Chapter 9: Adjustment

When Jack reached the hospital, he was told that Laura was being X-rayed and that a doctor would be with him shortly.

"Do you want me to stay, Jack?" Arvin asked.

"Um, no, that's all right. I should probably stay here tonight. I can take a cab home tomorrow," Jack said.

"Do you want us to send Sydney to school?"

Jack thought for a moment. If she didn't go to school, she'd know there was something wrong, and she would probably just worry about her absent parents all day. "Yeah, go ahead and send her to school. Tell her I'll pick her up afterwards. I'll tell her about the accident then."

Arvin nodded. He moved closer to Jack so that they wouldn't be overheard in the empty, but still public, waiting room. "Jack, I know this has got to be terrible for you. I can't even imagine.if Emily.anyway, if you need someone to talk to."

Jack gave him a strained smile. "Thanks, Arvin."

A few minutes later, Sloane was gone, and Jack was left alone with his thoughts.

***

"Mr. Bristow?" An hour later, a doctor finally entered the waiting room. "I'm Dr. Griffin."

"Is she all right?"

The doctor nodded. "She's going to be off her feet for awhile, but she'll be fine. She broke her right tibia and fibula-that's the two major bones in her lower leg. She also broke three ribs on the right side. She's just getting settled into a room now."

"Can I see her?"

"Of course." The doctor led Jack out of the waiting room. "We gave her a good bit of pain medication, and she's still sedated; she'll probably wake up in a couple of hours. She's immobilized, and she'll need to stay that way for a couple of days. We'll get some more X-rays on Sunday and see how things are going."

"How long will she be in the hospital?" Part of Jack hoped that it would be a long time. He still wasn't to the point where he could even begin to think rationally about what she had done to him, and he didn't think he would trust himself at home alone with her at the moment.

"If things look good on Sunday, and if she can handle crutches, she might be able to go home on Monday. That would be the earliest." Jack nodded. They had arrived at a nurse's station, and the doctor glanced at a clipboard. "Dr. Nielson is on duty tomorrow morning; he'll talk to you some more later." He turned to a nurse. "Amy, this is Laura Bristow's husband. Could you show him to her room?" Without another word, the doctor left.

The nurse led Jack into a dim room. There was Laura, unconscious, her right leg in a cast and strapped up in a ridiculous contraption that left it hanging from the ceiling, an IV in her left arm. She looked so small and vulnerable in the hospital bed that for a moment Jack completely forgot what she really was and only saw the woman he loved.

He was jolted back to reality by the nurse. "Will you be staying tonight, Mr. Bristow?"

"Yes, if that's all right."

"Of course." She pointed out the nurse call button, and then left.

Jack pulled a chair to the side of the bed and sat down heavily. He gazed at the woman in the bed. He wanted to hate her. But it wasn't working. He looked down and was surprised to see that he had gently taken Laura's limp right hand in both of his own.