A/N - As always, than you all for the sweet comments. I am so happy you are all enjoying the story. Hopefully this chapter will satisfy some of you... Okay guys, the moment you have all been waiting for! Drew's memory procedure is in this chapter. Enjoy! ;)
Drew sat on the edge of the hospital bed, both his hands beside him lightly gripping the side. He had been waiting for what seemed like hours for the procedure to start. He was growing more than impatient as he sat there tapping his foot on the floor. Tired of just sitting there he gets up and walks over to the drawer where all his belongings were stored. He opens it up slowly and pulls out his phone from on top of the folded clothes. He taps the phone gently against his hand debating on whether or not he should check. Drew had turned his phone off so he wouldn't see the numerous calls or texts that he was sure would start coming through from people when they realized that he had gone off to do this by himself. He knew Monica would be worried and he did feel bad about that, she had lost so much and had to endure so many hardships that he hated putting her through more grief. He hesitated for a moment as his thoughts about Monica almost made him turn the phone on, but then he pulled back and placed the phone down onto the counter. He walked over to the window, where the late afternoon sun was beginning to completely fade out of sight. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Maybe just a quick text to her, to let her know I'm okay" Drew thought to himself. "I don't want her to worry." He declared quietly as he strolled back over to the counter and picked up the phone. He quickly pressed the button to power up the device and waved his hand around as if that would make the machine boot up quicker. Once the phone was powered up a big grin beamed across Drew's face as he saw his little princess. He felt a small pang of hurt in his heart when he thought of his little girl and how much he missed her. "Soon enough, baby girl, I promise," Drew cooed out softly as he rubbed his finger along the picture. Quickly changing gears, he pulled up his phone log. He chuckled to himself just a bit, "Sam figured it out," he quipped. There were 5 missed calls from Sam with 3 voice messages and 2 missed calls from Monica and she had left one voicemail. A half smile crept over his face. He hated that he had kept them in the dark on all of this but he didn't see any other way. He wanted to do this without being a burden to anyone and so he had to go it alone. Sometimes he felt it difficult to let people in anyway. He was used to handling things alone for so long, that letting others help him sometimes felt awkward and uncomfortable. Continuing to check out his phone he switched over to look at the text messages. Several from Sam, a couple from Oscar and one from Curtis. Thinking about what Oscar must be dealing with right now, Drew felt bad for just dropping out of his life with no explanation. He still felt like a father to Oscar, it would take a while to get over that. Concerned about what the texts might be about he pulled them up just to make sure Oscar was okay.
"Hey, Dad, haven't heard from you in a while. I hope you are okay. I don't care what KIM says, you'll always be my dad."
"Dad, just wanted to tell you, I love you. Talk soon."
A tear formed in Drew's eye thinking about Oscar and the bond he had formed with that kid. He grew angry thinking about Kim and how she destroyed everything with her lies. He hoped Oscar was taking care of himself and dealing with his illness on his own terms now that he had won emancipation.
Remembering that he would be taken to the procedure anytime, Drew quickly gets his focus back onto the task at hand. "Wonder what Curtis has to say?" Drew thought to himself, although he already suspected what it was.
"Hey man, sorry, I kind of let it slip to Sam about the flash drive. Hope you are doing okay, get back with me soon." Drew shook his head as he smiled and let out a little chuckle. "Oh Curtis, I knew you'd 'accidentally,' let that slip. Why do you think I didn't tell you anything? Plausible deniability, my friend," he snickers quietly.
Drew's eyes flash to the entry showing Sam's name. He wasn't sure if he should even read the texts from her. He wondered what they would say. He was guessing Sam was concerned based on the number of texts and calls, but he didn't know if he could read what she wrote. He then remembered that she had left voice mails. Oh, how the sound of her sweet voice would be such a comfort right now. He didn't know exactly why but he was beginning to have doubts about doing the procedure. He was worried about his daughter growing up with out him and him not being there for all of her important events. He needed some encouragement and suddenly felt he could get it from Sam. She always seemed to know what to say to help him through and he thought somehow, even though she wasn't there, she would have known just the right thing to say. Drew exited the text messages and scrolled over to the area to retrieve his voice mails. "Just one, he thought to himself, I'll just listen to one, just to hear her voice."
He pushed the button to begin the message and put the phone to his ear.
"Drew, Hi, it's me. I hope you get this message and that you are okay. I'm sorry that I wasn't here for you, or that you felt you couldn't come to me to help talk you through this situation. I told you I'd be there for you and I wasn't and I'm sorry. I want you to know, I understand what you are doing and I support you 100%. I only want you to be safe and to come out whole. I am worried about you, but I know you did what you thought was best. But you better be okay because Scout needs you and, and so do I."
She ended her scolding with a soft sigh. He was right. She new exactly what to say. Her voice was so gentle, sweet and caring. Drew suddenly was at peace with his decision again. Somehow, he knew everything would be okay knowing Sam was on his side. Lowering the phone from his ear and closing the voice mail he sat there for a moment staring at the phone. He recalled that night in his office at Aurora when he had asked Sam to wait for him to get his memories back before they got remarried. He remembered holding her hands and looking into her eyes, "We're meant to be, we're forever." Drew mumbled to himself quietly, recalling the words he had said to her. That statement seemed ingrained on his memory. He hoped it was, he wanted to remember Sam after this procedure, he wanted to be able to connect with his anchor again, oh how he longed for it. Suddenly, he could hear muffled voices coming down the hall. Monica! He abruptly remembered the whole reason for him checking his phone. He scrolled back to his text messages and pulled up Monica's name. Drew began quickly typing something out to try and send her some comfort.
"Hey Mom, I'm okay, try not to worry, everything will be okay. I love you, Drew."
After he hit send, he quickly turned the phone off and shoved it back into the drawer. He walked back over and stood up by the side of the bed. Whoever was outside had obviously been delayed as they hadn't breached the door yet. After a few seconds Drew heard the murmuring of the voices again and could hear them getting closer and closer.
"Hi, Mr. Cain," a stout orderly exclaimed as he strolled into the room with a second orderly and the same nurse from the day before.
"Actually," Drew calmly corrected the man, "it's Quartermaine. Drew Quartermaine." Drew smiled as the words left his lips. It rolled off the tongue nicely.
"Sorry, Mr. Quartermaine," the man shyly replied, "we are here to take you for your procedure. Are you ready to go?"
"I am most definitely ready." Drew declares. "I have never been more ready for anything in my entire life," he confidently retorts. Drew claps his hands gently and rubs them together. Walking over and climbing back into the hospital bed he shifts his hips until he reaches a comfortable position. The small quiet nurse begins going about her work, placing an IV in Drew's arm. She wheels the tall hospital tray over toward the side of the bed and laid out the medical supplies she had brought in with her. Drew feels a small twinge of nervousness creep up in the pit of his stomach, but as he does, he remembers Sam's words and how he had her support. Drew took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He closed his eyes and thought about Scout, Monica and Sam. He kept his eyes closed and his breathing slow and steady as a calm centered around him. He heard the orderly flip the brake up on the wheels of the bed and felt the bed began to move out of the room and down the hallway. Drew opened his eyes to see doorways and the windows of the other rooms whoosh by slowly. After several turns and a few long hallways Drew could see the double doors that led to the room where the procedure would take place. He saw Andre standing there holding several big folders in one hand and one single white envelope in the other.
"Hello Drew," Andre's voice boomed out. "Are you ready for this?"
"Hell, yes." Drew replies with sass.
"Okay, well, I have all my research here at the ready," Andre assures him, tapping on the folders. He then holds up the white envelope. "and this, this is the star of our show. This holds the old baseline of your memories." Andre says with a slight chuckle.
"Okay, well then let's get this show on the road," Drew quips. This was it, finally the moment he had longed for, for a year. Drew Cain, Quartermaine, was about to come alive.
Drew was wheeled into the cold sterile room where he could hear several machines whirling and beeping. The bed was rolled into position and locked into place.
The nurse came over to the bed and lifted the latch to move it from it's reclining position into fully horizontal. Drew shifted a bit to regain a comfortable position as he laid down flat. Several other medical personnel started buzzing around, preparing Drew for the impending process. He could feel a cold liquid being rubbed on the temples of his forehead and then medical leads being attached. A blood pressure cuff was placed on Drew's right arm and an IV pole with a medicine hanging from it was wheeled over. Andre moves into Drew's line of sight and begins to talk about the procedure.
"Drew," he begins calmly. "We are going to be giving you a very mild sedative. It will not render you completely unconscious, but will help you relax and feel calm. I will also be talking to you to help keep you very calm and relaxed. You will be in a hypnotic state when we begin the procedure." Andre explains. "I will continue to talk to you throughout the procedure. Again, you will probably feel like you are dreaming, but you will be conscious. You may have your eyes closed and appear to be sleeping, but it will only be a hypnotic sleep." Andre continues softly. "Once you are sufficiently calm, relaxed and as receptive as possible, I will place the electro-therapy band on your head." Andre holds up a flat, pliable piece of plastic about an inch wide with small dimples along it ever few inches. Inside the depression of the dimple Drew could make out tiny little microchips with wires poking out and little led lights blinking.
"This band will be what transfers the new baseline information from your brain to my waiting computer setup and then, once the old baseline and the new baseline are combined, the band will transfer it all back." Andre asserts calmly. Drew listened intently but, it all still seemed so unreal. How could you even put a person's memory on a flash drive? He guessed that didn't matter at this point, it had been done and it was about to be done again.
"Okay, Doc. I got it. Garbage in garbage out," Drew jokes, making light of the situation. Andre looks at Drew with a scowl, he wasn't amused by Drew's joke. "No, but seriously, I got it. Let's get started." Drew replies with a serious tone.
"Okay, we are going to begin to administer the sedative to you right now and you will become very relaxed," Andre says serenely. "Drew, I just want you to listen to the sound of my voice only. Block out all the other noises, only listen to me. I am going to count backwards from 5 to 1. Once I get to 1 you will be the most relaxed you can be and be in just a deep and peaceful sleep."
Drew took a deep breath in and stared up at the ceiling. He pictured Sam holding Scout as he began to feel the sedative start working. He could feel his eyes getting heavy and started to hear only Andre talking softly.
"I am going to start counting and you are going to begin to feel very relaxed, 5. As I continue to count you are just going to be more and more relaxed, 4. Right now you are only listening to the sound of my voice and my calm words,3. Just keep relaxing all the way down to the tips of your toes to the tips of your fingers. Just very, very relaxed, 2, so relaxed and blocking out all of the outside noises and distractions, there is only you and me in the room right now, so completely relaxed and as calm as you can possibly be and 1. Drew had his eyes closed and his head tilted to the side. His breathing was deep and slow and he appeared to be very relaxed.
Andre moved in close to Drew's face and spoke very softly, "Drew, can you hear me?"
"Yes, I hear you," Drew replies quietly.
"Good, good." Andre steps back easily as he moves over to the machine that would be used for the transfer. "Okay now Drew, I need you to just listen to my voice okay, remember, everything is okay you are safe and most importantly you are very relaxed."
"Yes, I know." Drew replies sleepily. Drew turned his head in the direction of Andre's voice.
"Okay Drew, as we talked about, I am going to place the electro-therapy band around your head, this is nothing to be concerned about it is perfectly fine and normal and this should in no way disturb you from your relaxing sleep." Drew let out a few muffled groans in agreement. Andre walked over and gently placed the band around Drew's head. When he clasped it closed the band lit up with red blinking LED's.
"The band appears to be working," Andre affirms. He took a deep breath and looked down at Drew with a bit of uncertainty in his face. "I sure hope this works, please God let this work." Andre pleads under his breath. After attaching the electro-therapy band Andre walks back over to the computer and types in a few commands. After his final command is typed, he pauses for a moment before hitting enter. He looks over at Drew one final time. "Here we go," he sighs nervously. He reaches his finger over and taps the enter key. The computer beeps and whirs as the program starts. Andre opens the white envelope and pulls out two separate flash drives, each marked 'A' and 'B.' He takes the flash drive marked, 'B,' into his hand. The 'B,' de-noted the 2nd baseline, or the memories from the last 5 years. Andre carefully places the flash drive into his thumb and fore finger and gently slides it into the computer slot.
This was it, within the next few hours he would find out whether or not his research was successful, would he make Drew whole again, or would he become worse off than he already was? They would soon find out.