Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership in anyway to Numb3rs. I do claim ownership to all original characters you may read about in here so please there is no need to sue me. I have no money anyway.
A/N: Ok i kept my promise of putting this up the day after my FIXED chapter four! Go me! Ahh...have to post this quick. "Noisy Edge" is almost on can't wait!
The elevator ride seemed to take hours, but in reality it took not even five minutes. No one spoke on the way up and awkward silence was what filled the air.
Don was having trouble keeping his composure. After what he had just been told by the doctor he almost lost the strength he had to keep his head up high. Almost…
He was a FBI agent so he could seem stone cold and emotionless at times like these. He was never the one to let people in to see his thoughts or feelings. He was always the tough guy in school. Sure he joked around with his friends but he never lost control of his emotions. He always had to be strong for his weaker companions and for his little brother…
Always…
When the doors opened with a ding Don jumped slightly. He thought that they'd never get there at the slow pace the elevator seemed to be moving.
Doctor Thomas McGregory led them down the hall and through a pair of opaque glass sliding doors. They walked past a desk where around four nurses sat talking and writing on their charts. They looked at them when they entered but turned back to their conversations. There were about eight rooms set in the walls around the desk, and you could only fit one patient in each.
Don couldn't help but look into each room as he passed. In some rooms people were sitting around the bed and in others there was no one. There was a sign on the wall saying that only two people could visit at a time. Even though Don read this and wanted desperately to see his baby brother he knew his father had to see him alone.
He knew that he had to see him first and he had to do it alone…
Doctor McGregory stood in the doorway waiting for someone to follow him. "You can only have a few minutes with him since visiting hours are over, but you can stay in the waiting room until they start again if you don't want to leave."
Alan looked at his son who put a hand on his shoulder.
"You go first," he said quietly, willing his voice not to break. "I'll wait."
Alan looked into is son's eyes.
"Thank you," he whispered, realizing what his son was doing for him.
He turned to the doctor who led him into the room.
Don leaned against the peach painted wall and rubbed his face in his hands.
Some of the nurses looked over at him with compassion but kept their distance. They knew by the look on his face that the man in the room behind him was someone close…
Someone he was desperately afraid of losing…
He couldn't lose him…
Alan entered the room behind the doctor and stumbled as he saw the scene that lay before him.
It was strange for Alan to see his usually vivacious son so still. Even in his sleep he never was so peaceful.
He immediately sank into one of the two chairs that were set by his son's bed.
There was his son with the chalk white skin.
There was his son with the tube down his throat, unable to breathe on his own.
There was his son with his shoulder tied up and arm in a cast.
There was his son with the uneven heartbeat.
There was his son with the blood soaked bandage on his head.
There was his son with the tube in his chest draining blood from his damaged lungs.
He bent his head into his hands and tried to ease his sobs.
There was his son…
Thomas McGregory came behind him and put a hand on the man's shoulder.
"There is still a chance that he can recover from this." His voice was gentle and quiet. "Don't give up hope yet Mr. Eppes because your son is still alive. He is very much alive…"
Alan continued to shake with sobs and the man left him alone to be with his boy.
There was his son…who looked just like his wife as she lay dying…
This was his son…
Alan came out of the room almost ten minutes later. Don had been patient for him and was shocked when he emerged. He looked ten years older than he was and his eyes were red and tears still remained on his face.
He embraced Don tightly and then turned and kept on walking to the waiting room across the hall from the elevator they had arrived in. Just like Don knew his father had to see his son alone, Alan knew his son had to see his brother alone.
Don took a deep breath and walked into the room with his head down not wanting to look at Charlie. He was afraid at what he might see. He heard beeping and whooshing sounds coming from machines near the bed.
He made it to the chair his father had abandoned and sat down. Only then did he dare to look up.
There was Charlie…
He was pallid and his dark hair stood out terribly next to his deathlike flesh. An IV line snaked down his arm and into his hand. A large tube was down his throat and was pushing air into his lungs. Another tube was draining blood from his chest and was sucking it down into a clear box on the floor. His arm was in a large white plaster cast and his shoulder was tied up. His leg was under a light blanket but Don could see the outline of it under the covering and it was in a large splint. Around his head there was wrapped a blood soaked bandage and most of the skin that sowed was bruised or scraped.
That was his baby brother…
He looked at the monitors around him and tried to identify them all. He knew one had to do with his heart, another had to do with the ventilator, and another had to do with the tube in his chest. One was the IV drip and one held a bag of blood that was being drained into his wrist but that was all he knew.
His brother looked so peaceful and angelic. It looked like he had met his creator already.
Looked like he was gone…
Maybe he was…
Don was afraid to touch his brother's good left hand. It looked so cold and pale.
So fragile…
It looked like he was made from porcelain…
But he took it gently in his, trying to warm it.
"Hey buddy," he said quietly, clearing his constricted throat. "The doctor said you got hit pretty bad…"his voice faltered. That's when he realized that he couldn't keep his emotions in check all the time because with those words his eyes welled with tears and his voice broke.
"I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you… Charlie I'm so sorry I let this happen…I'm sorry about everything I said buddy…. Oh god I'm so sorry…"
He held Charlie's hand and bowed his head letting the tears fall freely.
"Nothing like this was supposed to happen to you…you're my baby brother Charlie…nothing bad is supposed to happen to you…I'm always supposed to protect you but instead… I ignore your calls…"
He tried to calm himself when he realized that he was rambling.
"What were you doing on your bike all the way over by my office?" he asked, his tears clearly showing in his words, but he didn't care. "Were you coming to see me? What did you want to say? What were you doing Charlie? I'm so sorry I ignored you calls…I'm so sorry… Charlie…"
He paused again trying to appease his voice.
"You better hang in there…" his voice broke but he kept going. "You better not let go…Dad isn't ready for you to leave him…Mom left…not you buddy…not you…"
His shoulder's shook and he couldn't help but cry out in grief.
"I meant to tell you Charlie…how much I loved you…you're my baby brother and I love you so much…I'm so sorry…so sorry…please don't let go…never let go…I need you…"
He couldn't stop the tears. He couldn't…
"I need you buddy…I'm so sorry…oh god I'm so sorry…"
He was alone with his tears and cries of grief.
He was alone with his brother…
And he liked it that way…
He didn't deserve comforting…
He didn't deserve anything…
"I'm so sorry…"
A/N:Ok I'm working on Chapter Six now and am on a roll! Ok next chapter should be up soon and the family from the OR waiting room comes up again. I got so many reveiws telling me that it was a good idea to keep them in this. (:waves to Beth: Hi Beth!Of course I remember you! Glad you like this!)
I chose to do both Alan's and Don's views on seeing Charlie. I think it turned out ok but I'm not sure. Hmm….oh well. I'll tryand promise not to take down any more chapters to fix.
The settings that I use for the ICU/CCU rooms are true descriptions from the hospital that my mother works at so I am trying to make this a realistic as possible. I makes me feel good to have realism in a story and thats why I'm asking for help with it from my mother (a.k.a. The Medical Wizard!)
Ok so again Ireally appreciatereviews. This may seem a little short but I've had tests recently (twoof which i flunked)and can't work so much on this. It'll definitely get done though. That I promise!
Thankies!
TheDudeLordOfFantasy a.k.a. Kathleen