Life can't always be easy. But does it have to be this hard?
For those of you who are coming from my ABCs of Family story, this is the exact same chapter as was uploaded there. The next new chapter will come on Sunday, Jan. 12. If you're new here, welcome!
CW: This chapter contains a character in serious peril. Not a light and fluffy chapter. See endnote for more information.
Elizabeth barely heard Faith talking to her, not processing anything beyond "head wound" and "hospital." She climbed into Lee's car beside her unconscious husband, holding his head on her lap to gentle the rocking of the automobile as Lee tried to put miles behind them as fast as possible. Faith sat in the front seat, periodically asking Elizabeth to monitor Nathan's breathing and heart rate throughout the journey.
Running her hands through his hair, Elizabeth could almost imagine he had simply fallen asleep. She struggled to hold onto hope, her fears of the past whispering in her mind and trying to make her break once again.
"Why did you jump off that wagon? Capturing that bank robber wasn't worth your life, you know?" she murmured, tracing the line of his jaw.
There was no response from the unconscious Mountie, and the road loomed long and treacherous ahead. Elizabeth alternated between murmuring words of censure at Nathan's uncharacteristically reckless action, whispering to him how much she loved him, and praying to God that He would allow her more time with her husband.
Finally, they reached the Union City town limits, and Lee made his way carefully through the city traffic to the hospital. Luckily, they were met at the hospital doors by a couple of nurses and a wheeled cot. Florence had called the hospital as soon as the car had left Hope Valley, and they were well prepared to take over Nathan's care. Faith gave them a complete rundown of what had happened to Nathan, and the nurses led the group into the hospital and to a quiet ward on the first level.
Faith and the nurses spoke quietly and quickly, many medical terms going over Elizabeth's head. She tuned them out, finding herself a chair and setting herself up next to Nathan's bed. One nurse began taking Nathan's pulse, blood pressure, and other metrics to evaluate his health. She spent a good while examining the wound on his head. The gash had finally stopped bleeding, though a bruise was beginning to form around it. Elizabeth still couldn't believe that this was all the evidence of whatever horrible wound was causing Nathan to remain unconscious after all these hours.
There was a tap on her shoulder, and Elizabeth looked to Faith and Lee. "I'm so sorry Elizabeth, but I need to get back to Hope Valley. I made sure that Nathan will be seen by the best doctor here, and I will call everyday. Is there anything I can do for you before we go?" Faith asked.
Elizabeth took Faith's hand in her own. "Will you check on Allie, Jack and the baby? Someone should probably bring Daniel here if we're not back by tomorrow."
Lee put a hand on Elizabeth's shoulder. "Rosemary and I will look in on the children. And I will be happy to drive back here with Daniel."
"Thank you Lee. And thank you Faith. I couldn't have done this without you."
Both her friends gave her a hug before they left, and gave their wishes for a quick recovery for Nathan. Then they exited, and Elizabeth was left alone with her thoughts. She gripped Nathan's hand tightly with her own and began to pray once again.
A middle-aged man with salt and pepper hair and a stark white coat walked up to her. "Mrs. Grant? I'm Dr. Mueller, I'll be taking care of your husband."
Elizabeth placed her left hand on Nathan's shoulder to free her right hand to shake the doctor's. "Thank you doctor. How is he?" she asked.
"Do you have a friend here with you?" Dr. Mueller asked.
Elizabeth shook her head, confused at the question, wondering why he would be asking that. "No. Dr. Carter and Mr. Coulter had to return to Hope Valley."
"Ah yes, Doctor Carter," Dr. Mueller said, his distrust of Faith painfully obvious.
Elizabeth tried to keep her own judgment to herself; she needed him to do his very best work to save her husband. "Dr. Mueller, please tell me. What is Nathan's condition?" she pleaded.
Dr. Mueller cleared his throat. "I'm sorry Mrs. Grant, but Doctor Carter has given you false hope. Mr. Grant will never wake up."
Elizabeth felt her entire body go numb, and swore she must have misheard the doctor. "What did you say?"
Dr. Mueller mumbled something about "why women shouldn't," then responded, "Your - husband - will - never - wake - up," emphasizing each word. "Mr. Grant's condition is fatal. He does not have the brain function to maintain life. Eventually, he will stop breathing, and his heart will stop beating."
Elizabeth felt her own breath and heart stop. How could this be happening? Hadn't she suffered enough tragedy at this point?
"Isn't there anything you can do?" Elizabeth asked.
"The ability to heal the brain is extremely limited. All we can do is wait for death to come."
The way he spoke, absolutely devoid of emotion, and his words broke the dam within her. The tears began to fall, and sobs racked through her body.
"I'll send in a nurse," Dr. Mueller said, turning without a sympathetic word.
Elizabeth leaned into Nathan, still clutching his hand tightly. She rearranged herself to get even closer, laying her head on his chest so she could feel the rhythmic soothing rise and fall. Dr. Mueller's words rang in her ears, but she couldn't believe them. She felt his heart beat, not the same strength she had felt in the past, but it was still there. She clung to that heart beat, feeling her own slowing slightly to match his.
"You have to get better, you know. We need you. Allie needs you, Jack needs you, Daniel needs you. And… I need you. I need you… I can't do this without you."
A nurse walked into the room with purpose. She was probably two decades Elizabeth's senior, with white hair pulled back severely, and no nonsense in her brown eyes. But when she spoke, she exuded warmth and kindness. "Mrs. Grant? I'm Nurse Lethbridge."
"Hello," she croaked out.
"Let me check Mr. Grant out, and then I can sit with you for a moment," Nurse Lethbridge said.
Elizabeth managed to clear her throat enough to speak quietly, "Actually, he's Constable Grant. He's a proud, loyal member of the RCMP." She knew Nathan couldn't care less about his rank and status, but she wanted to make sure he was shown all the respect he could get, especially from those who were caring for him.
"Constable Grant, of course."
Elizabeth continued talking quietly as Nurse Lethbridge did her work. "We've been married just over two years. We have two little boys, Jack and Daniel, and our daughter, she's nearly grown. Daniel is just two months old, and I miss him so much. Hopefully, my friend will bring the baby here to be with me. Jack is 7 and thinks he should be nearly grown already. It doesn't help that Nathan is his best friend, and Jack wants to do everything he does. And if he's not following Nathan's example, he's doing what Allie is. Our daughter, Allie is 17 already. I can't believe how fast time has flown. Technically, she's Nathan's niece, but he adopted her a few years before we were married, and I adopted her right after the wedding. Nathan is such an amazing father to all of them. I lost my first husband eight years ago, and…" Sobs broke through her words.
Nurse Lethbridge sat down next to Elizabeth and patted her hand. "I'm here for you sweetie. You just let those tears come, as long as you need to."
The matronly woman was kind, but her kindness wasn't enough at the moment. Elizabeth clung to her husband, wishing she could be in his embrace, feeling his arms cradling her close like he did so well. She wanted to see those beautiful blue eyes of his, steady and strong when she felt her world crashing around her. She needed his soft voice murmuring words of comfort, peace, and love. It wasn't time yet, she wasn't ready to say goodbye.
"Mrs. Grant? Dr. Mueller is very strict about visiting hours. I'm afraid I have to ask you to leave now," Nurse Lethbridge said.
Elizabeth opened her eyes and spied the clock. It was past seven, and she realized she hadn't eaten anything since breakfast or left Nathan's side in hours. She wanted to argue for more time, but she could tell this was one argument she wouldn't be winning. She leaned down and pressed her lips tightly to Nathan's forehead. A few more tears escaped, and she felt them drip down her face to land on his brow.
"Be safe," she murmured, the only words she could choke out. She rose slowly, lingering over the farewell as long as possible. She prayed with every part of her soul it would not be the last goodbye.
"Mrs. Grant? Visiting hours ended five minutes ago. You must leave now, or I'll be forced to have you removed," Dr. Mueller said, not a trace of empathy in his voice.
Elizabeth couldn't believe how little this man seemed to care. Her deep mental and physical weariness prevented her from fighting back, but she knew she would not be spending whatever time she had left with Nathan putting up with this unsympathetic doctor and his poor bedside manner.
"I'm on my way out," she said plainly.
"Now!" Dr. Mueller said.
Elizabeth squeezed Nathan's hand. "See you in the morning."
Ignoring Dr. Mueller's personal huffing and puffing, she walked out of the room with her head held high. Once she was out of his presence however, her shoulders slumped and she fought back the never-ending barrage of tears. Her head was fuzzy from grief and processing all she felt she had to do that night. She walked across the street to the hotel and checked in, telling the clerk she would be staying many days.
"Is there a telephone I could use?" she asked him after checking in.
"Of course Mrs. Grant. You can speak privately over there." He gestured to an alcove near the staircase with a telephone set up on a basic table, a ladder back chair next to it.
She thanked him before walking over and sitting down heavily. She couldn't believe she was about to do this over the phone, but she couldn't keep the children in the dark. The only good thing about being kicked out of the hospital was that she should be able to catch Florence before she left the switchboard for the night.
The Union City operator connected her quickly to Hope Valley, but then Elizabeth sat anxiously waiting for the answer from Florence. She worried that something had taken Florence away, and Elizabeth wouldn't be able to talk to her children tonight. Finally, the operator said that the call was connected in Hope Valley.
"Elizabeth, is that you?" Florence asked.
"Yes, Florence."
Before Elizabeth could ask for the connection to her home, Florence choked out her sympathies. "I've been praying for Nathan all day. Is there any news?"
All Elizabeth could manage to say was," No. Could I speak with Allie please?"
"Of course." As Florence made the connection, Elizabeth managed to express her gratitude.
"Thank you for your prayers Florence. We are grateful to have you bringing blessings our way."
"It's the least I can do. Give Nathan our love," Florence said, then left Elizabeth to her personal conversation.
Allie's voice came on, filled with worry. "Mom? How's Dad?"
Elizabeth tried to speak, but the boulder in her throat prevented any sound.
"Mom? Are you still there?"
Elizabeth managed to croak out her words. "Allie? I need you to bring Jack and Daniel to the hospital. Dad is…"
Her voice gave out, and Allie jumped in, clearly working around a lump of her own. "Is Dad okay?"
"Get here quick."
Endnote: Nathan is in a coma after a Mountie related accident. Most of the chapter revolves around Elizabeth's fears for him and conversations with medical staff, including an unsympathetic doctor, who tells Elizabeth that Nathan will never wake up. The chapter ends on a cliffhanger.