Chapter Eleven
"I'm confident we've finally managed to control Sam's seizures." Keel said as he shut the door behind him and walked over to the spare chair. At his words a wave of relief swept over the room and even Josh managed to relax slightly on hearing them. "The fact that we've done that means that the chances of Sam having another cardiac arrest are much less. His breathing is still a concern and obviously I'll be a lot happier when he's more lucid but his condition has certainly improved from what it was earlier today."
"So you're saying he's going to-"
Keel interrupted, knowing what Josh was about to ask, "I'm not saying anything, Josh. I think it's amazing that Sam has got this far and I think the fact that he has, bodes incredibly well for his chances of a continued recovery but I'm not saying anything further than that."
Josh turned to Toby. "Tell him about the priest." Josh listened as Toby told Dr Keel his concerns about Diane's plans. Keel could do little more than offer the services of the hospital chaplain, agree that Sam should be asked first and confirm to Toby that he probably wouldn't be lucid enough to discuss it until tomorrow. Dr Keel stood then and after suggesting they all went home to get some much needed sleep, offered to walk CJ to her car.
"Hah!" Toby said as the door closed behind them.
"What? What is it with you and the hahs?"
Toby turned to Josh with a look that seemed to imply that if he couldn't see it then he didn't deserve to be told. They gathered their coats and bags and Josh mumbled something about feeling like he hadn't slept for days. Toby agreed even though he knew that sleep, no matter how much he craved it, would elude him until he could speak to Sam about Diane's plans.
Toby spent the night trying to get some rest but by dawn had conceded defeat and spent the next couple of hours drinking tea and completing unfinished crosswords. By six o'clock he was walking along the corridor that led to Sam's room a gift for the nurses in his hand.
"Mr Ziegler, I do hope you're not under the impression that strict hospital regulations, which are in place for important reasons, can be ignored for the sake of a few Danish pastries?" Nurse Stevens asked with a frown.
"Of course not."
"Are there Cinnamon ones in there?"
"Yes."
"Well in you go then, Mr Ziegler. Personally, I'd bend hospital regulations for an iced doughnut but it's nice that you think it would take a whole bag."
The nurse winked at him and took the bag away to the staff room. He had phoned earlier and knew that Sam had not had the peaceful night that Keel had predicted. A fever had kept him awake and although it had dropped now, Sam remained restless.
Toby was surprised at how small he had thought the room was when he had visited in darkness. The window that he hadn't known was there was large and the rising sun cast a soft red glow into the room.
Sam's eyes were closed but his hand was moving slowly on the covers. Toby coughed gently in an effort not to startle him. He needn't have worried as Sam's responses were sluggish and his eyes opened slowly as he became aware of Toby's presence. The last thing Toby was expecting Sam to do was smile at him and the sight of it threw him momentarily. He cleared his throat, mumbled a 'hey' and moved towards the bed. He had gone over what he wanted to say to Sam many times during the night. He knew Sam's attention would be limited and his understanding much slower than usual so he had planned a succinct way of explaining what was happening and asking him what he needed to. Now that he was here though, Toby found he could do little more than sit by the bed and savour the fact that Sam appeared to be lucid.
Sam seemed similarly content to simply look at his friend and be comforted by his presence. He knew he was in hospital. He couldn't remember why but he knew he hadn't been shot. Someone had told him that, the President maybe? He knew the President had told him something, perhaps that he wasn't going to die, he was sure someone had told him that. He thought Toby looked worried. Sam knew he was going to say something important to him and needed him to listen but he wasn't ready to listen yet, he wasn't ready, he needed to concentrate. He needed to help Toby but he wasn't ready.
"What? What do you need?" Toby watched as Sam pulled his hand from Toby's and started to pat the covers then try to reach the cabinet beside the bed.
"Glasses," Sam answered still struggling to raise his hand over the bedrail.
"You don't need your glasses, Sam," Toby explained gently.
"Where…are…where are…they?"
Sam seemed fixated on having his glasses so Toby patted at his pockets until he found them. He had picked them up off the floor of his office from where a paramedic had placed them and they had stayed in his pocket ever since. "Here, look, they're here. I'll just put them on the side here." Sam shook his head and held out his hand so Toby placed them carefully into it. He watched as Sam's fingers curled around them, covering the lenses that he was usually so fastidious about touching.
"Sam, I know you're confused right now but I need to ask you something that you're-"
"Wasn't shot…what though…what happened to me?"
Of all the things Dr Keel had said, Toby tried desperately to remember what he had said about what Sam had been told. He had been warned Sam would probably ask the same questions the first few times he woke but it surprised Toby to find how hard it was to hear Sam asking questions that had already been answered. "You've got some strychnine in your body and it's made you ill but you're doing really well now and the doctors are taking good care of you."
Toby looked at Sam hoping his words had been of some comfort but he was greeted with a frown. Slowly Sam lifted his hand and passed his glasses to Toby who placed them on the cabinet. Any hopes he had of talking to Sam this morning were dashed by Sam's behaviour. "Get some rest. I'll stay until you fall asleep."
"Did I help?" Sam asked.
"Yeah, you helped."
He stayed until he was sure Sam was asleep and then went back to his car. He glanced at the clock then pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. He dialled the number, tapping his finger against his forehead while he waited. "Father Kelly, this is Toby Ziegler. I work with Sam Seaborn. There's something I need to discuss with you. Can we meet?
Agent Singleton almost smiled when he saw the look of relief on Ron's face as he told him what he and Darkin had found out about Joseph Hannity. They had spent two hours with him and that, together with the police reports and statements, was enough to convince them that he had planned and carried out the attacks on his own. The medical reports convinced them that he was mentally ill, not that they had needed a doctor to convince them of that.
"You absolutely made his day sending two secret service agents to talk to him," Darkin told Ron.
"He was loving it," Singleton agreed. "He kept going on about the longevity of horror and how he was going to be remembered."
Ron sat back and rubbed at his eyes. "We get threats every week and we categorise them, deal with them, eliminate them. I just thought, I just wondered if we'd missed one."
It was a moment of weakness that Ron would never normally allow his colleagues to see. It was fleeting and before the two agents could think of something to say in reply Ron had sat forward and opened one of the files on Hannity. "Let's get down to it then." Darkin and Singleton exchanged a look before they listened to Ron's questions.
"For someone who's supposedly rushed over here on the first plane, she certainly seems to have brought a lot of clothes with her."
Josh nodded at Michael's words as they both watched Diane who was standing at the end of the corridor waiting for Father Kelly to arrive.
"And shoes," Josh added. They had both been thrown out of Sam's room but Josh was in no hurry to leave. He wanted to know what Father Kelly was going to say when he arrived. He didn't have to wait long. Toby appeared from the elevator closely followed by father Kelly who made straight for Diane.
"Diane, so good to see you again but in such terrible circumstances I hope I can be of some comfort." He took Diane's hands in his and got straight to the point. "Since we spoke, I've talked to Michael and Sam's friends and I need to speak to Sam before I go ahead with the sacrament." Diane started to object but Father Kelly carried on. "I've seen Sam in church once since he's been in DC and that was for the funeral of a Congressman. I trust that you believe this is what Sam would want but I need to be sure of that and I know that you understand that, Diane."
Josh raised his eyebrows, "Man, he's good." He turned away from the scene of Diane being led to some nearby chairs and looked up at Toby. "What happens now?"
Toby shrugged. "He'll talk to Sam I guess, which, if this morning was anything to go by, won't be too productive."
Josh looked at the door to Sam's room. "Is it worth asking if I can go in before I head back to the office?"
"I doubt it the doctors are still in there. You go back, I'm going to hang around for a while and then head in."
Josh slung his bag over his shoulder and took a last look at Sam's room before heading down the corridor.
Toby waited. He had nothing to be at work for until later and he wanted Dr Keel to come out of Sam's room and tell him that Sam had 'turned the corner' or some other recovery cliché. He wanted him to say that Sam was lucid and that Toby would be able to go and tell him that he would be okay, order him to be okay, and see the understanding and compliance in Sam's eyes for himself. He wanted Sam to tell him he was going to be okay. He wanted to look at Sam and not see confusion and fear looking back at him. He wanted to talk to his friend.
The door to Sam's room opened suddenly and made Toby jump as he was drawn from his reverie. He stood and walked over to Keel followed by Michael and swiftly joined by Diane.
"His breathing is a little better. He's more lucid but his fever is high." He waited for questions but there were none.
Father Kelly stepped forward and held out his hand. "I don't know if you remember me Doctor."
"I remember you, Father." Keel knew that Toby had spoken to Kelly and he also knew that he would be keen to speak to Sam. "You can go in and speak to him. As I said, he's more lucid now but he becomes confused easily and the fever obviously isn't helping. Please be as brief as you can."
Father Kelly assured him he would. Diane made to follow him but he placed a hand on her arm. His expression needed no words to enforce the message that she should remain outside. She moved immediately away from the group.
"If I was a benevolent man I'd buy this hospital some decent seating." Michael said as they sat down. Toby nodded in agreement and settled in for another uncomfortable wait.
Father Kelly paused by the door to Sam's room before walking towards the bed. He looked at the young man who he had known in California but had only seen once since he and Sam had been in DC. He smiled as he remembered the only occasion that Sam had been to his church and how during the service Sam had spent the whole time looking at his feet, aware of his non-attendance at Kelly's services.
Aware that someone had entered the room, Sam opened his eyes and they widened on seeing the old friend of his family. "Father." he tried to sit up but only managed to raise his head and shoulders slightly before sinking back down onto the pillow.
"Hello, Sam." Father Kelly moved over to the bed and sat down. "It's been a long time."
A small smile crossed Sam's face. "It's nice…thank you…coming."
"Is there anything you need?"
Sam shook his head and then closed his eyes.
"Sam, I know you're very tired but there's something I need to ask you. Your mother asked me to come here this morning." He leant forward. "Sam, would you like the Sacrament of the Sick?"
Sam stared up at Father Kelly and then closed his eyes. On opening them he nodded slowly.
"Sam, I need you to tell me," Kelly told him.
Slowly, Sam's arm lifted from the bed and he reached for Kelly's hand. He nodded again. "Yes…yes please." He felt his hand grasped in return.
"Would you like anyone else here?"
"Toby…dad…" Sam squeezed the Priest's hand, "would like…can you…confession first?"
"Of course." Kelly removed his hands from Sam's and stood to retrieve his bag from the side of the bed. "What about your mother? She's outside."
Sam's eyes closed again and he mumbled something that Kelly couldn't hear. When his eyes opened there was an emotion in them that Father Kelly couldn't read. "Okay."
Sam watched as Kelly placed the items he would need to perform the sacrament on the bedside table. The consecrated oil was in a shiny container and Sam stared at the distorted image of the window reflected onto it. His name was called twice before he returned his attention back to father Kelly. Sam concentrated on his words and spoke his own stiltedly as Kelly listened patiently and responded. When it was over, he stood and asked Sam again if he was sure he wanted his parents and Toby present. Sam repeated that he did and so he left the room and went back outside to where they waited.
Toby and Michael stood when Kelly came out of Sam's room. Diane had remained at the far end of the corridor but she walked quickly back towards the group on seeing him. "Sam has said he would like me to perform the Anointing of the Sick. He's also told me he would like you present." Father Kelly tried not to imagine how Diane would have reacted if Sam had asked for Toby and Michael only. Father Kelly quickly went to the nurses' station to tell them what was happening and ask that they not be disturbed.