Ch. 21 Sinking Over Time
The grave mood hung around them while the trio stood in the hallway waiting. After leaving the room, Monica informed them that she was having the on call specialist paged. Jason was less then thrilled to see it was Tony, but he was highly respected in the field, so he put his personal feelings if he could help Courtney.
"Should someone call Mike?" Carly asked. "He probably would like to know she's and-" she paused afraid if she actually said what was apparently wrong, it would seem that more real. "…and everything else."
"Yeah, he might." Sonny said not hiding the irritation that came from hearing his father's name.
"I'll call him." Jason offered, seeing the suggestion in his friend's eyes. He could tell she just wanted some time alone with her husband, so he could do them the favor. On top of that, he needed to do something besides waiting.
Carly placed her hand on her husband's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze as he leaned against he wall. He hadn't said much and she knew that he had a lot on his mind.
"You ok?"
"I'll be fine." he whispered.
"So will Courtney, you'll see." she tried to comfort him.
"You don't know that; you weren't there when she woke up. You didn't see her eyes, or hear her voice." he said each word as the scene played again before him.
"I know it must've been hard."
"When I told her I was going to get you guys, she said 'who.' I looked her straight in the eyes and asked if she knew me."
"What-What happened?" Carly asked, knowing it would be better for him to talk about it.
"Her eyes…all I saw was fear. She was afraid of me; my sister, looking at me like I was a stranger." He continued to stare at the door to the empty room Courtney had been in earlier. Tony said they were taking her to run tests and would be back as soon as possible. They chose to wait in the hall so they could know what he found out as soon as possible.
What seemed like years later, she was brought back to the room. Tony and Monica stood conversing for a moment before coming to speak to the group. Robin had returned to join them sometime before. At her arrival, Carly had assured her that it was a family matter and she had no business there. She silenced her protests at Jason's suggestion to "just leave it be."
"After several tests, as well as going over the blood tests with Dr. Quartermaine, we were able to deduce a few things about Courtney's condition." Tony began.
Inside her room, Courtney grew irritant of all the tests she'd had to do. Even more so that after going through them the doctor hadn't even told her what was going on. She slid out of the bed and unsteadily made her way to the door, cracking it just enough to see and hear what was happening.
"Wait, wait. What do the blood tests have to do with this? I thought it had to be like head trauma or something. Is there more, is she sick?" Carly asked fearfully.
"The tests show a large amount of drugs in her bloodstream."
Hearing the word, Courtney's eyes traveled to the small circular mark on her arm. She lightly placed a finger over the dot and wondered if it was the reason for everything, before returning her attention to the conversation outside the door.
"The substances we found are strong medication used in only severe cases involving dementia. That mixed with what appears to be a number of sedatives and muscle relaxants can do damage enough on its own. But we have no way of knowing how long she's been taking them or what else might have left her system before she got here."
"She didn't take them." Jason spoke defensively. "Someone put those things in her."
"But once they leave her system, she'll be better right?" Carly asked hoping against hope.
"With this mixture and amount, it's a miracle her brain isn't mush by now. I apologize for being so blunt, but there are things you need to prepare for."
"Like what?"
"This isn't just a case of common amnesia that affects memory of the life that's been lived or the people in it. That's part of it, yes, but there is more to it. In Courtney's case, the simplest, everyday task may seem a foreign concept."
"You mean she won't know how to do anything?" Carly asked him, still speaking for the silent men.
"I'm sure she'll be able to do some things based purely on instinct. Things that her body knows automatically, but even that is not certain. Anything from tying shoes to driving a car may be unknown to her. On top of that, her motor skills will work slower then normal causing more time and concentration needed to get things done, but Monica and I believe that those will redevelop on their own as she gets back into her daily life."
"Is there a chance she'll remember?" the woman asked the million dollar question.
"The mind is a complex thing. There's a chance she can remember, but there's an even greater chance that her subconscious will simply make up memories as a way to explain things or feel whole." he answered. "But you should prepare yourself for the very real possibility that this is permanent."
"So you're basically saying is-" Carly began but was cut off by the blue eyed man who had remained silent until that point.
"Brain damage." the words fell heavily from his lips. An awkward silence fell upon them as the painful irony of what was said by who set in.
"I suggest she stay overnight and possibly longer just to allow the drugs to flush out." Monica said.
She saw the pain they were going through and understood, she'd been there. Her sympathetic gaze fell to her son, he looked the worse of them all. She wanted to be able to comfort and support him. For a moment she thought about reaching out to hug him, but decided against it not knowing how he would take it. So she just nodded and left them to their thoughts.
She closed the door, sniffling back a tear as she tried to digest what she'd overheard. Drugs. Memory Loss. Brain Damage. It was too much, no wonder they didn't tell her right away. It seemed like too much for someone of perfect health to deal with, so why would they risk telling her. She felt empty. Empty and useless. Taking slow steps, she returned to the small bed and crawled under the thin blanket. She laid curled on her side and let the silent tears fall to the pillow.