other patients to worry about. He also checked the clock, it was 11 pm. He walked over to one of the phones, and called up Jennifer, his assistant. He needed to have her put the secondary squad on dispatch. He got her voice mail, and left a hurried message. "Jennifer, it's Alex. Jamie's in the hospital and I'm here with the rest of the squad. Make sure the secondary squad is on call tonight and tomorrow or until I contact you otherwise. Thanks for your time. Bye."
He hung up the phone and sank into a chair. He looked over at Val, Hank, Tyler and Catie. Tyler and Val were sitting on a couch, his arm wrapped around her shoulders. Catie was sitting in an adjacent chair, her eyes vacant, as if she had cried until there were no tears left. And Hank, who had been unusually quiet, was sitting in another chair, staring off into space, with no emotion showing, only shock. Alex could only imagine what the teenagers were thinking about. What had just happened was a lot to take in, it was almost too much for Alex. And he couldn't sit still, either. It was anxiety, or worry, or whatever, but he started to briskly pace back and forth, his eyes staring at the ground.
Hank looked up at Alex's moving figure. Then he looked at Val and Tyler; the two were close, and worry and fear shone on their face. Hank knew that if a normal person had looked at him at that very moment, they'd see a face with no emotion, a face with no tears, worry or pain sketched on it. He could only remember one time where he had actually broken down because of a case, and he made sure that no one saw him at that time. But his friend was in there, his FRIEND was in ICU, and they didn't even know if he'd make it through the night. But did Hank cry? Did he get angry, or show any emotion at all? No, of course not. One might consider that a strength of his, how he could remain detached, and how he could stay away from any sign of feelings. He'd make a great doctor, he just seemed to be able to display a heartless, no nonsense personality. But oh how he wished that he could show some emotion, how he wished that he could just let it out, for once! He wished that he could cry, or yell, or beat the crap outta Jamie's dad. He wished he could talk about it, or even just say SOMETHING about how he was feeling. But no, of course not. His fatal habit inside of him prevented him from even shedding a tear. He shook his head. This waiting was killing him! And of course every minute seemed like an hour, and the room was deathly quiet. 'Deathly, what a word to use at a time like this' he thought, shaking his head. His thoughts were maddening, why wouldn't they stop?
"Excuse me," A nurse poked her head in the door, causing the five in the room to look up. "Mr. Waite is out of recovery now, it will be okay for one of two of you at a time to see him. He's in 427." She left.
"Okay then. Who wants to go first?" Alex asked, trying to sound optimistic.
"I will," Tyler said.
"Me too." Val added, and they left.
Catie shuddered at the thought of Jamie just a few rooms away. What would she say to him, what would he look like? Could she touch him, could she hold his hand? Was she even going to be able to go in there, did she have the courage? She stared at the door, waiting for Val and Tyler to return. She waited, and waited...............and waited. A few grueling moments later, the duo walked through the doors, Tyler's arm protectively around Val. It looked as though his support was the only thing keeping Val standing. Those two were made for each other, and could support each other during a trying time. Fresh tears welled up in Catie's eyes, she wanted that so badly with Jamie, but the sudden realization came to her that she may never have that with him. That fact made her even more terrified to go see him. Fortunately for her, Alex and an extremely quiet Hank left next, leaving her once again to escape from her fear. She looked over to Val and Tyler, her silent eyes pleading for them to tell her anything.
Val seemed to understand Catie's silent plea, so she spoke up. "He looks alright," she managed, knowing that it was merely an outright lie. "Um, do you want me to go in there with you to see him?" she asked.
"No thanks Val, I think I want to go alone," Catie said, attempting a smile. She couldn't remember a time in her life where she had been more scared than she was at that moment. What would Jamie look like, and was she going to be able to handle it? She almost smiled, realizing that she had plagued herself with questions for the past twenty minutes. She wondered if her subconscious would ever stop.
Alex and Hank walked back a few minutes later, and Catie realized that she had to go back there. She stood up, head high, and walked back. The sound of her black boots echoed down the hall, and she stopped halfway down, in front of room 427. She took a deep breath, and slowly walked in the doorway. What she saw made even more tears brim in her eyes.
*AGGGGHHHHH!!!!!! I know, what a cliffhanger!! But as I said before, review review review!! I hope you guys love me even more!!!*
Author: Em Walters
Rating: G-There's nothing bad, violent or anything like that this chapter
Author's Notes: Well, chapter five is here, it's a little short, sorry in advance. I'll try to have chapter 6 up tonight or tomorrow. Thanks to all 28 of you who reviewed chapter four, let's make it 35 reviews for chapter 5!!! If I get a lot tonight, I'll post six tonight as well!! Okay, I'll stop rambling again, and let you read!!
*All Disclaimers apply*
Doctor Travis cleared his throat, "Mr. Waite is out of surgery and in recovery at this moment, we repaired the punctured lung and stopped the internal bleeding as quickly as we could. His knee was broken badly, and we stabilized that as well. He also had a concussion, and fortunately that did not lead to any detected brain damage. What we were most concerned about was the internal bleeding and collapsed lung." The doctor stopped, this was always difficult to explain. "The problem is, Jamie has slipped into a coma due to the prolonged trauma. If your suspicions are right, he hasn't eaten for nearly two weeks, and the lack of nutrients have weakened his immune system. It's very difficult for me to tell you this, but he may not make it through the night. There's a 30 percent chance of survival at this point. If you need anything, please do not hesitate to ask. Now, we have not contacted his father, due to the way he acquired these injuries, but is there any other family that should be contacted?"
Catie shook her head. "Jamie never mentioned any close family."
"I am willing to act as Jamie's guardian until this is all worked out." Alex spoke up.
Doctor Travis nodded. "We have a social worker coming, and you can discuss this with her."
"When can we see him?" Catie asked, tears still running down her cheeks.
"He'll be coming out of recovery in about 45 minutes, and placed in an ICU room. Normally I would say only family, but in this case it will be alright for you to see him. Only 1 or 2 at a time though. Now, if you will excuse me, I have rounds. ICU is on the fourth floor, and there is a waiting room that you can go to until you are able to see him. I will have a nurse tell you when he is brought up." With that Dr. Travis left, leaving the shell-shocked group behind.
Alex was the first to speak up. "Come on guys, we should probably head up there." he led the group to the elevator and to the fourth floor.
Alex pushed open the door to the waiting room, and to his shock no one else was in there. He figured that was a good thing, that way the kids could be in there without any other anguished relatives of other patients to worry about. He also checked the clock, it was 11 pm. He walked over to one of the phones, and called up Jennifer, his assistant. He needed to have her put the secondary squad on dispatch. He got her voice mail, and left a hurried message. "Jennifer, it's Alex. Jamie's in the hospital and I'm here with the rest of the squad. Make sure the secondary squad is on call tonight and tomorrow or until I contact you otherwise. Thanks for your time. Bye."
He hung up the phone and sank into a chair. He looked over at Val, Hank, Tyler and Catie. Tyler and Val were sitting on a couch, his arm wrapped around her shoulders. Catie was sitting in an adjacent chair, her eyes vacant, as if she had cried until there were no tears left. And Hank, who had been unusually quiet, was sitting in another chair, staring off into space, with no emotion showing, only shock. Alex could only imagine what the teenagers were thinking about. What had just happened was a lot to take in, it was almost too much for Alex. And he couldn't sit still, either. It was anxiety, or worry, or whatever, but he started to briskly pace back and forth, his eyes staring at the ground.
Hank looked up at Alex's moving figure. Then he looked at Val and Tyler; the two were close, and worry and fear shone on their face. Hank knew that if a normal person had looked at him at that very moment, they'd see a face with no emotion, a face with no tears, worry or pain sketched on it. He could only remember one time where he had actually broken down because of a case, and he made sure that no one saw him at that time. But his friend was in there, his FRIEND was in ICU, and they didn't even know if he'd make it through the night. But did Hank cry? Did he get angry, or show any emotion at all? No, of course not. One might consider that a strength of his, how he could remain detached, and how he could stay away from any sign of feelings. He'd make a great doctor, he just seemed to be able to display a heartless, no nonsense personality. But oh how he wished that he could show some emotion, how he wished that he could just let it out, for once! He wished that he could cry, or yell, or beat the crap outta Jamie's dad. He wished he could talk about it, or even just say SOMETHING about how he was feeling. But no, of course not. His fatal habit inside of him prevented him from even shedding a tear. He shook his head. This waiting was killing him! And of course every minute seemed like an hour, and the room was deathly quiet. 'Deathly, what a word to use at a time like this' he thought, shaking his head. His thoughts were maddening, why wouldn't they stop?
"Excuse me," A nurse poked her head in the door, causing the five in the room to look up. "Mr. Waite is out of recovery now, it will be okay for one of two of you at a time to see him. He's in 427." She left.
"Okay then. Who wants to go first?" Alex asked, trying to sound optimistic.
"I will," Tyler said.
"Me too." Val added, and they left.
Catie shuddered at the thought of Jamie just a few rooms away. What would she say to him, what would he look like? Could she touch him, could she hold his hand? Was she even going to be able to go in there, did she have the courage? She stared at the door, waiting for Val and Tyler to return. She waited, and waited...............and waited. A few grueling moments later, the duo walked through the doors, Tyler's arm protectively around Val. It looked as though his support was the only thing keeping Val standing. Those two were made for each other, and could support each other during a trying time. Fresh tears welled up in Catie's eyes, she wanted that so badly with Jamie, but the sudden realization came to her that she may never have that with him. That fact made her even more terrified to go see him. Fortunately for her, Alex and an extremely quiet Hank left next, leaving her once again to escape from her fear. She looked over to Val and Tyler, her silent eyes pleading for them to tell her anything.
Val seemed to understand Catie's silent plea, so she spoke up. "He looks alright," she managed, knowing that it was merely an outright lie. "Um, do you want me to go in there with you to see him?" she asked.
"No thanks Val, I think I want to go alone," Catie said, attempting a smile. She couldn't remember a time in her life where she had been more scared than she was at that moment. What would Jamie look like, and was she going to be able to handle it? She almost smiled, realizing that she had plagued herself with questions for the past twenty minutes. She wondered if her subconscious would ever stop.
Alex and Hank walked back a few minutes later, and Catie realized that she had to go back there. She stood up, head high, and walked back. The sound of her black boots echoed down the hall, and she stopped halfway down, in front of room 427. She took a deep breath, and slowly walked in the doorway. What she saw made even more tears brim in her eyes.
*AGGGGHHHHH!!!!!! I know, what a cliffhanger!! But as I said before, review review review!! I hope you guys love me even more!!!*