Chapter 10: Healing

I waited until seven thirty and when Rachel hadn't return I began to get a little bit worried. At eight I called her cell phone, there was no answer. By eight-thirty I was getting frantic. I called the diner and they remembered her but said she left with a gentleman. I knew that wasn't possible unless she just walked beside him to go back to her car. I got Cindy and we went to the diner together. Her car was there but it was locked. I went inside the restaurant to look for her but she wasn't there. I began to wonder if maybe when she saw him she really did love him and left with him. I didn't voice my fears to Cindy but I knew she saw the worried look on my face. She slid over beside me on the seat. "It's going to be okay dad," she said snuggling up to my side. "There has to be an answer. We'll find her."

When we got back to the house there was a message on my answering machine. It was from City Hospital asking me to call and ask for Nurse Mong. I realized my fingers were shaking as I dialed the number. At Cindy's request I put it on speaker mode. "City Hospital, can I help you?"

"Nurse Mong please," I said.

"One moment please," she said.

"Nurse's station, Nurse Mong speaking," was the next voice I heard.

"My name is Peter Johnson and you message on my machine to please call you."

"Mr. Johnson, we have a Rachel Smith here who keeps asking for you. She was in an auto accident out on Interstate 80."

"Tell her I'll be right there," I told her and hung up. I looked at Cindy, "Will you be okay by yourself for a little while?"

"Of course I would be but I'm not going to be here because I'm going with you," she said with a determined look on her face. I wasn't in any shape to argue with her. "Okay, but we'll have to pretend that she's your mother or they won't let you in the room at fifteen."

"That's fine with me. I really feel like she already is."

We arrived at the hospital at shortly after ten. At the front desk I was told that she was in intensive care and she was only allowed to have two visitors for thirty minutes twice a day ... from 10:00 to 10:30 in the morning and 6:00 to 6:30 in the afternoon. I asked to speak with Nurse Mong and after arguing for fifteen minutes I was told that she would only be able to talk to us for ten minutes as she was scheduled to go off shift at eleven. And so it was that we were sent to the third floor outside the door to the intensive care unit. When she came out I thought she looked familiar and then it hit me, "Susan Jones, how have you been?"

"Pete," she said. "It's Mong now, I married Lee Mong. You probably remember him. (I did remember him. He had always seemed like a nice guy.) "It's been a long time. How's Karen."

I'm sure she saw my face darken. "Karen left me for some other guy. But that's not what important. How's Rachel? She's my fiancée." I heard a little cough beside me. "Oh, I'm sorry, this is my daughter, Cindy."

"Hello, Cindy," she held out her hand which Cindy shook. She turned to me, "Rachel is in a bad way but I think she's going to be okay. He left leg is broken and the knee cap is shattered. The orthopedic surgeon can put that back together although she may end up walking with a limp. She's got a concussion and has been in and out of a coma all evening. When she was out of it, the first thing she asked was if you knew. I recognized your name so I called and left a message."

"I know it's late and after visiting hours but is there any way we could see her? Just for a few minutes," I asked.

She looked thoughtful. "Well, hospital rules say I'm not allowed to but let me see what the doctor says. I think it might help in her recovery. Oh, I almost forgot, I'm sure the police are going to want to talk to you."

I looked at her questioningly. "When they pulled her out of the wreckage the way I hear it, her hands were cuffed behind her back and the was tape over her mouth."

"That son of a bitch," I barked. "I told her not to trust him." She looked at me. "It's a long story maybe I'll tell you about it some time."

"If you are talking about the guy who was driving, he died at the scene. Let me see what I can work out with the doctor."

She turned and walked back into the ICU. She was back a few minutes later, "he said it was okay but only for five or ten minutes." She opened the door and held if for us as we walked through.

I was trying to put on a brave front for both Rachel and Cindy's sakes. At fifteen, Cindy wasn't as brave as she broke into tears. I brought her close to me and held her. "It's okay, Cindy," I told her as we walked up beside Rachel's bed.

She looked to be in terrible shape. He left leg was wrapped in what looked like gauze (I later learned it was called a "cold pack." He head was wrapped in bandages from the top of her eyes over the back of her head and there were black ugly bruises everywhere you looked. She looked to be sleeping and I wondered if it was a coma. "We're here Rachel," I said quietly.

Amazingly, she opened her eyes and broke into what passed for a smile through because of her bruised lips it didn't come out very good, "Well, it's about time. I've been staying awake for you." Her mood softened as she looked at Cindy, "Cindy, honey, it's going to be okay. I'm going to live. I'll be home before you know it and the meantime I want you to be brave and take good care of your dad and, I know, he'll take good care of you. Now, if you'll excuse me I'm VERY tired." She closed her eyes and immediately fell asleep.

As I stood there looking at her bruised and battered body, the tears finally came. I wiped them away on my sleeve and wiped Cindy's away with the clean handkerchief I had in my pocket. I leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek and Cindy did the same. I heard a small Mmm when I kissed her and another after Cindy's kiss. I put my arm around Cindy and walked toward the ICU door.

We were just about to leave when a man who seemed to be in his late forties or early fifties caught up with us. "I'm Doctor McCoy. Can I have a word with you please?" When I answered in the affirmative and we walked into the ICU lobby he continued. "I was watching what happened when you two came in. That was amazing. She hadn't said more than a word or two until you came in. We thought she must have severe brain damage but apparently that isn't the case. What is your relationship to her?"

"None at present," I told him. "We are engaged and planned on getting married around Easter."