The Eyes Have It
Chapter Twenty Three - Aftermath
It was no more than a few minutes before the paramedics arrived, but to Marlena it seemed like an eternity. She sat on the wet ground next to John, petting his head and whispering into his ear.
"It's going to be okay, John. Everything's fine. I'm here, Honey. Don't worry, I'll take care of you. Everything's okay." She just kept repeating the words over and over again. Willing them to be true.
When the paramedics took over, Eugene pulled Marlena away and held her close. She still kept talking to John, never taking her eyes off of him, oblivious of anyone else around her. Eugene was worried. She was obviously in shock and her whole body was shaking uncontrollably. Eugene tried to keep her warm by wrapping his jacket around her shoulders.
When they put John into the ambulance, Marlena tried to climb in after him, but there wasn't enough room. Eugene had to use all his strength to hold her back and guide her over to his car so they could follow John to the hospital. Eugene sped along right behind the ambulance, just daring a policeman to try and stop him tonight.
As they wheeled John into the hospital and then right into surgery, Marlena tried to follow him again. Dr. Horton stopped her this time. He tried to speak to her, to explain that she'd just be in the way and to make sure she was okay, but she didn't hear a word. She wasn't there…she wasn't in her body…..she was in the operating room with John.
Eugene & Calliope stayed with her. They got her to sit down in the waiting room and kept her warm. A nurse cleaned and bandaged the cut on her forehead, it wasn't serious. Marlena didn't even notice. She kept mumbling to herself and just stared straight ahead. Eugene had never seen Marlena like this before. He'd never seen anyone like this before. It really scared him. He prayed to God that John would survive, because if he didn't, Eugene doubted that Marlena would ever recover.
When John's surgeon finally came out to report on John, Eugene stood to talk to him. As he began to explain John's condition, Marlena finally came out of her stupor when she heard John's name.
"Is he alive?" she asked quietly as she stared at the surgeon. "Is John alive?"
"Yes, Dr. Evans." the surgeon told her as he came over next to her. "Yes, he's alive. There was some internal bleeding which we are repairing right now and he did suffer a minor concussion, but there doesn't seem to be any swelling in his brain."
"He's alive." Marlena repeated to no one in particular. She closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. "He's alive."
"Unfortunately, there is another problem," the surgeon continued.
It took a few seconds for Marlena to focus, but then she pulled herself together and was able to concentrate on what the surgeon was telling her.
"There was significant damage to John's lower back. We won't be able to tell the extent of the damage until after the surgery and after the swelling goes down. I have to tell you, that there is a chance of paralysis."
Marlena was quiet for a moment before she asked, "When will we know for sure?"
"In the next few days, we'll keep a close eye on him and we'll do whatever we can to help him recover."
"I know you will…..thank you…when can I see him?"
"He should be out of surgery soon and then in recovery. I'll let you know as soon as you can go in."
"Thank you, Doctor."
Eugene returned to Marlena's side as soon as the doctor left. He was relieved to see her actually talking again. He offered to get her a coffee or something to eat, but she didn't want anything. She wasn't going to budge until she was able to see John's face again.
When they finally let her into recovery, John was still under anesthesia. He was all hooked up to the various monitors that Marlena was used to seeing with other patients, but it seemed very strange to see John this way. One side of his face was swollen and badly bruised and he looked very pale, but Marlena was just so grateful that he was still alive, she didn't care about anything else. She pulled up a chair and sat next to his bed, gently taking his hand in hers.
"You scared me, John," she began softly as she kissed the back of his hand. "I was terrified that you were going to leave me, but you promised me that you never would, didn't you? I should have known that you would keep your word. I love you, John. I'm right here. I'll be right here when you wake up." She rested her head on the edge of his bed, never letting go of his hand as tears slowly rolled down her cheeks.
It was several hours before John was fully awake. He tried to open his eyes but his head was pounding. The side of his face felt sore and swollen and it hurt to move in any direction. As he moved his hand, he felt Marlena's in his. He opened his eyes enough to see her head lying on the bed next to his hand. He squeezed her hand as he called her name, "Marlena?"
Marlena's head jerked up when she heard John. "John?" She smiled with her eyes full of tears when she saw him looking at her. "You're awake. How are you feeling?"
"Like I've been hit by a bus."
"Yeah, well, you sort of were….." Marlena leaned over and kissed him very gently.
"What happened? I'm a little foggy on the details?"
"You were hit by a car when we were leaving Blondie's. We were walking across the alley, heading to the car, when I heard a loud car engine and then you pushed me into a pile of boxes. By the time I managed to get up, the car was gone and you were lying in the middle of the street." Marlena's voice began to crack. "It was the scariest moment of my life."
John reached over and touched the side of her face. He noticed the bandage on her forehead and touched it softly. "Are you okay? Did you get hurt?"
"I'm just fine….now that you're awake."
"Thank God, you're all right. Come here." John tried to sit up, to take Marlena in his arms, but his body wasn't cooperating.
"John, don't try to move. You just got out of surgery. You're going to have to rest for awhile and let me take care of you." Marlena climbed up on the side of the bed next to John, carefully avoiding all the cords and monitors. She settled herself gently against his chest so he could put his arm around her.
"Okay, Dr. Evans...so tell me, how long will I be here, letting you take care of me?"
"I'm not sure yet." Marlena began as she looked up into John's face. "You were very seriously hurt, John. I really thought I was going to lose you." Tears began to roll down her cheeks.
"You're not getting rid of me that easily, lady. You still have to marry me," John told her as he wiped the tears off her cheeks with his thumb.
"Yes, I do." Marlena leaned up and kissed him softly and slowly, but thoroughly and completely.
"Hey, that's not fair," John complained as she finally broke the kiss. "You can't do that to me when I'm stuck lying here."
Marlena smiled, "I'm sorry, I couldn't resist." She placed her hand on his face, softly touching the bruised side as if her touch could heal him.
John placed his hand on hers as they stared into each other's eyes, both so grateful that the other one was still here.
"Now tell me, seriously, when can I get out of here?" John asked.
Marlena didn't want to tell John everything that his doctor had told her, not until they knew something for sure, so she only explained what they did know. "You had some internal bleeding which they were able to repair in surgery and you have a mild concussion, but there doesn't appear to be any swelling on your brain. There is some swelling in your lower back so you'll have to take it easy for awhile until that goes down. Your doctor wants you to be very still for several days to allow everything to heal, so I want you to be good and listen to orders, you got that?"
"Yeah, I got that." John pulled Marlena back down against his chest and held her tightly. "I love you, Marlena."
Marlena fought desperately to keep herself from breaking down into tears. "I love you too, John."
"So did anyone get a good look at the car that did this?" John asked as he softly stroked Marlena's hair.
"I don't know. I never saw it. By the time I could look around it was gone."
John was quiet, deep in thought.
Marlena sat up quickly, "You think this was deliberate, don't you?"
"I didn't say that."
"John, do you think someone was trying to kill you?" Marlena asked with panic in her voice.
"Of course not," John began, trying to ease her fears. "It was probably just some drunk, but it terrifies me to think that he's still out there."
John pulled Marlena back down to rest on his chest. Marlena was sure that John was lying to her, but she didn't want to argue with him, not now.
Later that day, after John had finally convinced Marlena to go home to shower and change, he picked up the phone and called his friend, Commander Abe Carver of the Salem Police Dept. He asked if there were any leads on the hit and run driver and proceeded to fill him in on everything he knew about Victor Kiriakis.