Chapter 45
Vin looked up as the door to his room was gently opened. He’d just pulled himself out of a similar nightmare as the one his friend had been having. A nightmare
where he was unable to save his friend from Whelan’s sadistic clutches. He’d been forced to watch as Whelan used the scalpel to slowly cut into Larabee’s body,
leaving long trails of blood from toe to forehead. He’d woken in a cold sweat just before the life drained from the pain filled green eyes.
“Mr. Tanner?”
“Yes.”
“I’m Carol Locke and I’m a primary care nurse. I’ve been assigned to help care for you and Chris. How are you feeling?”
“I’m doing fine. I want to know how Chris is doing.”
“He’s resting right now, Mr. Tanner.”
“Vin,” he told her.
“Vin, I’ve been going over your chart and I see you’ve been making great strides towards your release. You’ll be out of here in no time if you continue this way,”
she told him.
“What about, Chris?” he asked.
“You do seem to have a one track mind when it comes to your friend don’t you, Vin?”
“I’m just worried about him is all.”
“I can see that. All I can tell you is he’s resting right now. We’ll be starting Physio for him tomorrow.”
“That’s gonna be hard on him.”
“Yes it is, Vin, but it has to be done. The faster we get him mobile the faster he recovers from his ordeal.”
“I don’t think he’ll ever get over this ordeal,” Tanner hissed, remembering his own nightmares. ‘Hell, I don’t know if I’ll ever get over his ordeal,’ he thought
angrily.
“I see you haven’t been eating very much,” she said as she read his chart. “Is there a problem?”
Tanner smiled as he answered. “Have you ever tasted hospital food?”
“A long time ago,” she told him.
“Did you eat it?”
Locke laughed as she answered. “No, I don’t think I did. I thought maybe things had changed since those days.”
“They probably have. They’ve gotten worse.”
“Well, Vin, what if you eat what they bring you over say the next three days. After that we’ll see about giving you a choice in your menu.”
“Three days?”
“That’s all. Think you can handle that?”
“No promises,” Tanner answered.
“Get some rest, Vin,” she said. “I’ll be back to see you tomorrow. If there’s anything you need just let the nurses know.”
Tanner’s voice could barley be heard as he told her, “I need to see Chris.”
“That’s not possible right now, Vin. Give him a little more time.”
“I wish people would stop telling me that. It’s gettin’ kinda old,” he said as he turned away from the nurse.
Jake stifled a yawn as he walked over to the bed. He’d been alone with his charge since the nurses insisted that his friends go home and get some rest. They’d had a
bit of a fight but the men had finally relented and left at nine pm. ‘You’ve got some good friends there, Son,’ he thought as the door opened and a young man
walked in.
“Hey, Jake, so is this one a little quieter than the last one?”
“Show some respect, Tony,” Taylor ordered. He wished the younger man hadn’t been assigned to work with this man. Tony was immature and had no idea what
being a sitter was all about. Unfortunately it wasn’t up to him who was assigned where.
“Come on, Jake, you know I was just kidding.”
“Yeah, well don’t. He’s got enough problems without you adding to them,” the older man snapped.
“You always were a softie, Jake,” Tony told him.
“Just do your job, Tony,” Taylor said as he headed out the door.
Tony Sharpe waited for the door to close and stepped up to the bed. “So you’re the big shot. Looks like Chris Larabee met his match,” he said as he lifted the
bandaged left hand and turned it around. He watched as the pale face became a mask of pain but didn’t wake up. “They did a pretty good job on you to didn’t they?
You know, Larabee, because of you I’ve lost my whole weekend. Here it is Friday night and I coulda been out with my buddies. Instead I get to sit with a weakling
who wants to take his own life. Maybe I should just bring you in a gun and let you get it over with,” he stopped as he heard footsteps approaching the room.
Dropping the injured hand back to the bed he moved to the chair just as the door opened and a nurse stepped into the room. “Hi, Kerry,” he grinned as he moved
out of her way.
“Hello, Tony, how are you?” she asked as she checked her patient and changed the IV and antibiotics over his head.
“I’m doing fine, pretty lady,” he answered.
“Bet you say that to all the nurses,” she stated. She checked the Morphine infusion pump and was satisfied to see it running properly. A low moan brought her
attention back to her patient just as his eyes opened and he grabbed at his stomach with his bandaged hands. “What’s wrong, Chris?” she asked.
“H...hurts,” he answered, grimacing as severe cramps struck his stomach.
“What hurts, Chris?”
“S...stomach, h...hurts bad.”
Kerry checked the rate on the Isosource pump and noted that it was set at Fifty ccs per hour. She looked at his chart and saw that the rate had changed a little over
four hours ago. “Hang on, Chris, I’m gonna put a call in to the doctor,” she told him.
“Ok,” he groaned as she left the room.
“You know you’re a real mess,” Tony declared as he approached the bed again.
Chris ignored the kid who stood next to his bed. His stomach felt as if it was on fire and he tried to curl into a ball.
Tony smiled at the suffering figure on the bed. ‘Don’t worry, Larabee, sooner or later I’ll help you end it all,’ he thought, his eyes filled with insane glee.
Five minutes later Kerry and an older man entered the room. They walked up to the bed and the doctor checked the feeds. “Put in a call to x-ray. I want a flat plate
done immediately,” he said as he turned off the Isosource pump. “Also give him twenty mgs Losec,” he ordered. “Chris, the Losec will help you feel better.”
“S...sick,” his tired voice said.
Kerry heard the plea and shoved a small basin in front of him as the doctor lifted him forward. Chris’s stomach emptied until there was nothing but dry heaves.
Finally, even those receded and he was placed back on the pillow.
“Better?” Kerry asked.
“A l...little,” he answered.
“Now are you going to take this or do I have to crush it and give it to you the same way we do your other meds?” she asked as the doctor made more notes on his
charts.
He stared at her for a few minutes before the depression once more invaded his mind and he turned away from the helping hand. Shaking her head she gave it to him
the same way they’d given him the Zoloft when she’d first started her shift.
“Kerry, make sure I get the results of the x-ray as soon as they come in. I’m also making a note here to Stacey and Tom about getting a nutritionist involved as soon
as possible.”
“Yes, Sir, Doctor Michaels,” she answered as the doctor left the room. “Try to sleep, Chris. The Losec will start to work very quickly. Tony, call me if he needs
anything,” she told the sitter as she left the room.
Tony stepped up to the bed once more. “Pathetic,” he hissed. “You’re nothing but a pathetic Bastard,” he laughed as he noticed the man was sleeping.
Chapter 46
Midland, Parker, Locke, James and Kerry sat in conference in Midland’s office early the next morning.
“Did you start the feeds back up?” Parker asked.
“Yes, Sir. Doctor Michaels said the x-ray was negative and to start it back up at seven this morning.”
“How’s he tolerating it?”
“We started him back on the twenty five ccs and he’s been fine with it so far.”
“That’s good,” Midland said. “I see here he refused to take the Losec and you had to give it via the NG tube.”
“Yes, Doctor.”
“It appears we’ve got a long road ahead of us,” James voiced the thought running through each of their minds.
“We’ve got to make sure we stay on top of everything. Did you call the nutritionist, Carol?” Parker asked.
“Kathy will be at this afternoon’s meeting,” Locke explained.
“Is there anything else, Kerry?” Parker asked.
“No, Doctor, once the Losec took hold and the cramps and vomiting subsided he slept well.”
“That’s one good thing,” Midland told them.
“I’ll be seeing him in about an hour,” James said. “It’s important that we get him back to making decisions about his life. Have you talked to his friends about bringing
some things from his home?”
“They’re supposed to bring some stuff in today. I warned them against bringing anything that would upset him,” Locke said.
“Excellent, Carol. Now unless there’s something else I’ve got to get to my rounds,” Parker told them.
“That’s it for now,” James said and the meeting broke up.
Chapter 47
“Hey, Brother, how’re you feeling?”
“I’m fine, Josiah.”
“Vin, I can see you’re far from fine. Do you feel like talking about it?” Sanchez asked as he pulled a chair up to the bed.
Tanner had been up and walking around the room just after breakfast. He’d been able to ignore the pain in his chest and shoulder for awhile but the ache in his upper
thigh made him crawl back in his bed. He’d been dozing off when the ex-preacher stepped into the room. He stared at the older man before speaking softly. “I’ve
lost the best friend I ever had, Josiah.”
Sanchez heard the pain in the softly spoken words and stepped up to the bed. “Chris will get better, Vin. It may take a while but you two have a special connection
that the good Lord provided and will make whole again.”
“Will he? Right now I don’t think God or anyone can fix what I did to Chris,” Tanner hissed.
“You did nothing to Brother Chris, Son. What happened was not your fault and deep down Chris knows this. He’s just confused and in a lot of pain right now. As
soon as he’s able to face the demons haunting him he’ll remember the closeness you two share.”
“I wish I could believe that but I keep hearing him screaming. I keep seeing Whelan torturing him. I can’t make it stop. It’s like a movie that plays over and over and
ends with Chris...” Tanner broke off as he swallowed the lump in his throat.
“Ends with Chris doing what?”
“Ends with Chris dying, Josiah. I see it every time I close my eyes. He’s pleading with me to let him go. Pleading for me to end the pain for him. I can’t, Josiah. I
can’t make his pain stop no matter how much he wants me too.”
“Those are just dreams, Vin. Bad dreams, yes, but still dreams.”
“Then why is he on suicide watch?” Tanner asked.
“Who told you about that?” Sanchez asked.
“Nathan and Dr. James. I have a right to know, Josiah, I’m the one who put him where he is,” Tanner shouted.
“Vin, look it’s time to get past the feelings of guilt. You had nothing to do with what Whelan and Wilcox did. Wilcox is a twisted man and he was bent on revenge. I
know you’d rather he’d have taken it out on you but he didn’t. He knew you’d be hurt a lot more if he used Chris and he was right. If you keep blaming yourself
you’re gonna lose the best friend, make that brother you ever had. God had a reason for putting you two together. He knew Brother Chris needed someone after
Sarah and Adam and it was fate that made you find him that day.”
“Fate! Was it fate that I left Gary in Beirut?” Tanner gasped.
“No, Vin, that wasn’t fate. That was war. You were hurt and unconscious and had no way of getting him out of there. It wasn’t your fault that he was captured. It
wasn’t your fault that the terrorist group hurt him. It wasn’t your fault that he decided to change into a twisted form of the man you once knew.”
Tanner remained silent for a few minutes and Sanchez left him to his thoughts. “He really was a good man before Beirut,” the young man’s soft voice made Sanchez
smile.
“Want to tell me about him?”
“We went through training together. He had such a funny sense of humor. He’d find a way to laugh at any situation. He had a carefree attitude that even made me a
little nervous.”
Sanchez’s eyes opened wide as he smiled, “You, Vin?”
“Yeah me,” the younger man said with a grin. “One time he wanted to do one of those Motor cycle jumps like that Kanevil guy. The difference being that he wanted
to ride double.”
“I take it you were the passenger?”
“Yep. We did it but we wrecked the bike. Gary ended up with some busted ribs and I broke my arm. You know what he said when they released us from the
hospital?”
“What?”
“He asked if the next time he could ride behind me. He wanted to do another jump.”
“Did you do it?”
“The day they took the cast off he picked me up and we drove to the same track. The jump was already set up.”
“How did this one go?”
“We landed perfectly. That was the day we promised to always look out for each other,” his voice had taken on a pained quality again.