Chapter 38:

The Hospital

The doctors fussed over Brian anxiously. Sammy noticed the way they constantly checked him.

“Will he be okay?” he asked tentatively.

The doctors ignored him. They were too occupied in dealing with Brian. Sammy felt a numbness come to his stomach.

“Will he be okay?” he repeated, this time louder.

A doctor turned to him and gave him a false smile. He tried to put an arm around him but Sammy cringed away. hE did not want this stranger, he wanted Brian. The thought of never seeing him smile at him with those twinkling blue eyes brought a pain to his heart that made him want to scream and never stop.

“Everything is under control,” the doctor replied.

Sammy stared at the doctor. He may have only been five years old, but even he could see that everything was Not under control. Nick and the others looked nervous as well.

“How bad is he?” Kevin asked.

“He’s swallowed a lot of water and he’s very weak. We think there may be some internal bleeding as well, probably caused by the accident.”

“What’s intenal bleeding?” Sammy asked anxiously.

The doctor stared at him and didn’t answer. Howie lent down beside him. “Brian’s hurt inside of his body. He’ll have to have a little operation when we get to the hospital.”

“O – operation?” Sammy stammered.

“It’s just a little cut,” the doctor reassured him.

Sammy nodded but still felt very uneasy. Kevin lowered his voice to talk to the doctor. Sammy could not hear them anymore. He sat down cross legged on the floor of the helicopter and wrapped his blanket about him for warmth. Nick seated himself beside him and Sammy leaned into his arms.

He kept his eyes on Brian’s pale face, even though the sight of him looking so weak brought tears to his eyes and made him feel sick. He willed for him to hang on and prayed silently.

‘Please let him live. Please let him live.’

He repeated it over and over again, praying for it to come true.

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When they landed, Brian was immediately snatched away by the doctors and as hard as Sammy cried, they would not let him go with them. He watched them rush through the door urgently.

“What’s happening?” Sammy said in confusion. “You said he be okay!” he wailed.

“Don’t worry,” Nick said. “He’ll be okay.” But Sammy caught the note of panic in his voice.

“I want my daddy,” he said.

“You’ll see him when they’ve done the operation,” AJ said soothingly. He exchanged a nervous look with Kevin.

Sammy nodded and sneezed again.

“Come on, dear,” a doctor said. “Let’s get you all checked out, shall we?” She smiled at him and took his hand.

Sammy stared back at the other guys. “They come?” he asked.

“No, they’ll be waiting for you inside when we’re done.”

Sammy was scared as he was dragged through the doors into a corridor that smelt horribly of disinfectant. He looked behind him and saw Kevin arguing angrily with the remaining doctor.

He began to cry again. He did not want be alone. And where had they taken Brian? What if he never saw him again?

“What’s wrong? Are you in pain?” the woman asked in concern.

“I want to see Daddy!”

“I’m sure he’ll be okay,” she continued to lead him further down the corridors and Sammy’s fear increased as he saw more doctors pushing trolleys of vicious looking equipment around.

Sammy still did not stop crying. He did not want Brian to be taken away from him. Hours ago, he had met his real father for the first time but it still felt as if Brian was his real parent. The loneliness inside of him was unbearable and it felt as if something was tearing him up inside. He wanted Brian to take away that pain but the thought of him made it worse.

“Come on now,” she said, trying to put an arm around him.

Sammy pulled away and tried to free his hand from hers. He wanted to find Brian and he wanted Nick and the others back with him. He did not want to be with this woman. Other people were staring now as she half dragged, half carried him along the corridors, he was still crying.

“Get off of him!” a woman yelled.

Sammy found himself snatched up into someone else’s arms.

“Sammy? Sammy, it’s okay baby.”

Sammy held onto this new person. She was so much more loving than the doctors. He knew her as well. He recognised the love. It was Jackie, Brian’s mother. She held onto him tightly while exchanging arguments with the doctor.

“He’s only a child! How can you scare him like this?” Jackie said furiously.

“We need to get him checked over! He might be hurt!”

“You could go about it a little more gentler!”

Sammy clung to her, glad that there was someone to help him. Jackie could help him find Brian.

“Sammy?” she said, rocking him soothingly. “This lady needs to get you sorted out and put bandages on those nasty cuts of yours. I’ll come with you and then we’ll find Brian for you, okay?”

Sammy nodded and let her carry him along the corridor. She followed the doctor into a small room.

“Put him on the bed,” the doctor instructed.

Sammy found himself placed on a hard hospital bed. He kept one hand tangled with Jackie’s as he glanced about the room full of screens and scary looking instruments. He was trembling slightly.

“Don’t be scared, Sammy,” Jackie said. “She’s going to make sure you’re not hurt.”

“Does any part of you hurt?” the doctor asked. “Your head or your tummy?”

Sammy shook his head and then pointed to his grazed arm. That hurt a lot. He sat very still while the doctor performed the tests and kept a tight hold on Jackie’s hand. What if there was something wrong with him? He did not want to have to stay in this place! He wanted to go home and forget about this. He wanted to go home with Brian and have everything back to how it was.

“You’ve got a small touch of pneumonia,” the doctor said calmly.

“What?” Sammy asked puzzled and frightened.

“How bad?” Jackie asked urgently.

“You’ll be okay,” she said to Sammy. “It’s an illness caused by the cold. You haven’t got it bad. You just need to stay in bed for a few days and have some special medicine.”

“Can I go home with daddy?” he asked.

The doctor paused. “We’ll see. Brian may have to stay here for a few days. It would be better if you did too.”

“Don’t want to stay!” Sammy did not think he could bear being in this dismal place. he needed Brian with him to stop memories of the past two days from haunting him.

“I’ll be here with you,” Jackie said gently. “And you’ll be with Brian.”

Sammy rubbed his eyes and nodded. As long as he was not alone, he’d be okay.

“We need to get you out of those wet clothes,” the doctor said.

“Can I see daddy after?” he asked hopefully.

“We’ll see,” she said.

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