Annie and Auggie family and home part 21

Beep beep beep …it is 6:00 am…..beep beep beep….it is 6:00 am….

Auggie felt for the button of his talking alarm clock and the annoying voice stopped. Annie stirred in bed beside him and asked with a still very sleepy voice

"Do we have to get up already?"

"I have to, you can stay in bed" Auggie replied and walked over to the bathroom to take a shower.

Ten minutes later he emerged again, wrapped into a white towel and slid the door of the closet open. He felt for the clothes tags and took out a white shirt with short sleeves, a grey vest and a pair of dark-grey jeans.

He dressed himself carefully and then he walked down into the kitchen where the coffee was already brewing. He had set the timer of the machine so that his first caffeine dose of the day would be ready soon. Auggie threw two slices of bread into the toaster, got some jam and honey from the fridge and set everything on the kitchen counter. Shortly after, the coffee was ready and Auggie had a quick breakfast before he heard the honking horn of the car that would take him to Langley.

Arriving at the CIA, he went straight away to Joan´s office. He knocked on her door and entered. Joan Campbell was sitting behind her desk. Her eyes were red and surrounded by dark circles, an evidence of a serious sleep deficit over the last days.

This was one of the few occasions when she felt relieved that Auggie was blind and could not see what she looked like.

"It is so good to see you Auggie" Joan started the conversation, getting up from her desk chair and walking over to Auggie who stood, leaning on his cane in the middle of her office.

"I told you I´d be there for you if you need me, so here I am" Auggie felt for Joan´s shoulder and patted it slightly.

" I really appreciate that you sacrificed your vacation to help me"

Auggie could hear it in her voice that she was on the verge of tears. He had rarely seen Joan so sad and helpless.

"I need you to run the DPD for the next couple of days. I will be at the hospital a lot and I cannot focus on my job, knowing that my husband needs me. I have already sent you a list of all important tasks for the next week by e-mail. There was not enough time to have the files translated into Braille but you should be fine when the system reads it to you. Of course you can call me any time if a real emergency case arises"

"Thank you so much" And with these words Joan pulled Auggie into a hug before she got out a hanky, blew her nose and took a seat behind her desk again.

Auggie got the hint, turned and walked out of the office, sweeping his cane back and forth. He would be in charge for the week ahead and he was flattered that Joan trusted him so much.

Five minutes later, Auggie was back at his desk. He booted the desktop computer and listened to the first messages he had received. Soon he was immersed into his daily routine again.

Joan Campbell stood on the corridor of the hospital. She was waiting for the doctor to arrive. She wanted to know how Arthur had spent the night and what was going to happen next.

Two minutes later the surgeon appeared.

"Mrs. Campbell?"

"Yeah that would be me" Joan replied

"The operation yesterday night went well, we have to wait until your husband wakes up to see how he reacts. I cannot give you more details. We just have to be patient and see how everything will develop in the next 24 hours"

"Can I see him?"

"Of course, the nurse will show you to his room"

A bit later, a young, blonde nurse appeared and accompanied Joan to the room at the ICU unit.

Joan was scared and could barely hide her exasperation when she saw her husband in that hospital bed. He was pale, his head was bandaged and he had an IV in his right arm. The beeping sound of the heart monitor was the only sound and Arthur´s breathing was shallow but steady.

Joan took a seat on the chair at the bedside and took Arthur ´s hand into hers.

"You have to wake up soon, darling" she whispered, her eyes filled with tears of sadness and concern. Her relationship had been in a crisis a couple of times and they had gone to counselling but now the past was water under the bridge. The only thing that counted was that Arthur would wake up and recover as soon as possible.

After a few minutes Joan fell asleep. The last two days had taken their toll on her and she woke up half an hour later, when she felt Arthur moving his hand that was still in hers.

"What is going on, where am I" she heard her husband ask when she opened her eyes.

"Arthur….oh my God,….Darling …you are awake…." Joan was overwhelmed but seconds later her feeling of concern was back when Arthur asked

"Why is it so dark in here?"

"Dark?" Joan asked with a puzzled look on her face and then it dawned on her that Arthur could not see.

She immediately let go of Arthur´s hand, ran out of the room calling "doctor, doctor !"

A minute later, the doctor appeared. He checked Arthur´s reflexes and looked into Arthur´s eyes"

"We have to make an MRI scan he said and called the nurse"

Fifteen minutes later Arthur was in the MRI room. He was still tired and weak but he realized what was going on with him. He was scared because he could only make out vague shapes and the difference between light and darkness.

"What is going on with me doctor?" Arthur Campbell asked after the MRI scan was concluded

"You have suffered a serious head injury Mr. Campbell. There is a swelling around your optic nerve that interferes with your eyesight. We will have to wait for the swelling to decrease. And if it decreases, you will have your sight back. Partly or completely"

"What do you mean by IF it decreases" Arthur asked. He was devastated by the idea to lose his sight. "Does it mean you cannot be sure that my sight will return?"

For the first time in his life the strong and tough Arthur Campbell was defeated. The prospect to lose his vision scared him, and all of a sudden he felt something like a bond with Auggie Anderson. He and Auggie had never been best friends and more than just once, Arthur had scolded Auggie for his initiative and unsanctioned missions but now he started seeing all of that in a different light. Auggie was blind and despite his handicap he was an excellent operative and a valuable asset for the CIA.

"You have to be patient Mr. Campbell" was all the doctor could say before the nurse appeared and pushed Arthur in his bed back to the hospital room at the ICU ward.

Joan was appalled and concerned after she had talked to the doctor. She could not imagine how Arthur would deal with the loss of sight if the swelling did not decrease. Now more than ever, she needed Auggie, he was the only one who could understand her. He had gone through something very similar years ago. She needed to talk to him as soon as possible.

Therefore she was grateful when the nurse said to her "Mrs. Campbell, your husband needs to rest now."

She kissed Arthur on his cheeks and left. But she did not drive home. Instead she made her way to Langley. She needed to talk to Auggie.

When Joan returned to Langley Auggie was not in his office. It was around noon, so Joan suspected that he had gone to the cafeteria for a break. Arriving at the cafeteria, Joan scanned the room, then she saw Auggie sitting at a table sipping on a cup of coffee.

"Hey Auggie" she greeted him

"Joan?" Auggie lifted his brows. He was surprised "I thought you were not coming in the next couple of days. Or don´t you trust me and my abilities anymore" He quipped

"No, it is not about the job, it is private this time" Joan replied, taking a seat next to Auggie who was now munching on his cheese and ham sandwich.

Joan swallowed and cleared her throat before she continued talking.

"Arthur has suffered a head injury. The injury has provoked something that the doctor called a cranial swelling. Whatever that may be"

Auggie listened, knowing, anticipating what was going to come. This story reminded him of his own and he was familiar with the medical terms. He slowly reached across the table, finding Joan´s hand and squeezed it a bit.

"Arthur says he can´t see and the doctor is not sure when the pressure on Arthur´s optic nerve will decrease and subside…..Auggie….Arthur is blind!" Joan´s last words were barely audible, suffocated by a sob.

Now Auggie couldn´t help it. Of course Joan was still his boss but this was a special situation. He reached for Joan´s shoulder and pulled her into an embrace. Joan rested her head on Auggie´s chest and cried. She was exhausted, desperate and sad. She did not know what was expecting her.

"Do you want me to talk to him?" Auggie asked after Joan´s sobs hat stopped and she had lifted her head, blown her nose and wiped the tears off her cheeks.

"Yeah, I was going to ask you that. Thank you" she said and squeezed Auggie´s hand grateful for his help.

A quarter past five p.m. Auggie shut down his computer, took his folding cane out of the first desk drawer and left. He had decided to see Arthur before he went home. The cab driver took him to the Memorial Hospital and accompanied him to the reception desk.

"Thank you" Auggie said turning to the receptionist

"How can I help you Sir?"

"I am here to see Arthur Campbell. Can you tell me where I can find him?"

The receptionist typed on the keyboard of her computer searching for the name

"Third floor, Ward A5" she said "Do you need help to get there?"

"Yeah, I would appreciate some help" Auggie replied giving the receptionist a smile

The receptionist took her phone and made a call. Two minutes later a nurse appeared and offered Auggie her arm.

Joan was sitting on a chair next to Arthur´s bed when Auggie walked in, holding the arm of a nurse.

"I am so grateful you have come" Joan said, rising from her chair. She touched Auggie´s hand and led him towards the bed.

"Hello Auggie" Arthur said, turning his head a bit to the right where Joan stood with Auggie who was leaning on his cane.

"I am sorry about your accident" Auggie said "I guess I can imagine what you are going through now"

"I guess you have something to talk about" Joan said, taking Auggie´s hand, putting it on the back of a chair. Auggie got the hint, folded his cane, felt for the seat and sat down.

For a few seconds there was an awkward silence in the hospital room. Both men were usually not very close and Auggie did not know how to address the problem without overstepping the invisible boundaries between him and his boss.

Then, Arthur broke the silence "I am glad you could come" he started the conversation "I think I know now what you have gone through when you returned from your Iraq mission. How can you live like that every day?"

Auggie searched for the right words. He did not want to give too much away of himself and after all Arthur was his boss.

"I have gotten used to it after a while. There is still a lot you can do without seeing. Things just require a bit more time and preparation. But you should not worry too much. There is still a possibility that you will get your vision back. And if you need help I will be there to answer your questions." Auggie said.

"Thank you"

The usually cool and tough Arthur Campbell was suddenly overwhelmed by his feelings and he had to fight the tears that stung in his eyes. He needed to get through this, with or without help. Just like Auggie, Arthur did not like asking for help. But this was a special situation and he had to deal with it, whether he liked it or not.

Auggie spent another 10 minutes with Arthur talking about different things, trying to distract him a bit. Then he unfolded his cane again and felt his way to the door. Standing on the corridor, a nurse spotted him and accompanied him to the exit, where the taxi Auggie had called was already waiting.

After his job at the rehab centre Auggie was again confronted with his own destiny and relived the things he had gone through after Iraq.