Day after day Coralee watched John Dutton lying motionless in his hospital bed. Day after day she wondered if he was ever going to wake up.
"He's not on a respirator, dear, that's a good sign. Your uncle is a strong man, even with a punctured lung he's able to breathe on his own." The nurse, as always, was trying to be reassuring. The young Miss Dutton was sweet and endearing, and the staff admired the devotion she showed towards her uncle. "Just be patient, his coma is giving his body a chance to heal, that's all, he'll wake up in his own time."
"Well, how long is that going to be?" Beth was not so sweet and patient with the staff. It was only Coralee's patience and concern for her uncle's well-being that kept a fight from erupting between the two. "Will this take much longer, is he going to wake up any time soon? How long are you people going to keep him hooked up to IVs? How much longer are you going to keep giving him drugs? As far as I can tell he'd be better off at home."
Coralee turned and left the room. It was a strain being in her uncle's room with Beth every day, let alone having to listen to her tirades. Beth knew about business but knew nothing about medicine. Her sister Suzette was a nurse practitioner and made arrangements with Jamie to oversee Uncle John's care once he was released from the hospital.
"Keep it in the family," Coralee advised Jamie, "You're an attorney general, see what you can do about setting it up. Suzie knows Uncle John and he knows her. She knows how he thinks and how to talk to him. Anyone else would be a disaster, Susie he'll listen to."
She needed fresh air, desperately, so she walked through the hospital doors and out into the sunshine. There was a little courtyard where she liked to sit and drink coffee when she needed an escape from the hospital room and Beth.
She dialed Travis's number, crossing her fingers and hoping that he had his phone turned on and could get a signal. She didn't quite know why she insisted on doing this, he was still angry at her but at the same time, he took her calls whenever he could.
It comforted her to hear his voice. She wished that he could come to Montana, but he was on the road busy making money. She should be with him, she knew it, but as long as Uncle John lay unconscious in his hospital bed, she could not leave his side.
She had seen her father weeping as he sat next to his brother. Uncle John had always been a strong and vigorous man, now he was shrinking away to a shadow of his former self. He was being given nutrients, and physical therapists came in and exercised his muscles every day, but every time she saw his emaciated form she wanted to cry.
Travis's phone kept ringing and she wanted to hang up before it rang into the mailbox when she heard her husband's voice answer the phone.
"I'm sorry honey," he told her, "I was afraid I wasn't going to be able to answer in time. Are you all right?"
"No," she started to cry but stopped herself, "I'm so stressed out trying to deal with this. The doctors and nurses tell me Uncle John's getting better, that he slipped into a coma because his body was too tired. His body needs time to heal himself, that's what they keep telling me but I don't know if I believe it. Beth threw another fit today, I wish they'd kick her out of there. She's rude to the doctors and nurses, she's rude to me, she's rude to Mom and Dad, and my family when they come to see him. I'm eating in the kitchen with Gator because that's the only way I can get some peace."
"Have you been going to the doctor? You've had a pretty bad shock, I'm worried about you and the baby." And he was concerned, she could read it in his voice.
"I've been seeing a doctor at a clinic in the hospital. He told me I'm doing fine but I need to remember to eat and rest. They did the first ultrasound and everything thing looks good." She hoped telling him this would appease him.
"That's good, do they know if it's a boy or a girl yet?" What he meant was, "Do they know if it's boy?"
"It's too soon, that's the next ultrasound appointment. I think it's a girl, I even had a dream about it. Hope you won't be too disappointed with a daughter," she teased.
"Well, whatever it is we're having will be fine with me. Will you have your next appointment here or in Bozeman? It's time you came home, Coralee," there was no mistaking the tone of his voice. You need to come home was not said but implied.
"I can't come home until he's out of the hospital. What if he takes a turn for the worse and I'm not here? You weren't there, Travis, you didn't see him, lying on the side of the road with blood on his shirt. It broke my heart and he's still not out of danger. I know you're busy and you can't just take off, but you have no idea how much I need you now."
"I'm sorry you're going through this, honey, John's a good man and I'm sorry this happened to him. I know how much you love your family, maybe I underestimated how much. Texas is still the wild west but I've never had anything like this happen and as hard as I try I can't imagine what it's like." He drew a deep breath, "If I can get up there I will, in the meantime, please let me know what's going on, okay?'
"I will and Travis, I'm sorry, I'm sorry about everything, it's just that I'm where I need to be for now. As soon as Uncle John is out of the hospital and settled in at home I'll catch up to you."
It wasn't what he wanted to hear, but he knew the Duttons. Nothing would tear Coralee away until she knew her uncle was all right. He admired her love and loyalty, she would be do the same thing for him. She also had a head as hard as a rock and he knew not to argue with her.
When she returned to the ward she saw her sister standing at the nurse's station reading Uncle John's chart. Susie looked up and smiled at her. "Hi, little sis," she told her, "Jamie made arrangements with the insurance company and I'm going to be taking care of Uncle John. Since I'm more than qualified they couldn't say no, I also told them that Uncle would probably intimidate anyone else, so I was the only logical choice!"
"Well, they haven't let me read it but I probably wouldn't understand half of what's in there. How's he doing Suzie? Is he going to be okay?"
"Yes, he will; these kinds of injuries can take time to heal. Don't worry, when he's ready, he'll wake up. I don't have anything going on right now, so I promised Dad and Jamie I'll take care of him." Suzie paused for a moment, wondering if she should say what she was thinking, "You ought to go home to your husband, there's nothing you can do here."
She held up her hand as Coralee opened her mouth to object, "I know you're worried about him, we all are. Dad has taken this hard; Uncle John is his baby brother, it was only ever the two of them, you know."
"I know, but you weren't there when I found him, Suzie. He was lying there, barely alive on the roadside and I didn't know how long he'd been there. It was sheer luck that someone drove by when they did. I couldn't get a cell signal and they drove me to where I could. She's a nurse and she stayed back and looked after Uncle. It was dumb luck that saved his life."
"Okay, Coralee," Suzie looked at her sister, feeling protective the way she always had. "Tell you what, when he comes out of the coma and we get him settled back at the lodge, you go back home to your husband. I'll be there to take care of him and I can handle Beth. Deal?"
"Okay, deal, I don't like it, but deal. At least Beth won't try to mess with you, I think she's scared of you." And for good reason, she thought.
Coralee remembered the only serious fight Suzette and Beth had gotten into. Beth was tough but Suzie was tougher. She'd managed to knock Beth out although that had not been her intention. Suzie had always been taller and stronger than Beth and though the two girls had been forbidden to fight, a fight came anyway. Since that day, Beth generally steered clear of Suzie.
It happened the next day. John Dutton woke up and tried to get out of bed. He was confused, not understanding where he was, and tried to fight off the nurses when they tried to get him back in bed.
Fortunately, Suzie was there. She chased away the nurses and the orderlies, saying, "I'm his niece, he knows me, all you're doing is upsetting him. I'm a nurse practitioner, I know how to handle this."
She raised the back of his bed and gently took his hands. "It's me, Uncle John, it's Suzie. I need to have you relax, can you do that for me?"
It took a moment for his eyes to focus, then he said, "Suzie?"
"The one and only," she smiled at him, "I'm going to raise your bed just a little but I need you to lie back. There," she said as he obeyed her much as a child might.
She took the blood pressure cuff off the wall and checked his blood pressure, trying to hide her concern when she saw how low it was. She took the stethoscope from around her neck and checked his breathing and heart rate.
"There," she said, "All done. Tell me, do you remember what happened to you?"
Maybe she shouldn't be making him talk but it seemed to be clearing his mind. "I remember the truck wasn't handling the way it should. I didn't know if someone had cut the brake line or what, but I couldn't control it, so I pulled off the side of the road. What happened next, I'm not sure, but I heard shots. I could feel something hitting me and watched as this truck pulled away. I dragged myself out where someone could see me and that's the last thing I remember."
The doctor came in and gave her a dirty look. "You don't belong here," he said, his voice curt and unfriendly.
"I'm his private nurse, hired by the family. My cousin is the attorney general if you want to take it up with him. "I'm a nurse practitioner, so I'm qualified to handle more than an RN."
"Get her out of here," said the doctor. She would not let anyone touch her but left on her own.
Coralee arrived ahead of Beth, grateful that she would have a short break from her. It had been stressful having to stay in the room with Beth day after day, but she would not let Beth drive her away from Uncle John.
She saw Suzie sitting in the lounge. She went over to her,"What happened? Why aren't you in the room with him."
"Well, do you want the good news or the bad news?"
"The good news, please, I can use some good news." She sat next to Suzie.
"Uncle John came out of his coma. I don't know what the doctors are doing, they chased me out, but Uncle is on his way to recovery." She saw tears forming on Coralee's and brushed them away with her long fingers. "Don't cry, little sister, it's only good news from now on. Uncle John will be coming home soon and I will be there to look after him."
They heard a scream, followed by the words, "You bastards, what are you doing?" and knew that Beth had arrived.
"Think I should try to do something about it?" Suzie asked.
"Nah," answered Coralee, "that would be no fun." They sat and waited to see what would unfold.