Chapter 86: The Time Between

"The opposite of talking isn't listening. The opposite of talking is waiting." – Fran Lebowitz

"Wait until it is night before saying that is has been a fine day." – French Proverb

"Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: You don't give up." – Anne Lamott

"The man who goes alone can start today; but he who travels with another must wait till that other is ready." – Henry David Thoreau


Sydney let Vaughn rest for about ten minutes before telling him unhappily that they had to redress the wound.

She sat him up and removed the washcloth.

"Vaughn…"

"Yeah."

"This is really bleeding…"

"Let me see…"

She handed him the washcloth. She was worried that the blood would start to run down his back, but it seemed to stay there for the moment.

"It's just the cloth…the water…" he said handing it back to her.

"What do you mean?"

"Blood always looks like there's more of it if it's in water…there's not really that much on the cloth…it just looks that way."

"Oh." She said but she wasn't sure that made her feel better.

"Well…" she started, "we've got to dress it…we'll just have to be really careful of it today…"

Vaughn didn't respond.

Sydney rinsed the washcloth and tried to be as gentle as possible as she tried to clean out the wound once again.

She knew she was causing him pain, but there wasn't much she could do about it. It needed to be cleaned, that was a simple fact. She got as much of the blood and the puss off as she could and then placed the Cavilon on the wound and the TAD over it.

She went over to the bags of clothes on the floor and pulled out one of the new shirts she had bought him. She brought that and a comfortable pair of pants over to him.

He looked at her strangely.

"Barnett," she said.

"So? I can't be injured when she comes over?"

She smiled, "I just thought maybe we could dress you a little…better…more professional…" she stopped eyeing him, "of course, if you'd prefer, we could just put on a sloppy pair of boxers and a rumpled tee shirt. I'm sure she'd have your mental health status secured in no time."

He smiled, "Ok…you win."

She helped him dress and then recline back onto the bed, positioning him so that he wouldn't be lying on the infected wound.

He looked tired again, despite having slept late.

"You wanna nap?" she asked, but the ringing phone interrupted them before he could answer.

She looked at the clock; it was after 11:00.

"Hello?" Sydney said as she picked up the phone.

"Hello Sydney, this is Dr. Barnett."

"Oh, hi," Sydney said looking at Vaughn and mouthing 'Barnett' to him. He nodded. "So, how are you?" Sydney asked.

Barnett chuckled, "I'm fine Sydney, you?"

"Can't complain."

"I was just calling to confirm our appointment for today…is 2:00 still a good time?"

"Yes, that's fine…"

"Ok, then I'll see you and Agent Vaughn at 2:00."

"Sounds good, thanks Dr. Barnett."

"Goodbye Sydney."

"Bye," Sydney said hanging up the phone. She turned to Vaughn, "We've got like two hours before she gets here."

"Ok."

"If you wanna nap, you should do it now…then I'll wake you up a little while before she gets here. Then you can shave and eat something if you want."

"Ok," Vaughn said, his hand moving over the stubble that had been growing for the last few days.

"Maybe I should grow a goatee," he said smiling.

She smiled back, "Guys with goatees are hot…but I think we should wait until a few more of the cuts are gone," she said, tracing her hand over a few on his cheeks and chin.

He smiled, "Ok…"

"You nap," Sydney said, kissing his forehead, "Call if you need anything."

He yawned and Sydney smiled as she walked out.

She got the shaving stuff ready and then picked up the phone.

Once she dialed, the other end rang a few times, "Tom here."

"Glad to hear you're not trying that whole professional thing again…"

She could hear him laugh on the other end of the line, "What's up?"

"Well…"

"Oh no…is it the wound?"

"Yeah," she said slowly, "but something else too…"

"Ok…"

"Well, we tried the other angle thing last night…"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, and well…it didn't go so well. Both of his sides – the left one, his shoulder hurts when he lays on it, and the right one, his ribs hurt when he lays on it…his stomach – yeah…very bad…he can't breathe when he lays on that…SO! We had quite a fun time…and then of course, if he lays on his back now, his wound not only hurts, but then all the exudates, to use your term, stick to the bandage and it's not easy to take off my any means."

"So how did he lay last night?"

"Well…we tried sitting up…but he fell asleep and sort of rolled onto his side…that was very bad – he was having lots of trouble breathing, I had to help him breathe…"

There was silence and then, "That's not good Sydney…"

"No…it wasn't…and then we finally got settled with him laying on me all night. As long as he was flat, he seemed ok."

"Well, at least you found an angle – that one works? He's comfortable?"

"Yeah…seems to be. I had to move him back onto his back this morning though, and then the wound thing happened."

"What was that?"

"Well…since he laid on his back for a few hours, it was stuck pretty bad…and well, he jerked while I was hanging onto the bandage at the time, and it totally got ripped off…so it started bleeding."

"How bad?"

"Vaughn told me that the water from the washcloth I put on it made it look worse than it is, but I'm not so sure, so I'm double checking, calling you…making myself really annoying and making a habit of calling you on a daily basis…really…I'm sorry…I just don't want to hurt him…"

"Relax, he's totally right about the washcloth…it probably isn't bleeding that badly…just keep an eye on it today…and keep him off his back as much as possible." He paused, "The whole breathing thing concerns me…"

"He's been breathing better though…I think it was just the angle he landed on…otherwise, he's gone for longer without the oxygen…I think that's getting better…"

"Ok…well…monitor that today especially too, k?"

"Yeah."

"And you're not annoying, and I look forward to the daily calls…"

She could sense the smile in his voice, "You're great…why'd that chick dump you again?"

"Couldn't handle my charm…"

"Right…"

"Call me if you need anything…or if there's a change…"

"Ok, thanks again."

"You bet."

Sydney once again felt more confident after talking to Tom. She had about an hour before she would have to get Vaughn up.

She went into the back yard, searching for Donovan. He was lying in the sun on the grass. His head lifted when he saw her and he came trotting over, tail wagging and tongue lolling from side to side.

"Hey boy," she said.

He barked in response.

"What should we do for an hour boy?" she asked, and Donovan wagged his tail happily.

"You wouldn't care, would ya?" he barked again and Sydney smiled.

She spent the next hour not thinking about much of anything. She chased Donovan around the yard, letting him get lots of exercise and she couldn't remember laughing that hard in a long time.

Of course, the time came when she had to come back to the real world and Donovan stayed in the yard, chasing his tail, oblivious to the goings-on of the people in the house and the storm that just might be brewing.