Ambushed
Chapter 6 – Decisions
By: Pink Brain

Two days after Cover Girl opened her eyes for the first time, Doc saw the need to put her back into a medically induced coma. Her recovery had slowed considerably since she was more alert and trying to move. The physical strain of moving and trying to talk had caused her fever to climb and her body to be unable to concentrate solely on healing. Dusty knew something was wrong, and it pained him to watch her struggle, not to mention that both of her arms had restraints on them so that she would not pull out her breathing tube or any intravenous lines. He sat by her side and talked to her, trying to keep her calm, but Doc and Lifeline were very concerned and talked about their ultimatums.

Doc asked Duke and Scarlett to come in a little earlier than their normal visiting time on the sixteenth day after the ambush. He wanted to talk to Dusty, and the concerned trooper refused to leave Cover Girl alone. When the Hausers showed up, Doc went with them to greet Dusty. Knocking on the door, Dusty looked up as Duke, Scarlett, and Doc entered. His face still showed lines of worry and confusion. "Ron, I need to talk to you," Doc said. "Shana and Conrad will stay with Courtney."

Dusty looked between the faces of the three soldiers and teammates. "Okay, but can I ask what about?"

All eyes went to Doc, as they waited for him to explain.

The doctor looked at the three faces before he nodded. "About Courtney. There are a few things we need to discuss, and since you are her next of kin, more or less, this is a decision that I want to talk to you about. If you would prefer after I debrief you of Courtney's condition, I can talk to Hawk and have him make the decision since he is her Commanding Officer."

Dusty swallowed hard and stood up. Glancing back at Cover Girl, he stroked her cheek then looked at Duke and Scarlett. "She just fell back to sleep after being awake about an hour. She stayed relatively still as long as she could hear my voice. I read her some letters that mom sent plus a letter from Footloose," he informed them.

"That's good, Ron. She needs to hear that everyone is pulling for her" Scarlett said. "We'll keep her calm if she should wake up before you get back. The only time I've noticed her get frustrated is when the nurses come in. I can't say I blame her though."

Dusty nodded and followed Doc down to a private conference room. "Is Hawk or Ed going to be here too?" Dusty asked.

"No, just you and I. Ed has the day off but will be in this afternoon I'm sure," Doc answered. "Please have a seat." He motioned towards a chair and then sat down beside him. "Ron, Courtney is healing. I know that eases your mind greatly. She is awake and more alert. However, she is not healing as quickly as she has the last few weeks because she is fighting the healing process. I know you have seen it. She gets very frustrated and tries to talk, causing her to cough." He paused a moment.

"Can't you take the breathing tube out so she won't fight it?" Dusty asked, still unsure why Doc would need his permission to remove a tube. "Then you could take off those restraints. I hate seeing them. It makes me feel like we don't trust her, and she pulls against them as well. She's going to rub her wrists and arms raw from the friction."

Doc nodded. "Yes, we could remove the breathing tube, but she can't be off the vent. That will just add more stress to her body instead of letting it focus on healing, and you know good and well those restraints are for her safety not because of trust," Doc quickly refuted, trying to stay calm. "My concern, and Ed's, is that she needs to keep healing. The only way to properly allow that is to force her back into a drug-induced coma, paralyzing her from moving."

Dusty quickly interrupted, "Coma? Paralyze her? You are kidding me, right?"

"Listen to me, Ron. She will still be able to hear you, but she will not be able to move her arms and head like she is now. Ron, if we don't do this, it is going to take months for her to recover. I don't want that, and I'm sure you do not want that either." Doc watched the trooper's face. "I know it is a tough decision, but it really is for the best. The more she moves, the more she slows her body from healing. Her fever is back up to 100.5 degrees, and Ed compared some of her test results from last week to yesterday. Her healing progress has slowed tremendously."

Dusty looked away from Doc, starring at a picture on the wall. "You already talked to Hawk about this, didn't you?" He accused the doctor, not looking at him.

"No, I haven't. Ed and I talked about this last night, and he felt I should talk to you first. At least let you know what we are dealing with. Like I said, what I just suggested to you is my recommendation. I will go to Hawk and present this same scenario if you want him to make the decision." Doc moved and placed a comforting hand on Dusty's arm. "Look, I know what you are thinking. You are thinking that she will be angry with you or worse. You think you are betraying her somehow, but you are not. This will be the best thing that you could do for her. She'll understand, and I will tell her if you want me to."

Dusty looked down at Doc's hand, which was still resting on his arm, before meeting his gaze. "I trust you, Doc," he quietly whispered, turning away from Doc. "Do it."

"Thank you, Ron. Would you like to be present when I tell her?"

"Yes," Dusty croaked.

"Ron, this is the right decision. I promise you. The dosage of the drug I administer will be given for the next ten days. I'll decrease the dosage after that for a few days so we can allow her to come out of the coma. After she starts to move again, we'll re-evaluate her and see if we have to do it again or let nature take its course."

Dusty looked back at Doc. "Again? You may have to do it again?" He incredulously asked.

"It is a possibility. We will wait and see. As of right now, given her past healing progress, I don't foresee it." Doc explained as he stood up. "Come on. Why don't you go take your shower and change? I'll stop by in an hour and see if she is awake. I'll explain it to you both, and we'll start the process."

Dusty stood and followed Doc out of the room with a heavy heart. He drove to his quarters in a trance and thought about his decision as he showered, shaved, and changed. For the first time since the ambush, he sat down on his couch, staring at the empty room of his neglected quarters. "Please forgive me, Court," he murmured in the seclusion of his place.

It was thirty minutes later before he returned to the hospital. Duke and Scarlett both anxiously looked up at him. "Is everything okay, Ron?" Duke asked.

Scarlett glanced at her watch, noting that it had been nearly an hour since Dusty had left.

"Yeah. Sorry I took longer. After Doc and I talked, I went home, showered, and sort of looked around my place," the trooper revealed.

Duke and Scarlett exchanged a concerned look but didn't ask any more questions. "She is still sleeping. Your mom called, and Wally and Rob stopped in for a little bit."

"Thank you both," Dusty told them, walking over to the right side of Cover Girl's bed.

The Hausers noticed that he was acting strangely. "Are you sure you are okay?" Duke asked again.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I'll be fine," he reassured them. "We'll be fine."

"Okay, we'll see you later then. Call if you need anything," Scarlett told him, following Duke out to the hall. Stopping her husband, she commented, "I don't think he is fine. He looks like he just signed her death warrant. What the hell did he and Doc discuss?"

"I don't know, but I think maybe we ought to stick around for a while. I'm going to tell the nurses to watch her monitors closely," Duke said, walking down to the nurse's station.

Scarlett took a seat in a chair across from Cover Girl's room. The waiting room was quiet, and she was lost in her thoughts when Doc approached her.

"What's wrong, Red?" He asked, noticing the creased brow and worried expression.

Snapping out of her daze, she looked up at Doc. "Hi Doc. Nothing much. Just worried about Ron. He just got back a few minutes ago and is acting very strange."

Doc arched an eyebrow as he listened to Scarlett. He found it odd that Dusty had just returned when he normally was only gone fifteen or twenty minutes. "I'll go check on him."

"Doc," she began, stopping him as he turned to leave. "Is everything okay? I mean with Courtney?"

Doc offered her a reassured smile as he stepped back to her. "Yes, everything will be fine. I told Ron we had to stop her from moving around so much so that she could heal. The only way to do that is to put her back into a coma, paralyzing her so she can't move. Ron approved, but apparently, his conscience is weighing heavily on him. I might have to talk to him again."

Duke walked up and heard the end of the conversation beginning with the word, 'paralyzing'. He instantly received a chill since Wild Bill faced that diagnosis a few weeks ago. "What does that mean? The paralyzing part."

Doc looked over at Duke. "It means she will be able to hear you, but she won't be able to speak nor move. In some patients, a few twitches from their fingers and blinking of their eyes may happen, but Courtney won't be able to move her arms or her head like she has been trying to do. By not focusing on moving, her body will get back to healing, which is what we want."

Duke nodded, understanding how Dusty must be feeling. "On paper, that sounds like a good thing, but now I can see why Ron is acting so strangely. You just asked him to make the decision to put her back into a vegetable state." He saw Doc's disapproving glower at Duke's choice of words but shrugged it off.

Doc sighed as he glanced at the room where Cover Girl and Dusty were. "I better go see what's going on. Thanks for coming in early."

"Do you need us to stick around a bit longer?" Scarlett asked. "Moral support, maybe?"

"No, you two can leave or go check on Bill. He is in his room. Ron's torn over his decision. I told him that I would tell Courtney what I'm going to do, and I think that after that, Ron will be better. I'll wait and see." Doc started to walk away. "I'll see you both later," he hollered over his shoulder.

The Hausers uttered their goodbye as they watched Doc knock on the door before he disappeared into the room.

After Duke and Scarlett had left Cover Girl's room, Dusty had walked over to the left side of the bed and picked up Cover Girl's hand. She squeezed it and fluttered her eyelids open. Instinctively, she tried to move her arms and rolled her head to the side. She tugged one arm against the restraints, and Dusty could see her eyes narrow with confusion. "Honey, don't move around so much," he whispered, taking his right hand and gently stroking her cheek. "Lie still, please."

Cover Girl looked up at him and a muffled noise escaped her mouth followed by a raspy cough. Dusty tried to sooth her, but he didn't know what to say. He knew that what Doc wanted to do was for the best. If he wasn't sure when he talked to Doc an hour ago, he was positive now. Just watching her strain against the tube and restraints broke his heart. When the door opened, he glanced up and met Doc's eyes. Dusty nodded confidently, signaling Doc that the decision was made, and he was going to stand by it.

Doc smiled at him and looked at Cover Girl. "Hey, pretty lady. What are you up to today besides trouble?" He jokingly asked, checking the monitors and groaning inwardly. He read the spikes in her heart rate and knew she was fighting against the breathing tube again. His eyes darted to Dusty then stopped at Cover Girl. "Courtney, we need to talk." He stretched a hand out and felt her forehead. The heat radiated off her skin, and he took a clean cloth and wiped her forehead dry. He stood beside Dusty as he began to tell Cover Girl his plan. Speaking assertively and knowledgably, Doc explained what he wanted to do and the reasons why. He concluded by saying, "I don't want to make you feel bad, but you need to stop moving, and that will not happen if you find you are able to move."

Cover Girl listened to Doc, gripping Dusty's hand tightly in hers and glancing between her fiancé's sorrow-filled eyes and the confident eyes of her doctor. When Doc initially mentioned returning her to a medically induced coma, she shook her head fearfully; but as he explained the healing progress and how it had deteriorated some since she had awaken, her fear turned to sorrow. If she would have been strong enough to cry, she would have, but her tear ducts could only form a few tears for her to shed.

Doc wiped them off her face. "I'm sorry, Courtney. I really am. I just want you to heal. I know you want to get out of here. Do you understand what I want to do? It's not going to harm you. You still will be able to feel and hear us."

Dusty held her hand tightly as he watched her reactions and listened to Doc, his heart breaking even more than before. When Doc finished, the young trooper quietly spoke, "I'll be right here with you every step of the way, just like I was before. I'll never leave you alone. I promise."

Cover Girl's eyes settled on Dusty, giving his hand another squeeze before she looked back at Doc. Inside, she was crying, but on the outside, she was a shell of the woman she used to be. Being unable to move terrified her but hearing Dusty's promise to stay by her side calmed her. Mustering her strength, she slowly nodded her head.

Doc smiled, patting her on the shoulder. "Good girl, I'm glad to hear it. I really would like to begin the process now. The sooner we start, the sooner you can start to heal again." He glanced from Cover Girl's blank stare to Dusty.

"Do you think you could wait until Ed shows up?" Dusty timidly asked for no other reason than the simple fact that Lifeline's presence would confirm that he and Cover Girl's friend had full faith and agreed with this course of action.

"I'm here, Ron," Lifeline replied softly, stepping away from the door. He had come in as Doc was explaining the procedure. He just stood quietly, dealing with his own sorrow and regret but knowing that this was the best thing to do.

Dusty and Doc both looked over and watched Lifeline step up to the bed. The tall medic smiled at his friends, before looking at Cover Girl and stroking her cheek. He wiped away a fresh tear, trickling down her cheek. "Don't cry, Court. It's only for a few days," he exaggerated, knowing it would last almost two weeks. "We'll still be here. You'll be able to hear us," he reassured her.

Cover Girl stared back at Lifeline's face, noticing his calm and confident demeanor. She squeezed his hand in understanding before she looked towards Doc and Dusty. She had so many questions but was unable to ask any of them. She didn't even know how she ended up in the hospital in the first place and why her body hurt, nor did she fully understand why they wanted to put her into a coma again. She didn't notice Doc readying her intravenous line until she felt Dusty release her hand. Looking over, she watched Doc slide a needle into one of the lines before the doctor met her gaze briefly. She couldn't read his eyes because of his glasses, but his reassuring smile comforted her. She looked at Dusty and noticed how sad he looked. She wanted to tell him it was okay. She wanted to tell him so many things, but only that aching cough came out. As soon as Doc emptied the vial, Dusty clasped her hand again. She gripped his hand firmly, knowing that this would be the last responsive touch he would receive from her for a few days.

The three men stood in silence. Doc watched the machines, and Lifeline looked at a spot on the opposite wall. Dusty stared down at his fiancée, slowly feeling her hand loosen its grip. He fought back his tears of betrayal and sorrow; the guilt was overpowering him. As soon as Cover Girl closed her eyes and her hand went limp, he quietly mumbled, "Ed, can you stay with her for a bit? I need to get out of here."

"Of course, Ron," Lifeline quickly answered but worriedly asked, "Are you going to be okay?"

Gently releasing her hand, Dusty nodded and hastily departed the room. Walking past the elevator, he jerked the stairwell door open and began to ascend the stairs, heading for the roof. Once he reached the top, he violently shoved open the door, walked over to the edge of the hospital, and screamed out his own frustrations and building anger, vowing that the next time he got a hold of Cobra, someone was going to pay dearly.

Back in Cover Girl's room, Doc and Lifeline watched Dusty leave. As Doc turned to follow, Lifeline stopped him. "No Doc. Let him be. I've known him for a long time. He just put the woman he loves back into a coma. Give him some time to deal with his emotions," Lifeline reasoned, surprising Doc.

"And if you wouldn't have promised to look after her, you would be hightailing it after him right now," Doc argued back.

"Probably," Lifeline admitted as he gave Doc a sheepish smile.

Doc chuckled then turned serious. "You know there would have only been one thing harder for him to do. Thank God we never had to make that decision."

Lifeline's smile faded as he looked back at the now still form of the tank jockey. "Yes, there would have been, and I'm sure he realizes that."

Doc nodded and exited the room, leaving Lifeline alone with Cover Girl. The medic laid her right hand down and walked over to the left side of the bed, sitting down on the chair. He grabbed Dusty's worn Bible and opened it to the Book of Proverbs, beginning to quietly read aloud, knowing that Cover Girl could hear him.


Okay, I was going to skip ahead a few weeks, but one of my reviewers triggered an idea. After some correspondence and discussions with MedicLifeline and some of my teammates, I decided to go into a little more detail with what was going on between Dusty, Cover Girl, and her condition. Thank you to everyone reading, reviewing, and commenting. Also thank you to those of you whom I asked your input.

Note to all readers: This is fiction, aka not 100 percent real. I'm not expecting anyone to read this and then run to their local hospital and tell the families of coma victims that this is what will happen. It is a story and thus partially fiction. But whether or not it is absolutely correct, it is still being written in good taste and from a realistic point of view.