Kayla walked slowly down the hall towards the intensive care unit. This area of the hospital was quiet, reserved for patients in critical and serious condition and the entire floor operated in hushed tones that matched the seriousness of the injuries and illnesses the staff was charged with treating.
Nodding politely at the orderly manning the entry to the ICU, Kayla pushed the button that opened the automated doors and made her way towards Shane's room.
She knew she was taking advantage of her staff privileges, because patients in ICU were usually restricted to one visitor at a time. But she had been making this trip for the last couple of days and nobody had said anything yet. She doubted anyone would. Shane was a major benefactor of the hospital and Kim was an employee like Kayla and Marlena. That meant that Shane was family to University Hospital and the entire staff would treat him - and the people around him - as such.
Reaching Shane's room - not really a room, more of a curtained off area - Kayla peeked around the curtain that provided some small measure of privacy. She saw her sister sitting quietly in the chair beside Shane's bed, just as she had been for the last two days.
Standing just outside the room, Kayla's practiced nurse's eye took in Shane's condition. He was still attached to the ventilator and the breathing tube obscured part of his face. He had IV lines running into both arms and she could see the edge of the chest tube on the opposite side of the bed. A blanket was pulled up to just above his waist, leaving his bandaged chest exposed.
Remembering the gunshot wound and the treatment in the emergency room, Kayla knew that the bandages covered a long row of stitches that ran down the center of his chest.
Focusing on Shane's face, Kayla was glad to see that his color had mostly returned. The blood he had been given to replenish the massive amounts he had lost seemed to have finally done its job. But that was the only good sign Kayla could see. Shane's eyes were closed, and there was no sign that he was regaining consciousness.
As she watched, Kim reached up, took Shane's hand, and pressed it to her cheek. "I know you want to wake up," Kim said softly, stroking his hand. "You just need to open those beautiful eyes and come back to me."
"He will," Kayla said, finally stepping into the room.
"I know." Kim turned and gave her sister a tired smile. "It's just a matter of time, that's all."
Kayla nodded, hoping Kim was right. She once again found her nurse's knowledge at war with her heart. The professional side of her knew that Shane's injuries had been severe, that he had lost a lot of blood, and that it had taken time to get his heart restarted. All of those factors made some kind of brain damage a distinct possibility.
Yet, her heart would not consider the possibility that Shane might not wake up. For Kim's sake, for the children's sake, for Shane's sake, Kayla could not imagine him remaining in that hospital bed forever.
"So . . . anything new today?" Kayla asked as she stepped to Kim's side.
Kim shook her head. "Marcus says his wounds are healing well, but. . . ." Her voice trailed off.
Kayla looked closely at her sister, and saw the dark circles around her eyes and the lines on her face. It was obvious that Kim was exhausted.
"Did you stay here all night again?"
Kim refused to meet Kayla's eyes, but nodded. "I went home for a few hours in the evening to have dinner with the kids and put them to bed. But I just couldn't stay in that house without Shane."
Kayla sighed. "I understand how you feel, Kim, but you can't keep doing this. You need some rest or you're going to end up as a patient in this hospital yourself."
"I'm fine," Kim said, clearly irritated. "I got some sleep here and, before you mention the kids, I went back home this morning to have breakfast with them."
Instead of responding, Kayla walked to the other side of the small room and picked up the chair sitting there. Carrying it over beside Kim, Kayla set it down and then sat. Then she reached over, took Kim's hand, and faced her sister.
"I know you think you can handle all of this - staying with Shane, spending time with the kids - but you're exhausted. I can see it. And I know you can feel it, no matter how much you are trying to fight it."
Kim started to protest, but Kayla held up her hand. "I know. You don't want to leave Shane's side in case he wakes up. You want to be here because it's where you know you need to be. I understand that. But making yourself sick isn't going to do Shane any good."
"It's only been a couple of days," Kim said tiredly.
"Since Shane was shot, yeah. But we had days before that in that hanger, and you weren't getting any sleep there either. I'm a nurse, Kim. Your body can't take the lack of sleep and lack of food much longer."
"I've had food," Kim protested.
"You've had a bite here and there. I know because I've been with you most of the time. And I'm sure, if I called Simmons and asked, he'd confirm that you ate next to nothing when you were at the house."
Anger flashed in Kim's eyes. "What do you want me to do, Kay? You want me to go home and pretend everything is okay?"
Kayla ignored Kim's anger and pressed forward. "Of course not. I know that you need to be here and that Shane needs you here too. But you need to go home tonight, eat a real meal, and get some real sleep. If you think you won't be able to sleep, then we can get Neil to write you a prescription for a sleeping pill."
"Kay-"
"No, Kim. Don't fight me on this anymore. If you don't want Shane left alone, then I'll get the family together and we'll take shifts. But you need to take care of yourself. . . . If you won't do it for you or for me, do it for Shane." Kayla gave Kim a slight smile. "He is going to wake up, and he's going to need your strength when he does."
Kim was quiet for a moment, then gave a small nod. "All right, Kay. I'll go home in time for dinner tonight. And I'll talk to Neil about prescribing something for me."
"Good." Kayla felt relieved. "Now, I want you to come with me and get some food." She held up her hand again. "Don't argue, Kimmie. The sooner we go and get you some food, the sooner you can come back."
"You really don't give up, do you, little sister?"
"Nope." Kayla up and pulled Kim from her chair. "Let's go."
Kim smiled and followed Kayla from the room. They stopped at the desk, let the nurse on duty know where they would be, and made their way to the cafeteria.
Kayla watched carefully as Kim selected some fruit and a muffin for her tray. Ignoring the look Kim gave her, Kayla added some cereal and milk as well. After paying for their meals, Kayla led Kim to a table, sat down, and stared pointedly at Kim's tray.
Sighing, Kim began eating. At every pause, Kayla would clear her throat and point again at the tray. Despite several eye rolls and a glare or two, Kim kept eating and finally finished off her breakfast.
"Satisfied?" Kim said as she pushed he tray away.
Kayla shrugged. "For now."
"So are you going to babysit me all day now?" Kim asked, but without the earlier irritation.
Kayla smiled, but shook her head. "I probably should, but I . . . I'm actually going back to work this afternoon."
"Oh." Kim could not mask her surprise, but she recovered quickly. "That's great, Kay. I know that you enjoy your work."
"I'll still be here at the hospital," Kayla said quickly, feeling a little guilty for some reason. "So I'll be able to check on you." She glanced at Kim. "But I've been off work for a while now and I just can't really justify staying away any longer."
"It's okay, Kay." Kim looked down at the table. "I know that everybody's life can't stay on hold just because Shane's in a . . . a coma."
"He won't be there for long," a voice said behind Kayla. She turned to find Alice Horton standing there.
"Mrs. Horton." Kayla smiled. "It's good to see you."
"It's very good to see you too, my dear. Both of you." Alice seemed to study them. "How are you both? We were all so preoccupied the other night, I didn't really get a chance to ask. You know . . . the two of you had us all very worried. I'm so glad you are both okay."
Kayla shared a glance with Kim and they both nodded. "We're fine."
Alice turned to Kim. "How is Shane doing today?"
"About the same," Kim answered.
"Well, that just means his body is taking the time it needs to heal," Alice said with her usual optimism. "He'll wake up when he's ready."
Kim nodded again. "I'm sure you're right."
"Of course, I'm right." Alice leaned over and put her hand on Kim's shoulder. "I know it's difficult sometimes, but the one thing that nobody can ever take away from us is our hope and faith. It's gotten me through more difficult situations in my life than I care to remember, and it will get you and Shane through this too."
"I hope so," Kim said.
"Trust me." Alice patted Kim's shoulder. "You know . . . while you were missing, Julie and I went over to the house to check on Shane and your kids. You can't imagine how worried he was . . . not just about you and Kayla, but about what might happen to the children. But he didn't give up hope, Kimberly, so you can't either."
Kim said nothing and sighed, but Alice continued.
"I can tell you one thing that was quite obvious. Look at me, Kimberly." Alice waited until Kim complied and then said, "Shane loves you very much. And when he wakes up, he's going to tell you that."
As Kim slowly nodded once more, Kayla smiled at Alice's words. It never ceased to amaze her how Mrs. Horton could make you feel better just by her presence and her sincere words. Somehow, when Alice Horton said everything was going to be okay, you just had to believe it was true. Kayla could only pray that Alice was right this time too.