Elise once again paused at the door and took a deep breath before entering the room. When she entered she saw an unusual picture. Brodi's mother hand pulled the rail down on one side and was sitting cross-legged on the bed, holding Brodi's hand in her lap with one hand, the other caressing his face and smoothing back his hair. At the same time she was singing to Brodi in a language Elise didn't understand.
Elise cleared her throat. "Mrs. Fo…uh, Trish?"
"It's called the Gayatri mantra," Trish answered the unspoken question without taking her eyes off of her son. "Very ancient song. I used to sing it to Brodi when he was a baby." Finally she turned and smiled at Elise. "Even when he got older, I would sing it to him if he was sick or upset."
The older woman smiled again and beckoned to Elise. "Come on over here, sweetheart."
Elise walked over to the opposite side of Brodi's bed and took his other hand. She felt Trish's gaze on her as she carried out her own little ritual of leaning forward and kissing Brodi's forehead, whispering hello in his ear.
"I'm glad to see someone talking to him. I think it keeps him anchored here."
Elise smiled grimly and looked from Brodi back to his mother. "Nate told us on day one that he would hear us. The nurses in the ICU pretty much said the same thing, although they won't say it around the doctors."
Trish nodded. "Nate seems to be a good man with a good heart. I'm glad my son has friends like the two of you."
"I think we're the lucky ones."
Trish laughed. "Nate said the same thing." Then, her expression grew more serious. "Honey, do you know why he's still being sedated?"
"What?"
"My son is heavily sedated. Nate explained the reason behind keeping him out at first." Trish looked back to her son, touching his temple with the back of her fingers in a sweetly tender gesture. "But I was under the impression that the sedation had been stopped."
Elise looked from Brodi to his mother and back again. "It has stopped. I mean, it is supposed to have stopped. We've been told that his lack of response is an organic problem and not chemical. What have I missed? I'm confused."
Trish held her hand up. "It's OK, honey. Don't blame yourself." She got up and walked around the bed, putting her arm around the younger woman. "I see you haven't warned your friend about what kind of family you come from, my darling boy." She returned her attention to Elise. "Brodi wasn't raised a Zen Buddhist. We taught him to be aware, to study, to find his own path. His father takes a rather eclectic approach to life, while I tend to focus on Dianic Wicca. I'm also fairly adept at energy perception." Trish smiled and returned to her perch on Brodi's bedside. "My son, as you know, is full of life. He's very vibrant and gregarious, and his aura tends to be very strong. Not so much right now, though, and it is not merely because he's unconscious. Something is very, very wrong here." Again she sighed, looking at her son, then to Elise. "It's hard to explain how I know, and I'm sure it sounds positively insane to you."
Elise shook her head. "Doesn't matter what I think. All I need to know is that you're his mother. I know you're a close family, and I'm sure you know him better than any of us could ever hope to. If you say something is out of place, then we need to look for what is out of place."
Trish smiled. "I see why my son likes you so much. You're secure enough to allow for differing opinions, and you're not afraid of what you don't understand."
Elise probably would have blushed at the comment, but she was already trying to figure out whom to talk to about finding out exactly what was flowing through that IV.
Almost as if she was reading Elise's thoughts, Trish offered, "I don't think it will do any good to talk to anyone, dear. I've been trying to figure it out. There was a nurse in here on rounds while you were gone, and she wasn't very forthcoming with information."
Elise nodded.
"Can the IV be removed without hurting him?"
Elise shuddered. "I wouldn't do it. Maybe Nate; if we tell him what we think is going on."
Trish nodded. "Yes, he did say he was an army corpsman. Will he help us?"
Elise shrugged then looked at Brodi and rested a hand on his head. "I'll talk to him. If someone is deliberately placing Brodi in harm's way, he'll do what needs to be done."
Trish nodded again. "Then it's settled. Shall we go talk to Kurt and Nate?"
Elise took a glance at Brodi and squeezed his hand. "OK, Brodi. Wish us luck. We'll be back in a few minutes."
