The Ransom of Dr. Dave
Part 62
A/N: Anything in bold italic is being spoken in Italian.
Capt. Amos: Dr. Chen, I just got your message. What's going on?
Jing-Mei: Wait, Capt. Amos. I'll get the phone in the bedroom. Uh, Cleo will you hang this up when I grab the other phone.
Cleo: Sure.
Jing-Mei excuses herself and heads into the bedroom and picks up the receiver.
Jing-Mei(yelling) I've got it, Cleo.
Cleo hangs up the extension and joins Peter at the punch bowl.
Jing-Mei: Alright Capt. Amos, I'm back.
Capt. Amos: What did you need to speak to me about? It sounded urgent.
Jing-Mei: I don't know how important this is but Dave remembers the Lexus.
Capt. Amos: Are you sure? Did he say something?
Jing-Mei: Not exactly. He kind of mouthed the word Lexus to mean and he was terribly upset about it.
Capt. Amos: Alright. It's late now but I'll drop by tomorrow and speak with the boy.
Jing-Mei: Thank you. I've got to get back to Rusty's party.
Jing-Mei hangs up the phone and rejoins the party. She walks out and sees Rusty playing with his puppy.
Mark: So Rusty, did you decide what to name your puppy?
Mr. Santini translates and Rusty shrugs his shoulders.
Jing-Mei: You just think on it for awhile.
Luka: Well, I'm working graveyard shift tonight and I have a long drive there. So, I better leave now if I don't want to be late.
Carter: Yeah Abby, we had better go now.
As the party starts to break up, Rusty thanks his guests and takes his puppy into the kitchen and gets him some water. Jing-Mei sees the rest of the guests out, cleans up the plates and dishes and heads into the nursery to check on Antonio. She checks his oxygen level and restarts his mobile. She heads towards the bathroom to run a bath when she sees Rusty carrying the puppy into his bedroom.
Jing-Mei(shaking her head): Oh no you don't, young man. The puppy sleeps in the kitchen.
She directs Rusty to the kitchen and takes the puppy from him. She puts a pillow in a laundry basket and sets the puppy in it. Rusty frowns and runs to his bedroom crying. She follows him. Unable to communicate with him, she holds him to he calms down. She gets ready to put him in his pajamas when he grabs them from her and starts to get undress.
Jing-Mei: Sorry, I forgot you're a big boy, now. Go ahead get into your pajamas yourself.
Rusty looks at her confused. She heads for the door with her head down. Rusty runs over to her and grabs her around her waist.
Rusty: Goodnight Mama Jing. Gracia.
She can't help but smile down at him and hug him back.
Jing-Mei: Goodnight, sweetheart. Happy Birthday, Big Boy.
Jing-Mei goes into the bathroom and turns on the faucet in the tub. She goes into her bedroom and starts to undress as she lets the tub fill up. She sits on the edge of her bed staring at a picture of her and Dave that they had taken on one of their dates. She picks it up and starts to talk to it.
Jing-Mei: Please Dave. Get better. I need you here. I don't know how I'm going to manage. I love the boys. Both of your sons---our sons, but I need help. I'm trying to give them as normal a life as possible but they need their daddy.(pause) I know this isn't your fault. You've been hurt more than any of us and you are being deprived of watching them grow up.(pause) God Dave, what in the world did those bastards do to you?!
Jing-Mei kisses the picture and places it back on her dresser and turns back to look at it as she heads into her bath.
Jing-Mei: Goodnight, my darling Dave. I love you.
The next morning, Jing-Mei gets Rusty up and has him take a bath. She heads in to feed Antonio. Thirty minutes later, Jing-Mei and Rusty enter the dining room to find the tablecloth pulled off the table and the lamp on the floor--broken.
Jing-Mei: What in the world?
Jing-Mei goes into the kitchen to retrieve a bag to put the broken lamp in when she sees her bags full of groceries laying across the floor. There's fruit, lettuce, tomatoes and bread laying everywhere. One of the bags starts to move and outside pops Rusty's puppy.
Jing-Mei: RUSTY!!
Rusty, recognizing his name, comes running into the kitchen and sees his puppy bouncing around the now empty grocery bags. Jing-Mei, although furious about the mess, realizes she can't stay angry long at the puppy. Jing-Mei and Rusty look at each other, shake their heads and laugh. Rusty picks the puppy up and walks over to Jing-Mei. She takes the puppy's face in her hand and looks into his eyes.
Jing-Mei: Playful little guy, aren't you? It's just my luck to get a puppy with Dave's personality.
Jing-Mei heads to the back door and opens it. She directs Rusty to take the puppy out. Rusty walks by carrying his puppy, still smirking.
Jing-Mei: Rascals, both of you.
Rusty stops in his tracks and turns to Jing-Mei.
Rusty(holding his puppy out): Mama Jing, RASCAL?
Jing-Mei(pointing at the puppy and looking back at Rusty): Rascal, name.
Rusty nods. Jing-Mei puts her hand to her chin and thinks.
Jing-Mei: Rascal, it is then. It certainly fits him.
Jing-Mei points to the door.
Jing-Mei: Better take Rascal out now to do his duty.
As Rusty goes into the backyard, Jing-Mei looks at the mess in her kitchen and thinks to herself.
Jing-Mei: It is Rascal's first night. I'm sure once he gets use to the place, he'll settle down. I guess it could have been worse. He could of...
Before she had a chance to finish that statement, she stepped in some of Rascal's mess. She looks down at her slipper.
Jing-Mei: Oh god, gross. Until he's housebroken, I'm going to have to start to look before I step.
Mrs. Peterson arrives as Jing-Mei is finally finished cleaning up after Rascal.
Mrs. Peterson: What happened?
Jing-Mei: The joys of being a dog owner. Could you give the baby a bath. I've been a little busy.
Mrs. Peterson: No problem.
Jing-Mei and Rusty finish breakfast and get ready to head over to Mr. Santini's. Jing-Mei gathers up the books that Luka brought him for his birthday, the coloring books that Abby got him and she put the race cars she got him in her purse to take along with him to Mr. Santini's.
Jing-Mei: Rusty!
Rusty comes in from the kitchen carrying the puppy. Jing-Mei shakes her head.
Jing-Mei: No, Rusty. Rascal stays.
Mrs. Peterson takes the puppy off of Rusty.
Mrs. Peterson: Rascal? That's a great name. I'll take care of him.
Jing-Mei: You don't mind?
Mrs. Peterson: No, really it will be fine. Besides, I'll feel better with a dog here with me and Antonio, even if he is only a puppy.
When Jing-Mei and Rusty arrived at Mr. Santini's, she took Rusty inside. Mr. Santini was up and ready for his new student and guest.
Jing-Mei: Good morning, Mr. Santini.
Mr. Santini: Morning you two. Please come in.
Jing-Mei handed Mr. Santini Rusty's books and gave him some instructions as Rusty explored the apartment. Jing-Mei walked over to Rusty and kissed him goodbye. He hugged her back. Then he went over to Mr. Santini and they started to talk.
Rusty: My puppy, Rascal, he made a big mess in the house.
Mr. Santini: Really. That must have been fun to clean up.
Jing-Mei heard Rusty mention Rascal's name, so she could imagine what they were discussing. She left the two of them to get to their work and headed for the hospital to begin her shift.
An hour into her shift, Jing-Mei received a call at the front desk.
Jing-Mei: Dr. Chen here(pause) Not for another two hours. (pause)Yes, as soon as I can. Goodbye.
Carter: What was that about?
Jing-Mei: Dr. Casin. He wants to talk to me about Dave. I told him I would be up as soon as I take my break unless I can slip out of here sooner.
Carter: Nothing wrong, is there?
Jing-Mei: I hope not.
Unable to get away any quicker than her first break, Jing-Mei headed up to see Dave. His speech therapist, Lori, was with him. She stood in the background and watched.
Lori: Okay Dave, let's start with the alphabet today.
Dave opened his mouth but nothing came out. He tried several times but the best he could do was make the sounds of the letters.
Lori: Well you've got the sounds down pretty good. Here, let's try these.
Lori took out some flashcards and helped him read the words by sounding out the letters. Jing-Mei looked at her watch and knew she had to get back to the ER soon so she went to Dr. Casin's office.
Receptionist: May I help you?
Jing-Mei: I'm here to see Dr. Casin. He's expecting me.
Receptionist: And you are?
Jing-Mei: Dr. Chen.
Receptionist: Have a seat.
The receptionist called in to Dr. Casin and after a few moments he came out of his office and escorted Jing-Mei in.
Jing-Mei: I hope I'm not interrupting.
Dr. Casin: No please, you're saving me from a stack of paperwork. Sit, please.
Jing-Mei: I don't have much time before Dr. Weaver sniffs me out. So, what's happening with Dave. Is he okay?
Dr. Casin: He's holding his own. I've been looking over his files and I came across a transfer form with Dr. Malucci's name on it.
Jing-Mei: Dave has been accepted into the Chicago East Rehab Center program as soon as he is discharged from here. What about it?
Dr. Casin: Well, I will have to meet with his other physicians but as far as I'm concerned Dave is ready for discharge.
Jing-Mei(excited): WHAT?! Are you serious?
Dr. Casin: Very. Of course, as I said it would have to be a mutual agreement amongst the other specialists but if they agree, we can sign his discharge papers and transfer him to the rehab center.
Jing-Mei: How soon will you know?
Dr. Casin: I've already put in calls to Dr. Malucci's neurologist, pulmonologist, orthopedist and nephrologist. As soon as we can set a time, we will all go over Dr. Malucci's files, examine him thoroughly one more time and make the final decision.
Jing-Mei: You will let me know.
Dr. Casin: Of course.
Jing-Mei: I have to get back downstairs. Thank you, Dr. Casin.
Jing-Mei left Dr. Casin's office with a big smile on her face only to have it wiped off when she stopped by Dave's room on the way back down to the ER. She went in and closed the door behind her.
Lori: Dave, think about the words. Try to put the sound of the letters with picture of the letter in your head.
Dave closed his eyes and concentrated real hard. But failed to connect the two. Angry, Dave swatted the flashcards off the table in front of him and started shaking, obviously upset.
Lori: I guess that's enough for today. Dave, you're doing good. Just be patient. It'll happen.
Lori gets up from the seat next to Dave's bed and walks over to Jing-Mei.
Jing-Mei: I'm sorry Lori. He's been getting so angry and moody lately.
Lori: He's frustrated. He wants to get better and fast. He feels like he's not getting anywhere with all this.
Jing-Mei: Dave never was patient. And not being able to shoot off his big mouth like he's accustomed to---that's got to be driving him crazy.
Jing-Mei walks over to Dave and holds him, although Dave protests her touching him by pulling away from her, he slowly gives in and just remains still in bed not paying her any attention.
Jing-Mei re-enters the ER to find multiple victims coming in through the ambulance bay.
Jing-Mei: What happened?
Cleo: Gunman outside a school. Kids were at recess when he open-fired. Three dead on site, two D.O.A. in the ambulance. We've got five majors and 8 minors coming our way. Jump in.
Jing-Mei: Alright Randi, what's opened?
Randi: Trauma three.
Jing-Mei(running next to a gurney): Give me the bullet and take him in trauma three.
Paramedic: Male victim, approximately 7 years old, GSW to the head. BP is 70/46 and dropping fast. Pulse is 40. Respirations are shallow and irregular. Crashed once enroute. Shocked twice at 150.
Three hours later, Jing-Mei heads off to her lunch break when she runs into Capt. Amos.
Jing-Mei: Capt. Amos, are you here to see Dave?
Capt. Amos: Yeah, and check on the kids from that school shooting.
Jing-Mei: Sad. I just sent a little girl up to have a bullet taken out of her stomach along with her spleen and another little boy I was working on never had a chance. He was 7 years old, the same age as Rusty. What is this world coming to when little kids can't go to school without getting shot and a doctor can't borrow a friend's car without getting carjacked, kidnapped and tortured?
Capt. Amos: I know what all this must be doing to you. Maybe if your Dr. Dave is starting to remember, like you said, then we can get the ones that are behind his attack and put them away forever.
Jing-Mei and Capt. Amos enter Dave's room and see a doctor removing Dave's feeding tube.
Jing-Mei: What are doing?
Doctor: Looks Dr. Malucci is going to start to eat on his own again.
Jing-Mei: Alright Dave.
Doctor: Let's just start him on light things at first. Jello, ice-cream, pudding, pureed vegetables, soup and see if he's able to keep them down. Then we can test that new jaw of his out and slowly work in food that has to be chewed.
The doctor leaves and Jing-Mei and Capt. Amos approaches Dave.
Capt. Amos: Well Dr. Malucci, it appears that you are making an amazing recovery.
Jing-Mei: He still has a long way to go yet. Dave, you remember Capt. Amos?
Dave thinks for a few minutes and blinks once(no).
Jing-Mei: Dave, no more blinking. You know what the word is. Think about it and say it.
Dave takes a deep breath, thinks for a moment and opens his mouth. After a couple minutes and no sound comes out of Dave, he shakes his head.
Jing-Mei: We'll work on it. In the meantime, this is the captain of detectives that is going to put the fuckers away who hurt you.
Capt. Amos: How are you doing, son?
Dave nods and pulls himself up in a seated position.
Jing-Mei: Dave, Capt. Amos is here to ask you a few questions. Are you up to it?
Dave nods. Jing-Mei and the police captain sit down.
Capt. Amos: Alright, Dr. Chen tells me you remember a few things about the day you were attacked. Is that true?
Dave thinks and then shrugs.
Capt. Amos: Dr. Chen said that you remember a car. Can you tell me about the car? What kind was it?
Dave thinks for several minutes and shakes his head.
Capt. Amos: What about the color of the car?
Dave shrugs. Discouraged, Jing-Mei tries to reason with him.
Jing-Mei: Come on Dave. What did you say or mouth to me and Carter the other day?
Dave stares at Jing-Mei but doesn't make movement or a sound. Giving up, Capt. Amos stands up from the chair and heads out of the door. Before he leaves, Jing-Mei stops him.
Jing-Mei: Please don't leave yet, captain. (she turns back to Dave) I am not going to give up on you, Dave. I know you remember what happened to you. It's okay to be afraid. Everyone is and that's the reason why you don't want to remember. But you have to start to try, real hard. Dave, any small piece of information you can think of from that day will help. Please concentrate. . (pause) Dave, if we are going to get married, I want you to remember our wedding.
Dave looks at her not understanding what she is talking about.
Dave(thinking to himself): Wedding? Married? What is she talking about?
Jing-Mei: You do know we will be getting married soon, right?
Dave shakes his head. Jing-Mei tries to figure out how to get the idea of marriage through to Dave. Then an idea hits her. She rummages through her purse and pulls out several things including the engagement ring that she places in front of him.
Jing-Mei: See Dave. Look at this. You remember this. You remember you were going to give it to me for my birthday last year. We(pointing at herself and Dave) are going to be husband and wife.
Jing-Mei realizes he's not paying attention to her but instead is mesmerized by another object.
Capt. Amos: Well, I'm sorry this didn't work out Dr. Chen but I have to get going. We can try again later...
Jing-Mei: Wait Captain. Look at Dave.
Dave picked up one of Rusty's racecars that Jing-Mei had in her purse and forgot to give to Rusty earlier that day.
Jing-Mei: What is it, Dave?
Dave turns the toy car around so that he is looking at the back of it. He opens the trunk of the car and then shuts it. He repeats the action. Then points at himself and then the trunk. He looks at his visitors with an intense, scared look.
Jing-Mei: Oh God, Dave! You in a trunk of a car.
To be continued. Please read and review.