CHAPTER FIVE #2
"I know. Anything is possible right now. We'll figure it out. We just have to keep you and Lizzy calm for now. Both of you are ready to rush into the operating room and demand answers."
"Can you blame us?" Lance bit his lip. He couldn't take his anger out on others.
They were doing the best they could, and they were worried too.
Franks and Angus were like brothers and Lance knew that this was as hard on him as it was him.
"Thanks for the update. Go get Martin. He'll want to be up there waiting.
I'll join you as soon as I get done here. "
"They're not keeping you?" Franks looked surprised.
"They said they were going to try, but I'm not that injured.
I can deal with a sore shoulder and a few cuts.
I have a slight concussion, but I'm sure anyone in the blast zone does.
It's not like I'll be leaving the hospital.
If there's a problem, I'm already here." Lance cringed as he felt the nurse pull what must have been a deeply imbedded piece of glass from his upper thigh. "Felt that."
"Sorry, will add a little more lidocaine," the nurse told him.
"Has anyone gotten hold of Bethany or Ray?" Franks asked.
"Yeah, Eve was going to do that." Lance couldn't remember if Franks had met Eve, but it didn't matter. "I expect they'll be here soon."
"Good. I was going to drive over and get them if I needed to." Franks watched the nurse pull another piece of glass from Lance's leg. "I hate to say you were lucky, but at least most the glass hit your legs. Some of the facial injuries out there are horrible."
"My back was to the glass window. I think that helped, but it's also probably why Angus got hit so badly.
Honestly, there wasn't a safe spot inside that restaurant.
I've never seen anything like it. Will you let Gretta know I'm here and won't be coming in to work until Angus is okay?
I'm sure they've tried to call me in tonight to assist, but I have no clue where my phone is.
Gretta will know how to get hold of Mack tonight.
Have them call in Harold to cover for me. "
"Already done." Franks smiled. "Sam knows you're here and he's got things under control. Gretta went in to help deal with things tonight. Families will be calling about their loved ones. You just focus on you and Angus for now. Work will be there once you're both healed."
God, Lance hoped so.
"Is there anyone else I need to contact for you?" Franks asked.
"No. Everyone is already here." He closed his eyes as he thought about how close he came to losing everyone in his life tonight. Franks was about the only close friend who hadn't been with them. "Go check on Angus. He needs you more than I do right now."
Franks nodded. "Just trying to figure out how to walk behind you again without getting another view of that full moon."
The nurse laughed. "I'm done with his bottom. He's all covered up now. You're safe."
"Thank God," Franks groaned. "It will take me years to recover from that."
"Let's not mention it to everyone, okay?" Lance sighed.
"Oh, hell no. That's going to be the first thing I tell Angus when he wakes up from surgery." Franks gripped Lance's good arm. "I'll be back if there is any news. Promise."
"Thanks." Lance heard him leave the room.
"Sounds like a good group of friends," the nurse told him.
"The best. I just hope I won't lose the most important one tonight." Lance tried to relax, but his shoulder hurt and his ass burned as the numbing medication was wearing off. "How bad am I back there? Anything seriously cut?"
"One or two that you'll need to rebandage for a few days, but for the most part, just a lot of tiny cuts. There's not as much glass as I expected, but I'm sure to have missed some. You can come back in if you feel it and can't get it out yourself."
"I'll be right upstairs. Not going to leave until Angus does.
" Lance meant that. He'd camp out on Angus's floor if he had to.
He wasn't going to leave his side. Not until he at least knew that Angus was still in his body and that his ghost hadn't somehow gone into the light.
He didn't know if a physical body could live without the spirit inside, but he didn't think so.
Maybe on life support, but Angus had been alive without any support at the restaurant.
God, he was going to lose his fucking mind until he knew for sure that Angus was still in his body.
He was sure Lizzy was having the same thoughts.
The others might know it's bad, but they hadn't seen Angus's ghost leave his body.
That fact alone told Lance this was serious.
"Lance, Angus is alive. He's still in surgery.
It sounds like he's doing well, but I don't know all the medical jargon that they were saying.
There weren't any buzzers or alarms going off and the surgeon was calm.
They've removed the glass and are repairing his neck.
Man, I don't know how they do that on a living person.
It's amazing enough watching you do it on a dead body.
Just fascinating. I might have to spend some time here watching operations. " Jeremy floated into view.
Lance released a long breath, a bit of the tension easing from his body at the news. It still didn't give him all the answers he needed, but at least he knew they weren't struggling to keep him alive. Things were calm in the operating room. "Thank you," he mouthed to Jeremy.
"Isaac is still up there with them in the operating room.
He'll come out and let us know if anything changes.
I'm going to go find Lizzy and let her know the news.
We aren't sure exactly where they moved her.
She wasn't in surgery yet but wasn't in any of the pre-op rooms yet either.
I'll find her. Don't know where Betty is.
No one has seen her. Martin is concerned because he said Betty would never leave Lizzy's side at a time like this.
" Jeremy floated around Lance and watched the nurse work on taking the last of the glass from a few spots on the back of his calves.
"Lance!" Bethany rushed into the room, followed by Ray. "We didn't know. Eve told us. How serious is it?"
Again, Lance couldn't respond. Three ghosts in the room, all wanting to speak to him, and he had to bite his tongue.
"Lance will be okay. Dislocated shoulder and some lacerations.
Jackson and Megan are okay, both with a lot of lacerations.
Martin has lacerations and a broken ankle.
Lizzy is going into surgery for a deep cut on her leg, but it's Angus that we're all worried about.
" Jeremy went on to tell them about Angus's injury and what was going on upstairs in the operating room.
Lance closed his eyes as he listened. He was too worried to rest, but so exhausted. It was probably an adrenaline dump. Everything hurt. He had no clue what time it was. If there was a clock in the room, he was faced away from it. It didn't matter. He just needed to get upstairs.
"All done," the nurse informed him as she covered him back up.
"Good." Lance struggled to sit up.
"Wait, don't go moving around. Let me get my stuff off the bed, then I'll help you turn over."
"Get me some scrubs to wear," Lance told her, then realizing his tone, he added, "Please."
"Let's talk to your doctor first." She came around and helped him to roll to his back, then eased the bed up into a sitting position.
"He's got to be busy. I'm not staying overnight. Let me get upstairs. If I feel worse through the night, I'll let a nurse know. Remember, I'm a doctor. I can take care of myself. Free up a bed for someone who needs it." He swung his legs over the side of the bed.
"You need to sign forms if you're leaving against medical advice," she warned.
"Then go get them and find me some scrubs to wear or I'm going to put on my bloody, torn clothes.
" Lance fought through the pain in his shoulder, aware of the three ghosts watching him.
He wanted to yell at them as well, but no good would come of it.
They were trying to help in any way they could.
It wasn't their fault that they couldn't do much.
He was thankful for the information they supplied and their ability to go into places he couldn't.
"Lance, she's just doing her job," Bethany told him. "Give her a break. It's insane out there."
"Sorry." Lance sighed. "I'm just worried about Angus." He was speaking to Bethany, but the nurse thought it was for her.
"I know. I'll see what I can find you to wear and get the forms. Just give me a few minutes, then once I help you dress, I'll find someone to wheel you upstairs." The nurse grabbed his chart from the foot of the bed.
"Thanks." Lance looked around for his shoes. He had no clue where his stuff had gone. Once the nurse left the room, Lance looked at Ray. "Have you ever seen a spirit leave a body and become a ghost while the physical body still lives?"
Ray's brows furrowed. "It can happen during surgery or near-death experiences. You've heard the cases of people looking down on their body during surgery. Why?"
"Lizzy and I saw Angus leave his body. Well, almost leave it. He wasn't fully out when Betty rushed at him and seemed to grab him, then both of them disappeared," Lance explained. "We haven't seen either of them since, but Angus has a pulse and is breathing."
"Betty is gone?" Bethany looked stricken.
"Yeah, no one has seen her since." Lance ran his fingers through his hair, feeling a few small cuts in his scalp.
"I don't know." Ray frowned. "It's possible Angus had a near-death experience. The cord that connects the soul to the body wasn't severed if he's still alive. As far as I know, once that cord is severed, the physical body dies."
"Cord?" Lance asked.
"Sure. There's a cord that's kind of like a rope that tethers the soul to the physical body.
People who astral project talk about seeing it.
It connects to the physical body while it appears to sleep, but a person can wander around as spirit as long as that cord stays connected to a body.
It's hard to do. Not many can." Ray glanced at Bethany. "Have you ever seen one?"
Bethany shook her head.
"Neither have I," Jeremy told them. "So when I died, my cord broke?"
"Yep, it's what holds us here in the physical realm. Once it's cut, we can't go back to physical. My guess is Angus's cord wasn't cut, but that doesn't explain about Betty. I can't imagine why she's gone," Ray said.
"Unless she fell into the light," Bethany whispered.
"Is that even possible? I'd think it has to be a conscious choice to go into the light," Lance stated.
"I've gotten pretty close to the light over the years, and have never been drawn into it, but if she flung herself at Angus…" Ray shrugged. "I just don't know."
They stared at each other in silence, all of them contemplating the possibility that Betty might really be gone. It couldn't be. The pain of that would be like suffering a death. He wasn't sure Lizzy could cope, especially with what was going on with Angus.
"I'm going to go check on Angus." Ray appeared to kiss Bethany on the cheek. "I doubt I can tell anything, but it's worth a try."
"I was just up there in the operating room and didn't see any sign of Angus's or Betty's ghosts," Jeremy told him.
"And I doubt I'll see them, but I need to at least try. Besides, I want to see how things are going with Angus. I'll be back." Ray started to leave.
"Find us in the surgery waiting room. I'm going up as soon as I sign the papers," Lance told him, then hushed as the door opened and the nurse walked in, followed by the doctor.
The nurse set a pair of surgical scrubs on the bed and met his gaze. "You got off easy since you are a doctor and you'll be staying on hospital grounds tonight."
That was all Lance needed to hear. He listened to the doctor as he pulled the scrubs on. Once they handed him that paper to sign, he was going to go wait for Angus. He wasn't going to waste a minute longer worrying about his own minor injuries.