Noah hurried into the packed emergency room, quickly moving through the double doors into the treatment area, glad that the nurses seemed to be too preoccupied with the influx of patients to say anything to him. At the moment he didn't feel very inclined to offer explanations for who he really was and what was going on especially when Cath identifying him was pretty much his only proof of his identity. What in the world had happened to his badge and other ID? He had had a twenty in that wallet and no one better have spent it. If his friends weren't going to take five minutes to look for him, they weren't going to be getting any loans.
He anxiously scanned each room as he hurried down the hall looking for any sign of Catherine before finally spotting her. There was a large group of doctors and nurses gathered around her, rapidly moving the stretcher she was on towards the elevators. He could feel the tension in the air as he hurried towards them, almost running. Catherine's eyes were closed, her skin deathly pale, wires and tubes attached to every part of her body. About the only bit of comfort was the fact that the collar had been removed from her neck.
"Sir, you...." A nurse intercepted him as he approached.
"She's my mother. I just want to let her know I'm here," Noah said in an urgent tone, the lie coming automatically. "Has someone called the US Marshals office in Chicago yet? They should be able to fax any medical information you need."
He moved to Catherine's side, leaning down and gently kissing her forehead as he talked. "I'm here, honey. And the police are going to drag Sam over as soon as he shows up. It's going to be okay." he whispered.
"Noah?" Her eyes slowly blinked open, a slight smile on her lips at the sight of the young man. At least..... at least Sam would have someone there to comfort him when.... "Earrings." she whispered as the elevator doors opened and the stretcher started to move again, Noah right by her side. "Give... Sam."
"Don't think he'll misplace them, do you?" Noah said as he leaned down again and pressed another kiss against her forehead before backing away. "It's going to be okay, honey. We'll be right there with you when you wake up."
Her eyes were closed once more before the elevator door even shut. Noah silently took the bag that a nurse offered him, digging through it with one hand as he headed out towards the waiting room again, trying to decide where to go from there, upstairs to be near Cath or down to wait on Sam to show up. That man better not get lost this time.
"John?" he heard a voice behind him say as he came into the waiting room, causing him to turn and then glance down at the woman who had approached him. Tiny, barely over five feet, pale, silvery blonde hair in a feather cut, eyes looking up at him with curiosity.
"Colleen, what are you doing here?" he asked. The little hospital administrator had practically been his salvation when he had first woke up, especially when the amnesia had refused to fade and the hospital beaurocrats had gotten up in arms about the mounting hospital bill.
"Had a meeting and they needed all the help they could get." Usually Colleen Harper's time was spent not in the practice of medicine but making sure that others were actually practicing medicine with some degree of sanity. She did enjoy a bit of hands on work when she was able though. "So, what are you doing here?" A worried expression in her eyes when she suddenly noticed the blood on Noah's arm. She had felt a bit of personal responsibility for the boy ever since the day he had woken up with his memory gone. She reached out, taking his hand and started to guide him towards the treatment area once more. "Come on. Let's get someone to take a look at you. Where were you when this thing hit anyway, John? I know that the school's okay."
He smiled slightly with relief that the kids were safe before speaking, "My name's not John, it's Noah." he said softly. "I remember, Colly. I remember everything. I'm a US Marshal."
"What?" Colleen stared at him for a moment, paling visibly as the news sunk in. "We lost a federal official? We've never lost a federal official before!" She didn't know how, but she was even more sure now than she had been three years ago to her hospital was somehow responsible for why that poor boy hadn't been identified.
"What about that OSHA inspector?"
"He ran off with his secretary. We can hardly be blamed for that," Colleen grumbled as she motioned for another doctor to come over as soon as he was finished with the patient he was tending. "How did you get everything back?" She knew that he had been trying since the accident to recover his memories, had tried anything that had been suggested without any hint of success.
"The tornado. Must have been divine intervention or something but I ended up trapped in the basement of the courthouse with my boss." Noah hesitated a bit as he thought of Catherine. She had to be all right, if anything happened to her.... "They just took her up to surgery, I think. Colly, could you go check and see...? Her name's Catherine Walsh."
"I'll go see if I can find out anything," she said gently as she patted his shoulder. "You just stay right here and let the doctor check you over while I'm doing that, okay?"