"Tested Hearts", chapter 18
Author: Chicmns
Category: Drama, angst
Disclaimer: All main characters belong to DPB, CBS, and Paramount. Other characters (see below) are used with the greatest respect and a solemn promise not to benefit in any way by their use, except in the cause of (hopefully) good fiction.
Rating: G
Author's Notes: Thanks to the following recent reviewers:
Sahc Thanks for your insights. I agree with you, except that I don't believe Mattie entirely forgave Tom during the season-ending episode. She agreed to spend time with him - which is not exactly the same thing. I think the writers didn't want to end the season with Mattie still so mad at Tom ... her anger was starting to affect her relationship with Harm, so they had to lessen it somehow. At least ... that's my guess.
Lyssa Grace LANGUAGE, young lady(as Harm would probably say to Mattie)! LOL
starryeyes10 and sarai Thanks for your support! I'll try to update faster, but I'm never quite sure how these chapters will unfold, and I am very critical of my own writing – wanna get it just right!
mizukimarr910 Gee ... never expected that writing this story would bring me death threats! And, I stopped the last chapter where I did because I felt it was a good place to stop (I want each chapter to be able to stand on its' own). So, you're welcome ... I guess.
amichanm I did know about their last name ... this is just one of the few liberties I'm taking with the canon of the series. I'm sure that Harm thinks of his mom as "Mrs. Rabb" when he talks about her with others, and I felt that bringing in too many family last names would be confusing. Thank you for your thoughts!
Mass Spec Lady So, THAT's what your "handle" means, huh? Is any of your work flying on NASA missions yet? ( I love "Snoopy," too, and I wanted to make Andre's get-well gift to Mattie special and memorable – you'll see why in future stories! Thanks!
jtbwriter Thank you again! This is how I would have plotted the character of Tom, were I writing for the series (call me, Mr. B!) Your reaction to Mattie seeing him come in was the response I was hoping to evoke in readers. Normally, I think she'd be more "stoic", but she's tired and ill ... her emotions and control are not as tight as they normally would be. She wasn't alone with him when he arrived because it would have interrupted the flow of the story ("where did everyone go all of a sudden?"), and this isn't a "Mattie's in physical danger from someone" story. On Ellen: to me, Ellen is me bringing Meg Austin back; she's tough, whip-smart, loyal, with a big heart. It's one of the reasons I made her a "former" cop. And ... as much as I love Catherine Bell's Mac ... I miss Meg Austin!
dreamer20715 Appreciate the kind words! As an example of a writers' life popping up in his (or her) stories ... I've always thought that Snoopy, for a pet, is one of the world's best people! I couldn't think of a better choice for Mattie, who's had to grow up so fast that I think the series writers miss out on showing her child side. Just my opinion.
Chapter 18
GW HOSPITAL SECURITY OFFICE
The guards on duty in the "Box," as they all called the security offices, were watching the various monitors covering the hospital grounds when Dr. Masters' panic alert came over the internal network. Each doctor's PMC was also outfitted as a "panic button", in case there was a problem that required help from the hospital security force. The consoles in the security office could track individual PMCs throughout the hospital campus, as well as receive emergency summons like the one coming from Dr. Masters' unit. The screens showed a location and a patient name: Room 411, Matilda Grace Johnson. Two sets of eyes caught the information flashing on the screen, and leaped from their chairs. Both guards grabbed their radios and ran from the "Box"; one running to the elevator, while the other took the stairs towards Room 411 ... separating in order to approach the unknown problem, whatever it was, from two directions in order to gain tactical advantage. One of the guards, a former DC cop like Ellen Valera, wondered what was going on. He'd recognized Ellen when she entered the hospital earlier; they didn't know each other personally, but he remembered her from the Job. Unsnapping the weapon in his holster as the elevator rose to the 4th floor, he stilled his emotions and questions ... preparing to face whatever prompted the summons.
ROOM 411
Jen stood in a darkened corner of the room across from the door, her presence apparently unnoticed by Tom Johnson as he stepped into Mattie's room, facing Harm, Frank, and Andre – who'd all moved between he and Mattie. She went very still, not wanting to draw his attention. From the shocked looks on Harm and Mac's faces, and the alcohol Jen caught a whiff of, this guy came to see Mattie in a drunken state ... and Jen 's hands balled up in fists as her anger shot to the surface. 'Hasn't she been through enough already?' she thought as Harm glared daggers at Tom. Jen began moving slowly towards the door behind Tom as whispered voices reached her from the hospital corridor. She heard soft crying from the other side of the room, and knew right away that it was Mattie. At that moment, Jen knew that if this guy made any sort of a move, she'd stop him – cold.
Harm took a step towards Tom, his hands out in front of him as he tried to focus all of Tom's attention on him and away from anyone else in the room; especially Mattie. He heard her crying behind him as well, and was determined to protect her. He calmed his voice, then spoke to Tom.
"Tom ... what are you doing here?" He could smell alcohol on Tom from a few feet away, and saw the man lurch unsteadily as he tried to look past everyone towards Mattie.
"I'm here to see Mattie – what do you think I'm here for?" he rasped.
"Tom ... it's not a good time. She's being checked out by the doctor right now. Let's all go out into the hallway and let him finish his work, OK?"
Tom sneered at Harm, looking past him towards the group of women by the bed. "Mattie, honey ... I came to see you! I wanted to make sure you're OK, and keep these people who let you get sick away from you!"
"What ..." Harm heard Mattie whisper as he kept his eyes on Tom. "LET me get sick?!? Are you crazy?" she finished in a gasp.
"NO!" Tom bellowed. "Mattie, listen ... they're not taking care of you right. I called the social worker – we're going to get this straightened out, and they'll get you with some nice people until I—"
"Get ... out."
Everyone stilled as they heard the venom in Mattie's soft voice - including Tom. No one had ever heard her speak that way before, and the shock of her tone distracted everyone enough that Tom was able to recover and push past Harm to run into Andre, who'd moved out from behind Harm when he noticed Tom's sudden movement. Tom tried to push Andre aside, but he reached between them and grabbed Tom's arm, twisting it to the side to stop Tom's forward progress.
"Get off of me, boy!" Tom ground out as he tried to wrest his arm from Andre's grasp. Suddenly, Tom flew backward away from Andre, and he quickly let go ... thinking that security had arrived. Tom's face had a look of surprise on it, and Harm and Andre both saw a small, pale hand attached to his collar as he was tossed back towards the door. He stumbled as his back hit the doorframe, and then everyone saw Jen move a step away from him, her hand dropping from his collar. She'd jerked him off of his feet and through the air with one hand - and everyone turned to stare at her in surprise. Tom Johnson was not a small man.
Tom grabbed hold of the doorframe and looked at Jen, fury on his face. Both Harm and Andre gaped at her and saw the rage in her narrowed eyes as she stood facing Tom. Before he could move towards her, however, two security guards entered, grabbing his arms and pinning them to his side as he screamed at Jen.
"You tramp! Who do you think you are?" He struggled with the guards as Jen took a step towards him, her hands balled up into fists as they wrestled him into the hallway. Dr. Masters said in a loud voice, "Get him out of here! Confine him in security until the police arrive!" The guards dragged Tom away from the room, restraining his arms as his growls filled the hallway. Harm, still watching Jen's face, stepped towards her and placed a hand on her shoulder to keep her from following Tom. She wrenched away from him and took another step towards the hall when they heard Mac's voice call out.
"Jen ... don't! He's not worth it! Jen!"
Hearing the command and concern in Mac's voice when Jen heard her name stopped her in her tracks. She was breathing heavily, facing the door, with her back to the room ... her body shaking with anger. This jerk, this ... bug tries to storm in here, drunk, trying to bring even MORE pain into Mattie's life – no! No more, Jen decided. She snarled, moving towards the door again ... when Mattie's voice reached out to her through the red haze of her fury.
"Jen ... please don't do it ... I need you here with me, please, sis!" Mattie sobbed, her voice taking on a weird timbre that made Jen pause. "Don't go ... we need ...hrrkkk!"
Jen's heart suddenly constricted as she heard the weird sound come from Mattie's throat. She felt Harm stiffen behind her, then quickly turned around as everyone looked down at Mattie.
Mattie's face had turned beet-red, her hand moving to her chest as she tried to speak ... but couldn't. Her eyes grew wide as she looked at Harm, the fear filling her face. She desperately tried to take a breath as Dr. Masters and the nurse flew at her, pushing bodies out of their way ... alarms sounding from the monitors in the room. Harm reached her side in a second ... but was quickly pushed back by the nurse, who then slapped a blood pressure cuff over her arm.
Dr. Masters was busy examining Mattie, listening to her chest and checking her eyes, which had started to roll up as her body jerked in spasms.
"Mattie!" Mac cried out, as Trish grabbed her in a hug ... both watching Mattie's body quiver as she fought to draw any kind of breath. "Doctor! What's happening?" she screamed.
"Her heart's racing, pulse is erratic—"he spoke to the nurse, ignoring Harm for the moment.
"BP is 90 over 60 and falling!"
"Put her on the mask – crank up the ox, and send a Code 1 for Gentry!"
Mattie's eyes were roaming all over, till they found Harm's again ... then locked with his as the doctor and nurse worked over her.
"Everyone has to leave, now!" Dr. Masters spoke to the room as he gently touched the lower right side of her chest, and grimaced. He looked up, glaring at the people in the room who hadn't moved an inch. "We can't treat her if this room is full – please go out into the hall and let us work!"
Everyone reluctantly drifted to the door as the nurse snatched Dr. Masters' PMC, entering the code that would alert the ER doctor. A moment later, another nurse rushed into the room with a cart trailing behind her, and she handed Dr. Masters a pair of gloves. He accepted them, never taking his eyes off of Mattie ... leaning down close to her face as he slipped them on, speaking close to her ear.
"Mattie, can you hear me? Where does it hurt?"
She slowly moved her hand to her right side ... where he'd placed his hand a moment before. Dr. Masters nodded at her, then looked up. "10 milliliters tramadol, and put on a pulse oximeter." The first nurse quickly complied, as Dr. Gentry rushed into the room ... pushing past the crowd by the door.
"What have we got?" she demanded, slipping on gloves herself.
"She went into shock after an incident a few minutes ago. Breathing is shallow, and her chest sounds have changed. BP is low, and we just started her on ox and tramadol." Dr. Masters told her. She pulled on her stethoscope and quickly listened to different places on her chest.
After listening for a few seconds, Dr. Gentry sighed and looked at Dr. Masters. "Atelectasis – her right side?" Dr. Masters nodded. She continued speaking as she examined Mattie.
"I think her right lung's partially collapsed. Let's get her most recent X- rays, and bring me a chest needle – we're going to do a thoracentesis here." She looked up towards the doorway where Harm and Mac stood watching in fear. "Mr. Rabb, Ms. MacKenzie ... she's having trouble breathing and we have to drain the fluid in her chest right now to relieve the pressure there." She heard gasps from the hallway, as the rest of Mattie's family and friends heard what she'd just said.
"Oh, god ..." Mac whispered.
"Help her, doctors – please." Harm told them in a plaintive voice.
"We will, sir. Please wait in the hall – this should take about a half hour." Harm found Mattie's eyes, talking to her as he slowly took backward steps. "Mattie ... we're right here. Okay? We're right here, and we're not going anywhere. Mattie, honey, you're going to be FINE, I promise. You hang on, Mattie – hear me?" Mattie's panicked face, her half-closed eyes, her mouth covered by an oxygen mask all tracked on Harm and Mac as she was being prepped.
One of the nurses opened a chest tube package as the other pulled the room curtain around Mattie, cutting Mattie off from Harm and Mac's sight. The other nurse approached them at the door with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, sir - ma'am. I need to close the door."
"We love you, Mattie!" Mac told her as the door shut between them.
The group in the hall looked at each other in shock. Harm and Mac wrapped their arms around each other, as Trish and Frank came over to hug them. Mac and Trish were crying. Andre went over to Jen as she sagged against the wall and stood next to her, close but not touching. He asked, "Are you all right?" She looked at him, their shoulders touching as she heard the concern in his voice – and that he was asking about more than her general state. She sensed that he wanted to know if she still intended to pulverize Tom Johnson the first chance she got. She didn't know, for sure ... but she wasn't going to let this 15-year old young man know how close she still was to losing control. "Yeah ... no more crazies, see?" She met his gaze again ... then straightened up and looked over at the senior officers.
"I need to ... I have to call the Admiral, and let him know what's happened." Harm glanced at her over Mac's head, and nodded ... reaching into his pocket.
"Thanks. Could ... could you do something else?" She looked at him, waiting. He sighed, seeing the anger still seething in her eyes over Tom. Handing her a card he took from his pocket as he held Mac, he said, "Would you call Ellen Valera, and ask her to come down here right away? Her cell number's there on her card." Jen nodded, taking the card from him.
"We'll go with you, Miss Coates. I need to call Andre's grandmother and let her know why we're late, and that we're on our way." Miss Barrows told her ... looking shaken.
"I'm not leaving." Andre's determined voice filled the hallway, and everyone turned to look at him.
"Andre--" Miss Barrows started, but Andre cut her off.
"I'm not leaving until I know she's OK, Miss Barrows. I'm sorry, but I can't. Sir," and he turned to look Harm in the eye. Harm saw in the young man's face an unshakeable determination. He saw once more how this youngster and Mattie could become best friends so quickly. "I'd like to stay here and wait with you, if you don't mind. My grandmother won't, once I explain to her what's happened."
"Andre, I know Mattie's your friend, but this is a school night—"Miss Barrows began, but stopped when Andre turned to look at her. She sighed, looking to Harm for help. Andre turned back to face Harm.
Harm studied Andre's face for a heartbeat, then nodded. "OK, Andre. Please go with Jen and Miss Barrows, and stay with them until they're finished with their calls. IF your grandmother agrees with you staying after talking with Miss Barrows, then you're welcome to wait with us. If she doesn't, then we'll see you soon - I'll call you when I can to let you know how she is. All right?"
"Yes, sir. Thanks." He turned to join Jen and Miss Barrows, and they all started walking down the hall towards the phones near the nurses' station. They'd taken a couple of steps when Harm called out to him.
"Andre." He stopped, and turned around. Harm held out a free hand, and Andre came towards him to take it in a shake. "Thank you for what you did in there. I saw you get between him and Mattie, and I - we're grateful. You shouldn't have done that, you know. He could have brought something with him." Andre cocked his head, reminding Harm and Mac of the Admiral when he looked especially determined about something.
"Wouldn't have mattered, Mr. Rabb. I wasn't going to let him past me to get to her, no matter what he had. Anyway, I think Jen had the same thought I did." He looked over his shoulder at Jen, who looked every bit as determined as he did ... then turned back to Harm, who grinned and nodded at both of them. He found himself liking and respecting this young man even more than before. Mac slipped from Harm's comforting embrace and slowly approached Andre. He was, she noticed, the same height as she was ... and she had no trouble leaning in to gently kiss him on his cheek, smiling at him.
"Thank you," she told him in a heartfelt voice ... her eyes and face wet with tears.
Andre returned her smile. "You're welcome, ma'am. She's gonna be fine." Mac laughed, comforted by the faith in his voice.
"I know she will, Andre. And I think you'd better start calling me 'Mac' - all my "hero" friends do." She smiled again as a surprised and embarrassed look came over his dark face.
"OK ... Mac." He nodded again, then turned on his heel and strode down the hall between Jen and Miss Barrows.
"Impressive young man." Frank spoke up, as he stood next to Trish, who was watching the closed curtain through the window of Mattie's room. She nodded, her eyes still on the closed curtains and the movement behind them, then answered.
"Yes, he is. I can see why Mattie likes him so much. We Rabb girls always seem to fall for the strong, hero types." Trish joked. Frank softly chuckled, and Mac giggled ... as Harm shook his head. "Mom," he replied, taking Mac in his arms again, "that's a little too much info for me to handle right now, okay?" They all found seats in chairs against the wall near the door of Mattie's room, growing quiet as they digested the events of the past hour while waiting for word on Mattie's condition.
ELLEN VALERA'S HOME GEORGETOWN
The phone rang as Ellen finished feeding her dog, Sniffles. She'd gotten him from the pound after taking a child in her care there for some child- animal bonding. She'd ended up bonding, herself, with this doe-eyed puppy who'd come up to the front of his cage, licking her hand. He'd gotten his name from his continually wet, cold nose. She petted him as she reached for her ringing cell.
"Hello?"
"Ms. Valera. This is Jen Coates. I'm sorry to be calling so late."
"It's OK, Jen. I was just feeding my dog. Is everything all right - how's Mattie doing?"
There was a pause, and Ellen heard nothing for a minute except Jen's breathing and the sounds of traffic outside of her kitchen.
"Jen?" She heard a big sigh over the line, and then Jen began speaking.
"There's been an ... incident here at the hospital, ma'am. Tom Johnson came by about a half hour ago, demanding to see Mattie, claiming he was going to get her away from the 'people who'd let her get sick'. And ... we think he's been drinking. I was close enough to him to smell alcohol."
"What!" Ellen couldn't believe it. If this was true, she thought ... this guy was doing everything wrong if he ever wanted to get custody of Mattie back. "How's Mattie?" She started slipping her shoes back on as she held the phone crooked next to her ear.
"That's ... um, the other thing. Mattie became upset over what happened, and ... it looks like her lung's collapsed. She's being worked on right now. Harm- the Commander asked me to call you."
Ellen stood in her kitchen ... a million thoughts and questions flowing through her mind. She had to get there, but first ... she needed a little more information.
"Jen ... I'm so sorry. Tell Mr. Rabb I'm on my way – be there in about 15 minutes. Where is Mr. Johnson right now?"
"He's in the security office here at the hospital. Dr. Masters called them after he burst into Mattie's room. They had to restrain him in order to get him away from her—"
"Okay, Jen. Listen – I don't want you to do anything else until I get there, all right? No one from your group is to talk to Mr. Johnson – you understand? I'm calling their security office directly. You folks stay with Mattie, and I'll catch up as soon as I can. Got it?"
"Yes, ma'am. We'll see you soon. I have to get back to Mattie's room now."
"Go. I'm en route now. Call me back if you need to, or if anything else happens."
"Okay." The line went dead, and Ellen leaned against the wall of her kitchen, closing her eyes for a moment. This case, which was complicated to begin with, just graduated to the major leagues. She'd have to call her boss, and then probably the police, before the night was done.
First thing was to call hospital security to have them perform a breathalyzer on Tom Johnson. She had to get the facts of what happened to get all the answers FCS needed.
She leaned down to pet Sniffles again for comfort, then grabbed her purse and left through her back door, closing it behind her.
GW HOSPITAL 4TH FLOOR PHONE BANK
Jen hung up the phone after ending her short conversation with a furious and concerned Admiral Chegwidden, who was on his way to GW. When she'd reached him while on his way home from a party with friends at the Annapolis O-club, and filled him in on what had happened ... he'd been shocked to hear that Tom Johnson would be stupid enough to come to the hospital, drunk ... and at the change in Mattie's condition. Only a few hours earlier, she'd reported to him that she was well on the way to recovering, and should be going home soon. He's also gotten her to describe to him in detail her part in stopping Tom from getting to Mattie ... and he'd warned her that she might need a lawyer for the inevitable charges Tom would try to lodge against her. She'd started telling him that she had a friend who was an attorney, and could probably represent her ... but he'd quickly interrupted by asking in a sour voice whether she'd fired him as her attorney after he'd represented her earlier during their meeting with Ellen Valera. Surprised, she'd tried to explain, when he told her in no uncertain terms that he was on his way, and not to say anything to anybody until he got there. She shook her head; her CO was protecting her again. Her mind went over the last part of their conversation as she stood waiting for Andre to finish speaking with his grandmother.
"Coates, this is getting to be a habit – me defending you. Is this some plan to get out of coming into work?"
"No, sir. I just—"
"Kidding, Coates." She'd sighed then, shaking her head at the phone. Why did he always do this to her when her defenses were down?
"Sir, I'm sorry. I couldn't stop myself. If Mattie hadn't called out to me at that moment, I would have joyfully ripped his head off."
There was a pause before he spoke again. "Jennifer, it sounds like you were just reacting to the threat to Mattie. I'm not saying it's not going to be easy, but it can be explained to a court."
"I haven't been a very good representative of the Navy tonight, sir. I apologize."
"We'll talk about all of that later, Petty Officer. Right now, we need to make sure Mattie's going to be OK, and get all the facts straight about this incident. Do NOT talk to Ellen Valera or anyone else until I get there, Coates – that's a direct order. You read me?"
"Yes, sir. I'm so sor—"
"And stop apologizing, for God's sake! Now ... I'm going to call the Roberts and Sturgis, bring them up to speed. I'm headed in your direction. Go back to everyone and stay there till I arrive."
"Yes, sir."
"Don't worry, Coates. Harm, Mac, and I will bring you a file in a cake, at the very least." Jen couldn't help it; a grin appeared on her face, and Andre sighed in relief as he watched her. He'd been concerned, seeing the murderous fury in her eyes during the confrontation with Mattie's biological father; he'd seen that same look in the eyes of some of the gangbangers that roamed his neighborhood, and he gave thanks that Mattie was able to stop her from going after Mr. Johnson. Jen seemed really nice, and Andre hoped that there wouldn't be any lasting consequences from her actions. His grandmother always taught him that he had to face the results of his own actions, and he sensed that Jen was the same type of person as his grandmother in that way. Mattie had told him about some of the wrong moves Jen had made earlier in her life, and Andre felt a certain kinship with her. He'd made enough mistakes himself ... and understood where she was coming from.
If he could help her out of what he knew the consequences of both their actions tonight would most likely be, he would. Mattie needed her 'sister' close. He stood a few feet away, waiting for Jen's conversation to end. Mattie's dad had asked him to stay with Jen, and he would. He heard her speaking again to her boss, the Admiral.
Jen returned the teasing tone in her commanding officer/lawyer's voice.
"NOT helping, sir." He sighed, theatrically ... then continued.
"No one appreciates my humor. All right. I'll be there in 30." The phone clicked.
Jen sighed, and hung up the phone - then rejoined Andre and Miss Barrows ... as they returned to the group gathered down the hall outside Mattie's room.
ROOM 411
Mattie was placed in a sitting position in her bed, as her doctors studied the most recent X-rays taken of her chest that had been brought in and placed on the light boxes on the wall of her room. They murmured to each other, pointing occasionally as they discussed how they would treat Mattie respiratory problems. The pain medicine she'd been given was helping a little, but she still felt discomfort, and her chest felt very tight. It was hard to draw even a small breath, but the oxygen mask she was wearing was making things easier. Before they'd placed the mask over her mouth, she was in a panic as her body fought for oxygen. Seeing the fear in Harm's eyes as he met her own scared look made her shiver inside. He and Mac were as frightened as she was.
She felt her gown being repositioned on her right side as large sterile sheets were draped over her lower chest, and then she felt a cool swab brush her skin where it hurt the most. Dr. Masters leaned close to her, and began talking as one of the nurses took her hand on her left side, squeezing it and smiling down at her.
"Mattie, I'm going to tell you what we're doing, OK? Try not to be frightened, because we're going to take care of your pain. Dr. Gentry is going to drain the excess fluid that's in your chest, so we need you to stay as still as possible. Can you do that for us?"
She nodded, and he smiled at her.
"Good girl. Now, you're going to feel a little pinprick," and at that moment, she felt it from where Dr. Gentry was sitting at her side, "and then numbness at that spot. That's normal, ok? We're giving you something to numb the pain in the area we have to work on. Now, we're going to draw out the fluid from your chest. We're not sure how much is in there, so it's very important that you not move until we tell you to, ok?" She gave him a very small nod, and closed her eyes in order to try to stay still.
"Doing great, Mattie. Easy does it ..." she heard Dr. Gentry whisper. She felt Dr. Masters move closer to her left side where Dr. Gentry was, and then someone patted her forehead with a cool sponge. She stayed that way for a while, listening to the breathing of the two doctors next to her. She suddenly wondered where her Snoopy dog was ... she hoped that they hadn't taken it away. She wished Harm and Mac were next to her. She liked that the nurses were there, keeping her company and as comfortable as possible, but she really wanted Harm and Mac. She felt them nearby ... but they weren't close enough for her liking. She tried to blank her mind, struggling to control her emotions until she heard Dr. Masters' quiet voice at her side.
"Looks like it's drained through."
"Yep ... the flow's almost stopped." Dr. Gentry answered.
Then she felt something pull away from her right side, and someone was holding something soft against her. She kept her eyes closed, then felt more padding added to her side ... along with tape being attached. There was more movement, but she didn't open her eyes.
"Nurse ... take the container to the lab, and have them run the analysis as soon as possible."
"OK."
Mattie's bed started moving, and she felt herself shifted back to a horizontal position as the sterile pads were removed, and her gown was shifted back in place. She felt hands adjust the blankets around her, then Dr. Masters spoke in her ear.
"Mattie? Still with us?" She opened her eyes to see him smiling down at her, and she nodded again.
"We're all done. There was quite a bit of fluid in your chest, and it took about 20 minutes for it to drain."
Her eyes widened. Twenty minutes? It felt like just a few to her, lying there with her eyes closed. She reached for the mask on her face, so she could speak easier... but Dr. Masters shook his head, stopping her hand. "No, Mattie – that stays on for the night. You did really well. How does your chest feel?"
She hadn't noticed it until that moment, but the tightness she'd felt before was gone. She tried a normal breath, and found that she could breathe with just a little discomfort – not normal, but better. She smiled a little and nodded at Dr. Masters, who patted her hand.
"Feels better, huh? Good! Now, you need to rest, OK? We're giving you something to help you sleep," and she turned her head to see the nurse inject something into her IV, "then we'll let your folks in to see you. Don't try to speak right now, Mattie. Just rest, and I'll come see you in the morning." He gave her a big grin, and then his head disappeared from her line of sight.
Dr. Gentry and Dr. Masters whispered something to the nurse, pulling off their gloves and dumping them in a biowaste pouch, and then pulled the curtain back from around her bed. Mattie turned her head to see Harm, Mac, her grandparents, Andre, Jen, and Miss Barrows looking through the window of the room, all smiling at her. The two doctors left the room, and Mattie watched everyone gather around them, talking in murmurs. Both Jen and Andre were still watching her, though, and Mattie raised her hand a little from the blankets around her in a wave ... starting to feel drowsy from the drug they'd given her.
In the hallway, Harm was the first to speak. "How is she? Can we see her?" he asked the doctors in a rush. Mac stood next to him, with the rest of the group behind them.
"Mr. Rabb, the procedure went well." Dr. Gentry answered. "She had about a liter of fluid in her chest, which was quite a buildup. We've drained it, and she's been given something to help her sleep. You can go in," and at the sudden rush of the entire group, held up her hand. "Just for a few minutes right now, OK? She needs to rest. The nurses will be checking her every two hours, and she's getting chest X-rays and another eval in the morning." Dr. Masters nodded at her side as he continued.
"She should sleep through the night, and then in the morning we'll see if there's any more fluid buildup. Her vitals are strong and she's breathing a lot better. She's on ox for the time being, and we're hoping her lung will reinflate on its' own by morning."
"What happened to her earlier tonight?" Trish asked.
Dr. Masters sighed. "I think the stress of the ... situation ... caused her to hyperventilate, which taxed her lungs. Her left lung partially collapsed because of that, and the pressure from the fluid buildup around it." He paused for a moment, and then continued ... the eyes of everyone in the group on him. "After we finished the procedure, she nodded when I asked her if her chest felt better, and that was very encouraging. She doesn't seem to be in any pain."
"OK ... good, ok." Harm blew out the breath he'd been holding as the doctors talked, and Frank placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it.
"Why don't you and Mac go in, son? I'm sure she wants to see you both before her eyes close."
"Yeah. Thank you, doctors." Both doctors nodded, then Dr. Masters spoke again. "We'll see you all in the morning; I'm sure we'll have a lot to talk about." Judging by the tone in his voice, they all knew he wasn't just referring to Mattie's condition. He turned to Harm with a frustrated look on his face.
Mr. Rabb, I don't know what's going on with that ... gentleman ... downstairs, but I'm ordering a security guard posted outside Mattie's room until it's resolved. And I'm banning him from this hospital until further notice, or until I am directed by a court to allow him entry. What I witnessed tonight ..." and he shook his head before continuing, "I won't have my patient upset like that again. I have a feeling we're all going to be busy tomorrow with everything that's happened tonight, so why don't you folks go home and get some rest?"
"We'll stay for a while longer, doctor ... both Ms. Valera and our boss, Admiral Chegwidden, are on their way. I believe Ms. Valera has already spoken to your security staff about what to do with ... him." Jen spoke from behind them. The doctor nodded.
"Okay." He glanced at Dr. Gentry, then turned back to the group. "We're heading down to the doctor's lounge to get some coffee. Have Ms. Valera meet us there after she arrives. You folks can go in and see her for just a couple of minutes, then join us afterward. We'll need to come up with some kind of plan with Ms. Valera, once she's been brought up to speed. Just a couple of minutes in there, all right?" He looked each person in the eyes, and everyone nodded. Harm and Mac were already entering Mattie's room, and the rest followed. The doctors watched them through the window for a moment, then walked to the elevators.
"What the hell happened here tonight?" Dr. Gentry asked.
"Long story ... let me buy you some coffee, and I'll tell you."
"Sounds good. Sure is exciting around here when you're on duty." She gave him a wry smile.
"Don't remind me."
Mattie's eyelids felt heavier and heavier; the sleep-inducing drug quickly catching up to her. The nurse gently wiped her face again with a damp cloth, and Mattie suddenly realized that she'd been crying. The nurse moved some locks of Mattie's hair away from the wires and tubes leading from her to the monitors and IV stand by her bed, then suddenly stepped back. Mattie missed the comfort of her presence ... until it was suddenly replaced by the worried, tired faces of Harm and Mac above her. Harm leaned over her, gently kissing her forehead ... while Mac's lips found her cheek. A tear dropped from Mac's face down over the spot she'd just kissed, and she smiled at Mattie as she wiped it away. Mattie just wanted to lay here and watch them ... but it became harder and harder to keep her eyes open. She felt hands move over the blankets near her feet, and pushed her eyelids open enough to see her Grams and Gramps standing at the foot of her bed ... smiling at her and caressing her ankles and feet. Someone sat by her side then, gently, and she felt a hand take hers in a warm grip ... then looked up to see Jen raise her hand to her lips ... placing a soft kiss on it as she continued holding it in hers. Mattie and Jen's eyes met and held; Mattie felt her worry over Jen drift away, replaced by the love she saw and felt in her 'sister's' eyes.
The last thing she remembered before sleep finally overtook her was Andre, placing her Snoopy doll next to her ... and giving her a wink.
She fell into blackness, surrounded by warmth.
END OF CHAPTER 18
Author: Chicmns
Category: Drama, angst
Disclaimer: All main characters belong to DPB, CBS, and Paramount. Other characters (see below) are used with the greatest respect and a solemn promise not to benefit in any way by their use, except in the cause of (hopefully) good fiction.
Rating: G
Author's Notes: Thanks to the following recent reviewers:
Sahc Thanks for your insights. I agree with you, except that I don't believe Mattie entirely forgave Tom during the season-ending episode. She agreed to spend time with him - which is not exactly the same thing. I think the writers didn't want to end the season with Mattie still so mad at Tom ... her anger was starting to affect her relationship with Harm, so they had to lessen it somehow. At least ... that's my guess.
Lyssa Grace LANGUAGE, young lady(as Harm would probably say to Mattie)! LOL
starryeyes10 and sarai Thanks for your support! I'll try to update faster, but I'm never quite sure how these chapters will unfold, and I am very critical of my own writing – wanna get it just right!
mizukimarr910 Gee ... never expected that writing this story would bring me death threats! And, I stopped the last chapter where I did because I felt it was a good place to stop (I want each chapter to be able to stand on its' own). So, you're welcome ... I guess.
amichanm I did know about their last name ... this is just one of the few liberties I'm taking with the canon of the series. I'm sure that Harm thinks of his mom as "Mrs. Rabb" when he talks about her with others, and I felt that bringing in too many family last names would be confusing. Thank you for your thoughts!
Mass Spec Lady So, THAT's what your "handle" means, huh? Is any of your work flying on NASA missions yet? ( I love "Snoopy," too, and I wanted to make Andre's get-well gift to Mattie special and memorable – you'll see why in future stories! Thanks!
jtbwriter Thank you again! This is how I would have plotted the character of Tom, were I writing for the series (call me, Mr. B!) Your reaction to Mattie seeing him come in was the response I was hoping to evoke in readers. Normally, I think she'd be more "stoic", but she's tired and ill ... her emotions and control are not as tight as they normally would be. She wasn't alone with him when he arrived because it would have interrupted the flow of the story ("where did everyone go all of a sudden?"), and this isn't a "Mattie's in physical danger from someone" story. On Ellen: to me, Ellen is me bringing Meg Austin back; she's tough, whip-smart, loyal, with a big heart. It's one of the reasons I made her a "former" cop. And ... as much as I love Catherine Bell's Mac ... I miss Meg Austin!
dreamer20715 Appreciate the kind words! As an example of a writers' life popping up in his (or her) stories ... I've always thought that Snoopy, for a pet, is one of the world's best people! I couldn't think of a better choice for Mattie, who's had to grow up so fast that I think the series writers miss out on showing her child side. Just my opinion.
Chapter 18
GW HOSPITAL SECURITY OFFICE
The guards on duty in the "Box," as they all called the security offices, were watching the various monitors covering the hospital grounds when Dr. Masters' panic alert came over the internal network. Each doctor's PMC was also outfitted as a "panic button", in case there was a problem that required help from the hospital security force. The consoles in the security office could track individual PMCs throughout the hospital campus, as well as receive emergency summons like the one coming from Dr. Masters' unit. The screens showed a location and a patient name: Room 411, Matilda Grace Johnson. Two sets of eyes caught the information flashing on the screen, and leaped from their chairs. Both guards grabbed their radios and ran from the "Box"; one running to the elevator, while the other took the stairs towards Room 411 ... separating in order to approach the unknown problem, whatever it was, from two directions in order to gain tactical advantage. One of the guards, a former DC cop like Ellen Valera, wondered what was going on. He'd recognized Ellen when she entered the hospital earlier; they didn't know each other personally, but he remembered her from the Job. Unsnapping the weapon in his holster as the elevator rose to the 4th floor, he stilled his emotions and questions ... preparing to face whatever prompted the summons.
ROOM 411
Jen stood in a darkened corner of the room across from the door, her presence apparently unnoticed by Tom Johnson as he stepped into Mattie's room, facing Harm, Frank, and Andre – who'd all moved between he and Mattie. She went very still, not wanting to draw his attention. From the shocked looks on Harm and Mac's faces, and the alcohol Jen caught a whiff of, this guy came to see Mattie in a drunken state ... and Jen 's hands balled up in fists as her anger shot to the surface. 'Hasn't she been through enough already?' she thought as Harm glared daggers at Tom. Jen began moving slowly towards the door behind Tom as whispered voices reached her from the hospital corridor. She heard soft crying from the other side of the room, and knew right away that it was Mattie. At that moment, Jen knew that if this guy made any sort of a move, she'd stop him – cold.
Harm took a step towards Tom, his hands out in front of him as he tried to focus all of Tom's attention on him and away from anyone else in the room; especially Mattie. He heard her crying behind him as well, and was determined to protect her. He calmed his voice, then spoke to Tom.
"Tom ... what are you doing here?" He could smell alcohol on Tom from a few feet away, and saw the man lurch unsteadily as he tried to look past everyone towards Mattie.
"I'm here to see Mattie – what do you think I'm here for?" he rasped.
"Tom ... it's not a good time. She's being checked out by the doctor right now. Let's all go out into the hallway and let him finish his work, OK?"
Tom sneered at Harm, looking past him towards the group of women by the bed. "Mattie, honey ... I came to see you! I wanted to make sure you're OK, and keep these people who let you get sick away from you!"
"What ..." Harm heard Mattie whisper as he kept his eyes on Tom. "LET me get sick?!? Are you crazy?" she finished in a gasp.
"NO!" Tom bellowed. "Mattie, listen ... they're not taking care of you right. I called the social worker – we're going to get this straightened out, and they'll get you with some nice people until I—"
"Get ... out."
Everyone stilled as they heard the venom in Mattie's soft voice - including Tom. No one had ever heard her speak that way before, and the shock of her tone distracted everyone enough that Tom was able to recover and push past Harm to run into Andre, who'd moved out from behind Harm when he noticed Tom's sudden movement. Tom tried to push Andre aside, but he reached between them and grabbed Tom's arm, twisting it to the side to stop Tom's forward progress.
"Get off of me, boy!" Tom ground out as he tried to wrest his arm from Andre's grasp. Suddenly, Tom flew backward away from Andre, and he quickly let go ... thinking that security had arrived. Tom's face had a look of surprise on it, and Harm and Andre both saw a small, pale hand attached to his collar as he was tossed back towards the door. He stumbled as his back hit the doorframe, and then everyone saw Jen move a step away from him, her hand dropping from his collar. She'd jerked him off of his feet and through the air with one hand - and everyone turned to stare at her in surprise. Tom Johnson was not a small man.
Tom grabbed hold of the doorframe and looked at Jen, fury on his face. Both Harm and Andre gaped at her and saw the rage in her narrowed eyes as she stood facing Tom. Before he could move towards her, however, two security guards entered, grabbing his arms and pinning them to his side as he screamed at Jen.
"You tramp! Who do you think you are?" He struggled with the guards as Jen took a step towards him, her hands balled up into fists as they wrestled him into the hallway. Dr. Masters said in a loud voice, "Get him out of here! Confine him in security until the police arrive!" The guards dragged Tom away from the room, restraining his arms as his growls filled the hallway. Harm, still watching Jen's face, stepped towards her and placed a hand on her shoulder to keep her from following Tom. She wrenched away from him and took another step towards the hall when they heard Mac's voice call out.
"Jen ... don't! He's not worth it! Jen!"
Hearing the command and concern in Mac's voice when Jen heard her name stopped her in her tracks. She was breathing heavily, facing the door, with her back to the room ... her body shaking with anger. This jerk, this ... bug tries to storm in here, drunk, trying to bring even MORE pain into Mattie's life – no! No more, Jen decided. She snarled, moving towards the door again ... when Mattie's voice reached out to her through the red haze of her fury.
"Jen ... please don't do it ... I need you here with me, please, sis!" Mattie sobbed, her voice taking on a weird timbre that made Jen pause. "Don't go ... we need ...hrrkkk!"
Jen's heart suddenly constricted as she heard the weird sound come from Mattie's throat. She felt Harm stiffen behind her, then quickly turned around as everyone looked down at Mattie.
Mattie's face had turned beet-red, her hand moving to her chest as she tried to speak ... but couldn't. Her eyes grew wide as she looked at Harm, the fear filling her face. She desperately tried to take a breath as Dr. Masters and the nurse flew at her, pushing bodies out of their way ... alarms sounding from the monitors in the room. Harm reached her side in a second ... but was quickly pushed back by the nurse, who then slapped a blood pressure cuff over her arm.
Dr. Masters was busy examining Mattie, listening to her chest and checking her eyes, which had started to roll up as her body jerked in spasms.
"Mattie!" Mac cried out, as Trish grabbed her in a hug ... both watching Mattie's body quiver as she fought to draw any kind of breath. "Doctor! What's happening?" she screamed.
"Her heart's racing, pulse is erratic—"he spoke to the nurse, ignoring Harm for the moment.
"BP is 90 over 60 and falling!"
"Put her on the mask – crank up the ox, and send a Code 1 for Gentry!"
Mattie's eyes were roaming all over, till they found Harm's again ... then locked with his as the doctor and nurse worked over her.
"Everyone has to leave, now!" Dr. Masters spoke to the room as he gently touched the lower right side of her chest, and grimaced. He looked up, glaring at the people in the room who hadn't moved an inch. "We can't treat her if this room is full – please go out into the hall and let us work!"
Everyone reluctantly drifted to the door as the nurse snatched Dr. Masters' PMC, entering the code that would alert the ER doctor. A moment later, another nurse rushed into the room with a cart trailing behind her, and she handed Dr. Masters a pair of gloves. He accepted them, never taking his eyes off of Mattie ... leaning down close to her face as he slipped them on, speaking close to her ear.
"Mattie, can you hear me? Where does it hurt?"
She slowly moved her hand to her right side ... where he'd placed his hand a moment before. Dr. Masters nodded at her, then looked up. "10 milliliters tramadol, and put on a pulse oximeter." The first nurse quickly complied, as Dr. Gentry rushed into the room ... pushing past the crowd by the door.
"What have we got?" she demanded, slipping on gloves herself.
"She went into shock after an incident a few minutes ago. Breathing is shallow, and her chest sounds have changed. BP is low, and we just started her on ox and tramadol." Dr. Masters told her. She pulled on her stethoscope and quickly listened to different places on her chest.
After listening for a few seconds, Dr. Gentry sighed and looked at Dr. Masters. "Atelectasis – her right side?" Dr. Masters nodded. She continued speaking as she examined Mattie.
"I think her right lung's partially collapsed. Let's get her most recent X- rays, and bring me a chest needle – we're going to do a thoracentesis here." She looked up towards the doorway where Harm and Mac stood watching in fear. "Mr. Rabb, Ms. MacKenzie ... she's having trouble breathing and we have to drain the fluid in her chest right now to relieve the pressure there." She heard gasps from the hallway, as the rest of Mattie's family and friends heard what she'd just said.
"Oh, god ..." Mac whispered.
"Help her, doctors – please." Harm told them in a plaintive voice.
"We will, sir. Please wait in the hall – this should take about a half hour." Harm found Mattie's eyes, talking to her as he slowly took backward steps. "Mattie ... we're right here. Okay? We're right here, and we're not going anywhere. Mattie, honey, you're going to be FINE, I promise. You hang on, Mattie – hear me?" Mattie's panicked face, her half-closed eyes, her mouth covered by an oxygen mask all tracked on Harm and Mac as she was being prepped.
One of the nurses opened a chest tube package as the other pulled the room curtain around Mattie, cutting Mattie off from Harm and Mac's sight. The other nurse approached them at the door with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, sir - ma'am. I need to close the door."
"We love you, Mattie!" Mac told her as the door shut between them.
The group in the hall looked at each other in shock. Harm and Mac wrapped their arms around each other, as Trish and Frank came over to hug them. Mac and Trish were crying. Andre went over to Jen as she sagged against the wall and stood next to her, close but not touching. He asked, "Are you all right?" She looked at him, their shoulders touching as she heard the concern in his voice – and that he was asking about more than her general state. She sensed that he wanted to know if she still intended to pulverize Tom Johnson the first chance she got. She didn't know, for sure ... but she wasn't going to let this 15-year old young man know how close she still was to losing control. "Yeah ... no more crazies, see?" She met his gaze again ... then straightened up and looked over at the senior officers.
"I need to ... I have to call the Admiral, and let him know what's happened." Harm glanced at her over Mac's head, and nodded ... reaching into his pocket.
"Thanks. Could ... could you do something else?" She looked at him, waiting. He sighed, seeing the anger still seething in her eyes over Tom. Handing her a card he took from his pocket as he held Mac, he said, "Would you call Ellen Valera, and ask her to come down here right away? Her cell number's there on her card." Jen nodded, taking the card from him.
"We'll go with you, Miss Coates. I need to call Andre's grandmother and let her know why we're late, and that we're on our way." Miss Barrows told her ... looking shaken.
"I'm not leaving." Andre's determined voice filled the hallway, and everyone turned to look at him.
"Andre--" Miss Barrows started, but Andre cut her off.
"I'm not leaving until I know she's OK, Miss Barrows. I'm sorry, but I can't. Sir," and he turned to look Harm in the eye. Harm saw in the young man's face an unshakeable determination. He saw once more how this youngster and Mattie could become best friends so quickly. "I'd like to stay here and wait with you, if you don't mind. My grandmother won't, once I explain to her what's happened."
"Andre, I know Mattie's your friend, but this is a school night—"Miss Barrows began, but stopped when Andre turned to look at her. She sighed, looking to Harm for help. Andre turned back to face Harm.
Harm studied Andre's face for a heartbeat, then nodded. "OK, Andre. Please go with Jen and Miss Barrows, and stay with them until they're finished with their calls. IF your grandmother agrees with you staying after talking with Miss Barrows, then you're welcome to wait with us. If she doesn't, then we'll see you soon - I'll call you when I can to let you know how she is. All right?"
"Yes, sir. Thanks." He turned to join Jen and Miss Barrows, and they all started walking down the hall towards the phones near the nurses' station. They'd taken a couple of steps when Harm called out to him.
"Andre." He stopped, and turned around. Harm held out a free hand, and Andre came towards him to take it in a shake. "Thank you for what you did in there. I saw you get between him and Mattie, and I - we're grateful. You shouldn't have done that, you know. He could have brought something with him." Andre cocked his head, reminding Harm and Mac of the Admiral when he looked especially determined about something.
"Wouldn't have mattered, Mr. Rabb. I wasn't going to let him past me to get to her, no matter what he had. Anyway, I think Jen had the same thought I did." He looked over his shoulder at Jen, who looked every bit as determined as he did ... then turned back to Harm, who grinned and nodded at both of them. He found himself liking and respecting this young man even more than before. Mac slipped from Harm's comforting embrace and slowly approached Andre. He was, she noticed, the same height as she was ... and she had no trouble leaning in to gently kiss him on his cheek, smiling at him.
"Thank you," she told him in a heartfelt voice ... her eyes and face wet with tears.
Andre returned her smile. "You're welcome, ma'am. She's gonna be fine." Mac laughed, comforted by the faith in his voice.
"I know she will, Andre. And I think you'd better start calling me 'Mac' - all my "hero" friends do." She smiled again as a surprised and embarrassed look came over his dark face.
"OK ... Mac." He nodded again, then turned on his heel and strode down the hall between Jen and Miss Barrows.
"Impressive young man." Frank spoke up, as he stood next to Trish, who was watching the closed curtain through the window of Mattie's room. She nodded, her eyes still on the closed curtains and the movement behind them, then answered.
"Yes, he is. I can see why Mattie likes him so much. We Rabb girls always seem to fall for the strong, hero types." Trish joked. Frank softly chuckled, and Mac giggled ... as Harm shook his head. "Mom," he replied, taking Mac in his arms again, "that's a little too much info for me to handle right now, okay?" They all found seats in chairs against the wall near the door of Mattie's room, growing quiet as they digested the events of the past hour while waiting for word on Mattie's condition.
ELLEN VALERA'S HOME GEORGETOWN
The phone rang as Ellen finished feeding her dog, Sniffles. She'd gotten him from the pound after taking a child in her care there for some child- animal bonding. She'd ended up bonding, herself, with this doe-eyed puppy who'd come up to the front of his cage, licking her hand. He'd gotten his name from his continually wet, cold nose. She petted him as she reached for her ringing cell.
"Hello?"
"Ms. Valera. This is Jen Coates. I'm sorry to be calling so late."
"It's OK, Jen. I was just feeding my dog. Is everything all right - how's Mattie doing?"
There was a pause, and Ellen heard nothing for a minute except Jen's breathing and the sounds of traffic outside of her kitchen.
"Jen?" She heard a big sigh over the line, and then Jen began speaking.
"There's been an ... incident here at the hospital, ma'am. Tom Johnson came by about a half hour ago, demanding to see Mattie, claiming he was going to get her away from the 'people who'd let her get sick'. And ... we think he's been drinking. I was close enough to him to smell alcohol."
"What!" Ellen couldn't believe it. If this was true, she thought ... this guy was doing everything wrong if he ever wanted to get custody of Mattie back. "How's Mattie?" She started slipping her shoes back on as she held the phone crooked next to her ear.
"That's ... um, the other thing. Mattie became upset over what happened, and ... it looks like her lung's collapsed. She's being worked on right now. Harm- the Commander asked me to call you."
Ellen stood in her kitchen ... a million thoughts and questions flowing through her mind. She had to get there, but first ... she needed a little more information.
"Jen ... I'm so sorry. Tell Mr. Rabb I'm on my way – be there in about 15 minutes. Where is Mr. Johnson right now?"
"He's in the security office here at the hospital. Dr. Masters called them after he burst into Mattie's room. They had to restrain him in order to get him away from her—"
"Okay, Jen. Listen – I don't want you to do anything else until I get there, all right? No one from your group is to talk to Mr. Johnson – you understand? I'm calling their security office directly. You folks stay with Mattie, and I'll catch up as soon as I can. Got it?"
"Yes, ma'am. We'll see you soon. I have to get back to Mattie's room now."
"Go. I'm en route now. Call me back if you need to, or if anything else happens."
"Okay." The line went dead, and Ellen leaned against the wall of her kitchen, closing her eyes for a moment. This case, which was complicated to begin with, just graduated to the major leagues. She'd have to call her boss, and then probably the police, before the night was done.
First thing was to call hospital security to have them perform a breathalyzer on Tom Johnson. She had to get the facts of what happened to get all the answers FCS needed.
She leaned down to pet Sniffles again for comfort, then grabbed her purse and left through her back door, closing it behind her.
GW HOSPITAL 4TH FLOOR PHONE BANK
Jen hung up the phone after ending her short conversation with a furious and concerned Admiral Chegwidden, who was on his way to GW. When she'd reached him while on his way home from a party with friends at the Annapolis O-club, and filled him in on what had happened ... he'd been shocked to hear that Tom Johnson would be stupid enough to come to the hospital, drunk ... and at the change in Mattie's condition. Only a few hours earlier, she'd reported to him that she was well on the way to recovering, and should be going home soon. He's also gotten her to describe to him in detail her part in stopping Tom from getting to Mattie ... and he'd warned her that she might need a lawyer for the inevitable charges Tom would try to lodge against her. She'd started telling him that she had a friend who was an attorney, and could probably represent her ... but he'd quickly interrupted by asking in a sour voice whether she'd fired him as her attorney after he'd represented her earlier during their meeting with Ellen Valera. Surprised, she'd tried to explain, when he told her in no uncertain terms that he was on his way, and not to say anything to anybody until he got there. She shook her head; her CO was protecting her again. Her mind went over the last part of their conversation as she stood waiting for Andre to finish speaking with his grandmother.
"Coates, this is getting to be a habit – me defending you. Is this some plan to get out of coming into work?"
"No, sir. I just—"
"Kidding, Coates." She'd sighed then, shaking her head at the phone. Why did he always do this to her when her defenses were down?
"Sir, I'm sorry. I couldn't stop myself. If Mattie hadn't called out to me at that moment, I would have joyfully ripped his head off."
There was a pause before he spoke again. "Jennifer, it sounds like you were just reacting to the threat to Mattie. I'm not saying it's not going to be easy, but it can be explained to a court."
"I haven't been a very good representative of the Navy tonight, sir. I apologize."
"We'll talk about all of that later, Petty Officer. Right now, we need to make sure Mattie's going to be OK, and get all the facts straight about this incident. Do NOT talk to Ellen Valera or anyone else until I get there, Coates – that's a direct order. You read me?"
"Yes, sir. I'm so sor—"
"And stop apologizing, for God's sake! Now ... I'm going to call the Roberts and Sturgis, bring them up to speed. I'm headed in your direction. Go back to everyone and stay there till I arrive."
"Yes, sir."
"Don't worry, Coates. Harm, Mac, and I will bring you a file in a cake, at the very least." Jen couldn't help it; a grin appeared on her face, and Andre sighed in relief as he watched her. He'd been concerned, seeing the murderous fury in her eyes during the confrontation with Mattie's biological father; he'd seen that same look in the eyes of some of the gangbangers that roamed his neighborhood, and he gave thanks that Mattie was able to stop her from going after Mr. Johnson. Jen seemed really nice, and Andre hoped that there wouldn't be any lasting consequences from her actions. His grandmother always taught him that he had to face the results of his own actions, and he sensed that Jen was the same type of person as his grandmother in that way. Mattie had told him about some of the wrong moves Jen had made earlier in her life, and Andre felt a certain kinship with her. He'd made enough mistakes himself ... and understood where she was coming from.
If he could help her out of what he knew the consequences of both their actions tonight would most likely be, he would. Mattie needed her 'sister' close. He stood a few feet away, waiting for Jen's conversation to end. Mattie's dad had asked him to stay with Jen, and he would. He heard her speaking again to her boss, the Admiral.
Jen returned the teasing tone in her commanding officer/lawyer's voice.
"NOT helping, sir." He sighed, theatrically ... then continued.
"No one appreciates my humor. All right. I'll be there in 30." The phone clicked.
Jen sighed, and hung up the phone - then rejoined Andre and Miss Barrows ... as they returned to the group gathered down the hall outside Mattie's room.
ROOM 411
Mattie was placed in a sitting position in her bed, as her doctors studied the most recent X-rays taken of her chest that had been brought in and placed on the light boxes on the wall of her room. They murmured to each other, pointing occasionally as they discussed how they would treat Mattie respiratory problems. The pain medicine she'd been given was helping a little, but she still felt discomfort, and her chest felt very tight. It was hard to draw even a small breath, but the oxygen mask she was wearing was making things easier. Before they'd placed the mask over her mouth, she was in a panic as her body fought for oxygen. Seeing the fear in Harm's eyes as he met her own scared look made her shiver inside. He and Mac were as frightened as she was.
She felt her gown being repositioned on her right side as large sterile sheets were draped over her lower chest, and then she felt a cool swab brush her skin where it hurt the most. Dr. Masters leaned close to her, and began talking as one of the nurses took her hand on her left side, squeezing it and smiling down at her.
"Mattie, I'm going to tell you what we're doing, OK? Try not to be frightened, because we're going to take care of your pain. Dr. Gentry is going to drain the excess fluid that's in your chest, so we need you to stay as still as possible. Can you do that for us?"
She nodded, and he smiled at her.
"Good girl. Now, you're going to feel a little pinprick," and at that moment, she felt it from where Dr. Gentry was sitting at her side, "and then numbness at that spot. That's normal, ok? We're giving you something to numb the pain in the area we have to work on. Now, we're going to draw out the fluid from your chest. We're not sure how much is in there, so it's very important that you not move until we tell you to, ok?" She gave him a very small nod, and closed her eyes in order to try to stay still.
"Doing great, Mattie. Easy does it ..." she heard Dr. Gentry whisper. She felt Dr. Masters move closer to her left side where Dr. Gentry was, and then someone patted her forehead with a cool sponge. She stayed that way for a while, listening to the breathing of the two doctors next to her. She suddenly wondered where her Snoopy dog was ... she hoped that they hadn't taken it away. She wished Harm and Mac were next to her. She liked that the nurses were there, keeping her company and as comfortable as possible, but she really wanted Harm and Mac. She felt them nearby ... but they weren't close enough for her liking. She tried to blank her mind, struggling to control her emotions until she heard Dr. Masters' quiet voice at her side.
"Looks like it's drained through."
"Yep ... the flow's almost stopped." Dr. Gentry answered.
Then she felt something pull away from her right side, and someone was holding something soft against her. She kept her eyes closed, then felt more padding added to her side ... along with tape being attached. There was more movement, but she didn't open her eyes.
"Nurse ... take the container to the lab, and have them run the analysis as soon as possible."
"OK."
Mattie's bed started moving, and she felt herself shifted back to a horizontal position as the sterile pads were removed, and her gown was shifted back in place. She felt hands adjust the blankets around her, then Dr. Masters spoke in her ear.
"Mattie? Still with us?" She opened her eyes to see him smiling down at her, and she nodded again.
"We're all done. There was quite a bit of fluid in your chest, and it took about 20 minutes for it to drain."
Her eyes widened. Twenty minutes? It felt like just a few to her, lying there with her eyes closed. She reached for the mask on her face, so she could speak easier... but Dr. Masters shook his head, stopping her hand. "No, Mattie – that stays on for the night. You did really well. How does your chest feel?"
She hadn't noticed it until that moment, but the tightness she'd felt before was gone. She tried a normal breath, and found that she could breathe with just a little discomfort – not normal, but better. She smiled a little and nodded at Dr. Masters, who patted her hand.
"Feels better, huh? Good! Now, you need to rest, OK? We're giving you something to help you sleep," and she turned her head to see the nurse inject something into her IV, "then we'll let your folks in to see you. Don't try to speak right now, Mattie. Just rest, and I'll come see you in the morning." He gave her a big grin, and then his head disappeared from her line of sight.
Dr. Gentry and Dr. Masters whispered something to the nurse, pulling off their gloves and dumping them in a biowaste pouch, and then pulled the curtain back from around her bed. Mattie turned her head to see Harm, Mac, her grandparents, Andre, Jen, and Miss Barrows looking through the window of the room, all smiling at her. The two doctors left the room, and Mattie watched everyone gather around them, talking in murmurs. Both Jen and Andre were still watching her, though, and Mattie raised her hand a little from the blankets around her in a wave ... starting to feel drowsy from the drug they'd given her.
In the hallway, Harm was the first to speak. "How is she? Can we see her?" he asked the doctors in a rush. Mac stood next to him, with the rest of the group behind them.
"Mr. Rabb, the procedure went well." Dr. Gentry answered. "She had about a liter of fluid in her chest, which was quite a buildup. We've drained it, and she's been given something to help her sleep. You can go in," and at the sudden rush of the entire group, held up her hand. "Just for a few minutes right now, OK? She needs to rest. The nurses will be checking her every two hours, and she's getting chest X-rays and another eval in the morning." Dr. Masters nodded at her side as he continued.
"She should sleep through the night, and then in the morning we'll see if there's any more fluid buildup. Her vitals are strong and she's breathing a lot better. She's on ox for the time being, and we're hoping her lung will reinflate on its' own by morning."
"What happened to her earlier tonight?" Trish asked.
Dr. Masters sighed. "I think the stress of the ... situation ... caused her to hyperventilate, which taxed her lungs. Her left lung partially collapsed because of that, and the pressure from the fluid buildup around it." He paused for a moment, and then continued ... the eyes of everyone in the group on him. "After we finished the procedure, she nodded when I asked her if her chest felt better, and that was very encouraging. She doesn't seem to be in any pain."
"OK ... good, ok." Harm blew out the breath he'd been holding as the doctors talked, and Frank placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it.
"Why don't you and Mac go in, son? I'm sure she wants to see you both before her eyes close."
"Yeah. Thank you, doctors." Both doctors nodded, then Dr. Masters spoke again. "We'll see you all in the morning; I'm sure we'll have a lot to talk about." Judging by the tone in his voice, they all knew he wasn't just referring to Mattie's condition. He turned to Harm with a frustrated look on his face.
Mr. Rabb, I don't know what's going on with that ... gentleman ... downstairs, but I'm ordering a security guard posted outside Mattie's room until it's resolved. And I'm banning him from this hospital until further notice, or until I am directed by a court to allow him entry. What I witnessed tonight ..." and he shook his head before continuing, "I won't have my patient upset like that again. I have a feeling we're all going to be busy tomorrow with everything that's happened tonight, so why don't you folks go home and get some rest?"
"We'll stay for a while longer, doctor ... both Ms. Valera and our boss, Admiral Chegwidden, are on their way. I believe Ms. Valera has already spoken to your security staff about what to do with ... him." Jen spoke from behind them. The doctor nodded.
"Okay." He glanced at Dr. Gentry, then turned back to the group. "We're heading down to the doctor's lounge to get some coffee. Have Ms. Valera meet us there after she arrives. You folks can go in and see her for just a couple of minutes, then join us afterward. We'll need to come up with some kind of plan with Ms. Valera, once she's been brought up to speed. Just a couple of minutes in there, all right?" He looked each person in the eyes, and everyone nodded. Harm and Mac were already entering Mattie's room, and the rest followed. The doctors watched them through the window for a moment, then walked to the elevators.
"What the hell happened here tonight?" Dr. Gentry asked.
"Long story ... let me buy you some coffee, and I'll tell you."
"Sounds good. Sure is exciting around here when you're on duty." She gave him a wry smile.
"Don't remind me."
Mattie's eyelids felt heavier and heavier; the sleep-inducing drug quickly catching up to her. The nurse gently wiped her face again with a damp cloth, and Mattie suddenly realized that she'd been crying. The nurse moved some locks of Mattie's hair away from the wires and tubes leading from her to the monitors and IV stand by her bed, then suddenly stepped back. Mattie missed the comfort of her presence ... until it was suddenly replaced by the worried, tired faces of Harm and Mac above her. Harm leaned over her, gently kissing her forehead ... while Mac's lips found her cheek. A tear dropped from Mac's face down over the spot she'd just kissed, and she smiled at Mattie as she wiped it away. Mattie just wanted to lay here and watch them ... but it became harder and harder to keep her eyes open. She felt hands move over the blankets near her feet, and pushed her eyelids open enough to see her Grams and Gramps standing at the foot of her bed ... smiling at her and caressing her ankles and feet. Someone sat by her side then, gently, and she felt a hand take hers in a warm grip ... then looked up to see Jen raise her hand to her lips ... placing a soft kiss on it as she continued holding it in hers. Mattie and Jen's eyes met and held; Mattie felt her worry over Jen drift away, replaced by the love she saw and felt in her 'sister's' eyes.
The last thing she remembered before sleep finally overtook her was Andre, placing her Snoopy doll next to her ... and giving her a wink.
She fell into blackness, surrounded by warmth.
END OF CHAPTER 18