Cooper Land and Cattle

Chapter 4 - The Hospital

Will arrived at the hospital in less than thirty minutes. He had grabbed a polo shirt and jeans from his bag, but had not shaved or showered since last night. He smelled like sex and alcohol, but that is not what had beaten him. It was the sight of Jack Merrit hooked up to all kinds of tubes and machines. His kidney had stopped working, his spleen was removed, and they were hoping that he maybe able to keep one of his testicles. The nurses were badgering him with questions and needed answers. Will's head was splitting and Paul, Jack's father was on a plane after Will called so he was not able to help Will in any way.

After three cups of coffee and a couple of trips to throw up the contents of last night's alcohol poisoning, then he was able to read charts and follow along with the medical jargon. "We froze the damaged testicle in hopes that it may have viable sperm if and when he may want to have children. The second one is damaged but we believe that it will still produce testosterone to keep his system in check. His kidney we are watching in hopes that it will restart with the chemicals we are dropping in his IV." The doctor was explaining to get Will caught up after confirming that Will had the medical power of attorney. "His intestine is battered and bruised but I believe that it will all function normally after it has had time to recover, the colon I may have to fix in surgery but we are looking at it when we remove the kidney or as he heals it may correct itself." Will continued to read the charts agreeing with the conclusions this far. Jack was going to come out of the happy drugs soon to find himself in a world of pain and bleeping monitors.

This was the time to face reality and call Maggie. As he dialed the number the guilt started to move up his throat. He knew this had gone from his best night to his worst.

"Maggie, honey, you need to listen to me. Jack is hurt real bad. He's in the hospital. I called the concierge downstairs and he will be waiting for you with a cab. Jack may need surgery, so far it's looking good but he has to wake up, and when he does he will want to see a pretty, happy face. I need you down here being that for him while I talk to the doctors. Paul is flying in."

Maggie grabbed her clothes and dressed quickly. She ran up to her room to shower and do her make up quickly. Then it was a sprint to the lobby and a nascar race to the hospital. Maggie was running down the hospital hallway towards the room when she heard the voice that made her stop in her tracks.

It was Barbara Redmond, Will's perfect fiance. Perfect for his mother and not for him - were the thoughts flashing through Maggie's brain. She was an exact copy of Vera Cooper, her perfect hair, perfect dress, and a sweet voice that would make Maggie puke on a good day, much less this hangover nightmare.

"I just do not understand why you ran off to Vegas without me, sugar, I would have endured the rodeo with you, and you could have made it up to me with a shopping trip! I am so glad, you called me in time, so I made it here to help you with Jack. " Barbara explained as Maggie came around the door to run straight into Will and knock him over. They landed in the same position that they had spent most of the night but that was not appropriate thoughts for right now. Jack needed them and obviously Will had felt that he needed Barbara so he called her before he had called me, Maggie thought. Great to know where you stand, after a drunken one night stand with your best friend - reality.

Maggie spent the rest of the day by Jack's side. Holding his hand, watching him sleep, and waiting for him to decide to wake up. Will avoided her, which was great because that meant she didn't have to deal with Barbara either. Several times she had looked up to see Will in the hallway talking to one or more of the doctors with Barbara plastered to his side. If he wanted his perfect wife he could have her. He could be perfectly miserable with a trophy wife but she was never going to forgive him for using her. Okay so she started it last night but that did not mean that he had to go along. As of this date Will was just a neighbor, that would be it. Who was she kidding. Will was going to have to be cut out of her life. Just like Jack's spleen.