Recovery
Part 34
A/N:
-Anything in bold italic is being spoken in Italian.
-It's implied that Jing-Mei and Mrs. Peterson are using an Italian/English dictionary to communicate with Rusty. However, they're scrambling through the book so they're really not talking as fast as it appears.
Mrs. Peterson refills her cup the whole time having a concerned look on her face.
Mrs. Peterson: Well, what is it dear? Is something wrong?
Jing-Mei: There's no easy way to tell you this and I won't blame you if you hate me but I hope someday in your heart you will find a way to forgive me.
Mrs. Peterson: Dr. Chen, I could never hate you no matter what. You have become one of my best friends in the year that I've known you.
Jing-Mei: I feel the same way. In fact, I think of you as family as I have told you time and time again, so it's about time you learned one of our family secrets.
Mrs. Peterson: If it's a family secret you can trust me to keep it.
Jing-Mei: I know I can and I should have told you this months ago when...
Jing-Mei nervously fingers her coffee cup and occasionally looks at Mrs. Peterson while she tries to think of the proper words to use to tell her.
Jing-Mei: Brace your self, Mrs. Peterson. Dave is alive!
Mrs. Peterson remains frozen and speechless at the table. She finally gets herself together enough to speak.
Mrs. Peterson: What do you mean---he's alive?
Jing-Mei: It's a long story. The day of Antonio's christening...
Mrs. Peterson: Dave was shot. I saw him get shot. He was...wasn't he?
Jing-Mei: Yes, he was. But the metal plate in his head took most of the impact. There was some damage from the shattered fragments of the bullet, but he survived.
Mrs. Peterson: And he's been at the hospital this whole time?
Jing-Mei: Not exactly. The day after Dave's "funeral", Dr. Romano had him airlifted and transferred to the Chicago East Rehab center.
Mrs. Peterson: Ohhh! That's why you volunteered there.
Jing-Mei: It was the best way to get to see him. Anyway, we had to have everyone believe he was dead so that his assailants would leave us alone and give him a chance to recover in peace--without fear or threats.
Mrs. Peterson: So, you knew the whole time...
Jing-Mei: Me and a few other people. Drs. Romano and Corday--they had to operate on Dave and arrange for his transfer. Rusty knew---I couldn't tell him his daddy was dead, with his mother's and aunt's deaths. Also Mr. Santini because he had to translate for me and Rusty. I wanted to tell you but Capt. Amos, who's idea this was in the first place, said the less people who knew the better. But you definitely have a right to know. If it weren't for your generous gift we would have lost Dave a long time ago. Please don't be upset with me.
Mrs. Peterson: It's a shock. It's going to take sometime to get use to the idea but as far as being upset with you, I never could and I understand why you did what you did. Under the same circumstances, I would have done the same thing.
Jing-Mei: I'm glad you're not angry. I was so worried that I might have hurt your feelings by not telling you about Dave. I do trust you.
Mrs. Peterson: And I trust you. Your family has become my second family. You and those two little boys, Rascal and Dave are all the family I have left.
Jing-Mei: By the way, there is something else you should know. In order to keep anybody from getting suspicious, we have given Dave an alias. His new name is Erik Evad.
Mrs. Peterson: Why does that name sound so familiar? Haven't you mentioned him bef...of course, you said you spent alot of time with a patient at the hospital...that was him, huh.
Jing-Mei nods.
Mrs. Peterson: I just assumed you meant your hospital, but I guess you were talking about the rehab center.
Jing-Mei: Actually, Dav..Erik is back at County. He needed heart surgery.
Mrs. Peterson: He's okay?
Jing-Mei: Physically he's doing alright but mentally he's a wreck. He's in therapy now with one of our best psychiatrists at the hospital. She's been putting him under hypnosis to recall his past that he's block out.
Mrs. Peterson: Is it working?
Jing-Mei: He's getting there. We ran into a problem when she tried to get Erik to open up about his twin brother's death.
Mrs. Peterson: He had a twin?
Jing-Mei: I didn't know either. His name was Nicholas but he died when they were two.
Mrs. Peterson: How?
Jing-Mei: Drug overdose.
Mrs. Peterson: Huh? Did Nicholas get someone's medicine?
Jing-Mei: I'm not sure but I don't think that's it. There's got to be more to the story that has Erik so frantic.
Mrs. Peterson: Hasn't Erik said anything about...
What seem to come out of nowhere, both Jing-Mei and Mrs. Peterson heard the wheezing at the same time. It was coming through the baby monitor.
Jing-Mei: It's Antonio. I'll get him and give him a treatment. Why don't you go to bed and I'll see you in the morning.
Mrs. Peterson: I will. Let me just clean up here a bit. Goodnight, Dr. Chen.
Jing-Mei went into the nursery while Mrs. Peterson collected the coffee cups and placed them in the sink. She stopped in her tracks.
Mrs. Peterson(to herself): What do you know about that? I can't get over it--he's alive--my Grant is alive. After all this time...
Before Mrs. Peterson could finish her thought, Jing-Mei came running into the kitchen.
Mrs. Peterson: Dr. Chen, what is wrong?
Jing-Mei(upset): Antonio, he's burning up. He's having trouble breathing. I just took his temperature. It's 103.5. I'm taking him to the ER.
Mrs. Peterson: Oh dear. He was fine a little while ago. What do you think is wrong with him?
Jing-Mei: Not sure but he had an asthma attack a few weeks ago. It was nothing. I gave him a treatment and he was fine. Excuse me.
Mrs. Peterson: Of course, go. I'll be here with Rusty in case he wakes up and wants to see you.
Jing-Mei places the mask for the nebulizer over Antonio's face and wraps the baby up in a blanket and heads out to the car. She straps Antonio in his car seat and heads off to the hospital.
She comes in the ER and goes to the admit desk. She has Cleo paged. A minute goes by and Cleo emerges from the lounge.
Cleo: Randi, you paged me?
Jing-Mei: It's for me, Cleo. It's Antonio. He was fine one moment and then burning up and wheezing the next. I took his temperature at home and it was 103.5.
Cleo: Damn it! That's way too high!
Cleo took Antonio from Jing-Mei and headed into Exam 1. She laid the gasping child on the bed. She removes the mask and places oxygen tubes up his nose.
Cleo: Why don't you wait outside?
Jing-Mei: No, I want to stay with him.
Cleo: Believe me, you'll just be in the way.
Jing-Mei: What do you think is wrong with him?
Cleo: Won't know until I run a few tests. This could be awhile. There's a fresh pot of coffee on in the lounge. Go sit down and relax. I'll take good care of this little guy.
Jing-Mei realizes the longer she argues with Cleo, the longer it will take for her to take care of her baby. She steps out of the room and heads into the lounge where Kerry and Haleh are sitting.
Jing-Mei: Hello, sorry to interrupt.
Kerry: That's alright. Come on in.
Jing-Mei heads over to the table and as she pours her coffee, her hands start shaking which doesn't go unnoticed by Kerry and Haleh.
Kerry: I didn't know you were on tonight, Jing-Mei.
Haleh: Or are you just visiting with Erik?
Jing-Mei: No, haven't been up to see him yet.
Haleh: Are you alright, Dr. Chen?
Jing-Mei: I'm fine. It's not me that I'm worried about.
Kerry: Is Erik alright? Dr. Legaspi told me what happened to him. They still have him restrained and muzzled upstairs?
Jing-Mei(shaking her head): No, they took the muzzle off, but as far as I know, he's still in the restraints.
Haleh: Your worried that he isn't getting better. That this hypnosis is a waste of time.
Jing-Mei: Not at all. I trust Dr. Legaspi and she says that it may not look like it but we are making progress with Erik. No, it's not Erik's condition that has me worried at the moment. It's Antonio. I just brought him in.
Kerry: Oh my god!! What happened? Is he alright?
Jing-Mei: I'm not sure. I hope so. Cleo's with him.
Haleh: He's in good hands then. She may be a little uppity but she is an excellent pediatrician.
Jing-Mei: I know. It's just---why can't anything go right for us---just once. Erik spases out and then Antonio has a temperature of 103.5.
Haleh: Well, I can't speak for Erik but from one mother to another--Antonio is a baby and babies get sick and that's part of being a mother. Yes, there are downfalls to having little ones but they don't out weigh the pleasure of holding those babies and looking into their eyes and faces and know that you created them. You may not believe it right now, Dr. Chen, but all the trouble you're going through now you'll see it will be well worth it later on in life.
Kerry: You can probably say the same about Erik. All the pain and horror he's feeling now will be worth it in the end---if he can accept his past, deal with it and go on.
Jing-Mei: I guess so.
Kerry: Well, I have to get back to work.
Haleh: Me too.
Jing-Mei: Thank you, guys.
Jing-Mei pours another cup of coffee and starts thumbing through a magazine while she awaits Cleo and news about her son.
Two hours go by before, Cleo walks into the lounge and confronts Jing-Mei. She walks in to find Jing-Mei fast asleep on the couch. She quietly tiptoes over to her and gently shakes her awake.
Cleo: Jing-Mei, wake up sweetheart.
Jing-Mei: Huh, what. Oh, Cleo. Did you find out what's wrong with my little guy?
Cleo: I have the test results here. It appears that Antonio has an upper respiratory infection which is what set off his asthma.
Jing-Mei: He had minor attack a couple of weeks ago. I should have brought him in then.
Cleo: You had no way of knowing that it would develop into something like this.
Jing-Mei: Maybe not but I'm a doctor and I know from experience you can never be too careful with asthmatics, especially preemies. So, where do we go from here?
Cleo: I'm giving him IV antibiotic drugs for the infection, acetaminophen for the fever and have him on 70% oxygen. I'm going to admit him so I can watch him for a few days.
Jing-Mei: He's going to be okay, isn't he?
Cleo: If he's anything like his old man, an URI isn't anything. He'll beat it.
Jing-Mei: Are you sure that's all that's wrong with him? Not that I don't trust you, Cleo, but I'm a mo...
Cleo: Your a mother and it's your job to be worried. I wouldn't hide anything from you. Here, you can see the test results yourself.
Jing-Mei scans Antonio's results and then nods at Cleo, indicating that she is satisfied with her diagnosis and she agrees.
Jing-Mei: Can I see him before I go?
Cleo: Sure, he's still in exam 1. I'll arrange for a bed for him upstairs while I get his admission paperwork started.
Jing-Mei enters exam 1 and sees Antonio laying in the crib fast asleep. Yosh is sitting with him writing down his vitals.
Jing-Mei: He looks so small laying in that big crib.
Yosh: They all do.
Jing-Mei: Especially when they're your own. He hasn't been any trouble, Yosh?
Yosh: Absolutely not. He's a doll.
Jing-Mei bends down and plants a small kiss on his head and whispers something in his ear.
Jing-Mei: Hey baby, mama's here. Your going to be alright. My friends here are going to take good care of you. You just rest little guy and I'll be back to see you a little later when you're feeling better. I have to go home and tend to your big brother. I love you, sweetheart.
She stands up and gives his machines one quick glance as Cleo enters with transport to take him upstairs.
Jing-Mei checks her schedule for the following week and heads back home only to come back later the next day for her shift.
When Jing-Mei arrives home, she heads for the bathroom and jumps into a hot bath. While she soaks she thinks. After 45 minutes, she gets out of the tub and heads for bed.
In the morning, she gets up at the smell of Mrs. Peterson making pancakes in the kitchen. She walks into the kitchen and sits at the table.
Jing-Mei: Good morning, Mrs. Peterson. You didn't have to make us breakfast.
Mrs. Peterson: I didn't mind. I'm kind of use to it. Coffee, dear.
Jing-Mei: Yes, please. Sit down Mrs. Peterson.
Mrs. Peterson does as Jing-Mei asks.
Mrs. Peterson: Is this about Antonio? I was asleep when you came in last night and I didn't get a chance to go in and see him this morning.
Jing-Mei: No, no this isn't about Antonio. Besides, he's not here. They admitted him last night.
Mrs. Peterson: Oh, nothing serious I hope.
Jing-Mei: He has an upper respiratory infection that triggered his asthma. They'll keep him there for a few days on antibiotics. One of our best pediatricians is working on him so he'll be fine. Actually, this is about something you said the other night.
Mrs. Peterson: What was that?
Jing-Mei: When you said that Rusty was talking about going to visit Jada's grave for her birthday. I think he should.
Mrs. Peterson: Oh, so you will be going over to Italy for awhile?
Jing-Mei: I would like to but with Antonio sick now and Erik in a mess, now will not be a good time for me.
Mrs. Peterson: Too bad. Rusty would have loved it.
Jing-Mei: I'm sure he would and he may still have a chance. Mrs. Peterson, how would you like a vacation?
Mrs. Peterson almost chokes on her coffee.
Mrs. Peterson: Me? You want me to take Rusty over?
Jing-Mei: If you don't mind? I figured Rusty could visit Jada and you could use the time away. I'll pay all expenses. You do have a passport, don't you?
Mrs. Peterson: I'd love to. Yes, I have a passport. Lee and I went to Canada a few years ago. But I insist on paying my own way.
Jing-Mei: I won't hear of it. You will be doing me a big favor and I really appreciate it.
Mrs. Peterson: How long will we be gone?
Jing-Mei: Well, Rusty starts back to school in two weeks and I have to take him shopping for new school clothes and supplies, so how's one week sound.
Mrs. Peterson: Great. I'm so excited. I've always wanted to go to Italy.
Jing-Mei: Alright, I'll make the plane and hotel reservations and speak with Erik's brother in law, Manny, about meeting you. If you can pack today, then you can leave tomorrow morning.
Mrs. Peterson: It shouldn't take me long and I'll help Rusty.
Jing-Mei: Speaking of which, I better run this by him.
Jing-Mei gets up and as she is exiting the kitchen she walks into Rusty coming in.
Jing-Mei: Just the guy I was looking for. Sit down, baby.
Rusty: What did I do wrong?
Jing-Mei: Nothing. I have a surprise for you. How would you like to go visit your mama's grave for her birthday?
Rusty(smiling): Back home in Sicily?
Jing-Mei: Yes. Mrs. Peterson will take you over.
Rusty: You coming too?
Jing-Mei: No baby. Antonio is sick and he's in the hospital for a couple of days so I have to stay with him. You'll be okay with Grandma Peterson.
Rusty: Tonio sick? He is okay?
Jing-Mei: He will be. The doctors are taking good care of him.
Rusty: Rascal come?
Jing-Mei(shaking her head): Sorry baby. Rascal can't go. He'd have to get his shots to travel outside the country.
Rusty: Me too.
Jing-Mei: I can give you and Mrs. Peterson your shots today but for a dog they have to be cleared to travel and put in isolation so that they don't bring in any germs or diseases...
Rusty: Rascal clean. NO DISEASES!
Jing-Mei: I know. I know. But it's a federal law and it would take a few days for Rascal to get his clearance and we don't have that kind of time. Anyway, I'm not sure Rascal wants to leave his girlfriend in her condition.
Rusty: Next time, he go. I want him see my home...meet my friends.
Jing-Mei: Alright, next time we will make sure Rascal goes with us.
Rusty: Okay.
Mrs. Peterson: Now, young man, we have alot of packing to do so sit down and have your breakfast. I'll bring Rusty by later for those shots.
Jing-Mei: Thanks. I'm going to take my shower now before I go to work.
At the hospital, Jing-Mei finishes helping out on a major trauma---a shooting outside a gas station. She heads up to pediatrics and visits with Antonio. She scrubs and gowns before she goes into his room. He's laying in the crib, with an IV in one hand and oxygen tubes up his nose. She bends over his crib and kisses him through the mask, waking him up. He starts to giggle at his funny-looking mommy.
Jing-Mei(to Antonio): You think this is funny, little guy? You've got your daddy's sense of humor.
Antonio's pediatrician, Dr. Waylon, walks up behind her.
Dr. Waylon: Not one of Dr. Dave's worse characteristics he could have inherited.
Jing-Mei: True enough. So, how's he doing?
Dr. Waylon: He's stable. We just gave him a treatment and his lungs still sound a little dry but that's not unusual.
Jing-Mei: He certainly feels a lot cooler than he did when I brought him in last night.
Dr. Waylon: He's responding nicely to the antibiotics and I'm going to start him on some Albuterol elixir to help the wheezing and moisten his lungs.
Jing-Mei: How long do you think he will be here?
Dr. Waylon: Well, I want to keep him for at least another day or so to make sure his lungs are clear and that the fever stays down. His lungs are developing normally now, despite his premature status but I'd feel better if we were absolutely sure he was well when we discharge him.
Jing-Mei: I agree. Whatever is best for my little guy is...
Jing-Mei's pager goes off.
Jing-Mei: If you'll excuse me, I have to get back to work.
Jing-Mei kisses Antonio again and waves bye-bye to him and he waves back.
Antonio: Mama. Ma--ma.
Jing-Mei goes down into the ER and sees Mrs. Peterson and Rusty waiting for her. She takes them into exam 2 and prepares to administer the proper shots.
Across town, Pincard enters Vincenzio's apartment.
Pincard: So boss, you wanted to see me?
Vincenzio: As a matter of fact I do. I'm about ready to make good on my promise to you when you rid the world of my fucking kid.
Pincard: You mean I get his wife?
Vincenzio: The kid's been out of the hospital long enough so he should be well now so I won't have to deal with a sick rugrat on my hands.
Pincard: So, what do I have to do?
Vincenzio: You seem like a pretty smart guy, compared to some of the morons I have working for me, so I'll leave the details to you. The only thing I insist upon is you can have his wife---your woman but I want those kids. Bring them to me unharmed. Understood.
Pincard nods in response.
Later after Mrs. Peterson takes Rusty home, and during her dinner break, Jing-Mei goes up to visit Erik. She walks in and sees him thrashing around in his bed. He's still restrained to the bed and fast asleep. She goes over to him and attempts to wake him up. She's unsuccessful. Dr. Legaspi enters the room.
Dr. Legaspi: I wouldn't do that if you value your bones.
Jing-Mei: What do you mean?
Dr. Legaspi: I tried talking to Erik earlier but he wouldn't have anything to do with me. I thinks he's still angry about having to be tied down. He resents me for it. So, as difficult as it was, I finally managed to persuade Dr. Romano to let me untie him.
Jing-Mei: And what happened?
Dr. Legaspi: The moment he was loose, he took a swing at me. I was able to jump out of his line of vision and avoid getting my nose broken like Romano. But, he still kept swinging his arms around. Twice I almost got nailed with his cast. I stood next to him and without his peripheral vision he couldn't see me so it was the safest place. When he realized he wasn't achieving anything by thrashing his arms around except tiring himself out, he stopped and started clawing at his face. We had no choice but to put him back in the restraints.
Jing-Mei: I noticed the scratch marks on his face and I was going to ask about them even though I already knew the answer about how they got there.
The two doctors stare at an obviously, distressed and sleeping Erik.
Dr. Legaspi: It would appear that he's having another nightmare.
Jing-Mei: Can't you do anything to stop them?
Dr. Legaspi: Sorry, but he's at his limit on psychiatric drugs, and we have been trying to wake him up but failed, so he's got to do that on his own.
Jing-Mei: What about his heart? I don't want him to have another coronary.
Dr. Legaspi: Of course, that's being monitored and if this behavior gets out of hand, we will have no choice but to try and increase his anxiety meds.
Jing-Mei: When's his next session?
Dr. Legaspi: We've kind of put them on hold until Erik starts to respond to his meds and behaves himself.
Jing-Mei: I'm going to sit with him for awhile.
Dr. Legaspi leaves and Jing-Mei pulls up a seat and watches Erik squirm in bed. After 20 minutes, she gets bored and turns on his tv. Involved in a program on tv, Jing-Mei doesn't notice that Erik is now wide awake. She turns around to him and seeing his status, goes over to talk to him. He's lying motionless in bed and staring at the ceiling of his room.
Jing-Mei: Erik, finally you're awake. How do you feel?
Erik remains unresponsive. Jing-Mei continues to talk to him hoping to get a response out of him. But despite her best efforts, Erik remains motionless and peering at his ceiling.
Jing-Mei: I'm letting Mrs. Peterson take Rusty over to visit Jada in Italy. So, he won't be by to see you for awhile. Antonio is a little under the weather but he's getting better.(pause) Please Erik, look at me. Move something so I know you're still in there. Say something.
No response from Erik. Jing-Mei looks at her watch.
Jing-Mei: I've got to get back to the ER. I'll try to see you again before I leave for the night. I hope you're in a more talkative mood then.
That night, when Jing-Mei arrives home she sees suitcases sitting in the living room.
Jing-Mei: Well, that didn't take long for you to pack.
Mrs. Peterson: Don't be so sure about that. Rusty kept bringing things in to pack and I had to tell him that he couldn't take them with him. We finally were able to agree on what clothes and toys to pack.
Jing-Mei: Good. Now, I made reservations for you on a flight tomorrow morning at 9am. I spoke with Manny and he'll meet you at the gate.
Mrs. Peterson: It will be nice to get away for awhile. Now, dinner is almost ready so sit down.
Jing-Mei hears Rascal barking in the backyard.
Jing-Mei: I better let Rascal in to eat too.
Mrs. Peterson: Yes, poor thing has been out there all day.
Jing-Mei goes to open the back door and let the dog in when a loud siren is sounded. Both ladies put their hands to their ears. Jing-Mei hurries over to the control panel and deactivates the alarm.
Mrs. Peterson: Sorry. I guess I forgot to turn the alarm off when we came back from the hospital.
Jing-Mei: That's okay. It's off now, problem solved. Come here, Rascal--chow time.
Rascal darts in the house and jumps on Jing-Mei. Once she knocks him down off her, she gets his bowls and cleans them out before she feeds him. Rascal runs into the living room while he waits for his dinner to be served. Mrs. Peterson and Jing-Mei talk while they finish making dinner.
Mrs. Peterson: I wish you were coming too.
Jing-Mei: So do I. I could really use a vacation and maybe once everything is back on track with Erik and Antonio is well, I'll take one.
Mrs. Peterson: How is Erik doing?
Jing-Mei: I'm sorry to say, not good. They tried to take him out of the restraints today but he started acting up again and he even scratched at his own face.
Mrs. Peterson: What are they going to do for him?
Jing-Mei: Adjust his meds again. Let's just pray that works so he can go back to work with Dr. Legaspi.
Mrs. Peterson: And Antonio?
Jing-Mei: His fever broke and they have his asthma under control. His doctor said that if he kept progressing this well, then he would discharge him in a couple of days. He'll probably be here when you guys get back. Well, I guess that's it. We are through here.
Jing-Mei fills Rascal's water bowl up and puts his Kibbles 'n' Bits in his food dish and places them on the floor.
Mrs. Peterson: I'll start bringing the food to the table...
Jing-Mei begins to call Rusty to the table for dinner when she hears Rascal whining. Both ladies run into the living room to find out what is wrong with the dog. They walk in to see Rusty with his suitcase half open and Rascal hanging out of it. Rusty is trying to do the zipper.
Rusty: In Rascal, get in suitcase if you want go to Italy with me.
Jing-Mei gets a disapproving look on her face. Rusty jumps when he sees his Mama Jing and Grandma Peterson standing four feet away from him. He jumps up and tries to block their view of his latest scheme.
Jing-Mei: Rusty, I told you that Rascal stays home. Now, did you really think you would get away with packing your dog in the suitcase. How long do you think Rascal could stay in the bag?
Rusty(shrugs): Took a chance.
Jing-Mei: Rusty, dinner's ready. Go wash up. I'll take care of Rascal.
Rusty goes into the bathroom as Jing-Mei unzips a panicky Rascal from the suitcase. As soon as the zipper is down, Rascal jumps out and runs into the kitchen and can be heard starting to eat. The ladies can't help but laugh at this latest Malucci scam.
Mrs. Peterson: What that poor dog takes from that little boy.
Jing-Mei: I know. But they are great together--not to mention so cute.
Mrs. Peterson: Let that be for now. I'll repack it later. Now, let's have supper before it gets cold.
The next morning after Jing-Mei drops Mrs. Peterson and Rusty off at the airport, bids goodbye and waits for them to board, she heads to the hospital. She arrives an hour early and goes up to see Antonio, who's quietly sleeping. Not wanting to wake him up, she goes over to visit Erik. She opens his door and sees him in the same position he was in the day before--- restrained, motionless and staring at the ceiling. She walks over to him, kisses him on the head but he gives her no response. She exits his room and goes to Dr. Legaspi's office. She knocks on the door.
Dr. Legaspi: Come in!
Jing-Mei: Dr. Legaspi, I hope I'm not disturbing you.
Dr. Legaspi: Of course not. Have you been up to see Erik this morning?
Jing-Mei: Just came from there. Did you adjust his meds?
Dr. Legaspi: Still working on it.
Jing-Mei: Well, please do something. I think maybe if you cut back on some of the drugs that might help.
Dr. Legaspi: You've seen what happens when we decrease the meds--he becomes irrational and totally out of control.
Jing-Mei: I know but I think now he's overmedicated. A little movement would be better than this. He's a zombie. He doesn't do anything but lie still in the bed and stare at the ceiling except when he's sleeping. Only then does he move and only because he's having a nightmare, which is why we started this whole hypnosis thing in the first place--to prevent the nightmares.
Dr. Legaspi: Let me talk with him and see what I can do, okay.
Jing-Mei: Alright. I'll be down in the ER working. You have my pager number, in case anything happens.
Jing-Mei leaves Dr. Legaspi's office and goes down to the ER to start her shift. Jing-Mei works her entire shift without one page from Erik's shrink. She goes up to see him before leaving for the night. There's been no change. Erik is wide awake but still motionless. Jing-Mei walks over to her silent and still husband, takes one of his hands in hers and starts caressing his brow.
Jing-Mei: Come on Erik, please whatever is going on inside your head, please let us in to help you. I love you and no matter what has happened to you, what has scared you so much I will never stop loving you.
Unable to get through to him, she leaves and makes one last stop at Antonio's room. Dr. Waylon said it was alright for her to start feeding him again. She didn't have a bottle ready so she decided to breast feed him. It's the first time in months that she did and she felt now was a good time to regain that mother-son bond that she felt she was lacking.
When Jing-Mei arrived home, she turned off the alarms--not wanting to set them off again when she let Rascal in the house. She made herself a sandwich and sat in the lounge chair. She turned on the tv. Rascal slept by her feet. She started thumbing through the mail when she came across a letter from Erik's insurance company. It stated that Erik's medical insurance was running out and soon would no longer pay for his hospital stays. Unable to deal with that problem now, and fighting to stay awake---her drooping eyes weren't making it easy, she couldn't fight the urge anymore---she turned off the tv and headed for bed, waking Rascal up.
Jing-Mei: Alright Rascal, let's (yawning) call it a night.
Jing-Mei pointed Rascal towards the kitchen but he headed for Rusty's room instead. As she was setting the alarm on the front door, she caught Rascal slipping in Rusty's bedroom. She went after him. He was laying on Rusty's bed.
Jing-Mei: No you don't. You know the rules. You sleep in your bed in the kitchen.
Rascal starts to whimper. Jing-Mei strokes his head.
Jing-Mei: I know. I miss him too. (pause) Well maybe tonight we'll break the rules---just for tonight and only if you promise not to tell Rusty. He'll never let me forget it.
Rascal barks and wags his tail, as if he were agreeing with her. Jing-Mei lets the pooch sleep on Rusty's bed. She heads into her bedroom, undresses and lays down in bed. She falls asleep the minute her head hits the pillow. She's out for the night. She starts dreaming about how her family should be if none of this ugly business with Dave ever happened. Granted Rusty wouldn't be living with her and Rascal and Mrs. Peterson would never have came into her life but despite those issues, she smiles in her sleep at the thought of her and Dave together with Antonio--teaching and playing with him. She can see Dave putting him up on ice skates teaching him how to play hockey before he was a year old. She turns over in bed when a hand comes across her mouth, startling her awake. She feels the cold steel of a knife to her throat.
Intruder: One word and you're dead---slut.
To be continued. Please read and review.