TOMMY - FOUR DAYS LATER
We're just about to leave for the hospital. Jason's improved enough that they're going to try reducing the medication he's on. They've kept him heavily sedated so that his body had some time to recover before stressing it with pain. They aren't promising that he'll wake up today, but there's a chance. The alert goes off, letting us know that Pina and Dar have arrived. We send Hayley and the Scotts on ahead while Zedd and I wait for the rest of our family.
One look at Goldar tells me he's been nearly as stressed as I have, in spite of Zedd's regular updates. "Hey, guys. Good timing. We were just about to leave."
"Oh good" Pina responds. "I'd really like to see him for myself."
Quickly, we head for the hospital. I've already prepared Mr. and Mrs. Scott for the new arrivals so things go much smoother than they did with Zedd. I go in with Dar, knowing how difficult the reality of seeing Jason will be. Once in, I talk to Jason as I always do. "Hey, bro. Brought you a new visitor and Zedd will bring in another one later."
Dar has paled slightly and clenched his hands into fists. His voice is a bit shaky when he says, "Can he hear us?"
I shrug. "No idea, but I like to think he can and it might have helped him hang on when he needed it."
Dar takes a deep breath. "So, hey, you need to wake up. Zedd and Tommy are driving people crazy. Not to mention now they've dragged me and Pina halfway across the galaxy to see if we can help you get better faster. And I can only imagine how difficult your mate has been, probably crying all over Tommy. Hells only knows what else you've been missing."
If only he knew. "Yeah, there might be a piece or two of news that you've missed out on" I agree. Dar shoots me a questioning look. "Kind of a long story. I'll explain it later."
He shrugs. "Anyway, I'll see you later. I know that Pina's anxious to check you over for herself and see if she can do anything for you." We head out of the room. Once the door closes behind us, he says, "Hells, brat, he looks worse than you said."
"At least he's alive." Yeah, I've been trying to sell myself on that one since the first minute I saw him.
He looks at me sideways. "Been practicing that, have you?"
"You have no idea how much."
He pushes off the wall he'd leaned on. "Probably planning your revenge, too."
"How did you guess?"
Not recognizing the sarcasm, he answers, "Because that's what I'd be doing if it was Zedd in there." Not surprised at all.
"Between you and me, it's worse than it was with Annwyl and I don't understand why."
"Brat, he's your family. Plus you were able to get your hands on Annwyl from the beginning. That's not an option here, so you're not able to act on your frustration and anger. But, you know, we can fix that."
I shoot him a surprised look, but since we're about to join the others I let it be for now. I have to remember to ask him about it later though. Zedd and Pina head down the hall. A fairly young man approaches Hayley and the Scotts. Mrs. Scott says, "Oh, Tommy, honey, this is Jason's doctor. This is Tommy, the young man we told you about."
"The one who is like a brother. Glad you were able to get here. They were afraid they might have a hard time reaching you."
"As soon as they did, I dropped everything and headed this way." Something about him feels - off - somehow. I don't trust him. The faint growl from Goldar tells me that he feels the same.
"I just wanted to stop by quickly before I start rounds. I've already instructed the nurses as to the change in medication and I'll be in to see him in a couple of hours. By that time, we should see some changes. I'll see you later."
He walks away quickly. Dar says, "Something's not right about him."
"Agreed. We need to talk to Pina and fast."
Hayley nods. "I don't like him either. He makes my skin crawl."
I look at Dar. "He doesn't have power, does he?"
"Not that I can sense, but my power level is very low compared to what it used to be. Zedd would be the most likely to sense it. I think it's just that he seems - what's the word, brat?" He says something in Eltarian.
"Sneaky. Yeah, I think so too." I turn back for Jason's room. "I'm going to talk to Pina."
Dar's right behind me and in a minute, we're in the room. Pina's got Jason's chart in hand and is frowning at it as Zedd says, "I'm telling you, Pina, I sent you the pages that Hayley gave me. She said that they came from the agency which was supposed to get them from the hospital."
"And I'm telling you, what you sent me doesn't match what's here. And neither one matches what my scanner is showing. Someone is screwing with the records."
Dar and I exchange looks before he speaks. "Well, we just met the doctor and both of us and Hayley feel like he's not trustworthy. Something's wrong here - very wrong."
Pina frowns. "According to these records, his meds aren't due to be changed. The records that you've sent me say that they are. But my scan shows that he's being given more morphine than is listed on the chart - about twice as much as he should have."
"Accidentally double dosing him?" Zedd says doubtfully.
I shake my head. "There's no way. Morphine is strictly controlled here because it's very potentially addictive." Something Jason told me once pops into my head. "Wait a minute. Jason's a government agent, injured in the line of duty on a case."
"So?" Pina asks.
"He's a witness" Dar answers. "There should be a guard at the door. Why isn't there?"
"Stay here" I command. I head out quickly to talk to Hayley and the Scotts. "Why isn't there a guard on Jason?" I demand.
"There was until they moved him up here" Hayley answers. "Then the guy they'd been sending during the day said that with us here, there would only need to be a guard at night."
"Do you have Brady's number?" In a minute, I have the man on the phone. "Brady, why isn't there a guard on Jason?"
"There should be. Johnson's been assigned to be there every day for the last week or so during the day and Reed at night."
"Well apparently once he was moved to his room, your guard told Hayley that since she and his parents were here, he wasn't needed during the day. Plus, Pina's here and she says that his charts don't match up with each other or the meds in his system."
"I'm going to make some calls and I'm on my way. If you can, nobody goes in that room until I get there."
"The doctor is due to come by in less than two hours."
"I'll be there in less than that and I'm going to send someone from the local office until I get there."
"Understood." I snap the phone shut and give it back to Hayley. "High alert. There is supposed to be someone here and Brady's on his way. Nobody gets in that room until he gets here."
Swiftly, I head down the hall and into the room. Grimly, I tell the others, "Nobody comes in here until Jason's boss gets here. Zedd, you come with me. We'll watch the door. You two are the last line of defense in case they get past us somehow. In the meantime, Pina, see what you can do for him. Please" I add as an afterthought.
We're all in warrior mode now and in a way, I'm less worried than I have been. Zedd and I step out of the room and post ourselves on either side of the door. And wait.
ONE HOUR LATER
We finally see Brady coming down the hall and man, does he look pissed. I open the door and he doesn't even break stride as he goes in, Zedd and I following. He ignores everyone except Pina. "Show me."
Before she can, there's a knock at the door causing all of us to tense up. Brady nods to me. I call out, "Who is it?"
"Dr. Hastings, hospital administrator." I glance at Brady, who nods.
"Come in."
He does, greeting Brady on his way in. "Hey, Greg. What's going on?"
"You tell me." The agent hands the newcomer Jason's chart as well as the copies we'd sent to Pina. After letting him browse the files for a minute, Brady says, "What do you think, Peter?"
"I think someone's screwing with the records." He reaches for the phone at Jason's bedside and makes a call. He hangs up a few minutes later. Before he can say anything, the rest of us can hear voices approaching, one of them the shady doctor. Quickly, Brady and Hastings step around the corner and into the bathroom.
The doctor comes in and smiles at us. "All right, I know that you all want to visit your friend, but I need you to keep visitors to two at a time, please." He sees Pina holding Jason's chart and his smile disappears. "Young lady, you shouldn't be messing with that. The nurses need that to make their notes so that he can be treated properly."
He holds his hand out and reluctantly Pina hands it to him and he tucks it under his arm. Quietly, Zedd and I close ranks behind him. Dar speaks up. "What are you going to do with that?"
"I'm going to have the nurses check it against the main records and make sure that everything is as it should be."
Zedd growls, "In other words, make sure that she hasn't changed it."
The doctor shrugs. "It wouldn't be the first time that a patient's family has made changes to a chart, thinking that they know better than the doctors."
Hastings remarks, "Or that doctors have changed things that they shouldn't have."
The man before us pales slightly and turns. "Dr. Hastings, I'm simply trying to protect the hospital. Who knows what they changed? The next thing you know, he dies or something and they're suing the hospital!"
"That can happen" Dr. Hastings agrees. "But then again, sometimes mistakes are made on our part and when that happens, we need to take responsibility. Don't you think so?"
"Well, yes but-"
"James, just stop. What's really going on?"
"I don't know what you mean." But the way he's avoiding eye contact now says otherwise. "All I know is I came in here and they were messing with the chart."
Brady retorts, his voice cold. "Perhaps we need to discuss this somewhere else." He steps out and looks at the doctor. "You!"
The man curses and makes a futile attempt to get out the door. Unfortunately for him, he forgot about me and Zedd being in his way. There's a brief scuffle but shortly the man is in cuffs. Brady sounds pretty satisfied when he says, "Well, it's been a pretty good day. We've managed to plug a leak at the agency and find a murderer that we've been chasing for a long time." He looks at us. "Both he and Johnson are in league with the people that we were working to bust. Now we can get Jason guarded properly."
"What about Jason?" I ask anxiously. "Will he be all right?"
"I can't be sure until I can check all the records and run some tests" Dr. Hastings admits. "However, I'd guess that yes, he probably will be based on what I've seen so far." That's not real reassuring and I can feel myself turn cold.
I can't help the pleading tone in my voice as I turn to Pina. "Pina?"
"He should be all right, boetie. He's just very heavily sedated from what I can tell. It might have actually worked in his favor, letting his body focus on healing rather than the pain. Right now, I'd guess that the best course of action would be to let him check the records and try and figure out what was done so that it can be undone."
Hastings looks at Pina. "Are you a doctor?"
"Not like you are, no. Where I'm from, I'm the local healer. I have a lot of knowledge and resources, but no title or degree like you have."
"Let's talk." The two leave the room, quickly losing the rest of us in medical jargon as they go.
Brady turns to us. "I'm going to need to borrow the other agent for a bit to get this guy properly into custody. I assume I can count on you to watch things here?"
The three of us nod. I look at Zedd and Dar. "I'm going to go fill in Hayley and Jason's parents. I'll be right back."
The three of look at me anxiously and I explain quickly what's happened. "So will he be all right?" Mrs. Scott asks.
"Pina and Dr. Hastings think so, but they're working on that right now. Pina even said that it might have done him some good, letting his body heal without the stress of being in pain."
Mrs. Scott leans into her husband, who holds her tightly. "Thank you, Tommy." I look at him confused. "If you hadn't realized that there should have been a guard there, who knows what they might have gotten away with?"
I shake my head. "I should have realized it before now. I should have noticed that the first day." Will Jason suffer damage because I didn't? If he does, I'm as much at fault as the doctor and agent.
"I know what you're thinking and you stop that right now, Tommy Oliver" Hayley scolds. "This is not your fault."
The Scotts are quick to try and reassure me as well, but it's really not helping. I let them think that it is, though and head back to Jason's room. The door is barely shut behind me when Zedd pulls me into his arms. "What's upsetting you, love?"
I shake my head. "You know how I am, mate."
He gives this some thought, apparently not sure what I mean - until Dar speaks up. "It's not your fault, brat. Shit happens. He's tough. He'll pull through."
I can feel Zedd's understanding even as I answer him. "I should have noticed before."
"Your mind was elsewhere" Zedd chides me softly. "You cannot do and see and notice everything, love. Please stop."
Dar sighs. "You know he won't until he knows that Jason is going to be all right. Would you or I or Jason be any different?"
"I guess not. Okay, try not to blame yourself, Thomas."
"Trying."
The longer it takes Pina and Dr. Hastings to return, though is making me more nervous. I start pacing. The new guard returns with word that Brady probably won't be back until much later - possibly tomorrow - but he'll call later to check in. As the guard returns to the door, Dar's head snaps up, a smile on his face. "I think Pina has good news. She's excited about something." Mentally, I cross my fingers.
Twenty minutes later, they come in with Jason's parents and Hayley in tow. "Sorry it took so long, but we wanted to speak to the surgeon that patched him up" Pina apologizes with a smile.
Impatiently, I demand, "What did you find out?"
Dr. Hastings steps in. "The surgeon's original notes regarding the surgery were tampered with, making his injuries seem much worse than they are. Don't get me wrong, they are still serious, but there's no reason to think that he won't make a complete recovery. In fact, the surgeon wasn't aware that Jason isn't awake yet. He should have been awake the day after surgery at least and that's what he was told - that Jason was awake and recovering well. That's also what the charts he'd seen said. Apparently, James has been altering the charts from the minute they landed in his hands."
"So - he's going to be all right?"
"There is absolutely no reason to think he won't. I'm going to oversee his case personally and the first thing I'm going to do is make some changes to his medications. He should wake up late today or tomorrow."
Relief races through me and I feel a little weak in the knees. I need a few minutes to pull myself together so I leave the room. I'm taking deep, calming breaths when I hear Zedd behind me. Softly, he says, "Come here, Thomas."
I quickly wipe my eyes before I turn and burrow into his chest. He rubs my back soothingly. Keeping my voice low, I admit, "I've been so scared that he wasn't going to make it."
"I know."
Surprised, I look up at him. "How did you know? I've been-"
"Keeping yourself under tight control. But, love, sometimes your face or just your eyes give you away. And you've been talking in your sleep."
"I have? What have I been saying?"
"Things like 'If you can survive what I put you through in the Dark Dimension, you can beat this'. Never mind I know how I'd be if it was Dar and the two of you are - if anything - closer than Dar and I are."
Having nothing to say to that, I hold him a little tighter. Finally, I say, "Thank you, again, for coming with me, Zedd. I don't know how I would have managed without you."
"You're strong, Thomas. You'd have managed if you'd had to." I stay in his embrace for a long time, grateful that he's here and allowing myself just a bit of optimism.
