Disclaimer: I don't own Early Edition or any of its Characters, cause if I
did the show would still be running. I'm just an obsessed fan with lots,
and lots of time on her hands.
An Accident of Trust
Written By: Felicity Poole
The Waiting Room
Crumb sighed placing his fingertips against his temples in a futile attempt to push back the pounding headache that was threatening to rob him of his sanity. If it wasn't for the white gauzy patch taped above his right eye you would have never known the older man had even been in the accident. Several hours had past slowly as Crumb patiently waited, every few minutes or so casting his weary eyes upon the small clock mounted alone on the white walls of the cramped room. No nurses had been by baring information on the current condition of Hobson leaving his imagination to run with the wind. Two officers sat beside him both whom he worked with and both for some time now had tried to send him home, but he wouldn't be swayed. Why? That's a good question one in which he had asked himself many times before, but couldn't come up with a logical explanation. He glanced up from his thoughts to watch the small TV set across the room. The volume was just high enough to catch his attention to the local News. Now, as they had several times during the past couple of hours ran the photograph of Howard Hoffman across the screen, the very man who was indeed responsible for all the day's chaotic events. The older Detective had cursed himself for not paying closer attention at the scene of the accident, for it wasn't till a short while after arriving at the hospital was he alerted to the fact that the taxi driver as told by countless witnesses fled the scene of the collision. Several squads were hunting for the man who currently had a pile of charges rising upon him, definitely insuring the chances of jail time when he was taken in to custody 'Especially if Hobson dies' Crumb thought to himself quickly shaking the thought from his head. The kid could be one heck of an annoyance, but he did make life interesting, and he had to admit he'd be missed.
At the sound of the door creaking open the room's inhabitants stood to attention each person silently praying for a good report on a friend or family member. A man approximately in his late forty's entered quietly, his white over coat flailing out behind him. Scanning over the words printed on the clipboard in hand he quickly gathered what information he needed before searching the anxious faces for one in particular. Spotting his target he crossed the floor slowly looking once more over his notes before coming to a standstill in front of an older man.
"Marion Crum I presume?" He inquired confidently.
"Yes doctor that would be me, but please call me Zeke" He acknowledged standing slowly to his feet, his hand extended where it was accepted with a firm grip.
"It's a pleasure I'm sure Zeke. My name is Dr. Noah Adams. I'm told you're here on Mr. Hobson's account?"
"Yes I am"
"How do you know him? Are you a relative?"
"No Sir, just a friend or more like an acquaintance you might say"
"Very well then I believe we can get started" Adams announced as he took a seat, quickly motioning for Crumb to do the same.
"First off let me apologize for the long wait I know it can be frustrating, but let me assure you we have done our very best to help your friend."
"How is he?" Crumb asked quietly as he leaned over placing both elbows on his knees letting his fingertips touch, a stance he was known for in times or situations when he sat awaiting information.
"Well, that's hard to say at the present moment. He's alive and stabilized, but that was a very traumatic accident he was in and his body took quite a hard hit to say the least."
"You don't have to explain that to me. I was there" Marion commented.
"Yes so I've heard. I'm sorry to say Mr. Hobson has slipped into a coma. Now he could awaken in a couple of days, maybe weeks, or." Never" interrupted Crumb. Adams sighed and quickly found an interest in his feet. Out of all the ups and downs of his profession he found this to be the hardest part of all. "Never is not a word we like to use around here, but yes that could be a possibility, I won't lie to you on that."
"And what if he wakes up how will he be then?"
"As they say that's a whole different ballgame. He's sustained serious trauma to his head and back, and until he awakens there's no way for us to know the extent of the injury. This means we can't tell if there has been any permanent damage to the brain or paralysis to his lower extremities."
"So he could be crippled? That's what it amount's to isn't it"
"I'm sorry to say that it is, of coarse he could wake up in few days and be perfectly fine. Right now the only things that we can do are pray and wait. I suggest that you let the gentlemen with you take you home, and you get yourself some rest. If anything changes for good, or God forbid worse we'll give you a call."
Crumb nodded solemnly before standing to his feet. He walked a few steps before turning back around to face the man again. "Have you told his folks?"
"We have people tracking them down as we speak, I was hoping perhaps you might know who they are, and where we can find them"
"Sure, I met them once. The Hobson's aren't exactly a family you can forget easily"
"I take it they've made quiet an impression on you?"
"That's the understatement of the year. Especially Gary he's a real piece of work. I believe he's a good kid and I know he means well, but he's got a real knack for always being in the wrong place at the wrong time"
"I can relate to you, in fact I had my own run in with him about a year ago I believe."
"You met Hobson?"
"Yes, He came into the emergency room one night with a rather large dent in his head he was out for five hours. His friend said he was hit by a car."
"That sounds like Hobson alright" Crumb commented "Was he ok?"
"He was fine after some rest, but he looked like a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders or something. Had me completely baffled, he knew things in away I couldn't understand."
With a snort of sarcasm he replied. "Lord knows we'll never know either he's as secretive as a hermit. Always seeming like he's hiding something not necessarily bad, just something he deems important. Quite frankly I don't want to know all that Heebe Jeebe stuff he does gives me the creeps."
"I know what you mean."
Crumb sighed as he let his hand run slowly through his salty hair. Truthfully he did want to know, but he didn't if that made any sense. His mind filled with a few fleeting memories of what he has come to call 'Hobson Encounters' and he shook his head.
"Zeke, I know it's a shot in the dark, but I was wondering if perhaps you know a Miss Marissa Clark?"
"Marissa, sure I know her. Both her and Hobson are co-owners of a Bar downtown called McGINTY'S. She's there ever day."
"Thank you that's most helpful, I figured she would want to be informed immediately. They seem to have a close relationship, or did when we met last time."
"I always thought so. You want to write down Hobson's folks names to?"
"Yes I better do that now."
"They're Louis and Bernie though I think I recall his father saying his name was Bernard I'm not quite sure. Oh, and if it helps any they live in Hickory, Indiana."
Taking out a pen from his pocket Adams clicked it once readying it for use. "Louis and Bernie" he murmured writing both names and the town down in his typical chicken scratch. "Alright Zeke You have been of great help. I'm sure it won't take long to contact them now"
"It's the least I could do"
Noah smiled and flipped the cover back over his slate placing it securely under his arm. After stashing his pen in its rightful place he extended his hand where this time it was Crumb who accepted it in a firm hold. "You get yourself some rest now."
"Don't worry I'm on my way out I promise"
"Well, I still have my rounds to make so I'll be leaving you with your word on that"
Crumb laughed and watched the slightly Younger man walk away stopping momentarily at the door to raise a hand in farewell before disappearing into the hall.
Both his fellow officers placed their magazines down upon seeing the Doctor leave taking that as their cue to take their boss home for the night.
"Are you ready to go?" Smith inquired.
"Yes Lieutenant I'm more than ready" Leading the way Crumb never said another word preferring at the moment to be alone with the loud unquiet of his thoughts.
Continued...
An Accident of Trust
Written By: Felicity Poole
The Waiting Room
Crumb sighed placing his fingertips against his temples in a futile attempt to push back the pounding headache that was threatening to rob him of his sanity. If it wasn't for the white gauzy patch taped above his right eye you would have never known the older man had even been in the accident. Several hours had past slowly as Crumb patiently waited, every few minutes or so casting his weary eyes upon the small clock mounted alone on the white walls of the cramped room. No nurses had been by baring information on the current condition of Hobson leaving his imagination to run with the wind. Two officers sat beside him both whom he worked with and both for some time now had tried to send him home, but he wouldn't be swayed. Why? That's a good question one in which he had asked himself many times before, but couldn't come up with a logical explanation. He glanced up from his thoughts to watch the small TV set across the room. The volume was just high enough to catch his attention to the local News. Now, as they had several times during the past couple of hours ran the photograph of Howard Hoffman across the screen, the very man who was indeed responsible for all the day's chaotic events. The older Detective had cursed himself for not paying closer attention at the scene of the accident, for it wasn't till a short while after arriving at the hospital was he alerted to the fact that the taxi driver as told by countless witnesses fled the scene of the collision. Several squads were hunting for the man who currently had a pile of charges rising upon him, definitely insuring the chances of jail time when he was taken in to custody 'Especially if Hobson dies' Crumb thought to himself quickly shaking the thought from his head. The kid could be one heck of an annoyance, but he did make life interesting, and he had to admit he'd be missed.
At the sound of the door creaking open the room's inhabitants stood to attention each person silently praying for a good report on a friend or family member. A man approximately in his late forty's entered quietly, his white over coat flailing out behind him. Scanning over the words printed on the clipboard in hand he quickly gathered what information he needed before searching the anxious faces for one in particular. Spotting his target he crossed the floor slowly looking once more over his notes before coming to a standstill in front of an older man.
"Marion Crum I presume?" He inquired confidently.
"Yes doctor that would be me, but please call me Zeke" He acknowledged standing slowly to his feet, his hand extended where it was accepted with a firm grip.
"It's a pleasure I'm sure Zeke. My name is Dr. Noah Adams. I'm told you're here on Mr. Hobson's account?"
"Yes I am"
"How do you know him? Are you a relative?"
"No Sir, just a friend or more like an acquaintance you might say"
"Very well then I believe we can get started" Adams announced as he took a seat, quickly motioning for Crumb to do the same.
"First off let me apologize for the long wait I know it can be frustrating, but let me assure you we have done our very best to help your friend."
"How is he?" Crumb asked quietly as he leaned over placing both elbows on his knees letting his fingertips touch, a stance he was known for in times or situations when he sat awaiting information.
"Well, that's hard to say at the present moment. He's alive and stabilized, but that was a very traumatic accident he was in and his body took quite a hard hit to say the least."
"You don't have to explain that to me. I was there" Marion commented.
"Yes so I've heard. I'm sorry to say Mr. Hobson has slipped into a coma. Now he could awaken in a couple of days, maybe weeks, or." Never" interrupted Crumb. Adams sighed and quickly found an interest in his feet. Out of all the ups and downs of his profession he found this to be the hardest part of all. "Never is not a word we like to use around here, but yes that could be a possibility, I won't lie to you on that."
"And what if he wakes up how will he be then?"
"As they say that's a whole different ballgame. He's sustained serious trauma to his head and back, and until he awakens there's no way for us to know the extent of the injury. This means we can't tell if there has been any permanent damage to the brain or paralysis to his lower extremities."
"So he could be crippled? That's what it amount's to isn't it"
"I'm sorry to say that it is, of coarse he could wake up in few days and be perfectly fine. Right now the only things that we can do are pray and wait. I suggest that you let the gentlemen with you take you home, and you get yourself some rest. If anything changes for good, or God forbid worse we'll give you a call."
Crumb nodded solemnly before standing to his feet. He walked a few steps before turning back around to face the man again. "Have you told his folks?"
"We have people tracking them down as we speak, I was hoping perhaps you might know who they are, and where we can find them"
"Sure, I met them once. The Hobson's aren't exactly a family you can forget easily"
"I take it they've made quiet an impression on you?"
"That's the understatement of the year. Especially Gary he's a real piece of work. I believe he's a good kid and I know he means well, but he's got a real knack for always being in the wrong place at the wrong time"
"I can relate to you, in fact I had my own run in with him about a year ago I believe."
"You met Hobson?"
"Yes, He came into the emergency room one night with a rather large dent in his head he was out for five hours. His friend said he was hit by a car."
"That sounds like Hobson alright" Crumb commented "Was he ok?"
"He was fine after some rest, but he looked like a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders or something. Had me completely baffled, he knew things in away I couldn't understand."
With a snort of sarcasm he replied. "Lord knows we'll never know either he's as secretive as a hermit. Always seeming like he's hiding something not necessarily bad, just something he deems important. Quite frankly I don't want to know all that Heebe Jeebe stuff he does gives me the creeps."
"I know what you mean."
Crumb sighed as he let his hand run slowly through his salty hair. Truthfully he did want to know, but he didn't if that made any sense. His mind filled with a few fleeting memories of what he has come to call 'Hobson Encounters' and he shook his head.
"Zeke, I know it's a shot in the dark, but I was wondering if perhaps you know a Miss Marissa Clark?"
"Marissa, sure I know her. Both her and Hobson are co-owners of a Bar downtown called McGINTY'S. She's there ever day."
"Thank you that's most helpful, I figured she would want to be informed immediately. They seem to have a close relationship, or did when we met last time."
"I always thought so. You want to write down Hobson's folks names to?"
"Yes I better do that now."
"They're Louis and Bernie though I think I recall his father saying his name was Bernard I'm not quite sure. Oh, and if it helps any they live in Hickory, Indiana."
Taking out a pen from his pocket Adams clicked it once readying it for use. "Louis and Bernie" he murmured writing both names and the town down in his typical chicken scratch. "Alright Zeke You have been of great help. I'm sure it won't take long to contact them now"
"It's the least I could do"
Noah smiled and flipped the cover back over his slate placing it securely under his arm. After stashing his pen in its rightful place he extended his hand where this time it was Crumb who accepted it in a firm hold. "You get yourself some rest now."
"Don't worry I'm on my way out I promise"
"Well, I still have my rounds to make so I'll be leaving you with your word on that"
Crumb laughed and watched the slightly Younger man walk away stopping momentarily at the door to raise a hand in farewell before disappearing into the hall.
Both his fellow officers placed their magazines down upon seeing the Doctor leave taking that as their cue to take their boss home for the night.
"Are you ready to go?" Smith inquired.
"Yes Lieutenant I'm more than ready" Leading the way Crumb never said another word preferring at the moment to be alone with the loud unquiet of his thoughts.
Continued...