Reflections - Chapter 7
It was hard to believe that it had only been a day since the beginning of Bosco's illness. Faith was reluctant to go back to work this afternoon. Kim and Alex had come to the hospital as they promised to relieve her after their shift at 8:00 this morning so she could get some rest before working her shift. She wasn't sure how she had gotten home. She climbed the stairs to her apartment and put the key in the door. She stumbled to the bedroom, set her alarm, and didn't even remember her head hitting the pillow as she fell into bed. She slept but only saw Bosco in her dreams.
She had sat in Bosco's room watching over him as he slept after Angela left. He was very restless and kept moving about because of his fever and discomfort. The nurses assured her before she left that they would call her at home with any change in his condition. Alex and Kim assured her that they would call her if anything changed.
Faith had set her alarm for noon so that she would have time to shower, pick up a few things that Bosco might want from his place and see him before she had to go to work. She didn't want to use up her time at work while he was in the hospital. She would take a few days off when he was released so that he would have someone there to care for him.
Faith arrived back at the hospital at about 2:00 p.m. and immediately noticed that there was an influx of nurses and doctors in and out of his room. Kim and Alex told her they had tried to call, but that she must have been on her way over here. Faith cursed herself for leaving her cell phone on the kitchen table. She was just in a hurry to get back.
Finally, she stopped one of the doctors to ask him what was going on. "Well, Officer Yokas," he began only to be interrupted by Faith. "Please, just call me Faith," she said, nervously smiling at the doctor.
The doctor smiled, "Okay, Faith. His temperature hasn't gone down with the high-dose antibiotics we've been giving him through his IV. In fact, it's up to about 105 degrees. That's why the nurses put the cooling blanket on him. We've taken blood cultures and they're in the lab now. We should have those results in just a little while, but I suspect that the infection has worked its way into his system. We have upped the dose of the antibiotics and we are trying to cool him with the cooling blanket."
"Doc, is he gonna be okay? Should I call his mother?" Faith asked, fear rising in her voice. The doctor put a hand on Faith's arm and said, "Faith, there's no reason to believe that he won't be able to pull through this. He's young and he's a fighter. We expected that something like this might happen because of the length of time the rupture went undetected and we're taking the necessary steps to counter-act it." Faith again felt the pang of guilt at not realizing he was in trouble sooner. Kim put a hand on Faith's arm, knowing what she was thinking
Faith nodded, "Is he awake? Can I go see him?"
"He's awake, but he's somewhat delirious due to the fever. We've just given him a sedative to try to keep him quiet, but you should be able to see him before he's asleep again. I don't know if he'll recognize you or not. I know it's hard to see him like this, but we're doing everything we can for him," he said before turning and walking toward the nurse's station to write up some orders.
Faith left Kim and Alex in the hallway. "Boy, she's really messed up over this," Alex said to Kim. Kim looked at Alex and said, "That's because she loves him, Alex." Alex looked at Kim with a surprised look on her face. "Oh c'mon, I can't believe you never saw it before," Kim said. "It's so obvious."
Faith walked over to Bosco. He was thrashing about, a layer of sweat covering him. A nurse was trying to take his vital signs, but it was difficult because he was moving around so much. He was mumbling something Faith couldn't quite make out. She moved closer and held his hand and leaned down next to his ear.
"Bosco, it's Faith. Can you hear me?" she said soothingly. "I know you don't feel good right now, but you have to fight through this. The doctors are giving you everything you need to fight off this infection, but you have to be strong right now. In order to do that you have to give in to the medicine they're giving you to make your body rest so it can heal," she continued, stroking the side of his face and smoothing his hair.
"Faith?" she heard Bosco say quietly, with a furrowed brow. "Sshhh. Yes Bos, it's me," she answered, kissing the side of his face.
"Faith!" he yelled, making her and the nurse jump. "Faith, look out! There's another one behind that door!" he yelled, trying to push her away. Faith now realized that it was the fever talking. He was seeing the guy from the abandoned apartment building last week. She had been busy cuffing one suspect when Bosco caught up to her and saw another one coming from behind a door with some kind of weapon in his hand. He had knocked her out of the way and took the blow from the crowbar across his back, although his vest absorbed most of the impact. Faith had been able to grab the guy from behind and throw him to the ground.
"Bosco, it's okay," Faith soothed. "We're all safe. You're in the hospital. Please try to relax," she continued stroking his hair. She reached over to wet a washcloth with cool water and place it on his forehead. He seemed to calm down a little, feeling her touch.
He suddenly opened his eyes and looked at Faith. It didn't appear that he saw her; he just seemed to look right through her. Suddenly, Faith felt him start to shake and the nurse pressed the call button to summon the doctor back into the room. "You're going to have to step out right now," the nurse told Faith curtly. Faith tried to step back, but couldn't remove her hand from Bosco's grasp. He was having a seizure, probably from the high fever, and all his muscles were contracting, making his grip on her hand even tighter. The doctor came in the room and started ordering medications to be administered. Faith was finally able to remove her hand from Bosco's grasp and stood back, horrified. Alex followed the doctor into the room, put her arm around Faith's shoulders and walked her back into the hallway.
With the medications, the seizure was stopped and Bosco was again peacefully sleeping. The nurse and doctor were checking his vital signs and making sure that his IV lines were still working. The doctor came out to Faith, seeing the look of terror on her face, the tears on her cheeks. "Faith, he had a seizure because of the high fever. That's his body fighting against the infection. He's sleeping now, the medication we gave him knocked him out." Faith nodded and the doctor walked away toward another patient's room. Kim and Alex told Faith that they had to leave to get to work. Faith thanked them for staying and they told her they would check back with her soon.
Faith stepped up to Bosco's bed and looked down at him. She was afraid to touch him. He was still covered in sweat and she again wet the washcloth and wiped the sweat from his face, neck, arms and chest, careful not to disturb the pads that were monitoring his heart. The nurse watched as Faith lovingly washed the sweat from Bosco and knew that this was more than a mere partnership. She said, "I'll go get some clean towels for you." Faith looked up at the nurse and said, "Thanks."
The nurse left to get the towels and Faith leaned over and awkwardly hugged Bosco, trying to get as close as possible to him yet not disturb any of the tubes or wires. "Bosco, please be okay," she said in his ear, tears openly flowing now. "We just found our way to each other, please don't leave me now." She felt Bosco turn his head slightly into her neck and knew that he had heard her. The nurse returned with the towels and Faith finished cleaning him up and straightened his covers.
"He feels cooler," she said to the nurse. She nodded and said, "I think his body is fighting it off finally." The nurse nodded toward the door and said, "There's someone here to see you." Faith breathed a sigh of relief and heard someone behind her in the doorway. She turned to see Sully standing there. "How long had he been there?" she thought to herself, wondering if he had heard her words to Bosco a moment before, but then not really caring if he did.
"Hey Sul," Faith said walking over to him. "Hey Faith. I just brought Ty in for some stitches and a tetanus shot and thought I'd stop up and see how he was doing," he said, looking over at Bosco and handing Faith the cup of coffee he had brought upstairs for her. Faith suddenly realized that she should have been to work an hour ago, but with Bosco being so sick she totally forgot. Sully must have seen the look on her face and said, "It's okay. The Lieutenant called over to check on Bosco's condition and was told what was going on and that you were here with him. He just put you down for a personal day," Sully reassured her. "Thanks, Sully," she said. Then realizing what Sully had said about Ty, she asked, "So, what happened to Davis? He gonna be okay?"
"Oh, he was chasing some psycho behind some houses and snagged his arm on an old, rusty piece of fence. Just a couple of stitches, nothing serious. I think he's more worried about the needle," he said, again looking over at his friend. "So, how's he doing?"
"He had a scary couple of hours. The infection got into his system and his fever got pretty high. He had a seizure, but the doctors think that's the worst of it," she said, looking over her shoulder at him. "And you? How are you doing, Faith," Sully asked, remembering what he had heard her saying to him as he walked into the room.
"Ah, I'm okay," she said, shrugging off her anxiety. She wasn't sure what Bosco wanted to do about letting people know how they felt about each other. "Good," Sully said. "Well, I guess I'll get back downstairs to Junior before he bolts out the door at the site of Proctor with that needle," he said lightly. "Take care, Faith, and keep us posted," he said. She nodded, "Thanks, Sul."
Sully turned to leave and when he got to the door turned back toward Faith, "I'm glad Faith. It's about time. And, don't worry. I'm not saying anything to anyone. That's up to you two to figure out." With that he turned and left the room. Faith stood there and smiled.
She looked over to make sure that Bosco was okay and then stepped into the bathroom to splash some water on her face. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and said, "Oh my God, you look like you got run over by a truck."
She heard his tired voice from outside the bathroom, "Yeah, well let's see how you look after you go through this." She smiled and ran out of the bathroom to see Bosco, awake with a tired smile on his face. She walked slowly over to him, tears again filling her eyes. But this time they were happy tears, tears of relief. She reached over and took his hand, feeling him grip her back and pull her toward him. She bent down and gently kissed his forehead. "Get some sleep, Bos. You've earned it," she said, but he had already fallen asleep again.
Faith pulled the chair over to the bed and fell asleep holding his hand, with her head resting on his chest.
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TBC
It was hard to believe that it had only been a day since the beginning of Bosco's illness. Faith was reluctant to go back to work this afternoon. Kim and Alex had come to the hospital as they promised to relieve her after their shift at 8:00 this morning so she could get some rest before working her shift. She wasn't sure how she had gotten home. She climbed the stairs to her apartment and put the key in the door. She stumbled to the bedroom, set her alarm, and didn't even remember her head hitting the pillow as she fell into bed. She slept but only saw Bosco in her dreams.
She had sat in Bosco's room watching over him as he slept after Angela left. He was very restless and kept moving about because of his fever and discomfort. The nurses assured her before she left that they would call her at home with any change in his condition. Alex and Kim assured her that they would call her if anything changed.
Faith had set her alarm for noon so that she would have time to shower, pick up a few things that Bosco might want from his place and see him before she had to go to work. She didn't want to use up her time at work while he was in the hospital. She would take a few days off when he was released so that he would have someone there to care for him.
Faith arrived back at the hospital at about 2:00 p.m. and immediately noticed that there was an influx of nurses and doctors in and out of his room. Kim and Alex told her they had tried to call, but that she must have been on her way over here. Faith cursed herself for leaving her cell phone on the kitchen table. She was just in a hurry to get back.
Finally, she stopped one of the doctors to ask him what was going on. "Well, Officer Yokas," he began only to be interrupted by Faith. "Please, just call me Faith," she said, nervously smiling at the doctor.
The doctor smiled, "Okay, Faith. His temperature hasn't gone down with the high-dose antibiotics we've been giving him through his IV. In fact, it's up to about 105 degrees. That's why the nurses put the cooling blanket on him. We've taken blood cultures and they're in the lab now. We should have those results in just a little while, but I suspect that the infection has worked its way into his system. We have upped the dose of the antibiotics and we are trying to cool him with the cooling blanket."
"Doc, is he gonna be okay? Should I call his mother?" Faith asked, fear rising in her voice. The doctor put a hand on Faith's arm and said, "Faith, there's no reason to believe that he won't be able to pull through this. He's young and he's a fighter. We expected that something like this might happen because of the length of time the rupture went undetected and we're taking the necessary steps to counter-act it." Faith again felt the pang of guilt at not realizing he was in trouble sooner. Kim put a hand on Faith's arm, knowing what she was thinking
Faith nodded, "Is he awake? Can I go see him?"
"He's awake, but he's somewhat delirious due to the fever. We've just given him a sedative to try to keep him quiet, but you should be able to see him before he's asleep again. I don't know if he'll recognize you or not. I know it's hard to see him like this, but we're doing everything we can for him," he said before turning and walking toward the nurse's station to write up some orders.
Faith left Kim and Alex in the hallway. "Boy, she's really messed up over this," Alex said to Kim. Kim looked at Alex and said, "That's because she loves him, Alex." Alex looked at Kim with a surprised look on her face. "Oh c'mon, I can't believe you never saw it before," Kim said. "It's so obvious."
Faith walked over to Bosco. He was thrashing about, a layer of sweat covering him. A nurse was trying to take his vital signs, but it was difficult because he was moving around so much. He was mumbling something Faith couldn't quite make out. She moved closer and held his hand and leaned down next to his ear.
"Bosco, it's Faith. Can you hear me?" she said soothingly. "I know you don't feel good right now, but you have to fight through this. The doctors are giving you everything you need to fight off this infection, but you have to be strong right now. In order to do that you have to give in to the medicine they're giving you to make your body rest so it can heal," she continued, stroking the side of his face and smoothing his hair.
"Faith?" she heard Bosco say quietly, with a furrowed brow. "Sshhh. Yes Bos, it's me," she answered, kissing the side of his face.
"Faith!" he yelled, making her and the nurse jump. "Faith, look out! There's another one behind that door!" he yelled, trying to push her away. Faith now realized that it was the fever talking. He was seeing the guy from the abandoned apartment building last week. She had been busy cuffing one suspect when Bosco caught up to her and saw another one coming from behind a door with some kind of weapon in his hand. He had knocked her out of the way and took the blow from the crowbar across his back, although his vest absorbed most of the impact. Faith had been able to grab the guy from behind and throw him to the ground.
"Bosco, it's okay," Faith soothed. "We're all safe. You're in the hospital. Please try to relax," she continued stroking his hair. She reached over to wet a washcloth with cool water and place it on his forehead. He seemed to calm down a little, feeling her touch.
He suddenly opened his eyes and looked at Faith. It didn't appear that he saw her; he just seemed to look right through her. Suddenly, Faith felt him start to shake and the nurse pressed the call button to summon the doctor back into the room. "You're going to have to step out right now," the nurse told Faith curtly. Faith tried to step back, but couldn't remove her hand from Bosco's grasp. He was having a seizure, probably from the high fever, and all his muscles were contracting, making his grip on her hand even tighter. The doctor came in the room and started ordering medications to be administered. Faith was finally able to remove her hand from Bosco's grasp and stood back, horrified. Alex followed the doctor into the room, put her arm around Faith's shoulders and walked her back into the hallway.
With the medications, the seizure was stopped and Bosco was again peacefully sleeping. The nurse and doctor were checking his vital signs and making sure that his IV lines were still working. The doctor came out to Faith, seeing the look of terror on her face, the tears on her cheeks. "Faith, he had a seizure because of the high fever. That's his body fighting against the infection. He's sleeping now, the medication we gave him knocked him out." Faith nodded and the doctor walked away toward another patient's room. Kim and Alex told Faith that they had to leave to get to work. Faith thanked them for staying and they told her they would check back with her soon.
Faith stepped up to Bosco's bed and looked down at him. She was afraid to touch him. He was still covered in sweat and she again wet the washcloth and wiped the sweat from his face, neck, arms and chest, careful not to disturb the pads that were monitoring his heart. The nurse watched as Faith lovingly washed the sweat from Bosco and knew that this was more than a mere partnership. She said, "I'll go get some clean towels for you." Faith looked up at the nurse and said, "Thanks."
The nurse left to get the towels and Faith leaned over and awkwardly hugged Bosco, trying to get as close as possible to him yet not disturb any of the tubes or wires. "Bosco, please be okay," she said in his ear, tears openly flowing now. "We just found our way to each other, please don't leave me now." She felt Bosco turn his head slightly into her neck and knew that he had heard her. The nurse returned with the towels and Faith finished cleaning him up and straightened his covers.
"He feels cooler," she said to the nurse. She nodded and said, "I think his body is fighting it off finally." The nurse nodded toward the door and said, "There's someone here to see you." Faith breathed a sigh of relief and heard someone behind her in the doorway. She turned to see Sully standing there. "How long had he been there?" she thought to herself, wondering if he had heard her words to Bosco a moment before, but then not really caring if he did.
"Hey Sul," Faith said walking over to him. "Hey Faith. I just brought Ty in for some stitches and a tetanus shot and thought I'd stop up and see how he was doing," he said, looking over at Bosco and handing Faith the cup of coffee he had brought upstairs for her. Faith suddenly realized that she should have been to work an hour ago, but with Bosco being so sick she totally forgot. Sully must have seen the look on her face and said, "It's okay. The Lieutenant called over to check on Bosco's condition and was told what was going on and that you were here with him. He just put you down for a personal day," Sully reassured her. "Thanks, Sully," she said. Then realizing what Sully had said about Ty, she asked, "So, what happened to Davis? He gonna be okay?"
"Oh, he was chasing some psycho behind some houses and snagged his arm on an old, rusty piece of fence. Just a couple of stitches, nothing serious. I think he's more worried about the needle," he said, again looking over at his friend. "So, how's he doing?"
"He had a scary couple of hours. The infection got into his system and his fever got pretty high. He had a seizure, but the doctors think that's the worst of it," she said, looking over her shoulder at him. "And you? How are you doing, Faith," Sully asked, remembering what he had heard her saying to him as he walked into the room.
"Ah, I'm okay," she said, shrugging off her anxiety. She wasn't sure what Bosco wanted to do about letting people know how they felt about each other. "Good," Sully said. "Well, I guess I'll get back downstairs to Junior before he bolts out the door at the site of Proctor with that needle," he said lightly. "Take care, Faith, and keep us posted," he said. She nodded, "Thanks, Sul."
Sully turned to leave and when he got to the door turned back toward Faith, "I'm glad Faith. It's about time. And, don't worry. I'm not saying anything to anyone. That's up to you two to figure out." With that he turned and left the room. Faith stood there and smiled.
She looked over to make sure that Bosco was okay and then stepped into the bathroom to splash some water on her face. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and said, "Oh my God, you look like you got run over by a truck."
She heard his tired voice from outside the bathroom, "Yeah, well let's see how you look after you go through this." She smiled and ran out of the bathroom to see Bosco, awake with a tired smile on his face. She walked slowly over to him, tears again filling her eyes. But this time they were happy tears, tears of relief. She reached over and took his hand, feeling him grip her back and pull her toward him. She bent down and gently kissed his forehead. "Get some sleep, Bos. You've earned it," she said, but he had already fallen asleep again.
Faith pulled the chair over to the bed and fell asleep holding his hand, with her head resting on his chest.
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TBC