"What's going on?" Hook said as he entered the room. He looked
over at Louis and Lona, pleased to see that they had apparently worked
things out after the near disaster of the day before but there was
something wrong, he could tell that right away, something missing. But
what was.... Suddenly it hit him. Elmer. He ought to be sitting up in
bed at this point enjoying having his dad and Lona hovering and fussing.
So why was he still just laying there, totally motionless?
"He hasn't even twitched," Louis said with a shake of his head before Hook could ask. "What's going on? You said he would be awake by now."
"I don't know. He should be awake." Hook's brow furrowed as he moved to Elmer's bedside. 'You better not be milking this, Elmer.' he thought to himself as he carefully checked the wounds, feeling Elmer's pulse and checking his eyes with a penlight.
"Well, what's wrong with him?" Louis demanded. His worry was building with each moment that passed with his son still unconscious. "You said that the wounds were nothing but grazes, nothing to worry about! So why isn't he waking up?"
"I'm honestly not sure." Hook said with a shake of his head.
"Those wounds aren't anything but grazes. We did x-rays and scanned his head last night to be safe and there was absolutely no sign of a problem then. And frankly right now I can't find anything obvious either. His pulse is good, his breathing's fine, his eyes are reacting normally, no sign of any infection. He ought to be awake."
"But he isn't awake. So what's wrong with him?" Lona whispered as tears threatened to fall once more. She had been feeling slightly better with the knowledge that Elmer was going to be alright but now that this problem had surfaced.... "What's wrong with him?" As she spoke, a sob slipped out and she felt the tears starting to fall once more.
"Lona, calm down, okay?" Hook said as he approached her but Louis was already there, holding her close and soothing her as best he could.
Hook shook his head slightly at that. Maybe Elmer better not wake up for a bit. If the younger doctor saw that, he was sure that Elmer would jump to totally the wrong conclusion.
"What about another scan?" Louis asked. He knew that sometimes things could appear perfectly normal initially only to go rapidly downhill later. He shook his head slightly as he thought of that, of possible bad outcomes. Please, whatever happened, he just didn't want to lose his son!
"We'll definitely need to do one of those," Hook said slowly as he looked at Elmer. He still wasn't all together sure that the younger doctor might not be milking this a little. He knew how Elmer felt, that his father had never loved him as much as he loved his older brother, after all. He wouldn't put it past Elmer to try to do something to find out if his father really did care for him but how far would he take it? Lona was fast heading back into hysterics despite Louis's attempts to calm her.
"Listen, why don't you take her downstairs to the cafeteria and see about getting some food into her?" Hook said quietly to Louis. He knew that the older doctor probably wouldn't want to leave his son's side but they had to do something for Lona and fast. If she stayed like this much longer, Hook was worried that she was going to break down completely.
Before Louis could say anything to object or refuse to budge from Elmer's side, Hook continued. "I'll get the order for the scan while you're gone and see about putting a rush on it."
Just then, another possibility occurred to him. "You know, Elmer did lose a good bit of blood. It's possible that that's just making him react to the anesthesia a bit too strongly."
Louis nodded in response. He had seen people reacting with an unusual intensity to anesthesia before although this reaction was going a bit longer than any he had seen. Still, though, he had to admit that it could be the problem.
"I'll see about getting him started on another medicine to counteract the anesthetic. That should take care of it if that is the problem." Hook said as he patted Louis's shoulder to reassure him.
"Fine." Louis still didn't want to leave but Lona's sobs were increasing now and he definately saw the need to get her out of there for awhile. "Just take care of my son. Come on, Lona. Let's go and get some breakfast for you. Elmer will probably be awake by the time we get back."
"Okay, Elmer." Hook said as soon as Louis and Lona were safely out of the room and the door was firmly closed behind them. "If you're trying to milk this a little, now would be a good time to quit it."
So why was he still just laying there, totally motionless?
"He hasn't even twitched," Louis said with a shake of his head before Hook could ask. "What's going on? You said he would be awake by now."
"I don't know. He should be awake." Hook's brow furrowed as he moved to Elmer's bedside. 'You better not be milking this, Elmer.' he thought to himself as he carefully checked the wounds, feeling Elmer's pulse and checking his eyes with a penlight.
"Well, what's wrong with him?" Louis demanded. His worry was building with each moment that passed with his son still unconscious. "You said that the wounds were nothing but grazes, nothing to worry about! So why isn't he waking up?"
"I'm honestly not sure." Hook said with a shake of his head.
"Those wounds aren't anything but grazes. We did x-rays and scanned his head last night to be safe and there was absolutely no sign of a problem then. And frankly right now I can't find anything obvious either. His pulse is good, his breathing's fine, his eyes are reacting normally, no sign of any infection. He ought to be awake."
"But he isn't awake. So what's wrong with him?" Lona whispered as tears threatened to fall once more. She had been feeling slightly better with the knowledge that Elmer was going to be alright but now that this problem had surfaced.... "What's wrong with him?" As she spoke, a sob slipped out and she felt the tears starting to fall once more.
"Lona, calm down, okay?" Hook said as he approached her but Louis was already there, holding her close and soothing her as best he could.
Hook shook his head slightly at that. Maybe Elmer better not wake up for a bit. If the younger doctor saw that, he was sure that Elmer would jump to totally the wrong conclusion.
"What about another scan?" Louis asked. He knew that sometimes things could appear perfectly normal initially only to go rapidly downhill later. He shook his head slightly as he thought of that, of possible bad outcomes. Please, whatever happened, he just didn't want to lose his son!
"We'll definitely need to do one of those," Hook said slowly as he looked at Elmer. He still wasn't all together sure that the younger doctor might not be milking this a little. He knew how Elmer felt, that his father had never loved him as much as he loved his older brother, after all. He wouldn't put it past Elmer to try to do something to find out if his father really did care for him but how far would he take it? Lona was fast heading back into hysterics despite Louis's attempts to calm her.
"Listen, why don't you take her downstairs to the cafeteria and see about getting some food into her?" Hook said quietly to Louis. He knew that the older doctor probably wouldn't want to leave his son's side but they had to do something for Lona and fast. If she stayed like this much longer, Hook was worried that she was going to break down completely.
Before Louis could say anything to object or refuse to budge from Elmer's side, Hook continued. "I'll get the order for the scan while you're gone and see about putting a rush on it."
Just then, another possibility occurred to him. "You know, Elmer did lose a good bit of blood. It's possible that that's just making him react to the anesthesia a bit too strongly."
Louis nodded in response. He had seen people reacting with an unusual intensity to anesthesia before although this reaction was going a bit longer than any he had seen. Still, though, he had to admit that it could be the problem.
"I'll see about getting him started on another medicine to counteract the anesthetic. That should take care of it if that is the problem." Hook said as he patted Louis's shoulder to reassure him.
"Fine." Louis still didn't want to leave but Lona's sobs were increasing now and he definately saw the need to get her out of there for awhile. "Just take care of my son. Come on, Lona. Let's go and get some breakfast for you. Elmer will probably be awake by the time we get back."
"Okay, Elmer." Hook said as soon as Louis and Lona were safely out of the room and the door was firmly closed behind them. "If you're trying to milk this a little, now would be a good time to quit it."