Sorry for the cliffhanger guys, but I have to keep you guys wanting more! haha.
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Matt stared out the front window a few hours later as Nick and Jake finished scrubbing the floor, trying to get rid of the stains that embedded themselves in the floor. They wanted to try their best to get rid of anything that reminded of them of what happened earlier in the day.
The radio was turned on, and occasionally they could hear someone contacting another boat trying to find out if they heard anything that had happened onboard the Northwestern, but nobody was brave enough to ask them themselves. The guys were grateful for that, since they were not ready to talk to anyone about the events.
It was then that they heard Sig enter the room, his eyes bloodstained, but he looked like he had just gotten out of the shower.
"Hey." The three of them said quietly, watching him.
"Let me take over." Sig said, waving Matt out of the captains seat. Matt did as he said, and Sig sat down, rubbing his face.
"Can you guys leave me alone for a moment? I need to call June."
"Yeah, definitely." Nick said, then the three of them left the room quietly.
Sig took a deep breath, and then picked up the satellite phone and dialed home. He sat back and waited for someone to answer.
"Hello?" Mandy answered the phone.
"Hey baby girl. How are you?" Sig asked, trying to sound as happy as possible.
"Hi Dad. I'm good. Getting ready to go out with some friends. Want to talk to Mom?"
"Yes, please." He said, lighting a cigarette.
"Hey honey. How are things up there?" June asked when she got on the phone.
"Can you get away from the girls? I need to talk to you." He said.
"What's wrong?"
"Not in front of the girls."
Confused, June walked out of the living room and into her room and shut the door.
"What's going on Sig?" June asked.
"I need you to fly up to Anchorage and go to the hospital. Joelle is there, and you will probably make it there faster than we will."
"What do you mean Joelle is there? What happened?"
"She collapsed on deck and a wave came over at the same time she went down and she was bleeding. She wasn't breathing at one point, and I don't even know if she made it to the hospital or not."
"What were they doing out there if the waves were that bad?"
"Yes, June, let's make me feel worse than I already do. I already feel like shit as it is. Can you please just fly up. Leave the girls with Linda. Please don't tell them anything until we know more."
"Fine. I will call you after I get there."
"Thanks."
"And Sig, please hurry up."
"I'm going as fast as the engine will take me."
June hung up the phone and Sig set the phone back where it belonged. He stared out the front of the boat, the weather still bad, but not as bad as earlier, the time dragging on.
"Northwestern, this is the Wizard. Pick up if you hear me Sig."
Sig immediately thought of Crosby, and how he had no clue as to what was going on at that point. It took everything in him to pick up the radio to answer Keith.
"Go ahead Keith." Sig said into the radio, his voice cracking.
"Is she alright?" He asked.
"I don't know." Was all he said, taking a drag of his cigarette. "Does he know?"
"No, I figured I would tell him when I knew more, or when we were heading in. Whichever was first."
"Smart. No need to worry him until it is time."
"What happened?"
Sig sighed, then proceeded to tell him what had gone on earlier in the day. Keith was quiet as he listened, and couldn't help but think that Joelle didn't make it. He didn't see how someone could after all of that, but didn't say what he was thinking to the worried skipper.
"As soon as I know something, I will definitely let you know. I don't want to leave this up to you, but if you could tell Crosby, that would be great. I just don't have the energy to tell anyone else."
"Of course. Once you know more, I will let him know."
Sig kept the airways silent after the comment, not wanting to continue on with the conversation. Most of the fleet had tuned into the conversation between the two captains by then, stunned by the events that had unfolded on the Northwestern. The other captains decided to keep what happened to Joelle in the dark until they knew more about her condition, not wanting to upset their crews. Everyone was close to Joelle, and they were devastated by the news, and could only pray that she would come through.
Sig stared out the front of the boat, the ocean seeming never ending. Time was dragging on, and he felt himself starting to go crazy while waiting.
After what seemed like an eternity, they finally reached Dutch Harbor. The boat was barely docked when Sig, Edgar, and Norman ran off the boat towards their truck. Nick, Matt, and Jake all finished getting the boat settled, staying behind with the boat until they heard word about Joelle.
"I'm here, and it's not good." June said to Sig as soon as he answered her phone call as they headed towards the airport.
"Don't you dare tell me she didn't make it."
"No, she's alive, but unconscious, and in a coma."
"She's going to wake up, right?" He asked. Edgar and Norman were watching him talk to June, on pins and needles with what the news was.
"The doctors don't think she will. There is little to no brain activity."
Sig cursed loudly, hitting the steering wheel with his hand as he drove.
"Just hurry up and get here. There's a lot that needs to be talked about."
Sig threw his phone down.
"Are you just going to have a fit, or are you going to tell us?"
"I'd rather have a fit." Sig angrily replied, speeding up towards the airport.
After what seemed like an eternity, Sig, Edgar, and Norman walked into Joelle's hospital room and they were greeted immediately by June, who looked as if she had been crying.
"How's it look?" Edgar asked, going to Joelle's bedside and holding her hand.
"She can't breathe on her own. She has hardly any brain function at all. The gash in her head wasn't awfully deep, but between the seizures and blood loss, it deprived oxygen to her brain." June explained, hugging Sig.
"What did the doctors say?" Norman asked, trying to absorb all of what was going on.
"There is about a 20 percent chance that she will wake up, and even if she did, there is about a 10 percent chance that she will be normal again."
"So there's a chance?" Sig asked, not taking his eyes off of his niece.
"Sig, is it worth putting ourselves through this?"
"June, there is a chance. That's all I got out of this. I don't care what kind of chance it is, but there's a chance. I am not giving up on her. She is the biggest fighter I have ever known, and I know she will get through this."
Just then, the doctor came into the room looking gloomy.
"Doc, this is my husband Sig, and his brothers Edgar and Norman. Their Joelle's uncles."
"So, Sig, you are technically Joelle's legal guardian."
"She's old enough to not have a legal guardian. She has been for awhile."
"You're the next of Kin though."
Sig nodded, his stomach turning.
"We got the results of the last CAT scan, and I wish I had better news…" He said.
"Well?" Norman asked.
"The brain activity has gone up, but it isn't a significant amount to be hopeful. We can keep an eye on her for the next twenty-four hours, but if there is nothing by tomorrow, she will be declared brain dead, and I hate to say this, but we may have to think about what is best for her at that point."
"But there was improvement. Every day, if there is improvement, then that is better than nothing."
"Unfortunately, it's not enough to get me excited about anything. But like I said, we can keep an eye on her progress over the next twenty-four hours, and reassess then."
"What caused her to collapse like that?" Norman asked, breaking the long silence that had taken over the room after the doctors comment.
The group all looked over at the doctor, curious as to what the answer was.
"Joelle had a miscarriage while she was on the boat. She had an ectopic pregnancy, and she was unable to carry it. Had she been complaining of not feeling well? Any sharp pains in her stomach? Dizziness?"
"Yeah, she was complaining of that the day before all of this happened." Edgar said. "It's why we kicked her off deck."
"But why was she back on deck?" June asked.
"She took a nap, and said she was fine." Sig answered.
"You know how she is! She would work on that deck no matter what. She lives to be on that deck. You should never have let her come out there in that storm." Edgar yelled angrily.
"How bad was the storm?" June asked.
"One of the worst I've seen in awhile." Sig confessed quietly.
"You knew she wasn't feeling well. She never complains about shit, and she was complaining about feeling like shit, and buckled over in pain before we kicked her off. She should never have been let back on that deck!" Edgar yelled.
"You never told her to go back in, did you?" Norman asked.
"And neither did you!" Edgar shouted.
"Guys! There is no point in passing the blame! All we need to do now is pray and be here for her. You guys arguing is not going to help her at all." June said, trying to calm the brothers down. It was silent in the room, with only the sound of the machines hooked up to Joelle filling the silence.
"It was something she probably didn't even know about. It was very early on in the pregnancy." The doctor went on to explain.
Nobody said a word.
"I will check back in with her later. Let us know if you need anything."
"Thanks, doctor." June said as he departed.
"So…" Norman said, breaking the silence between the brothers.
"What?" Sig asked.
Norman decided to ask the question that everyone was thinking, but didn't want to ask.
"Who's going to tell Crosby?"
Nothing but silence filled the room again.
There you have it! ;-) The more you review, the faster I will update. :)