Title: Silent Night Author: Alison (alleyb178@yahoo.com) Author's note: This is in response to Tracy's challenge (Thanks for explaining it to me Melly!) I hope you all like it. Oh and I'm not a doctor, everything I've learned has come from "ER" so if I got some of my medical procedures or jargon wrong, I apologize! Disclaimer: The usual stuff: these characters aren't mine and I don't intend to harm them in any way. They belong to David E Kelley and 'The Practice'. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Lindsay sat by the window in the office with a beer in her hand, watching the snow fall softly outside. It has been a full year, she realized, since she and Bobby shared that special kiss during the office Christmas party, yet it felt like only yesterday. She remembered the bliss she felt when they had finally kissed, remembered her anxiety about being in a real relationship with him. It had been an amazing time, but so much had happened since then. There was the nun killer, the drama of Kittleson's crush on Bobby, the fighting with Ellenor and of course the stabbing and the revelation that the man who had seemed so innocent had caused her suffering. It had been a long year after all; she drank her beer thoughtfully. Bobby watched her from the doorway. He had just arrived from a late meeting to find his fiancée reflectively sipping a beer. She is so beautiful, he thought. He had so often watched her sleep, with the same peaceful expression, it always made him feel so inexpressibly happy to be with her. "Hey," he said softly, breaking her from her reverie. She looked over, at first startled by his presence. "Hey." "You didn't have to wait for me," he said, sitting down next to her. "Yeah. I wasn't going to, but I got to thinking...you know..." she was unsure as to how to continue. "About what?" "The past year, you...me...how lucky I have been this year. Being stabbed really puts things in perspective." "I'm sure it does," he said wryly. She smiled suddenly, all tension released from her face. "Lets go!" She jumped up to get her coat. Bobby took her hand as they walked out of the building, it was still cold from the beer. "You're cold," he realized. "I'm sure you'll soon make me warm," she joked. "What are you suggesting?" "Nothing!" she replied innocently. The party they were heading to was at Helen's and Ellenor's. It was the first party since the awful night where the truth about George Vogelman was revealed. Ellenor and Helen answered the door, still haunted by the events those months ago. "It's about time you guys got here!" Helen cried, hugging Lindsay vigorously. "Whoa! What's gotten into you?" "What's wrong with a little party spirit?" "That's not the only spirit you've had. Where's the vodka?" Lindsay joked. "Are you implying that I've had too much to drink?" "Not implying, I know you've had too much." "Well, I'll let you in anyway. Now, I don't want any of this hanky panky between the two of you tonight. Last Christmas was enough." "Oh damn. We'll have to go somewhere else then," Bobby joked. Ellenor looked at them, wide eyed. "Now that's too much information for me. I know you're a couple, hell, soon you'll be married, but that's all I need to know." Helen led them into the kitchen for drinks and promptly left them when the doorbell rang again. The party was in full swing with Christmas carols blasting across the room and people talking in happy groups. It looked like the beginnings of a great party, something everyone in the firm was in need of. -------------------------------------------------------------------- "Brrrring Brrrring!" "Wha!?" Bobby awoke with a start, bleary eyed and slightly hung over. He tried to disentangle himself from Lindsay's arms and legs without success. The clock showed that it was already midday, the party had finished at 4am. "Ugh." Lindsay groaned. "Brrrring Brrrring!" "'Lo?" "Uh...is that Bobby Donnell?" The voice asked crisply. "Yeah." "Mr. Donnell, this is Dr. Mackenzie from St. Ann's Hospital." Bobby was instantly alert, "Yes?" "Your father, Stephen Donnell, was admitted a couple of hours ago with chest pains. We diagnosed a minor heart attack and began treatment. He then suffered a major heart attack in the ER, which required surgery. He is currently undergoing a triple bypass operation, but he asked us to call you..." "How is he?" The urgency in his voice woke Lindsay who was still groaning from the night before. "He's in a very serious condition, Mr. Donnell. We suggest you come here as soon as possible." "Of course. Thank you!" He hung up the phone and in a panic tried to get dressed, start coffee and explain to Lindsay all at once. Lindsay, watching the panic, intervened. "Bobby, you're not going to find any of your socks in my drawer. Here." She opened his drawers and located his socks. "I know this is hard, Bobby, but being in a panic isn't going to help any. He's in surgery, so we won't be able to see him or talk to the doctors for a while, so you get dressed and I'll get the coffee." "He's my father." Bobby's voice cracked and the tears began flooding his eyes. "I know, sweetie. But he's going to be fine. Heart attacks these days can be treated so well." "He's the only one I have left, other than you. And I almost lost you this year too." "I'm still here, Bobby, and he will be too." She wrapped her arms around him, letting him cry on her shoulder. "I love you," he whispered as the tears subsided. "I love you too." -------------------------------------------------------------------- The glare of the waiting room and the antiseptic smell was beginning to make Bobby feel nauseous. They had been waiting for over an hour with no sign of how the surgery was going. Lindsay returned with coffee, the third since they had arrived. "The nurse put a call through to the surgeons to see how it was going. They said that it was going as planned." "What the hell does that mean?" "I guess we'll have to take it that it is going well." "Hmm." One of the doctors finally appeared and summoned them out of the waiting room. "Mr. Donnell, I'm Dr. Mackenzie, I talked to you on the phone." "How is he?" "As well as can be expected. He's still unconscious from the surgery, so you can't talk to him, but I can take you up to see him." The doctor looked at Lindsay, "Are you also a relative?" "No," Bobby answered, "This is Lindsay Dole, my fiancée." "Oh, hi. You can come up too, if you like." "Thank you." As they entered the curtained off section of the ICU, Bobby was hit by a wave of déjà vu, images from Lindsay's attack again came rushing back into his consciousness. He sat by his father and took his hand. "Hey Dad. I'm here and Lindsay's here too. Where going to stay right here until you wake up, okay?" He paused as if waiting for an answer, but no answer came. Lindsay sat on the other side of the bed and took his other hand. This was a man that Bobby held in such high esteem, a man that she had only briefly met months ago. He had been happy about the engagement and had made jokes to her about how it was about time Bobby settled down instead of dating all those dreadful bimbos. Lindsay had grown to respect and admire him form those few occasions, but she certainly didn't know him. It was hard for her to find the right words to express her concern for this man she knew so little of. "Hi Mr.-.... Uh...Stephen." Remembering that he had asked her to call him by his first name. "Like Bobby says, we'll be right here." She felt inadequate at her lack of sympathetic words, but Bobby looked as though he hadn't noticed. It was later that night when the old man stirred from his sleep and the nurses promptly hurried into the room at the change and checked his vitals, happy about his condition. Lindsay woke but lay quietly, watching the bustle proceed around her, which was slowly subsiding. She thought about waking Bobby from his induced sleep, but decided against it, and sat by her soon-to-be father in-law. He saw her and tried to talk, the result being a dry, hoarse whisper. "Lindsay," at this she took his hand and smiled. "Where's Bobby?" "Sleeping, do you want me to wake him?" "No.... Let him sleep." "Are you comfortable?" "Yes." He paused, swallowing. "I'm sorry about this." "About what?" "About being a burden." "Stephen, you're not being a burden. You can't help being sick. Just concentrate on getting better, we'll be right here the whole time." He smiled, finding it hard to find the energy to talk. "I'm glad he found you." He whispered, and with the words ringing in her ears and tears beginning to form in her eyes, she watched him close his eyes peacefully. Bobby woke with the heaviness that comes with a large dose of sleeping tablets. Lindsay wasn't in the room and a nurse was watching over his father. "Hi," she said brightly. "I'm Heather and I'll be looking after you're father today." "Hi," he said sleepily. "How is he?" "He woke up during the night and everything is looking good. He should recover with no problems." Bobby sighed gratefully. "Where's Lindsay?" "Oh yes, I met her a few hours ago. She went to get some breakfast and a change of clothes. She said she'd bring some back for you too." "Oh...Thanks. Where can I get some coffee?" "Turn right out of this room and go down the hall. You'll come to a room that says, "relative's waiting room". There's coffee and croissants in there." "Thanks." He left to get his morning dose of caffeine, meeting Lindsay who was on her way back from their apartment. "Hey," she said, kissing him quickly. "How is he?" "The nurse says he's doing fine. "That's great." She handed him a carry bag. "Here's some clothes. They told me that there was a shower next to the relative's rooms." "Thanks. I'll be out in a second." "Okay." She hurried back to the ICU to find the nurses in a frenzy and alarms sounding. It was enough to wake the patients out of their comas, she thought, and made her way to Stephen's room. It was only as she entered that she realized that it was Stephen who was requiring all the attention. Nurses and doctor's exchanged medical jargon over his body and after a short time they returned his vitals to an acceptable level. Bobby returned to find the last of the medical staff double checking all the screens. "What happened?" He asked, alarmed. The doctor looked over, "He began having a little trouble with his breathing and we had to resuscitate him. I'll get Dr. Mackenzie to talk to you." She hurried out of the room and soon returned with the other doctor. "Bobby, everything's fine now, he just had a little trouble breathing and we had to resuscitate him. Our only concern is that he stopped breathing for about a minute before we could bring him back and we can never be sure as to the extent of damage in the brain when that happens. But he should be fine. I've got another patient to attend to, but I'll be back soon." They hurried away again. Helen arrived a short time later in answer to a call from Lindsay, who needed a break from the medical staff and, frankly, from Bobby. "Hey Babe." Helen called, a trace of sympathy in her voice. "Hey." "Are you okay?" this time the sympathy was obvious. "Yeah. Can we get out of here for a while? There's a café across the street." "Sure. Does Bobby know where you are?" "Yeah, I left him by his father's bedside. This is all too much for him I think. He sat by his mother's bed, then mine and now his father's; I had to get out of there and now I feel guilty that I'm not helping him through this." "Whoa, you do need a break. Lets go." They made their way to the café and Lindsay ordered tea. "Tea!?" Helen asked, astounded. "Do you know how much coffee I've had in the last two days? I'm surprised I haven't gone into shock from a caffeine overdose." "But I have never known you to drink tea. You were right to call me out here, you definitely need help!" "Funny." She stopped and looked as though she felt anything but funny. "Do you want to talk about it?" Helen asked, the sympathy creeping back into her voice. "I just don't know what to do. I feel like I'm abandoning Bobby if I go home and start getting my life back to normal. I haven't started Christmas shopping and it's already the 23rd. So you'll be going without a present this year...sorry," she smiled twistedly at Helen's indignation. "But I don't know if I can stay here like this. Always acting the sympathetic wifey figure. I am concerned, don't get me wrong, but I hardly know him. I know him only through Bobby's eyes." "Have you talked to Bobby about this?" "What do I say? 'Bobby darling, I know you love you're father, but I have a life to lead, so by-by, I'll see you when he's well again'?" "You don't have to be sarcastic." "Sorry. Anyway, lets not talk about it. How was the party? I didn't see you all night." "It was great wasn't it?" She smiled secretively. "Hey! What happened?" "What do you mean?" "I know that smile, Helen. Who's the lucky guy?" "All I'll say is that you know him and so I am not going to tell you." "Oh come on! Did you sleep with him?" "No! Of course not," she smiled again. "Okay, I'll tell you. It's Mike." "Detective Mike!?" "Yes. What's wrong with that?" "I'm just surprised, that's all. He's a nice guy." "He asked me to spend Christmas with him, but I told him that I was going to be spending it with you and Bobby. Are you guys still going to be holding the lunch?" Lindsay sighed again, the old concerns coming back to her. "I don't know. It all depends on how Stephen is. Bobby isn't going to want to leave him, and I don't want to do everything myself. So, probably not. Can you call everyone?" "Sure." "I'd better go back. I'm glad about Mike." "Take care Lindsay. I'll try to get back here tomorrow" "Okay. Thanks Helen." "Bye." Lindsay watched her leave and wandered back up to the ICU where Bobby was still faithfully sitting by his father's bed. This time, however, his father was awake and was talking. "Lindsay," Stephen whispered again. "Stephen, how are you feeling?" "I'm fine. You have to tell Bobby to go home and get some proper sleep." "I've tried, but he won't listen. He insists on staying here with you." "He's a pigheaded boy and always has been. But I've told him many times before, he's got to listen to you, you've got more sense than him." "I don't know about that." Lindsay smiled. "Don't be modest. He told me that you make him come home from work at a reasonable hour these days. I've been trying to tell him that for years. He never listens to me." "Yes he does. He just doesn't like to show it." Bobby listened silently and Stephen turned to him with a sparkle in his eye. "You do everything you can to keep this one, son." Lindsay was touched. She sat down next to Bobby and put her arms around him, smiling at Stephen. "I won't let him lose me." He laughed at this and suddenly looked tired. "Let me rest now, Bobby. It's been a long afternoon." "Sleep well, Dad." Bobby walked out into the corridor and Lindsay followed him. "Tell me honestly, Lindsay, do you want to go home?" "It would be nice to sleep in our own bed tonight." "Okay, lets go." "Are you serious? We don't have to if you don't want to Bobby." "He's going to be ok," the relief was obvious in his voice. "I think he is." He took Lindsay's hand and led her out of the hospital. As soon as they got into their apartment he began to kiss her with a passion she hadn't ever felt in him before. She succumbed to his advances and kissed him back, the relief flowing through both of them. Things were back to normal. "Brrrring Brrring!" Déjà vu hit Bobby as he was once again woken from his sleep by the phone. He again tried to disentangle himself from Lindsay's embrace, seeing the illuminated numbers on the clock as he did. "5am." He groaned. Lindsay awoke as he leaned over her to get to the phone. "Hello?" "Bobby, this is Dr. Mackenzie. You'd better come down here, it doesn't look good." Bobby hung up the phone and threw Lindsay some clothes. "Something's wrong, Dr. Mackenzie didn't say what, but we have to go." They rushed into the hospital and were met by the bubbly nurse, Heather. She led them quickly up to the ICU to see the Doctor. "He stopped breathing again, this time it took much longer to get him going again. His heart seems to be just giving up. I'm so sorry." He led them in to the room, where the semi-conscious Stephen was breathing shallowly. He noticed their arrival and tried to talk. "One of those times...mind willing...but body not." He smiled ironically. "Oh, Dad." "I guess I'll finally get to see your mother again...I've missed her so much." He looked at Lindsay and smiled again, this time with pleasure. "You take care of my boy, Lindsay." She smiled back with tears in her eyes, "Of course I will, Stephen." He smiled and drifted back into his semi-conscious haze. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Lindsay looked at the clock on the wall. 11:30pm. They had been waiting by his bedside all day, waiting to see if he would emerge out of his sleep to talk again. Instead he drifted into a heavier slumber, the doctors unsure whether he would ever wake up again. Bobby hadn't said a word all day, except to say thank you when the kind nurses brought coffee and snacks. He had always been secretive about his feelings, preferring to hold them inside then share them with her. She didn't pressure him to share now, knowing what he was going through. He had wanted desperately to have his father present when they got married, had looked forward to the day when he could watch his father play with his grandchildren. Now it looked as though the day would never come. Lindsay looked at the clock again. 11:55pm. Almost Christmas, she realized. The nurses arrived with another ration of coffee and donuts, whispering Merry Christmas as they handed them to her and Bobby. The night continued slowly. At about 2am, Lindsay watched Bobby fall asleep in his chair and an hour later she too surrendered to the pleasures of sleep. 'What a Christmas' she thought sleepily and wondered whether the angels were watching down on them. She said a quick prayer, in case they were listening. "I don't know if anyone's up there, I'm not Catholic, but please, if you can hear me, bring him back to us. For Bobby's sake, let him live." -------------------------------------------------------------------- The Christmas morning light streamed in through the window, onto the three sleeping figures. It woke Bobby with its energy. He automatically turned his eyes on his father, to see if the night had brought any progress. His father's eyes shone back at him. "They didn't want me up there. They turned me around and told me to try again next time." Stephen whispered. Bobby leaned over to hug him as best as he could, given the circumstances. "You're mother's proud of you." Stephen whispered and watched the joy on his son's face. They both turned and looked at Lindsay, who was sleeping peacefully. "I know." Bobby replied. THE END!!! -------------------------------------------------------------------- Well? Did you like it? I didn't intend for it to get so sentimental, but there it is. My response to Tracy's challenge, please e-mail me with feedback. --------------------------------------------------------------------