Accident Prone - Becoming Human (The Final Chapters)

Fathers

November 14th, 2061:

Time is fleeting...

The quiet of the hospital waiting room was disrupted only by the sound of soft rhythmic footsteps as a young doctor, Dr. Renee Kovan, approached the lone occupant of the entire silent waiting area. The occupant sat upright in the chair with perfect posture, a coin dancing gracefully over the knuckles on their right hand silently and their usual work suit was immaculately pressed to perfection. It had been an uneventful night in the hospital save for the emergency call that had arrived just after two that very morning. It was the emergency case that Dr. Kovan had taken on herself regarding treatment and had fought so valiantly to save the life of her patient.

It was a close call but the patient, a stubborn man of advanced age, had miraculously pulled through.

"Mr. Anderson?" The doctor called out softly as she stood beside the occupied chair with a patient's electronic clipboard pressed to her chest. "I'm Dr. Kovan."

"Connor. Please, call me Connor." Standing up quickly the coin disappeared into his right front pocket as Connor extended his shaking right hand for the doctor to shake. "How he is? Please, tell me everything. I can take it."

"Very well." Shaking Connor's hand Dr. Kovan spoke to him respectfully and truthfully. "Your father has suffered a massive heart attack."

Connor's posture visibly slumped at the somber news. Though it was expected it still had a heavy weight over his mind and inside of his heart.

"He survived the ordeal, but he's still a very sick man." Dr. Kovan explained calmly as she remained honest with the worried detective and son. "The drugs being used to treat his liver cancer may have been the cause of the heart attack, but we'll run some tests to make sure before providing any additional treatment."

"I... I understand." Connor swallowed nervously as he studied the doctor's demeanor carefully. He was worried; almost on the verge of tears as he tried to think of what to do next. "Can I see him? Please?"

"Yes. He's asked to see you already, and in this case we'll make an exception of the late hours." The attentive doctor smiled at Connor warily as she motioned with her left arm for him to follow after her down the corridor to where Hank was resting. Her demeanor was professional but her eyes were full of traitorous emotions. "He's very weak, but he should still be lucid."

"...Thank you."

Connor followed Dr. Kovan to the intensive care unit where Hank had been admitted after his arrival. The room was dimly lit and the single patient inside the private room was dozing lightly and propped upward in the bed as a cardiac monitor silently recorded his weak slow heartbeat. The device was also monitoring his blood pressure, oxygen saturation and body temperature. An I.V. administrating pain relieving and cardiac stabilizing medication ran into the back of his pale left hand as well. A nasal canula was under the Hank's nose to give him additional oxygen to ease his breathing while he rested as much as possible from his heart attack.

A few stray shortly trimmed gray locks hair clung to Hank's sweaty forehead as he dozed somewhat peacefully in the bed. Without the longer hair that once covered his face to hide his features, the aging skin around Hank's blue eyes and mouth was much more prominent. The paleness of his face and the dark bags under his eyes made him look sicker than Connor thought was possible considering Hank was always so very strong.

"You can stay as long as you like." Dr. Kovan offered kindly in a whisper as she showed Connor into the room. "Talk to him. Be sure to tell him everything you want to say right now."