Louis and Lona had both returned to Elmer's bedside the second that
he was brought back from radiology, Lona clinging to Elmer's hand and
obviously trying not to break into sobs once more. Both of them looked up
when the door opened and Hook and Chris entered.
"Well, what's wrong with him?" Louis demanded. He was trying to force himself to stay calm, knowing that if he showed any sign of worry, it would only set Lona off once more and he wasn't sure that he would be able to calm her down again. Concern for his son almost overwhelmed him,
though. What in the world could be wrong for Elmer to stay unconscious this long if his wounds were so minor?
"From what I can tell from the scans, there's nothing wrong with him." Hook shook his head, the confusion that he was feeling clearly written on his face as he moved to the other side of Elmer's bed once more,
reaching out to check vitals and his eyes. He shook his head. Pulse was normal and his eyes were reacting just fine. Why in the world wasn't he awake? The more that he watched, the surer he became that Elmer couldn't possibly be faking this somehow. The young man had a bad habit of not thinking before he did things, it was true, but Hook just couldn't see him taking it this far, not when he could be basking in his father and Lona fussing over him and lavishing attention on him instead.
"The scan didn't show anything?" Louis asked as he looked from Chris to Hook.
"Not a thing, Louis. I took a look too and everything looked perfectly normal." Chris said with a shake of her head. This entire situation was totally confusing and looked to be getting more confusing by the moment. She just hoped that Louis didn't transfer the anger that he had been feeling towards Lona the night before onto Hook now.
"How can that be?" Louis looked over at his son once more, lying so still in that bed, unnaturally still, especially for Elmer. How could his son be perfectly fine and yet for some reason be comatose as well?
"How,,,, Perfectly healthy people don't end up in comas!" Had something happened when Hook had been working on Elmer, had he made some sort of mistake or.... But no, he firmly rejected that notion. Nook was the type that would admit any errors that he might have made, would try everything in his power to make them right, not like Stegman who would never admit that he was wrong.
"I wish I knew what was going on. He should be awake. Everything we've done says that he definitely should be awake by now." Hook looked down at Elmer as he spoke, like he was hoping that something, anything,
would suddenly jump out and give him a clue as to what was going on. It didn't make any sense. Elmer was young and healthy. Those wounds were nothing more than grazes. So why wasn't Elmer awake and bragging about them, saying they were signs of his affection for Lona?
Hook reached out, gently undoing the bandages covering the wounds on Elmer's shoulder and head, hoping that maybe there was something there,
some sign of infection. That would be at least something that they could fix but... Nothing, though. The two wounds looked fine, like they would probably even heal without scarring, a fact that might disappoint Elmer a bit if he was looking for some permanent reminder of his love for Lona.
Louis stood, watching carefully as Hook checked the wounds, shaking his head as he watched. The wounds looked fine, even better than he had actually expected. If it wasn't a reaction to an infection, though, and it wasn't something going on in his son's head, then what in the world was causing this? Why wasn't Elmer awake?
"I'm going to order a complete blood panel and an EEG," Hook said quietly as he replaced the bandages before staring down at Elmer once more.
He was almost willing to forget all about that mess with the head if the younger doctor would just open his eyes and be alright.
Before anyone could say anything else, Lona suddenly started to sob again. "He's going to die, isn't he?" She choked out as she buried her face in her hands, tears that she thought were exhausted suddenly pouring down her face. Lona found herself suddenly shaking at the thought of seeing Elmer in a coffin, seeing him lowered into a dark, cold hole in the ground. No, no, no! This was all her fault!
"Hook, figure out what this is fast," Louis said quietly as he reached out, gathering Lona into his arms once more and starting to rock her back and forth gently. He wasn't sure how much more of this Lona could take, wasn't sure how much more that he could take either. If anything happened to Elmer.... He couldn't do it again, couldn't handle losing another son.
"Well, what's wrong with him?" Louis demanded. He was trying to force himself to stay calm, knowing that if he showed any sign of worry, it would only set Lona off once more and he wasn't sure that he would be able to calm her down again. Concern for his son almost overwhelmed him,
though. What in the world could be wrong for Elmer to stay unconscious this long if his wounds were so minor?
"From what I can tell from the scans, there's nothing wrong with him." Hook shook his head, the confusion that he was feeling clearly written on his face as he moved to the other side of Elmer's bed once more,
reaching out to check vitals and his eyes. He shook his head. Pulse was normal and his eyes were reacting just fine. Why in the world wasn't he awake? The more that he watched, the surer he became that Elmer couldn't possibly be faking this somehow. The young man had a bad habit of not thinking before he did things, it was true, but Hook just couldn't see him taking it this far, not when he could be basking in his father and Lona fussing over him and lavishing attention on him instead.
"The scan didn't show anything?" Louis asked as he looked from Chris to Hook.
"Not a thing, Louis. I took a look too and everything looked perfectly normal." Chris said with a shake of her head. This entire situation was totally confusing and looked to be getting more confusing by the moment. She just hoped that Louis didn't transfer the anger that he had been feeling towards Lona the night before onto Hook now.
"How can that be?" Louis looked over at his son once more, lying so still in that bed, unnaturally still, especially for Elmer. How could his son be perfectly fine and yet for some reason be comatose as well?
"How,,,, Perfectly healthy people don't end up in comas!" Had something happened when Hook had been working on Elmer, had he made some sort of mistake or.... But no, he firmly rejected that notion. Nook was the type that would admit any errors that he might have made, would try everything in his power to make them right, not like Stegman who would never admit that he was wrong.
"I wish I knew what was going on. He should be awake. Everything we've done says that he definitely should be awake by now." Hook looked down at Elmer as he spoke, like he was hoping that something, anything,
would suddenly jump out and give him a clue as to what was going on. It didn't make any sense. Elmer was young and healthy. Those wounds were nothing more than grazes. So why wasn't Elmer awake and bragging about them, saying they were signs of his affection for Lona?
Hook reached out, gently undoing the bandages covering the wounds on Elmer's shoulder and head, hoping that maybe there was something there,
some sign of infection. That would be at least something that they could fix but... Nothing, though. The two wounds looked fine, like they would probably even heal without scarring, a fact that might disappoint Elmer a bit if he was looking for some permanent reminder of his love for Lona.
Louis stood, watching carefully as Hook checked the wounds, shaking his head as he watched. The wounds looked fine, even better than he had actually expected. If it wasn't a reaction to an infection, though, and it wasn't something going on in his son's head, then what in the world was causing this? Why wasn't Elmer awake?
"I'm going to order a complete blood panel and an EEG," Hook said quietly as he replaced the bandages before staring down at Elmer once more.
He was almost willing to forget all about that mess with the head if the younger doctor would just open his eyes and be alright.
Before anyone could say anything else, Lona suddenly started to sob again. "He's going to die, isn't he?" She choked out as she buried her face in her hands, tears that she thought were exhausted suddenly pouring down her face. Lona found herself suddenly shaking at the thought of seeing Elmer in a coffin, seeing him lowered into a dark, cold hole in the ground. No, no, no! This was all her fault!
"Hook, figure out what this is fast," Louis said quietly as he reached out, gathering Lona into his arms once more and starting to rock her back and forth gently. He wasn't sure how much more of this Lona could take, wasn't sure how much more that he could take either. If anything happened to Elmer.... He couldn't do it again, couldn't handle losing another son.