"Mr. Hardy?" called a timid voice from the door way. Fenton and Laura turned to see a young man in jeans and a scrub shirt standing there with a chart in his hand.
"Yes?" Fenton said.
At the same time Laura shock Joe slightly, "Joe, honey, the doctor's here."
"Huh?" Joe said confused.
"The doctor," Laura said, looking at the door. Joe followed her gaze, and instantly, he was wide awake. The others in the room had also heard the doctor and started to wake.
"Mr. Hardy, I'm Dr. Thomas, I'm the surgeon working on your son."
"Nice to meet you," Fenton said automatically, as he shock the doctor's hand. "How's my son?"
"He's critical. His body has been through the ringer. His lungs are full of blood, his lower chest has all but collapsed, he has multiple fractures to his right hand, face, and ribs, and that's the god news."
Fenton could barely keep his jaw from dropping and his voice from rising, "The good news?"
"Yes. Scary anit it?" Thomas answered.
"I'm afraid to ask, what's the bad news?" Laura asked, as she stroked Joe's hair, who had sunken back into his chair, suddenly pale and breathless.
"The bad news is that he's bleeding from his stomach and kidneys. I just spent the last four hours trying to stop it all. Only time will tell. It continues, he appears to be bleeding into his skull, putting pressure on his brain. We have to go in there and drain it, but he's not stable enough yet."
"What do you mean?" Fenton asked, trying to take it all in.
"Well, he's on a ventilator. His lungs are too weak to support him."
There was a silence in the room as everyone in the room thought the same thing, 'shit.'
"May we see him?" Laura asked finally.
"Yes, but only family at this point, and not to long. He needs to rest."
"Doc, is he awake?" Joe asked, realizing that there was no mention of it.
"He's in and out. I think with in the next few hours though, if we don't relieve the presser he'll slip into a comma. Go see him now, but no questions. Just hi, I love you, that kind of thing. He's in room 219, recovery," Thomas said.
"Thank you doctor," Fenton said, as the Thomas left. Fenton stared at the now vacant space, trying not to break down.
"Joe," he heard Laura say behind him, "Why don't you go on and see Frank, if anyone can make him feel better it's you."
It took Joe a moment to respond, he was in shock, but finally he nodded and stood slowly, heading for the room.
I know it's short, but there's another one coming up real fast. Just bear with me for a few days.