Chapter 13
Sunday
Greg woke slowly, bleary-eyed and aching. He was surprised to find himself still on top of the bed and completely tangled in the covers. After an initial time in relative unconsciousness, he had tossed and turned the rest of the night. He felt responsible, his brain continuing to try and figure out what went wrong and what he might have done differently.
Untangling himself, Greg got up stiffly and made his way into the bathroom. He emptied his bladder, then went to the sink and splashed water on his face. Regarding his image in the mirror, he noticed the furrows that had begun to etch themselves into his forehead and the dark circles of fatigue under his eyes that made him look like he'd barely survived the fight of his life.
Greg dressed quickly, pulling on the t-shirt, well-worn jeans and sneakers that was his usual weekend attire before heading into the kitchen. Blythe was already there, sitting at the table reading the base newspaper. She looked up at her son as he entered the room.
"'Morning, honey. How did you sleep?"
"'Morning." Greg mumbled. "Fine. Can you give me a ride to the hospital?"
"Of course. You really should eat first, though. Can I make you something?"
Greg thought about it. He knew she was right - if he didn't eat before he left the house, he would probably be too distracted once he got to the hospital to remember.
"No thanks. I'll just take a bagel with me. I can always grab some rice and fish in the cafeteria if I get hungry later."
Blythe would have preferred to cook for her son, but knew that he was stubborn enough that if she pushed back too much he wouldn't eat at all. She looked him over. The previous day's events had definitely taken a toll on her son mentally, although she knew he'd never say a word about it.
The drive to the hospital was a quiet one. Blythe parked the car and together they went inside. They stopped at the front desk long enough for them to find out what room Declan had been moved into. The receptionist's English was not nearly as fluent as the nurse in the Emergency Department, so it was several minutes before they were on their way to the proper floor. Once there, the desk nurse directed them to Declan's room.