Chapter 9

Hospital policy

There was an audible intake of breath throughout the stadium as the play unfolded. Will was hit first from one defender who hit him low, then from another who hit him high. The impact of the hit was so severe that his helmet was knocked loose and landed about 2 yards down the field. The moment he hit the ground, two other defenders jumped on top of him. Anna jumped up from her seat,

"Delayed hit!" she yelled. Elizabeth stood frozen in time, as she watched the referee's throw their flags and run over to the scene. A defender jumped up from the pile with the ball in his hand, jumping up and down. As the players continued to pile off Will, Elizabeth grabbed Anna's arm. Anna, who was now arguing with Nanna on the rules of the game, quickly looked back at the field. All the players were off Will, and a referee was down on his knees looking over him. The referee suddenly jumped up and started yelling something at the sideline.

"He's not moving." Elizabeth stated with alarm. Five paramedics came running onto the field and surrounded Will. A paramedic waved his hand at the sideline, and an ambulance emerged from the game tunnel and started to drive across the field. By now most of the fans had taken their seat, Elizabeth remained standing.

"Liz, it's ok, he'll be ok…they are just being safe." Anna grabbed her arm and tried to pull Elizabeth to her seat. There were so many paramedics, coaches, trainers, and security on the field you could not even visualize Will. Elizabeth pulled her arm away from Anna and turned to look up at press box that towered above them. She needed to know what was going on, and she knew where she had to go to find out.

"There they go," Nanna interrupted her thoughts, as she quickly turned back to the field. The large mass around Will was moving to the ambulance, everyone was gathered around him tightly, purposely obscuring the view. Once he was loaded, the ambulance quickly exited the field, and the noise of sirens filled the stadium as the ambulance apparently took off towards the hospital. Elizabeth just stood frozen in time, it was only when Anna asked her to sit down that she realized that everyone in the stands had taken their seat but her. She quickly pulled her arm away from Anna and took off through the seats towards the aisle. She pushed her way through the fans trying to go get concessions until she reached the main level. Taking off in a sprint she ran towards the door to the press box. The guard at the door didn't even have time to stop her as she ran past him up the flight of stairs and down the hall to Bill Turner's press box. She pulled open the door and entered the room, just as the security guard caught up with her. He roughly grabbed her arm,

"Just what do you think your doing miss!" He exclaimed as he tried to pull her back out through the door. Elizabeth scanned the room, it was empty.

"Bill Turner, where is he I need to find him!" She replied, as she allowed him to take her from the room.

"Miss, Bill Turner left about 20 minutes ago when he got called down to the field. Now you have to come with me to the security center, and I'm not to hear another word from you!" Elizabeth quickly turned to face him, a look of horror on her face,

"No! I have to go to the hospital! I'm Will Turner's girlfriend!"

"Sure you are, and I'm his mother." The guard replied sarcastically as he led Elizabeth from the press box.

"No please!" Elizabeth began to cry, "Please I need to find Bill Turner." She began to try to pull her arm away.

"Don't make me cuff you!" The guard replied angrily as he forcefully grabbed her other arm pulling it behind her back, while twisting her hand into a plastic slip tie.

"Just what do you think you are doing to my daughter?" Stated a loud voice. The guard then found the roles reversed as another man with one swift move took out his legs, and had his hands pinned behind his back.

"I am stadium security, you have no authority!" The guard exclaimed.

"As chief of security for the governor I act under international diplomacy, so actually I do have authority." Ronald calmly replied as he stood and brushed some dust from his coat. The guard quickly stood and walked away in a huff of fury.

"Father have you seen Mr. Turner?" Elizabeth asked tearfully.

"They called him down shortly after Will was injured." Weatherby softy replied as he pointed Ronald towards the stadium exit.

"What happened, is he ok?"

"He was unconscious when they called Bill down."

"Did he ever regain consciousness?"

"I don't know Elizabeth; they had been trying to wake him up before calling Bill and were unable to." Elizabeth cupped her hand over her mouth as the tears starting flowing from her eyes.

"Come dear, we can go check on his progress at the hospital." Weatherby put his arm around her shoulder and guided her towards the stadium exit with Ronald in the lead.


Bill Turner anxiously paced the waiting room. The moment Will was brought into the emergency room he was ambushed by doctors and nurses starting lines and checking vitals. His uniform was cut off, and there were monitor leads, and IV tubing coming from every extremity. Will had not moved the entire ambulance trip, or throughout the emergency room experience. The paramedic in the ambulance had said something about Will having a concussion and the possibility of a hematoma, whatever that was. From the moment he saw Will unconscious on the field, with a large bruise that encompassed most of his left eye and dirt smeared across his face, everything since had been a blur. They had taken Will to CT over an hour ago; he didn't know what was taking them so long. A few minutes later a doctor and nurse entered the room. Bill quickly met them half way across the room and looked at them expectantly.

"Mr. Turner, why don't you please take a seat and we can go over the test results on your son." The doctor calmly requested. Bill nodded and felt the knot in his stomach twist tighter as he took a seat. The doctor and nurse joined him in the seats on his right and left.

"Mr. Turner your son's injuries today caused a small bleed under his skull. This is why he was unconscious for so long." Bill dropped his head, and took a deep breath in, trying to maintain his composure. The nurse took his hand,

"He will be ok Mr. Turner, please let the doctor finish." The nurse kindly stated with a smile. Bill looked up at the doctor again, this time with more hope in his eyes.

"She is correct Mr. Turner; William's injuries are not permanent. His injury is similar to a concussion in that there is a bruise on the brain, but a few small vessels under the skull broke also causing a subdural hematoma. This is not a bleed in the brain itself, but rather a bleed of the lining that protects the brain. He was very lucky, what happened to his helmet may I ask?" Bill flashed back to the scene of Will being hit and shuddered,

"It was knocked off with the force of the hit." He quietly replied.

"Before or after he hit the ground?" The doctor continued to question. Bill thought back harder,

"Before." The doctor nodded,

"That would explain his injuries. The bruise on his face and head require a lot of force to obtain. Most likely a knee or hip from one of the other players." Bill felt slight relief, knowing Will's injuries were not life threatening or disabling.

"Has he awaken yet?" He questioned.

"Yes." The doctor quickly replied, "He woke up briefly during his CT but was disorientated which is normal. We needed him to remain still for the CT so we administered some medication to put him back to sleep."

"He was calling out for Elizabeth when he was awake, is that his mother?" The nurse questioned. Bill's head slightly dropped again as his emotions started to wear on him,

"Will's mother died when he was very young from an illness. Her name was Ruth." Bill paused again, trying to keep his voice from wavering, "Will is all I have…" Then the nurse's statement settled in and he slightly chuckled as he took out his handkerchief and wiped his eyes.

"Elizabeth is his girlfriend." The doctor and nurse smiled at him while they slowly stood.

"I am sure you will be meeting her soon," he continued and smiled as he stood and shook the doctor's and nurse's hands.

"You can tell her she was on his mind." The nurse sweetly replied.

"We will let you see Will soon Mr. Turner. He has a few more tests, and then we should be able to take him to a hospital room for observation. Until then, we will not allow any visitors but yourself, we do not want to stress him until all his tests are back." Bill nodded and sat back down as the doctor and nurse left the room. He laid his head in his hands and closed his eyes, telling himself that everything was ok…Will was ok.


"I will ask you one more time, is William Turner a patient here!" Elizabeth exclaimed as her father and Ronald came through the Emergency Room doors. They had let Elizabeth off at the entrance while they parked the car.

"Miss we are not allowed to release information to anyone but immediate family." The clerk snidely replied.

"I just want to know if he's here!" Elizabeth practically screamed at the woman. Her father quickly ran to the counter and gently pulled her back, she was practically crawling across the counter at the clerk.

"Elizabeth please!" He stated sternly as she briefly resisted him. She at last threw her arms up in frustration and stormed away, sitting down in the closest chair and placing her head in her hands. Weatherby watched the scene then looked back to the clerk at the counter,

"Miss…(he looked at her name tag) Dove is it?" He warmly smiled at her, "I know Bill Turner came here with his son. Can you please contact him and let him know Weatherby Swann and his daughter are here." The lady looked at him sternly for a moment, "It's Mrs. Dove…Bill Turner is in the radiology waiting room on the second floor east wing." She looked over at Elizabeth and spoke a little louder, "but I still can not tell you if William Turner is a patient here or not!" She then smiled smugly as Elizabeth looked up at her father, with her tear stricken face and a glint of hope in her eyes.

"Thank you." Weatherby replied, choosing to ignore the sarcastic comment made by the clerk directed towards his daughter.

"Come Elizabeth," he softly spoke to her and helped her up as he gestured towards Ronald. They walked in silence as they followed the signs in the hallways that directed them towards the radiology department. Once they passed through the doors of the waiting room they saw Bill Turner in the corner of the room with his head resting in his hands. Elizabeth quickly took his posture as bad news, and started to cry again. Startled by her sudden outburst Bill Turner looked up and saw the trio. Elizabeth was sobbing into her father's shoulder, and Ronald placing a comforting hand on her back. Weatherby looked on hopelessly as he embraced Elizabeth and looked to Bill for the dreadful news. Instead Bill smiled, quickly stood, and walked over to them. He embraced Elizabeth and her father together, taking Weatherby by surprise.

"Elizabeth, he is going to be just fine." Bill rubbed her back as he pulled away from them. Elizabeth turned out of her father's arms and without hesitation embraced him. Bill lightly chuckled as he embraced her back and looked to her father.

"He has a bruise on his face and his brain they tell me, but he is supposed to recover fully." Bill smiled at Elizabeth as she slowly pulled away,

"Can I see him?" She quietly questioned, as she wiped her eyes. Weatherby handed her a handkerchief from his pocket.

"He is still in some tests my dear, but they are planning to take him to a room soon." Bill reassured. Elizabeth nodded, as the nurse reentered the room. She looked at the scene and smiled as she approached the group.

"You must be Elizabeth." She rubbed Elizabeth arm as she looked to Bill for confirmation. Bill nodded,

"Yes, this is Will's Elizabeth." Weatherby, cleared his throat lightly,

"Madame this is Elizabeth Swann, Will's friend. I am Weatherby Swann, Elizabeth's father." He reached out his hand and the nurse took it,

"My name is Mary, I am Will's nurse." She then turned back towards Elizabeth, "and by the way he continues to call for you I think you are more than just a friend." She winked as she looked at Bill.

"He's awake!" Replied Elizabeth as a large smile played across her face. Bill's face lightened up with the news as well.

"Yes, once the medication wears off he easily awakens. But it is important that he rests and remains still for awhile so we can finish his tests, and allow his injuries to start to heal."

"He's asking for me…may I see him?" The nurse looked back to her and shook her head.

"Only Mr. Turner may see him at this time, we do not want to stress him. He will be settled in his room soon, and then we will allow more visitors." Elizabeth nodded.

"Mr. Turner while William is between tests would you like to see him?" Bill agreed and followed the nurse out of the waiting room and down the hallway. She then guided him to a door which opened into a patient holding area. The lady guided him back to a curtained area in the back of the room. As she pulled the curtain Bill once again felt the knot in his stomach tighten. Will was resting comfortably but he had several monitors hooked up to him. Tubes were coming from his arms, and leads were on his head and extremities. He looked up at the heart rate monitor and was relieved to see a steady pattern. The dirt had been cleaned from his face, and the bruise looked less angry around his eye and on his cheek. Regardless from the slight improvements it was still hard to take in. The nurse saw the look on Bill's face and gently took his arm and guided him over to Will's bedside.

"He is lightly sedated to keep comfortable but he awakens easily, I will the leave the two of you alone for awhile. We will come get him for his EEG in a little while."

"EEG?" Bill questioned as he took the seat next to Will's bedside.

"It is a test that looks at his brain waves and ensures his injury did not affect anything." Bill nodded his head and the nurse pulled the curtain as she left, leaving the two of them alone. Bill swallowed hard as he took Will's hand in his own. Will's hand was cool, so he stood and pulled the covers higher across his shoulders. When he looked down at him, Will's eyes were slightly open watching him.

"Well hello there my boy." He smiled warmly as Will opened his eyes further.

"Hey." Will quietly replied. Bill took his seat again, still holding Will's hand.

"Do you know where you are?" Bill gently asked. Will nodded, and looked around his surroundings. A monitor started to lightly beep, the lines displaying across it were fast and close together. The look of concerns suddenly appeared on his face,

"Elizabeth, is she ok?" Will hoarsely asked. Bill chuckled,

"I see where I stand in the ranks," he lightly squeezed Will's hand, "She is just fine, begging to see you, but that will have to wait until you are in your room." Will closed his eyes. The lines on the monitor began to slow; Bill figured it was monitoring his brain activity.

"I am so tired." Will's voice was raspy. Bill looked around for a water cup but didn't see one. He honestly was not even sure if Will was allowed to drink anything yet.

"Just get some rest; I will be right here if you need anything." Bill noticed how Will gently squeezed his hand as he drifted off to sleep. The sentiment almost brought tears to Bill's eyes as he once again realized how lucky he was, and how close he had come to loosing Will. The nurse then pulled back the curtain again and looked at Bill with concern.

"Mr. Turner can I get you anything, something to drink perhaps?" She kindly asked.

Bill shook his head,

"Can William have anything to drink yet?" Bill questioned. The nurse shook her head,

"Not yet, we need to keep his stomach empty in case the need would arise for further treatment." Bill nodded in understanding, and looked back to Will.

"We need to take him down to EEG, which will require him to be sedated."

"You mean more sedated then he is right now?" The nurse nodded,

"Yes unfortunately." She replied.

"May I talk to him first before you do?" Bill questioned.

"Of course." The nurse went over to a locked drawer, opened it, and started drawing up some medication. Bill stood and slightly leaned over Will.

"Will." He spoke softly, when he didn't respond he said his name a little louder and squeezed his hand. Will's eyes slowly drifted open. Bill saw so much of his wife in Will's eyes. The quiet intensity that Will normally displayed was now replaced by a drug induced glazed appearance.

"William, they are going to take you to another test and give you some more medicine." Will shook his head, the monitor again starting to beep.

"No more medicine." Will pleaded. Bill held his hand, trying to reassure him.

"Will you need the medicine, now just calm down." The look in Will's eyes broke Bill's heart. "I will be waiting for you when you are done." Will nodded, closing his eyes again, and the monitor stopped alarming. Just as soon as his eyes had closed, they opened again.

"Elizabeth." Will softly stated, struggling to stay awake. Bill smiled at his son, knowing what he was trying to say.

"I will tell her you say hello and are doing well." As Will's eyes drifted to sleep, and the nurse finished administering the medication, Will whispered,

"I love her." Bill nodded, gripping Will's hand tightly,

"I know you do…I love you so much William." Bill fought to control his composure as the nurse wheeled Will's bed out of the room. The emotions of the day were getting the best of him and he suddenly felt exhausted. He left the room and walked back towards the waiting room. As he walked in he noticed Elizabeth curled up in a chair sleeping. Weatherby was looking out the window, and Ronald was reading a magazine. As the door closed, Weatherby turned around and quickly walked towards Bill.

"How is he doing?" He questioned with concern.

"He is doing well," Bill looked over to Elizabeth in the chair, "I think he was a little disappointed to see me instead of Elizabeth." Weatherby smiled as the two watched her resting in the chair.

"She was so upset, poor dear finally just collapsed in exhaustion." He then turned to face Bill.

"I fear I will have to get used to living alone." Weatherby added with a slight smile on his face. Bill nodded,

"Last time we had a talk about it he seemed very determined." Bill commented.

"They just seem so young." Replied Weatherby.

"They are older than I was," Bill looked back to Weatherby, "actually I am fairly surprised they waited this long." Weatherby looked back his daughter.

"After the car accident, when I lost Emily, I swore to myself that I would never let anything happen to Elizabeth. I've spent my life taking care of her; it will be hard to pass that responsibility on." Bill nodded,

"We've done our part Weatherby, now it is time to let them go and allow them to take care of each other." Weatherby nodded, remaining silent. Bill looked at his watch,

"It's almost 4pm, I'm going to go down to the cafeteria and get some coffee, care to join me?" Weatherby looked to Ronald, who looked up and nodded his head.

"I will watch her sir."

"Would you care for anything Ronald?" Weatherby questioned.

"Coffee sir, with crème please." Weatherby nodded and joined Bill as they left the room.


Elizabeth shuddered in her sleep and woke up in a cold sweat. Her neck and back were aching from sleeping in the chair. She could tell a few hours had passed related to the sun starting to set outside the window. Looking around the room she noticed her father and Bill were gone. Ronald was sleeping in a chair by the door, with his foot laid slightly in front of it. Elizabeth smiled to herself; this way when someone entered, the door would nudge his foot and awaken him. Standing and stretching she turned on her cell phone and noticed she had several missed calls and messages from Anna. As she quietly walked across the room, she began to grow impatient again. Surely Will was in a room by now, unless things had not gone well and he was still in testing or worse surgery. The pain that had finally left her chest when she fell asleep started to reemerge. Knowing that asking the nurse's station for information was futile, she began to think of new plan. She wasn't sure how it worked, if someone needed to contact the hospital to speak with a patient how was this done? Surely people called their loved ones while they were in the hospital? Then an idea popped in her head, and she took out her cell phone and called the directory. She asked to be connected to the hospital. As the phone rang, an operator picked up.

"Yes, may I please be connected to William Turner's room." Elizabeth asked sweetly. The operator paused,

"Hold please." Just getting this far in the conversation elated Elizabeth. The phone rang and a woman answered the phone.

"Room 512, may I help you." What was a woman doing in Will's room?

"With whom am I speaking?" Elizabeth asked calmly.

"My name is Mary, I am a nurse, how can I help you?" Elizabeth sighed, and smiled; now she was sure this was Will's room.

"No, I must have the wrong number thank you!" Elizabeth shut off her cell phone and eyed the door. She had no clue on where her father or Bill went, or how long they would be gone. Will was in a room now, so according to what Mary said earlier he could have visitors. Elizabeth then made her decision. Her patience had dwindled, and as usual her heart prevailed over her mind as she opened the waiting room door just enough to slip out yet not disturb Ronald. She then walked over to the front nurse's station of the radiology department.

"How do I get to main hospital?" She questioned. The lady directed her out to a set of elevators. Elizabeth went up to the fifth floor and walked down a wide hallway. There were different clinics to her right and left. Turning the corner she stumbled upon a janitor.

"Excuse me sir, I am trying to get to room 512, can you provide me with some direction?" She asked in her most innocent voice.

"Yes Miss, you just go through that double set of doors and go all the way to the end of the hallway. Take a left and there will be a nurse's station right down the hall. You have to check in with them before you can go to the room." Elizabeth thanked the man and took off in a steady walk down the long hallway. Exiting through the double doors, the environment changed from carpet floors to linoleum. The walls were white, lined with abstract art, but still cold appearing. She continued down the hallway until she came to the corner where she was supposed to take a left. Peering around the corner she saw the nurse's station. There were monitors and computers scattered all around the station. Knowing the moment she approached the clerk she would be told to leave, she decided to skip the last step of the janitor's directions and just go straight to Will's room-completely avoiding the nurse's station all together. She waited till the clerk at the station seemed preoccupied with the phone before she made her move. She softly treaded down the hallway, and quickly walked past the nurse's station down the hallway that extended behind it. Noting the rooms were numbered, she eagerly followed it to room 512. The door was closed, with a sign on the front that said "Isolation." Elizabeth swallowed hard, wondering what she would do if she walked in and there was a nurse with Will, or worse- it wasn't Will's room at all. The "Isolation," sign also concerned her. If this wasn't Will's room, she did not want to get exposed to some virus or disease. Considering her options, she decided that she was done waiting and being pushed aside and gently pushed down on the door handle.

The room lights had been dimmed and there were two large monitors quietly reading above the bed. Elizabeth could hardly contain herself as she peered down at the man sleeping peacefully in the bed. His curly brown hair was disheveled and still had a few small pieces of grass from the field scattered in it. He had tubing and wires coming from what seemed like everywhere. The large bruise on his eye and cheek seemed to run together. He had a nasal cannula on for oxygen, and multiple IV fluids running into his right arm. Elizabeth could not hold it back any longer, as she cupped her hand over her mouth trying to quiet her sobs, and wrapped her other arm tightly around her waste. She took a deep breath in, and coughed loudly as she continued to try to contain herself. It was then that Will's eyes slightly opened. He looked up and saw a tearful Elizabeth, with her face buried in her hand, and looking as if her world had ended.

"Liz." He forced out, coughing slightly related to the dryness of his mouth and throat. She quickly looked up from her hand, and saw him practically beaming back at her. Losing all logical thought process, she rushed to him, practically jumping on him as she crushed her mouth to his. Will readily kissed her back, attempting to sit up slightly but the throbbing pain in his head said to stay still. Elizabeth deepened the kiss, and she leaned in further, stroking her hands through his tangled hair. Although fairly tied down with tubing and wires, Will rubbed her back and sides reveling in the feeling of her body pressed against his, and her soft lips welcoming and loving him. Both however choose to ignore the multitude of alarms that were beeping from the monitors.

Mary was out at the front nurse's station when she first noticed Will's brain waves rapidly pick up in speed. She looked at the time and decided he was due for some more medication. As she began to walk to the med room his room alarms on the main monitor started to sound as both his brain waves, and heart rate practically doubled in speed. His respiratory rate however had plummeted. It looked as if he had stopped breathing all together. Mary quickly pressed the unit code blue alarm and grabbed the emergency medicine bag as she ran towards his room, with several nurses and doctors following quickly behind her. As she barged though the door she stopped dead in her tracks as a doctor ran into her, pushing her completely through the door. As the remaining nurses and doctors entered the room they were shocked to see Will nearly atop Elizabeth kissing her madly. Both remained completely oblivious to anyone else in the room but themselves. As the attending doctor finally entered the room, viewing the situation and the monitors he quickly broke the silence.

"What on earth is going on in here!" He exclaimed in anger. Will abruptly pulled away from Elizabeth, rolling over and then reaching up to his head realizing he had moved to fast. Elizabeth sat up and noticed Will holding his head. She ignored the mass of people, and started to run her fingers though his hair, speaking words of soft encouragement until he calmed and the pain subsided. Once his pain diminished, the monitors quit alarming and Elizabeth turned to face the music. A group of nurses and doctors stared back at her, none which looked very happy to see her.

"Miss would you please come out in the hall to speak with us for a moment." A doctor asked with a serious tone. As Elizabeth began to stand up out of the bed, Will grabbed her arm.

"Please don't go." He weakly responded, most of his energy drained from their previous encounter moments earlier. Elizabeth looked to the group, whose expression had not changed, then back to Will.

"I will be right back," she moved a tendril of hair from his face, "and don't worry I will always be here, I would never leave you. Now get some rest." She reassured as he closed his eyes. Mary went over to one of his IV ports and injected some medicine. Elizabeth then walked past the mob of medical professionals out into the hallway. They followed in suit and closed the door behind them.


Bill took a sip of coffee as Weatherby followed behind him with a tray of food for Elizabeth. As they walked into the waiting room, the door abruptly stopped as it hit Ronald's foot. Bill and Weatherby smiled at Ronald who obviously was just waking up from a long nap. Weatherby handed Ronald his coffee,

"You look like you need this my friend." He chuckled as he turned back to Bill who was scanning the room.

"Where is Elizabeth?" Bill questioned. Weatherby quickly looked around the room and turned to Ronald.

"Did she go somewhere?" He questioned. Ronald was anxiously scanning the room also.

"Last time I saw her sir she was sound a sleep in that chair." Weatherby looked at Bill and the both of them headed back towards the door only to be confronted by Mary and the doctor as they came walking into the room.

"Mr. Swan." The doctor looked at Weatherby. "We need to talk with you over the actions of your daughter." Weatherby took a deep breath in as he looked a Bill and took a seat in the nearest chair.


Yea update! Sorry it took me so long, the last few weeks have been crazy! Enjoy : )