Only Time Will Tell
Part 15
Harry swallowed down the lump in his throat as he entered the waiting room. He couldn't allow Cassy to see him like this. She needed his guidance, his assurance, his friendship.
Notifying the family of an officer's injury, or heaven forbid, death, had to be the worst responsibility he carried as a captain in the police department. Calling Tom's parents was no exception to the rule. In fact, it was exceptionally more difficult.
Lyam Ryan's voice did not mask his fear for Tom. The second he heard Harry's quiet greeting, the father knew that his son was in trouble. He wanted to know what had happened. Harry's mind searched for the truth, but he could not explain it. Lyam wanted to know if his son was all right. Harry had no answer. Would his son die? Still, no answers. The captain tried to give reassurances to the distraught parents, but they were worthless platitudes. He was certain he had never felt such failure before. It was his duty to provide comfort to loved ones during this time. However, there were no words of comfort he could say. . .at least none he could say with any conviction.
Now, he eyed the blond woman, sitting in a corner chair, chin resting in her hand, staring out the window. Her legs were tucked under her slim form, making her seem even smaller and frailer.
He could see the bandage covering her cheek, a souvenir from her fight with the mad woman. She had not wanted to have the wound attended to, but Harry insisted. Cassy started to argue, but didn't seem to have the heart for it. She was too concerned about Tom.
She had every right to be from what Harry could tell. Cassy had called him while the ambulance was in route to the hospital. Tom had yet to revive. Worse yet, he didn't seem capable of breathing on his own. The detective tried desperately to relay the events in proper police fashion, but failed miserably. Harry assured her that he would meet her at the hospital.
The ER staff was being strangely silent about Tom's condition. This scared Harry. He had tried to maneuver his way into the treatment room, but was politely told he would have to wait outside. The seconds became minutes and Harry's patience was wearing thin, but no word came. Harry decided he had no choice but to let the Ryans know of their son's condition.
Now he stood at the entrance to the waiting room, needing to use those same worthless sayings to provide reassurance to Tom's partner and knowing, before any word was spoken, that he would fail.
He placed a firm hand on Cassy's shoulder shaking her from her thoughts. "Any word?" Harry asked.
"No. Nothing yet. Did you get a hold of his parents?" Cassy whispered.
"Yes. They're trying to get on the next flight out. They should be here by morning." Harry took a seat next to her on the small couch.
"Good. Tom needs. . .I need them here."
Time for those reassurances, he thought. "He'll be okay, Cassy. He's a fighter. You got to him in time." The words rolled off his tongue like they were recorded.
Cassy shook her head and closed her eyes, "He wasn't breathing, Harry."
"But you were breathing for him. You saved him."
Cassy looked at her hands now folded in her lap. "He saved me."
Harry put an arm around her shoulders protectively. He felt her lean closer, as if seeking out his strength and he pulled her into a hug. Cassy closed her eyes, allowing the tears to fall down her face. They were tears of anger and fear. After a few moments, she righted herself, suddenly feeling stronger. "Thanks Harry."
"No problem."
"Are you here for Sgt. Ryan?" the doctor's voice startled both of them.
Harry stood suddenly, "Yes. How is he."
"Are you his family?"
"I'm his Captain. This is his partner. . .and ex-wife." The doctor shot a bewildered look at Cassy as Harry answered the question.
Cassy moved to a position next to her Captain. She couldn't help saying a silent prayer before the doctor spoke. "I'm Dr. Bradley," the man extended his hand to both Cassy and Harry. "I'm in charge of ER. Let's go have a seat."
Immediately Cassy feared the worse. Thomas was dead. She felt her heart sink to her stomach, she had to fight the urge to scream. As if reading her mind, Harry reached out to steady his detective with a reassuring hand on the arm and guided her to a chair.
"Mr. Ryan's a fighter. He's holding his own in there," the doctor motioned to the trauma rooms nearby.
"He's alive?" Cassy whispered, voice filled with wonder.
The doctor gave her a grim smile, "Yes. But it's been a battle. When he came in here he was unable to breathe on his own." Cassy's mind flashed back to earlier events. She could feel her lips against Tom's, forcing air into his motionless body, praying for some kind of response, but being denied.
Cassy pushed her mind forward to the present, hearing the doctor's next words. "He's still unconscious. We don't know when he will come out of it. Mr. Ryan was given a heavy overdose of a prescription sedative. Thankfully, it was mild in strength. However, it was never designed to be taken by the handful. We had to pump his stomach.
"The pills were mixed with alcohol, which suppressed his breathing. Unfortunately, his body is still under the effects of the overdose, resulting in the unconsciousness. And he is still having trouble maintaining regular respirations. Therefore, we are going to keep him on a respirator, at least through the night." The doctor examined his chart, "Hopefully, by morning, the effects of the sedatives will lesson enough to allow his breathing to stabilize. It's going to take awhile to clean out his system."
The doctor stood and made a move for the door, " We're moving him to ICU right now." The doctor smiled at the worried looks that crossed the faces of the police officers. "Don't worry. That's standard in a case like his. He has some other injuries that we want to keep an eye on for the next couple of days.
"Other injuries?" Harry asked.
"From the fall down the stairs?" Cassy completed.
"Yes. He has a dislocated shoulder and two broken ribs. Thankfully, neither of the ribs punctured his lung. We probably would have lost him if either had. He's a very lucky man. He's going to be sore for awhile. . .there's quite a bit of bruising. But if we can get his breathing to stabilize, he should be okay." The doctor shrugged his shoulders and smiled again, "Actually, it was fortunate that he was so relaxed when he fell. He could have been hurt much worse by the fall if he had been fully cognizant of what was going on."
"Yeah, lucky," Cassy muttered, standing suddenly and walking to the window. She didn’t' want to hear how lucky Tom had been. Knowing that luck made the difference only made her feel more scared. His life had come down to luck. . .a roll of the dice, a flip of the coin. She turned to the doctor, "Can I see him?"
"Give us a few minutes to get him transferred to ICU and settled in. I'll send a nurse down for you when he's ready. Do you have any questions?"
Upon seeing the two police officers shake their heads, the doctor nodded to them and left the room. Harry turned to his detective and smiled, "See Cassy. I told you he was a fighter. He's going to beat this."
"I hope so. But, God help me, Harry, if he doesn't, Janet Angelini will live to regret having ever been born."
End Part 15
To Part 16