George and Ruby hunkered down in the antiseptic waiting area of the emergency room while Daniel's specialist examined him.
George jumped up and began pacing in frustration. "Ruby, the doctor's been in there for over an hour. You'd think they could tell us something by now."
Ruby clasped her hands in her lap. She knew her husband was a man who thrived on action and inaction irritated him. It was that very quality in him that made him an effective leader; one of the reasons he'd recently been promoted to major. But it was hard for her to watch. She just wanted to nail him down to the chair and tape his mouth shut so she could deal with her frustration in her own way.
George stopped his incessant pacing for a moment and took time to observe his wife. She was the perfect exemplification of calm amidst a tempest. Her posture was model perfect; ankles crossed, hand folded in her lap, spine straight. He admired her tranquil demeanor and wished he could show some of that himself during times of crisis. But it was hard for him to watch. He wanted to grab her and shake her up; make her pace up and down with him.
Husband and wife turned as one to the door as it swung open. Ruby stood, grabbed George's hand as the doctor strode across the gray linoleum floor, and held her breath until he began to speak.
"Major, Mrs. Hammond. Please sit." Dr. Murray gestured to the hard molded chairs they had just vacated.
The doctor stood while they seated themselves. George had used the "standing above others" tact before to intimidate people and he did not like it being used on them.
"I've examined Daniel and he has a mild concussion, but no other apparent injuries. I'd like to keep him overnight for observation."
"Doctor, what about his vision? Has he lost what little he had?" Ruby already knew he'd be okay physically and was more concerned about how he would take it if this latest head injury blinded him completely.
"At this point, yes, he has," he raised his hands in reassurance when Ruby gasped, "but that doesn't mean it's permanent. Daniel's a quiet fighter. He appears to accept what happens to him, but underneath, he's working out ways to get around his problems."
George nodded his agreement. Daniel would not let this stop him.
"He'll need to stay home from school for the week. No schoolwork."
George raised an eyebrow at the doctor and flashed a little grin. "You know that's like telling him he can't breathe?"
Dr. Murray snickered back. "Yes, I know, but he's got to rest. He can read entertaining Braille novels, listen to TV, but nothing remotely educational. I'm going to bandage his eyes to keep him from trying to see. Bring him to my office on Friday and we'll see what we're dealing with then."
"Can we see him now?" George stood, pulling Ruby up with him.
"Sure. He's being transferred up to the children's floor now, but you can go along and help settle him in." Dr. Murray began walked toward the door, but turned back. "I guess one of you will be staying the night?"
George and Ruby looked at each other, silent communication flowing between them. "I'll be staying." George responded, "Ruby will go home to be with our other children."
The doctor hesitated a moment and then asked, "I've known you since you first fostered Daniel and I've never seen such a strong bond between foster parents and child. I hope you don't mind me asking, but why haven't you adopted him outright?"
George's face assumed an impassive mask while Ruby's quivered with emotion. "His grandfather, who doesn't want to be bothered with him, won't give the state permission. Ruby's brother-in-law, who's a lawyer, has been working for the past five years to force the issue." George placed a protective arm around his wife. "Believe me, Doctor, we'd do anything for that boy. As far as we're concerned, he is our son."
Dr. Murray nodded and dug into his pocket, pulling out a card. "If I can be of help, give this to your brother-in-law. Daniel needs the security of knowing that the authorities can't separate you again." He reached out and clapped George on the shoulder, then slipped out the door.
"Come on, let's go see our son."
XXXXXXXXXX
"What do you mean, I can't do any schoolwork? I can't afford to get behind in my college classes! I've got a test this week in Western Civ, a paper due in Music and a presentation for Western Lit! I absolutely cannot afford to take a week off!" Daniel folded his arms across his chest and frowned.
Ruby almost giggled when she saw his lower lip begin to protrude. She remembered how when the girls were small, they would thrust out that lower lip just before breaking out in loud wails and tears. She half expected him to begin throwing pillows around the room.
George was not so amused. "Daniel. This is absolutely not up for discussion. These are doctor's orders. Ruby called and left messages for all your instructors this morning and we'll do what needs to be done to get you extensions on those due dates. Dr. Murray was very specific about his orders. Nothing educational. Your environment needs to be as calm and unstimulating as possible."
Daniel turned his face to the wall and effectively shut George and Ruby out. He been home less than thirty minutes and was already bored. He was also scared stiff that he might be totally blind. That would mean he couldn't read any books – ever. That terrified him more than anything.
Life in total darkness. Could he deal with the daily stuff, like making meals, or shopping? Sure. He knew many people who did just that, but to never read a new book? He couldn't deal with that. That would be emotional death to him.
The longer Daniel laid on his bed thinking about his possible future, the more he realized that he'd have to follow the doctor's orders. If that meant that he'd have to accept lower grades or retake the classes, then he'd do it. If he could just get through this week.
He rolled onto him back and moaned loudly. "A week with no books!"
XXXXXXXXXX
"Daniel! Amy's on the phone." Rachel called to him from the hallway.
"Coming," Daniel called back as he grabbed an apple out of the refrigerator and headed to the phone.
He chomped down on the tart green apple and swiped at the juice dribbling from the corner of his mouth. He plopped onto the stool next to the phone table and propped his feet up on the wall across from the phone.
"Hi, Amy," he mumbled through the mooshed apple in his mouth.
"Daniel! My god, are you all right? You sound terrible. Should you be out of bed?" Amy panicked slightly at the garbled sounds coming from her phone.
Daniel swallowed the rest of the apple and grinned. "I'm fine. I just had a bite of apple in my mouth."
"God, Jackson! Don't ever do that to me again! It's bad enough that you don't see well, but if you couldn't speak…! Well, I guess you'd cease to exist."
"Hey! I don't talk that much!" Daniel did his best to sound offended, but Amy could hear the smile in his voice.
"Only every waking minute of your life. And it's all academic junk. If you ever tried to discuss a baseball game with someone, that would shut you up!" Amy rolled over on her bed and shoved a pillow under her head.
"See if I help you with your history paper that's due next week." Daniel bit another chunk out of his apple.
"I called because I heard at school that you had an accident." Amy chewed on a fingernail.
"Yeah. Bumped my head and wound up in the hospital overnight. I have to stay home all this week, but I'll be back next week."
"Do you want me to get your assignments?"
"Thanks, but no. The doctor won't let me do any schoolwork this week." Daniel sighed and decided to share the rest with her. "I couldn't see anything after the accident. There's a possibility that I might have lost the rest of my eyesight."
Amy lay in silence for a moment. She knew how much Daniel depended upon the little sight he had left. He needed the nourishment of knowledge as much as the nourishment of good food.
"Oh, Daniel. I wish I could be with you right now. I don't know about you, but I could use a good Daniel-hug right about now." Amy imagined his arms wrapped around her, warming her body and her heart. A hug from Daniel could cure almost anything known to be harmful to mankind.
"Yeah. Well. Listen, I've got to go back to bed. I'm not supposed to be up for very long yet. I'll talk to you later."
"Sure. I'll call tomorrow."
"Okay. Bye." Daniel hung up and dropped his feet to the floor. He tossed the apple core into the trash next to the table and headed toward the stairs.
"Daniel," Ruby called out, "was that Amy?"
"Yes." He stopped and shoved his hands deep into his pockets, leaning against the doorway to the living room.
Ruby looked up from the book she was reading and took a good look at him. He was still small for his age and too scrawny. He head was hanging down so she could barely see the bandages covering his eyes. Her heart clenched in pain as she saw the defeat in his posture. Placing her book on the couch, she stood up and walked to her son.
"Daniel, don't let this little set-back defeat you." She pulled him against her and leaned her cheek against his hair. "You've got one of the most generous spirits I've even known and you're going to be an incredible man in a few years. A man I'll be proud to call my son."
Daniel stiffened briefly and then softened into her comforting embrace. He leaned his head against her shoulder and breathed in her scent. His mother had smelled like sandalwood and warm desert winds – exotic and mysterious. Ruby smelled like vanilla and cinnamon. She smelled like home and safety.
Ruby dropped a light kiss on his head and pulled away. "You'd better head upstairs and get ready for bed. You need extra sleep this week."
Daniel turned and stepped toward the stairs.
"Don't get your bandages wet. I guess you won't be able to wash your hair until after Dr. Murray takes them off on Friday."
"It'll be so stringy and greasy by then, you'll be able to use my head to grease the pan for fried eggs." Daniel wrinkled his nose in disgust.
Ruby giggled and headed back for her book. The knight was just about to storm the castle to rescue the princess from the evil baron and she was eager to see how he did it.
XXXXXXXXXX
Friday. The day of reckoning. Daniel both looked forward to this and dreaded it. Sometimes it seemed better to not know and have some hope. But other times it felt like it would be better to know the worst and just get on with it. Right now, he just wanted to get the bandages off and wash his yucky hair.
He held onto Ruby as she led him from the elevator, down the hall to Dr. Murray's office. He really hated the sound his shoes made on the hard floors of the long hallway. The faint echo sounded so lost and lonely.
The family had said a prayer for him before George left for work that morning and the girls had begged to go with them, but George was adamant that they go to school. George and Ruby were confident that he'd be able to handle whatever the results were, but he knew he'd never be able to accept total blindness. He had to still be able to see. Everything he ever wanted to do in life depended upon it.
"Daniel. The doctor will see you now."
Daniel wondered if a condemned man on his last walk to the gas chamber felt as anxious as he did. The butterflies in his gut had moths orbiting them.
Ruby pulled him along to the examining room. He couldn't feel his feet. His heart was pounding erratically. He was having a heart attack. He just knew it.
Daniel sat on the examining table – surely there must be some way to makethese things comfortable. The nurse took his temperature and blood pressure – he was sure it was through the roof – and said that the doctor would be in to see him directly.
Directly! Doctor's must have their own dictionaries, because his definition of "directly" meant soon while every doctor he'd ever dealt with must have a one that said directly meant "whenever." He was just settling in for a good pout when the door opened and Dr. Murray entered.
"Well, Daniel. Your vital signs are normal. So I guess we just need to see what you can see." He moved over to the light switch. "I'm going to dim the lights so the bright light doesn't hurt your eyes."
Daniel felt him step between his dangling legs and reach around to untie the gauze that held the bandages over his eyes. It was a strange feeling and, when the gauze was completely unwrapped, it made his head feel a pound lighter.
Daniel drew in a deep breath and gripped the edge of the table, digging his fingernails into the plastic covered foam. He could feel the man's breath ripple through his hair as he worked to gently untape the final barrier between Daniel's eyes and light.
The last of the bandage was gone and Daniel lifted his hands to rub his face. It felt so good to have that stuff gone. Dr. Murray let him scrub his face with the heels of his hands for a few moments.
"Okay, Daniel, open your eyes and let them adjust to the low light. I'll bring the light up gradually."
Daniel lifted one lid slightly. Ruby chewed on her lip in anticipation. He opened that eye all the way. Nothing. Blackness. He opened the other eye. He thought he saw a faint halo surrounding a pinpoint of light above him.
"Daniel?" Ruby couldn't wait any longer.
He blinked rapidly several times. "I think I see a little light, but I'm not sure."
Dr. Murray adjusted the light controls, bringing the level up very slightly. "How about now?"
"Yes, definitely a faint light." Daniel sighed in relief, but he knew it wasn't over just yet.
"Good. I'm going to continue bring up the light level until it's up full and then we'll do some testing to see if your vision has changed at all from before."
Daniel endured another half hour of testing. "Can you tell me what shape this is? Is this clearer or is this? Follow the moving object with your eyes." He wanted to scream!
Finally, Dr. Murray declared that he was done. "It seems that your vision is almost as acute as before, just a small difference, but I'll make a guess that that will improve over the next few days. You can go back to normal activities, except, no reading until Monday. You don't want to put too much of a strain on your eyes just yet."
Daniel tightened his mouth into a straight line and Ruby knew that he would be protesting the restriction.
"Daniel," she said in warning, "don't push it."
He sighed and ducked his head. "Yes, ma'am."
She closed the space between them and gave him a big hug. "Thank God."