LOTF: Before and After

Phase 3: Chapter 24

As Paige sped down each street, Ralph tried not to panic as he realized the color in Jack's face was starting to fade a little. He thought about how he was supposed to be going home within the next hour, doubting that was going to happen now.

Paige managed to turn the standard twenty minute drive to the hospital into a twelve minute one. Paige insisted Ralph take Jack in while she paid for parking. Ralph wrapped his free arm under Jack's armpit to help guide him. He seemed to be acting normally with the exception of a little tiredness. Ralph held his other hand tightly against the duct taped makeshift toilet/paper towel gauze around the blond boy's wrist.

There were a couple people in line at the reception ahead of them when they got into the doors of the emergency room. Ralph noticed that Jack looked ready to pass out at any given moment, so he thoughtlessly pushed to the front of the line, ignoring the offended remarks from the other patients in line.

"Help me, please! He's bleeding real bad" Ralph begged the receptionist, and she immediately agreed as the other staff around her in the office came to their aid.

"Come on back here, honey" an older lady in scrubs insisted as she took Ralph's spot holding Jack up, another lady came around to inspect the home made gauze padding Ralph had secured around him.

"How old is he?" the older lady asked Ralph.

"Fourteen" Ralph's voice shook as he watched.

Jack was only half conscious now and didn't seem very aware of his surroundings anymore. In only a few split seconds, a male doctor came out and helped the other two ladies take Jack down a hallway before they disappeared from Ralph's view.

"Are you family?" another man asked from the reception desk, taking the place of the lady who'd been there when they arrived.

"Uh, no" Ralph felt his body shaking profusely as he approached the desk again. "His sister is just paying for parking, she'll be in in a second."

"Is she over 18?" he asked as he typed on the desktop behind the glass that separated them.

"Yes" Ralph forced the word out as he felt his own strength beginning to fail him.

"Is she the legal guardian?"

"No, their dad is at work I think" Ralph answered just as Paige came up behind him.

"Where's Jack?" she asked in a panicked voice, breathing so heavily Ralph was certain she ran all the way here from the parking lot.

"He's with a doctor now, don't worry" the receptionist attempted to calm them both. "I'll just need some information from you, assuming you're the sister."

Paige nodded through heavy pants as she turned her attention to Ralph. "Go sit down, okay? I'll be there in just a minute."

Ralph was beginning to feel like he was only half alive; half in his own body; half present. He nodded despite his desire to stay there with her, but he couldn't find the words to say it. So he convinced his legs to take him to the waiting room chairs. He plopped down on the closest, unoccupied seat and stared up at the mindless advertisement that was playing on the nearest TV.

He remembered the last time he'd been in a hospital waiting room; the day of the rescue. This room was clearly different, but somehow it still looked the same to him anyway. He remembered all the families of his fellow cadets around him, all his squad members sitting around, coming and going, all in the matching search and rescue clothes; making it impossible for anyone to think any of them were there for a normal reason.