It seemed to take forever for them to make their way past the security checkpoints towards the hospital which specially catered to Checkmate and similar agencies. It was a small and quiet facility but Ollie knew it was equipped with state-of-the-art medical equipment and some of the best doctors in the States--or at least that was what Martin had told him on the way.
Starke white walls and the standard hospital smell of alcohol and disinfectant assailed Ollie's senses as he and Dinah followed Martin into a small private waiting room where the young man instructed them to wait for him while he set off to fetch one of the doctors that were taking care of Roy.
Dinah tried hard to swallow back the fear that had formed a lump in her throat, but Ollie's relentless pacing was making her attempts to stay calm very difficult. The archer was agitatedly walking back and forth, pausing only to occasionally peer out of the doorway and down the corridor to see if some one was coming. The five minutes they had been there was beginning to feel more like five hours, and with each passing second the tension in the room increased, until finally, Ollie paused in his pacing and broke the painful silence with the beginnings of an angry, fear driven tirade.
"I can't believe this! What the hell was Checkmate doing? I thought these guys were supposed to professionals…."
"Ollie, they are professionals. The way Martin described what happened--it couldn't be helped, not unless Roy had turned his back on those people he…."
"He shouldn't have been there in the first place, dammit! He's little more than a kid for crying out loud!." the archer ran a hand roughly through his hair and spun to look out the doorway once more, still venting as he did so, "Damn! I taught him better then this, I taught him to be more careful…"
"Wait just a darn minute Ol…"
"I should'a never agreed to take him in when Brave Bow asked. Just look how much that one stupid decision stuffed up his life. This would never have happened if I hadnt…."
"Ollie…"
"Where the hell are they damnit?!" The archer stomped angrily out of the doorway. "Maybe I should just go looking for him…."
"No!" The tone Dinah used was enough to finally catch Ollies attention, causing him to stop in his tracks and look back. "That's enough. You aren't doing anyone any good behaving like this. This isn't anyone's fault, not Checkmate, not Roy's and not your's. Stuff happens Ollie, it's bad, it's horrible--but it's a fact that we can't predict these things." She moved to reach for his hand, her voice softening slightly as she tugged him back into the room. "Come and sit, Martin will be back soon. If you go wandering off….." The sound of two sets of footsteps approaching caught their attention and cut into Dinahs attempt to calm the archer.
"Thank god!" Ollie stepped aside to allow Martin and the doctor he was with to enter the room.
"Ollie. This is Dr Brian Weldon. Dr Weldon, Oliver Queen and Dinah Lance." Martin introduced.
The fair haired, middle aged doctor nodded and extended his hand, "Mr Queen…" his greeting was quickly interrupted by a stream of questions from Ollie.
"How is he? Can I see him? Is he…"
Martin stepped forward, the knowledge that time was of the essence pushing him to cut off Ollies words, "Oliver is…was Roy's…"
"Roy is my son." Ollie stated, then felt himself driven to explain more, "He was my ward but I consider him..."
"I understand." Dr Weldon nodded, indicating the chairs that sat along the rear wall of the waiting room. "Please take a seat Mr Queen and I'll endeavour to explain your son's condition to you both."
Ollie shook his head and made an agitated dismissive gesture with his hand. "I can't sit, darn it!." he flinched at the way his voice had raised in frustration and worry, then took a deep breath and deliberately forced himself to speak calmly. "How…how bad?"
"Roy is a very ill young man I'm afraid. I'd like to be able to tell you that in the few hours since Martin here left to find you, things have improved, but unfortunately that's not the case…"
"But he's going to be okay isn't he? That's what your telling us isn't it? That its bad, but he's holding in there, and…." the touch of Dinah's hand on his arm made him pause. He closed his eyes briefly, reaching up to take Dinah's hand in his in a subconscious move to draw on her strength before focusing on the doctors face, "You…you're not telling me that are you?"
"No Oliver, I'm not." Doctor Weldon replied softly, signaling Ollie once more to take a seat. This time the archer complied--pausing only a brief moment before allowing Dinah to guide him down into a seat beside her. The doctor pulled another chair over and sat facing the couple. Aware that Martin had stepped outside the room to give Ollie and Dinah privacy he began to explain what he needed to, "Roy has a number of injuries, the worst of which is a head injury that's extremely serious. When he was first brought in he was somewhat lucid…."
"He…he was awake?" Dinah asked, a dash of hope creeping into her voice. If Roy had been awake when he arrived then he stood a good chance of recovery--didn't he?
"He was semi-aware--slipping in and out of consciousness and able to respond to some verbal prompts…" Doctor Weldon sighed deeply, there were few jobs he hated more then having to break news like this to the family and friends of his seriously ill patients. "That was when he first arrived here. Unfortunately he quickly deteriated despite all our efforts to stabilize his condition. He has considerable swelling of the brain and weve been fighting to reduce that. Weve performed a procedure to remove a section of skull to allow outward brain swelling and we've placed Roy in an induced coma, but so far the intracranial pressure has continued to climb despite our best efforts." he was silent for a moment, watching as his words slowly sank through the haze of shock that shrouded the couple before continuing in a quiet, concerned voice, "I'm sorry, I'd like to be able to give you both some positive news but the situation your son is facing is extremely grave. There will without doubt already be damage to his brain that is almost certainly irreversible. If the pressure continues to increase there is a very strong likelihood that Roy isn't going to recover…."
"No!" Ollie snapped, jumping to his feet suddenly as the words finally registered through the shock. "Look, I know its bad, but hes a fighter. That kid is strong, stronger then even I realized. He's fought some tough battles in his life and…" his voice faltered as Dinah reached for him again, her own hand trembling as she took his, "T...tell em Dinah? He's strong." Ollie turned to look at her with pleading eyes--the anger that had helped keep him strong earlier having dissipated, chased away by a sickening feeling of dread that now gripped him.
"He is strong. Very strong--many men would not have survived this long." the doctor agreed quietly.
"Can I see him?" Ollie asked, swallowing hard past the lump in his throat.
"Both of us?" Dinah added quietly, squeezing Ollie's hand firmly and biting back the tears that were stinging her eyes. She wouldn't cry--couldn't, not yet. Ollie needed her to be strong--Roy needed her.
"Of course. You'll need to be prepared for what you're about to see though…."
Ollie listened blankly as the doctor began to describe what to expect when he saw Roy. Very few of the words registered in his dazed mind, all he could think about was getting to his son and seeing him with his own eyes, feeling as if being by the young mans side would somehow make things suddenly get better. He was distantly aware of Dinah clinging to his arm asking the doctor questions that he probably should be asking himself--questions that he couldn't even hear the answers to over the roaring in his head and the panic driven pounding of his heart.
Ollie felt frozen in spot as he stared at Roy's bruised, swollen face. The young man's head was swathed in bandages and around the bed machines and monitors beeped and purred as they worked to record vital signs and keep his boy alive. Tubes seemed to be coming out from everywhere and, in the background the repetitive whoosh of the ventilator could be heard. At the foot of the bed a young ICU nurse--who introduced herself as Jen', sat observing and recording the readings from various machines.
Ollie knew the explosion Roy had been caught in had caused even more damage to his son then was visible and he felt sick to think just how bad things really were. A multitude of cuts and bruises mottled the young mans face and torso--Ollie winced as he looked closer and noticed the small burns on his sons chest--he recognized the marks instantly and they only reinforced the cold fear that had settled over him--they'd already lost his son and brought him back again, the marks were distinctively caused from shock treatments used to restart his heart.
The archer let out a deep shuddering breath. He wanted to go to his son, wanted to tell him everything was going to be okay. Instead he found he couldn't move, all he could do was watch in numb silence as Dinah took his place, as always, there when he wasn't--when he failed.
"Boy-o. It's Dinah." Her voice broke a little as she took Roy's hand in one of hers. "I'm not sure you can hear me, but I'm here with you sweetheart. So is Ollie. We're both here for you." She brushed the back of her fingers gently over the young mans cheek, avoiding the worst of the bruised areas. "Doctor says you have to fight, red…" a stifled sob forced her to grow quiet for a second, breathing deeply until she regained control. "This is a tough one boy-o but I know you can beat it. I know you…We're going to be here all the time. We're sticking close by…" she looked up with red rimmed eyes and focused on Ollie for a moment. One look at his face and she could see the fear he was fighting. She held out her hand and beckoned him closer. After a moments hesitation he stepped forward to take the hand she offered. "Ollie's right here with me Roy…"
A reassuring squeeze from Dinahs hand finally broke through the numbness enveloping the older archer. "Yeah, I'm here son. Right beside you. Like Dinah said. " He stepped forward as Dinah moved back a little to allow him to come closer, and gingerly placed a hand on the redheads shoulder. "The doc says you have a battle on your hands here kiddo--but I told him you're up for it. Told him you're a fighter." he grew silent, watching the young mans still form for a long moment before turning to look towards the nurse. "Do you think he can….I mean if he's in a coma like the doc says…."
Jen smiled, understanding exactly what Ollie was trying to ask. "Some people are able to hear when theyre in a coma, but their circumstances usually differ greatly to Roys. Considering his injuries and the medication he's been given, it's doubtful he can. But Id like to think that he can sense you are there. Even if he cant understand what youre saying at least he might be calmed by the sound of a familiar voice" The young nurse said, offering and apologetic smile.
"I don't know if he can hear us or not Ollie, but if he can I want him to know we're here for him." Dinah said softly--moving around the bed so she was standing on the opposite side to Ollie and laying her hand on Roy's arm.
Ollie nodded hesitantly and turned back to study his Roy's pale face for a moment, before beginning to speak in a low conversational voice that seemed to carry far more strength then he actually felt inside. "These doctors kiddo, they don't know you the way I do, they don't know how freaking tough you are. You're gonna show 'em son. You're going to let them know exactly how damn strong you are. This isn't going to beat you kid." He looked away, studying the monitors displaying the readings of his sons vital signs--staring at the screen but not really seeing it at all. He closed his eyes as memories of smiling green eyes and the joyful laughter of a young boy dressed in red filled his mind--memories of better times for both of them, a time he had let slip through his fingers without ever realizing how important it was to him--how important his son was to him.
He'd failed this young man so completely--never let him know just how grateful he was to have had the chance to know him. Even after all the regrets he had for contributing to the bad that had happened in their past he still had never been man enough to tell his son just how he felt. He swallowed hard and looked back at the pale, bruised face that was so deathly still, some desperate force inside of him urging him to speak those thoughts out loud. He gently squeezed his sons shoulder, "You know kiddo, I never…I never did tell you how damn….."
Suddenly the young mans body jerked under the older archers touch, then stiffened and trembled as alarms began to sound, the shrill ringing sending Ollie's own heart racing. There was only enough time to catch Dinah's eyes--wide and fear filled just like he felt--before he was pushed to one side by the nurse, who was quickly joined buy a number of medical staff all rushing to the redhead's now violently spamming body.
"Whats-- Now wait a damn minute!" Ollie spat as he was unceremoniously shoved towards the end of the bed by a large male nurse, quickly hustling him towards Dinah who had retreated to stand a little distance away from the end of the bed to give the staff room to work.
"I'm going to have to ask you both to wait outside." The nurse stated, pushing them both to the doorway.
"The hell you are!" Ollie began, automatically pushing his way back towards his son.
"Please wait outside--we need room to work…" The nurse cut in, his voice rising firmly to be heard above the cacophony of alarms and instructions being shouted by the doctors.
"Look, bub, you've got two choices:" Ollie warned, standing nose to nose with the nurse. "You can continue to think that you can stand between me and my son, or you can get the hell outta my way before I beat you down so hard and so fast that you'll be lying in a bed of your own!"
Dinah sighed as the stand off between the two men continued, knowing if she didn't step in, and soon… Ollie'd make good on his promise, "Ollie come on…Ollie…" Dinah called, her entire body shaking with shock as she reached for the archer and began to tug him outside.
"No. I…" Ollie began, his heart pounding in his chest as he tried desperately to see his son through the crowd of medical staff working over him frantically.
"I know…"
"But I never got a chance…"
"He knows…" Dinah choked out, while pulling Ollie into her arms, "…he knows."
Ollie's frame stiffened for a moment before leaning into her embrace, allowing her to turn him from Roy's bedside as they both stumbled out into the corridor wide eyed and terrified. Even through the door the nurse had closed behind them the alarms could still be heard, taunting them--leaving them feeling overwhelmed with cold, numbing helplessness.
To be continued…