Lance walked up to the nurse's station, surprised to find several of the nurses gathered and smiling as they looked toward Angus's room. He quickened his step. "Is something wrong?"
Angela, one of the nurses he'd gotten to know, shook her head. "He's fine. We were just impressed with his mother. She sits beside him and talks as if she's having a full conversation with him. It's almost as if she's imagining him responding to her."
Lance turned and looked through the large glass panel that encased Angus's room and grinned. Lizzy did sit beside Angus's bed in her wheelchair. She stared at Angus as she talked, but it wasn't Angus she spoke with. Lance wasn't sure which of the ghosts in the room she was talking to because the entire room was filled with ghosts. Some Lance knew, others he'd never seen before.
"I've never seen any family member talk to a patient so smoothly." One of the other nurses smiled. "It's sweet to see her treat him as if he were just lying in bed having a conversation with her. It can't be easy to do."
Lance nodded. "Lizzy is one of a kind. She is very close to Angus. They have relationship I think most would be jealous of." He watched as Lizzy laughed at something one of the ghosts had said.
"See, like that. I have to wonder what she's imagining him saying. She laughs like it's real. Most parents would be somber and crying, begging their child to wake up, but she just goes about like nothing is wrong." Angela shook her head. "I wish others would be as positive as she is."
Lance stood with them, not wanting to interrupt whatever was going on in the room. He counted twelve ghosts. To him theroom looked crowded with ghosts standing so close to each other that at times they merged into each other's form. Lizzy appeared calm, but he could see the worry lines etched in the corner of her eyes as she stared at Angus. Right now, no news was good news, but it was still so hard not to worry.
It had only been two days, but it felt as if he had been sitting by Angus's bedside for weeks. He missed hearing his voice. Missed looking into his eyes. And more than anything, he missed holding him.
"Will the doctor be in today?" Lance asked, unsure if the doctor would do rounds on a Sunday.
"Someone will be by even if it's not his doctor. Probably sometime this evening." Angela laid a hand on his arm. "But trust me when I say, he's fine. His vitals are holding strong, and all his tests are coming back normal. Once his neck heals, he should make a quick recovery. The hardest part will probably be gaining back his strength after all the time in bed."
"Do you have any guesses on how long he'll be down?" Lance asked.
Angela shook her head. "It will just depend on how fast his neck heals. If I had to guess, I think they'll start waking him up in a week or so. The body usually heals quickly. A lot will depend on how deep that injury went, but from what I read it wasn't very deep."
"It looked like it went halfway through his neck to me." Lance closed his eyes, remembering the injury.
"I bet it did. Witnessing a loved one be hurt always seems worse than it is. Ask any mother in the emergency room with her child. I know this was bad, but it could have been a lot worse. The miracle of the whole situation in my eyes is that they managed to get him to the hospital without him bleeding out. Whoever made decisions that night are your true heroes. Then the surgeon of course, but once they got him to the hospital,his chances of survival increased immensely. Now, our biggest worry would be infection, but so far, things are looking good. We just keep him still and everything will go smoothly. I know it's hard, but letting him heal is the best thing you can do for him right now."
"I swear when this is over, I'm never letting him out of the house." Lance was joking, but there was a part of him that wished he could protect Angus from never being hurt again.
"Again, you sound like most mothers in the emergency room. I'm sure Angus's mother is in there right now, thinking the same thing." Angela smiled.
"Probably. I think the hardest part was knowing he could get hurt any time. I was prepared for a call that he'd been injured, but I'd always thought it would come from his job, not a night out with our family."
"I hear that a lot around here. It's usually something so simple and not dangerous that ends up causing someone to get hurt. It seldom comes from the things we think it will. A kid can climb a hundred trees, but it's climbing the step stool to get something out of the kitchen cabinet that causes him to fall and break a leg." Angela glanced over her shoulder. "I need to get back to work. Let me know if you need anything."
"Thanks." Lance didn't move away from the desk. He continued to stand there and watch Lizzy and the ghosts interact. The company was good for Lizzy and he worried that the ghosts might leave if he entered the room.
"How are your injuries today?" a voice asked from beside him.
Lance turned, caught off guard by someone beside him. He smiled as he saw it was Christine. "Hey, what are you doing here?"
"I was checking on a patient and thought I'd drop by and see how you and Angus are." Christine grinned. "I see Lizzy has plenty of company."
Being one of the few friends he had who could also see ghosts, he knew Christine saw the gathering of ghosts around Angus's bed. "I shouldn't be surprised. Lizzy has a way about her. The ghosts flock to her."
"I think they enjoy being seen by the living and Lizzy isn't shy about seeing them. Unlike you and me who keep secrets, Lizzy is open about everything." Christine turned to face him. "How are you? Has anyone followed up on your injuries?"
"I'm okay. Nothing serious." Lance waved her off.
"I read your medical records as well. I know you have some major cuts on your legs. Have you even looked to see if any are infected?" Christine asked. "Changed any of your bandages?"
"No," Lance admitted with a sigh. The bandages on his legs and butt were uncomfortable, and he hadn't done more than sponge bathed since everything happened.
"Then come with me while Lizzy's entertained. Let's check you over. Unless you don't want me to do it. I can get a nurse to check things over and report back to me." Christine held his stare. "Up to you, but you need to follow up, or you'll end up in bed too."
Lance rolled his eyes, but she was right. He needed to have some of the bandages changed and others he couldn't reach removed. "I'd rather you do it than some stranger. Where?"
"Follow me." Christine led him down the hallway and into a small room that appeared to be more storage than exam. "We can go to the E.R. where we'll have more room, but I figured you'd rather stay close to Angus. I've got everything I need in here." She pulled on a pair of gloves. "Let me get a look at your legs."
