Chapter 3
Seth buried his head in his hands as he glanced back up at the clock on the wall. His nerves were shot. Sitting in the same spot in the waiting room that he had been in only hours earlier, he vaguely recalled the feeling of nervousness and excitement that had consumed him before the birth of his son.
This time, he was less nervous and excited than he was terrified.
Summer had been in surgery for over an hour and there was still no word. It didn't help that nobody would tell him anything about how his wife ended up unconcious and covered in blood. Or how he seemed to be the only one to believe that his wife had given birth to his son. He had been hysterical, shoving past medical personel and rushing to the nursery, desperately searching the bassinets for his son.
But he never saw him.
They had threatened to have him put under arrest if he didn't calm down. They continued to tell him that Summer had been there due to an allergic reaction, that he was delerious from the trauma he'd been through, that he had no son. Seth had felt brainwashed. Even unsure of what the real truth was. But something in the back of his mind told him he wasn't crazy. He had a son. And he couldn't just accept what they told him. He had instead chosen to play along that he was convinved of the truth.
He couldn't afford to get arrested. Not when Summer needed him the most.
He glanced up at the clock for what had to be the hundredth time. Either his eyes were playing tricks on him, or the hand on the clock was actually moving counter clockwise.
C'mon Summer, he prayed to himself. Please be okay.
Just then a thin faced and gray haired doctor slowly made his way across the hall. Rising from his seat, Seth stared at him expectantly.
"So?" he asked as the doctor reached him. "How is she? Is she okay? Please say she's okay."
"She's okay," the doctor assure him, "but--" Seth let out an enormous breath of relief upon hearing those words, a thankful smiling spreading across his face.
"Oh, thank you, God, thank you." he said quietly.
"The good news is she's alive." he said forcefully. "She'd been lying on the floor there for at least a good hour before we discovered her injury. She suffered from a severe blow to the head. She lost a lot of blood, Mr. Cohen."
"Oh god," Seth turned away from the doctor and rubbed his face with an exhausted hand. Peaking out from under his palm he asked, "How? How did...this happen?"
"Well, we've come to believe that she may have gotten up without the help of her nurse, tripped and hit her head on the corners of any of the objects in that room. We DON'T think there was any foul play, here." he added upon seeing the questionable look in Seth's eyes.
"But she's gonna be okay, right?" he asked. "I mean you said she's okay."
"She is!" he insisted. "But...." The doctor grew quiet and Seth could tell he was looking for the right words to say.
"Mr. Cohen...I'm sorry to have to tell you, but your wife is in a coma."
Seth stared blankly at the man in front of him and felt his knees give way as he fell silently to his seat.
"We're lucky we got to her in time," he continued. "Really, you should be thankful. Like I said...she lost a lot of blood."
Seth continued to stare straight ahead, his face void of all emotion.
A coma? he thought. But that's just...she's sleeping. I'll just go wake her up. I mean....she's asleep. I'll go get her up, and then we'll go and get Dominic and get the hell out of here.
"Well she's gonna wake up, right?" he said quickly. "I mean....how long do people stay in comas? She's...she'll be fine, right?"
The doctor looked grave and his hand felt heavy as it came to rest upon Seth's shoulder.
"It's unpredictable with every patient. There is a possibility for her to awaken. But...you also have to realize that there's a good chance...she may never wake up."
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Seth felt more emotionally drained than he had in a long while. He'd been filling out paperwork non stop, making sure that Summer would be properly taken care of in the hospital ward. He still hadn't been able to see her yet, even though every minute without being with her was killing him.
After finally signing the last document in his hand, he slapped it down on the front desk with the last bit of strength he had left.
"I'm going to go see my wife now."
The receptionist nodded in his direction, though Seth was already well down the hall. He hurriedly made his way towards the steps and climbed them two at a time.
It had to be either the best or worst day of his life. Maybe it was both.
His son had been born today. Seth had never felt the kind of happiness that swelled inside of him when he had looked at that tiny person he'd held in his arms. And yet, Dominic was no where to be found. Summer was in a coma. And she might never wake up.
I've lost my wife and my kid in the same day, he realized.
Trying to wipe the thought from his mind, he finally reached the familiar door and stepped inside.
His heart ached with pain as he looked at her, so still on the hospital bed. A large cast like material was wrapped around her head as she lay peacefully in a steady sleep.
Slowly inching towards her, he sat on the edge of the bed by her side and placed a gentle hand over hers.
"I'm so sorry," he whispered as he intertwined his fingers with her own. "I should've been here. I should never have left the hospital. If I had just stayed here with you and Dom, then maybe you wouldn't have..."
Struggling to hold the tears back, he turned away from her face. He couldn't look at her like that. So helpless and lifeless. And no matter what he tried to tell himself, and no matter how he looked at the situation, he could only blame himself.
His hands instinctively reached for his jacket pocket and felt the shape of the carton of cigerettes.
I can't, he thought, restraining himself. The last thing Summer wanted me to do was quit smoking so....I should at least do that for her.
His wet eyes scanned the room and stopped on her bedside table. There sat an ashtray and 2 used cigerettes smoked down to the filters.
He stared at it curiously.
Summer doesn't smoke, he thought. She hates smoking. And I never smoked in the delivery room.
can i bum a cigerette?
Suddenly Seth recalled the low, raspy voice he'd heard from beneath a dirty baseball cap and his body grew cold. Flashes of the man taking two cigerettes, sticking one in his mouth and the other behind his ear flooded through his mind.
that's too bad...a little girl would be better helping you than a boy would...
helping with what
His gaze turned slowly to his wife's unconcious state, her heavy bandages wrapped securely around her head.
dealing with the pain
Seth couldn't feel his body anymore. He'd grown numb. The only sound pulsating through him was the beating of his own heart rapidly against his chest.
He felt as if he was about to collapse. How could it be....the questions swarmed his mind. The biggest question of all endlessly repeated in his head.
Why?
A boy? That's too bad
Dealing with the pain
It's everywhere
Dominic Cohen. It's got a certain ring to it I guess
Images of empty bassinets and false hospital records, a crushed bouquet of lillies and a blue teddy bear flashed before his eyes. And then, reality struck.
"Oh my god."
Seth buried his head in his hands as he glanced back up at the clock on the wall. His nerves were shot. Sitting in the same spot in the waiting room that he had been in only hours earlier, he vaguely recalled the feeling of nervousness and excitement that had consumed him before the birth of his son.
This time, he was less nervous and excited than he was terrified.
Summer had been in surgery for over an hour and there was still no word. It didn't help that nobody would tell him anything about how his wife ended up unconcious and covered in blood. Or how he seemed to be the only one to believe that his wife had given birth to his son. He had been hysterical, shoving past medical personel and rushing to the nursery, desperately searching the bassinets for his son.
But he never saw him.
They had threatened to have him put under arrest if he didn't calm down. They continued to tell him that Summer had been there due to an allergic reaction, that he was delerious from the trauma he'd been through, that he had no son. Seth had felt brainwashed. Even unsure of what the real truth was. But something in the back of his mind told him he wasn't crazy. He had a son. And he couldn't just accept what they told him. He had instead chosen to play along that he was convinved of the truth.
He couldn't afford to get arrested. Not when Summer needed him the most.
He glanced up at the clock for what had to be the hundredth time. Either his eyes were playing tricks on him, or the hand on the clock was actually moving counter clockwise.
C'mon Summer, he prayed to himself. Please be okay.
Just then a thin faced and gray haired doctor slowly made his way across the hall. Rising from his seat, Seth stared at him expectantly.
"So?" he asked as the doctor reached him. "How is she? Is she okay? Please say she's okay."
"She's okay," the doctor assure him, "but--" Seth let out an enormous breath of relief upon hearing those words, a thankful smiling spreading across his face.
"Oh, thank you, God, thank you." he said quietly.
"The good news is she's alive." he said forcefully. "She'd been lying on the floor there for at least a good hour before we discovered her injury. She suffered from a severe blow to the head. She lost a lot of blood, Mr. Cohen."
"Oh god," Seth turned away from the doctor and rubbed his face with an exhausted hand. Peaking out from under his palm he asked, "How? How did...this happen?"
"Well, we've come to believe that she may have gotten up without the help of her nurse, tripped and hit her head on the corners of any of the objects in that room. We DON'T think there was any foul play, here." he added upon seeing the questionable look in Seth's eyes.
"But she's gonna be okay, right?" he asked. "I mean you said she's okay."
"She is!" he insisted. "But...." The doctor grew quiet and Seth could tell he was looking for the right words to say.
"Mr. Cohen...I'm sorry to have to tell you, but your wife is in a coma."
Seth stared blankly at the man in front of him and felt his knees give way as he fell silently to his seat.
"We're lucky we got to her in time," he continued. "Really, you should be thankful. Like I said...she lost a lot of blood."
Seth continued to stare straight ahead, his face void of all emotion.
A coma? he thought. But that's just...she's sleeping. I'll just go wake her up. I mean....she's asleep. I'll go get her up, and then we'll go and get Dominic and get the hell out of here.
"Well she's gonna wake up, right?" he said quickly. "I mean....how long do people stay in comas? She's...she'll be fine, right?"
The doctor looked grave and his hand felt heavy as it came to rest upon Seth's shoulder.
"It's unpredictable with every patient. There is a possibility for her to awaken. But...you also have to realize that there's a good chance...she may never wake up."
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Seth felt more emotionally drained than he had in a long while. He'd been filling out paperwork non stop, making sure that Summer would be properly taken care of in the hospital ward. He still hadn't been able to see her yet, even though every minute without being with her was killing him.
After finally signing the last document in his hand, he slapped it down on the front desk with the last bit of strength he had left.
"I'm going to go see my wife now."
The receptionist nodded in his direction, though Seth was already well down the hall. He hurriedly made his way towards the steps and climbed them two at a time.
It had to be either the best or worst day of his life. Maybe it was both.
His son had been born today. Seth had never felt the kind of happiness that swelled inside of him when he had looked at that tiny person he'd held in his arms. And yet, Dominic was no where to be found. Summer was in a coma. And she might never wake up.
I've lost my wife and my kid in the same day, he realized.
Trying to wipe the thought from his mind, he finally reached the familiar door and stepped inside.
His heart ached with pain as he looked at her, so still on the hospital bed. A large cast like material was wrapped around her head as she lay peacefully in a steady sleep.
Slowly inching towards her, he sat on the edge of the bed by her side and placed a gentle hand over hers.
"I'm so sorry," he whispered as he intertwined his fingers with her own. "I should've been here. I should never have left the hospital. If I had just stayed here with you and Dom, then maybe you wouldn't have..."
Struggling to hold the tears back, he turned away from her face. He couldn't look at her like that. So helpless and lifeless. And no matter what he tried to tell himself, and no matter how he looked at the situation, he could only blame himself.
His hands instinctively reached for his jacket pocket and felt the shape of the carton of cigerettes.
I can't, he thought, restraining himself. The last thing Summer wanted me to do was quit smoking so....I should at least do that for her.
His wet eyes scanned the room and stopped on her bedside table. There sat an ashtray and 2 used cigerettes smoked down to the filters.
He stared at it curiously.
Summer doesn't smoke, he thought. She hates smoking. And I never smoked in the delivery room.
can i bum a cigerette?
Suddenly Seth recalled the low, raspy voice he'd heard from beneath a dirty baseball cap and his body grew cold. Flashes of the man taking two cigerettes, sticking one in his mouth and the other behind his ear flooded through his mind.
that's too bad...a little girl would be better helping you than a boy would...
helping with what
His gaze turned slowly to his wife's unconcious state, her heavy bandages wrapped securely around her head.
dealing with the pain
Seth couldn't feel his body anymore. He'd grown numb. The only sound pulsating through him was the beating of his own heart rapidly against his chest.
He felt as if he was about to collapse. How could it be....the questions swarmed his mind. The biggest question of all endlessly repeated in his head.
Why?
A boy? That's too bad
Dealing with the pain
It's everywhere
Dominic Cohen. It's got a certain ring to it I guess
Images of empty bassinets and false hospital records, a crushed bouquet of lillies and a blue teddy bear flashed before his eyes. And then, reality struck.
"Oh my god."