Chapter 45

Sam's Story

I was impressed with the way Sue put Jim in his place. I would have bet she'd wimp out when it came time to face him. But she stood right there and let him have it between the eyes. I told her I was proud of her and she told me she was proud of herself.

The next thing I knew, most of the squad came into the room. Joey and an older boy I'd never seen came in with them. They said hi to both of us and then everyone started asking questions about Wes and Les.

"Hold it. Hold it. Hold it. Come on guys, out in the hall."

We all piled out the door. I walked down the hallway a bit and stood in front of an empty wall. They gathered around.

"Wes and Les are both doing better than anyone could hope for but they're still in the hospital. They need quiet. I know you're all anxious to know how they're doing, but they don't need a lot of noise. Wes is still in his coma. His doctor is convinced that Wes is in what he calls a healing coma. He's using all his energy to heal himself. The last thing he needs is to be disturbed.

"Les is healing well and should wake up in a few hours. She was heavily drugged and she's coming out of it. She may be given more drugs if she's in pain or she may not. She's going to be stuck on her stomach for a while."

Joey spoke up. "Are you telling us to leave?"

"No. Not at all. It was starting to get loud in there. I just wanted to stop it before it got too loud. We'll have to see how it works. You can all come in now but we may have to visit in smaller groups."

Darcy interrupted her. "Before we go in there, I need to introduce you all to my brother, Bill." She looked at her brother and smiled. "We don't have any secrets here, Honey."

Bill took my hand. "I hear I owe you some thanks."

"Not as much as Wes and Les, but I was glad to do whatever I could. We all care a lot about Darcy."

We made our way back into the room. Joey was holding on to Vicky's hand. He went up to Wes and put his hand on the cast where it covered his shoulder. "Thanks a lot buddy."

Bill was right behind him, his arm around Darcy who looked happy enough to burst. "Get better quick, Wes. I owe you big time." They turned around and faced Les. "You too, Honey."

Joey was hugging Sue, thanking her for forcing him to get with Vicky. He seemed to have matured five years overnight. I guess we'd all grown up in the last week.

Everyone settled down. I grabbed Sue's hand. "Come out in the hall with me."

We went outside. "Mom, you've been running yourself ragged since lunch yesterday. I know I fought Doctor Bradley when he made me go home and take a shower, but it was exactly what I needed. Les is due to wake up in another 2 or 3 hours and I know you won't want to leave her after she wakes up. Why don't you go home and clean up and relax a little and then come back so you can be refreshed when she wakes up? I'll call you right away if anything happens."

"You're right, Sam. It's been tough with the accident and surgery and everything else. But you make sure you call me if anything happens."

She went back in the room and told everyone she was going home to shower and she'd be back soon. Of course everyone had to hug her. She even got a kiss on the cheek from Vicky.

The room had two chairs for visitors. Each had two girls in it. Bill and Joey were sat on the bed, each with a girl in his lap. There was room on the bed, so I sat down next to Bill.

"So Bill. Darcy said you're going into the army in a couple of weeks. How does that work?"

"I'm actually reporting to a base in Georgia 12 days from now on Tuesday. I'll be in basic training for six weeks, then I'll get my assignment. It isn't guaranteed I'll go to Viet Nam, but it's pretty sure that's where I'll end up. They usually give a guy a 48 hour leave before he has to report for duty. Depending on where I have to report, I may be able to come home before I ship out."

I looked at Darcy. "Have you guys used up Wes's present yet?"

"We've decided not to use them. If Bill can go overseas and put his life on the line for me, the least I can do is send my warrior off with his baby in my belly."

Well, that got the discussion going. Some thought it was a bad move on Darcy's part, others thought it was the most romantic thing they'd ever heard. We all knew Darcy wasn't the first woman with that idea and wouldn't be the last.

Dr Bradley came in the door, stopped and counted the number of people in the room, pointing at each of us as he did so. "I'm afraid we've exceeded the capacity of this room. I suggest we throw these two in the beds out. They don't seem to be contributing to the conversation at all."

He came over to the bed and motioned Joey up towards the head of the bed. Poor Vicky almost fell off his lap. He sat down, partially on me, making me move closer to Bill and Darcy. He looked at me.

"You know nurse Williams out there at the desk? The one who hates everybody? Well she tells me that you are all behaving and she can't find any reason to make you leave. It's driving the poor woman crazy. Couldn't you shout, or tell jokes and laugh or something so she has a reason to throw you out the door, never to darken her path again?"

"Fraid not. We're going to behave perfectly whether it kills her or not. We all care too much for these two to make it any tougher on them than it already is."

"Samantha, you never cease to amaze me. If I was just half my age I'd be just about right for you. Of course, I'd probably be too shy to do anything about it and you wouldn't want to have anything to do with me because you're so in love with Wes, but at least I'd be able to look at you and drool without anybody making any comments about me."

"Why Dr Bradley, I do believe that's the nicest thing you ever said to me."

"It beats asking you if you wanted to bend over the sink and do it, huh?"

"Just barely."

"OK. I'm beginning to see how you think."

He stood up. "Well. I hate to throw all you people out in the street, but I need about 15 minutes in here alone so it looks like I'm doing my job. I heartily recommend the food in the cafeteria if you need something to eat or drink."

We piled out. A couple of girls stopped by the desk to say hi to Mrs. Williams. When we got down to the first floor, the girls wanted to go home. I thanked them for coming and they all said they'd try to stop by tomorrow.