Chapter 18

"Lee, have you heard any news?" Billy asked as he entered the Emergency Room waiting area where Lee was pacing frantically, watching the large double doors.

"No, they won't let me back there either!" Lee snapped as he threw his hand at the door. "And Nurse Ratchet over there keeps telling me to sit down."

Billy removed his hat and clutched it in his hand. He scrubbed his face with the other then gestured toward the hard-plastic chairs in the corner. "Maybe we should sit, and you can fill me in," he gently commanded. Lee exhaled loudly, glanced at the doors once more then slumped his shoulders as he followed Billy. He dropped into the chair, holding his head with his hands. Billy placed one hand on Lee's shoulder. "So, what happened?" Billy asked.

Lee lifted his head and blinked rapidly, trying to fight the tears that had welled in his eyes. "He was there," he began.

"Harborne? You're sure it was him?" Billy questioned.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I called his name and he looked right at me. Amanda was at the bottom of the stairs and when I drew my gun, he surprised me, and managed to get past me. I chased him down the hall and saw him jump the last few steps, hitting Amanda in the process. She fell, hit her head on the table, then the table fell on her. He slipped out the front and by the time I got to Amanda he was in the truck and gone," Lee explained.

Billy nodded then added, "On my way here, Francine confirmed a team was on their way to McCarthy's house."

"Good, good. I'm pretty sure he left his tools there so maybe they'll find something," Lee craned his head to look up at the ceiling.

"Mr. Stetson?" a male voice called from across the room. Lee's head snapped forward and his eyes focused on the doctor standing there. Lee and Billy rose to their feet as the man approached. "Mr. Stetson, I'm Doctor Javier Sierra. I'm handling your wife's case," he stated.

"How is she, Doctor?" Billy asked.

"She's still unconscious. We did take an x-ray and I don't see any fractures or areas of concern. Has she received a head injury in the past?" Doctor Sierra looked at Lee expectantly.

Lee looked to the side for a moment, thinking, then shook his head and confirmed, "Yes, about four years ago she had a concussion. She hit her head in a car accident."

Doctor Sierra nodded, "That may explain her slower response. You see, concussions have a way of compounding so even though it's been four years, her brain is still responding in a negative way. It is trying to protect itself by keeping her unconscious so it can heal without further damage."

Lee furrowed his brow, confused, "So what are you trying to say, Doc? Is she going to be okay?" He ran his hand through his hair nervously.

"Your wife will be fine, it's just going to take her a little longer to heal," the doctor explained. "Why don't you come back and see her for yourself."

Billy nodded with a blink of his eyes at Lee and said quietly, "You go. I'll call Francine and see if we can get an update."

Lee followed Doctor Sierra through the double doors he had been staring at for the last hour. They walked down the long corridor, side by side until they reached a small room on the right. The door was open although a curtain was blocking the view. Lee could hear Amanda coughing and gagging as they entered the room. He moved swiftly past the doctor, swiping the curtain aside. "Amanda," he breathed, rushing to her side.

Amanda was leaning to her side, wiping her mouth on a small towel the nurse had just handed her. The nurse moved to the tiny adjacent bathroom carrying a pink, plastic basin.

"Mrs. Stetson, it's nice to see you awake," Doctor Sierra stated. He moved to the opposite side of the bed from where Lee was now hovering over her and gently stroking her hair off her face. "Mr. Stetson, please, I'd like to do a quick examination of your wife but you're in the way."

"Oh, sorry," Lee muttered as he leaned back. He reached over and pulled the small plastic chair closer to the bed, sat down and held Amanda's hand as the doctor performed a short exam on Amanda, checking her pupil reaction, her ability to follow instructions. Amanda squinted as the doctor flipped on a small penlight.

"Doctor, that light is too bright," Amanda groaned, turning her head away from the light. She brought her hand to her head and touched the bruise on her forehead tenderly. "What happened? Did you get Harborne?"

"No, no I didn't but don't worry about that," Lee reassured her.

"Harborne?" the doctor mouthed at Lee, confused.

Lee held up one finger to silence the doctor as he asked, "Amanda, what do you remember from this morning?"

Amanda inhaled then exhaled slowly as she tried to get her thoughts focused. "We…we were fighting on the way to work this morning…" she said slowly.

Lee grimaced, "Yes, we were. Do you remember why?"

Amanda concentrated for a moment then replied, "Allowing Jamie to stay up late to watch the meteor shower tonight."

Lee nodded in confirmation, "Good, good. Yes, we were arguing about allowing Jamie to stay up late. What else do you remember?" Lee stroked her hand with his thumb as she breathed heavily again.

"I remember…I remember that man at HiCo…he wasn't being very cooperative," she continued. "But he did tell us about Senator McCarthy."

The doctor watched and waited, just listening to Amanda and Lee. He was unsure what Lee was doing.

"Senator McCarthy, right. Then we went to the Senator's house, do you know what happened when we got there?" Lee encouraged her, his thumb consistently moving along her hand.

Amanda reached up and touched her head once more, closed her eyes and tried to think. "We saw Harry…Harborne…he went upstairs and…and..." she trailed off.

"That's right, Harborne went upstairs and I followed him," Lee offered hoping he could trigger her memory.

Amanda groaned, "Oh… you went upstairs, and I heard you yell. Then thumping… like when the boys are running around when they're not supposed to…"

Lee chuckled at her comparison and nodded, "Yes, he was running."

"He ran down the stairs. I tried to stop him, stayed right there like you told me to but-" Amanda said quickly. She stopped abruptly and squinted her eyes trying to remember what happened next.

Doctor Sierra looked at Lee and smiled. "That's okay, Mrs. Stetson. You don't need to continue. I know what happened next. You hit your head on a table when the man knocked you down. Mr. Stetson told the ambulance driver as they brought you in. You did well, it doesn't appear as if you have any major memory loss." The doctor palpitated the tender spot on Amanda's head. "The swelling should go down in a day or so but I'm going to tell you to take it easy. Rest as much as you can. If light bothers you, keep everything dim but not dark. You'll need to go five days without any type of a headache. I will not suggest aspirin during this time as you do not want to mask the symptoms," the doctor explained.

"Can she go home, Doctor?" Lee asked, his eyes open wide.

Doctor Sierra looked from Lee to Amanda and said, "I'd just like to run a few more tests before we release her."

Lee glanced at his watch and stood up. "I'll need to arrange for someone to pick up our sons from school," he stated.

Amanda reached up to touch his arm. "The boys have clubs today. We have an extra hour," she reminded him.

"I know but I want to make sure. I'll see if Francine can get them," Lee stated. He didn't want her to worry.

"If you're sure..." she trailed off, closing her eyes again as another wave of nausea passed over her. She held her hand up and the nurse was beside her immediately holding the pink basin near her head. Lee grimaced as she retched and gagged once more.

"Doctor, is that normal?" Lee asked nervously.

"Absolutely. Your wife will most likely experience several different symptoms over the course of the next few days. The most obvious will be a headache and nausea however she could also display evidence of memory problems, weakness, numbness, dizziness, possible decreases in balance or coordination. She may present symptoms of confusion, slurred speech, and she may even have changes in her mood or behavior as well as sleep and excess fatigue," Doctor Sierra rattled off.

Lee nodded in understanding, leaned forward to kiss Amanda gently on the forehead and said softly, "I'll be right back," before he stepped out of the room.