Choosing Happiness (16 page)

"How is she?" He kept his voice soft so as not to wake her.

"Sleeping," Sophia said. "She woke for a bit and they gave her something to eat but she wasn't happy with it. You'd think working here she'd get to like the food. She talked to us for just a little bit before falling back to sleep."

"It's good she's eaten, I'd worried about that." Jake pulled a chair closer to the bed and sat down.

"The nurse came by a little bit ago, she said Andrea probably won't wake again until morning." Sophia told him. "You don't have to stay all night, dear. You'll sleep better at home anyway."

"We'll see.” He glanced at Charles but didn’t say he had no intention of leaving. "I'm going to sit here a while either way. I know if I tried to sleep right now, I'd just have nightmares anyway."

"All right, dear, have it your way." Sophia stood and started to gather her things. "Ben said if you’re still here in the morning one of them would be here at about eight. That will let you go home and get a shower at least."

Charles waited until Sophia was ready go before he stood. "Go call the elevator, Soph, I'll be right there." He watched her head out of the room before he spoke again. "Sitting here watching her sleep won't help the nightmares. I don't know anything that will." He clapped Jake on the shoulder and left him alone with Andrea.

Later, after Jake had eaten and turned the television on, keeping the volume low, the duty nurse came in to check on Andrea.

She knocked softly on the still open door before coming in. "Oh, hello," she said when she spotted Jake. "I didn't realize there was anyone still in here."

"No problem, I'm Jake."

"I'm Lora, I'll be Andrea's nurse for tonight. One of the other nurses said you would probably be around. They told me to take good care of Andrea here. I understand she's one of our ER nurses."

"Do you know her?"

"I've seen her a few times in the hallways, but I don't really know her."

"What kind of bribe is it gonna take for you to let me stay with her tonight?"

"None. You don't cause any problems and I don't care if you stay."

"Really?"

"Yeah, you were so quiet in here I didn't realize you were still here. I have no problem with visitors like that."

"Great," Jake replied.

"You are aware, aren't you, that she probably won't wake again until morning?"

"Yeah, her mom told me before they left." Jake assured her.

"All right, I just wanted to be sure you knew." She finished checking Andrea and started for the door. "Oh, if you're going to stay all night that one over there," she pointed to an upholstered chair in the corner. "Reclines, you'll be more comfortable sleeping in that then in these hard ones. Just drag it up close to the bed if you want."

"Thanks, I'll do that." Jake said as she walked out of the room. The TV was a little company but there was nothing on that could keep his interest. He couldn’t keep his eyes off Andrea. It was almost as if he had to keep reminding himself that she was there and safe, despite the warmth of her hand in his.

After a while he moved the chair he was in out of the way and the recliner closer to the bed. He lined the chair up so he was facing Andrea, not the TV. This way, all he had to do to check on her was open his eyes. The new chair wasn’t particularly comfortable, but it was better than the other chair. He put the footrest up and leaned back, his eyes drifted shut and he dozed, waking several times as Andrea sighed or groaned in the bed and when the nurse came to check on her.

T
he sun streaming in the window and onto her face woke Andrea. The fiery burn in her left shoulder quickly reminded her where she was and why. She opened her eyes and looked around, trying not to move her body. Causing herself more pain than she already had wasn’t something she wanted to do. The TV over the bed was on, the volume turned so low she didn’t notice it at first. It hadn't been on when she fell asleep the night before, she was sure. Her parents must have left it on. Carefully, she turned her head, looking for the call button on the side panel of the bed, once she spotted it she used her uninjured arm to hit it.

While waiting for a nurse to appear she looked around the room. She may work in the hospital but she didn’t often see this part of it. She scanned the room and spotted someone stretched out in the reclining chair pulled close to her bed. It took her a few moments make her eyes focus enough to see it was Jake. Something deep inside her warmed at the sight of him asleep in the uncomfortable chair so he could be close to her.

A light tapping on the door took Andrea's attention from Jake. A woman in scrubs came in, the nurse was about her age, with blonde hair pulled back in a knot on the back of her head so Andrea couldn’t tell how long.

"You called?" The nurse spoke softly, as if trying not to wake the sleeping man.

"I need a few things. First though is something for the pain, if I can have it." Andrea closed her eyes for several seconds before opening them again.

"I have something right here." She pulled a syringe from her pocket. "The doctor left orders and I thought you might want it when you buzzed, so I brought it with me." She moved around the bed to the IV stand and injected the liquid into the tube running into Andrea's arm. “My name’s Sarah by the way.”

The footrest on the chair next to the bed flipped down, startling Andrea and making her jump. Pain shot through her shoulder and arm. She sucked air between clenched teeth and took several deep breaths. She turned and found Jake sitting up, wide awake. "We didn't mean to wake you."

"I wasn't really sleeping." Jake scrubbed one hand over his face. "I've dozed off and on all night."

"What's next?" Sarah asked from the other side of the bed.

Andrea turned her attention back to look at her. "I need to use the restroom."

"All right. Orders say you can get up if you feel up to it, with assistance."

"Let's give that medication a few minutes to kick in and we'll see how I feel."

"All right."

"Do I need to call you to help me or can I have him help?” Andrea tilted her head slightly in Jake’s direction.

"If you don't mind him taking you to the bathroom, he can help. Just call if you need more assistance." The nurse said.

"One more thing." Andrea stopped the nurse before she left.

"Yes?"

"I'm starving, when's breakfast?"

"It should be around in about an hour."

"All right. Am I on any kind of restricted diet?"

"I don't think so, but let me check," Sarah said. "I'll be back in a few minutes with that." She left the room pulling the door almost closed behind her.

"Why'd you want to know if you're on a special diet?" Jake asked.

"I figure someone's gonna be in soon and we can call and have them bring me something decent to eat. If not, I can send you out to get it." Andrea told him with a faint smile.

Jake laughed. "Your mom said you weren't thrilled with the food last night."

"Nope, the stuff in the cafeteria's slightly better, but not much. I only eat it under extreme duress."

Jake shook his head. "You're right by the way, Ben and Jeanie are supposed to be in some time this morning."

"Why did you stay here all night instead of going home and sleeping in your own bed?" She tilted her head to one side.

"I got more sleep here than I would have there. I needed to be near you."

"You didn't have to do that."

"I did."

Andrea shifted some, grimacing as she hit the button to lift the head of the bed.

"How are you feeling?" Jake asked. "You said you were hurting."

"I was, but Sarah gave me something. It’s better."

The nurse knocked on the door again before pushing it open. "Here we are." She pushed a wheeled IV stand as she came into the room. "I double checked, you have no dietary restrictions and I thought you would need this. Especially if you're going to get up and use the bathroom.

"Also, you’re going to need this," she pulled a sling from a nearby cabinet. "It will help keep the weight of your arm off your wound. We'd hate to have all the work they did in surgery undone, wouldn't we?" She carefully helped Andrea into the sling, maneuvering the IV tube so it wouldn't tangle in the straps. This way Andrea could move around a little without fear of making her injury worse.

"Thanks, I was just starting to consider that," Andrea said as the nurse lifted the IV bag from the stand attached to the bed and hung it on the one she'd brought.

"Breakfast will be about an hour, I double checked that too. If you need anything else, just call." She watched them a moment then headed for the door.

"Will do," Andrea said with a faint smile.

"You ready to get up? Jake asked from his seat beside her.

"I'm ready to try, but it's not going to be quick."

"That's okay. Just tell me what to do."

"Come around to the other side of the bed."

Jake pushed himself out of the chair and did as she asked.

"I need to sit up first, can you help me with that?"

Jake carefully slid one arm behind her and helped her sit up straight.

She took a deep breath and let it out, preparing herself for the next step. Scissoring her legs back and forth, she tried to twist her body in the bed. Seeing what she was trying to do Jake threw the blanket back and, gripping her calves, turned her so her legs hung off the edge and she faced him.

"Stop trying to do everything yourself.” He scowled. "I'm here to help, not watch you struggle."

Andrea took another deep breath.

"All right." She took several more breaths before looking up again, bracing herself. "This is what we're gonna do. I'm going to slide off the edge of the bed and land on my feet. You need to be ready to catch me if my legs don't hold."

"I can do that but how are you going push off of the bed?”

She blinked at him. "Got me there."

"How about this." He looked her in the eye. "I grab your waist and slide you off the bed onto your feet, that way if your legs don't hold I've already got you."

She thought about it for a second or two, trying not to focus on the throbbing ache in her shoulder. "All right. Let's do it."

Jake wrapped his hands around her waist, careful not to jar her arm or tangle in her IV tube. "One, two, three." On three he pulled her slowly toward the edge of the bed, careful to keep up with her as he let her slide off the bed and fall the last couple of inches to land on her feet.

As her feet hit the floor Andrea gasped and her eyes went wide.

"How are you doing?" Jake asked, his hands still gripping her waist.

"Legs are good," Andrea’s voice was high with pain. "Shoulder didn’t like that. Remind me not to do that again."

"Can do. Do you want to call it off? Get back up on the bed and try again later?" He offered.

"No, I'm gonna do this." Her voice was hard with determination.

Jake smiled as if he’d known that would be her answer.

"Can you push that over here?" she asked, pointing to the IV stand that the nurse had brought in.

He pulled the stand over to her right side so she could hold it with her good hand and move it with her as she went, then helped her loop the extra tubing around her neck so it wouldn't get tangled in her feet or drag along the floor.

"All right." Andrea took another deep breath. "Let's try moving. I need you to walk with me. Be ready to catch me should I slip or fall."

"No problem." He hovered nearby as she shuffled her feet and moved away from the bed, falling into step behind her. He was ready to catch her should the need arise but she made it to the bathroom door with no problems and stepped inside.

"Do you need help or do you want me to stay out here?"

"I think I can manage."

"Let me know if you need help," he said. "Do you want me to call Ben and make your breakfast request?"

"Sure. That would be good."

"What do you want?"

"Something edible."

Jake laughed. "I'll tell him that." He caught her eye one more time. "Don't try to come out on your own. Call out and I'll come help you."

"I will," she promised.

Jake pulled the door shut and grabbed his cell from the table near the bed and dialed Ben.

"Hey, what's up?" Ben's voice came on the line.

"Andrea's awake. She has a request for you."

"What's she want?"

"I quote 'something edible'."

Ben laughed. "Can do. I was just about to leave. It'll take me a bit to stop and pick her up something but I shouldn't be long."

"No problem, she's in the bathroom now, but I'm certain they won't be letting her go today, so we'll be here."

"All right, I'll see you when I get there."

"Later." Jake set his phone on the table that extended over the foot of the bed as he heard Andrea call out.

He opened the bathroom door slightly. "You ready for me?" he asked.

"Yeah, come on in," she replied.

He pushed the door open and found her standing in front of the sink, the back of her gown still hanging open. He stepped up behind her without a word, he took the laces and tied them behind her neck and waist before dropping a gentle kiss to the top of her head. He looked at her in the mirror and found her watching him.

"Can you help me wash my hand?" she asked. "I've discovered it's next to impossible to wash just one hand."

"Sure." He stepped around her to the side of the sink, careful of the IV stand, and turned on the water before using his hands on both sides of hers to wash all three at the same time. He grabbed a few paper towels and dried hers before moving on to his own. "You ready to get back to bed?" He tossed the wet papers in the trash.

"Yeah." She grabbed the IV tree and started shuffling toward the door. Jake held it open and followed her to the bed. She stopped at the foot of the bed and looked down at the pedals near the floor, frowning.

"What is it?"

"I want to lower the bed, so I don't slide out and hurt like that again, but I'm not sure enough of my balance to do it. Can you help?"

"Tell me what to do and I'll do it."