Chapter Five:
Dr. Lewis sat in the chair across from Nathan's bed, while Elizabeth sank to Nathan's feet once again, her hand reaching subconsciously for his still hand. Dr. Lewis looked at her very seriously while he spoke. "Mrs. Grant, I have to be honest and we have to look at the facts. It's now been 30 hours since Constable Grant's injury, and there has been no change to his condition. While it is promising that he has not regressed in any way, his prognosis isn't truly any better than before. His chances of survival are low. All we really have is hope."
Elizabeth appreciated the honesty and tucked away the reality into her mind. But she also allowed the word hope to fill her heart with its meaning. "I've done a lot in my life with hope. I can live on it for now. But is there anything I can be doing? I just feel so helpless right now."
"There's a few medications I will be putting him on, but most of his recovery will be supporting his body in the right way to heal itself. As far as anything you can do, I heard a story when I was in medical school of a coma patient waking up and remembering everything that happened around him while he was asleep, so don't be embarrassed to talk to him, and have your children around him."
It was reassuring to hear him be so completely opposite of Dr. Mueller. "Thank you Dr. Lewis. I appreciate your help, and your optimism."
Dr. Lewis gave her a sympathetic look. "I've only heard a minimum of what happened with Dr. Mueller, but I can make some assumptions based on what I know about him. He is an old school doctor, and he sees himself as the ultimate authority. He is a truly wonderful doctor, so he deserves the respect and admiration from that. But it has also made him somewhat arrogant and unwilling to listen to other's opinions, which makes him difficult to work with."
"So it's not just me," Elizabeth said, realizing how relieving it felt that she hadn't truly done something wrong to get the best doctor in this hospital off of her husband's team.
"No, it's not just you. However, I've developed enough of a rapport with Dr. Mueller, as a colleague, and I hope that he will stay on, in the background, as someone I can turn to for advice. I've never treated a patient in the condition your husband is in, so I would appreciate it, as long as you agree, to keep Dr. Mueller involved." Dr. Lewis paused, and waited stoically for Elizabeth's answer.
The request gave her a slight chill. She had thought she wouldn't have to interact with Dr. Mueller ever again. However, Dr. Lewis was saying that the other doctor would only be involved peripherally with Nathan's care. And if Dr. Mueller had Dr. Lewis's regard, then maybe it was worth it to give him a second chance.
"I want everything to be done for Nathan that can be done. So, please, if Dr. Mueller can help my husband, please include him."
Dr. Lewis stood slowly, maintaining her steady gaze the entire time. "I will still be Constable Grant's primary doctor. Dr. Mueller's involvement will not include you at any point unless absolutely necessary."
He held out his hand and gave Elizabeth a quick, firm handshake. "I need to check in on another patient now, but I'll be back later this afternoon."
Elizabeth nodded. "Thank you for everything. I'm so grateful to have you on our team."
Once Dr. Lewis stepped out of Nathan's room, Elizabeth turned to her husband and began speaking to him softly. "Did you hear that Nathan? There's hope. I have hope and faith that you will recover. So you hold on to hope too, and come back to us."
A familiar voice spoke from the doorway. "Did you say there's hope?" Allie asked.
Elizabeth held out her hand to beckon Allie towards her. "Yes. Dr. Lewis couldn't give any promises, but unlike Dr. Mueller's pessimism, he has an optimistic attitude. I've always felt like those who take care of others should have reasonable optimism, because we can't give up just when something looks hard."
Allie gave a nod of her head. "That's great advice."
Noticing that the boys weren't with Allie, Elizabeth asked after them. Allie explained that Abigail had come by their room just as the boys had woken up from their naps, and she offered to take both of them on a walk. "Jack didn't want to come back to the hospital. I think he's still worried about Dr. Mueller." Allie explained.
Elizabeth hated that the one experience Jack had with a hospital was so traumatic. She wanted him to be able to see Nathan and spend time with his dad, just as Dr. Lewis had suggested. She pondered for a moment if she had made a wise decision allowing Dr. Mueller to continue to be involved with Nathan's care. What if he came around while the children were there, and got angry again? Elizabeth was grateful for the time-being that it wasn't going to be an issue. "Well, Jack and Daniel will have more fun with Miss Abigail, I'm sure. How are you doing?"
Allie sank to the chair next to the bed. "I just keep praying for Dad. It's hard to not be able to do anything else."
Elizabeth looked deep into her eyes. "I know the feeling."
She rose to her feet in order to put her arms around Allie. They held each other close for a minute, neither speaking as they absorbed the feeling of safety the other brought to them.
"Mom, what happens if Dad doesn't wake up?" Allie asked, her eyes shiny as she looked to Elizabeth for the answer. Elizabeth wished she could give her daughter greater reassurance than to not give up hope.
"I wish I could tell you that everything will be alright, and Dad will wake up just fine in a few days. But there's no guarantee of that. The only promise I can make to you is that I will be here for you, no matter what happens."
Allie hung her head. "But, since I'm only your step-daughter, won't things change if Dad isn't around?"
Realizing exactly what was worrying Allie, Elizabeth squeezed her tighter. "You are not just my step-daughter. You are my daughter. In fact, I knew I wanted to be your mother even before I knew I wanted to marry your dad."
"Really?" Allie asked.
Elizabeth gave a little chuckle as she remembered the moment she knew she would be in Allie's life forever. "Do you remember your first adoption ceremony? When you invited just your dad and I?"
Allie gave a sheepish smile. "I know that I overstepped that day. But I just couldn't help going after what I really wanted."
"You seemed to know exactly what we should have seen then. Even though I was embarrassed, considering I was still seeing Lucas at the time, I did realize that day how much you meant to me, and how much I would like to be a part of your family. I wanted to do everything I could, within reason, to be someone you could come to whenever you needed."
Allie smiled at the memory. "Honestly, I would have asked Judge Avery to marry you and Dad on the spot if I had known what our future was going to be. Save you both the trouble."
The thought of skipping some of those years of heartbreak and sorrow did appeal to Elizabeth. Knowing the future would have made that moment less awkward at the very least. "Dad and I have spoken about some of that. The truth is, if we could have seen the end of the path, we wouldn't have grown in the ways we needed to in order to make our family what it is today. You wouldn't have become the amazing young woman you are if you hadn't had to deal with all the learning experiences you've had. It would be nice if life just gave us what we wanted all the time, but unfortunately, sometimes we have to wait and grow in our waiting."
Allie pulled out of Elizabeth's arms just enough to look her in the eye. "I guess you're right. Thanks for always teaching me."
She smiled proudly at her daughter. "Thanks for all you've taught me, and continue to teach me. I love you."
"I love you too."
With another tight squeeze and focus on one another, neither woman saw the corners of Nathan's mouth twitch up ever so slightly.
Here's my shameless plug to review, especially because today happens to be my birthday. Happy mumble-mumble-7th birthday to me!