For two hours Summer had sat next to her brother's bed in hospital, holding his hand tightly and waiting anxiously for any sign that he would wake up. He hadn't regained consciousness yet and his condition was still critical. He was still intubated and a respirator helped him breathing. He was also hooked to several monitors standing next to his bed and had an IV in his arm.
"His blood work finally came back." Dr. Michael Norton said quietly as he stepped into the room.
Without letting go of her brother's hand, Summer turned around to him. "What's wrong with him?" She asked while she watched him injecting something to the IV.
"He was poisoned. He probably inhaled it through his oxygen cylinder. You should get his equipment checked out." He paused a second. "This poison attacked his lungs, that's why he has trouble breathing. Fortunately we could identify the poison and have the antidote available. He should be back on his feet in a few days."
"Should be?" Summer asked afraid. She had hoped for a more direct answer. She wanted the doctor to tell her that her brother would wake up for one hundred percent sure and that he would be okay again.
"There is always the risk of side effects. It's too early to tell. But if he wakes up within the next 24 hours, he will be all right." Dr. Norton tried to calm her.
"24 hours ..." Summer whispered in a shaky voice. She had turned back to her brother and as there was nothing more for him to do here, Dr. Norton left the room.
XXXXXXX
For what seemed like the hundredth time, Al Giordino tried to reach his friend. He had no idea how he was supposed to tell him that his son, who he had promised to watch over while Pitt was in Washington, had been poisoned and was lying in a hospital right now, fighting for his life.
"Hey Al, what's up?" Dirk Pitt sen. had finally picked up his phone.
"Damn it, Dirk, where have you been?" Al barked. He was still searching for the right words to break these news to his friend.
"The meeting with the States Attorney took forever. I left my mobile in the car. What's wrong?" Pitt had heard the anxiety in Al's voice and he knew something had happened. Al Giordino didn't lose his calm easily and he didn't sound very calm right now. It had to be something bad.
"Dirk ... he's in hospital. He was poisoned." Al was waiting for a response. When he didn't hear anything, he asked quietly. "Hey Pitt, you're still there?"
"Yeah ... what ... how is he?"
"They gave him the antidote, but his condition is still critical. We have to wait the next 24 hours. How fast can you get here?"
"I take the next plane. Which hospital is he in?"
After Al had given him the address, Pitt ended the conversation, but not before he reminded his friend to call him should there be any change in his son's condition – either good or bad. The he rushed to the nearest airport.
XXXXXXX
A few hours later Pitt finally arrived at the hospital. When he stepped into his son's hospital room, he was shocked at Dirk's pale appearance. He swallowed before he turned to his daughter. "Summer ..."
At hearing her father's voice, Summer turned around quickly and seeing him finally standing right next to her, she threw herself into his arms. "Oh Dad ..." She choked between sobs. She had promised herself not to cry, but feeling her father's strong arms holding her tightly broke every dam inside her and the tears began rolling down her face.
"It's okay. He will be all right, I know he will." Pitt tried to comfort his daughter. He wished he could believe his own words, but seeing his son like this, he wasn't sure if he would pull through this.
"I didn't see him, Dad. I ... When I noticed that something was wrong, it was already too late. Had I only ..."
"This is not your fault, Summer. Don't do this to yourself. There was nothing you could have done." Pitt knew exactly who to blame for his son's condition. Hatch didn't want him to testify and this was his way to prove that he had meant his threat. But Pitt wasn't going to give in to those threats. He would testify and should his son didn't survive, there would be no place for Hatch to be safe – not even in prison.
XXXXXXX
Another 10 hours passed until Dirk showed the first signs of waking up. Summer had been close to losing hope to ever see her brother awake again, when she noticed a small movement of his hand. When she looked up, she could see that Dirk's breathing had become more heavily. He seemed to be fighting the respirator that was helping him breathing.
"Dirk? Dirk relax, everything's okay. You're on a respirator. Just let it breath for you. You hear me? Let the machines do the breathing." She tried to calm her brother.
Slowly the darkness around Dirk seemed to disappear. He could feel someone holding his hand. He tried to squeeze it, but it took too much of his strength and all he managed was a slight twitch. Then he noticed that he was breathing again. It took him a while to realize that air was coming into his lungs, but without him doing anything. He tried to get some breaths of his own, but no extra air came into his lungs. He started to get scared. How could he be breathing when he couldn't inhale air?
It took most of his strength but he eventually managed to open his eyes. He looked around in panic. He felt like he would suffocate any second. Then he saw his sister sitting next to him. She was talking to him. It took him a while but he finally understood what she was telling him and he began to relax and let the machines breath for him. He didn't take his eyes from Summer, as if seeing her was giving him the strength and the trust to pull through this. Whatever this was.
XXXXXXX
Relieved Pitt watched how his son opened his eyes and relax at hearing his sister's soothing words. He was amazed by the bond that was connecting his two children. He had known from the beginning that they were close, but this was a lot more. For the first time he realized what it meant to have a family. This feeling and the knowledge that his son would live almost overwhelmed him and he had to use all his willpower to hide the trembling when he took Dirk's other hand and squeezed it slightly.
When Dirk noticed someone else holding his hand, he slowly turned his head to the side. He almost expected his mother sitting next to him. But it wasn't her. It took him a moment to remember that his mother had died almost two years ago. His father had took her place. He managed to give him a small smile before he slipped back into unconsciousness.
"He's going to live, right?" Summer looked hopefully at her father. "Dr. Norton said that if he wakes up within the next 24 hours, he would be okay."
"Yes, he's going to live." Pitt said, as relieved as his daughter. "I better let the doctor know that he woke up."
Summer only nodded shortly, then she turned all her attention back to her brother. "I knew you would pull through this. You're a fighter, just like Dad." She said in a shaky voice. She could already feel the tears well up in her eyes again, but this time they were tears of joy and relief. She gently stroked Dirk's face before she wiped away the tears that had started rolling down her face. Should he wake up again, she didn't want him to see her crying.
XXXXXXX
When Pitt stepped out into the corridor, he leant against the wall with closed eyes and took some deep breaths. He had come so close to losing his son. He was still trembling and he wasn't sure if his legs would carry him much longer. He was close to giving in to this for him unknown weakness when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He opened his eyes and saw his friend Al Giordino standing before him.
"How is he?" Al asked worried. Seeing his friend's pale appearance – something he wasn't used of Dirk Pitt, who never was afraid of anything – he feared the worst.
"He just woke up for a moment." Pitt said in a trembling voice. "God, Al, I could have lost him. I hardly had a chance to get to know him and ..."
"He's gonna pull through this. He's your son. And no son of yours is going to die from such a little poison attack." Al said in an attempt to lighten up his friend. Dirk had woken up. That was good news.
"Right." Pitt gave him a small smile. "I'm just not used to feeling so helpless."
"I know what you mean."
"Well, I better find that doctor and tell him Dirk woke up."
"Why don't you go back to your children and I look for the doctor?" Al offered. He could see that Pitt wanted to get back into that room as quickly as possible.
"Thanks." Pitt replied grateful.
XXXXXXX
After Dr. Norton had checked Dirk's vitals and had assured himself that he was able to breath on his own, the respirator was removed. A few hours later Dirk woke up again for a short while.
"Hi, welcome back to the living." Summer smiled at her brother. She was beaming with joy at seeing his green eyes open again.
"Hi." Dirk replied in a weak voice. He looked around confused. "What happened?"
Summer let out a deep breath before she answered. "You were poisoned."
"What?" Dirk choked. If possible, he looked even paler than before.
"I don't know much more. Al went back to the Sea Spirit to look into it. But apparently someone put some poison in your oxygen cylinder. You inhaled it when you joined me while I was in the sub and lost consciousness." She paused for a moment. "When I saw you and you weren't moving, I ... I thought you were dead."
Even though Dirk was shocked at what he was hearing, he tried not to show it. He could see that his sister was scared, so he squeezed her hand, trying to comfort her.
"I'm still alive." He gave her a small smile. He struggled to stay awake. He didn't want to fall asleep again, he wanted to talk to his sister. He needed to assure her that he was all right. But he felt so tried, he didn't think he could keep his eyes open much longer.
Summer noticed his struggle. "It's okay. Get some rest. You'll need it."
"You're staying here?" He asked, his voice barely audible anymore.
"I'm not going anywhere." Summer assured him.
Relieved Dirk closed his eyes and fell back asleep.
Tbc
A.N.: Thanks so much for your reviews. I really appreciate them and they are very encouraging. :) I hope you like this chapter too. Thank you for reading.
