You've Got To Hold On AU/M.L. ch: 17 & Epil. 12/7/09

[mary mary]

Ken:Only time will tell...
Eve:Here's some more for you.
Natalie:Thank you so much...
Nubantu:Here's another chapter for you.

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Chapter: 11

The next morning, right at 7:00 a.m. on the dot the day nurse came in to check on Liz and to set up another pint of blood. Liz was still groggy from the night’s ordeal and was starting to feel some discomfort in her leg. She awoke and had to get herself adjusted to her surroundings for a minute before it all came flooding back to her and then she remembered Max. She looked to her left to make sure she hadn’t dreamt all of it and there he was with his eyes bandaged and Michael was all stretched out in a recliner chair with a blanket thrown over him. ‘God, he looks as bad as I feel!’ she thought to herself and then she noticed the nurse removing the empty IV of blood and a new one being set in its’ place.

“How many more of those do I need?” Liz asked with a frown on her face.

“Good morning Miss Parker.” The nurse whispered…she didn’t know if Max was awake or not but his visitor certainly wasn’t…she smiled at Liz and said..

“This is the last one unless your hemoglobin tells us otherwise. After you have received this one completely we will do another blood test to see how you’re doing, which I’m sure you are doing fine, and then we can get you up and moving a little. Are you ready for some breakfast?”

She’s pleasant enough Liz thought to herself but the sound of food still sounded horrible.

“Maybe some tea? I still don’t want anything to eat.” Liz smiled at the young nurse and then she watched the young woman check her vitals before she left her side. Soon after she left another nurse came in and started working on Max. Liz watched with great interest as the nurse took his temperature in his ear and then did his blood pressure on his wrist. ‘How interesting’ she thought. Max never moved but Michael heard the slight noises and started to stir. He pulled his legs in closer to the chair and lowered the foot rest and brought himself up into a sitting position. His hair was unusually spiky from his night’s sleep and Liz had to stifle a laugh as she watched him try to wake himself up.

“Well, good morning Liz…are you feeling better this morning?” he asked …

Liz looked over at him and smiled…

“Good morning Michael, as long as we don’t start laughing I’ll be fine. How about you? Did you manage to get any rest at all?” Which she thought he did from the looks of him.

“Yeah, pretty much. After the pizza they brought in and Max’s sandwich I think we both settled down. Do you know if Max’s doctor has come in yet?” Michael asked as he looked at his friend.

“I don’t know, I don’t think so. His nurse just came in and did some normal things like temperature and blood pressure but I haven’t seen anyone else. His doctor did say something about taking him down to do some more examinations to make sure there isn’t any more damage than they found yesterday. I don’t know that much about getting dirt thrown in your eyes by gusts of wind but I do know that the eye has a natural reflex about closing the lids to danger so whatever got in them had to be forced into them. I don’t know what a technical term for it is but that’s the way I understand it.” Liz explained to Michael what she had learned in her various studies in the easiest way possible and although it wasn’t her line of expertise she remembered some of what she had learned years ago.

Michael smiled and then the doctor came in and smiled at both of the young people in a somewhat condescending way. He had heard Liz’s explanation to Michael and informed her that what she had said was true…and it definitely had to be a very strong force to have blown that much debris into Max’s closed eyes but he didn’t seem too pleased about her talking about his patient. The doctor was actually very disgusted with the hospital for allowing a man and woman share a room, what was this world coming to? It was absolutely appalling to think that these rich people could get away with anything they wanted to just because they had money. His thought were interrupted
then as Liz told the him what she remembered of the situation, she wasn’t at all sure she was reading the doctor quite right but she felt it was important that he have all of the information that was available.

“Doctor, I don’t know if this will help you any but when I found Max he saw me and recognized me. He said my name before I spoke and told me not to get into the cab of the truck just before he passed out. So I think his vision will be alright. I’m not trying to tell you how to do your job but I just thought you might want to know.” Michael smiled at the doctor who smiled again with the same expression on his face.

“Miss Parker is it?”

“Yes.” Liz answered

“Miss Parker, you don’t know how helpful that piece of news is. We were concerned that maybe the fact that Max lost consciousness was due to a neck injury, but now, speaking to you I think we can just about rule that out. We didn’t find anything on the X-rays to indicate such an injury but we needed to make sure, so now we can move forward with hope but we still need to verify our findings.”

The doctor assured them again with that same smile…it’s almost like that damned smile was a permanent fixture on his face and suddenly Liz got the feeling she was just being tolerated, and not in a good way…Michael saw the sudden change in her mood and immediately went to her side, took her hand in his and started to rub tiny circles, very gently…they didn’t need Liz getting into an argument over Max with his doctor. He had seen Liz put many a rig worker and truck driver in their place and it wasn’t pretty when she finished dressing them down…but they needed Max’s doctor to be a happy camper, at least until he was replaced. ‘God, this could get ugly.’ Michael thought to himself, he was really getting worried. Liz continued to eye the doctor suspiciously and the expression on her face was starting to look very scary, Michael was doing his damnedest to calm her down but it didn’t seem to be working.

Max was awake through the entire conversation between his doctor and Liz and he felt the same way as Michael…even if he couldn’t see her…she was starting to sound a little testy and this was not good. The good doctor had no idea that Miss Brainiac was laying in the next bed and Max really didn’t want to see her pissed, so he decided to speak…

“Hey Liz, how are you this morning? Feeling better?”

The minute Liz heard Max’s voice she started to calm down a little bit…not a lot but enough to collect herself and to bite her tongue…she was totally aware of what Michael was trying to do and it wasn’t working a damn bit, not until Max spoke.

“I thought that Miss Parker was Mr. Evans’ friend.” The doctor said with that smile plastered on his face…

“She is a friend to both of us and your point is?” Max answered for Michael.

“I’m holding her hand Max.” Michael answered his friend’s question.

“Is it working?” Max grinned now, realized what Michael was trying to do…

“Not so much, but your voice is helping.” Michael chuckled

“What’s she doing now?” Max chuckled back and the doctor was totally confused.

“She’s glaring at both of us.” Michael laughed,

Max started to chuckle along with Michael and then Liz’s face got red…she knew damn well what they were trying to do and then the doctor spoke up again.. he really shouldn’t have.

“What is going on, is this a private joke or are you going to share?” and then Liz couldn’t bite her tongue any longer…

“It’s not a joke you pompous ass…” and Michael clamped a hand over her mouth and shook his head ‘no’ while trying to control his laughter and Liz’s temper.

Max couldn’t take it anymore and followed the sound of the doctors movements…

“You aren’t Dr. James are you?” was Max’s first question as he stifled a laugh.

“No, I’m his associate. I was sent up here to get you ready for your tests. Why?”

“Well, it seems that my girlfriend doesn’t like you and I can’t see you but I trust her as well as my friend so it’s like this, if they don’t like you then I don’t like you so you are excused. Please tell Doctor James that he can send an orderly up to get me or he can come himself but you will not take any part in my treatment…is that understood. I do not intend to have any of my family or my friends talked down to therefore the subject is closed.”

The doctor looked at Max and then Michael and Liz. He couldn’t believe they would act like this, he was as pleasant as he always had been with his patients and he never had any problems with them. Then he said to Max,

“Mr. Evans, I can assure you that I was not talking down to Miss Parker.”

“Well, whether you were or you weren’t is immaterial now. You are no longer my doctor. It is as important that Miss Parker be kept just as happy as me and anyone else in this room for that matter so you are excused. I am sure you are very good at what you do… you just won’t be doing it for me.”

And with that the doctor turned on his heel and left Max’s room, he never did like those rich types anyway.

“Oh. My. God! Max, I am so sorry…” Liz was mortified at what she had done. She was almost in tears.

“Shhh. Shhh. Shhh, Liz, it’s okay. I heard him and you were right. You could have been a little calmer but it’s okay. You are allowed to have feelings Liz and you are allowed to vent. Honest, it’s okay. He’s not my doctor and I will be fine. I am sure Doctor James will understand the situation and if the truth be known I am sure you and Michael are not the first to have felt this way. Although I wouldn’t be afraid to lay money down on the fact that you are the first person to ever call him on it like that.”
And Max and Michael both started to laugh.

“Michael, how did you know I was going to do that…I didn’t even know it?” Liz asked her friend…

“Oh Liz, we have been watching you dress down men for three and a half years…it’s not pretty when you get riled up. Why do you think Max always backed off when you refused to go out with him. He didn’t want to piss you off.”

Michael chuckled at her expression…she couldn’t believe these two.

“Max, say that isn’t true.” Liz begged, she had no idea she was like that.

“Oh sweetheart, it’s true all right. There is no way I would ever want you that angry with me, ever.” Max laughed, “My favorite was the time the trucker said you had great legs and you told him they went all the way up to your ass….Yep, that was my favorite.”

“Oh God, I can’t believe it…I’m a rotten person.” Liz all but wailed and then Max and Michael started laughing again.

About that time Diane came in to see how her favorite patients were and wanted to know what was going on….

Max laughed and said…

“Good morning Mom…you should have been here when Liz called my doctor a pompous ass.” And Diane couldn’t believe Liz would do that…

“She called Doctor James a pompous ass?” Diane exclaimed.

“No, his associate…it was beautiful.” Michael said

“and then Max fired him, so to speak.”

“Well, was he a pompous ass?” She asked, These three were unbelievable…

And the three young people all said in unison, just like the tabernacle choir, 1 and 2and 3 and

“Yes!”

“Well then, chalk one up for our side.” Said Diane and the subject was closed …

Just about that time Doctor James poked his head in the door and wanted to know if he was welcome here.

“Of course, come in.” Diane said with a smile on her face…

“Do you know how to behave yourself?” She added.

The doctor laughed at the dignified lady and wanted to know if she was the one who called his associate a ‘pompous ass’?

Liz piped up and said… with a red face and a slight voice.


“No, that would be me.”

The doctor looked over at Liz and asked her what prompted her to do that and she said it wasn’t what he said it was more of an attitude and Doctor James looked over at her and smiled.

“Not many people pick up on that plastered smile…what made you see through it?”

“His facial features never changed…his words were okay but that smile just ewww…it really got bad.” Liz said.

Then doctor James asked Liz to repeat the information to him that she had given to his associate because he wasn’t at all sure what the man was trying to tell him…So Liz repeated everything that had taken place the day before and why she thought that Max was able to see. The good Doctor thanked her and told Max that as soon as he found a wheel chair they would be on their way.

Max smiled and thanked the man and Mrs. Evans informed the doctor that she would like to go along, but Max didn’t need to hear that and immediately acted on it…

“No Mom, you stay here and wait with everyone else.”

“Max Evans, I am still your mother and you will listen to me.”

“To a point Mom…to a point. Now you stay here and I’ll be fine.”

“Well…” Diane said in a huff and Max and Michael both started to laugh…

“And don’t go putting on anymore shows for the doctors and nurses Mom…shame on you.” And with that Max, Michael and Liz started to giggle. Diane wanted to die of embarrassment and Doctor James quietly got Max out of bed and was off in a flash.

“So Liz, how are you doing this morning?” Diane asked.

“I’m just fine Mrs. Evans, and you?”

“Great, just great…can’t you tell.”

“Yes ma’am…I surely can.” And the room got silent again…and the waiting started.

*

[mary mary]

Eve, Natalie, Ken: Thank you all for your great fb. I really appreciate it.

*~*~*

Chapter: 12

Dr. James and Max reached the basement examining room in no time at all and Max and Dr. James had a nice discussion about Dr. James associate on the way down.

“Max, I know you don’t like Dr. Alexander and I know he has a really bad bedside manner but trust me when I say this, the man is really good at what he does.”

Max nodded his head and spoke up before they even got to the examining room…

“Doctor James, I am sure he is but what I said holds true. I only heard the man and all of his words were right on the money but what Liz and Michael saw was nothing compared to what I heard in his tone. You know, this not seeing has some advantages, not that I want to continue this way of life. But the man has an ego the size of Texas and I won’t have him any where near Liz. She’s an orphan doctor, and she has more character in her little finger than most people have in their entire body. She’s working her way through college and is carrying a better than 4.0 GPA. She has very little time for anything but work and school and to have an arrogant, pompous, full of himself ass think she’s not worth the time of day is just plain wrong and I don’t want him around her, my family, my friends or me. Doctor James, my mother had you checked out and apparently she feels you are the best in your field, but your associate is not wanted. Do we understand each other?”

Max left nothing unsaid…he had spent too many years trying to get Liz Parker on his side and he wasn’t about to let some asshole screw it up for him…even if she didn’t want him he had to try, they would work that out but no one was going to upset her in the meantime.

By the time Max had finished his speech they had come to the examining room and Dr. James motioned for Dr. Alexander to leave the room. This was the first time anyone had ever dismissed Dr. Alexander and he didn’t really know how to deal with it but he did as Dr. James requested and left.

“Now Max, I’m going to lower the lights in the room and remove your bandages, when you’re ready I want you to open your eyes but don’t worry about it being dark, it’s going to be that way because you’ve been bandaged and I don’t want you to experience any pain from the light. Okay?” Dr. James asked,

“Sure thing Doctor. What if I don’t see anything?” Max asked, trying to joke but it didn’t come out that way, it was hard to hide the fear in a glib statement.

“Max, if you can’t see anything, which I doubt, we will deal with it. Now, are you ready?”

“Sure.” Was Max’s one word response.

Doctor James cut the bandages away at Max’s temples and then slowly removed them, making sure not to catch any hair in the tape and also hoping that there was still moisture in the packing that they had placed under the bandages. After all was removed and cleansed the doctor stood back and told Max to open his eyes when he was ready.

Max wasn’t really sure he wanted to try this or not, he was terrified, what if there would be nothing but the black emptiness he had been experiencing since yesterday? But he knew he had to and with sheer determination he opened up.

There, at the other end of the room was a window with blinds that had been pulled down and overhead was a fluorescent lamp dimly lit. Max found a person standing off to the side of him staring at him intently and Max smiled when he saw him,

“Doctor James?”

And Doctor James smiled at the young man…

“Yes Max, how do they feel? Is there any pain? Can you make out everything?”

“Yes, they feel fine, I can see fine. Everything looks normal.” Max’s smile was spread so far across his face that he looked like someone had pried his face open with a set of clamps. The doctor’s face was a mirror of Max’s and both men shook hands and continued to beam.

Finally doctor James told Max that he was going to raise the intensity of the lights and Max should tell him if he experienced any discomfort at any time.

“Okay, go for it.” And Dr. James had the nurse go over to the rheostat and start turning the lights on brighter as he continued to monitor Max’s reaction and Max finally reached an uncomfortable point and told the doctor that was where the discomfort started.

Doctor James looked at Max and smiled…

“You did great Max…we’ll put some sun glasses on you until you are completely healed. I want to do another X-ray and make sure there’s no surprises in there waiting to show up but In the meantime the sunglasses will prevent any discomfort. We’ll keep you here for a couple more days until you are at 100% and it will give us time to be absolutely certain that we are correct in our diagnosis. Does that work for you?”

“Of course Doctor and I hope the hospital doesn’t mind Liz and me sharing a room but she has no family at all and she is in Texas attending school and doesn’t even have any close friends with her, I just don’t want her to feel abandoned. Does that make any sense?”

Max was really pleading his case right now and it was becoming more clear to Doctor James the longer he spoke as to why he didn’t want Doctor Alexander upsetting the young woman so to speak. This man was in love whether he knew it or not, the bottom line was a very desperate man in love.

“Max, like I said, it’s your call so I will continue to monitor you, but I think that Miss Parker will be discharged before too long. Her condition was extremely dire when she arrived but the biggest problem was her loss of blood. She will probably be in therapy for awhile and then she will be released.” Doctor James explained to Max.

“I see…so she can go to school?” Max asked.

“Well, I think she’ll be able to attend her classes but I don’t think she’ll be allowed to go back to work for awhile. She’s a waitress right?”

“Yes…at Sophie’s Diner out by the old highway.” Max answered.

“Well, I’m not her doctor but I know Doctor MacIntyre won’t want her on that leg that much for a couple of weeks. Why don’t you wait and see what’s going on from Dr. MacIntyre’s point of view.”

Max nodded and then Doctor James set him up with some pretty ugly looking glasses and Max caught a glimpse of his reflection in the mirror and started to laugh.

“Are these things prescription?” He asked…

Doctor James looked down at him and chuckled…

“No. No, Max they aren’t…would you prefer to wear your own?”

“Yeah, if you don’t mind. I mean, it’s one thing to stroll around looking like ‘Mr. Hollywood’ with sunglasses on indoors but another to look like a total dork. Let’s at least look like a ‘cool’ Mr. Hollywood.”

Both men laughed as Doctor James wheeled Max out of the exam room and headed to the elevator. Max in his dorky sunglasses and doctor James with a big grin on his face.

*

In the meantime, up on the second floor Doctor MacIntyre came in to visit his patient to make sure she was doing as well as the nurses had reported. He smiled at Michael and Diane when he entered the room and went directly over to Liz’s bedside.

“I hear we had some fun going on in here last night Liz. Did the three of you enjoy your evening?”

Liz looked over at Michael and then at Diane and she looked up at the Doctor and all she could manage through an effort not to start laughing again was an

“Mm hmmm!!!” And then she looked pleadingly at Michael with a terrified look…

Michael grabbed Diane by the arm and said,

“Come on Mrs. Evans, I need some coffee and company.” And Diane said…

“But Michael, I want to see how Liz is doing?”

“Not now you don’t Mrs. Evans…we’ll find out later.” And Michael all but dragged Diane out of Liz’s room.

“Liz, what was that all about?” Dr. MacIntyre asked and Liz started to giggle…

“We were hysterical over what Diane said to Max in the emergency room Doctor. Max said he didn’t even know his mother knew words like that and the more he and Michael told me about her tirade the harder we laughed. I know it was an outlet but Lord, was it funny.” Liz explained.

“Oh my word, was that Mrs. Evans that yelled at her son for being so stupid? Everyone in the ER was laughing about it and now I know why. Good Lord, I’m with Max. Who would believe that the woman who just left this room would tear into anybody like that?”

Liz looked up at her doctor and giggled …

“Exactly.” Was her only comment as she tried to settle herself down.

About that time Diane and Michael both came back into the room with coffee in their hands…apparently the nurses fixed each of them up with a cup. Michael looked over to Liz and mouthed “Sorry” but Liz nodded that it was okay. And they smiled.

“Apparently the nurses keep a coffee pot at their station and were kind enough to give us a cup.” Diane informed Liz.

“Well, isn’t that a good thing to know.” Liz answered with a smile on her face and Doctor MacIntyre continued to remove Liz’s dressings so he could have a better look at her leg. Liz was curious as hell but wasn’t really sure she wanted to see the damages but soon curiosity got the better of her and she braved a peek and then let out a little gasp.

Diane was at her side in a split second and Michael was right behind her…

“What’s wrong sweetie, does it hurt?” Diane asked…

“No, it doesn’t hurt at all it just looks awful…Look!” Liz said to her two new friends…and even though she has known Michael for a few years he is still a new friend to her and she can tell that he’s going to be a good one.

Diane and Michael followed her line of vision and both gasped. They couldn’t believe that she drove with a gash that size in her. Doctor MacIntyre was just as amazed at the young woman as well but although the cut was deep he was sure it hadn’t done any permanent damage.

“It looks bad Liz but trust me it will be fine…It’s going to be red for a few months but that will go away and you will have a very minute white line down the length of the scar. You will be able to wear your bikini to the beach and no one will ever know it was there.”

Doctor MacIntyre smiled down at her as he continued to run his wheel down her leg for reflex reactions and asking her to wiggle her toes which Liz could do without any problems at all.

Michael and Diane went back over to Max’s side of the room to allow the doctor to finish up his work with Liz. They picked up their coffee cups from Max’s table and took their seats to wait for Max’s return, both being very quiet as they were lost in their own thoughts.

Doctor MacIntyre bandaged Liz’s leg again and told her that as soon as the final transfusion was finished that she should get up and walk around for a little while but to wait for the nurse who would be in to help her with that. Liz smiled and said that maybe she should send someone to her apartment to get her a robe and some toiletries and the doctor smiled.

“If that’s what would make you more comfortable then by all means Liz, take care of it. I know that hospital gowns are not the most fashionable garments around but I think we could come up with something for you to wear while you take your walk.”

Liz turned beet red, she could just picture her fanny hanging out as she walked the halls of St. Francis…that’s all she needed. She just looked up at the doctor and smiled and then said…

“Well, just make sure it covers everything.” And they all got a chuckle out of that.

About that time Doctor James came wheeling in with Max in tow wearing his dorky sunglasses and everyone took one look at him and breathed a sigh of relief.

“Max honey, are you okay?” Diane asked with mixed emotions coming through her voice projection; happiness, relief… and then she had to ask…

“Are those prescription glasses Doctor?” And Michael, Liz and Doctor MacIntyre all started giggling.

Max struck a pose for everyone in the room and looked at his mother and said in the most serious voice he could muster,

“I would think that you would be a little more considerate of a sick man mother. After all, if I’m going to be sickly then I should be a ‘cool’ sickly person.”

Liz didn’t know whether to laugh or cry…she was so happy and Michael just stood there and shook his head, and Diane, well…Diane was so relieved to see her son out of the bandages that she did it again…without even thinking she started to dress Max down.

“Sick my ass Max…now answer the question.”

Max tried with all his heart to keep a straight face and managed to get the words out before the room became a laughing arena all over again,

“No Mom, they aren’t prescription but I have to wear them until I can get my own.” And then he started to laugh…they all did, and when the tension had left them the laughter died down.

The two doctors left their patients in the hands of the visitors and continued on their rounds. Today started out very good and they only hoped that the rest of their patients were doing as well. As for the nurses, well, one walked over and pulled the door shut…it looked like this was a happy bunch and there was a lot of tension that still needed to be released and laughter was, after all, the best medicine anyway.

*

[mary mary]

Eve: Thanks, and here's s'more for you...
behr_able: It's so nice to hear from you and take your time...it's always nice to have more than one chapter to read anyway.
Ken: I know exactly what you mean...yukkeeee!
Destiny: So nice to see you taking a break from all of those teenagers...welcome back!

*~*~*

Chapter:13

Isabelle found herself at the administration office around 9:00 a.m. Monday morning just after getting off the phone with her mother and having received the positive medical reports about Max and Liz. She was elated to hear the news regarding both her brother and his friend, it couldn’t have been better. Now all she had to do was see what classes Liz had and to make sure that the professors knew the circumstances for her being there in place of Liz.

It had been a few years since she attended the university but everything seemed to be the same. There were a few new buildings around but not so many that she couldn’t find her way to the various sections. It was still necessary to have a car to get around though. Once you were in the science section you could walk to the various theatres but you definitely had to drive there first.

She walked into the main office and was pleased to find the same person still worked the main desk. ‘Unbelievable’ she thought to herself…but then, I guess if you find your calling then you stick to it. She walked up to the front desk with a great big smile on her face and Mrs. Thornton recognized her immediately and returned her smile.

“Good morning Miss Evans, it’s so nice to see you again. It certainly has been a long time, what can we help you with today?” She asked, she was genuinely happy to see Isabelle and wanted to make sure the young woman knew it. Isabelle was one of the most pleasant students to ever attend UT, her brother was just as pleasant as she was as she remembered back a few years.

“Good morning Mrs. Thornton, it’s Mrs. Whitman now, Alex and I married two years ago. It’s nice to see you as well. The reason I’m here is for one of your students, Elizabeth Parker. She was in an accident yesterday and is in the hospital and I’m going to attend her classes for her and tape the lectures if it’s okay with the administration? I need her schedule if you can give it to me. She told me I can’t tape her lab classes because she needs to do the experiments herself but if I can tape the lectures for her it would be great. Is this allowed?”

Isabelle gave Mrs. Thornton her best smile now…every little bit helps she thought.

“Oh my Isabelle, I am so sorry to hear that. Is she alright.”

“Yes. My mother just called from the hospital. She and my brother are both doing fine and will be released from the hospital shortly. Liz, Miss Parker, had a very bad cut on her leg and lost almost 3 pints of blood…my brother’s eyes were injured but they got all of the debris out and removed the bandages this morning. They will be fine in time. Thank you for asking.”

“Oh, I am so happy to hear that…I’ll get Miss Parkers schedule for you, just sign her in when you get to the lecture hall and if the professor asks then just tell him why you’re there. I’m sure there won’t be any problem with you taping the classes. As for the labs, I will send a note to the professors and let them know the circumstances and they can keep track of the work that Miss Parker will have to make up. Just you wait here a second and I’ll get the information you need.”

“Thank you Mrs. Thornton, I’ll be right here.”

‘Well, so far so good.’ Isabelle thought to herself.

Mrs. Thornton headed over to her computer to call up Liz’s classes and couldn’t believe what she was reading. Good Lord, the girl is a candidate for valedictorian of her class and Harvard has been requesting grade updates all year. ‘Oh, we need to make sure she has all the help she can get’ she thought to herself. It was no time at all before Mrs. Thornton was back at the front desk and calling to Isabelle.

“Isabelle, I think that the professor’s will be more than happy to allow you to tape their lectures and should Miss Parker have any questions at all she can call the professors on their cell phones for help. I have listed their phone numbers here for her and please give her our regards will you. Oh, and Isabelle, did you know that she’s a candidate for Valedictorian?”

Isabelle’s heart jumped to her throat and she had to steady herself before answering the middle aged secretary…

“No, I had no idea. I just met her yesterday…she’s a friend of my brothers. Actually, she’s the one who saved him yesterday.” Isabelle was flabbergasted, she wondered if Max and her mom and dad knew this.

“Well, your brother has good taste then. Here you go and good luck Isabelle. The science department is still in the same section as it was when you were here last.”

And then the two women bid good bye to each other and got on with business.

Isabelle found her way to the first class listed on her sheet of paper and went in to the lecture hall, found a sign in sheet on the desk and proceeded to add Liz’s name to the list of other students when a distinguished middle aged man did a double take at the gorgeous blond dressed in a pair of jeans, a button down shirt and nice tailored jacket. She definitely wasn’t any student in his class, he would have noticed her that’s for sure.

“Good morning Miss? May I help you?”

“Oh, good morning. Yes, it’s Mrs. Whitman actually. I’m here to tape your lecture for one of your students, Liz Parker. She was injured yesterday in an accident and is in the hospital so I checked in at the administration office and they told me to just relay the circumstances to you and it would be okay. I signed her in as instructed and was told that if Liz had any questions to give you a call on your cell. Is that alright with you?”

Isabelle put on her best sunshine smile and dazzled the hell out of the man and he just stood there in shock.

“You mean Liz Parker is in the hospital?” He couldn’t believe his ears.

“Yes… she has a large gash in her leg and lost about 3 pints of blood. My mother called me this morning and said the doctor told them that she will be fine but she has to have some therapy for a bit…other than that all we can do is wait. It is alright if I tape the session isn’t it?” And Isabelle held up the tape recorder she had in her hand for the professor to see.

“Of course it’s alright, just grab a seat up front so you will be able to get a good recording. And thank you for doing this for Liz. I know it will mean a lot to her.”

“Thank you for permitting it…and I am only too happy to do it for her, she saved my brother from a horrible fate yesterday. It’s the least I can do.” And as Isabelle started to take her seat the professor asked…

“Is she in St. Francis hospital?” Isabelle smiled ,

“Yes, as a matter of fact she is. Room 232, the same room as my brother.”

The professor looked at her strangely for a minute and then smiled…he understood perfectly what this young woman was trying to get across to him and, even though that was the farthest thing from his mind, he let it go. He was a very happily married man but he definitely wanted to make sure his star pupil didn’t have any problems keeping up with the class. He would call her later this evening or maybe stop by the hospital with his wife and take her some flowers and check on her. That should allay any misgivings that the beautiful young blond may have about him. He would call his wife after class and ask her what she thought about it. The clock said 10:00 and it was time to close the door and get down to work so that is exactly what he did.

Isabelle started her taping and listened intently to the man in front of her. The lecture was very interesting even though she only understood half of what the man was saying it was fascinating and she could hardly believe it when it was over.

Before leaving she went up to the professors desk and thanked him again and he was more than appreciative of her enthusiasm.

“You’re very welcome. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Yes, I’ll be here. I wish I understood all of this, it’s fascinating.” And Isabelle smiled and left the lecture hall feeling very good about herself, and the professor just smiled. Maybe we’ll have a new student next year he thought to himself as she walked out.

*

Back at the hospital Diane and Michael decided to go home for some much needed rest and to allow Max and Liz to do the same. Diane hadn’t slept at all last night worrying about Max. She knew Liz would eventually be alright but the fact that Max could be blind terrified her.

Max reminded Michael to get his sunglasses for him and Michael just grinned at his friend and told him that he thought he should continue to wear hospital issue. Max glared at Michael and then they both started laughing.

“I’ll pick up a pair for you Max…I think your truck is still out in the field, we’ll see what we can do about that as well. In the meantime you take care of yourself and Liz over there and I’ll see you later this afternoon or this evening. Think good thoughts man.”

“Will do Michael. Mom, tell dad hi and be careful.”

“Max, I think I should be saying that to you. I’ll be back later today, is there anything you want me to bring back with me?”

“No mom, just be careful and take care, oh, get Liz a bathrobe… Love you.” And Max grinned at his Mom and raised his ‘sunglasses’ and gave her a wink.

“I love you too son and do what the doctors tell you and don’t fire anymore of them, I’m not sure there are many more eye specialists working here.” Diane said to her son in a semi serious tone.

“I’ll behave as long as they behave mom.” And with that Diane Evans squeezed her sons hand and went over and hugged Liz goodbye.

Liz smiled as Diane waved to her and then she started to tear up…and the tears started rolling down the side of her cheeks and into her ears and she couldn’t control them. Max noticed this and immediately got himself out of bed and went over to her side of the room and took her face in his hands and started brushing the tears away but there were just too many to keep up with.

“Liz, honey, my God, what’s wrong?” His voice was begging her to tell him her problem.

“Oh Max, I miss them so much.” She wailed and then Max realized, she missed her parents. ‘God, how can I fix this?’ he thought to himself. She literally has no one…no one but me and then he knew what he had to do.

Max went around to the side of the bed where he wouldn’t interfere with any of her IV’s and crawled in next to her, he slid his arm under her pillow and drew her tiny body in next to him and took her into his arms. He held her and ran his hand up and down her arm and kissed the top of her head until the tears subsided and then he whispered into her ear.

“Let it go sweetheart, let it all go. You’re not alone anymore Liz. Please listen to me. We will be here for you for as long as you want us to be. I promise, we will always be here for you. Do you understand what I’m saying? We will never desert you and I will be whatever you want me to be to you. Please Liz tell me you understand.”

Max knew he couldn’t tell her what he was really feeling because he wasn’t sure what it was himself… but he knew she would always have a family that would want her. He knew that right now he didn’t want to leave her side, ever…and whatever that meant he would figure it out. He knew in his heart that what he remembered her saying to him in that field really did happen, he didn’t imagine it, but he wouldn’t push her. It was too soon. Too soon for both of them but he knew what he felt was deep and he needed to let her know that. He also knew that his family would always hold her in a special place in their hearts for what she had done for him yesterday and the fact that his mother would hug her like she did told him he was not wrong in what he just said.

When the nurse came in to do Liz’s vitals she found her patient curled up in Max’s arms and the two of them were sound asleep. Liz’s cheeks were tear stained and Max’s pajamas were stained from where Liz’s tears had soaked his top and his sunglasses were knocked sideways on his face and they made one comical, if not impressive, sight. The nurse decided to come back later to check on her patient…Liz still had a little more blood left in her IV so she would wait a little while before disturbing her. She would also let Mr. Evans nurse know that he was sleeping quite comfortably and she closed the door as she exited room 232.

[mary mary]

Carolyn, behrable,Eve,Nubantu and Natalie 36...thank you, all of you for your generous feed back. It's so nice to hear from you.

*~*~*

Chapter: 14

Philip left immediately after receiving Diane’s phone call and was back in San Antonio as fast as the company jet could get him there. He was as concerned for Liz as he was for his own son. He knew the girl had to mean an awfully lot to Max for him to call and ask his mother to fix dinner for them and then to hear that she put her own life on the line to follow Max said an awfully lot about what she must feel for Max. It’s too bad Max had to go off and do something that stupid in the first place. He had always given Max more credit than that…he certainly needed to have a serious talk with that man when he got home…and then he started to calm himself down. Max really didn’t do anything stupid…he just wasn’t thinking period. He was so concerned for his mother that he went looking for her just as Liz went looking for Max. What a mess…he could only thank God that it wasn’t worse.

*

Maria got out of her class around 12:00 and headed straight to her apartment and changed into her work clothes before heading over to the hospital. She had called earlier and was told that both Liz and Max were resting quietly and they were both out of the woods so to speak. She was thrilled to hear this and then she had a selfish thought…maybe Michael would be there when she got to the hospital, she almost felt guilty for having these thoughts and then grinned…not as guilty as she should feel she thought. ‘Oh well, you can’t control what runs through your mind all the time’ she thought to herself.

*

Michael saw Tess in the hospital as he was leaving and filled her in on the situation and she was floored. She couldn’t believe what Michael was telling her and wanted to know if Kyle knew the situation. Michael told her he didn’t know but Alex did because he and Isabelle went and got Diane after they knew things were being taken care of in the emergency room.

“Do you want to call Kyle or should I call him?” Michael asked Tess…

“You call him Michael. You know more about what happened than I do…I’ll just run up to the second floor and pop in on my lunch hour and see how the two of them are doing. So…this Liz knew where to find Max huh?” Tess asked Michael with a grin.

“Yeah, she did.” Michael grinned back. “Actually, she’s in worse shape than Max is but Max could have been worse. They were concerned that he was blind, but he’s fine. Just has to wear sunglasses for awhile. I’m going to stop and pick up a pair at the sport shop for him…his are in his truck and the truck is out in a field upside down. I need to get a tow truck out there and have it hauled in also. There’s a lot of important stuff in it that needs to be removed as well. Anyway, I’ll give Kyle a call and you check up on our patients and thanks Tess.” Michael was glad she was there…she could probably tell them things that the other nurses wouldn’t even think of telling them.

“You’re welcome Michael…why don’t you come over for dinner tonight? We’re having fried chicken the way you like it.” Tess smiled, she knew Michael’s appetite almost as well as Kyle’s.

Michael grinned…”I think I’ll just run over to Sophie’s tonight and see what the special is.”

“Oh, if you’re going to pass up fried chicken I can see that Liz isn’t the only attraction at Sophie’s.”

“Well, maybe. We’ll see.” Michael grinned as he waved off any other comments and then he was gone.

Tess watched her friend leave the hospital corridor and smiled…’I hope she deserves you Michael’ she thought to herself as she turned and headed to her ward to check on her patients.

*

When Dr. James came into Max’s room before heading to the cafeteria he noticed Max’s empty bed and then looked over at the sleeping couple. He knew this was not normal hospital procedures but he wasn’t about to say anything. He turned and headed out the door as Dr. MacIntyre was coming in and Dr. James pointed over toward their patients and nodded toward the hallway.

“Do you think we should say something about this?” Dr. MacIntyre asked Dr. James and Dr. James just looked at him and smiled….

“I don’t think we should. After all, we broke protocol when we allowed them to share a room why rock the boat and bring any more attention to them?”

“Sharing a room is one thing but a bed is something else don’t you think?” Dr. MacIntyre stated.

About that time the head nurse came over to the doctors and explained what had taken place not long before.

“It seems Miss Parker was having a very hard time and was crying profusely when Mr. Evans went over and held her until she settled down. They both fell asleep and we just closed the door and left them alone. It seemed the best thing to do under the circumstances. You can see her tear stained cheeks and also the water spots on his pajamas. They really aren’t doing anything that would be considered unacceptable.” The nurse didn’t know how to explain what was going on any better than that at this time.

“Well, I guess we can ignore it.”…Dr. James looked at Dr. MacIntyre and said...”Come on Mac I’ll buy lunch today.” And both doctors headed toward the cafeteria.

*

Isabelle didn’t know if she should go home and get her mom before heading to the hospital after class or what the situation held so she gave her mom a call on her cell.

“Hi Mom, just left the lecture hall and was headed out to my car. Do you want me to pick you up at the house or just go on over to the hospital?”

“Just go over to the hospital sweetie, your Dad is flying in as we speak and Alex will drop me off later then I will ride home with your Dad. Alex has packed up your things, he said you can go home now that your Dad will be here.”

“Oh that’s great Mom. I’m glad Dad is on his way home, it will mean a lot to Max. Mom, did you know that Liz is a Valedictorian candidate and her professors have given me their home phone numbers for Liz to call them if she needs any help. Can you believe it. Max has himself a real jewel there Mom.”

“I know Isabelle, we had dinner Sunday and she’s a real sweetheart. She’s also an orphan so be extra nice to her Isabelle. She has no one but herself so we need to let her know that we accept her as one of ours even if she and Max don’t work out.”

“God Mom, you know I will. And Mom, I think they’ll work out just fine. From what Alex told me Max has been trying to get her attention for over three years now. I guess she’s a real kick, all the guys like her and are rooting for the two of them. I’ll see you later Mom. Hug Dad for me and tell him thanks, I know we don’t say that enough but it means a lot that he cares so much for us.”

“I know it does honey and I’ll tell him. Although I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable telling your father how much you love him on your own.”

“Oh come on Mom, you know I tell you guys I love you.”

“Occasionally, yes. Father’s Day, Mother’s Day…sometime.” Diane teased.

“Look, okay…I’m at my car now so I have to hang up…just be careful and Mom, I love you.” Isabelle smiled.

“Love you too honey…see you later.” And Diane smiled as well.

*

Philip Evans got off the plane and headed straight to the hangar where he left his car and drove straight to the hospital. He called Diane and wanted to know if she wanted him to come home first and she told him that Alex was going to drop her off later since she had been there the first thing that morning so Philip just kept on driving in to San Antonio from the airport that was on the outskirts of town. He hadn’t realized just how nervous he was about all of this until he started to drive. His foot was practically jumping on the gas feed. He finally got off the main highway and stopped at a small coffee shop and had a sandwich and cup of coffee hoping that it would settle his nerves. God, he just needed to calm down. After he ate something he went into the men’s room and splashed cold water on his face and dried himself off with the sandpaper towels from the dispenser and headed back out to his car. He did feel a little better now that he had some coffee and food…he didn’t want to scare Diane by being a nervous wreck when she got to the hospital with Alex.

It didn’t take long for the trip across town and soon Philip was outside of his son’s room. The head nurse came over and asked who he was and he told her that he was Max’s Dad and she smiled.

“Don’t be surprised at the scene in there Mr. Evans…it seems to be shocking a lot of people but it isn’t anything like it looks.”

Philip raised an eyebrow in question and the nurse explained the situation that occurred earlier and Philip smiled and said that he understood perfectly and that he would sit and wait until the roomies woke up.

The nurse grinned and went back to her station but before Philip could go into the room Isabelle came down the hall and ran up to her Dad and gave him a great big hug.

“Dad, I’m so glad you’re here. We were all terrified for awhile there but things are going along just fine.”

“I’m glad to be here Isabelle. Your Mom tells me that you’re taping Liz’s lectures for her. Sweetie, I think that’s marvelous.”

Philip was very proud of his daughter, she normally wasn’t this kind and generous to people she didn’t know. Once she made up her mind you were okay though there was no shaking her. Philip smiled at Isabelle and gave her a hug.

“Thanks Dad…you know what else, I really am enjoying these lectures. I don’t understand all of it but God is it interesting. You know what else, Liz is a candidate for Valedictorian…can you believe it?”

Isabelle was just full of surprises this afternoon Philip thought to himself. If he was nervous before getting here he was all settled down now. Between the head nurse and his daughter he didn’t have time to be nervous about anything.

“Isabelle, we need to be quiet when we go in there. It seems your brother and his friend are both asleep…in the same bed and they aren’t to be disturbed…according to the nurse over there.”

“Wha..wha…what do you mean Dad…in bed as in… together?” Isabelle couldn’t believe everyone was so blasé about this as she motioned with her hands in a back and forth movement, trying to connect everything she had just been told.

“Well, it seems Liz started crying and your brother took it upon himself to calm her down and they fell asleep.”

“Ah…really?” She sighed, wasn’t that just too cute?

“Yes, really…now be quiet.” Philip had to smile and shake his head…she could change faster than a chameleon.

So Philip and Isabelle entered the room quietly and couldn’t believe their eyes…Max was indeed in Liz’s bed with a pair of sunglasses knocked off his ear sound asleep with his head resting on Liz’s pillow and she was laying on her back with her hand, attached to a board, laying across her stomach just as sound asleep as Max. They both saw the tear stained cheeks and felt awful for her. It had to be rough with no one on this earth to care whether you lived or died. Both of the visitors eyes started to cloud over as Philip took Isabelle’s elbow and led her out of the room.

“Let’s go have some coffee Isabelle.” Philip saw his son and felt better now and Isabelle felt the same way.

“Sure Dad…let’s tell the nurse to let anyone else that comes where we’ll be.” And Philip headed over to the nurses station to let them know that they were headed to the cafeteria. The nurse saw the tears in the middle aged man’s eyes and knew exactly how he felt.

“I certainly will Mr. Evans. Thank you.” And Philip and Isabelle were off.

The two patients were totally unaware of any activity going on outside of their room and they continued to get some much needed rest.

*~*~*

[mary mary]

Natalie, Behrable and Eve: thank you so much for your fb...it's greatly appreciated.

*~*~*

Chapter 15:

About 1:00 p.m. Maria pulled into the parking lot of the hospital and grabbed her purse from the seat beside her and stepped out into the afternoon sun. ‘God, it’s nothing like it was yesterday at this time.’ She thought to herself, thank God for that. She headed straight to the information desk to get Liz’s room number and the receptionist checked her computer and said that she was in room 232. Maria smiled and said “thank you” and headed for the elevator. She would have taken the stairs but didn’t see any.

Once she reached the second floor she got off the elevator and started to check out the map painted on the wall in front of her. “Good God, just how many wings does this place have?” she thought to herself. Finally she made a decision and turned right and headed down the long corridor which led her to another set of instructions painted on a wall. “Holy shit!$!” At this rate I’ll be late for work she thought to herself. Then she noticed a very short, very pretty blond coming down the corridor to her left and she plastered on her biggest smile and walked right up to her, Maria noticed the name on the nurses ID and immediately had to ask…

“Do you know Kyle Valenti?” Tess was almost in shock, almost, who was this bouncy blond anyway.

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. He’s my husband.” Tess smiled in an unsure manner.

“Oh good, then you probably know where Max and Liz are. I work with Liz.” And then Tess immediately knew where Michael was headed for dinner tonight…this one was just right for him.

“Yes, well they’re right down there on the left. They were asleep a minute ago but maybe they’re awake now. Good luck, oh and are you working this evening?” She had to ask.

“Yes, I work every night, Monday thru Friday and Sunday mornings. I’ll be doing Liz’s Saturday shift also until she can come back to work. Do you know how she’s doing?” Maria was really concerned for her coworker.

“She’s going to be fine…she’ll need some therapy for a little while but other than that she’s doing great. Mr. Evans is going to be fine also.” Tess smiled…

“Oh that’s so good to hear and thank you. Is Mr. Evans still in the hospital? I left late last night because I had class this morning and I didn’t hear how either was doing until just now.”

“Oh yes, Mr. Evans is still in the hospital. As a matter of fact he and Miss Parker are in the same room.” Tess smiled at the expression on Maria’s face.

“The same room…is that allowed?” Maria was shocked…

“Well, money does talk Maria. Now I have to get back to my patients. It was nice meeting you and if Max and Liz are awake tell them I’ll stop by again before I go home.” And Tess started to walk away.

“I’ll do that, and thank you.” And Maria headed toward 232. She didn’t have much time now but at least she had some news for her coworkers and her boss. The same room…wow!

Just as Maria started toward Liz’s door she heard some talking behind her and noticed two doctors and a very tall grey haired man and one gorgeous blond headed her way. She stopped for a minute and recognized Isabelle from last night in the Emergency Room. She went over and knocked on the door of the room. She didn’t know why she knocked but it was closed and she felt she should.

Max heard the noise and started to awaken and couldn’t believe that he was asleep in the same bed as Liz. ‘Oh God, I wonder how many people came in here and saw this. We will be the talk of the hospital. ‘shit!#%#!’ he thought to himself…this is awful, and then he looked down at the tear stained face laying there so peaceful and didn’t give a damn what anybody thought. She needed to be comforted and that was all that mattered. He slowly got himself untangled from his position on the bed and went over and opened the door. He had put his ‘sunglasses’ back on his nose where they belonged but his hair was sticking up all over his head and he did make a comical sight.

When max opened the door to their room he was met by Maria, his dad, his sister, his doctor and Liz’s doctor. He looked at all of them sheepishly and figured they had all been there before and he stepped aside to allow all of them in. His dad gave him a great big hug and patted him on the back and shook his head at him.

“What? No lecture?” Max asked with a grin on his face.

“Nah, I figure you’re smart enough to know when you’ve been stupid.” Philip smiled back at him. “Is Liz feeling better?” he asked.

“I don’t know, the knocking at the door woke me up but she seems peaceful enough. I hope so.” Max answered. “Hi Maria…nice to see you. Are you okay?” Max asked.

“Yeah, I’m okay, how’s Liz doing. I just ran into Tess before coming in…she said to tell you she would come back after her shift. How are you feeling?” Maria wanted to know.

Before Max answered Maria’s question he said…

“Everyone, this is Maria, she is Liz’s coworker and I’m fine Maria, thank you for asking.”

The doctors, Philip and Isabelle said hello to Maria and then Maria had to excuse herself.

“It’s very nice to meet all of you but I have to leave…it took me so long to find this place that if I don’t leave now I’ll be late for work. I’ll probably run into you again before the week is out so ya’ll take care and tell Liz I’ll be back. Bye.” And she was gone.

Doctor MacIntyre went over and pulled the privacy curtain between the two beds so he could check on Liz and Doctor James went over and removed Max’s sunglasses and took out his little flashlight and started checking out Max’s eyes. Philip and Isabelle stood at the foot of Max’s bed and silently watched everything that was taking place. Doctor James asked Max if he had any discomfort and Max said no…of course he just woke up from a very long nap so he hadn’t had any time for any experiencing of anything. Doctor James just chuckled and continued to look and poke around the eye area and then told Max that he was going to turn on the light…

“If you feel any discomfort at all Max…put the glasses on immediately.”

“Will do.” And so the doctor pulled the string on Max’s bed and turned the lights on…it took Max a second or two and then he reached for the glasses and put them on.

“Very good Max…it took a little longer this time for your eyes to become sensitive so the healing process is working very well. The human body is a remarkable thing.”

“Does this mean he’s going to be 100%?” Philip asked.

“It certainly does Mr. Evans. I would think that probably by Thursday we can eliminate the sunglasses inside altogether.” Dr. James smiled at the Sr. Mr. Evans.

“Oh that’s wonderful.” Isabelle said with a sigh of relief. Mom is going to be so pleased, she didn’t mind that Max had to wear the sunglasses but she knew it would bother Max and she didn’t want him to have to live like that, Isabelle thought to herself.

Max struck another pose for his sister…

“What’s the matter Isabelle, you don’t like my glasses?”

“Cut it out Max, you’re not funny.” Isabelle shot back.

“All right you two, we have company…where’s you manners.” And the two doctors chuckled at the Sr. Mr. Evans…I guess their just kids to him regardless of their ages.

Liz was finally awake, although she was only half way there while doctor MacIntyre was checking her IV’s … he had removed the IV drips but left the needle in her arm just in case they might need it for something else. In cases like this you never know what you might have missed.

“Hi Liz, how are you feeling?” He smiled down at the young woman.

Professor Seligman had called him earlier to check on her condition and wanted to know if it would be alright to visit her and discuss class work. Dr. MacIntyre was very impressed that a college professor would take so much time for a single student and then Professor Seligman filled him in on Miss Parker’s scholastic standing. Doctor MacIntyre was very impressed.

“Oh, I guess I’m fine. I think I’ve slept most of the day away.” Liz smiled back at the doctor.

“Well, that’s because your body needed it. Have you been up yet?”

“No, not yet but I think I would like to go to the bathroom, and I really would like to brush my teeth.”

“Let me get the nurse for you Liz…I don’t want you doing anything on your own yet so just hang in there for a minute…okay?”

“Sure, is Max okay?” Liz asked.

“I’m fine Liz and guess who’s here?” Max smiled toward his dad…

Philip peeked his head around the curtain and smiled at Liz…he could see the tear streaks down her cheeks and his heart ached for her…

“Hi Liz, I hear you’re our family’s hero…good work and I am so sorry you got injured.”

“Oh Philip, hello. It’s so good to see you, I am so sorry you had to cut your trip short, I hope it won’t be too inconvenient.” Liz smiled over at her new friend.

“Hey, business can wait…nothing is more important than being here for my family and that includes you as well Liz. Thank you for taking care of Max. I just hope that he takes the time to stop and think about his actions from now on.” And they all heard Max groan.

“I think he’ll be fine Philip…won’t you Max?” Liz giggled…

“Yes Liz, I’ll be fine.”

About that time the doctor returned with the nurse and a walker and when they started helping Liz out of bed she let out a terrible moan…the sharp pain that radiated up her spine nearly knocked her out.

“What Liz, what’s wrong?” Doctor MacIntyre immediately reached for her to steady her back onto the bed.

“It’s my back…it hurts something fierce.” And she passed out.

“Get an OR set up immediately, portable X-ray machine, blood work, blood and a team…STAT!”

Isabelle and Philip moved back closer to the wall and Max looked up into Dr. James’ eyes with terror written all over his face. Oh no, please…no… and Philip just grabbed hold of his sons shoulder and squeezed.

*~*~*

[mary mary]

Natalie and Eve: thank you and here's some more for you...

Ginger

*~*~*

Chapter: 16


Doctor MacIntyre

I instructed the orderlies to move Liz onto the gurney as gently as possible….

“Try not to jar her in any way, she doesn’t weigh all that much and it is imperative that we not jostle her. There is something wrong with her back and it could be a glass splinter or something worse so be gentle. We won’t know what we’re dealing with until we get some pictures…get the nurse in here. NOW!”

I was beside myself…how could I have been so stupid? How could I have not realized that there was possibly more damage to this girl? I need another doctor with me…I’m a plastic surgeon for God’s sake. It has been years since I practiced emergency medicine. “But you’re still a doctor!” I told myself, I just couldn’t quit berating myself, this was too awful. God help me if anything happens to this young woman, I don’t think I will ever be able to forgive myself.

Oh, here’s the nurse now…

“Miss Jacobs, do you have her current blood work?” I asked in a frantic voice…I could see the Evans’ all standing there watching in terror…they had no idea I was as terrified as they were.

“Yes Doctor, it’s right there on her chart. I put it there when I came in earlier but she was asleep at that time so I left, remember, I told you.”

The nurse was as frightened as the rest of us. This was just horrible. She should have read the results herself but she figured she would do that when she came back, I understand that but this is awful, my mind would not settle down. It was running in a thousand directions and I needed to concentrate.

I quickly grabbed the chart from the foot of Miss Parker’s bed and glanced quickly for the white blood count…there it was…the levels were very elevated indicating an infection somewhere. Her body was fighting something and we had to find it quickly.

“I’ll take this with me to the O.R., page Doctor Daniels and ask him to meet me there. Tell him I need his help, he’ll understand.”

“Yes Doctor.” And she was gone.

“Let’s get her upstairs as quickly and as safely as we can.” I looked over at the Evans’ family and smiled as best I could. “I’ll keep you informed…I think she has another piece of glass somewhere and we will find it, I promise.”

They all looked at me with their eyes full of terror and I knew they were as frightened as I was but I had to give them something.

“Trust me, please. I am not above asking for help and Doctor Daniels is the best in his field. If there is something invasive in her body he will find it.” Then the young Mr. Evans said, in the smallest of voices…

“Please, take care of her, she has no one.” And my heart ached for the young man, but I realized at that moment that she was not alone. Not as long as these people were in her life.

“I will, now I have to go. We need to take care of this…you take care of yourself and I will take care of Miss Parker. Is that a deal?” And Mr. Evans gave me a small smile…

“It’s a deal.” And I was gone.

*
Max

I looked up into my Dad’s eyes and I knew immediately that he was just as scared as I was. This was turning into one of the best and the worst days of my life. I wasn’t blind and Liz was in terrible trouble over my stupid actions. I rubbed my hand across my forehead and groaned…very loudly, my dad and sister both looked at me with the saddest expressions I have ever seen on either of their faces. All I could do now was pray. “God, I don’t want her to suffer anymore than she already has.” Was the mantra running through my brain non stop. I was very close to losing it and I didn’t want to be a weakling about this, I just needed to hold on, I needed to follow Liz’s instructions and then I prayed harder. ‘You’ve got to hold on’, I could hear her small voice in my head and I prayed harder, ‘you’ve got to hold on Liz’, please.

“Dad, see if Jon is working in the ER, or if Tess is here. Just tell them what’s going on. Jon took care of Liz yesterday and maybe he can keep us posted. Please!”

My dad looked at me and understood what I needed from him immediately and without another word he walked over to the phone on the table by Liz’s bed and dialed the operator, I could hear him ask for Jon in the ER and then he waited.

*

Tess had already left for the day but Jon told dad that he would follow up as soon as he had a spare minute and would get back to us. I had Isabelle get my cell phone from my bag of belongings in the closet next to my bed and she handed it to me. I dialed Kyle’s home number and Tess answered on the second ring.

“Hello.”

“Tess, it’s Max.”

“Max. Kyle and I were just on our way out the door to come and visit you. How are you today? I was going to stop in after my shift but when I called the nurses station they said you were still sleeping so I came home to get Kyle.”

“Tess, they just took Liz back to surgery. Apparently there’s another piece of glass or something in her and they need to find it. Tess, I need you to find out what’s going on. Please.” I was near hysteria now and I don’t usually lose it.


Apparently Tess could hear it in my voice because she immediately interrupted me…

“Max. Calm down. I’ll go put on some scrubs and we’ll be there in about 20 minutes or so. I’ll send Kyle up to your room and I’ll go directly to the O R before coming to see you. Please Max, you aren’t helping anybody by falling apart. This is not you Max, so settle down.”

“You’re right Tess but this is all my fault. If I hadn’t been so stupid and took off in that storm we would all be okay.” I was near tears now and I didn’t want to act like this but I couldn’t control myself.

“Max. Yes, you did something very stupid and this accident did happen so now we have to deal with it. We can’t go back and change it, it’s a fact…so listen to me. If you want this young woman to get well then you have to be strong enough to help her. Do you hear me?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Now hang up so I can get into some scrubs and get over there.” Tess could be very assertive when she put her mind to it, she usually didn’t talk like this to me but it made me feel better.

“I’ll be here Tess, and thank you. Thank you so much. Bye.”

“Bye Max…behave.” She said calmly.

“What did she say Max?” Isabelle asked.

“That they’ll be here in about 20 minutes. Kyle is coming also. I guess they were on their way out the door when I called, she’s going to put on some scrubs and head right on up to the O R. She said Kyle would come straight here. God Iz, what have I done?”

“Max, I heard some of Tess’ conversation and she’s right you know. You were stupid but it happened. There’s no changing the fact that it did happen so we just have to move forward and pray.” Isabelle couldn’t see any way to sugar coat the situation, it was horrible, but they had to deal with it.

“Max, I know you’re having trouble dealing with this but believe me son we will all be here for her and I am sure the doctors will give it 110%. We just have to wait and see what they find, now settle down. We don’t need to have you knocked out when she gets back and they will knock you out if you don’t settle down.”

Dad was as concerned for Liz as the rest of them but he also knew that hysteria wasn’t going to help anyone so I tried to think positive thoughts…it wasn’t working but I tried.

About that time the phone rang at my bedside and I reached over and retrieved it on the second ring.

“Hello.”

“Hi, is this Max Evans?” The male voice on the other end asked.

“Yes, this is Max and you are?”

“Hi Max, it’s Jon from the ER. I just left the O R where they’re working on your friend Miss Parker. She has a large glass splinter lodged into her hip and it’s very close to the base of her spine. They are going to use a ‘robot’ to remove it because they don’t want to jar her and take a chance on cutting any nerves so it will be a little while before they have the ‘arm’ set up. They are looking at all of the X-rays to make sure there aren’t anymore foreign objects in her body before they leave the O R. They don’t want Miss Parker to have to go through anymore trauma than she already has. Do you want me to have one of the O R nurses call you again?”

“No Jon. Thank you so much for doing this for me. My friend, Tess Valenti, is on her way in and she will be going in to check on Liz as well. I can’t thank you enough for doing this for me.” Max was so relieved that he didn’t know what to say or how to act. He wanted to know that Liz was okay and he wanted to know that she would never have to suffer again and his mind started to run amok.

“You’re welcome Mr. Evans and please, will you have Mrs. Valenti give me a call and let me know how the surgery went. I want to know also.” Jon sounded very concerned,

“I will Jon. Bye for now.” Why is he so concerned? Don’t do this Max? You know what Tess said, stay calm.

Dad looked over at me and raised an eyebrow in question.

“Well?”

“They’re going to use a robot to remove a glass splinter from her hip. Apparently they are X-raying her everywhere to make sure there aren’t anymore surprises. God dad, how could I have been so dumb?” I was close to tears again.

“Max, son, it’s done. You were not thinking straight and it happened now we have to deal with it so please…settle down. Liz is going to need a sane, calm person and if that can’t be you we will have to make arrangements for her to be moved to another room. You can’t be upsetting her with your self deprecating attitude. She needs positive thoughts and if you can’t give them to her then she’s out of here.” I can’t believe my dad just said that to me. He sounds like he doesn’t give a shit about my feelings at all. I just give him a look of disbelief and he looked down at me and smiled…

“Just think about it.” And that was the end of the discussion.

I looked up at him and sighed, if men sigh, I let out a huge breath anyway and started to digest his words. He’s right, as usual. Liz needed a strong person by her side, she didn’t need some wimpy ass cry baby sitting around feeling sorry for himself.


Oh well, this was going to be a long wait. About that time Kyle came in and came over and gave me a hug. Kyle doesn’t hug, especially men, and I just looked at him in shock.

“What? I have a sensitive side.” Kyle was very indignant…

Dad and Isabelle both started laughing…

“Sensitive my ass…Tess told you to do that didn’t she?”

“Well, yeah, she did. But it worked didn’t it? She said to do something to bring you out of your funk and when I walked in I figured, what the hell…a hug always works for me. But, of course, Tess always does the hugging.” And Kyle smiled down at me sheepishly and then I grabbed him by the jacket and pulled him down on top of me and gave him the biggest hug he had ever gotten.

Dad and Isabelle were really laughing now and Kyle was sputtering all over the place…

“Jeeezus Evans…have you lost your friggin’ mind? What in the hell’s gotten into you? It was supposed to be a joke for God’s sake.”

Now I was laughing too…

“Lighten up Kyle. The hug worked and thank you…we all needed it.”

“Well, screw you…I might give Isabelle a hug but I’m not passing them out like candy at Halloween…no offense Mr. Evans, but I’m not.”

“None taken Kyle.” Dad answered and we all laughed, including Kyle. About that time Tess came into the room and took notice of all of the joviality and smiled.

“I see my husband did as I asked and brought some sunshine in here.”

“Yes he did Tess.” I smiled at her as she made her way over to give me a hug hello.

“Like the glasses Max…great look you got goin’ there.”

“Thanks, I thought they added a little class. Did you find out anything upstairs?”

“Yes. They had Robbie all set up and was just going in to remove the splinter. They could only see the one intrusion and everything looks great. They have to give Liz some antibiotics to get rid of the infection caused by the splinter but she should be up and around by tomorrow afternoon at the latest. She’ll be in recovery for a couple of hours and then she’ll be right back in here to keep you company while you’re recuperating. How are you doing by the way?”

“I’m great but who is Robbie?” I asked.

“Oh, that’s what we call the robot. Robbie the robot. It’s a machine with a long mechanical arm that can be maneuvered into places that the human hand should not go into. Especially if they don’t want to take any chances on a sudden unwanted movement. In Liz’s case the glass was way too close to the spine and all the nerve endings to take any chances so they set the robot up for the removal. It works really great but it isn’t used for all surgeries. Not all of them are that delicate. Anyway, she’s going to be fine and will be able to go home in a couple of days. She’ll need some therapy and TLC but she’ll be fine.”

Tess was very informative and dad looked down at me and smiled.

“She’ll have all the TLC she needs with your mom Max. We’ll take her home with us until she can make it on her own. You can come and stay with us as well, because I can see what you’re thinking in your eyes and son it’s not a good idea to take her to your place. Just think about it for a minute…not a good idea at all.”

Dad was pretty firm in his statement and I just laid there and looked at him for a minute and then it set in. He was right. She was going to need a lot of ‘TLC’ as they put it and mom was the best person for it. I know this…she needed a mother’s love not a prospective lover hovering over her. God, I only hope I grow up to be as wise as my father some day.

“Thanks dad. You’re right. I’ll tell her tomorrow when she’s wide awake. And yeah, maybe I’ll come home for a couple of days but, like you said, she needs mom and she’ll be busy trying to keep up with her classes so I’ll give her space. What a mess I’ve made.”

“Max! What did dad say. Stop beating yourself up over this, it’s done. Do we have to get Kyle to hug you again?” Isabelle said while trying to stifle a giggle.

“What? Kyle hugged Max. Oh I’m sorry I missed that…Kyle…give Max a hug. I want to watch.” Tess giggled, along with dad and Isabelle.

“You know what you all can do don’t you?” Kyle was beet red and sputtering all over the room and then Michael came in.

“Hey bro…what’s up? Can anyone get in on the joke or is it private?” Michael asked.

“Oh Mikey, Kyle hugged Max and I’m trying to get a repeat so I can watch.” Tess giggled.

Tess was the only person that called Michael Mikey and got away with it. None of us knows why but I think it’s because of her bubbly personality and Michael knows it’s out of love.

“Mr. Evans can you cover your ears, I need to tell these people what they can do with their hugs and it ain’t going to be pretty.”

Dad looked over at Kyle with a gleam in his eye and told him he was sure we all knew what he wanted to say. Kyle just nodded and ignored the whole bunch of us.

“Here Max…from the sport shop, oh and your truck is at Ernie’s. The insurance company has been called and we e-mailed pictures. They’ll probably replace the rig, and I did get everything out of it while it was out in the field. You’ll have to go through the stuff to see if we missed anything. If we did it’s probably in the next county somewhere.” And Michael handed me my new sunglasses.

“Thanks Michael, There weren’t any important loose documents in the rig…just my laptop and briefcase. Everything else was in the glove box. How much do I owe you? ” Michael waved me off as I removed the ‘hospital issue’ and put the Ray Bans on.

“You can catch me later man…no big deal.”

“Boy Max, I don’t think they have half the personality that the hospital glasses have.” Isabelle chided…

“No Max, really, those have no personality at all.” Tess chimed in.

“Well, maybe I’ll just use these when I’m not trying to impersonate a green alien!”

The room was full of giggles and snickers again and the head nurse came in to tell us that Liz was out of surgery, it went well and she would be back in about two hours. To say that I was relieved was an understatement and then mom came in with Alex in tow.

Tess filled her in on what was going on and then dad took over and told her that he thought Liz should come home with them for a couple of weeks before being left to her own resources.

“My God yes Philip. Absolutely, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Isabelle, is that alright with you dear. Do you mind coming out to the lake everyday with her tapes or would you prefer that I move in with Liz for a couple of weeks?” Mom was always thinking of ways to make life easier for everyone else, bless her heart.

“No mom, the ranch is fine. I think I’ll enjoy the drive and it really isn’t that far.”

“Well good…now all we have to do is convince Liz.” Mom said and then the room got very quiet. Here we were all making plans for Liz and she knew nothing about them. God, what were we all thinking. Leave it to mom to knock the wind out of our sails.

*~*~*

[mary mary]

Eve: thank you for all of your kind words....

*~*~*


Chapter: 17


Song used: (We Belong together by Ritchie Valens)

Liz

“Shit” Was the only word that came to mind. Here I was in this damned cold room again. What the hell happened this time, I remember doctor MacIntyre coming in and then everything went black, and why am I so damned groggy now? I notice doctor MacIntyre over at a small desk writing something and I watch him for a minute and then he looks over and notices me watching him and he smiles at me and gets up and motions to another man and they both head my way.

“Good afternoon Liz. This is doctor Daniels, he operated on you again this afternoon and we hope you are feeling better. You had another piece of glass lodged in your hip and was causing some serious damage to your system. If we had not removed it, it could have paralyzed you but you’re fine now. We X-rayed you from head to toe again and that was the only other piece of glass we found in your body. I’m sorry for one thing though…Liz, we had to cut your hair. It was full of glass shards and we tried everyway we could think of to safely remove them but we couldn’t. We had a professional hair dresser come in to get rid of it for us…She was afraid that if she tried to rinse it out or comb it that one or both of you would suffer numerous cuts. Actually, it looks very nice on you Liz. I hope you aren’t too disappointed with us. I know we should have found all of this Monday but we were in such a hurry to get rid of the large piece of windshield that we didn’t even think of your hair and the x-rays we took did not show the splinter in your hip until it became infected.”

“This is all a joke, right?” I said that before I even thought. It’s not like I haven’t had my hair cut before, but long hair is so much easier to take care of…wash, pony tail and go. No blow drying, no curling iron, no fancy settings…just wash and go. Shit! Shit! Shit! Oh well…

“No doctor, it’s fine. It’s only hair and it’ll grow back fast. It always does.” I smiled at the twerp, I can’t believe it…can anything else in my life go haywire?

“Do either of you have any idea how long I’m going to be in this hospital? I really need to get back to my life.” I asked, I thought that if I stayed much longer I might not have a life…shit! Just get out of the funk Liz and straighten up your act. You’re alive, Max is alive and that’s what’s important…I really am trying to talk myself into a better mood here but I don’t think it’s working very well.

I know Isabelle is taping my classes for me but this is all too much. I need to get out of this place before they find something else to do to me, like amputate an arm or something.

My hair, Jeeeze Louise, my freaking hair. Damn! And then I start to laugh…hysterically laugh. Both doctors are looking at me as if I’ve lost my effin’ mind and I’m laughing. It’s good for the soul, right?

I see Jon coming in the side entrance of the recovery room, at least I think it’s the recovery room and the doctors both smile at him as he comes over to see how I’m doing. I glance at him through my tears and greet him…

“Hi Jon…how’re you doing today, I’m having one helluva good time, can you tell?”

Jon looks at both of the doctors and then he does a double take…

“What in the hell did they do to your hair Liz?” he looks positively shocked.

“It seems it was full of glass and they felt it was in the best interest of me and the beautician to cut it off.” I say, a little snidely if I might add.

“Oh! Well that makes sense, I guess. Other than being hairless are you doing okay?” He says with a smile and a wink…he’s really nice.

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“Good, because there are an awfully lot of people waiting for you to get back to your room and one in particular has been driving the staff nuts with questions.”

“Oh my. I hope he’s okay.” I ask more than state…

“He’s fine Liz and I’ll just go up and check in before I head on home. My wife is going to accuse me of awful things if I don’t show up for dinner again tonight. You take care and if I can’t come up to see you tomorrow I will call and check in on you.”

“Thank you Jon and tell your wife I think she’s a very lucky woman. Bye.”

“I’ll tell her you said that Liz and bye for now.”

“Oh Jon.” Doctor Daniels stops Jon.

“Are you going up to 232?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact I am. Mr. Evans asked me if I would give him an update.”

“Well, can you tell the head nurse to have housekeeping remove Miss Parker’s mattress and have it incinerated. It has to be full of glass that we can’t see and we don’t want anymore surprises. We’ll be taking her back to her room in about 15 minutes or so. We just want to check the stitches and change her dressings before we leave.” Doctor Daniels said.

“Of course I will…as a matter of fact I’ll call her from here and they can get started right now. Bye Liz.”

“Bye Jon…drive carefully.” And Jon smiled. He knew what she was telling him, if anyone knew the Texas weather she certainly had a first hand knowledge.

*

Max

My room is getting pretty full of people and it’s starting to look like a convention in this place. Tess and Kyle are leaving and Michael said he was going to head on out and have some dinner…we all chimed in at that remark, well Kyle, Tess, Alex and me.

“Where are you going for dinner Michael?”

“Mind your own business.” Was his only retort as he left our room.

“Where’s he going Alex?” Isabelle asked her husband.

“He’s headed to Sophie’s Diner, that’s where he’s going.” Alex said and we all nodded in agreement.

“What’s at Sophie’s?” Isabelle and mom asked about the same time.

“Maria.” Alex, Tess, Kyle and I answered.

Then Tess and Kyle started out the door when two janitor type people came in and headed to Liz’s side of the room. They rolled up her mattress, sheets and pillows, put them in a large bag and headed on out. Dad stopped them on the way and asked if there was a problem and they shook their heads no, I could tell Dad really was afraid for a second…

“We burn, glass.” One of the men said and kept on going.

“Well, that’s a surprise. I guess they’re concerned about more cuts. We’d better get her clothes as well.” Mom said.

“Mom, wait. I think we should discuss this with Liz before we go removing her clothes. I wonder if they took her car yet?” I added as an after thought.

“Yes Max. I had Ernie’s pick it up this morning. They’re going to replace the front seat for her and if they can’t match the upholstery they’re going to redo the entire interior.”

“God, I hope she doesn’t get pissed at all of us. We are taking a lot on ourselves without her knowledge.”

“Oh Max, don’t worry about it. It will look exactly like it did before she drove it here. It was so soaked with blood that they couldn’t get it out. They’re just putting it back like it was…not changing anything.” Isabelle assures me.

“What’s wrong with her car anyway Isabelle? What blood?” Dad asks.

“Well, apparently she crawled through a field full of glass from Max’s windshield, at least we think it was Max’s windshield since it was missing, to get to him and she had a large piece of it stuck in her leg. She drove here herself, following the ambulance with the cut and she didn’t even know she had it. Michael noticed it in the emergency waiting room while she was filling out some papers for Max and that’s when they discovered she was injured worse than Max. Of course Max could have lost his eyesight but Liz was hurt also.”

“My God…and then today they discovered more injuries. Why didn’t they check for them yesterday?” Dad asked.

“Well, apparently they did but this little devil was hiding in her hip and it took a while for it to fester and cause problems.” Max answered.

About that time the two janitors came in with a new mattress and two nurses were right behind them with clean bedding.

No sooner had they left than they wheeled Liz in on a gurney, wide awake sans hair.

Those of us who had seen her before just watched wide eyed. What in the hell did they do to her was my only thought.

After the nurses left mom went over to give her a hug and then she couldn’t hold her tongue any longer…

“Liz, why in the hell did they cut your hair off?” And Liz looked up at mom and started to giggle, uncontrollably…and then the two doctors came in…apparently they heard mom’s question.

“Mrs. Evans, her hair was full of glass, we had to cut it off because it was too dangerous not to. We didn’t want any more cuts on her body and that was our only solution. We did call a beautician in to do it.” Dr. MacIntyre added apologetically.

“And, she’s laughing because it’s better than crying at this point.” Added Doctor Daniels. Apparently they understood stress pretty well.

“Well, it looks cute on her but it’s definitely a shock.” Mom added and then we all agreed…we didn’t want Liz feeling badly because of her hair cut. Liz looked at all of us and smiled…

“It’s okay, honest. Oh, Max, where did you get the glasses? I kinda’ thought the others were just too cute on you.” Liz teased.

“Enough about the glasses already…I’ll put them on to sleep in, okay?” And everyone started to chuckle.

About that time the nurse came in with a few IV bottles for Liz and started to hook her up to her monitors again. All of our visitors knew that they should take their leave and so it wasn’t very long that we were alone again.

“How do you feel Liz?” I asked after the room had emptied out.

“I’m tired Max…so very tired, and I need to relax. Will you come hold me.” And that’s all she had to say. I was over at her side as fast as I could get there…I even took my bug eyed glasses with me because I didn’t want to mangle my new ones. Liz giggled when she saw them and then she scooted over in her bed and made room for me to lay down with her. This time I covered myself up along with her and held her close so she could go to sleep. I turned on the television but couldn’t watch it, I just kept looking at her little button nose and her long dark eyelashes resting on her cheeks…her strawberry kissed lips and her short hair; she really did look cute with the short hair but it was definitely different.

The nurse came in after a little while to check on me and found me in my favorite position and she didn’t flinch one little bit. She took my temperature and then suggested that I change my pajamas because I had been in the other bed with Liz as well so I obliged and removed myself from Liz’s side and headed over to the other end of the room to the bathroom.

“Mr. Evans, would you like to shower while you’re at it. We’ll change your sheets for you as well. We had no idea there was so much glass in her hair. The doctor said it showed up on the X-rays and they had Betty come in straight away. They wrapped a towel around her head when they discovered it and did the surgery to remove the large splinter from her hip and then they had to do something. A hair cut was the only solution. I hope she isn’t angry.”

“Sure, I’ll take a shower and wash my hair as well. I don’t think Liz will be too upset about the hair cut. It will grow back and I’m sure she appreciates you calling a beautician instead of just chopping it off.” Max assured the nurse.

“Oh, and Mr. Evans, please use this comb on your hair before you wash your head and then throw it away. Apparently the glass is hard to see.” And the nurse gave me a nice smile and handed me a fine toothed comb before leaving me alone to my shower.

After I came out of the bathroom I noticed that I had a new mattress and bedding as well. ‘Boy, these people aren’t taking any chances.’ I thought to myself. I looked over at Liz and she was sound asleep…she seemed to be restless but she was sleeping just the same. I didn’t know what to do…sleep with her or sleep alone. I know she asked me to hold her but she was asleep now. Did she want me to sleep with her or not. Hell, what’s the difference, it’s only sleep. Just then the dietician came in with two trays of food. Mine had the smell of some sort of meat streaming from it and Liz’s, well let’s just say we’d have to have a look at it because it wasn’t anything I recognized by the smell.

I nodded to the dietician and took a seat in the chair next to my bed and pulled the roll around tray over and lifted the cover off the plate and my word…there was a beautiful piece of steak, some potatoes and some baby carrots. I had a small dinner salad and a steaming cup of coffee and even a glass of wine. What the? I’d heard that hospital food was awful, this was anything but awful…it looked very appetizing. The dietician looked at me and could tell what I was thinking.

“You aren’t on any diet Mr. Evans, so this is what our recovering patients eat when they don’t require special food. Now Miss Parker will be on her surgical diet until tomorrow afternoon when her doctor releases her. Then she will be able to eat the same food as you. Does that answer your question that you looked like you were going to ask?” And she smiled down at me.

“Yes, you’ve answered it very well. Thank you.” And she left.

I heard Liz moving around and looked up and she was eyeing my tray of food. God, I felt guilty as hell!

“Liz, are you ready for something to eat?” I asked.

“God yes Max…do I have a tray too?”

‘Oh, this is not going to be good’ I thought to myself…

“You surely do. Let me help you.” So I went over and raised her bed for her and she made a little moan as she tried to straighten herself up. I reached down and put my one of my hands under her legs and one behind her back and lifted her to a sitting position, got her comfortable and lifted her tray. “Oh shit!” I looked at the beautiful tray with nothing but bullion, jello and hot tea and I wanted to cry. Not even a cracker. I looked down at Liz and she sort of giggled…

“It’s okay Max. it’s better than nothing at all. Just pull the curtain while you have your dinner and I’ll pretend that I’m back at that beautiful restaurant we were at on Saturday eating Chateau Briand…okay?” And she looked up at me and smiled that gorgeous smile of hers and for the first time today I felt like Liz was back…even without the hair.

“Okay sweetheart…I’ll pull the curtain and we can eat in silence.” And she giggled again.

“No Max, leave it open…I’m just kidding. I know I’ve been pumped full of drugs today and anything else will probably make me sick so lets just enjoy our dinner and then maybe we can find something on TV that we like. You can come over and hold me and I’ll most likely be asleep in no time at all. Then you can crawl into your own bed and get some rest also. I’m going to let you pamper me Max…how’s that?” And she gave me another smile as she fixed her tea.

“Well, since you’re going to allow it then I will take advantage of it Liz, and I will enjoy every minute of it.” I said as I dug into my dinner with a passion.

After we finished our dinner I put our trays on my roll around and went back over to Liz’s to side of the room. I was really going to have to get used to the hair cut. She looked so much more grown up with it and the style suited her. It was nice of the doctors to call in a beautician.

“Liz, I think you look very chic with your new hairdo, it suits you.” I said as I crawled back under the covers with her and we proceeded to get ourselves comfortable.

“Are you feeling okay? Are you in any pain?” I was very concerned that I might be hurting her and she just smiled…

“I’m great Max. You just make yourself comfortable and then I’ll work on me okay?”

“Alright, but you’ll tell me if you’re in any pain won’t you?” I didn’t know her well enough to know whether she would say something or not.

“Trust me Max, if I start to hurt I will say something, but I don’t think I will have to. I have this morphine drip over here and all it’s doing is making me very sleepy.” And then she whispered in my ear just in case anyone could hear her besides me,

“All they did was remove a splinter from my ass Max…I don’t think it was life threatening.” I had to chuckle at her and I gave her a little squeeze for comfort.

“Liz, it was more than a little splinter. It was very close to your spine and they were afraid it would sever nerves and cause paralysis. They used a robot arm to remove it in order to insure it’s removal without further damage. So, you can make light of the situation but it wasn’t just a splinter. You’re going to have to go through some therapy for a couple of weeks and speaking of therapy, there’s something I would like you to think about. My mom and dad want you to go out to the lake and stay with them during your recuperation. Izzy will bring your lectures to you everyday and your professors want you to call them if you have any questions. None of them want you to lose your chance at valedictorian.”

Liz just laid there in my arms listening to me and then she looked up into my eyes and smiled.

“Thank you Max, I think I would like that. I don’t have to think about it, I have no place else that I would rather be than with your mother and your family. But I don’t want to impose on them.”

“Liz, it’s no imposition, trust me. They are the ones that suggested it while you were in surgery. The doctors explained before you left that you would need to have someone look after you and I thought about my place but my dad wouldn’t hear of it. He said that mom would be the best person for the job and I agree with him. So it’s settled. We will have you taken to mom and dad’s.”

I don’t think I have ever been so proud of my family in my life. To take in a total stranger like this has to be one of the most selfless things I think they have ever done. I am so thankful to have them as parents. I just wish I hadn’t been so stupid Monday afternoon, but then again, if I hadn’t been so stupid I wouldn’t be laying here with Liz in my arms either. I hope she heals without any complications.

Soon I hear her slow steady breathing and I knew she was asleep again. It seemed that she slept better like this than she did alone. I know she’s been alone for over a year now so maybe she needs to feel close to someone. I’m just glad that I can be here for her. Oh, there’s the nurse again…I wonder if she needs one of us.

“Good evening Mr. Evans, how’s our patient doing?” she asks as she comes around and checks the IV drips over Liz’s head and writes something in her chart. She puts a thermometer in her ear for a minute and then writes down her temperature, then reads the machines and resets them.

“She seems to be more comfortable like this. If I thought it was hurting her I would go over to my own bed but she said she’s in less pain like this.” I inform the nurse, almost apologizing for being here…

“Well, it’s probably less weight on her hip this way. She can use your body to rest against and take the pressure off her back. It makes perfect sense. I could bring in more pillows and we could prop her up if you would prefer. I want you to be able to get some rest as well. Don’t let your arm fall asleep laying like that. I’m sure she won’t notice if you change positions occasionally…she’s on a morphine drip until tomorrow, then we’ll change her meds so she will be able to walk. She needs to keep exercising or she’ll stiffen up. Do you want the pillows?”

“Yes, you can put them on my bed and I’ll fix her up when I get sleepy, I’m fine for now. When do you think she’ll be able to leave?”

“Oh, that’s up to her doctor but she’s in excellent health and if her blood count is back to normal there won’t be any reason to keep her. Her white count was quite elevated from the glass in her hip but we’re pumping her full of antibiotics and she should be fit in no time.”

“ I think she’s a little disappointed with the hair cut but they did a great job. I’m glad they didn’t just chop it off.” I said, keeping my voice lowered so as not to wake Liz, because I really was happy that they styled it and not just cut it.

“Oh, we never do that here, unless we have to, when there is time we do our best. We have several beauticians on call for all of our patients. It gives the ladies a good feeling about themselves to know that someone cares enough about the way they look. A visit to the hospital is bad enough without having to look like death warmed over.” This is basically what the other nurse had told me.

I had to laugh at Miss Jacobs about that remark, “I can see why people like this place, and the food isn’t bad either. I guess if you have to be in the hospital this is the place to be.”

“You’re right. Well goodnight Mr. Evans, and when you’re ready to put the pillows in place please call me. I’ll help you move her so we don’t disrupt any of her tubes and needles.”

“Thanks and good night Miss Jacobs. I’ll remember and if we need anything else I’ll buzz you. And thank you for letting me stay here with her like this. I feel so responsible for her condition as it is.”

“Oh, why is that?”

“Oh, I thought you would have heard…” and then I proceeded to tell her about me taking off in my truck and Liz following me in the storm.

“Wow, I didn’t know that. But you do have to realize that it was an accident Mr. Evans. Please don’t lose sight of that, and it all worked out so just be thankful that she knew how to find you. It could have been worse.”

“Thank you Miss Jacobs. I’ll try and think positive thoughts. Good night.”

And she left Liz and me alone in our room for the night. I leaned down and kissed Liz’s forehead and pulled the string on the light. This felt so right, and I smiled. I’ll move to my own bed later, …and as I lay there with Liz in my arms an old song from one of my mom’s favorite albums of Oldies but Goodies started running through my head:

You’re mine
And we belong together
Yes, we belong together
For eternity

You’re mine
Your lips belong to me
Yes, they belong to only me
For eternity

You’re mine, my baby
And you’ll always be
I swear everything I am
You’ll always, always be mine

You’re mine
And we belong together
Yes, we belong together
For eternity

(by: Richie Valens)

*~*~*


Philip

“Diane?” I have some questions but I’m not really sure how to ask or why I want to.

“Yes dear? What is it?” Diane asked…

“Well, I know Max wanted to get to you but how do you think Liz knew where he was headed? It just seemed strange to me that Liz would know which direction Max was headed when he could have been headed back to the job site for some reason or anywhere actually.” I was truly puzzled by this and maybe Diane knew the answer.

“Philip, Liz spent Sunday evening with us and she knew you would be out of town, she didn’t have to think twice about where Max was headed… they may have only had the week-end together but they have known who each other was for over three years. Besides, Liz is a very intelligent girl, it didn’t take a whole lot of thinking to figure it out. Did you know that she is a candidate for valedictorian of her class and that her professors are willing to tutor her during her recuperation if she needs it?”

My wife seemed very in tune with Liz Parker whether she knew it or not and I thought maybe I should let her in on my thoughts…

“Diane, Michael had no idea where Max was headed and he’s known Max since they were toddlers for God’s sake…and yet this young woman who spent a total of what…an evening and an afternoon with our son figured out where he was headed. Don’t you find that strange?”

“No Philip, I don’t. I would have known.”

Philip gave that some thought and decided that yes, Diane would have known and then the lights came on…he now knew what it was that drew them to the young woman, she was Max’s soul mate. There was no doubt about it and if she did go back to Boston for the next three or four years it wouldn’t make a damned bit of difference to Max because he would be here when she returned and if she didn’t come back to Texas then Max would be wherever she wanted to be and Philip smiled. His son was going to be happy and he and Diane were going to be happy for him, Liz would never be alone again.

*~*~*


Epilogue:

It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon in Boston when Doctor Elizabeth Parker Evans received her doctorate degree in Microbiology three years after her horrifying experience in the Texas tornado and her proud husband and family were sitting in the audience of the large convention center applauding her for her achievements along with the many friends she had made along the way.

She had since sold the family restaurant in Roswell, New Mexico and had taken a position at one of the most prestigious laboratories in the United States located right in the Dallas/Fort Worth area of Texas. It was about a four hour drive to the family ranch in San Antonio and Max had decided to work out of the company office not far from the lab where Liz would be working.

They had married a year ago and were now expecting their first child. It seems that having access to a company jet seemed to make a long distance relationship less long. They had no idea what the gender of the expected little bundle would be and they didn’t want to know. They both felt that it would be better to wait and find out when the child was born although auntie Maria was having a really tough time accepting that decision. You would have thought it was her child and her decision to make. After she and Michael started dating they were introduced to an entirely different Maria than what she had been when she was a mere acquaintance and she hadn’t changed any over the past couple of years, still trying to run everything and everyone and everyone loved her in spite of it. Max and Liz’s only hope was that they had a healthy baby and all indications were that the child would be just that and it’s parents would see to it that it would be happy.

Maria and Michael had married two years earlier and Maria was now a published song writer and was making a name for herself in the recording industry. Michael was as proud of Maria as Max was of Liz


Grandma and Grandpa Evans were elated and Auntie Isabelle and Uncle Alex had decided, after many years of trying to have a child of their own, that they would adopt a child. There didn’t seem to be any reason for Isabelle not to conceive but things were not happening and after 6 years of trying they decided that it was time to do something else about adding to their family. Kyle and Tess had two children now and were as happy as any couple could be. The Evans’ oil company was thriving and it looked as though life would continue to be good to all of them.

So, even though Texas still had horrible tornadoes, it seemed that the Evans’ would be sheltered from all storms. Life’s everyday problems were hard enough and they certainly didn’t need to be driving out into storms to find more, or so Liz tried to tell her husband on more than one occasion, but they always seemed to come out on top regardless.


THE END
*~*~*

Love, luck and happiness to all of you. And a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Ginger