It was almost an hour later when Louis came stalking into the
hospital basement searching for the still off shift Hook. He had been
shocked to learn that Hook hadn't even bothered to have Elmer placed on the
psychiatric ward, hadn't arranged for him to be watched, hadn't even
bothered to admit him! Louis had always liked Hook but his rage was almost
at the boiling point now. Obviously Hook was totally clueless when it came
to things like this if he hadn't....
Suddenly Louis stopped as he passed the sleep lab, going back and peering into the slightly open door. There was Hook, curled on one of the beds with Chris next to him, snoozing like he didn't have a care in the world. Louis pushed the door open and angrily stalked in. How could he be in here sleeping when Elmer.... He had always thought that Hook was his son's friend but obviously he had been wrong.
Hook's eyes opened as he heard footsteps crossing the room towards him. He sat up, careful not to wake Chris, pressing a finger to his lips as he spotted Louis. He reached out, pulling his shoes on as he slowly shook his head. If Louis was already here, then he had definitely slept too long.
As soon as they were back in the monitoring area, Louis exploded.
"Why didn't you call me last night? Stegman had to give me the news this morning! I thought you were Elmer's friend!"
Hook looked at Louis, trying to figure out what in the world he was talking about. "Louis, what are you...."
Suddenly Louis's eyes widened as he looked through the glass separating the two areas and saw his son laying tucked into another one of the beds, eyes widening even more when he saw Lona there curled up to him,
snuggling him into a tight embrace. Lona? He had always considered her a friend and a good one but if she was helping Hook with this sub par treatment of his son..... And what in the world was she doing in bed with him?
"Louis, I think you better sit down and tell me what Stegman told you." Hook said in a concerned tone as he noticed that Louis had spotted Elmer and Lona. Okay, he guessed that considering how much Lona complained about Elmer's attentions, it did seem a little strange but considering that Lona was the only one who could calm Elmer the night before, he really wasn't going to say anything about it. All that mattered was that it had worked.
"What is she doing with my son?" Louis demanded, shooting another angry glance at Hook before focusing on the pair in the bed once more.
What in the world was Lona doing? She didn't like Elmer so....
"She's just holding him. Worked like a charm last night. Kept us from having to sedate him." Hook said with a shake of his head before looking over at Louis once more. "Louis, what in the world did Stegman tell you?"
"He told me what happened with Elmer last night." Louis's voice broke slightly as he spoke now thinking of how he might have lost his only remaining child. How couldn't Hook have called him? "Why didn't you call me? Why didn't you let me know that Elmer tried to kill himself?" he demanded.
"Because I don't believe in calling people at two in the morning to spread lies about my friends?" Hook replied in a halfway joking, halfway serious tone. "Louis, where in the world did you get the idea that Elmer tried to kill himself?"
"Stegman told me what happened, how he tried to jump off the roof like Edgar." Louis shook his head at his lost son's name. No, he wasn't letting that same things claim Elmer as well. He had to save him, no matter what it took. "Why didn't you call me? And why in the world is he down here? He should be up in the psychiatric ward where he can be watched!"
Hook shook his head. Stegman, it figured. He was probably somewhere laughing right now imagining how upset his lie made Louis.
"Louis," he said in a tone that he hoped would placate the older doctor.
"You know Stegman and what an ass he is. Why would you believe anything that he said?"
Louis felt a trace of doubt slipping in. Okay, Stegman probably wasn't the best information source but still.... "I talked to them on the psychiatric floor." He informed Hook as he looked at Elmer. No, he couldn't take any chances with his life. He had already lost one son and he wasn't going to lose the other. "They're going to have a room ready for him shortly. I want him moved up there."
"What?" Hook looked at Louis, not really sure what he was hearing but glad that Elmer was safely asleep at the moment. He had been so freaked out at the idea that he might be locked up the night before. If he found out his dad was making reservations for a padded cell for him.
"Louis, Elmer doesn't need to be up there. He didn't try to kill himself!"
"What?" Louis looked at Hook as if he didn't understand what he was saying. "Stegman said that he...."
"Louis, Steg's an ass and he's probably getting a big laugh right now knowing he's got you freaked." Hook said with a shake of his head. "I promise you, Elmer didn't try to kill himself. He just had a little sleepwalking episode last night."
"Sleepwalking? But Elmer never...." Louis wanted to believe Hook but there when he thought about what Stegman had told him.
"Lona was surprised too but he was being monitored right before it happened. He was definitely sleepwalking." Hook said slowly, hoping to calm Louis down before Elmer woke up.
"But the roof, Stegman said that he was on the roof!"
"He somehow wondered up there. Don't even ask me how he did it without someone seeing him. And you know that the door in the Sunshine Ward has a bad habit of sticking. He got stuck out there until we found him."
Louis shook his head slowly. He wanted to believe Hook, really he did but he was so afraid to let himself believe. What if Hook was wrong?
What if... "Are you sure that he wasn't trying? Sure enough to risk his life?" He said quietly.
Hook nodded. reaching out and placing a comforting hand on Louis's back. When he got his hands on Stegman for doing this..... "Louis,
there's no way that he was trying. He was half asleep still when we brought him back down here and he kept swearing up and down that he wasn't trying to hurt himself."
"Why didn't you call me?" Okay, Louis was willing to go with Hook's reassurances but the fact he hadn't been notified of what had happened to his son, even if it was an accident, still rankled.
"Louis, it was two in the morning and Elmer was freaked thinking people would think he did try suicide. We were having a devil of a time getting him calmed down enough to get him rewarmed. Frankly, the only person that had any sort of luck getting through to him was Lona. There wouldn't have been anything you could have done." And although Hook didn't speak this aloud he knew that Louis's presence would have likely made Elmer way worse.
Louis nodded after a moment, still not completely happy with Hook's reasoning but willing to go with it. "He is okay?" He asked quietly.
"He's fine. We got him wrapped up in blankets and ran some warmed saline through an IV to get him warm. The worst part was actually how scared he was but Lona holding him got that fixed." He shook his head slightly as he looked through the glass at the two. Okay, Lona complained about Elmer a lot but she had been right there for him when he needed help.
Maybe Elmer's chances with her weren't so poor after all. Well, as long as he could think of some better gift ideas, that is. Suddenly Hook recalled Stegman and turned back to Louis with a frown. Steg was a big enough of an ass to delight in spreading the suicide rumor all over the hospital. What could they do to stop him?
Suddenly Louis stopped as he passed the sleep lab, going back and peering into the slightly open door. There was Hook, curled on one of the beds with Chris next to him, snoozing like he didn't have a care in the world. Louis pushed the door open and angrily stalked in. How could he be in here sleeping when Elmer.... He had always thought that Hook was his son's friend but obviously he had been wrong.
Hook's eyes opened as he heard footsteps crossing the room towards him. He sat up, careful not to wake Chris, pressing a finger to his lips as he spotted Louis. He reached out, pulling his shoes on as he slowly shook his head. If Louis was already here, then he had definitely slept too long.
As soon as they were back in the monitoring area, Louis exploded.
"Why didn't you call me last night? Stegman had to give me the news this morning! I thought you were Elmer's friend!"
Hook looked at Louis, trying to figure out what in the world he was talking about. "Louis, what are you...."
Suddenly Louis's eyes widened as he looked through the glass separating the two areas and saw his son laying tucked into another one of the beds, eyes widening even more when he saw Lona there curled up to him,
snuggling him into a tight embrace. Lona? He had always considered her a friend and a good one but if she was helping Hook with this sub par treatment of his son..... And what in the world was she doing in bed with him?
"Louis, I think you better sit down and tell me what Stegman told you." Hook said in a concerned tone as he noticed that Louis had spotted Elmer and Lona. Okay, he guessed that considering how much Lona complained about Elmer's attentions, it did seem a little strange but considering that Lona was the only one who could calm Elmer the night before, he really wasn't going to say anything about it. All that mattered was that it had worked.
"What is she doing with my son?" Louis demanded, shooting another angry glance at Hook before focusing on the pair in the bed once more.
What in the world was Lona doing? She didn't like Elmer so....
"She's just holding him. Worked like a charm last night. Kept us from having to sedate him." Hook said with a shake of his head before looking over at Louis once more. "Louis, what in the world did Stegman tell you?"
"He told me what happened with Elmer last night." Louis's voice broke slightly as he spoke now thinking of how he might have lost his only remaining child. How couldn't Hook have called him? "Why didn't you call me? Why didn't you let me know that Elmer tried to kill himself?" he demanded.
"Because I don't believe in calling people at two in the morning to spread lies about my friends?" Hook replied in a halfway joking, halfway serious tone. "Louis, where in the world did you get the idea that Elmer tried to kill himself?"
"Stegman told me what happened, how he tried to jump off the roof like Edgar." Louis shook his head at his lost son's name. No, he wasn't letting that same things claim Elmer as well. He had to save him, no matter what it took. "Why didn't you call me? And why in the world is he down here? He should be up in the psychiatric ward where he can be watched!"
Hook shook his head. Stegman, it figured. He was probably somewhere laughing right now imagining how upset his lie made Louis.
"Louis," he said in a tone that he hoped would placate the older doctor.
"You know Stegman and what an ass he is. Why would you believe anything that he said?"
Louis felt a trace of doubt slipping in. Okay, Stegman probably wasn't the best information source but still.... "I talked to them on the psychiatric floor." He informed Hook as he looked at Elmer. No, he couldn't take any chances with his life. He had already lost one son and he wasn't going to lose the other. "They're going to have a room ready for him shortly. I want him moved up there."
"What?" Hook looked at Louis, not really sure what he was hearing but glad that Elmer was safely asleep at the moment. He had been so freaked out at the idea that he might be locked up the night before. If he found out his dad was making reservations for a padded cell for him.
"Louis, Elmer doesn't need to be up there. He didn't try to kill himself!"
"What?" Louis looked at Hook as if he didn't understand what he was saying. "Stegman said that he...."
"Louis, Steg's an ass and he's probably getting a big laugh right now knowing he's got you freaked." Hook said with a shake of his head. "I promise you, Elmer didn't try to kill himself. He just had a little sleepwalking episode last night."
"Sleepwalking? But Elmer never...." Louis wanted to believe Hook but there when he thought about what Stegman had told him.
"Lona was surprised too but he was being monitored right before it happened. He was definitely sleepwalking." Hook said slowly, hoping to calm Louis down before Elmer woke up.
"But the roof, Stegman said that he was on the roof!"
"He somehow wondered up there. Don't even ask me how he did it without someone seeing him. And you know that the door in the Sunshine Ward has a bad habit of sticking. He got stuck out there until we found him."
Louis shook his head slowly. He wanted to believe Hook, really he did but he was so afraid to let himself believe. What if Hook was wrong?
What if... "Are you sure that he wasn't trying? Sure enough to risk his life?" He said quietly.
Hook nodded. reaching out and placing a comforting hand on Louis's back. When he got his hands on Stegman for doing this..... "Louis,
there's no way that he was trying. He was half asleep still when we brought him back down here and he kept swearing up and down that he wasn't trying to hurt himself."
"Why didn't you call me?" Okay, Louis was willing to go with Hook's reassurances but the fact he hadn't been notified of what had happened to his son, even if it was an accident, still rankled.
"Louis, it was two in the morning and Elmer was freaked thinking people would think he did try suicide. We were having a devil of a time getting him calmed down enough to get him rewarmed. Frankly, the only person that had any sort of luck getting through to him was Lona. There wouldn't have been anything you could have done." And although Hook didn't speak this aloud he knew that Louis's presence would have likely made Elmer way worse.
Louis nodded after a moment, still not completely happy with Hook's reasoning but willing to go with it. "He is okay?" He asked quietly.
"He's fine. We got him wrapped up in blankets and ran some warmed saline through an IV to get him warm. The worst part was actually how scared he was but Lona holding him got that fixed." He shook his head slightly as he looked through the glass at the two. Okay, Lona complained about Elmer a lot but she had been right there for him when he needed help.
Maybe Elmer's chances with her weren't so poor after all. Well, as long as he could think of some better gift ideas, that is. Suddenly Hook recalled Stegman and turned back to Louis with a frown. Steg was a big enough of an ass to delight in spreading the suicide rumor all over the hospital. What could they do to stop him?