Philip and Scarecrow
Amanda is in the ambulance holding Philip's hand. She is crying and has blood all over her shirt and hands. Everything is a blur, she hears one of the paramedics reporting Philip's stats to the hospital and the ETA, and another one telling Philip to hang in there. They are hanging bags and cutting off his shirt attaching something to his chest. She can't think properly, all the words and names escape her. Even though she's had emergency training, she should know what they are doing. The ride seems like it's taking forever, but they pull up to the Georgetown Emergency Hospital in the bay area and two doctors open the doors to the back of the ambulance. One of the paramedics' yells at Amanda to get out of the way and assists the doctors getting the gurney out and rolls it to the ER room. The other one helps Amanda down and she numbly follows them to a private room. Amanda looks on, but then a nurse takes her away saying, "the doctor needs to examine him, and you are in the way. She helps Amanda to a chair and brings her a glass of water.
Meanwhile, Lee hides the shooter's gun in the trunk before taking Jamie with him to the hospital. His hands still bloodied, he throws his cell to Jamie and says, "please call your grandmother and tell her what happened". Lee while still in a state of shock, his instincts are kicking in. "Ask her to go to the house and get a change of clothes for your mother and me and bring them to the hospital.
Lee valets the car and both he and Jamie run to find where Amanda and Philip are stationed. The nurse points the way, but says, "you should have someone look at your hands. I can have an intern clean them up and determine if you need any stitches".
Lee protests at first, but Jamie says, "I'll go find mom, I'll stay with her and Philip"
Lee agrees as it will also give him some privacy to call Billy and tell him what happened. This wasn't random. An intern takes him to a private room and begins to clean up Lee's hands, but Lee stops him first. He says, "I was in a fight with a suspect and his DNA may be on my hands. Please take samples before you do anything else". The intern leaves to find a DNA kit. Lee calls Billy, his voice starts shaking, "Billy, this is Scarecrow. I don't have much time before the intern comes back but listen. Someone shot Philip about 40 minutes ago. I haven't been able to see him yet, so I don't know his status. But this was a hit. I chased after the guy and beat him up, but he got away. His gun is in the trunk of my car and I'm having an intern do a DNA test on my hands. I want you to pull whatever strings you can to get control of that kit. We were walking back to my car, so I don't know if it was intended for me or to send a message, but I want that bastard found. I…", his voice trails off as the intern has returned. "I have to go. I'll update you later. Please do whatever you can".
"Mr. Stetson, I have the kit you requested, I will need to swab your hands and then send it off to a lab", the intern says. Once the DNA has been collected, the intern washes Lee's hands and inspects them for any cuts, but only finds abrasions and bruises. He wraps them up in gauze and starts reciting how to care for his hands when he gets home, and he can write a prescription if Lee is in any pain.
Lee interrupts him and says, "give me the sheet to care for my hands, I don't want any drugs and I'll sign a release. I need to find my family and see my son". The intern hands over the sheet and a release form. Lee leaves heading in the direction of the emergency room.
Amanda is still waiting for the doctor to come out when Lee finds her. He runs to her and holds her tight. He leans down and hugs Jamie thanking him for sitting with his mother while they looked at his hands.
A nurse comes out and says, "the doctor will be out soon, but you may be more comfortable in these". She provides a pair of scrubs for Amanda and Lee to change into. They wait until the doctor comes out with news on Philip before changing.
The doctor introduces himself, "Mr. and Mrs. Stetson your son is very lucky. The bullet grazed his skull but there is swelling. We had to put him into a medically induced coma giving his brain to heal and reduce the swelling. I recommend you get cleaned up and wear the scrubs you were given. His room is in a sterile environment and you will need to wear a gown and gloves before entering".
Jamie says, "I'll sit with him while you get cleaned up and I'll call grandma again, telling her where she can find us".
Amanda gives a sigh of relief but also is concerned about the coma. Lee holding her upright almost carries her to the universal shower. He goes in with her and helps her strip out of her clothes and helps her into the shower, washing all the blood off her. He helps her into the scrubs and sets her down on the chair and takes a shower himself. Slowly he holds her and walks her back to Philip's room. Jamie is already in there wearing a gown and gloves and carefully holds his older brother's hand. Amanda can see he is fighting back the tears.
Amanda is numb when her mother finds her and gasps. She runs to her daughter and holds her tight. Lee is putting on a gown, puts sanitizer on his hands and then sterile gloves. He slowly walks into the room, putting his hand on Jamie and says, "can I sit with him for a while? Your grandmother and Curt are here, and I know your mother needs you". Jamie nods and leaves the room so his father can sit with Philip.
Jamie finds everyone and sits next to his mother wrapping his arms around her. Dotty puts her hand on his shoulder. Amanda begins to hypervalent and puts her head between her legs. Curt runs to get her another glass of water.
They ask what happened and Amanda starts rambling making no sense, so Jamie interjects and says "Philip was shot, at first I thought it was a drive-by, but dad took off after him. He was crazy brave".
Amanda puts her hand on Jamie's hand giving him a look to be quiet. She doesn't want to field any questions about why Lee went after the guy instead of staying with her and Philip. She says, "I think Lee wanted to catch the guy who did this. He didn't want him to get away. He wasn't thinking about the gun but wanted to find him and hopefully bring him to justice". She knew this was a hit and Lee was going to do everything in his power to catch the guy.
Lee comes out of the room and asks, "Amanda, do you want to see him? Maybe you can sit with him for a while. I'm going to try and get more information from the doctors".
Amanda heads towards Philip's room, puts on a gown, some hand sanitizer, and vinyl gloves. She sits by his bed, placing her hand on his. His head is bandaged, and he has some abrasions on his face from when he hit the pavement. Tears run down her face and all she can think of is "enough. I can't do this anymore. I don't want to risk anyone else coming after my family". She will leave that up to Billy and Lee, but she intends to sit by Philip's side until he wakes up.
The doctor comes into the room and says, "Mrs. Stetson, you should get some rest. It may be a long time before your son wakes up". Amanda doesn't want to leave. The doctor continues, "I have spoken to your husband, but I would like to update you on Philip's status and what to expect when the swelling has gone down, and we wean him off the drugs from the medical coma. It may take a while before he wakes up after that. I'm optimistic, but there is a small chance he won't wake up at all. There is nothing you can do for him until we withdraw his medicine. We will let you know when that happens". He leads her out of the room.
Dotty tells Amanda, "I know this is not the best time or something you should be concern about, but I turned off the warmer off on the roast. Also, as we were leaving one of the parents dropped off your car from the practice field before I let the house".
Lee finds an empty exam room and calls Billy again. Billy doesn't have any new information in the 45 minutes from Lee's last call, but that is not the reason why Lee called. "Billy, is there any way you could put a guard on Philip's room without anyone knowing; especially Jamie or Amanda's mother?"
Billy responds, "I am already working on that. Also, Francine is on her way to retrieve the gun from your car. We may be able to trace the serial number, but I suspect it was stolen or unregistered. Hopefully, we can get fingerprints from it. Also, we are working on getting the DNA sent to our labs".
Lee responds, "I appreciate everything you are doing and please tell Francine to come and see Amanda after she borrows my keys. I think it would mean a lot to her".
Francine arrives and Lee hands her his keys. She retrieves the suspect's gun and puts it in an evidence bag, before leaving it in her car. She returns to the waiting area and hands Lee's keys back to him. Amanda is sitting outside Philip's room and fidgets, playing with her hands. Francine sits with her and holds her tight. Eventually, Francine must go home.
Several days later Philip is still in his coma and while Amanda doesn't want to leave his side, her mother and Lee spells her so she can get something to eat and shower, but Amanda does not want to go home. She gets a cot and sleeps in it next to him. Dotty takes care of Jamie and brings him to the hospital at least once a day.
During her downtime Amanda has written her resignation, saying "I want to focus on my family, and I am unable to deal the danger anymore".
When Billy receives the letter, he is disappointed but understands and puts it in a file in case Amanda changes her mind, but he knows she won't
About 10 days later, the doctor sits down with Lee and Amanda and says, "I'm going to try to bring Philip out of his coma. The swelling had gone down in his brain and it will be a waiting game before the medicine leaves his system. It could take a few hours or a few days. The main concern I have is his cognitive functions. We will need to do some testing and he may need rehab. I'm not trying to scare you, but I want you to be prepared for when he wakes up."
Lee holds Amanda as the doctor delivers the news. Lee says, "I am optimistic; everything will be fine. You need to stay positive too", as he wipes the tears from her face.
Lee finds out who shot Philip and Billy says, Scarecrow you are too close to this. Francine and I can track down and find this guy. Don't do anything you will regret and don't do anything that could prevent you from being with your family. I know the local police may not be able to find him but leave the tracking him down to us. Scarecrow, stay away from this"
Lee responds, "like hell I will. You know I can't do that Billy. This man almost killed my son. I don't care what it takes, but I will bring him down".
Billy replies, "I figured you would say that. His name is Frank Danko. He has several wants and warrants. Here is his last known address. I suggest you see Amanda and your family before you do anything.
Lee visits Amanda at the hospital and sits with her and Philip. Jamie and Dotty are sitting outside. Philip begins to stir. Lee scrambles to find the doctor. He says I think Philip is waking up.
Amanda says, "honey can you hear me?" She squeezes his hand. "Please if you can hear me, squeeze my hand". She feels a slight squeeze. Lee and the doctor arrive, and she happily says, "he squeezed my hand".
The doctor says, "let me examine him". He takes his penlight and opens Philip's eyes and check his pupils and his pulse. "Can you hear me, Philip? Can you open your eyes?"
Philip's eyes flutter open and they adjust to the light.
The doctor continues his examination. "I want you to squeeze my fingers with both of your hands". Philip responds by squeezing the doctor's fingers. "Do you understand me?" Philip squeezes his fingers again. "Can you speak?" Philip opens his mouth and tries to form some words, but has some difficulty saying anything. "That's okay", the doctor says. "It may take some time". He turns to Amanda and Lee and says, "this is good news. It appears there is no major cognitive function. It may take him a while to speak again, but physical therapy will help". He says, "Lee could you get a glass of water and a straw. I want to see if Philip can sip some water".
Lee brings the water to the doctor and sits down with Amanda holding her hand.
The doctor says to Philip, "I want you to try and drink some water. Sip it, don't try to drink it all at once". He puts the straw to Philip's lips, and he takes a sip. "Good the doctor says. I will have a nurse check on you every half hour and give you some more water."
He turns to Lee and Amanda and says, "you can sit with him for a while and talk to him, but he will need his rest. I suggest you do the same and come back in the morning. Philip your parents have been here every day, but I want you to get some rest. I'm sending them home, but you won't be alone. A nurse or I will check on you every half hour".
Lee to Jamie, "I have good news, your brother has come out of his coma. He is alert but he will need some physical therapy. Amanda, I want you to go home with Jamie".
Amanda protests, but Lee convinces her and says, "it is the best thing to do, besides there is a guard nearby at all time". Lee takes her and Jamie home and he puts her to bed. "I want you to stay with your mother, maybe you can get her something to eat. I'll take both of you to see him in the morning. I have something I need to do, but I will back before you go to bed".