Austin and Max paced, neither of them saying a word as they waited their turn to see their father. The seconds ticked by, each one dragging. Finally, the door opened and a sniffling Bree ran into the arms of Chad. Trenton looked like he wasn’t holding himself together well, either, but Austin gave him space, knowing his brother needed a few minutes to compose his expression.
He and Max quickly walked through the doors together. They didn’t know what to expect, but when they entered their father’s room and saw George lying in the bed with wires running from his body to different machines, Austin had to swallow the bile in his throat.
Austin knew accidents happened every day. He knew tragedy struck families, but losing his mother had been the hardest event of his life, and he just didn’t know how they’d get through the loss of another parent.
The two men made their way to the bed and Austin slumped in a chair and gently took his father’s hand. He rested his forehead on their joined hands, and for the first time he could remember, offered a silent prayer.
“He’s strong, brother. He’ll make it through. So will Uncle Joseph,” Max uttered in a whisper. That was what Austin needed to hear – what he had to believe.
“You have to wake up, Dad. We need you,” Austin pled, feeling like a teenager again, needing his father’s reassurance that everything would be okay.
They sat silently for the rest of their allotted time. When the nurse came to let them know their time was up, they slowly made their way back to the lobby.
Upon returning, Katherine was back, tears silently streaming down her cheeks. The next few days would be a test of their endurance, that was for sure.
“Mom, let’s get you something to eat,” Lucas said, but she only shook her head.
“He will recover and when he does, he’s going to need us to be strong. They both will. It won’t do dad or Uncle George any good for us to mourn them as if they aren’t coming back. Please, let’s have breakfast, then I’m sure we can find out more information,” Mark said.
Emily sat next to Katherine, offering a shoulder, doing her best to appear positive.
“Okay,” Katherine finally agreed. They made their way slowly down the maze of halls until they reached the cafeteria. Most of the food went untouched, but they were doing the best they could.
The day stretched without any changes on Joseph and George. All of them tried to agree that was a good thing, but still, the waiting… it was excruciating.
“You saved Joseph Anderson’s life. This hospital is very grateful that you refused to back down, even though most people would have. I want to reassure you that the matter has been investigated and you weren’t in the wrong. Normally, you never go over one of the doctors’ heads, but this was an extreme case. Had you not had the Neuro Surgeon called, Joseph most likely wouldn’t have made it through the night, let alone the past four,” Kinsey’s supervisor said as they sat in her office.
Joseph and George had been at the hospital for a total of four days. She checked on them every chance she got, but she’d been careful to avoid Austin. It hadn’t been easy, but so far, so good. She’d also been able to see Cassie often, and lend a shoulder for her grief filled friend.
With each passing day, the stress lifted a bit, though. Every time the men made it through another night, they each got stronger.
“Thank you,” Kinsey mumbled.
“George Anderson is showing signs of improvement. At the family’s request we’ve moved him to a room where his brother can be placed with him. We’re going to bring George out of his coma tonight. Joseph is stable now, enough to be moved. The family believes it will help the twin brothers heal faster, if they are next to each other.”
“That’s wonderful news,” Kinsey replied. She didn’t know why her supervisor was telling her this, though. She knew some of the news already, because Cassie had told her, but there was no need for her to tell her supervisor that.
“You look confused. I understand. We don’t normally share this information with the staff, but the family has insisted on you being the charge nurse for Joseph and George, since you have experience in both the ED and ICU, and of course, since you saved Joseph’s life. With the amount of money they’ve provided this hospital, they can make a request for the moon and we’re going to try our best to get it for them. Asking for you to be their charge nurse is an easy request to fill.”
Kinsey felt both honored and yet terrified at the same time. What if something happened to either of the men while on her watch? She was confident in herself, knowing she was great at her job, but these weren’t regular patients. Both men were loved by so many people. It was a huge weight on her chest to be the primary nurse in charge of their care.
Then, there was Austin. How could she possibly avoid him if she was caring for his father and uncle each day? She had no choice but to accept the offer, though.
“Joseph and George will be your main priority during this time. You’ll work twelve hour shifts, six days a week. I know you’ve been asking for all the overtime you can get. Well, you’ve now gotten it. The family knows you need to sleep, but they’ve requested for you to stay nearby so if anything goes wrong, you can be on-call. They’ve been very generous with supporting the extra funding to pay for the added expense.”
“I’m honored,” Kinsey finally replied.
“Your shift starts tomorrow at seven. Go home, get some rest, and pack what you need. It’s going to be a long week. I have a feeling this assignment won’t be a short one. Although George is recovering well, Joseph…” she trailed off. No one on staff liked to jinx a patient, even if the situation looked hopeless.
“Thank you,” Kinsey said before she made her way from the room. She’d just have to do the best she could for both of her patients and herself. Austin was just a guy, right? He didn’t hold control over her. She could handle being around him in a professional environment. She wouldn’t be affected by him. She didn’t even like him.
As she gave herself a little pep talk, her stomach clenched. She knew she was lying to herself. She wanted to see him, to be near him. She just didn’t want to want that.
A few hours later, Kinsey stood by as the doctors carefully removed his breathing tube, then weaned off the medicine to bring George out of his coma. As he slowly came to, his family crowded the room, worried looks on each of their faces.