Chapter 7
Casper
These last couple of days have been hell. I couldn’t get back in to see Mary that night after her surgery. She coded, and then they had to go back into surgery to stop another bleed.
Now they have decided to wean her off the sedation to see if she will wake up. Then they will take out the breathing tube to see if she is able to handle breathing on her own.
I’m here. Have been every second they let me.
It took another day to finally see her beautiful eyes. I’m sitting at the side of the bed, in my normal spot, holding her hand, when I feel her fingers twitch. Looking at her face, I see her eyes blinking.
Jumping up, her eyes go to me instantly. “Baby, there’s my beautiful girl. You’re awake. Let me call the doctor.”
I hit the call light. One of the nurses answered, “Can I help you?”
“Mary is awake. Can you send the doctor in now?”
“We’ll be right in.”
Looking back at Mary, her eyes are still on mine.
“Baby, you’re alright. You are in the hospital. You still have the tube down your throat, but they will probably take it out now that you are awake. Do you remember anything?”
She nods her head slightly. I can only imagine how uncomfortable that tube is.
“That’s good, baby. Gemini is doing well. She did have a couple of cuts on her arm that happened when she tried to help you. But she saved you, baby. You would have died if she didn’t get to you and get him away.”
Her eyes widen. Then the nurse comes in.
“I paged Dr Karbassi. He will be here soon. How are you feeling, Mary?”
Mary shrugs her shoulders.
“How is she supposed to answer that? That tube down her throat is a pretty good deterrent to talking.”
“Well, yes. But people can communicate even with a tube in. I’m going to do a little assessment while we are waiting for the doctor to get here.”
The nurse has Mary go through different movements. I just keep my eyes on her, afraid she will go back to sleep.
Finally, the doctor walks in.
“Hello, Mary. My name is Dr. Karbassi. You’ve given us all quite a scare. You look to be doing alright. I bet you’d like that out of your throat, wouldn’t you?”
She nods, eyes finding mine.
“Alright. Wendy, make sure we have everything set up just in case.”
Wendy goes about setting up a tray and pulling it close to the bedside.
“Mary, I am going to extubate you. However, I have another kit set up just in case you can’t hold your own airway. I don’t think you will have any difficulty, but better safe than sorry. Do you have any questions?”
Mary shakes her head no.
“Alright then. It will be a little uncomfortable, but once I get the tube out, I want you to give me a couple of coughs.”
Dr. Karbassi situates himself at her head, does something with a syringe, then pulls the tube out. Mary gives two weak coughs.
“Good. Now let’s give you a sip of water. See if you can handle that.”
I give Mary the straw to suck on. She takes a drink, then coughs some more.
“Why do you look like you haven’t slept, Jameson?” Mary croaks out.
She winces. Holding the straw to her mouth, I wait for her to take another sip.
“I’ve been here almost as long as you have, sweetheart. I didn’t want to leave you, even when they wouldn’t let me be in your room.”
“What is the damage?” She asks with her hoarse voice.
Dr. Karbassi says, “You have sixteen knife wounds that included a punctured lung and a laceration to your liver and uterus. We had to remove your uterus. It was severely damaged. We also placed a chest tube, but it looks like it’s almost ready to come out.
Maybe another day. You had a lot of bruising from the hits you took all around your face and chest. We gave you about fourteen units of blood.
You died once on the table and then once again the first night in the ICU. ”
“Is there a concern that it could happen again now that I’m awake?”
“The danger is pretty well past at this point. We will keep you in the ICU for a little longer before moving you to a regular floor. If you do well there, then you will get to go home. But you will need help with just about everything for a while.”
“Don’t worry, Doc. She will have all the help she needs,” I tell him.
The doc goes on to explain a few more things to her, but I tune him out. I can’t take my eyes off her. Even in her current condition, she is still the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen. I silently vow to keep her safe from here on out.
* Mary *
It’s scary waking up and not knowing where I am, especially with something lodged in my throat. There is a constant beeping that picks up a little in rhythm. My eyes are heavy, and I can’t get them open. I feel like I’m floating somewhat but anchored by my hand.
Forcing my eyelids to open, I blink a few times, trying to focus. I’m in the hospital. The beeping is my heart rate on the monitor.
Looking around as much as my state will allow, I see Jameson holding my hand.
My fingers twitch slightly, and I see Jameson look at them, then up at me. I see the relief on his face as he jumps up to lean over me.
He’s calling for help. I can hear what he is saying, but I’m still feeling a bit floaty.
I know there are things I need to think about, but I am trying to pay attention. The nurse is making me do things I’m not sure I can manage right now. But I am trying. I still feel disconnected.
The doctor comes in and starts asking questions. All I know is that I am ready to lose the tube. It’s so irritating. They must have given me some good meds. I don’t feel much of anything but my throat. Huh. I’m sure this strange in-between won’t last, though.
After the tube is removed, I feel so much better, even with the scratchy throat. Jameson stays close, other than when the doctor does his assessment of me.
I wonder how much longer it will be before I really come back online. This is the weirdest thing I’ve ever felt. It’s like I’m here but protected from absolutely everything. I’m seeing and hearing it all but don’t really care, and nothing can touch me here.
I can tell Jameson knows I’m not altogether yet by the way he is studying me. I’m sure he won’t let me stay in this void for long.
I should have died. I feel like I did. Oh, wait. They did say I died twice. Huh. I’ve been on codes before. Why don’t I feel like someone cracked my ribs? Oh, the drugs again. Ok. I got this.
“Baby, can you look at me?’
I look up at Jameson.
“Good, baby. Can you tell me what’s going on? What are you feeling right now?”
“Hmmm. Good question. I’m floaty. Like, I can’t feel much of anything. It’s kind of nice. No worries, no cares, just floating along.”
“I’m glad you aren’t having any pain, baby. Did you hear the doctor tell you what your injuries are?”
“I did. But it was like he was talking to someone else. Or about someone else. Something like that.”
He chuckles a bit. “No worries. I’ll make sure I pay attention to his directions until you are able to let it register.”
He leans over and kisses the top of my head. “I’m so fucking sorry you had to go through that. You scared the shit out of me. I thought I lost you, baby. I can’t lose you.”
“I’m sorry, hon. I didn’t know that was going to happen. I didn’t try to scare you.”
“I know, baby. Not your fault, and I’m not blaming you. The fault is all on George. We will get a hold of him, I promise. I won’t give him another chance to get to you either. I’m so fucking sorry I didn’t protect you.”
The pleasant void is slowly disappearing with this conversation. “Please don’t blame yourself. You didn’t do this. Tell me again. How is Gemini? I heard, but it is still floating around with all the other things.”
“She saved you, baby. She got the attention of the prospects outside and stopped George from finishing you off. He ran off. No one was able to get him before he could bail. But we will find him. I promise you that.”
“What are her injuries?”
“She had two fairly deep lacerations to her forearm. She got them stitched up, then came to wait with us while you were in surgery. She’s so worried about you. I sent a message to let her know you were awake when the doctor was looking you over.”
“You guys need to keep her safe. George wants to get his hands on her also.”
“We will, baby. Hydra won’t let her out of his sight for some time, I’m sure. Just like you won’t be leaving mine for the foreseeable future.”
“What about my work? OH MY GOD! What about Peter?”
“First, work knows you are here. You will be on leave for a bit. Second, I called Julie. She knows you were attacked. I didn’t tell her it was George, just that you were in the hospital with some serious wounds. We will talk to her in another day or so to give her an update.”
“Does this mean I won’t be able to get Peter? They were supposed to come and look at the house to make sure it was OK for him next week. Wait. How long have I been here?”
“You’ve only been here for three days now. We have time. Please don’t stress. I will make sure we have what we need.”
I worry they will not let me have him after this. It’s a lot to handle all at once. I hope they don’t take away my chances because of George. I hate him so much.
And now my nice floaty feeling is completely gone. Sad day.
Time to think about what we need to do about George. And why didn’t I get notified?
“Why didn’t they notify me he was getting out?”
“I’m not sure, but I have Brain working on it.”
“Speaking of Brain, any news on Hadley?”
My brain is all over the place. But Hadley was found by the guys when they were looking for the men who hurt Gemini.
Man, she’s had a horrible life. Gemini, that is.
Hadley disappeared after only a few days at the clubhouse.
She was just a scared girl who only let Brain talk to her. Then disappeared without a trace.
“He is still looking, baby. I think he might be getting a little closer to finding her. I think she is out there on the streets, though.”
“Oh no,” I gasp.
“He’ll find her. Back to you now, baby. Could you tell me what happened?”