"No," Fenton answered after taking a deep breath. "He hasn't been back there very long," he added. Although it seems like an eternity, he added silently.
"Let's sit down," Fenton suggested, hugging Laura but looking at Frank.
"Why didn't I notice something was wrong?" Laura moaned.
"None of us did," Fenton told her. "Not even Joe thought there was anything wrong except for the coughing and swelling."
"He thought he was catching a cold," Frank said. "Why would we think anything different?"
"Because I'm his mother," snapped Laura. "I should have known."
Fenton kissed the top of her head and pulled her as close as the chairs would allow. "Shh," he whispered. "It isn't your fault. It isn't anyone's fault. And the symptoms haven't been around for too long. We may have caught it early...before there is too much damage."
"Mr. Hardy?" asked a woman in her late thirties wearing a nurse's uniform as she approached.
"Yes?" Fenton stood up quickly along with Laura and Frank.
"Your son has finished with the tests for today," she informed the worried family. "He's been taken to room four oh five. It's a restricted area," she continued. "You can visit him only for a little while."
"I want to stay with him," Laura asserted.
"I'm sorry ma'am," the nurse refused. "He is under constant supervision," she explained kindly. "The room has a glass wall so he is seen by the nurse at the station. He is also hooked up to a heart monitor and a blood pressure monitor. He will not be left alone for any length of time."
"But I'm his mother," Laura complained.
"I'm sorry, ma'am," the nurse said, giving Laura a sympathetic look. "But it isn't just policy. We need to check his vitals on a continual basis to make sure he will be all right on his own once he is dismissed from the hospital. If he became uncovered and the change in temperature caused some kind of effect we wouldn't know it because you would probably cover him up here but you might not if he were at home in bed."
"Could a change in temperature really cause something to happen to him?" asked Frank.
"Cold weather has been shown to have a negative effect on heart patients," the nurse admitted. "Granted, the change inside probably would not warrant a reaction but that is only one of the variables we keep track of while he is undergoing this phase of testing."
"But you said he was finished testing," Fenton objected.
"His stress test is finished," the nurse clarified.
"How did it go?" asked Frank.
"I'm not allowed to say," the nurse answered. "But his doctor will be in to see him shortly and he will tell you the results then."
"Thank you," Fenton said. As the nurse walked away the Hardys made their way to the elevator and took it to the fourth floor.
They arrived on the fourth floor then had to wait at the entryway of the passage to room 401 to 415. The area was limited to immediate family members of the patients and then only for a short period of time.
After being buzzed through, they quickly found Joe who was in the room directly in front of the nurses' station. As the nurse downstairs had told them, only a glass wall separated Joe from them.
"Hey, baby brother," Frank said, stepping through the open doorway before his parents and moving to Joe's side in a split second.
Joe opened his mouth to return the greeting but began coughing instead. Both monitors above Joe's head began elevating but slowed down as his coughing fit ceased. "Sorry," Joe said, looking at his family with a faint smile.
Laura leaned down and kissed his forehead. "Don't apologize," she told him. "You can't help it."
"How are you feeling, Son?" asked Fenton, forcing a smile on his face as he ruffled Joe's hair in a seemingly carefree manner.
"I'd feel better if you wouldn't act so weird," Joe answered seriously. "You're starting to give me the wiggins."
"We aren't acting weird," objected Laura.
"No?" countered Joe, tilting his head as he looked at her. "You basically told me I didn't have to have manners just now and the smile on Dad's face is as phony as a three-dollar bill."
Fenton sighed and let his smile vanish. "I'm sorry," he apologized looking down into Joe's eyes with sad brown ones.
"Look, I know there's something wrong with me," Joe said. "I'm not an idiot. They even had to stop the treadmill and put me on a table. They gave me some kind of shots to finish my stress test." He wished he hadn't told them when he saw them pale and felt Frank's grip tighten. "But I'm in the hospital," Joe continued. "They can fix me up."
"Hello," Dr. Bates said, entering the room. He had head Joe's speech and was saddened because he knew it was much more serious than Joe imagined.
"How is he?" Laura demanded, her blue eyes fearful as they met the doctor's.
"Not so good," Dr, bates said. "I have contacted Dr. Philip Lane," he continued. "He is a heart specialist. Fortunately, he is already here visiting another patient and he said he would stop by shortly."
"Has he seen the results of Joe's tests?" asked Fenton.
"He will have before he comes in," Dr. Bates assured them.
"How sick am I?" asked Joe.
"I can't say with any certainty," Dr. Bates admitted. "I have had some training in the field but Dr. Lane knows all there is to know. He is considered the best in his field."
"That's good," Frank commented with a bit of relief. He only wanted the best for his brother.
Dr. Bates left after telling Joe he would see him again. Joe closed his eyes. Frank could tell he was tired. His complexion was pale and his lips were turned down just a bit. Frank held a finger to his lips as he looked over at his parents who nodded their understanding.
"I'm Dr. Lane," announced a tall, slender man with curly red hair and freckles as he entered Joe's room a little later.
Joe opened his eyes in time to see his father shaking the doctor's hand. "Can you tell us what is going on with Joe?" Frank asked from his position at Joe's side.
"Not with certainty," Dr. Lane stated, his brown eyes fixed on Joe as he neared. "The stress test and the echocardiogram weren't very good," he announced. "But I guess you already knew that," he added, smiling down at Joe.
Joe nodded. "Well, about the stress test anyway," he clarified.
"I want to perform a catheterization tomorrow morning," Lane continued. "It is the only way for a positive diagnosis."
"So you do have some idea of what is wrong with me?" Joe deduced. Dr. Lane hesitated briefly before giving him a curt nod.
"Can you tell me?" asked Joe.
"I would rather wait until I know for sure," Dr. Lane replied. "I don't want you to worry for nothing but neither do I want to give you false hope."
"So this could be something minor after all?" inquired Laura hopefully.
"No," Dr. Lane answered. "It isn't anything minor but after the catheterization we should know if it is something we can fix."
Or not. Dr. Lane never said the words but they hung in the air none-the-less and all but suffocated the Hardys with their implication.