Collision With Truth Part 4/7
By: Nectar99
Rating: PG
See chapter 1 for Disclaimer, timeline, and summary.
When dawn approached, Kathy prepared Lee to visit his wife. He was suffering from a wide array of emotions. The sudden news of the baby gave him a strong sense of hope, however he was still being tormented by the reoccurring visions of the accident. He needed someone to blame for this senseless tragedy. Even though he was scared and upset, he didn’t show it.
“Hello Lee! Are you ready to visit Amanda?” she asked
“I’ve been ready since last night. Lets go,” he urged.
As Kathy wheeled him down the hall, he took comfort in clutching onto Amanda’s ring. He felt the diamond pushing into his skin. As they approached ICU, he took a deep breath before entering. It only took a few moments for them to reach her bed.
Lee’s breath quickened at the sight of her. She was covered in tubes from head to toe. Her IV bag was connected to several different bags of various solutions and medications. Both her legs were in casts, and her head was bandaged, revealing only a trace of blood on her forehead. Her face was bandaged just above her cheek, concealing her stitches.
“Oh my god,” he whispered in disbelief. He tried to blink away the tears as he turned to speak to Kathy. “Uh, is she in any pain?” He asked hesitantly.
Kathy ran a comforting hand across his shoulder. “She’s comfortable. She isn’t suffering from any pain.”
Lee turned up the corner of his mouth. “Okay. I didn’t know how that worked. I mean with the baby…” he spoke as his words turned into silent thoughts. “A baby! She’s got to wake up. I want to tell her about our baby,” he smiled to himself.
“Why so many monitors,” he asked.
“That one on the left is monitoring your wife’s heart rate, pulse and respirations. The one on the left is a fetal monitor. That’s your baby’s heartbeat,” she announced happily.
Lee smiled slightly. “Is that okay? I mean it’s much higher than Amanda’s rate,” he asked cautiously.
“It’s very good. Babies are much higher than adults. 146 beats per minute in quite normal,” she assured him.
“I’m going to let you two be alone. I’ll be right down the hall if you need anything,” she declared.
“Thank you. I mean that. Thank you for everything,” he spoke sincerely.
Lee positioned the wheelchair next to her head. He carefully pulled down the side railing so he could touch her. After his hand went through an obstacle course of wires, he finally located her left hand. He placed his hand atop hers, and gently caressed her skin. As he traced each finger, he whispered her name very softly.
“Amanda. Amanda, you need to wake up. I have wonderful news to tell you, but I can’t share it with you until you are fully awake. Please! Please wake up,” he begged.
”I can’t stand being here without you. I don’t want to be here without you,” he spoke stumbling through his words. “I feel like we are reliving that awful nightmare when we were in California.” He stopped speaking abruptly. Tears were on the verge of spilling down his cheeks, and he didn’t want to fall apart. He wanted to be strong for her.
Lee took a few long deep breaths and cleared his throat. He stifled a sudden sneeze with his hand. He gently extricated Amanda’s ring from his pinky finger. He stared at it for several minutes. He gently placed the ring back where it belonged. He took her hand in both of his, and massaged her fingers. His head came to rest against her side.
“Well, well, I thought I might find you here,” spoke a familiar feminine voice.
Lee jumped slightly, careful not to lose contact with Amanda’s hand.
“Francine, what are you doing here? He asked.
Francine frowned slightly. “Regardless of what you may think, I do care about the both of you. I just stopped in to how the both of you were doing,” she admitted.
“Thanks a lot. I really appreciate that,” he spoke. “I’m fine. Amanda’s doing better. She isn’t awake yet, but the Doctors are very optimistic,” he stated.
“That’s good to hear Lee.”
A look of surprise crossed his face. “Oh god, her family. I forgot about her family. Francine, her mother took the boys camping this weekend. Somewhere in the mountains…..” he spoke before she interrupted.
“Calm down Lee. I’m already checking into that. I called her ex-husband’s office. As soon as he checks in, they will give him the message. Now, I’ve got to go. I’m meeting Senator Rogers for lunch this afternoon,” she bragged.
“Thanks. Goodbye Francine,” he spoke in an aggravated tone.
Francine took one more glance in Amanda’s direction. She carefully inspected the ring, which resided on her ring finger. She made sure to deliberately eye the ring and Lee in a nonchalant fashion. She shook her head back and forth. “See you scarecrow. Be careful not to cut your finger. That rock looks sharp,” she teased.
“Goodbye Francine!”
Lee spent the entire afternoon by her side. He spoke words of love and encouragement, urging her to respond. He buried his face by her side, covering the uncontrollable gasps that escaped his lips. His hot tears flowed steadily down his cheeks.
The nurses had to practically drag him back to his room to eat. He had to appease them. He quickly ate his lunch and returned to her side.
During the late afternoon hours, he gently caressed her face. He placed finger kisses along her bruises and cuts. “Amanda, can you hear me? Please Amanda. I need you to hear me. I love you so much. Please wake up. Your family needs you. I need you!”
Lee was suddenly confused by his change of emotion. Anger had somehow crept up upon him. His overwhelming frustration just seemed to grow and grow. Over and over he begged and pleaded for her to wake up, only to hear the sound of the monitors beeping over and over in his head. Once again he laid his head next to her side. He brought her hand to his mouth. He kissed each fingertip. “I need you Amanda. Please wake up for me baby,” he whispered softly.
With his quiet pleas left unanswered, Lee drifted off to sleep. The sheet lay damp beneath him, filled with his tears.