Emergency Room, General Hospital-
Bobbie had watched Monica do everything that was possible to do for Damian in the state that he was in. It wasn't good. It could have been worse, but it certainly could have been better. He was breathing, his vitals weren't weak, but he hadn't stirred at all. She had tried talking to him and touching his cheek with her hand softly, just trying to get a reaction. He didn't even flinch. His head was bandaged at the top, the bandage containing the slight bleeding that was still coming out of the now stitched wound. The gash wasn't wide, but it was deep. He needed 14 stitches. When she watched the doctors pierce through his skin she was unnerved. The only thing that made it somewhat tolerable was the fact that she knew that he wasn't feeling any pain. He couldn't feel anything. He might not ever feel anything ever again.
Bobbie knew for a fact that Sonny was outside, which likely meant that Carly was as well. It was nice to know that she could be there. There was a time when she would have just stood back and let it happen without feeling anything. She couldn't give the boy any empathy. It reminded Bobbie so much of the way that Carly was when she first came to Port Charles. Carly was past that, she had matured.
"Don't make us bury you," Bobbie pleaded. "You're stronger than this, I know you are." Bobbie was alone. No one was aware of her pleas, but it didn't matter. The only person that she wanted to have hear her requests was Damian. She knew that he was able to hear her. He wasn't brain dead. If he would wake up... that was another story. She'd gone through too many people that she cared about finding themselves in coma's to add another to the list. But there wasn't anything that she could do to prevent it. It was entirely based on Damian's on strength and the stroke of luck that he could have. Bobbie monitored the ratings that were being fed to her. "You don't know how much you've changed everyone's lives. I guess we all didn't realize just how much you did until we got close to losing you. First with the horrid charges that were brought against you, and now with this. If you don't' survive, Damian, things will never be as good as they are now. Michael's going to be crushed without you to look up to. Sonny... Sonny's going to break down without you. If you can hear me... please don't go."
Waiting Area-
"Monica?" Sonny again pushed for some information.
Monica looked at the pairs of eyes that were looking at her. They all wanted her to tell them something good, something that she couldn't really tell them. But, she didn't really have bad news. It just wasn't what she knew they wanted to hear. "Sonny, your son is a very lucky young man. Both of them are, if what I've learned about Michael being the target of the truck is true."
"That's not important," Sonny countered.
Monica knew that it wasn't. Michael, who was her grandson and would always be her grandson regardless of what a legal adoption paper said, was safe. She had no animosity towards Damian, in fact, she rather enjoyed knowing that Michael had someone who was at least marginally stable to look up to. Damian might have had his flaws, least amongst them being the uncanny ability to attract trouble like a magnet, but he certainly wasn't the type of person that Sonny or even Jason had ended up becoming. She knew that he wanted to become a doctor. If he ever fully recovered, he would eventually find himself interning under her and Alan at some point in his life. She didn't know how much she would trust a Corinthos being a doctor, but if he proved himself then she wouldn't have any problem with it. She would give him that chance, too, if she could. At that moment, though, everything was up in the air. "There hasn't been a change in his condition since we got him in the monitors an hour ago."
"Do I need to call in some specialists?" Sonny asked. "If you need me to get someone from... I don't care where, if it's some country that I've never even heard of. I'll get the best no matter what."
"That won't be necessary," Monica wasn't sure what to think of Sonny's idea. Did he not trust the staff at General Hospital enough to care for his own son? It was possible, but it was even more probable that he was just a worried father. Sonny's instincts weren't exactly the best in the world, but if it came to his children, Sonny would be in full force and always be the protector. "Obviously, these next few hours are going to be critical. We've managed to get some of the blood that he lost transfused back into him, and his body isn't rejecting it, so that's being extremely helpful. But there's always the chance that something could happen. His body could go into shock."
"Is he awake?" This time it came from Courtney.
Monica gazed at the beautiful woman who had been her daughter-in-law on more than one occasion. "No, Courtney, he isn't."
"Will he wake up?" Courtney questioned further.
"The chances are high, but again, there's really no completely accurate diagnosis I can give you until we've got more time to let his body heal or at least deal with the trauma that has been inflicted upon it. Tomorrow morning we're going to give him x-rays and see if there is anything that is broken or fractured. Or initial scan suggested the possibility of several cracked ribs and possibly a bruised tailbone." Monica took a breath. "Since we don't have to operate on him or try some ploy to give him more time it really does mean that his chances are a lot better than they could have been."
"Can I see him?" Sonny asked.
"Just you for now, Sonny," Monica replied. "We don't want too many people in the room at the same time, but I know how much he means to you."
"Where is he?" Sonny was anxious to see his son breathing. Even if they couldn't talk, even if he couldn't be certain that everything was going to be all right, knowing that Damian was alive was more than enough.
"The nurse will take you to him," Monica said softly. "Bobbie is still with him, maybe you can give her a break."
One of the nurses came out from behind the station, holding a folder in her hand. "Follow me, please, Mr. Corinthos."
"Sonny..." Carly's voice hung low. She was worried for her husband more than anything. How would he take looking at Damian in a hospital bed?
"I'll be fine, I promise."
Carly held on to his hand as far as her reach would allow before she let go, her arm falling limp on her side. She watched him turn the corner, never once taking her eyes off her husband and not taking her mind off of him even when she couldn't see him. She wanted to be with him. Couldn't she pull some strings? Wouldn't it be possible for her to be with her husband? With her step-son? Her mother wouldn't throw her out, Carly knew that. But she also knew that it was important to Sonny that he have some time alone with Damian, even if it was truly alone, not something that really opened up for some heart-felt one on one conversation. When Sonny wanted her, when he needed her, she would know, and she would be there.
"If you'll excuse me," Monica began, "I've got some patients that I need to check up on in other areas of the hospital."
Dillon waited for a moment before he chased after Monica. "Could I ask you something?" He wondered.
Monica stopped. "If you can make it quick."
"What are his odds, in your mind?"
"That depends on what you're asking, Dillon," Monica said. "If you're wondering how good his chances are of living through this, I'd think that they were pretty good. But if you're asking me what I think his chances are of actually coming out of this without something... then the chances are going to be considerably lowered."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Dillon asked.
"We don't know what happened, Dillon. We don't know the extents of the damage that was caused. He could need to have a kidney transplant, or there's the possibility that he'll never actually have the same level of mobility that he had. Plus... there's always that lingering chance that he could never wake up."
"He's in a coma?"
"I don't think so," She said. "But that doesn't mean that he can't lapse into one without warning. Not to mention the fact that there could be some possible mental trauma that he could have gone through with the head injury."
"Could he forget everything... like Jason?"
"It's always a lingering outcome," Monica was again reminded of the son that she lost. The son that she would never get back. "Why are you even here, Dillon? Shouldn't you be at the mansion?"
"Jason... actually came and told me what happened before he gave me a ride here."
"Jason was at the mansion?"
"For a second, before my mother drove him off," Dillon omitted the part about being exiled from the Quatermaine mansion.
"Tracy..." Monica's voice showed that she had nothing but contempt for Tracy. They had been enemies for the longest time, and it didn't seem likely that there was going to be any change in the dynamic. She shelved that battle for another time. "Dillon, you should go home. There's really nothing that you can do here."
"I want to stay," Dillon protested. "My mom can't understand what it's like to care about someone, Monica. She might feel something like this if I were in the hospital, or if Ned were, or maybe if Alan, Grandfather or Grandmother were, but they would be things that she would do simply because she feels that it's expected of her. I'm not here because I feel that I have to be here. I'm here because I want to be here. You know what that's like, don't you?"
"If you're still here when my shift ends, I can give you a ride home if you'd like," Monica was glad that Dillon had finally forged a friendship that he could enjoy. She had often noticed that he really only seemed to associate himself with Georgie and Maxie. While she did not hold anything against the Jones girls, she knew how much Dillon needed someone that wasn't a female friend.
"Sure, if you want..."
"It could be awhile," She said.
"Don't worry about it, Monica. I've got nothing but time before I have to go home."
"I'll let you all know if something changes." Monica walked away.
Dillon turned around, leaning against the wall, "Nothing but time."
Bobbie had watched Monica do everything that was possible to do for Damian in the state that he was in. It wasn't good. It could have been worse, but it certainly could have been better. He was breathing, his vitals weren't weak, but he hadn't stirred at all. She had tried talking to him and touching his cheek with her hand softly, just trying to get a reaction. He didn't even flinch. His head was bandaged at the top, the bandage containing the slight bleeding that was still coming out of the now stitched wound. The gash wasn't wide, but it was deep. He needed 14 stitches. When she watched the doctors pierce through his skin she was unnerved. The only thing that made it somewhat tolerable was the fact that she knew that he wasn't feeling any pain. He couldn't feel anything. He might not ever feel anything ever again.
Bobbie knew for a fact that Sonny was outside, which likely meant that Carly was as well. It was nice to know that she could be there. There was a time when she would have just stood back and let it happen without feeling anything. She couldn't give the boy any empathy. It reminded Bobbie so much of the way that Carly was when she first came to Port Charles. Carly was past that, she had matured.
"Don't make us bury you," Bobbie pleaded. "You're stronger than this, I know you are." Bobbie was alone. No one was aware of her pleas, but it didn't matter. The only person that she wanted to have hear her requests was Damian. She knew that he was able to hear her. He wasn't brain dead. If he would wake up... that was another story. She'd gone through too many people that she cared about finding themselves in coma's to add another to the list. But there wasn't anything that she could do to prevent it. It was entirely based on Damian's on strength and the stroke of luck that he could have. Bobbie monitored the ratings that were being fed to her. "You don't know how much you've changed everyone's lives. I guess we all didn't realize just how much you did until we got close to losing you. First with the horrid charges that were brought against you, and now with this. If you don't' survive, Damian, things will never be as good as they are now. Michael's going to be crushed without you to look up to. Sonny... Sonny's going to break down without you. If you can hear me... please don't go."
Waiting Area-
"Monica?" Sonny again pushed for some information.
Monica looked at the pairs of eyes that were looking at her. They all wanted her to tell them something good, something that she couldn't really tell them. But, she didn't really have bad news. It just wasn't what she knew they wanted to hear. "Sonny, your son is a very lucky young man. Both of them are, if what I've learned about Michael being the target of the truck is true."
"That's not important," Sonny countered.
Monica knew that it wasn't. Michael, who was her grandson and would always be her grandson regardless of what a legal adoption paper said, was safe. She had no animosity towards Damian, in fact, she rather enjoyed knowing that Michael had someone who was at least marginally stable to look up to. Damian might have had his flaws, least amongst them being the uncanny ability to attract trouble like a magnet, but he certainly wasn't the type of person that Sonny or even Jason had ended up becoming. She knew that he wanted to become a doctor. If he ever fully recovered, he would eventually find himself interning under her and Alan at some point in his life. She didn't know how much she would trust a Corinthos being a doctor, but if he proved himself then she wouldn't have any problem with it. She would give him that chance, too, if she could. At that moment, though, everything was up in the air. "There hasn't been a change in his condition since we got him in the monitors an hour ago."
"Do I need to call in some specialists?" Sonny asked. "If you need me to get someone from... I don't care where, if it's some country that I've never even heard of. I'll get the best no matter what."
"That won't be necessary," Monica wasn't sure what to think of Sonny's idea. Did he not trust the staff at General Hospital enough to care for his own son? It was possible, but it was even more probable that he was just a worried father. Sonny's instincts weren't exactly the best in the world, but if it came to his children, Sonny would be in full force and always be the protector. "Obviously, these next few hours are going to be critical. We've managed to get some of the blood that he lost transfused back into him, and his body isn't rejecting it, so that's being extremely helpful. But there's always the chance that something could happen. His body could go into shock."
"Is he awake?" This time it came from Courtney.
Monica gazed at the beautiful woman who had been her daughter-in-law on more than one occasion. "No, Courtney, he isn't."
"Will he wake up?" Courtney questioned further.
"The chances are high, but again, there's really no completely accurate diagnosis I can give you until we've got more time to let his body heal or at least deal with the trauma that has been inflicted upon it. Tomorrow morning we're going to give him x-rays and see if there is anything that is broken or fractured. Or initial scan suggested the possibility of several cracked ribs and possibly a bruised tailbone." Monica took a breath. "Since we don't have to operate on him or try some ploy to give him more time it really does mean that his chances are a lot better than they could have been."
"Can I see him?" Sonny asked.
"Just you for now, Sonny," Monica replied. "We don't want too many people in the room at the same time, but I know how much he means to you."
"Where is he?" Sonny was anxious to see his son breathing. Even if they couldn't talk, even if he couldn't be certain that everything was going to be all right, knowing that Damian was alive was more than enough.
"The nurse will take you to him," Monica said softly. "Bobbie is still with him, maybe you can give her a break."
One of the nurses came out from behind the station, holding a folder in her hand. "Follow me, please, Mr. Corinthos."
"Sonny..." Carly's voice hung low. She was worried for her husband more than anything. How would he take looking at Damian in a hospital bed?
"I'll be fine, I promise."
Carly held on to his hand as far as her reach would allow before she let go, her arm falling limp on her side. She watched him turn the corner, never once taking her eyes off her husband and not taking her mind off of him even when she couldn't see him. She wanted to be with him. Couldn't she pull some strings? Wouldn't it be possible for her to be with her husband? With her step-son? Her mother wouldn't throw her out, Carly knew that. But she also knew that it was important to Sonny that he have some time alone with Damian, even if it was truly alone, not something that really opened up for some heart-felt one on one conversation. When Sonny wanted her, when he needed her, she would know, and she would be there.
"If you'll excuse me," Monica began, "I've got some patients that I need to check up on in other areas of the hospital."
Dillon waited for a moment before he chased after Monica. "Could I ask you something?" He wondered.
Monica stopped. "If you can make it quick."
"What are his odds, in your mind?"
"That depends on what you're asking, Dillon," Monica said. "If you're wondering how good his chances are of living through this, I'd think that they were pretty good. But if you're asking me what I think his chances are of actually coming out of this without something... then the chances are going to be considerably lowered."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Dillon asked.
"We don't know what happened, Dillon. We don't know the extents of the damage that was caused. He could need to have a kidney transplant, or there's the possibility that he'll never actually have the same level of mobility that he had. Plus... there's always that lingering chance that he could never wake up."
"He's in a coma?"
"I don't think so," She said. "But that doesn't mean that he can't lapse into one without warning. Not to mention the fact that there could be some possible mental trauma that he could have gone through with the head injury."
"Could he forget everything... like Jason?"
"It's always a lingering outcome," Monica was again reminded of the son that she lost. The son that she would never get back. "Why are you even here, Dillon? Shouldn't you be at the mansion?"
"Jason... actually came and told me what happened before he gave me a ride here."
"Jason was at the mansion?"
"For a second, before my mother drove him off," Dillon omitted the part about being exiled from the Quatermaine mansion.
"Tracy..." Monica's voice showed that she had nothing but contempt for Tracy. They had been enemies for the longest time, and it didn't seem likely that there was going to be any change in the dynamic. She shelved that battle for another time. "Dillon, you should go home. There's really nothing that you can do here."
"I want to stay," Dillon protested. "My mom can't understand what it's like to care about someone, Monica. She might feel something like this if I were in the hospital, or if Ned were, or maybe if Alan, Grandfather or Grandmother were, but they would be things that she would do simply because she feels that it's expected of her. I'm not here because I feel that I have to be here. I'm here because I want to be here. You know what that's like, don't you?"
"If you're still here when my shift ends, I can give you a ride home if you'd like," Monica was glad that Dillon had finally forged a friendship that he could enjoy. She had often noticed that he really only seemed to associate himself with Georgie and Maxie. While she did not hold anything against the Jones girls, she knew how much Dillon needed someone that wasn't a female friend.
"Sure, if you want..."
"It could be awhile," She said.
"Don't worry about it, Monica. I've got nothing but time before I have to go home."
"I'll let you all know if something changes." Monica walked away.
Dillon turned around, leaning against the wall, "Nothing but time."