Mount Joy New York

************

T�a and Viki rushed to Todd. They both gasped when they saw him. It was not only the shock of seeing him with short hair, it was also seeing him so very pale, silent and still. A purple bruise on his forehead and deep gouges scratched into his face and neck were all the more horrifying against Todd's pale skin. His lips were slightly blue. They were not sure if he was alive.

"Don't move him," Susannah cautioned quickly. "He might have fallen. Call EMS," she said in Bo's direction.

T�a knelt next to Todd. She could see that he had vomited at least once. Beads of perspiration covered his face. T�a stroked Todd's head. "He's burning up! Querido, it's T�a. I'm here. So are Viki and Doctor Hanen. Bo is here too."

Todd moaned softly in response to T�a's touch.

Bo closed his cell phone. "They're on the way," he stated. Gently, Bo placed his hand on Viki's arm and T�a's shoulder. "Let Susannah in to examine him."

Viki and T�a immediately stepped out of the way.

Susannah rested her bag on the floor. "Todd. Todd!" she called loudly. "He's breathing," she stated quickly. Susannah knew Viki and T�a were terrified. She took his pulse. It was rapid. "Todd. It's Doctor Hanen. Everything is going to be all right. You're safe. We're going to help you." Susannah listened to his heart and lungs. She didn't like the way his lungs sounded. She didn't say anything. She didn't want to panic Viki and T�a. She knew nothing could be done until the ambulance arrived.

"Susannah, do something," Viki cried out. "What's happening to him?"

"I need both of you to stay calm," Susannah said firmly

"He heard me. I'm sure he heard me and felt me touch him," T�a pointed out in a trembling voice.

"He probably did. That is why I need both of you to stay as calm as possible. We don't want to frighten Todd. Right now the best thing to do is wait for EMS. He needs to be boarded in case there is a spinal injury."

"He's not breathing right," Viki said as she wiped a tear from her eye.

"He'll be given oxygen as soon as they arrive. It will be okay," Susannah said with assurance she didn't feel. "Bo," Susannah directed. "Will you please look around the house for any drugs, prescription or otherwise." Susannah felt Todd's pockets for any evidence of drugs.

Viki was shocked. "Susannah, Todd is terrified of taking drugs, you know that."

"We don't know what Todd was feeling from the time he left or who else might have come out. We can't assume he hasn't. He will be treated as if he took them. It's standard care when a patient is found unconscious or semiconscious."

"Please, may I try talking to him again," T�a pleaded.

"Yes, but you need to get out of the way immediately when EMS gets here," Susannah cautioned.

T�a nodded. She knelt at Todd's side again. "Todd. I won't let anything happen to you. I promise you. The entire time you were gone, I felt you reaching out to me. Please, reach out to me now. Open your eyes." T�a squeezed his hand. "Todd. I love you. You know that. You called me to tell me that you loved me. I know that's what you were trying to tell me. You didn't want me to think you left because you stopped loving me. I'm here now, mi amor. Tell me what you wanted to say. I'm listening."

Slowly, Todd's eyes opened. He looked into T�a's eyes.

"Todd. Oh, Todd. Doctor Hanen!" T�a called out.

"Delgado, you real?" Todd whispered. He tried to reach out to touch T�a's face. He was too weak. His hand fell back.

T�a reached for it. She cupped her cheek with Todd's palm. "I'm here. I'm real. Todd, I'm real. You're going to be fine. I swear to you. You're going to be fine."

Susannah knelt next to T�a. "Todd, you need to lie still. Do you know where you are?"

"Somewhere I never thought I'd get to be again, with Delgado," Todd said with great effort. Todd looked into T�a's eyes. "I have to tell you. T�a, I have to tell you . . ." A violent coughing spasm racked Todd's body before he could finish saying what he wanted to say.

"Oh, God. Help him," Viki cried out.

Suddenly Todd began to have another seizure.

Susannah supported his neck as she carefully turned his head sideways.

They heard a loud knock on the door and a voice announced, "EMS."

Bo had just come back into the front room. He winced when he saw Todd in the grips of a seizure. Bo had been about to give Viki and T�a the letters Todd had secured to the kitchen table with the salt and pepper shakers. He quickly shoved them in his pocket and rushed to the door to let the EMS workers in.

Susannah quickly gave the medical information they would need to know to the emergency medical technician and the paramedic.

"What's his name?" the paramedic asked.

"Todd," Viki answered.

"Todd," he called out. He shook him gently. "Todd, can you hear me?" He pinched Todd's chest. "Unresponsive," he noted aloud.

Todd began to seize again.

"He's in status," the paramedic stated. He held Todd's neck. "Let's stabilize him and get a line in, and then load him with Ativan."

The EMT pulled a neck brace and some IV lines and bags out of the box they brought in with them. After the neck brace was placed on Todd, the same tech ripped the sleeve of Todd's shirt vertically. He started the line.

The paramedic drew four milligrams of Ativan into a syringe and handed it to his partner. "Here's the Ativan. Give him two milligrams a minute, slow IV push."

They watched Todd closely. "There we go," the tech said as Todd's seizure stopped.

The paramedic shone a penlight into Todd's eyes. "His pupils are sluggish. Possible concussion," he stated. He pointed to the bruise on Todd's head. He tilted Todd's head back slightly. "I don't see anything foreign in his airway, but he's vomited." He listened to Todd's lungs with his stethoscope. "I'm not getting good breath sounds. I'm gonna put on a face mask with 100% O2"

T�a and Viki exchanged frightened looks.

Bo tried his best not to react. Still, his fear for Todd could be seen on his face, as Susannah's fear could be seen on hers.

The tech took Todd's vitals. "BP 110/60, respiration 27, pulse 125, temp 103."

"A hundred and three!" T�a exclaimed.

The paramedic pricked Todd's finger to get a glucose reading. "Eighty-five," he called out.

"Were any drugs found at the scene?" the tech asked.

"No, I searched the entire house," Bo answered. "Even the bottles of aspirin and Tylenol in the medicine cabinet are almost full."

"We're going to give him some Narcan and thiamine just in case," the tech who asked the question let them know.

"What is it? What's wrong with him?" Viki asked frantically.

"We're not sure ma'am. They'll check him out at the hospital," the paramedic calmly stated.

"I know you're both terrified," Susannah acknowledged. "Try to stay calm for Todd's sake. He probably aspirated vomit during a seizure. Most likely, he has pneumonia. We won't know for sure until he's at that hospital."

"Dear Lord, not again," Viki cried.

The tech who took Todd's vitals, said, "I'll get the board and we can get him transported."

When he came back with the board, both the tech and paramedic gently tipped Todd to one side and slid the board under him. They pulled the straps closed over his legs, chest and forehead, to keep him from moving. On a three count, they lifted him to the stretcher and strapped him securely to that.

"We're taking him to University Hospital. One of you can ride in the ambulance with him," the paramedic informed them.

Both T�a and Viki agreed it should be Susannah riding along with Todd.

"We'll follow behind," Bo called out.

Viki stared into T�a's eyes. The two women held each other's hands tightly. As the EMTs loaded Todd into the ambulance, the cold spring wind whipped around all of them.

"Todd will make it, Viki. We won't let anything happen to him," T�a stated firmly, almost angrily.

"No, we won't," Viki assured the younger woman. "We won't allow what Blair and Sam did to take him from us."

"Sam tried to do what he thought was best for Todd. He loves him, Viki." T�a defended Sam, despite the way he had treated her.

"Yes, I know. I'm sorry," Viki said softly. She still could not stop blaming Sam.

"Let's go," Bo said, as the ambulance doors closed.

*********

Llanfair

Llanview Pennsylvania

*********

Sam wearily plopped into one of the chairs in the library. He'd been pacing again, for nearly an hour this time. "Why haven't they called? Either they found him or they didn't! Why haven't they called?"

Bill took a deep breath. He knew Sam was holding on by a thread. "They will. If they found Todd, they might be talking to him. Or they might have gotten a tip and gone somewhere other than his mother's summerhouse," Bill tried to reason with Sam and calm him.

"No. I have a bad feeling. If he was all right, they would have called by now. I'm going to call Bo and . . ."

Before Sam had a chance to finish, the phone rang.

Sam froze.

Bill quickly picked it up.

"Bill, it's Bo. Okay, just listen before you say anything. If Sam is there, I don't want him losin' it. We found Todd at the summerhouse. He had some seizures and they think he has pneumonia. They're taking him to University Hospital. It's about a mile and a half south of the summerhouse. Susannah is riding with him. Viki and T�a are with me. Sam needs to get here ASAP. I called Asa. He's going to send another company helicopter there for you. It should get you here in about ninety minutes. Can you keep Sam together long enough to get him here?"

"I'll try my best," Bill responded in a low voice.

Sam had been holding his breath. He was too terrified to speak. In his heart, he knew the call was about Todd.

"Sam," Bill began gently. "They found Todd at his step dad's house. He's having some problems. They're taking him to a hospital near there. Viki, T�a, Susannah and Bo are all with him. Asa is sending a helicopter for us. We'll be with Todd very soon."

Sam stood silently for a few seconds. Finally, in a barely audible voice he asked, "It's bad, isn't it?"

Bill told him what he knew.

"I did this to him. I listened to Blair and did this to him," Sam whispered.

"You love Todd. You did what you did out of love," Bill told him. "Now your boy needs you Sam. So does Viki. Blaming yourself isn't going to help. You have to keep it together for them."

Sam's chin trembled as he nodded. His eyes looked dazed. Nevertheless, he stayed calm. His only thought was getting to his loved ones.

********

"Dorian, she won't talk to me," Blair cried. Dorian had arrived at the penthouse shortly after dawn. "She hasn't said a word since last night. She hates me," Blair whined.

"Starr could never hate you," Dorian responded in a firm voice.

"You haven't seen her," Blair pointed out. "She cried for so long and then she went into Todd's room and crawled into his bed and fell asleep. She woke up about a half hour ago. I asked her if she wanted some breakfast. She gave me a dirty look and refused to answer me. She's still up there. She found one of Timmy's toys. She's just sitting on the bed, holding the toy close to her heart."

"I'll go upstairs and talk to her," Dorian offered.

"Dorian, don't. I think it will make things worse. She's furious with you and Mel too. She thinks we all conspired to keep her away from Todd when he needed her."

"What! Well, that young lady needs to be straightened out about that right now."

"No! Dorian, leave her alone. You know how much she adores Todd. She's terrified she lost him." Blair began to cry again. "And she just might have."

*********

University Hospital

Mount Joy

************

Bo pulled up to the ambulance bay. He let Viki and T�a out. He then went to park the car.

Viki and T�a watched as the ambulance doors opened. The legs of the stretcher Todd was on opened as it hit the pavement. A nurse rushed out to great them as they quickly wheeled Todd into the ER.

The paramedic quickly gave the nurse the information. "Patient is a twenty-nine-year-old white male found in a family cabin in status epilepticus. Past medical history obtained at the scene from his doctor includes epilepsy, anemia, mild cardiomyopathy, anorexia, mild renal insufficiency, depression, Dissociative Identity Disorder, PTSD. He's got a PEG tube. Here's a list of his meds." He handed the list to the triage nurse before he continued. "But he's probably been off them for several days. He was found lying on his back unresponsive to verbal and deep stimuli and in status. His lips were a little blue and it looked like there was some vomit around his mouth and nose. We checked his airway and it was clear of any foreign material. Breath sounds were distant and his respiratory rate was 27 at the scene. Heart rate was tachy at 125 beats per minute. We stabilized him. Put him on 100% O2. Got a line in. Started with D5 Normal saline, kept it wide open. Gave him 4 milligrams of Ativan, slow IV push and the seizures stopped. No drugs were found at the site. We gave him a milligram of Narcan and a hundred milligrams of thiamine rapid infusion to be on the safe side."

"Todd! Todd, can you hear me?" the nurse tried.

Todd gave no response.

Viki and T�a looked on with tears in their eyes.

"I need some help here," the triage nurse called out.

A tech, another nurse and a young doctor rushed to Todd. One of the EMTs got a hospital bed ready and brought it over and placed it against the stretcher Todd was on. With the doctor stabilizing Todd's head, a tech at his feet, the paramedic and EMT on the open side of the ER bed and two nurses on the open side of the stretcher, Todd was lifted up with the sheet and pulled from the stretcher to the bed on the count of three.

The EMT, paramedic and nurses quickly unstrapped Todd. They left the board under him. The neck brace remained in place.

The doctor listened to Todd's heart and lungs. "Take him to the resus room."

T�a turned to Susannah with frightened eyes. "What's that? Where are they taking him?"

"To the resuscitation room. Todd might need some help breathing." Susannah did her best to keep her voice calm. "It's the best place for him right now."

"Oh God," T�a said softly. She saw that tears were sliding down Viki's cheeks. T�a linked her arm though Viki's. "They'll be able to take the best care of him here. This looks like a good hospital."

When T�a and Viki started to follow Todd into the resus room, a nurse stopped them. "Please have a seat in the waiting room. The doctor will be out to speak with you shortly."

"No!" Viki and T�a protested at the same time.

"We need to be in there with him," Viki spoke for both of them. "Todd is mentally ill. He'll be terrified if he wakes up and finds he's among strangers."

"Doctor Hanen, please! Tell them," T�a pleaded.

"I'll be in there with Todd. I promise you will both get to see him once he's settled. If he calls for you, I will get you in to see him. Right now they have a lot of equipment to attach to Todd and he needs to be examined. That is difficult to do in a small area with family around." Susannah turned to Bo. "Please take T�a and Viki to the waiting room."

"No! Bo please," Viki cried. "Todd needs to know that we're there for him."

"Viki, I promise. I will make sure he knows," Susannah assured them again. "Please, you and T�a need to stay calm. And for now, you need to stay out of the way."

"You won't leave him, not even for a minute?" T�a asked.

"Not for a minute," Susannah promised. "I'll be in there with him. If he needs you, I'll ask one of the hospital staff to get you. I know how frightened you are and it won't be easy. Please try to stay calm for Todd's sake."

By the time Susannah entered the resus room they already had Todd undressed and hooked up to some equipment. A nurse was doing vitals on him.

"What do we have?" Susannah asked.

"BP is 90 over 50, respiration's 30, pulse is 129 and weak, temp 103.6," a nurse responded.

Another nurse said, "His pulse ox is 90 on 100%."

The first nurse that answered took Todd's blood pressure again. "It's dropping, 88 over 50."�

One of the doctors working on Todd gave an order. "Hang a bag of dopamine at 5 mics per minute. Put him on a hundred percent rebreather, get a blood gas, ER panel, blood cultures times two, tox screen, urinalysis, serum electrolytes, and U/A. Check a magnesium, calcium, BUN, creatinine and glucose, stat." He then turned to another nurse. "Give him a gram of Fosphenytoin"

The doctor who gave the previous order checked out Todd's mouth. "Looks like he may have aspirated. Let's give him 600 milligrams of Clindamycin now and then q 8. Call radiology and get them down here. I need head, neck and chest films now!"

Suddenly, Todd began to moan softly.

The doctor who listened to Todd's chest spoke to him first. "Todd, I'm Dr. Sharaby. You're at University Hospital. You were found unconscious and brought here to the Emergency Room by the paramedics."

"No, no!" Todd protested feebly.

"You need to relax. We're trying to help you," the doctor said gently.

"Delgado," Todd called out as strongly as he was able. He was sweating and pale. He stared at the doctor through squinting glassy eyes. Todd was obviously very ill. Nothing the doctor said had registered. "Delgado, where are you? Don't leave me. I have to tell you. Don't you go away. Delgado."

Susannah stepped closer to Todd. "Todd, it's Doctor Hanen. You're in a hospital in Mount Joy. T�a is right outside. She did not leave you. She's here with you. I'll have someone get her. Viki is here too, honey. I know this is scary. I want you to try to relax. They're going to take very good care of you here."

Susannah turned to one of the nurses. "Please ask someone to go to the waiting room and get Mrs. Manning. Her presence will help him."

"Delgado," Todd called out one more time.

"She's coming Todd. I just sent someone to get her." Susannah hoped Todd was able to understand.

Todd moaned. "Delgado," he cried out weakly. "Delgado, it's okay. I can love you. It's okay. It's okay for you to love me too. Delgado." Another coughing spasm racked Todd's body.

The doctor listened to Todd's chest again. He shook his head. "Not good," he commented. "He's tachy."

Another nurse handed him a slip of paper as she said, "His blood gasses just came back."

"Damn," the doctor muttered. "He's acidotic. He's not going to be able to breathe on his own much longer. He's going to have to go on a vent. Call ICU and get him a bed right away."

T�a came rushing in. "Todd. I'm here."

Todd's only response was a low moan.

"Querido, they said you wanted to see me. I had to go to the waiting room. I didn't want to leave you. I'm here now. Todd? Todd, it's T�a. Please, answer me. Todd!"

"I'm sorry," Susannah began gently. "I don't think he's able to answer you now."

"I wanted to be in here!" T�a looked around with fire in her eyes. "I wanted to be here with him and none of you would let me!" The fire was quickly replaced with tears. "Now he doesn't know I'm here."

"He knows," Susannah assured the distraught young woman. "T�a, he knows. He's just not able to respond to you right now. Todd wanted you to know that it's okay for him to love you and for you to love him."

T�a gasped at what Susannah told her. She held her hand to her mouth in an effort to keep from crying. She kissed Todd's cheek. It was burning hot. "I love you," T�a whispered close to his ear. "It is okay Todd. It's okay for us to love each other. Doctor Hanen told me that you wanted me to know that. I've always known that, mi amor. I love you more than I ever thought I could love anyone. I'll never leave you, Todd. I know that now as surely as I've ever known anything. I'll be here for you. All you have to do is fight this. You need to fight this and wake up and talk to me. I'll be right here with you, so will Viki, and Sam is on his way. We love you Todd. You're not alone and you never will be alone again. They might make me leave this room. No one will ever make me leave you again, not even you. If I'm not in here, next to you, I'll be right outside waiting for them to let me back in, just the way you did. You let me back in, and I'm here to stay."

Susannah placed her hand on T�a's shoulder. "T�a, I'm sorry. You are going to have to wait outside again. They're soon going to sedate Todd because he has to be placed on a ventilator."

"Oh God," T�a cried out.

Susannah put her arm around T�a's shoulders and hugged her. "Shhhh, I know. Todd is a fighter and I think now he really has something to fight for . . . you. I don't know what happened while Todd was in that cabin, but I think something huge happened to make Todd believe that it's safe to for you to love each other. I think that something is going to make him use all the fight that's in him to get back to you."

T�a looked Susannah in the eye and nodded. "Please, may I have just one more minute with him?"

Susannah looked to the doctor in charge. He nodded.

T�a kissed Todd lightly on the lips. She knew that soon the ventilator would make that much more difficult. "You have to come back to me, Todd. You know it's all right to love me and allow me to love you. You won't leave me. Do you hear me Todd? We know what it's like to be left by someone we love. You won't leave me!" T�a stroked Todd's head one more time and left the resus room.

"Films are back," another doctor called to the doctor in charge of Todd's case.

Susannah followed the doctors to the X-ray board.

"He's got diffuse infiltrates throughout the right lung field and the cardiac border on the right is absent. This guy definitely aspirated. He's got aspiration pneumonia," the doctor in charge declared.

*********