Kuol Adebe Ketebo was sitting in the waiting room with Detective Rena Yablonski. He knew that she was Andy's wife, and he noticed that this was the first time that he saw her up close. She was beautiful. You chose well, Andy. Kuol thought wryly as he continued to observe her. Her long hair was thick with dark brown locks, and her eyes gave nothing away, unlike Andy's. Kuol could look into his friend's eyes and know exactly what he was thinking. Rena too was different from Andy. An unknown strength emerged from her, and she was solemn and confident. Andy had inner strength as well, but it only emerged when Kuol was in danger of dying. He never gave up on him, and seemed more saddened than serious at the time.
The two had not spoken. Andy had crashed, and Rena was waiting in the room with Kuol to find out how her husband was doing. She was about to visit him when he had crashed, Kuol gathered. Unlike most of the Three Rivers team, Kuol made no effort to understand why Rena only visited Andy once since he came into the ER. She had her own reasons. "The truth is, I don't think I have a wife anymore." Andy's voice whispered into Kuol's ear as he watched Rena's still form, remembering Andy's words that had lingered in regret and sadness. He didn't know what Rena was thinking, but she seemed tense, and cupped her hands to her face from time to time. I think she still cares about you, Andy, Kuol thought with a small smile. He remembered one of the last conversations he had with him before Andy was admitted to the hospital.
"Do you ever regret anything?" Kuol asked with his voice almost a whisper. A heart had still not come, and he found that even opening his eyes exhausted him. He had to talk to Andy though. The man had become quiet since their last meeting, brooding over what Kuol had told him. Kuol had wanted Andy to accept his inevitable death, but Andy had refused to accept his request. He had become dangerously close to the young Sudanese man, just as he did with Scott Becker.
Dr. Andy Yablonski faced him. His face was unusually drawn and pale. Dark circles ringed around his eyes, and fatigue clouded his gaze. However, he smiled at his patient and asked, "What do you regret?"
"I regret not being able to save Lam." Kuol still remembered his young friend who had accepted his death, just as Kuol accepted now. He wondered how Lam would react, and a vague smile pulled on his lips.
"Hmm." Andy seemed to be lost in his own world as soon as Kuol answered him, and sadness marked his face, making him paler than before. He was brooding again, but this time he seemed to be thinking about something other then Kuol. Andy was thinking of his wife again. Miranda called it "the expression," because Andy's face would become saddened marred by happiness, and he would always have a small smile on his lips. Now however, Andy didn't smile. His eyes seemed to be crying even when there were no tears.
"I regret many things, Kuol," Andy stated slowly. "I don't know where to start." A sad laugh escaped from him, and he was silent for a moment. "I love my wife, Kuol. She loves me too. We knew each other for a very long time, and you would think we didn't have any problems because of it. She told me that our homes were not with each other, and we had families. I just didn't see it. I never thought about Three Rivers that way, or Pam or Miranda." Andy faltered, as if pausing to catch his breath. He sighed deep from his chest. "I slept with someone other than my wife, Kuol. I can't undo what I did. I can't undo that night, and I don't know if…our relationship is over. She knows I slept with another woman. My regret is Kuol, I can't tell her that I still love her. That is what I regret." Andy would not meet Kuol's pensive gaze. He seemed to not be aware of anything.
"Do you...regret marrying her, Andy?" Kuol asked hesitantly. He was careful with his words, and was still as Andy remained silent.
"Not for a second, Kuol." Now he faced Kuol. Andy's eyes glistened with tears. "Not for a second," he repeated softly, caressing his wedding band. "I…" Tears slowly flowed from his eyes, and Kuol did what he had to do. He held Andy's hand.
The memory surfaced in Kuol's mind again. He hadn't seen Andy in so much raw pain before, even as he was dying. Kuol wondered if Rena knew how much her husband loved her. Six weeks had passed since December 13, 2009. Now Andy's life was on the line instead of Kuol's. He was about to speak to the motionless form of Rena Yablonski when David appeared into the waiting room. The young surgeon ushered Rena over.
"He's stabilized now," David was saying in an undertone. Neither of them noticed Kuol listening. "He's still in the ICU. Pam's is watching him now."
"Is there any change?" Rena asked. She folded her arms across her chest.
"Not that we know of, and that's a good thing." David added. "He brain function didn't cease. There is something we need to show you though, Rena."
"What do you have to show me?"
"All I can tell you here is that we saw something in a x-ray. We need you to see it. We need answers, Rena." An understanding seemed to cross between them, and Rena nodded.
"Can I come too?" Kuol asked.
"Yes, you can come." David was the one who answered, and Kuol eagerly followed.
Dr. David Lee didn't expect that Andy had secrets. The transplant team – which consisted of him, Dr. Jordan, Miranda, Pam, and Ryan – knew that Andy was separated from his wife and lived in the hotel across from the hospital. He even suspected that everyone in Three Rivers knew about Andy's living quarters. David had been surprised last night when a radiologist asked to see him. Was there something that he had missed on the MRI he had thought. He had ordered one done as soon as Andy was stabilized from the crash earlier that day. There had seemed to be no internal damage, and the hemothorax was taken care of. What was wrong? David had been struck speechless as the radiologist grimly showed him the scars that molded Andy's bones. He also saw evidence of burn scars. The radiologist even added the some of scars were thirty years old.
Rena and Kuol followed David's swift pace behind him. He suspected that Rena knew about Andy's scars. He hoped that she would tell him, Miranda, and the radiologist how the scars had come about, and catch the sick bastard that did that to Andy. David led Rena and Kuol to the radiology department, and paused only to open the door to the room that would show them Andy's scarred body.
"Hey," stated a soft voice. It was Miranda, and she didn't glance at him. Her gaze was focus was on the screen.
"Hey," David retuned. He didn't know what to say, and the radiologist was pacing uncomfortably. "Well, Rena, we found evidence of a bone fracture in your husband's arm," David began. "But that's not all we found. The radiologist, Miranda, and I found evidence of many bone fractures over an extended period of time." Rena nodded slightly, and Kuol stared at the MRI and x-rays with wide eyes. He was unusually silent.
"What do you mean by evidence of bone fractures? Are you saying that there are scars?" Rena asked.
"Yes," stated the radiologist before David could respond. "Bones are alive, Detective, and like any other tissue, they heal. Some of them leave scars." She pointed to the tibia and ulna. "I could see that there were many scars on these two bones, and on the clavicle. All of these bones were broken more than twice, as were many bones in his hands and fingers. I also saw evidence of burn scars. The skin is a tissue, and is the largest organ in the body," she added to Kuol's questioning gaze.
"Did you find anything else?" Rena asked. Her face remained passive and calm.
The radiologist nodded. "I found that Dr. Yablonski has scar tissue around the tibialis anteriores and the calves, the lower muscles in the leg. The scars show that they are seventeen years old." She fell silent.
"We also found that Andy has an extensive medical history." Miranda added. She was burning with anger. "From the years 1980 to 1992 he was admitted to various hospitals because of bone fractures, burns, and the like. Each time he was signed out against medical advice. The scars are still there. Then in 1993, he was operated on because of two shot wounds through the legs. Rena, is there something Andy didn't tell us?"
"He didn't want you to know," Rena said. She glanced at the MRI and multiple x-rays. "Andy didn't want to think of him differently because of what he had been though. He wasn't ashamed, if that's what you're thinking," she added to their stares. "He just didn't want you to know. Andy was abused as child, from ages two to sixteen." David nodded. Although shocked, he thought as much. He looked at Miranda, and saw that she was nodding too. Kuol was silent as well, and now sadness marked his face. Rena continued. "I didn't meet him until we were five years old. I remember that he sat alone from the others. He was so small." She smiled faintly at the memory. "He was quiet, and no one noticed him except me. I saw his face, marked with black and blue bruises. His clothes were filthy and baggy on him. His shoes were stained and his lips were cracked. I should have noticed the signs then, but I didn't, not then.
"He needed me, I thought, and I didn't realize how much I depended on him. Even now," she added softly. David observed that her face was now marked by another emotion. "Andy wants a life to live. He wants a family and a home, just as he did when he was an abused and lost child. That's why we separated," Rena told David. "I thought that if he separated from me, he would find out he was already with his family, and he had a home…but he seems more confused than ever."
"You didn't tell us how the scars from the bullet wounds came from though," David added. She was hiding something.
"You're going to have to ask him that," Rena replied.
"Is there anything else we should know?" Miranda asked softly.
"Yes," Rena replied. "His name…" she faltered suddenly, and she allowed herself to calm. "He was known as Andrew back then."
David, Miranda, and Pam were in Andy's hospital room. Rena was beside Andy's hospital bed, clutching his hand. It had been three days since Andy had been rushed to the ER, three long and chaotic days. Dr. Jordan had visited Andy only briefly, as did Lisa. Kuol was on the roof, thinking, as Andy would have done. His condition had not changed., however much they wanted it too
"Do you know how did this too him?" Miranda asked Rena.
"Michael Zelasko and Casper McLeay," she murmured. Rena didn't look at Miranda. "We have them in custody." She had told them that Michael was person who had abused Andy as a child.
"I can see why Andy doesn't like to be called Andrew," Pam observed. She watched Rena's and Andy's entwined hands with a smile. "The name reminds him too much about this past."
"We'll have to tell Luc that, won't we?" David said with a small laugh.
Rena didn't respond as Andy's family laughed at David's joke. Her mind still revolved around Andy. Would he ever wake up? Would she see his smile again? She was beginning to realize that her feelings for him were still there, once locked away and now surging forth. She squeezed his hand. Her hand received a response. Rena felt Andy's hand weakly squeeze her own.
"Andy?" she murmured. She stroked his damaged face with her other hand, and his eyes slowly opened. Blurry and cloudy blue eyes stared back at her. He blinked, trying to focus. "Rena…?" He gasped. His voice was hoarse and weak. She squeezed his hand again, and saw their wedding rings close together. She couldn't see them clearly because of her tears.