KILTED DESIRE - Sands of Betrayal (24 page)

“I can do that. Is it okay if I hold his hand when I talk to
him?”

What a bitch, Katie thought. Even now, she’s trying to get
her hands on him.

“Yes, Britney, I suppose that would be fine, until I can get
there. He would then know there are people with him.”

“Okay, I’ll do that.”

“Can I speak to Tom again, please?” Katie asked.

“Oh, sure. Take care, Katie. Talk to you soon,” she said, as
she handed the phone back to Tom.

“Hello, Katie.”

“Tom, will you do me a big favor? Please make sure she’s not
left in the room alone with Scott. I just don’t trust her.”

“Okay,” Tom replied. He wasn’t really sure why she asked him
to do this and he certainly wasn’t going to ask, with Britney sitting behind
him.

“Do you know anything more about what happened? Tom, why on
earth was he attacked?”

“I don’t know, Katie. The police are looking into the
incident, but I doubt they’ll ever find out who is responsible. It could have
been random. But, more likely he was probably targeted because he is a
Westerner and they watched where he parked his car. I just don’t understand why
he didn’t see the device. I know he always performed checks before he started a
car. I’ve seen this type of bomb before and there was no way he could have
missed it.”

“Okay, Tom. I really should go now,” she said, breaking into
tears again. She knew he would have been distracted because of their fight. She
felt physically sick. In her mind, she was responsible for his coma, just as if
she’d placed the bomb there herself.

“Katie, I’ll call you back as soon as we get an update from
the hospital,” Tom said, hearing her sobbing in the background.

“Okay. Thanks, Tom,” she managed to say as the tears
continued to fall.

When they arrived at the hospital there was no sign of Dr.
Hamilton. A nurse showed them into Scott’s room where they sat and waited. Tom
warned Britney that he looked very bad, but she could never have been fully
prepared for quite how bad. She struggled to hold back the tears and pulled up a
chair to the side of his bed. She reached for and held onto his hand, talking
softly to him. She hoped he would wake up now. They directed their conversation
to Scott for almost an hour. Britney wished that maybe something they said
would get through to him. Dr. Hamilton walked into the room and said hello to
Tom and Britney, then read over Scott’s chart.

“Any news, Doc?” asked Tom.

“No change at the moment. All of his vital signs seem strong,
but no reports yet of any movement.”

“Okay,” said Tom and Britney, almost simultaneously.

“How long have you both been here?” asked the doctor.

“Just over an hour,” said Tom.

“Since you’ve been here have you noticed any movement, maybe
an eyelid flickering or a finger moving?”

“I haven’t. What about you? You were holding his hand,” Tom
said to Britney.

“I didn’t notice anything at all. I’m sorry,” she said,
looking sadly at the doctor.

“It’s fine. It’s still very early. You need to understand
that his body, especially his brain, has suffered a major trauma, so at the
moment they have shut down. Hopefully, we will start to see some form of recovery
soon.”

“How optimistic are you really, Dr. Hamilton?” asked
Britney.

“I’m sorry we haven’t been formally introduced. You’re not
Katie, are you?” he asked.

“No, I am not Katie. My name is Britney Parnell. Scott is my
bodyguard over here, so I’ve gotten quite close to him.”

“Okay Britney. Like I told Tom and Katie, with this kind of
brain injury it is very hard to say what might happen. At the moment, I’m on
the fence, but I’d like to see some movement or signs of life from him showing that
he’s fighting, within the next 48 hours or so.”

“So it would help, when we’re here, if we talked to him and watched
for any little signs, like his fingers moving?” she asked.

“Yes, that would be great. I don’t have enough staff for
someone to sit and watch him all day. I have nurses checking in every two hours
or so, but having someone here at other times watching for signs would be very helpful.”

“I would be happy to stay, Tom, if you need to go. I can
work on my laptop tonight at the hotel to catch up. I’ll still need to go into
the office. But I do think he will wake up soon,” Britney said optimistically.

“No, I can’t leave you here alone. We will stay for a while
and we can come back as often as time allows.”

“Okay,” she said disappointed.

“Well, I need to go and check on other patients. If you
aren’t here when I get back, I’ll call you and let you know if there has been
any change,” said the doctor, as he walked towards the door.

“Thanks, Doc,” said Tom.

“Yes, thank you Dr. Hamilton,” Britney added.

They stayed for another hour, but there was no change in
Scott’s condition and it was time to leave for the hotel. Tom had many guards
he needed to check on and other work to do and Britney needed to catch up on
some work on her laptop.

Later that evening, at the hotel, the mood was somber. They sat
quietly, each lost in their own thoughts. Tom checked in with his people and
Britney completed a number of papers for work while they both prayed to hear
some positive news from the hospital, soon.

The suite was very quiet. Both were startled when Tom’s
phone started to ring.

“Hello.”

“Hi, Tom, it’s Katie. Is there any news yet?”

“No, not yet, Katie. Nothing has changed through the night
or while we were at the hospital today. We spoke with Dr. Hamilton and he said we
need to be patient. I did try to call you when we were leaving Scott’s room,
but there was no answer. I figured you may have fallen asleep.”

“I actually did fall asleep for a few hours, although I am
exhausted and don’t feel like I’ve slept at all.”

“It’s understandable. Britney and I have been back at the hotel
for about three hours now and we haven’t heard anything from the Doc yet. He
said he’d be making rounds until 11:00 p.m. though, so you could call him if
you like, to find out the latest news.”

“Okay, that’s a good idea, Tom. I just wanted to check with
you first.”

“Tom, can I talk to her again? It’s important,” Britney
interrupted.

“Britney says she needs to talk to you, Katie.”

“Okay, put her on.”

“Katie I have an idea. Can you make a recording of you
talking to Scott on your computer and email it to me? I could take my laptop in
to the hospital and leave it playing by Scott’s bedside so he can hear your
voice when we’re not there.”

Katie was pleasantly surprised. This was a great idea and
she was annoyed for not thinking of it herself.

“That’s a good idea! I’ll get started right away. Thanks,
Britney, I appreciate you thinking of it.”

“No problem, Katie. He’s kept me safe since I’ve been here
and I just want to help.”

“Tell Tom I’ll call him after I speak to Dr. Hamilton. Bye,
and thanks again for the great idea.”

“I’ll tell him Katie, bye.”  

Katie sat down with her mom and dialed Scott’s doctor.

“Dr. Hamilton,” he answered.

“Hi, Dr. Hamilton. This is Katie Johnson. I called to ask if
there is any news about Scott.”

“Hello, Katie. There’s no change as of yet. I’m so sorry,
but I must cut this short, I really need to get going. We have a lot of
emergency admissions. A number of car bombs, I’m afraid.”

“Oh my, I am so sorry! I will let you go. I hate to have
bothered you.”

“It’s not a problem, Katie. As I told you, you can call me anytime.
I do have to go now, but everything we can do right now, is being done, I have
checked on him a couple times today and the nurses check in on him regularly. I
will call you if anything changes.”

“Thanks, Dr. Hamilton. Bye.”

“Bye, Katie.”

“What did he say?” her mom asked.

“There’s no change today. He said there were a lot of
emergencies at the hospital today and he couldn’t talk. More car bombs! Seriously…
what’s wrong with those people over there?” she asked. Her mother wrapped her
arms around her and hugged her.

“He’s going to be okay, honey. He’s a fighter. He will pull
through.”

“You don’t know that, mom.”

“You’re right. I don’t know that for sure, but it’s what I
think.”

Katie said nothing. She wanted to erase the last twenty-four
hours from her mind and life. If her thoughts disappeared, maybe the reality of
it would too.

Katie called in to work and explained what had happened to
Scott. Her boss told her to take as much time as she needed. She told him she
appreciated it and she would keep him informed. When she hung up, she wanted to
call her girls. She missed them. They had gone to stay with her dad after the
news, while her mom stayed at Katie’s house. The conversation with them was
short, but it was good for Katie to talk to them.

A week passed and there was still no real change in Scott’s
condition. Katie touched base with the doctor every day. Every time she called,
she was disappointed. He informed her that he was able to x-ray Scott’s head
and it confirmed a fractured skull. He told her Scott still showed no sign of
movement at all. She still wanted Tom to help her get her trip to Baghdad
arranged, but he vehemently declined. He said that Scott would not be happy if
she risked her personal safety. She knew he would want her safe and protected
from that place, but her heart still ached to be by his side.

Tom and Britney visited Scott every day, sometimes twice. Britney,
as promised, left her laptop at the hospital and played the recording that
Katie made for him. The doctor said he would have liked to see some positive
signs within the first couple of days, but it hadn’t happened yet. He still
tried to be optimistic since Scott was still breathing without assistance. But,
he was becoming more concerned. The longer Scott remained in the coma, the
slimmer his chances for recovery became.

It was Tuesday evening in Baghdad, Tuesday afternoon in Ohio,
when Katie’s phone rang.

“Hello,” she said anxiously.

“Hello Katie, this is Dr. Hamilton.”

“Hi! Is there any news?”

“Katie, we’ve had a couple of developments I wanted to tell
you about.”

“Okay, I’m listening.”

“First of all, a nurse reported that Scott’s finger moved
this afternoon. Apparently, it only happened once, but it was a definite
movement. This doesn’t mean it was the first time it happened, but it is the
first time it’s been witnessed. So that’s a good sign. The other thing is, and
this is not good news, over the last twenty-four hours his blood pressure and
heart rate have dropped. This is not necessarily a critical sign, but, since
they have stayed pretty constant for the last few days, it is something that
will be closely watched.”

“Okay, that’s good news he moved his finger. Okay… that’s
good. So, what could the drop in blood pressure mean?”

“It could be many things, and it doesn’t necessarily mean
anything bad. I don’t want to speculate, but it’s something we will be watching
closely.”

“Okay. I am at a loss and don’t really know what to think,
but I’m going to try and stay positive because, he moved!”

“Yes, do stay positive. We are optimistic here. Anyway, that
is all I have for now. I did say I would let you know if anything happened. And
this is some encouraging news. ”

“Thanks, Dr. Hamilton.”

Katie felt a little better after she heard Scott’s finger
moved, although she was concerned about the other news. The doctor said that he
was encouraged by his slight movement, but he would be monitored for the other.
It was the first day she’d received positive news, and for the first time felt
excited that he may be okay.

Her raised spirits then crashed over the next few days. The doctor
reported to Katie that Scott’s blood pressure and heart rate continued to drop.
One piece of good news was Britney said she saw and felt his hand move while
she was holding it. Dr. Hamilton informed Katie he was no longer as optimistic
as he was initially. He warned her that even if he did wake up now, he may have
suffered significant memory loss as well as some permanent brain damage.

Katie continued to make recordings every day and sent them
to Britney, who played them for Scott on her computer. Tom and Britney stopped
in at least once a day, but it reached the point where everyone was beginning
to lose hope. Katie refused to let go. Each time the doctor or Tom hinted that things
might not turn out well, she quickly informed them she wanted to stay positive.
She planned a life with him and he was going to come home to her just like he had
promised. She never doubted it, there was no other option and she continued to
have faith. Even Katie’s mom was getting to the point where she tried to convince
her daughter to face that fact that what she wanted, may not happen. Katie would
not accept that.

It was now early November and the afternoon seemed colder
than normal. Scott had remained in a coma for over two weeks. Katie needed
positive news today. She cleaned her house for about the fourth time. She had
to keep busy! Her weight had dropped considerably. Her parents were worried and
hated to see her like this. They insisted she see a doctor, but she refused to
go. As she scrubbed the kitchen floor, she heard her phone ring and reached for
it. It was Dr. Hamilton.

“Katie, I’m so sorry. I have some bad news.”

“I don’t want to hear it,” she replied, still refusing to
accept anything negative.

“I know you don’t, but I have to tell you what has happened.
Scott’s heart rate and blood pressure have dropped to dangerously low levels. We’re
going to try and administer some drugs to stimulate his heart rate. Katie, you
need to accept the fact that his body has started to shut down. We’ll continue
to do everything we can, but you need to prepare yourself for the worst. Do you
have any family members with you there for support?”