Staying on Course (31 page)

“Yes,” we say.

“I’m sorry. I was looking for his parents.”

“They’re on the way. We’re his local family,” Nate tells her.

“Are you—?”

“His brother and his fiancée,” Nate cuts her off.

She looks at her chart and then back to us. “Nate and Devon?”

“Yes,” I answer.

She nods and motions with her head to the hallway. We follow her closely, Nate holding my elbow for support.

“I know he’s not your brother,” she looks at Nate, “but you are listed on the emergency paperwork. The doctors have him stable and comfortable. As suspected, there is indication of a brain injury, but no idea how critical because of swelling and bleeding. He’s being prepped for surgery, where they will drain some of the fluid surrounding the brain. This will help determine how serious the damage is.”

“Oh, God,” I gasp, her words clogging my mind.

“Can we see him?” Nate speaks up.

The nurse gives us a kind smile and nods. “You can have five minutes. Traditionally, we let the parents in, but since they’re not here, we can allow you to go back.”

We mutter our thanks, and she points us to a sink to wash and sanitize our hands. Then we follow her down the long hallway to his room. When we get to the doorway, she reminds us of our five minutes and then opens the door.

The sound of beeping and the smell of antiseptic hits me hard, and I swallow down the three sips of water that threaten to reappear. Nate guides me to the side of the bed, and I close my eyes. When I open them and focus on Bryce, my body starts to tremble.

His beautiful face is covered in bruises and small cuts. There’s a large bandage or brace around his collarbone, and his arm is placed in a sling. I move around to the side and slip my hand in his, using my other to run my fingertips across his forehead.

“Bryce, can you hear me?” I whisper.

Nothing.

“It’s me… Devon. Nate’s here too.”

Nothing.

“Baby, you’ve been in an accident, but you’re going to be fine. The doctors are going to take care of you.”

One eyelid flutters, and I look at Nate for direction. He jerks his head for me to continue talking.

“When you get out of surgery, we’ll all be right here waiting.”

Nothing.

I take a deep breath and force down all the emotions bubbling to the surface, then lean in to kiss his bruised cheek. “Baby, I love you so much, and I need you to come through this. The minute they let me, I’ll be right here by your side.”

His fingers twitch, and the heart monitor picks up. Nate lays a hand on Bryce’s thigh and pats encouragingly.

A throat clears, and we turn to see the same nurse with Sheila and Dave in the doorway. I kiss his cheek once more and go straight to them. Nate whispers something in his ear and follows.

I don’t say anything but squeeze Sheila’s hand and pass them, going back to the waiting room. As soon as I see my parents, my resolve breaks, and I stop walking. Tears spill down my cheeks, and my dad gets to me first. His arms hold me up as I allow my fears to pour out.

After a few minutes, I straighten up and look around the room. Everyone is watching me closely with their own sadness. My eyes meet Morgan’s, and I remember our talk then suck in my cries. Mom wipes my cheeks and hands me some tissue.

By the time Sheila and Dave join us, I regain the little composure I have and go to them. The three of us hug until Dave needs to step aside and hold Sheila’s shaking body. We lead her to a seat, and Quinn offers coffee and water to everyone.

When the room seems calm, I give Nate an expectant look. He drops his head and leans his elbows on his knees then starts to explain.

“It was a freak accident. We knew one of the machines in the room was faulty, and that’s why we headed in a few days early. Bryce and my team handled our project, and we were assigning our group to this problem once we were back. The whole ship had great responses during this underway. The CO decided to close up this engine room, and we’d hit it hard next week with a whole new set of eyes.

“There were a few of us throwing out ideas, and Bryce and I decided we needed some pressure measurements and gauge response times. These were recorded by another team, but when we read through them, we knew there was a miscalculation. I was scheduled to do a test the next morning, so I headed to bed.”

He takes a deep breath and looks directly at Sheila and Dave. “That’s where the details get messy. For some reason, Bryce went by himself. Once word of the explosion spread, it was assumed it was me because we’d told a number of people I was conducting the test. The first people on the scene say Bryce’s camo was partially on fire, so they ripped it off, not reading the name. Then they got him to safety and a medic.”

“At what fucking point did they figure out it was Bryce?” Dave asks angrily. “This still doesn’t make sense.”

“Oh, don’t worry. Both our families will be getting a formal apology. My name was flying around the boat, and Tommy and Rick had the sense to come find Bryce and tell him, assuming he was asleep. When they found me instead, it was obvious there was a problem. We rushed to the med-bay and tried to get a look at the man they were working on, but I knew in my gut it was Bryce. They had assessed that he had hit his head and made the call for flight here. As soon as that decision was made, the call went to my parents.

“In less than a minute the error was realized. At the same time I was screaming their mistake, a tech read the removed dog tags. Then it was pandemonium. As hard as they tried, I wouldn’t leave him and insisted on being on the chopper. Usually, this would be questioned, but since they had made a massive error, the CO allowed it.”

“Jesus Christ! Massive error? What a bunch of fucking idiots,” Quinn practically screams.

I can’t help but giggle at her inappropriate yet accurate point.

Nate grins and mumbles, “Well said.”

“So what happens now?” Quinn asks.

I look around and notice for the first time that Jamie is sitting between Nate and Crystal. She’s holding his hand and looking at the ground nervously. Then I realize she’s never met my parents until tonight. Her eyes catch mine, and I try to give her a reassuring smile. She bites her lip and starts to blush.

“Why don’t you, Crystal, and Morgan go back to Nate and Bryce’s?” I reach into my bag for my set of keys to their place. “Get some rest, and I’ll call when we have news. Y’all have to be tired.”

“What are you going to do?” She props her hands on her hips and tilts her head at me knowingly.

“I’m going to wait here. I’m not leaving until he opens his eyes.”

“Then we wait.” She settles in her seat and rolls her eyes at me. “Did you really think we’d leave you? Maybe Bryce isn’t the only one who hit his head.”

Even with all the tension and fear in the room, Quinn manages to get a few giggles.

I lay my head on my dad’s shoulders and mouth ‘love you’ to her. Then I close my eyes and pray.

*****

“Who’s the boss’s, boss’s, boss?” Quinn questions, and I widen my eyes at my brother, trying to stop him from answering.

“You mean the largest in command?”

“Yes! The Chief Commander.” She nods eagerly.

He looks at me and raises an eyebrow in disbelief. I move my eyes back and forth, trying to warn him again.

“We citizens call him the Commander in Chief, in other words, the President of The United States.”

She scrunches her eyebrows and then shrugs nonchalantly. “Him it is then.”

“You aren’t seriously going to write a letter to the president, are you?” I question her.

“Hell yeah. He needs to know that there are some incompetent people on his ships. No offense, Nate.”

He sighs and looks at me. “Is she for real?”

“Who knows?” I bite my tongue, trying not to laugh at his expression.

For the last three hours, Quinn has done her best to get our minds off waiting to hear news. There’s still an edge of tension floating around the room, but her efforts are working to a degree. Even Sheila and Dave have cracked a small smile. Her latest effort is to write the ‘boss’ of the Navy and explain their erroneous actions reporting the wrong sailor hurt.

Poor Morgan has only spent a few hours around us before today, and he’s probably regretting his decision to stay. Crystal, on the other hand, is encouraging Quinn in her endeavors to lighten the mood. I watch as every time she looks at him, his eyes melt. Even with my growing anxiety, I’m happy for them.

“Randolph family?” An older man in green scrubs comes in, and we all stand.

“Yes,” Dave answers.

The man looks around the room, questioning the number of true family members.

“I’m Dr. Crabtree, Bryce’s surgeon. Can I speak with the parents in the hallway?”

A whimper slips through my lips, and Quinn is at my side in an instant.

“Dr. Crabtree, we can speak freely here,” Dave answers.

The doctor nods and takes the cap off his head. “Bryce had very little bleeding in the brain. We drained it, but there is still swelling. His lobes look good, but we will watch for memory loss and motor skill functions. There was more swelling on his pituitary gland, but we think that is from the impact. We set his collarbone and the fracture in his shoulder. The burns are superficial and will heal in a few days.”

“This sounds positive.” Sheila speaks up and reaches for my hand. I walk to her side and hold on.

“Yes, but the next forty-eight hours are critical to watch his reaction after the surgery. We’ve tried to wake him, but he’s still not responding. He was extremely agitated, and his blood pressure kept spiking. We had to sedate him more than I liked.”

“So he’s probably drowsy. He’ll come out of it,” Dave pointedly states.

“No, Bryce is in a coma. He’s semi-responding, but this could go either way. He could slip deeper or start to wake up.”

“He flexed his fingers and moved his eyes earlier with Devon,” Nate breaks in. “He was responsive then.”

The doctor’s eyes scan the room and land on mine. “Are you Devon?”

I’m so scared I can’t answer, but Sheila answers for me. “She is.”

“Then I suggest you keep talking to him. If he was reactive to you then that’s a good sign.”

My heart flips in my chest. Pressure builds, and I lose my footing. Morgan catches me and whispers how I need to be strong. Instantly, I strengthen and stand tall.

“When can we see him?” I ask with a solid sense of purpose.

“In about an hour. He’ll be in ICU for at least a day. Then we’ll re-evaluate,” Dr. Crabtree answers and looks at Sheila and Dave. “I’d like to speak to the parents alone.”

Sheila lets go of my hand, and she and Dave follow him to the hall. I turn around and face my family and friends.

“We need to get a plan together. I’m staying here—no matter what.”

“Tell me, sista.” Quinn takes out a pen and pad.

“Sheila and Dave need reservations at a hotel nearby.”

“Done.”

“My parents, too.”

“Done.”

“Morgan and Crystal need a place to stay for a day or so.”

Morgan breaks in, “I can handle it.”

“I need—”

“Devon,” my mom stops me. “We got it. Your job is Bryce.”

“I hate to tell you, but when the ship gets here, this hospital will crowd with visitors. Regardless of his visitation rules,” Nate speaks up.

“I’ll help,” Jamie tells him, and my mom’s head swings to her. “I can be the mediator.”

Mom’s eyes bulge out of her head and then start to swell. I finally see what Nate refers to as rainbows and unicorns. Mom loves the idea of ‘love’.

We talk and plan a little more until Sheila and Dave walk in, their faces blank.

“The doctor said we can see him two at a time,” Sheila tells us. “Then the nurse tried to convince us that he’s stable and we should go get some rest. They’ll take care of him tonight.”

“Bullshit,” I think I whisper until Quinn starts to snort.

My eyes meet Sheila’s, and she grins. “That’s what I told her.”

“No way is he going to be alone.”

“Count me in,” Nate agrees and sits back, resting his hands behind his head.

I’m sure the nurse had good intentions, but she’s stuck with us.

“Devon,” a hushed voice calls my name. “Sweetie, you need to wake up.”

I bury my face in the warm blanket and try to block out the sound.

“Devon.” This time, a hand rubs my arm until I open my eyes.

It takes a few seconds to focus, and I remember where I am. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, there’s no change. It’s time for my assessment. You should step into the waiting room,” the nurse tells me.

I scoot my chair back and step away from Bryce’s bed. He looks so peaceful lying there, but the sound of the machines reminds me he’s not asleep. He’s still in a coma. The ache in my chest returns, and I catch the nurse watching me cautiously.

“What’s your name?” I ask her.

“Cindy.”

“Are you his nurse for the rest of the night?” I look at my watch and see it’s midnight, which means I’ve been asleep for about forty-five minutes.

“Yes.”

“If I promise to stay out of your way, do you think me and my brother can stay in here while you do your assessments?” I point to Nate, who is asleep in the recliner. “He just fell asleep and has been with Bryce since the accident. I’d hate to wake him up and go to the uncomfortable chairs in the waiting room.”

She looks between Nate and me, and her face fills with understanding.

“You have to stay back there.” She points to the wall.

I nod and kiss Bryce’s cheek lightly before standing back. While she works, I send a quick message to everyone that there’s no change.

Once Bryce was moved, we all took turns coming to see him. After six hours of alternating visits, I could see the exhaustion and worry starting to take its toll on everyone. The parents got hotel rooms close to the hospital, but Nate insisted Quinn, Crystal, and Morgan stay at the townhouse. They tried to talk me into going with them to sleep for a few hours, but I refused to leave. Nate agreed with me and said we’d take the first night with Bryce. It took a lot of convincing, but Sheila and Dave finally agreed to go and sleep for a few hours if I promised to send them updates. So far, there was nothing to tell them, but I sent messages anyway.