Chapter Nine
"And then there was the time we took Josh out to find his 'sea legs'." Michael smiled at the memory and Josh groaned. Toby had returned to the hospital to find them both still by Sam's bed. Toby made himself comfortable as Michael embarked on yet another excruciatingly embarrassing tale about Josh.
"Sam wanted Josh to have a few days rest before they joined you all in New Hampshire and thought that a trip on the Blue Jay would be just the ticket."
Toby glanced at Sam. The paralytics had nearly worn off but Sam was too lethargic to move and he couldn't summon the energy to speak. Toby knew he could hear what was being said though, he could tell that from the way his eyes would occasionally open and he would seek out whoever was talking and try to focus on them.
"Okay, I did find my sea legs, my sea legs were fine, it was the seaworthiness of your boat that I doubted and if Sam was awake he'd tell you the same thing."
"Josh threw up four times," Michael told Toby. "And if Sam was awake he'd tell you that and how Josh begged us to find 'some hard stuff' to 'land on'."
Toby felt something nudge his hand and looked down to see Sam's hand reaching for his. It was seeing Sam focus on him that made Toby smile though. "Josh…can't…can't…sail…no…sea…sea legs."
"Thanks, Sam, I'll remember that."
"True though," Sam mumbled and managed a small smile, that was all he managed though before he drifted off once more.
Michael leant back in his chair and Josh seemed to sag slightly in his. He sighed and rubbed at his eyes. "It was a beautiful day. I remember we stopped off at some bay and there was an amazing sunset."
Michael nodded and smiled. "We'll go again, when Sam is better, we'll go again." He stood up and stretched. "And you should come, Toby. Believe me, you don't know what comedy is until you've witnessed Josh on a boat."
Toby was about to agree but the sound of a woman's voice from the other side of the screen stopped him. The look on Michael's face told him who the voice belonged to.
"I'll listen to your archaic rules about numbers of visitors when I've seen my son, thank you." The screen was pulled back and Diane Seaborn entered the small space, her overpowering perfume and equally overpowering presence making it seem even smaller.
"Michael," she said without looking at him.
"Diane," he returned and stood quickly offering her the seat. "This is Toby Zieglar, Sam's boss and Josh-"
"I know who Josh is." She bent over and kissed Sam before sitting down beside the bed.
"We'll go get a drink or something," Michael said and walked out without a backwards glance, Josh and Toby followed quickly behind.
Once safely outside, Michael sighed and slowed his pace. "I can only be in that woman's presence for a short while and that was longer than I've managed for quite some time."
Josh nodded in agreement. "It was pretty much a record for me too," he agreed as he stuck his hands in his pockets and led the way to the canteen.
When Sam woke, the first thing he noticed was that his friends' voices had gone. The second was the strong smelling perfume. It made him feel sick.
Diane sensed his waking and stroked his head and told him to open his eyes. "I'm here now and everything's going to be okay." She kissed his cheek gently. "There we are!" she said as his eyes opened. "I'm here, honey, everything's going to be alright now."
"Mom…when did…you…when?"
"Don't speak, don't worry about a thing, I'm here now."
Sam's eyes closed again and he listened to the soft words of reassurance that his mother spoke.
A doctor appeared and examined Sam and declared that he was comfortable.
"Comfortable? He doesn't look very comfortable to me." Diane said as she watched her son's eyes opening slightly at her raised voice. The doctor gestured towards the door and Diane stood and followed him. He led her to an office and proceeded to tell her Sam's condition and prognosis in detail. She listened and nodded but she had already decided what needed to be done.
"No, Mark, that's fourteen people in six different States, seven in DC." CJ brushed a strand of hair away from her face and waited for the next question.
"Any news on Sam Seaborn's condition?"
It was an inevitable question. Apart from the newsworthy aspect of a senior staffer being included in the number of victims, Sam was well known and well liked by the press corps. "Sam's responding well to treatment. His breathing has improved and the doctors have managed to stop the convulsions. He's…" she glanced down at her notes, 'comfortable'."
"But still critical?"
"Stable," CJ corrected but she knew that the doctor had used the word cautiously when she had spoken to him a few minutes earlier.
"Does the President plan to visit Sam?"
"He already has, Tom, which shows you don't have to get up too early to sneak one past the press corps. Thanks everyone." CJ walked out of the briefing room and found Toby waiting for her.
"What's happened?"
"Nothing, sorry, nothing's happened I just needed to come back and make some calls."
CJ relaxed and started walking back to her office. "Josh said Sam's mom is there now."
"Yeah and the nurses drew the line at four of us round the bed so Josh and I decided to come back here."
They had entered the communications Bullpen and were passing Sam's office. A flash of colour caught her eye and she walked over to the window. "We should do something about this." Flowers and gifts had started to arrive the previous day and Sam's desk and part of the floor was already covered with them.
"They won't have them in the ICU," Toby said as he moved next to her and stared through the window. Toby bellowed for Ginger and told her to start organising something. He called her back as she turned to leave, "You should save the tags, take a photo or something…maybe…for Sam. It seems a shame to…" Toby saw CJ and Ginger's expressions. "If either of you say 'aw' or use the word 'sweet' in response to my request things are going to get unpleasant."
CJ's mouth opened but on seeing the glare Toby was levelling at her she thought better of it and went back to her office without saying a word.
Doctor Keel's shift had finished two hours ago but he had not yet left the ICU. He had seen nine victims of strychnine poisoning admitted since yesterday and seven of those had died. Julia Swan was responding well to treatment and he expected her to be released within the next few days. A nurse had woken him an hour ago and jokingly asked if he planned to stay on shift until Sam Seaborn was discharged. He had replied that he was and she wasn't sure if he was joking or not.
He made his way to the ICU and checked himself when he realised he was hoping that CJ would be there. He had enough to deal with without getting involved with his patient's visitors. He allowed a tired smile to cross his face though as he thought about the number of calls he had received from her today. Most of them had been made in order to gain an update for her briefings, all of them were clearly indicative of her concern for her friend but Keel couldn't help but feel hopeful that at least some of them were made with a desire to speak to him. He laughed gently at his vanity and shook his head as he entered the ICU.
He was surprised to find that there were no visitors around Sam's bed and so he picked up the chart and sat in one of the chairs. He studied the information and the readings on the various machines. He placed the chart gently on the bed and rubbed at his eyes. He removed his hand to find Sam looking up at him with a confused expression.
"It's okay, Sam. I'm Dr Keel, do you remember me?" Sam nodded and so Keel continued. "Can you tell me where you are?" He expected Sam to say at home but was relieved when he answered that he was in a hospital. "That's right. Do you remember why?"
Sam shook his head and his forehead creased. "They caught him." Sam remembered the President telling him that he wasn't to worry about the man who had hurt him. "Was…did he…shoot me?" He didn't know what it felt like to be shot but he was in pain, he was frightened, the President had told him the man had been caught and he was in a hospital so he supposed he must have been.
"You've got some strychnine in your body and it's making you very ill but you're fighting and you're better than you were." Keel was careful not to use the word poisoned. People tended to react badly to being told that.
Sam closed his eyes then looked at Keel again. "Am I…going…to die?"
"You're doing well, Sam. You've had a very rough twenty-four hours and you're still very ill. Just keep fighting."
"Don't treat…me…treat me…like…like an…like an…"
"Like an idiot?" Keel suggested and Sam nodded slowly and closed his eyes. "You're ill, Sam, very ill, but you came into this healthy, strong and you're obviously a fighter."
Sam had never really understood it when people were described as being a fighter. He hadn't fought he just hadn't died.
Dr Keel asked Sam about his pain and listened to his chest. He scribbled a few notes on the chart and then sat back down. "I'll sit with you until your parents get back, shall I?"
"Yeah, thanks…that…be good. Name…again?"
"Doctor Keel."
Sam's eyes fluttered opened and he managed to look at Keel and silently thank him. He didn't like being alone. He had stopped floating but he was worried that if he was on his own he might start again and no one would even know about it let alone be able to stop him. He listened to the sounds around him; a trolley being pushed past the bed; nurses' voices; an intercom in the corridor outside; the doors to the unit opening and closing. He turned his head towards Keel but didn't open his eyes. "Thought I was home."
"I know you did, Sam, I know you did."
In the early hours of the evening, Toby found himself wandering towards CJ's office. He'd spent the last few hours trying to complete as much of the work as possible that he wouldn't be able to do at the hospital. Josh had spent them asleep on CJ's sofa while she had read briefing notes that Sam had written for her two days ago.
"Doesn't Sam like Tom Bolton?" she asked as she batted Josh's feet out of the way and joined him on the sofa.
"Hates him," he replied without opening his eyes. "What made you ask that?"
"I'm reading some notes Sam left me about him and I'm reading between the lines. Also Sam's drawn a pair of horns on the picture of him."
Toby entered the room and perched on CJ's desk. "Who's drawn a pair of horns?
"Sam, on a picture of Tom Bolton."
"Hates him," Toby replied.
Josh nodded in agreement and then sighed deeply before opening his eyes and slowly sitting up. "Are you going back to the hospital?"
Toby was about to answer when CJ's phone rang. He reached behind him and handed it to her. He took her place on the sofa and turned Sam's notes towards him, smiling at the image of Bolton that Sam had desecrated. He wasn't really listening to CJ but there was a shift in her tone that made him pay attention. He noticed Josh sit up straighter too. It was only when he heard CJ's next words that his stomach turned.
"They're both here with me, Ginger. What's wrong?" CJ rubbed at her brow and stared at the ground as she listened to Ginger's reply. After a few moments she replaced the phone but her gaze remained on the floor.
"CJ?" Josh stood up.
"Sam's…" CJ pushed herself away from the desk and straightened as she took a deep breath. "Sam went into cardiac arrest twenty minutes ago. He arrested twice but the-"
"He's going to pass out," Toby mumbled as he passed CJ and pulled Josh towards the sofa, pushing his head down onto his knees and then nodding at CJ to carry on.
"They got him back quickly both times. They've intubated him again and he's been moved to a private room. They think…he had another fit and they think it caused…" CJ walked over to the sofa, sat down beside Josh and rubbed his back. "I don't really know what they think, after I heard cardiac arrest I kind of zoned out."
Slowly, Josh raised his head and leant back against the sofa. "Give me a couple of minutes and we'll go."
"Eat something first," Toby ordered and raised his hand at the start of a protest. "Don't argue with me, Josh, just eat something. You obviously haven't today and you're going to be no use to Sam if you keel over in the middle of the ICU."
"Sam's been moved out of there, did I say that?" CJ asked but she went unanswered.
Toby went to Josh's office and picked up his coat and bag then he went to his own and did the same. Ginger came to the doorway and watched as Toby collected his things then started to place items from his desk into one of the drawers. "Ginger, did they say anything else…about Sam…about how he was, did they say what the er…how he …" The sudden noise of the desk drawer being pulled out and thrown onto the floor made Ginger jump and she hurried into the room closing the door behind her. Toby leant on his desk and breathed deeply as she bent down to pick up the contents that had scattered across the floor. "Leave it. Don't worry about it. Sorry about that."
Ginger remembered the hug Toby had given her when she had gone into work the night of the shooting. She looked at him now, still hunched over, his face pale and hands gripping tightly at the edge of the desk. She waited for him to straighten and then approached him warily, wondering if he would snap again and tip the whole desk over if she touched him. He didn't. In fact he welcomed her comforting embrace and for a brief few moments he didn't think about being strong for Sam or calm for Josh but allowed someone else to be strong and calm for him.