Chapter 13

 

A month went by quickly, in which time Ethan started therapy with the psychiatrist Kristen recommended. Fortunately, the appointments were right there at the hospital. All he had to do was slip away from Kristen’s room for an hour, two days a week.

The Psychiatrist, Dr. Sheila Marsden, believed he was suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, just as Kristen had thought. At first, he kept the appointment because of the promise he made, but after the third, he began to trust the doctor. He began opening up about some of the things he’d experienced on his Missions, leaving out the classified details. Talking about them helped and he found he was not as stressed as before.

Other than leaving Kristen for his appointments, he never strayed far from the ICU. He and Camila took turns staying with Kristen, Camila took the day shift to give Ethan time to get a shower and a few hours nap each day and he’d return to stay with her during the night. A few times when he was free, Mark stopped by.

On this day, Ethan had gone to get some fresh air. Camila was with Kristen and Mark Rickards was pacing the ICU hallway. One hand gripped his briefcase while the other was tucked deeply into his front pants pocket. The man strode back and forth, his eyes cast to the floor.

When Ethan returned from his walk, he observed the agitated look on the lawyer’s face and knew something was wrong. His heart gave a jolt and he hastened his steps, thinking that Kristen had a relapse.

As he approached, Mark looked up and rushed to meet him. “There you are!”

“What’s wrong? Is Kristen all right?” he made to pass the lawyer, but Mark stepped in his way.

“She’s fine. Camila is with her,” Mark replied. “Sidebar.”

They walked a few paces away from the room door down to a waiting area. The place was scant of people and Mark indicated he sit on one of the empty chairs. Placing his briefcase on the floor, Mark perched on one of the seats.

“What’s going on?” Ethan queried, keeping his eyes down the hall.

“I just got word from the courthouse.” He fiddled with his tie. “The date for Kristen’s assessment has been moved up a month.”

Ethan jumped to his feet. “How in the world did that happen?”

The lawyer stood and started pacing while fingering his chin. Ethan had a feeling that Mark knew something he wasn’t saying. What if Kristen didn’t wake up before the hearing date? Would the judge rule on Helen’s behalf or would he grant another date?

“Why aren’t you saying anything?” he asked the lawyer.

“I think your mother is behind this.”

That would explain it, Ethan thought. Helen had quite the influence across the city. She could get whatever she needed done without much effort. He was surprised she didn’t just bribe the judge to make an immediate ruling.

A plan needed to be formulated in order to stop his mother, but Ethan was clueless as to what he could do. The only way he could think of to prevent the judge from taking Hailey was to marry Kristen at once. Just a little roadblock to that was that Kristen was in a coma.

His skin flushed and his ears burned. The heat in his chest told him that the anger towards his mother was building. “Is there any way to stop her?”

Mark took a moment to respond. “I’ve been thinking about it, but nothing has surfaced so far.”

“Can I file for custody?”

“On what grounds?”

“I’m Kristen’s fiancé.”

Mark chewed his bottom lip and stared into space for a moment. “It’s a slim chance, but that could be the delay we need. I’m not saying you will succeed, I’m just saying that it could delay the proceedings until we form a better plan.”

“Then do it.”

Picking up his briefcase, Mark nodded and strode down the hall. Ethan followed close behind. Mark kept going as passed the door to Kristen’s room, while Ethan paused outside to calm himself.

When he pushed the door open a minute later, Camila had her head down as though resting. He was about to go back out when she raised her head and beckoned him inside.

“I’ve got to run. I’ll be back first thing in the morning,” she told him.

“Yes, you go and take care of yourself. Get some sleep.”

“See you tomorrow.”

As Camila left the room. Ethan took the chair. Without thinking about it, he took Kristen’s hand and brought it to his lips. He kissed the back of it, then rubbed the palm against his cheek.

“I don’t know if you can hear me, but I need you to wake up.”

 

 

Kristen smiled as she listened to the familiar voice. It seemed to be coming from a distance, but she liked that he was speaking gently to her. His smooth rich voice washed warmly over her. She always liked the sound of it.

“Come back to me,” he said.

She giggled to herself. I hadn’t gone anywhere, you idiot. I want to tell you so much. When I got the call about Hailey, I was about to tell you what Andrew did.

“You’ve got to wake up, Kristen. I need you… we need you.”

Ethan had a thickness in his voice that surprised Kristen. She tried to open her eyes but everything was black. Trying to get up from the bed was futile as she found she was leaden. She couldn’t move.

“What’s happened to me?” she screamed. “Ethan… Ethan?”

He didn’t seem to hear her as he kept talking. Though she could clearly hear his words, his voice was getting further and further away.

“Ethan, don’t go!” she shrieked. “I want to tell you what Andrew did. Why do I feel so weird?”

The voice kept talking but it now seemed far away. The room where she lay was black. She could see nothing. Where was she? Why was Ethan unable to hear her? She needed to tell him what happened the night they made love. She needed him to know what Andrew did and why. She needed to tell him everything.

“Ethan,” her voice was fading as well. “I’m so… sleepy. Need to… tell you… so sleepy… what happ… zzzz.”

 

 

A few minutes ago…

“Kristen, you have to wake up. I need you… we need you.”

Ethan’s voice was thick as a lump rose to his throat. He was never an emotional man, but today his heart was swollen and he found it difficult to speak. He swallowed hard and gripped her hand tightly, wanting her to feel his presence.

It was at that time he noticed the beeps from the machine were going more rapidly than normal. At a glance, he saw the numbers increasing and the heart line moving up and down erratically.

“Kristen! What’s happening?” he breathed. “Nurse… Nurse!” he shouted.

Within minutes, Emily was inside checking her patient’s pulse.

“Step aside, please,” she said. “The doctor is on his way.”

Not two minutes later, the doctor rushed in and checked Kristen’s eyes, listened to her heart, and checked her pulse. The doctor spoke with the nurse who filled a syringe with medicine and emptied it into the saline bag. She adjusted the drip and soon the beeping sound returned to normal.

“What’s happening?” Ethan demanded.

“Her heart rate and blood pressure increased, but not too much. She is stabilizing.”

“Thank God.”

“This might be a good sign,” the doctor said. “She may have been responding to some stimuli.”

“I was talking to her,” Ethan said.

“Good,” said the doctor. “She may have been responding to your voice. This is the first time her heart rate increased since being here.”

“Are you sure this is a good sign?”

“The last time when someone else came and spoke with her, was the opposite result. This could mean she is becoming aware. Next time you talk to her, we want to be here to monitor her responses.”

Ethan wasn’t sure that Kristen was responding positively to him. They were enemies who called a truce just before her accident. She’d made it clear that she was angry with him for whatever happened between them, something he could not truly remember. What if her response was anger towards him? He didn’t want to risk upsetting her again.