Another update! Thank you SOOO much to those that left a review/reply; the very much keep me motived to write while the inspiration has struck! Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, lol...I do attempt to conduct some research when writing, but if there's anyone out there reading this who has more medical experience than I do, please forgive me, lol.
Chapter 22
He climbs out of the back of the ambulance, following the gurney into the hospital. They had to administer more epinephrin on the way in an attempt to keep her airways open. Whatever Weld had done to her, she was in severe anaphylactic shock.
The ER team is waiting for them and they don't question him when he joins them in the ER. Grabbing hold of the blanket beneath her, Sam helps the nurses and paramedics move her to a bed.
"I need 40 cc's of glucocorticoid," he instructs, getting to work on switching out her IV. The nurses work seamlessly around him and it's about the only time he's felt sure of himself during this entire ordeal. "I also need someone to find me the patients lab results-"
"-the labs been backed up, Dr. Radford-"
"-I'm well aware of that however this patient has been waiting for her results for weeks;
she almost died today from waiting," he responds impatiently.
The room is silent and one of the nurse's volunteers, heading to the lab. Another nurse situates an oxygen mask over Cassie's face, and he adjusts the drip feeding into her IV. He's watching her vitals, watching as her oxygen levels rise, her blood pressure steadily stabilizes. He hadn't had the time to conduct a search for any other injuries in the ambulance, and he takes a few minutes inspecting her scalp, neck and shoulders. When he doesn't detect anything, he moves to her arms and hands. Her left wrist is slightly swollen compared to the right, and both palms are scraped. Checking her legs, he finds both her knees scraped from what he can assume is from bracing a fall.
He inhales deeply, exhaling audibly. "I need a full body CT scan, and an EEG; it's uncertain how long the patient was without oxygen."
"Right away, Dr. Radford."
Searching the cabinets and drawers he finds a pen light, and he carefully lifts her eyelids, testing her pupil's response. They dilate normally and he can feel his chest tighten with relief. He kneels by her bed side, taking her hand in his.
The ER is bustling with commotion and noise and he just needs it to be quiet. The blood rushes in his ears and his heart has yet to stop racing. His thoughts are scattered and yet hyper focused at the same time and he's already diagnosed her with a half a dozen things and he just needs it to be quiet.
To still.
Slow down.
Holding her hands to his lips, he closes his eyes, taking a deep breath.
Breathe, Radford.
Keep it together.
Stay calm.
"Dr. Radford?"
He rises to his feet, wiping his eyes quickly.
"The patient's family is in the waiting area. They've been asking for you." He nods despite the lump that's formed at the back of his throat.
...
As he makes his way to the waiting area, he realizes he's still in his suit from the event. He stops for a minute just to look down at his clothes.
They're wrinkled and he's more than disheveled.
Undoing his collar, he loosens his tie.
George, Grace, Abigail, Brandon and Tara come into view and he's relieved to see Nick sitting among them. He's the first out of his seat and Sam catches him in his arms as he barrels into him. He's not sure who's hugging who, but he holds his son tightly, grounding himself.
"Sam?" Grace calls softly.
Nick pulls away and he clears his throat in an attempt to dislodge the lump settled there. "She went into severe anaphylactic shock," he begins. "She's stable right now; we've managed to open her airways and her oxygen levels, her blood pressure is stabilizing."
There's a collective sigh of relief.
"What caused the anaphylaxis?" Brandon questions.
He shakes his head. "I'm not sure. Cassie had blood work done weeks ago for other allergy type symptoms. I'm trying to get those results now."
"Can I see her?" Grace asks.
He clears his throat, willing his voice to remain even. "She's gone for some more tests right now, but the minute she's moved to a room, I'll come get you."
Grace nods, wiping her eyes and he reaches for her, pulling her into his arms. She hugs him back tightly, before pulling away. "Thanks Sam."
He kisses the top her head, not trusting his voice.
"I should..." He clears his throat. "...get back."
They all nod, thanking him. He turns to head back to the ER and Abigail follows him, stopping him short of the double doors.
"Ok, so what is it that you're not telling us?" She questions.
He looks down at his shoes, placing his hands on his hips before meeting her gaze. "She wasn't breathing when I got to her. I'm not sure how long she was without oxygen for."
Tears well in Abigail's eyes, and she quickly wipes them away. "Do you think she may have sustained brain damage?"
He shrugs, shaking his head. "I've ordered a EEG-" "-how long will that take?" She questions impatiently. "-they're backed up-"
"-is there anything in this hospital that isn't?!"
The rest of the family turns their attention towards them, and he opens the double doors, gesturing Abigail through to the other side. "Let me do my job- "
"-that line may have worked if your worry wasn't coming off you in waves, Sam," she comments.
"Of course I'm worried," he reasons. His grip on his emotions slips, unravelling just a bit. "The love of my life is lying unconscious back there in a hospital bed and I'm ordering tests and rushing results and nothing seems to be moving goddam fast enough!" He snaps. He closes his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose, inhaling. "I'm trying, Abigail."
She tugs his hands away from his face gently. "I know you are." She surprises him, pulling him into an embrace. He welcomes it.
...
"Martha, you're hovering."
Placing her pocketbook on Derek's desk, Martha makes herself comfortable. "Of course I'm hovering!" She replies indignantly. "My constituents deserve swift and acting justice- "
Derek rests his hands on his hips. "-do you think we'd handle this case in any other manner?...This is Cassie we're talking about... you know what Jake meant to us all here."
Sighing, Martha nods. "I apologize."
Derek gathers files and papers from his desk. "We've complied more than enough evidence; Weld isn't walking away."
As Derek heads towards the interrogation room, Martha quickly follows. "Martha, I can't let you in the interrogation room," Derek beings.
"I understand; I'd like to watch from our here," she compromises.
Derek nods, before letting himself into the tiny room. He acknowledges his officer standing in the corner before taking a seat across from Weld at the small table he's handcuffed too. He takes his time spreading the security photos of him vandalizing The Bell Book and Candle and the ones taken of the items found in the trunk of his car.
"We have more than enough evidence for a conviction. Once our forensic team is done with Grey House, and we receive Cassie's official report from the hospital, you'll be going away for a very, very, long time."
Weld leans back in his chair. "Is this the part when you expect me to deny it? Or to beg and plead for leniency?"
"It wouldn't matter what you said," Derek retorts.
A slow smile spreads across Weld's lips. "I got what I came for."
Pulling a small evidence bag from his pocket, Derek holds it up the bagged key in front of him. "You mean this?"
Weld's face shifts almost immediately.
"It fell out of your pocket in the back of my cruiser," Derek explains. "Now, I'm not a betting person, but if I was, I'd bet this key is for that safety deposit box down at Middleton Bank. Which is in Cassie's name."
Weld's jaw jumps.
"So here's what you're going to. My officer over there," he nods towards the corner. "Is going to take your statement. And you're going to tell him everything, including what you gave Cassie, and where you found this key."
The officer approaches the table, setting an audio recorder, pen and paper on the table. With a reluctant look between the two of them, Weld pulls the pad of paper towards him.
...
Sam takes his time heading back into the ER. The look on Abigail's face lingers with him, and he can't shake his own fear of Cassie's diagnosis. There are a million different complications that come with prolonged oxygen deprivation and it's crippling to think of what her life might be like as a result.
"Dr. Radford?"
He turns to meet one of the nurses, Jesse, who's handing him a small stack of files.
"I tracked down your patient's lab results. I also rushed the EEG results and the CT scan showed a slight fracture in the patients left wrist. Updated blood work should be ready in 30 minutes."
He exhales, taking the files from them. "Thank you."
The nurse nods. "Cassie helped my mother just before she passed away... some herbal mixture she gave her that helped her rest... there's a lot of folks around here rooting for her."
His throat tightens, and he wipes his eyes quickly. "Let us know if you need anything else?"
"The family..." He clears his throat. "... they're in the waiting area. Could you get some coffee sent out?"
"Sure thing, Dr. Radford."
He takes the files to the nurse's station, looking at the results from the blood he had drawn in his office weeks ago. All it takes is a quick glance to discern there are markers for an allergy. The lab has identified it as a type of oil and his mind begins working out how she could have come into contact with it.
Flipping to the EEG, he exhales, relieved that they have come back with no signs of abnormality. The fracture found on the CT scan is hairline and should heal with a splint in a few weeks. He's about to call the lab for the new blood work, when he catches Derek coming down the hall out of the corner of his eye.
He approaches the nurse's desk, leaning over it. "How's she doing?" "She's stable," Sam answers.
Derek sighs, handing him the file in his hands. "I can't give the entire confession, but here are the parts you'll want to know."
Sam accepts the file, reading through it.
"Weld confessed to using some type of oil...caraway?...apparently, it's common in soaps, perfumes... even breath freshener. He was in Grey House, slipped it into the candles in Cassie's bedroom, left the actual flower in her kitchen," Derek explains.
The dots start to connect. The flowers he was asking Abigail for. The nausea, rash and other allergic reactions she had. He'd bet Weld had it on him in every interaction he had had with Cassie, making her reaction stronger each time.
"I'll get our allergist to test for it. Thanks, Derek."
"No problem... we'll hold him over night. He'll be transferred in the morning to state police. DA's already chomping at the bit to get him in court."
Rubbing the back of his neck, Sam rises to his feet. "Let's hope justice will be served." "It will be," Derek reassures.
...
Nick watches Abigail pace the waiting room and he's sure that if she makes one more lap, her stilettos will wear the floor. He looks over at Grace who's sitting beside him. She's chewing her nail, her brows furrowed together.
He's not going to ask her if she's ok, because it's clear she's not, but he needs to say something. Do something. "Do you want something from the vending machine?"
She snaps out of her thoughts, looking at him. "Uh...I dunno..." Chips? Candy?" He offers. "Chocolate?"
She perks a little at the mention of chocolate and he's already rising from his seat. "I'll be right back."
She nods, and he heads towards the elevators, knowing that the best chocolate bars are 3 floors up on the pediatric ward. It takes a minute for the elevator to come back down to his floor, and he steps inside punching the button to take him upstairs.
The pediatric ward is quiet and tries not to make any noise as he heads to the vending machine. He buys as many chocolate bars as he can with the handful of change and singles he had in his wallet, before returning to the elevator.
Nick's about to press the button to bring him back down to the waiting room, only he hesitates. He can't shake the way his father had hugged him so tightly earlier, the way he looked like he had aged ten years. Making a split-second decision, he exits the elevator heading towards the stairs. He knows this hospital like the back of his hand and knows that the stairs connect to the back of the ER.
He slips into the ER as inconspicuously as he can. It's busy and noisy and as he weaves his way through nurses and patients, he tries not to peer into any of the draped off cubicles. He spies his dad sitting at the nurse's station and he looks so out of place: he's still wearing his suit from the event, only he's rolled his sleeves up to his elbow, loosened his tie.
Nick approaches the desk, and his father is so engrossed in the files in from of him, he doesn't even notice. "Dad."
Sam looks up, and it takes him a minute to register Nick standing there. "Nick...what are you doing here? Is everything ok? Are you ok?" He closes the files, rising from his chair to come around the counter.
His dad is in full on panic mode and his mouth goes dry. "I'm fine," he reassures. "I just wanted to check on you...you want a chocolate bar?" He holds out the handful of bars he had gotten from the vending machine.
Sam deflates a little, shaking his head. "No thanks, pal. But I appreciate, I really do." "Are you ok?" Nick questions back.
His father's face changes for a brief second, his brows furrowing, his jaw setting. It's a brief second, and he rolls his shoulders, slipping back into the calm, collected father he's seen all too often. "Yeah... I'm fine. I'm ok."
Nick doesn't necessarily believe him, and he gives him a skeptical look. "Level with me?"
Sam smiles, pulling him into his arms. It's another tight hug and Nick hugs him back just as tightly. "I love you, Dad." Nick can feel his father's chest rise and fall as he inhales deeply.
Steadying himself.
Nick hugs him tighter.
HIs father cradles the back of his head and kisses his curly hair. "I love you too, pal."
HIs voice is more than strained and Nick pulls back just as his dad wipes his eye quickly. "Dad-"
"-I'm ok," Sam reassures, gripping his shoulder. "It's just been... a long night," he justifies. "Look, you better take that chocolate back to Grace before she starts wondering where you are."
Nick nods, wiping at his own eyes quickly. "yeah...ok."
"I'm ok. Promise."
...
Grace studies Nick closely as he settles back into the chair beside her. "Everything ok?" "Yeah... I guess." He drops the chocolate bars into her lap, digging out his phone.
"Did you want one?" She asks.
He shakes his head, already focused on whatever he's doing on his phone. "I'm good."
She helps herself to the M&M's, leaning back into her chair to try and steal a glance at his phone. He's scrolling through web searches on PTSD.
"Nick?"
He looks over at her, turning off his phone. "Yeah?"
Grace gives him a look and he shakes his head.
"It's nothing... are you going to eat this?" He questions, reaching for the Mars bar in her lap.
"What's going on?" She questions. "Talk to me."
"It's nothing, Grace," he brushes off, filling his mouth with a large bite of chocolate. "Let it go."
...
His hands are shaking. They haven't stopped.
Gathering the files from the desk, he searches for any doctor that's on call. He spies Dr. Samir just as he exits a patient's cubicle. "Ahmad," he calls.
Dr. Samir turns, stopping. He smiles towards him. "Long time no see, Radford. You're a little over dressed for rotation, don't you think?" He gestures to his clothing with the charts in his hand.
"It's a long story...do you have a minute?"
Dr. Samir's brows furrow, nodding. "Just a minute."
Sam follows him into an empty exam room closing the door behind him. "I need your help." He holds out his hands, showing him the trembling he's yet to get under control.
Dr. Samir's concern deepens. "What happened, Sam?"
He shakes his head. "You don't have the time for me to explain... please, just..." He pauses, taking a deep breath. "...something to make it stop."
It's a minute before Dr. Samir takes hold of his wrist, feeling for his pulse. "Your heart is racing, Sam..."
"I know... If you only knew the night I've had."
"I don't think I want to know," the Dr. comments. He reaches into the pocket of his coat, pulling out his prescription pad. "One dose," he reasons. "Promise me you'll see a doctor, Sam."
He's well aware that he's showing signs of shock. The paramedics has insisted that he see a Doctor in the ER, but he refused. It would do no one any good if he was lying in the bed next to Cassie.
"You have my word."
...
Adam Hawkins hadn't been in Middleton long, but he's quickly learned the ins and outsof Hillcrest Hospital. To say he was surprised to see Dr. Radford walking the halls in formal wear would be an understatement. He had heard how he had been let go as chief of staff, and from what he had also heard around the hospital, much of the staff were displeased with that decision.
He looks more than disheveled and a little distressed, and if he had known the Doctor a little better, Adam might have approached him to see if everything was alright.
Adam watches and Dr. Samir claps Dr. Radford on the back, before Dr. Radford heads towards the pharmacy. Leaning over the nurse'sstation, he rubs his bottom lip. "Hey Jesse?"
The young nurse looks up at him from the paperwork they'd been filling out. "Yeah?" He nods towards Dr. Radford. "Dr. Radford's not on the schedule... why's he here?"
"I forget sometimes you're new here," Jesse comments. "Dr. Radford came in with the patient in cubicle 2, Cassie Nightengale."
Adam had heard the name a few times since moving to Middleton buthadn't had the opportunity to meet her. "She owns that shop on main street, right?"
"Yeah, the Bell Book and Candle... apparently,something went down at that event atthe museum tonight."
Adam recognizes it now: he's watching a man in love that'sspiraling. He nods. "I see...thanks."
The nurse nods, turning back to their paperwork.
Dr. Radford retrieves whatever he'd requested from the pharmacy, and Adamapproaches him just as he takes whatever was in the bottle, swallowing. "Dr. Radford?"
Sam looks over at him. It takes him a minute to register him. "Adam Hawkins? The new Chaplain?"
Adam nods. "I'm also the new physiologist that was hired."
"Two birds, one stone, huh?...Well, welcome to Hillcrest...If you'll excuse me-" "-actually Dr. Radford, I was wondering if you had a minute."
"For?" Sam questions."Just to talk," Adam offers. "You look like you could use an ear."
Tbc
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