Peter once again found himself sitting on one of the horrible faded aqua couches in the hospital waiting room of the Cardiology wing. Elizabeth was on her fourth trip to the cafeteria for some liquid the hospital labeled as coffee, but tasted nothing of a sort, so the agent was left alone with a woman that Peter guessed was in her late fifties but looked a few years older than she actually was sitting adjacent from him, who had been quietly reading a travel magazine and a large group of people gathered in the corner of the big waiting room who were being disrespectfully loud in Peter's opinion.
He sat forward with his elbows resting on his knees while his fingertips massaged his temples as he tried assure himself Neal was going to be fine and ignore the loud chatter coming from the other side of the room.
"He's going to be fine, you know."
Peter's fingers stopped their circular motion and he slowly lifted his head to find the woman who was reading a magazine moments ago looking at him with a sympathetic expression. Trying to recall a time in which he had spoken to the woman for her to know anything about why he was there, he furrowed his brow. When he couldn't come up with anything he asked,
"Excuse me?"
"The boy, the one you're here for, he's going to be alright." She stated with confidence.
Peter waited a moment as her words sunk in. He gave a short laugh.
"How could you possibly know that?" His tone was casual, not sure if he was referring to how she knew he was in fact there for a boy or if said boy was going to be okay.
She placed her magazine on the table in the middle of their seating area. She vacated her current seat, her jewelry making clinging noises as she moved, to occupy a chair across from Peter. She looked at him for a moment, the agent stared back.
She gave a small smile. "You're too concerned for that boy to let anything happen to him."
Peter sucked in a breath and rolled his eyes in a way he does when he is embarrassed. He let the air out of his lungs in one quick sigh and hung his head.
"It's out of my hands." He bit his lip and rubbed a tired hand over his face. "There's nothing I can do."
This time the woman gave an outright laugh, catching the attention of the rowdy group in the corner. She waved them off as to tell them to mind their own business in her own classy way.
"I'm sorry agent Burke, but we both know that isn't true."
Peter was too surprised to respond. When had he told her his name? Elizabeth would have called him by his first name. Maybe his wife had talked to her when he was visiting Neal.
Peter wasn't sure what to say next, but he didn't have to say anything. The sophisticated woman who had tried her best hide the hardships life had dealt her stood with a smile.
"There is something you can do Peter." She said as she turned to leave. Peter watched her go and was inquisitive when she turned around once she was at the door. She stood there as Peter saw sadness, regret and fear dance across her face before a blank expression molded her face. With one last look at Peter she softly spoke.
"Forgiveness is the best form of life support."
Peter watched her disappear around the corner from the waiting room window. He was still in a state of shock and confusion as the woman's words rang through his ears. It wasn't until his wife appeared on the other side of the glass and knocked to get his attention that he was brought back to reality.
"The doctor wants to talk to us." Elizabeth mouthed through the glass. Peter nodded and walked out into the hallway to meet his wife and the doctor who walked up as soon as he did.
"Mr. and Mrs. Burke" Doctor Xavier acknowledged as he shook their hands.
They both gave tight smiles and waited for news on Neal.
"First off, I apologize for how long you both have had to wait, but with diagnosis, especially one that deals with the heart, we like to be very thorough. Now, as you know Mr. Caffrey has been experiencing chest pain, shortness of breath and light-headedness. These symptoms can be very common for a variety of things but during his physical examination, we heard some abnormal sounds while listening to his heart."
"Abnormal?" Peter interrupted, his voice holding traces of alarm.
The doctor nodded and held up a hand.
"Palpitations and irregular heartbeats." The doctor explained. "This did cause a rise in concern so we ran an electrocardiogram and a chest x-ray. We found some significant patterns in the ECG and in the x-ray the area seemed to be enlarged."
Peter swallowed hard and wrapped and arm around Elizabeth as she raised one of hands to her mouth.
"I was told that Doctor Adams explained to you yesterday that all of these can be possible signs of Pericardial Effusion, which is an unusual amount of fluid between the sac surrounding the heart and the heart itself caused by a bacterial infection." Doctor Xavier questioned as he noticed the horrified looks on the couple's faces.
"Y-yes." Elizabeth answered as she struggled to find her voice. Yesterday afternoon when Neal was brought in they had performed the tests Doctor Xavier had just finished explaining and the doctor on shift had been the one to carefully explain the possibility of Neal having fluid around his heart to them, leaving out the details of abnormal heart sounds and an x-ray that showed the heart area to be enlarged, both of which terrified the Burkes.
"He just didn't inform us on all the symptoms." Peter finished for her to explain their shocked reaction to news they had already heard.
"Ah, I see. I apologize. I tend to a bit more direct than Doctor Adams."
"No, it's fine. We actually prefer for you to be direct." Elizabeth assured. "We don't want to be left in the dark when it comes to Neal's health."
"I understand." Doctor Xavier nodded. "Now, we just finished running an echocardiogram, which is the best test to confirm the diagnosis. We did find excess fluid." He paused to let the news sink in long enough for him to continue.
"Usually, if the pericardial effusion is small it doesn't cause any serious issues. Unfortunately, Neal's is rather large and is compressing his heart and effecting the organ's ability to pump blood."
Elizabeth gasped and tears flowed freely down her cheeks. Peter felt his stomach twist and turn and for a moment his mind played with idea that he too, had what Neal had as his own heart began to beat an an irregular pattern.
"But, but he will be okay right? I mean, you, you can fix it?" Elizabeth asked, her voice wavering with emotion.
"Yes, we can fix it. It will require surgery though and that carries its own risks." Doctor Xavier stated as he saw a small bit of relief flow through the couple. "We will have to make an incision on his chest and cut away the pericardial effusion. This will get rid of it and prevent it from coming back."
"Thank God." Peter breathed and ran his hand across his face.
"But if I may be direct once more, this surgery has its own share of risks. Though it may not be as serious as open-heart surgery we will still be operating around his heart, but I assure that we have the best doctors for the job."
"Of course." Peter said, silently debating that statement in his head. "When will his surgery be?"
"Well, we need to operate as soon as possible, but Mr. Caffrey has been through a lot of tests today and is pretty worn out. He also has a low-grade fever which we need to get rid of before we can operate. We will check on him tomorrow morning at 9 and as long as his fever is gone we will prep him for surgery."
"Alright." Peter responded as he held his wife closer to him and let the information sink in. He didn't know whether to be more relieved for scared at the moment, so he settled on relieved because it was a lot easier to deal with.
"When will be able to see him?" He heard his wife ask and looked to the doctor expectantly.
"Once the nurses have him settled back in his room, someone will come and get you. It shouldn't be but about five or ten minutes. If you have no further questions, I need to start my rounds." Dr. Xavier answered as he shook their hands once more. With the confirmation that the Burke's had no more questions he left.
Peter and Elizabeth had made their way back into the waiting room as they waited for a nurse to come get them. Neither had spoke a word, both lost in their own thoughts and concerns. The large group from earlier still occupied the corner to Peter's dislike. They were to rowdy and loud for such a somber place in Peter's opinion and Elizabeth's based on the looks she threw their way every once in a while.
Peter's mind wandered back to the strange conversation he had with the woman before Dr. Xavier came.
"Hey, El?"
"Hmm?" Elizabeth questioned lifting her head off Peter's shoulder to look at him.
"Did you talk to that older woman that was sitting in here earlier?"
Elizabeth's brows furrowed in confusion. After a long pause, she answered.
"Honey, what woman?"
"You know, she was probably a few years older than us, nicely dressed and reading some magazine like a travel magazine." Peter tried to describe.
"Peter, I don't know who you're talking about. The only people I've seen in this waiting room are the people over there and a young mexican couple. I haven't spoken to anyone but you." Elizabeth said giving her husband a skeptical look.
"So you didn't -" Peter tried to confirm but was cut off by a nurse at the door.
"Family of Neal Caffrey?" The young nurse asked.
Elizabeth shot out of her chair so fast and was at the door before Peter even stood.
"That's us." Elizabeth told her as she motioned for Peter to walk faster.
"Alright, if you follow me I will take you to his room." She smiled and turned to lead the way.
Peter finally caught up to Elizabeth and grabbed her hand. She instinctively walked closer to him as they walked down the narrow hallway. Peter was still trying to figure out who that woman was and how she knew his name. He was once again brought out of his thoughts as the young nurse's quiet whisper broke his train of thought.
"Here we are. He's still sleeping and needs his rest, so try to be quiet." She said kindly. Elizabeth thanked her, while Peter just nodded his thanks. Before Peter looked into the room he decided that tomorrow while Neal was in surgery he would find out more about the mystery woman from the waiting room, but right now he needed to focus all his attention on Neal and Elizabeth.
Taking one last deep breath, he entered the room with Elizabeth to begin what was sure to be a long night followed by a grueling day.
AN: First, I am no doctor. ALL medical information was researched, so I apologize if it is not 100% correct. Second, I am so sorry for the entirely way too long delay for an update! Last but not least, Feedback is greatly appreciated! Thanks for reading!