Chapter 11 --- Alternate Ending

Author's Note: Ok, this is the alternate ending. Forget the last two chapters completely. This chapter follows chapter 10. You might want to go back and review that. And this ending is longer, there are five chapters to it. If you get confused, e-mail me and I'll talk you through it.

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Josh's cell phone rang at 1:15, and without even opening an eye, Donna reached down onto the floor and picked it up. Josh took the phone from her, kissing her wrist before he answered. "Hello?" he said in a groggy voice.

"Mr. Lyman, this is Ericka, from the ICU."

"My mother?" he asked in a panicked voice as he sat up, rolling Donna to her side.

"Yes sir, she…"

"We're on our way," he said and hung up the phone. In just a few seconds, he had his jeans pulled on over the boxers he was wearing. He looked over at Donna, who was already on the other side of the room slipping into her sandals and picking up her purse. "Donna," he said, but couldn't finish his thought.

She walked over to him and quietly took him by the arm. "Come on, Josh. We need to go."

They practically ran down the hall and the flight of stairs, but still the trip to the ICU seemed to take forever. Donna held Josh's hand the whole time, gripping it for dear life. When they pushed the door open, the first thing they saw was Dr. Bomboy and a nurse standing around Elizabeth's bed. "What's going on?" Josh asked, panicked.

"Well, look who got here in record time, Elizabeth. I told you it wouldn't take him long," said Dr. Bomboy. Josh looked at her, confused, and then looked at his mother, and for the first time, noticed that her eyes were open and she was looking directly at him.

For a brief second, all the air seemed to rush out of his lungs and he stood immobilized as tears sprung to his eyes. The thought, 'is this real' played over in his mind, and he wondered if he was dreaming. Then, he dropped Donna's hand and all but leapt from his spot near the door to the right side of her bed, afraid to touch her and hurt her, afraid not to touch her to know she was real. "Mom," he whispered, taking her hand in his and leaning down and kissing her on the cheek.

She stared at him, but didn't say anything. She looked somewhat scared, and she was obviously confused. "What's going on?" he asked Dr. Bomboy, keeping his eyes locked on his mother.

"She's a little disoriented," said the doctor. "It's completely normal."

Feeling a bit relieved, he smiled at his mother. "You had us pretty worried," he said quietly, holding her hand. She weakly smiled and held on tightly to him. Donna tentatively walked to the end of the bed, but tried to stay out of the nurse's way.

"I was just explaining to your mother that she had a stroke and has been unconscious for several days. Elizabeth, can you try to squeeze my hand?" Josh looked up at Dr. Bomboy who looked back at him and shook her head. "That's fine for now Elizabeth. We're going to give your body a chance to rest today. Ok?" Elizabeth looked at her and then at Josh, who smiled and winked at her, trying to reassure her.

"Mr. Lyman," Dr. Bomboy said. "Can I talk to you outside?"

"Uhh…" he looked at his mom.

"I'll go, Josh," said Donna. "You stay with your mom."

He looked at her and sighed, relieved. "Thanks," he said and focused back on his mom. Donna followed the doctor into the hall.

"She's not talking," she said as soon as the door closed.

"She's confused. It may take a few hours or a few days for her to grasp what's going on. She might also have some repercussions from the strokes and/or the coma."

"So that might be permanent?" asked Donna, worried.

"Yes, but it's too soon to tell, and it's too soon to be worried about it. She's awake and that's a good thing. Now we can focus on what exactly has been affected and deal with it."

"Where do we start?" asked Donna.

"I don't want to do anything today. I want to give her a little time to focus and regroup. But she's stable. Her heart rate is better than it was this morning. Her pulse and blood pressure are fine. Her incisions from the surgery are good. I want to start rehabilitation as soon as possible. 90 percentof her recovery will take place in the first six months. Wherever she is at that point is basically where she's going to stay. There's really no time to waste."

"She didn't squeeze your hand in there, did she?"

"No. She definitely has paralysis on her left side. It could be minor and it could be temporary, we'll know more when she starts working with the therapists."

"Will the hospital make those arrangements, or should I?"

"No, we will. We'll have a physical therapist here in the morning and an occupational therapist here tomorrow afternoon. They'll have your mother-in-law for a few hours. Hopefully, she'll be a little more aware of her surroundings and will be able to go without your husband. If she's still disoriented, he may need to go with her. She seems more secure with him nearby."

Donna smiled and nodded at the doctor. "So, what should we be doing today?"

She looked at her clipboard, reading something, but continued talking nonchalantly to Donna. "Talk to her about things she knows, try to act as normal as possible. Don't dwell on what might be wrong. Stay positive."

"I can do that, thanks," said Donna, pushing the door to the room open with her back.

"And her friends are in the waiting room," Dr. Bomboy added before walking down the hall.

"Right, thanks," Donna said, letting the door close and heading down to the waiting room.

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The nurse handed Josh a plastic cup with water. "She might have a hard time swallowing, but let her try. I'll be back in a few minutes to check on her. If you need anything, just ring the call button."

"Thanks," he said to her as she left. Then he looked back at his mother. "They're all gone, that help?"

She nodded slightly at him. She didn't really know what to think. She woke up and Marjorie and Gary were sitting there, but then two people came in and started poking and prodding at her. It had taken a minute to realize she was in the hospital, but she couldn't remember how she got there or why. "Dr. Bomboy told you that you had a stroke?"

She nodded again. "Well, that was on Tuesday. It's Saturday now, I think. The days are running together," he said, quietly, still holding her hand. "You had surgery on Thursday, to clean up blocked arteries in your neck. It was a relatively minor surgery, and it went fine. Nothing to worry about. Do you want some water?"

She nodded and he held the cup for her. She took a sip from the straw, and just as the nurse had predicted, she had trouble swallowing it. She kept it in her mouth for several seconds, and finally swallowed some of it, coughing. The rest dribbled out of her mouth and down the front of her gown. Josh grabbed a towel off the counter next to the bed and wiped her chin, trying to act as if it were no big deal. "So, the important things…" he said casually.

"First, the Met's beat the Cubs on Thursday but lost yesterday, nine to two. It was ugly." She smiled at him. "Betty and Russell were here and Betty yelled at me for not sleeping enough, and said that Donna was smarter than me." She nodded and smiled again. "They also taught me cribbage, so when you're feeling better, we can play. What else… oh yes… the entire hospital is under the misconception that Donna and I are married. Apparently, you had that on your emergency contact list. Care to explain?"

"Donna," she whispered, her throat dry and hurting a bit.

"She's here. Although none of the doctors are flirting with her since they think she's married and all," he said smiling.

"Good," Elizabeth whispered and pointed to the cup. He held it for her and she tried to drink some more. Again, it took several seconds to swallow and then only part of it went down. Still, it felt good to her throat.

Josh wiped her chin again and smiled. This was a bit more like his mother. He was concerned about this swallowing thing, as well as the fact that she hadn't moved her left arm or leg at all, but he kept reminding himself that she was awake and he was going to focus on the good things, including the fact that she was starting to talk a bit.

He heard the door start to open and looked over. Donna poked her head in. "Is it ok," she whispered, pointing inside the room.

"Hey Mom, look who's here," he said cheerfully. Elizabeth looked up at Donna and smiled.

"Now, that's a sight for sore eyes," said Donna cheerfully, walking in the room and standing at the foot of Elizabeth's bed.

"I was just filling her in on the important things she missed during her extended nap," said Josh.

"The Met's?" she asked Elizabeth, who nodded.

"Of course," Donna said, chuckling. "I just talked to Marjorie and Gary. They're heading home for the day so you can rest, but they're going to come back tomorrow afternoon."

"Ok," Elizabeth whispered. Donna smiled. She didn't want to make a big deal out of Elizabeth talking, but she was certainly relieved that she seemed a little more at ease and was able to form words. They were a little drawn out and mispronounced, but she figured that probably had something to do with the fact that the left side of her face was still sagging quite a bit from the right.

The nurse came back a few minutes later, to help Elizabeth clean up change into a clean hospital gown, as well as change her catheter bag. "Are you ok if I leave for a few minutes?" Josh asked his mother. She hesitated, but then nodded and he squeezed her hand before he and Donna left the room.

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As soon as they stepped into the hallway, Josh grabbed Donna around the waist and pulled her into a hug. "She's awake," he whispered. Donna took a deep breath and smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck and squeezing tight. He buried his head in her neck and they stayed like that, silent, for a minute.

When he pulled away, it was only slightly, so he could see her face. "You look tired," he said to her.

She shrugged a little. "We only got two hours of sleep."

"We were busy… doing other things," he whispered.

"Yes," she whispered back, smiling.

"Things we liked doing," he said, a little timidly.

"Good things," she agreed. "Thingswe should discuss later, when other things settle down a bit."

He shook his head at her. "Thingswe're going to discuss much sooner rather than later," he said, kissing her on the nose.

"Josh, you have plenty of things on your plate. You don't need to worry about this right now," she said, pulling back a bit farther and taking her arms down from around his neck.

"See, that's where you're wrong," he said, pulling her back to him. "This," he said, kissing her lightly on the lips. "Is not something I'm willing to wait on any longer." He leaned in and kissed her again, longer this time, letting his lips linger against hers. She brought her arms back around his neck and her hands up into his hair and kissed him back.

When they parted a minute later, she smiled. "Fine," she said, as if she was giving in to a child. "We don't wait, but we focus on your mom. That comes first."

He let go of her and nodded. "Agreed. What did the doctor say?"

"She wants to start therapy tomorrow."

"Already?"

"Dr. Bomboy said she's stable and there's not a lot of time to waste. She said that most of your mom's progress will be made in the first six months. The therapists can assess what the problems are and get to work."

"But it's so soon. Don't you think it's a little early?"

She shrugged. "I think they know best. They do this all the time. If it's too much too soon, they'll know it. "

"She's not moving the left side of her body at all, and she can't swallow well." he said quietly.

"I know. Let's let the therapists work with her tomorrow. She keeps blinking too. I'm not sure she's seeing well."

He nodded. "She's not as confused," he said hopefully.

She smiled at him. "I think she's doing pretty well," she said cheerfully.

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"Elizabeth, I'm Jodie," said the nurse, sitting down next to her bed. Elizabeth looked at her but had no reaction. "I know things are happening fast, but I thought maybe you could use cleaned up a little. You've been unconscious for five days. It's up to you. If you're not comfortable with it, we can wait."

Elizabeth looked at the woman for a minute and then cautiously nodded. The nurse smiled at her. "Alright then, how about we clean you up and put you in a clean gown. Your son will be back in a few minutes."

Elizabeth continued looking at Jodie, who continued talking the entire time, trying to calm any fears Elizabeth had. "So, Mr. and Mrs. Lyman work at the White House, huh?" Elizabeth nodded. "They seem very happy together."

"Love."

"Yes," said Jodie, nodding, and happy that Elizabeth seemed to be relaxing a bit with her. "They are definately in love. There's no doubt about that."

"They'll come," Elizabeth whispered.

Jodie looked at her but kept working. "They're already here, remember?" Short-term memory loss was common in stroke victims, so she wasn't surprised that Elizabeth had forgotten she'd seen them.

Elizabeth looked at her for a few seconds, and then remembered. "Yes, the Met's lost."

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"McGarry," he said, answering the phone while reading a report by Nancy on weapon sales in Korea.

"Leo, it's Josh."

At the sound of Josh's voice, he put down the report and concentrated on the call. "You sound like you're in a good mood."

"She's awake, Leo."

He closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. "Oh, thank God."

"She just woke up a little bit ago."

"How's she doing?" he cautiously asked.

"It's hard to say. She's talking a little. Her words aren't perfect, but they're not bad. She's not moving the left side of her body at all, and she's having trouble swallowing. She was confused for a while, but she seems a little better now, although she's still a little freaked out by the staff. They're starting therapy tomorrow, we'll know more then."

"Good, keep us posted."

"Leo, I know we've been gone a while…"

"But you need to be gone a while longer."

He sighed, hoping Leo would understand. "Yeah."

"Starting Monday, I want you available by phone for senior staff. I want you working with Toby on the Education Building Repairs bill, as well as keeping up with the Federal Highway Road Construction bill. Also, keep as many of your appointments as possible by phone."

"I can do that, and I should have that e-mail from Matt on Monday with the new language for the roads bill. I'll keep on top of it."

"Fine. What about Donna? How much longer do you need her?"

Josh closed his eyes. He saw this coming, and the last thing he wanted right now was to be several states away from Donna. "That depends on the long term prognosis. We might have to consider selling the condo and the car; I could use her for a few more days, at least."

"Then stay for now, but you can't stay forever. You should consider transferring her up here."

"We already discussed it. We're going to talk to the doctor and therapists to see when we can move her up by us. Donna's already researching facilities in and around DC."

"Up by us?" Leo asked with a smile on his face that Josh couldn't see.

"Uhh…"

"Yes?"

Josh stood in the hallway outside Elizabeth's room, kicking his shoes and looking at the floor. "Leo, we're going to need to talk about something when I get back."

Leo laughed. "I'm not the one you have to convince. Clear it with CJ."

"Really?" Josh asked excitedly.

"I have bigger things to worry about than your love life. Get with CJ and handle yourselves like professionals in the office."

"Yes sir," he said with a smile on his face.