She Can And She Did

Chapter 23

The following week was busy for Lee and Amanda as they were doing milk runs and security checks near the D.C. finer hotels.

Near the end of the week, Amanda was out on a run with Francine, near the Chesapeake Bay area while Lee had just returned from Baltimore, and was debriefing Billy on his run Thursday afternoon when a call came in.

Billy picked up the receiver, stating, "Melrose..."

Listening a few moments, he then answered, "Put it through."

He stated as the call came through, "Mrs. West? What can I do for you?"

Lee noticed the man's expression change as he stated, "No, Amanda's out on location, but Lee's here...Just a minute..."

Handing Lee the phone, he responded grimly, "She's calling from an emergency room in Reston...Jamie's there..."

Lee took the receiver, and answered into it, "Mrs. West...What..."

As she talked, Lee grabbed a pen from Billy's desk and a scrap of paper, writing quickly, commenting, "Inova...Reston...Yes, I got it, and I'm leaving right now...Don't worry... Jamie's going to be fine...See you soon."

Billy, taking the receiver from Lee, waved him towards the door remarking, "Go, and I'll get word to Amanda! Hope Jamie's alright."

Lee answered as he left, "Soon as I know what's going on, I'll let you know... Thanks."

He made it within half an hour to the Inova Urgent Care despite the GW Pkwy traffic, and entering the building, he found the waiting area, and Dotty, on a couch, rose, as she saw him, answering, "Lee!"

Lee gave her a brief hug asking calmly, "Mrs. West... What happened? How's Jamie?"

Dotty swallowed, and shrugged, stating, " Well, he and some friends were dropped off at the Herndon Skate Park by one of the parents, and that Jamie would have a ride home-Amanda gave him permission this morning, and..."

Lee, trying to be patient as Dotty went on, he put up a hand querying gently, "I-I understand. But where's Jamie now? What happened?"

Dotty gulped commenting, "Oh, the doctor's still checking him out...Something about a possible arm fracture, but they don't know yet...They're running tests."

Lee, looking around, asked then, "Where's Phillip?"

Dotty remarked tiredly, "At Billy Barton's house. I asked him to stay there because there's nothing he can do anyway, and where is my daughter?"

Lee, thinking quickly, stated with a gesture, "Our boss is having her sent here from the location site as soon as possible...C'mon, let's sit down, huh?"

-SMK-

It was another hour that passed when finally, Amanda appeared, and hugging her mother and Lee, joined them at the couch, and queried, "What happened? Is Jamie alright?"

Dotty related what she knew, and added worriedly, " They had me fill out forms, but you'll have to show them your insurance card, Dear, and then finish up what I couldn't. Dr. Pine is still in there with him...I wish they would just come out and tell us more-"

Amanda, getting up, stated, " Mother, don't worry...I'll let them know I'm here, and maybe they'll let me see him for a minute..."

After twenty minutes had passed since Amanda went to see the doctor, she came back to the waiting room, stating to Dotty, " Okay. They have my insurance card and I finished the paperwork and saw Jamie. It is a hairline fracture to his wrist. They're going to send him to get a cast put on-"

Dotty bewildered, asked, "Well, what exactly happened? You gave him permission to go to this skate park with his friends, and then what? What did he tell you exactly this morning, Dear?"

Amanda answered softly," Since Phillip and Jamie had a half day at school today, Jamie said that Justin's mother heard that there was to be an exhibition this afternoon at this park with either Tony Hawk or Mark Gonzales, so she was going to take Justin, and wanted to know if Jamie and Phillip wanted to go. Phillip was doing something else, so he declined, but I told Jamie he could go, as long as he had a ride home, later...Now, Mother...Who called to tell you about Jamie's accident?"

Dotty sighed commenting sadly, "Justin's mother...She had just arrived to pick up the boys when she saw that paramedics were there, and first thought that Justin had been hurt, but then saw it was Jamie, and gave the paramedics what information she could, and then she called me to tell me where to meet Jamie She stayed until I got there and she and Justin had to leave...Oh, Amanda..."

Amanda shared a hug with her mother remarking with a swallow and a nod, "I-I know, Mother-"

Just then, Dr. Pine came out. "Mrs. King?"

Amanda rose from the couch querying, "Yes?"

Dr. Pine remarked, "We'll be taking him to get his wrist cast now...".

Amanda nodded and commented to Dotty and Lee, "I'll be back soon."

Lee remarked, "Glad he's gonna be okay, Honey. I'm gonna call Billy, and bring him up to date..."

Amanda nodded, and headed back into the exam cubicle where Jamie was, and stroked his cheek remarking, "You'll be alright, soon, Sweetheart, but they're going to have to put a cast on your wrist, okay?"

Jamie replied nervously, "Is-Is it gonna hurt?"

Dr. Pine answered, "A bit, Son, but we have pain medication for you. But don't worry. We've had a lot of cases like yours, so we know what we're doing."

Amanda, patting Jamie's hand, commented, "See? Nothing to worry about...Now, I'm gonna go let Grandma and Lee know, okay?"

Jamie, puzzled, asked, "Lee's here? Why?"

Amanda responded, "Well, I was on location, and they couldn't find me right away, so Lee offered to come and wait with Grandma until I could get here...Wasn't that nice of him?"

Jamie shrugged answering, "I guess...Mom, do you really like him?"

Amanda remarked with a nod, "I really do, and listen, I know it's gonna take a while for you and Phillip to get used to having him around, but I really think it'll be fine."

Then noticing the doctor and nurse waiting, Amanda cleared her throat and commented, "Well, let's go take care of your wrist now, Honey..."

-SMK-

As Dotty and Lee waited for Amanda and Jamie they were discussing the incident at the park, when another visitor to the waiting room, a young woman, about Amanda's age, stated, "Are you talking about that park thing with the skater?"

Dotty turned towards the opposite end of the room where the woman visitor was talking, and Dotty said, "Yes...Were you there?"

Then another person, a young male in his mid twenties, stood up, answering Dotty softly, "I-I was...I was the one showing your grandson the skating move...I'm Tom Alder, a friend of Mark Gonzales. He was supposed to be there, but he had another commitment and sent me in his place. I'm truly sorry for what happened, Ma'am..."

Lee, clearing his throat, asked, "What did exactly happen?"

The young man said, I was at the park today to show some kids moves they could learn, and after showing one move, I asked if anyone wanted to try it-"

Dotty swallowed answering, "And Jamie volunteered?"

The woman visitor replied, "Yeah, along with my son, who now has a dislocated shoulder! You know, even with those knee pads and arm braces and helmets they have out there, kids can still get hurt!"

Dotty went over to where the woman was and stated, "I'm Dotty West, and I'm sorry about your son's injury as well."

The woman sighed, and shrugged commenting, "I'm Becky Duncan, and my son, Troy, is in the other room getting his shoulder reset, and put in a sling."

A nurse came out querying, "Mrs. Duncan? Your son is all set. You can get his prescription filled at the pharmacy next door on your way out."

Becky, standing up, answered, "Thanks..."

Looking at Dotty, she remarked, "I hope your grandson is alright soon."

Dotty touched her hand and nodded, stating, "Thank you...Same with Troy, Mrs. Duncan..."

As Becky left, Dotty asked Tom, "Were there any release forms signed in case something happened? I don't remember my daughter getting anything from Jamie this morning. It was just supposed to be an exhibition, right?"

Tom swallowed hard, responding with a nod, "Yes, Ma'am...But the kids seemed so into it, that I didn't think-"

Lee, clearing his throat, remarked , "Let me put it to you this way, Tom...If anything worse had happened, you'd be looking at a lawsuit. You know that, right?"

Tom nodded stating, " Yes, Sir, And again, I apologize. It was careless of me...Look, I'll cover the cost of the boys' injuries here-"

After a moment, Dotty stated, "Now that I remember, he didn't take any protective gear with him, did he?"

Tom spoke saying, "I had stuff for them to put on for the lesson, -"

Dotty scoffed remarking, "Heh! Mrs. Duncan was right! A lot of good that stuff does anyway-"

-SMK-

It was another hour later when Amanda and Jamie returned to the waiting area, as Dotty and Lee rose from the couch, seeing Jamie in a wheelchair, and his wrist in a cast, and Amanda, signing Jamie's release forms, asked Dr. Pine, "He's all set then? We can take him home, Dr. Pine?"

Dr. Pine nodded and responded, "Of course, Mrs. King. I'll write a scrip for pain for the pharmacy, and you can pick it up on your way out, along with a sheet outlining home care..."

Looking at Jamie then, he said, " Take care, Jamie...And listen, I'd advise against any skateboarding for at least a couple of weeks, alright?"

Jamie commented glumly, "Okay..."

Amanda nudged Jamie, "Something you want to say to Dr. Pine, Jamie?"

Jamie sighed answering to Dr, Pine, "Thanks...How long before I get this thing off?"

Dr. Pine remarked, "At least four weeks...But don't worry. The time will fly...And you'll need to follow up with your regular doctor...Take care, Folks."

As the doctor left, Amanda, seeing Jamie's forlorn expression, touched Jamie's cheek answering softly, "Hey, your grandmother and I are just glad you're in one piece, okay? I think you've had enough fun for a while, anyway. So, c'mon, let's get you out of here, huh?"

Jamie sighed responding, "Gee, Mom, do I have to sit in this thing? I can walk-"

Amanda smiled as she touched Jamie's shoulder lightly, answering, "It's just until you get outside, Jamie."

Lee remarked to Amanda, "Billy sends his best for Jamie and had the company limo sent to get you all home. It should be here by now...Oh, by the way, Tom Alder had to go, but arranged to have everything taken care of-X-rays and all today-"

Dotty replied, "As well he should-"

Jamie then said, "But Lee, it wasn't his fault! We wanted to try the move-"

Lee was about to answer when Amanda responded gently, "Jamie, I think we should talk about this later and just get you home, alright?"

Lee remarked to Jamie, "Your mom's right, Jamie...You just concentrate on getting better, huh?"

As the limo arrived and Amanda's family got in, Amanda queried to Lee quietly, "You checked out Tom Alder, didn't you?"

Lee clearing his throat commented, " I had Billy check it out...He is who he says he is, and what happened today was just an unfortunate accident."

Amanda then asked, "Coming for dinner?"

Lee kissed her replying, "Wouldn't miss it...See you soon."

When they left, Lee sighed, thinking today was a test from up above to see if he was up to the challenge of becoming part of a real family, and making him aware that there would be many more in the future for this former loner bachelor...

TBC