“Jesus.” The captain went into the bathroom and returned with a large cup. “My family?”
“They’re here.” He handed Jordan the cup. “Well, they’re in the area. They’re not here right now.”
“Emme?”
“Who?”
“My girlfriend. Emme France. Is she here?” He sipped the water.
The captain shook his head. “I don’t recognize the name. It’s only been your parents, as far as I know.”
Where was Emme? Shit…did she even know? “Is there a phone I can use?”
“There is, but let’s wait until you talk to the doc. Also, it’s three a.m. It can probably wait a few hours.”
Jordan rubbed his eyes. Maybe, but he had a bad feeling. Emme would have been here if she knew. “What time do my parents usually show up?”
“I’m not sure. My shift starts right around the time they’re leaving in the evening.”
Two quick knocks preceded the door opening and an older woman in a white lab coat stepped in. She looked like she should be at home in a rocking chair, knitting rather than making rounds at an Army hospital. “Good morning, Major. I’m Doctor Kelly. How are you feeling?”
“Sore.” No need to repeat feeling like he got hit by a truck. “Should I still feel like this after three weeks?”
“It’s not unexpected. There was extensive damage to the left side of your body.” She pulled a pen light out of the breast pocket of her coat and flashed it in each of his eyes. “Pupil response is normal.”
Her small fingers probed his ribs. He sucked in a breath and jerked away when she hit one spot in particular.
“Sorry.” She stopped poking his side. “You fractured three of your ribs and had a collapsed lung.”
He blinked. “What happened exactly?”
“You don’t remember?” She moved the sheet and blanket away from his foot and pinched his toes.
“No.”
Covering his feet up, she got some hand sanitizer. “Let me pull up your record.” She went to the computer, clicking the mouse a few times. “The report is rather basic. You may need to talk to someone in your unit about the specifics, but it says you were hit by a small pickup truck and pinned between the front of the truck and a wall. A portion of the wall collapsed on you and caused the traumatic brain injury.”
“What was the extent of my injuries?”
“The TBI, tension pneumothorax and fractured ribs, and your kneecap was shattered.” She read down the list like she was reading what groceries she needed to make dinner.
“What do you mean shattered?”
“Your knee-cap and tibia were fractured and you underwent reconstructive surgery. Luckily we have a great physical therapy department. Now that you’re awake, I’ll put in the referral and you can begin seeing them in the next day or two.”
That explained the bandage and the throb. He struggled to remember the attack, but there was a gaping hole in his memory. Not even flashes. It was as if she’d recounted something that had happened to someone else. “Is it normal to not remember?”
Her smile was gentle. “The brain is a wondrous and mysterious organ. Patients who have been through a traumatic experience will sometimes have no memory of the event. It’s the brain’s way of protecting itself from further harm. It could also be that the anesthesia you were given for the medically-induced coma has caused short term memory loss and you’ll get it all back eventually. It’s different for every person.”
He pressed his lips together in a thin line and nodded. As long as he remembered Emme, it probably didn’t matter that he didn’t remember the attack.
“Now, I can see you wincing and trying to hide your pain, so I’m going to order some pain killers for you. They’ll help you sleep as well.”
“I need to make a phone call.”
“And I need you to rest right now. You can call whoever it is in the morning. I’ll check on you again during normal rounds.” Captain Flores followed the doctor out.
Jordan blew out a breath. Damn it, he wanted to hear Emme’s voice. Needed to hear it and know they were okay.
The nurse returned with a syringe on a small silver tray. He set the tray on the table next to the bed, pulled off the cap, and inserted the needle into the I.V. line. “You should begin to feel that soon.”
He stared down at his arm, as if he could see the wave of warmth that was creeping up his arm. All of a sudden, his body felt weighted down, but more relaxed than he’d ever felt before. He struggled to keep his eyes open.
“Don’t fight it.”
“Need to call…Emme.”
“You will. In the morning.”
