Karen D. Badger - Yesterday Once More (48 page)

Maggie, please stay away from the edge. Please! I’m coming, my love, I’m coming. Please let me reach her in time.

Jordan pushed her mount as hard as she could and almost gave up hope until she spotted Maggie on the horizon, galloping freely across the plains, directly toward the edge of the cliffs.

“Maggie!” she screamed. “Maggie, stop!”

Jordan’s screams were ineffective. The distance between them and the sound of the crashing surf below the cliffs drowned out any chance that Maggie would hear her.

Jordan silently asked her horse for forgiveness as she dug her heels in once more in an attempt to get just a little more speed out of the animal. Her efforts paid off as she began to close the distance between them. Again, she attempted to call out to Maggie, and again, her efforts were for naught. Finally, when she had closed the distance to within thirty feet, she heard a shot ring out. Maggie’s horse suddenly reared up very close to the edge of the cliff.

* * *

“Kale, Jordan left us a message. It’s time to bring her home,” Andi said as she entered the lab.

“Okay. Let’s do this,” Kale replied, powering the system up.

“Two minutes to surge,” Andi said. “Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two... ready... surge!”

* * *

Maggie stood in the saddle in an attempt to steady herself and calm the animal as it continued to rear up.

“Maggie!” Jordan shouted once more. She was now only twenty feet from Maggie.

Maggie looked up and saw Jordan just as she lost her footing and began to tumble off the horse.

“No,” Jordan screamed, reaching for anything she could cling to. Just as her fingers made contact with the collar of Maggie’s jacket—the same jacket that Jordan had lent to her on the steps of her bunkhouse so many months earlier—she felt the now-familiar tingling in her body as though every muscle had fallen asleep and was now awakening. She realized immediately what was happening. “Kale! No, not now. For heaven’s sake, not now!” she screamed.

* * *

The power surge passed over Kale and Andi as they watched Jordan appear on the platform. Then, the unthinkable happened. Jordan’s figure began to fade again as though she were somehow resisting the retrieval.

“Do something,” Andi shouted.

“I... I don’t know what to do,” Kale said.

They stood by helplessly as Jordan began to fade away. Then, as suddenly as it began, the process reversed itself and Jordan appeared once more on the platform.

“Power down,” Andi ordered, running toward Jordan.

Kale powered down the rings as fast as he could. Moments later, he ran toward the machine where Andi had climbed onto the platform and had gathered Jordan into her arms. She was rocking the frail, gray-haired Jordan back and forth while cradling her close to her breast.

“Andi?” Kale said softly.

Andi looked at Kale with tear-filled eyes. “She’s gone, Kale. She’s gone.”

Kale glanced up at the lab technician assisting him. Then he returned his gaze to the rodent trying furiously to escape his grasp. “Okay, Dave, I’ll hold the little bugger while you slightly increase the current to the implant. I’ll tell you when to stop.” Kale was in the middle of an experiment on a rat in which damaged musculoskeletal nerves were replaced with synthetic fiber optics. Just as Dave completed the first incremental step, Kale’s communicator chimed loudly.

“Hello?”

It was a hysterical Andi. “Kale! Jordan is hurt. Come quickly!”

Kale felt like someone had punched him in the stomach. “Andi, slow down. Tell me what happened. Where are you?”

“We’re at the hospital. She was on the bus. It went off the road and rolled over. She’s in the hospital. Please, come quickly.”

“I’m on my way. Hold on, love. I’m on my way.”

Kale grabbed his jacket and ran from the building. The University of Vermont was affiliated with the Fletcher Allen Health Care teaching hospital, and the laboratory was located just on the other side of the parking lot opposite the emergency room. Realizing he could cover the distance between the lab and the hospital quicker on foot than by trying to find his vehicle in the vast parking lot, he set off running, making it to the emergency room within five minutes of Andi’s call. Andi met him at the door. He grabbed her by the shoulders. “Where is she?” he asked desperately.

Andi was barely able to speak as she pointed to the door of an examination room. “They took her in there.”

Kale was frantic as he ran toward the door, only to be stopped by a resident who would not permit him entry.

“I’m afraid you can’t go in there,” the resident informed him.

“I’m afraid I don’t care,” Kale responded as he tried to push his way past the man. “Let me by,” he said.

“I said no. You’ll need to see the doctor if you want a status.”

Just then, Peter Michaels exited the room Kale was attempting to gain access to. “Peter! Peter... how is she?” By this time Andi had joined Kale and was clinging tightly to his arm.

Peter took Kale by the arm and walked him a few feet away from the door. Andi followed closely. “She’s stable. As stable as she can be considering her condition.”

Andi stepped forward. She was clearly distraught as she wiped the tears from her cheeks. “Tell me, Peter. How bad is she?”

Peter looked back and forth between Andi and Kale. “Judging by the severity of her injuries, it’s apparent she was violently thrown around the bus.” Peter ran his hand through his hair then looked at his friends and coworkers once more. “All indications are that she’s broken her back and probably severed her spinal cord completely.”

Andi nearly collapsed and Kale supported her with an arm around her waist. “No,” she moaned.

Kale felt he needed to be strong for Andi’s sake, and tried hard not to cry. “Can we see her?”

Peter nodded. “Of course. They’ll be prepping her for surgery soon to further stabilize her spine, so you’ll only have a few moments. We’ll let you know as soon as she’s been settled into Intensive Care.”

Kale nodded. He tightened his arm around Andi and led her into Jordan’s room. Peter followed close behind. Andi was shaking uncontrollably. “She looks so small and helpless!”

Kale nodded, unable to speak for fear of losing control. As they approached the bed they separated, with Andi on one side and Kale on the other. Kale leaned over the small form lying in the bed and kissed her on the cheek. “Jordan, honey, Daddy’s here. Mommy’s here too, baby.” Andi rubbed the back of the girl’s hand as Kale spoke. “You’re going to be all right, sweetie. Mommy and I will be right here waiting for you to wake up, okay?”

Andi inhaled deeply to control the tears that cascaded down her face. She too leaned in close to the injured child. “We love you, sweetheart. You’ll be better soon. Just wait and see.”

Peter motioned to them that time was up as the technicians entered the room to wheel the child to the operating room. Andi looked at Peter and nodded, then turned back to her daughter. “Jordie... the doctors are here to take care of you, but we’ll be here when you come back, okay? Mommy and Daddy love you, honey.”

Andi and Kale kissed their child tenderly then stood together by the window as they watched the technicians move the five-yearold Jordan from the room.

* * *

Andi paced back and forth across the floor of the waiting room as Kale sat hunched over with his head in his hands. Every few moments Andi blew her nose, left runny by nonstop weeping. Kale felt totally helpless as his baby girl lay clinging to life on the operating table and his wife paced worriedly across the floor in front of him. Few words passed between them as they waited for news of their child.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, a man wearing a white lab coat entered the room. He looked at the clipboard in his hand before addressing Kale and Andi. “Mr. and Mrs. Simmons?”

They were on their feet immediately. Together, they approached the man who extended his hand to them. “My name is Dr. Lewis. I’ll be evaluating your daughter’s condition.”

Kale looked at the man’s nametag as he firmly shook his hand.

Dr. Jordan Lewis. What the hell?

His eyes moved from the nametag to the man’s face. He appeared to be around fifty years old, and something about him felt familiar to Kale. “Dr. Lewis,” Kale replied as he shook the man’s hand and then stepped aside to afford the same courtesy to Andi.

“How is she?” Andi asked.

Dr. Lewis smiled. “She made it through surgery just fine. I won’t be sure about the extent of her injuries or her chances for recovery until I’ve had a chance to examine her holograph.”

“When can we see her?” Kale asked.

“They’re moving her to the ICU right now. You should be able to see her in a couple of hours.”

Andi noticed the doctor’s nametag as Dr. Lewis answered Kale’s question. She gasped and gently elbowed Kale in the ribs to call his attention to the badge. Kale briefly glanced at his wife and acknowledged that he was aware of it.

Dr. Lewis scribbled a few comments on his clipboard. “I encourage you to get something to eat while you wait. There’s a cafeteria downstairs that serves hot meals. Neither of you will be of any use to your daughter if you don’t take care of yourselves. You can stop by the nurse’s station at the ICU afterward and they’ll be able to direct you to your daughter’s room. I’ll check on her as soon as she’s settled in.”

Kale stopped the doctor as he turned to leave. “Dr. Lewis?”

The doctor stopped his retreat and turned back to Kale. “Yes?”

“We couldn’t help but notice your nametag.” Kale looked at Andi, then back at the doctor. “We... we knew a Jordan Lewis. In fact, we were very close to her.” He cleared his throat before continuing. “We loved her very much. So much that we named our daughter after her.”

Dr. Lewis simply nodded, then left the room. Outside the waiting room, he stopped and leaned against the wall. After taking a deep breath, he scanned the papers attached to his clipboard.

Simmons, Jordan. Age 5. Parents: Kale and Andrea Simmons.

Dr. Lewis pressed the back of his head into the wall and closed his eyes.

It’s them!

* * *

Kale stood at the window of Jordan’s room and looked out over the city. A canopy of stars stood guard over the night and streetlights dotted the scenery below. Andi sat at her daughter’s bedside and hummed nursery tunes in time to the various monitors that beeped in harmony with her voice. Both parents waged internal battles between hope and desperation as they waited for their daughter to regain consciousness.

After a time, their vigil was interrupted by Peter’s arrival. Andi looked up at him with expectation and hope on her face.

“Peter?”

Peter walked over to the bed and placed his hand on Jordan’s forehead. He addressed Kale and Andi without taking his eyes from Jordan. “She’s a beautiful child, very much like her namesake.”

Kale approached Peter and placed a hand on his shoulder. “What can you tell us?”

Peter turned to address Kale and Andi. “As you might guess, she’s in pretty rough shape. We know her spinal cord is severed, but we have yet to determine just how catastrophic her injury is. I assume you’ve met Dr. Lewis?”

“Yes,” Kale replied. “Do you realize his name is Jordan Lewis? How odd is that?”

Peter’s eyebrows rose on his forehead. “Yes, I know. What’s even stranger is that he’s rapidly building a reputation for new spinal cord regeneration techniques—techniques that are supposed to restore complete sensory communication and feeling in a matter of months rather than the years we would have realized from our research. He’s apparently been doing independent research for the better part of his career, largely funded through private organizations.”

“Do you think he can be trusted?” Andi asked.

“I checked out his credentials thoroughly. He has an excellent reputation and from all reports, his patients are doing exceptionally well. From what I can tell, he’s little Jordan’s best chance at this point.”

“When do you think we’ll know if he can help her?” Kale asked.

Peter inhaled deeply. “Well, Dr. Lewis and I examined her while you two were having dinner. Hopefully, we’ll know better tomorrow morning after Dr. Lewis has reviewed the test results.”

Kale and Andi nodded as they absorbed Peter’s statement. Peter headed toward the door, but stopped and turned around. “The two of you should go home and rest. She’ll be sedated throughout the night, so I don’t expect she’ll be aware of your presence at least until morning.”

Andi shook her head. “I can’t leave her.”

Peter looked at Kale. “I’m staying as well,” Kale added.

Peter nodded. “All right. At least take turns napping, okay? You two need to take care of yourselves in order to help your daughter through this.”

* * *

Dr. Jordan Lewis entered the Intensive Care Unit the next morning to find Andrea Simmons sleeping with her head resting on her daughter’s bed. Kale was pacing the floor.

Kale’s attention was immediately drawn to the door as it opened. He reached out to shake the doctor’s hand. “Dr. Lewis, good morning.”