In Sickness and In Health

Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

Sean was standing in the ambulance bay when the ambulance carrying Jamie pulled up to St. Victor's. "Fifty nine year old male, unconscious and unresponsive at scene. BP 235/110, visible facial deficit. His wife says he's been having headaches. IV line started."

Sean saw Eddie coming out of the ambulance as he jumped to work on his uncle. He began to bark orders at the nurses and the technicians. "Aunt Eddie, what meds is he on if any?"

"Nothing, uh, no Prilosec for his stomach, and I think he took some Tylenol or Advil for his headache earlier, but that's all."

Sean disappeared with that bit of information into a trauma bay. Jack had followed his aunt to the hospital with Jamie's detail. "He'll be okay, Aunt Eddie," Jack comforted. "I called my parents from the car and they are heading over now. He'll be okay, he's healthy and strong." Jack put his arm around Eddie. "I'll call Joey and Lila now, sit down and have a cup of water."

"Jack, let me call the kids. I think it will be better coming from me." Eddie pulled out her phone and dialed Joey first.

Joey was enjoying beer and burger with a his buddies. Most of the officers in his precinct were good friends outside of work and often spent their off time together. Joey looked down at his phone when it started to ring. He reached over and picked it up seeing his mother's number flash on the screen. Even thought he was upset with his parents, he loved his mother beyond all things. If she called he would always answer. "Hey, Mom," Joey said stepping away from the noisy bar. "What's going on?"

"Joey." Eddie's voice was husky with tears. "Joey, it's your Dad. He, uh was rushed to St. Victor's. Can you please..."

Joey's heart clenched. "Was he...did someone shoot him?" His father has just made 40,000 enemies, he wouldn't be surprised if he'd been shot by one of them.

"No, he uh, collapsed and his face was drooping. I think he's had a stroke of some kind. Please Joey, I know you are so angry with him now, but please. I don't know how bad he is, he might never wake up." Eddie was crying full out now, she was terrified her words to her son would be the truth. She needed her Jamie, he was her life. He was the reason she fought so hard and so long to live all those years ago. If she lost him...

"Don't worry, Mom. Dad is strong, he's stubborn Irish strong. I'll be there, I'm going to pick up Lila at campus first so call her and tell her to be at the bus stop by the quad in twenty minutes." Joey was in crisis mode now.

Eddie felt some relief that Joey and Lila would soon be there. She dialed her daughter.

Lila had just finished her last class when her phone rang. She smiled when she saw it was her mom. She had asked Eddie to go over that night and work on the wedding plan outline so they could move forward. Eddie promised to call her back with a time. "So do you want to do this over dinner?" She paused. "Mom, what's wrong?"

Eddie was crying again at the sound of Lila's voice. "Oh, baby..." Eddie shuddered. "Lila, Dad is in the hospital. He was taken to St. Victor's when he collapsed...Joey is going to pick you up in fifteen minutes now to bring you. He wasn't talking..."

Eddie had always been a rock for her kids. Jamie got shot in the line of duty when Joey was fourteen and Lila eleven. She never forgot that day, that visit from her brother-in-law.

"Dad's going to be home any minute, I don't want a mess when he gets here, he's been working hard on a case," Eddie told her children. "Put everything away where it goes."

Eddie put the dinner on the table, expecting Jamie to arrive home any minute. She heard from his earlier he cracked the case and they were about to take down the perp. Eddie was surprised when the bell rang at their Staten Island home. "I bet dad forgot his keys," Lila said running to admit her father. A second later she called out, "Mom, Uncle Danny is here!"