Chapter 13
"I will never leave you/ I will never go away/ We were meant to share each moment/ Beside you is where I will stay/ Ever more and always/ We'll be one though we're two/ For I will never leave you" ~From the Broadway production of "Side Show"
"Can I speak
with Dr. Matheson please?" Sara asked his secretary as she nervously sat
on the edge of the bed she and Nick shared. The secretary promptly placed her
on hold. Sara shifted herself carefully around so she could watch Nick. Today
was one of the bad days. Nick had a very bad night last night, and every night
for the past 3 days. Sara had reached her breaking point.
"Sara?" Dr. Matheson asked, bringing Sara away from her thoughts.
"Is everything alright?"
"I think it's time we put Nick in the hospital," Sara said shakily.
Dr. Matheson froze in his place. "Are you sure?"
"He hasn't…he hasn't been out of bed in almost a month," Sara
said quietly. "There's not much else I can do for him."
Rubbing his eyes, Dr. Matheson tried to absorb what had been said. "If
it's really what you want…"
"It's not, but it's best for Nick. I don't want him to suffer any more
than he has to."
"I'll send for an ambulance," the doctor offered. "It'll be there
in a few minutes."
"Thank you, doctor."
"Are you going to be OK, Sara?" he questioned.
Sara shook her head. "Not without Nick."
* * *
"Tip him!"
the paramedic called as Nick vomited. As commanded, the pale, emaciated figure
was tipped to the side as the excess contents landed on the driveway.
"I need an IV and oxygen. BP is fluxuating," another called as Nick
was transferred into the vehicle.
"I'm going with you," Sara said as the dreamlike scene in front of
her unfolded.
"I'm afraid not, Miss," the third EMT said to her. "The equipment
in the ambulance has radiation and it would be unsafe."
"We never went anywhere alone. Nick needs me there," Sara said as
her eyes began to water.
The EMT made the mistake of looking into Sara's eyes. The pain he saw and the
desperation was more than he could handle.
"Stay here," he said. "I'll see what I can do."
* * *
The sounds of Nick's
heart and blood pressure monitor were the only sounds in the room of the intensive
care unit. Sara seated herself quietly in a chair by Nick's bed and reached
out and touched his hand.
"Hi," Sara said to him.
Nick could only wave. A tube had been placed in his chest and in his mouth to
help him breathe. She knew that Nick wouldn't be too happy about the tube, but
he seemed too exhausted to care.
"Are you OK?" Sara asked as she leaned over and brushed some hair
off his forehead.
Nick gave her a thumbs up sign.
The two fell silent as they looked into each other's eyes. From his position
in the bed, Nick could see Sara's eyes start to water. He felt his own water
as he tried to tell her not to cry. Subconsciously, he tried to speak, but had
a coughing fit, which sent his monitors into a frenzy.
Sara reached for his hand again and squeezed it. "We'll beat this thing,"
Sara said as tears began to roll off her face. Nick reached up as far as he
could to touch her face. Sara filled in the gap as Nick's warm touch sent shivers
down her spine as he wiped her tears.
Nick too had started to cry. "Don't you start now," Sara said tearily as she wiped his tears in return. Nick's weak smile reminded Sara of all the smiles they had shared and she was forced to shake her head to clear a flashback that was threatening to emerge. She could tell Nick was attempting to tell her something, but knew he couldn't talk with the tubes in place.
On the table next to his bed, Sara spotted a pad of paper. She handed Nick the paper as she searched through her purse in pursuit of a pen. Coming out victoriously, Sara gave Nick the pen.
Nick started to write almost immediately.
"Have you called Mom?" was Nick's message as he handed Sara the paper.
"They're in the waiting room."
"They let you come in first?" was the second message.
Sara laughed lightly. "Yes they did. Your mother put up a fight though."
"Surprise," Nick thought as he started to write down his next question. "When can I get this thing out of me?"
"The tube comes out as soon as you can breathe on your own." Sara noticed Nick's tired look. "Do you want me to go get your family?"
Nick scrawled his answer. "No."
"Why not?"
"Stay with
me?" Nick wrote with his eyes shining.
Sara smiled. "They'll worry about you."
"As always" was Nick's response. "Are you going to stay?"
"Of course."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~