ADAM
I cut the call to Darcy and tell Todd to turn the car around. We were on our way to the gym for a workout when she called. As we pull into her street I see an ambulance sitting outside the house. “What the fuck?!” I knew there was something wrong from the way she spoke on the phone.
Todd screeches to a stop outside the house behind the ambulance. I jump from the car, through the open front door and run up the stairs. I see Darcy sitting on the floor with her back against the wall with a paramedic peering into her eyes with a torch and another placing a blanket over her Dad lying on a gurney.
“Darcy?” I say panicked. I run to her and drop to my knees on the floor next to her, “are you okay, baby?” My hands cup her cheeks and angle her face up to look at me. I kiss her forehead then her lips, her skin is tacky from sweating. The paramedic tells her she’s fine but she needs to take it easy and maybe see her GP if it happens again as I rest her head against my chest. That still doesn’t explain what the fuck has gone on here though. I watch in confusion as he joins the other paramedic and guides the gurney down the stairs.
“Darcy, what’s happened?” While I wait for her to tell me, I see Christine, her Mum, crying hysterically but Darcy is calm, maybe a little too calm.
“Dad. was having a seizure, he wouldn’t stop,” she hiccups a tearless sob, “I put him into the recovery position, the ambulance turned up but I felt weird. I was sweating and my head was spinning. I blacked out completely.” I stand and pull her to her feet; I hold her so tight I’m probably suffocating her. I kiss her head and keep her tucked under my arm.
“Come on.” We walk down the stairs to see Christine standing next to Todd while the paramedics work on her Dad inside the ambulance.
“What's happening?”
“They're giving him something to stop the seizures.” Todd answers quietly. Darcy steps up to her Mum and wraps her arms around her. Todd stands with me at the door waiting on the paramedics. Darcy holds Christine as she cries onto her shoulder, I let her have some time with her Mum while I keep an eye on the ambulance. The paramedic then jumps from the back and walks towards me.
“We’ll be taking him now to the hospital now.”
“Christine, they’re ready.” She wipes her faces clean of her tears and walks out. “We’ll follow the ambulance.” I call out to Christine as she steps into the back of the ambulance. Wrapping my arm around Darcy, I guide her to the car. I open the rear door and seat her in the back of Todd’s Ford Focus.
* * * * * * * * *
After waiting two hours for someone to fetch us from the main A&E department, we’re now sitting in the waiting room in intensive care. I look at Darcy, her eyes are dark against her pale skin. With her passing out I’m worried about her, it could be with everything that’s happened today, who knows. I mean… what do I know.
We’ve been here for half an hour and still don’t know anymore. We only know what the doctor told us when we got here. Darcy’s Dad had an overdose from taking too many anti-depressants. From what Christine told the doctor, he’d been complaining of feeling hot, when she went to wake him; he wouldn’t wake at first. She left him went back upstairs to find him convulsing.
Darcy is tucked into my side with her head against my chest with my hand stroking her hair. I know she didn’t know any of that.
I’m so sick of hospitals. It only feels a few weeks since we were here with Chris - waiting to see if he was going to pull through after he nearly got killed doing the job he loves. He’s a firefighter, a barn collapsed as he and Ryan tried to put out a massive fire. It was touch and go for a minute. Being back here brings back bad memories - but don’t hospitals always do that.
Darcy suddenly sits up with her hand over her mouth. “I have to go to the toilet.” She mumbles through her hand as she runs from the room. The doctor enters but I’m torn between waiting to see what the doctor says and going after Darcy.
Darcy wins. “Doctor, can you give me just a minute, I need to fetch my girlfriend.” He nods. I jog out the way Darcy left. Making sure no-one’s around I enter the ladies’ toilets and shout her name. “Darcy?”
“Yeah? I’m in this one.” She bangs the middle cubicle door and slides across the lock. I step inside and see her with her head over the bowl.
“Oh baby, you okay?”
She shakes her head, “Not really.”
“The doctor is waiting to talk to you.” She drags herself from the floor as I step out. She puts some water on her face and clings onto me as I guide her out.
I sit her down and grab her a bottle of water from the vending machine while she listens to the doctor. All I’ve picked up so far is the tablets he’s been taking over a period of time has caused the overdose but his liver is also shutting down. They have him on an intravenous drip and he’s still unconscious. There’s nothing else they can do at the moment so the doctor thinks we should go home.
“What do you want to do? Do you want to go home or stay?”
“Darcy go home, angel. I’m staying anyway. It’s useless both of us being here.”
“Are you sure?”
“Sweetheart, you look so tired. Go home and get some rest.”
“Okay. Will you ring me if there’s any change?”
“Of course.” I tap out a message to Todd to tell him to meet us at the front since he brought us up here, after an hour I sent him home - there was nothing he could do. I kiss Christine on the cheek, wait for Darcy to say her goodbyes then lead her out of the hospital. By the time we’ve reached the main doors Todd is just pulling up.
The journey home is a quiet one. Todd drops us off at Darcy’s, I take her keys from her and let us in. I wave off Todd with a promise of a call and enter the kitchen.
“Do you want something to eat?”
“No, just water please.” I pour her some water and we go up to bed. She lays on the bed fully dressed and within minutes her eyes are closing.
“Hey Darce, come on babe, let’s get you undressed.” Her eyes open half-mast as she tries to look at me. She’s exhausted. I relieve her of her clothes right down to her underwear and pull back the duvet for her to get inside. She does as I instruct, then once I’ve stripped myself down I lie behind her and scoop her up until I’m spooning her.
She’s asleep in no time which leaves me thinking and worrying about her and her Dad.