After the Sun Sets (18+)

CHAPTER 4 - Doubt

That afternoon, two men in a white and dark blue uniform wandered into Room 7. The pair looked like gentle giants, both around six feet tall with broad shoulders and a humorous twinkle in their eyes. One had fair skin and blond dreadlocks that even tied back in a rough ponytail reached beyond his shoulders. The other had short, dark hair and brown eyes that resembled burning oak.

"Mr Scicluna, I'm Vico and this is Karl. We're the physiotherapists of the ward. We're here to help you out of bed," the blond man announced.

"What happened to Sam and Tony?" Jona asked suspiciously.

During his previous admission, the therapists of the Neuro Surgical Ward were a sweet, young couple called Tony and Samantha. They were amazing with Jona. Tony had a flare for food and wanted to open a restaurant. He often asked for business advice from Jonathan, which Jona was more than happy to provide.

Jona was good at his job. He knew it and he wanted other people to know it too. He had good taste, he was a good negotiator and he was not afraid to take risks. So he fancied himself a bit of a mentor to the young man. Sam was incredibly beautiful and sporty, so naturally, Jona liked her too.

Karl and Vico looked more like bouncers at a dodgy club and Lora knew instantly that Jona was intimidated by them. Of course, he would never admit to anything of the sort.

"Their rotation ended last month. They're working in the Cardiac Unit now," Vico replied without missing a beat. "So, ready to move a bit?"

The patient eyed them for a second but then, his charming smile crept back onto his lips and he nodded enthusiastically. Lora wanted more than anything to stay and help them, but she knew it may be traumatic for the kids to watch. He still had his IV, his drain and his catheter attached.

"Stay!" Jona commanded as soon as she stood up.

"I'm not going anywhere. Aiden, Siena, why don't you wait outside for a minute with Krista?"

"No," Jonathan objected. "I want them to see me stand so they can see that I'm fine."

"Actually," Karl said slowly in a very deep, drawling voice, "we're just going to do some exercises for now, then we'll try standing in the afternoon."

Jonathan waved his hand, brushing away the therapist's words. "Nonsense, I'm fine. Stand me up, governor," he went on, giving them a confident wink.

The two therapists looked at each other hesitantly and then, as though realising there was no point in arguing, they lowered the bed rails and helped Jonathan sit up and slide towards the edge of the bed. Lora saw Jona's colour drain almost instantly.

"Are you okay?" she asked him, but he just ignored her as a thin sheen of sweat started to form on his forehead. "Don't stand him up. He's going to faint."

Jonathan scowled at her and protested, "No, I'm good. Stand me up!"

The two men looked at each other knowingly over their patient. "This is good for now, Mr Scicluna. Why don't we lie back down and we can try again later?"

"Christ! Just help me stand, will you?" he shouted. And before they could support him, Jona pushed his heels into the ground and grasped the two men around their elbows, struggling to stand up.

It happened so fast. The victorious expression had barely settled on his face before he became white as a sheet and collapsed to the ground. His head smacked loudly against the ground as Krista screamed, Lora gasped and Aiden started crying again. Siena went to her dad to see if he was okay, but Lora pulled her back.

"Krista, take them!"

The teenage girl hesitated, looking from her father to the therapist with the dark hair, who had reached forward to try and break Jonathan's fall, but when he nodded assuredly, she snatched Aiden's and Siena's tiny hands and dragged them out of the room.

Lora sped into action. She helped the physiotherapists turn Jona on his back, careful not to pull out his drain and IV. She put pillows under his heels to elevate his legs. She wrapped the blood pressure cuff around his arm and wetted a cloth with fresh water. The monitor beeped as she set the damp cloth over his forehead. 75/40.

She sped up the drip running into his left arm and Jonathan started to come around.

"Jona!" she exclaimed in a slightly raised voice.

He made an incoherent sound. A spot of colour had come back to his cheeks.

"Jona, open your eyes!"

He did. Sapphire blue, unfocused eyes wandered around the room until they found her. She checked his blood pressure again. 100/60. Better.

"Okay, let's help him up slowly. Mind his back! Hold the drain!"

They lowered the bed and lifted him onto it using a pat slide transfer board. Lora helped him onto his side and checked his wound. Miraculously, there wasn't any fresh blood on the dressing. She checked his drain. Still at three twenty. It didn't look like it was pulled. Thank God!

"What happened?" Jonathan murmured.

At the sound of his clueless voice, Lora's doe eyes shone dangerously and her nostrils flared. "You're an idiot, Jonathan Gerald Scicluna, that's what happened!"

And she flew out of the room, once again with tears of anger filling her eyes. Halfway down the corridor, she bumped into her brother, whom she realised must have stayed in the foyer with Jessica and James.

"Lora? What's wrong?" Wayne asked seeing the state of his younger sister.

"Nothing," the woman lied, her lower lip quivering.

"Is this a bad time?" a deep voice said from behind them.

Lora felt her cheeks burn. This couldn't be happening.

"I need to talk to you, Mrs Scicluna," Dr Shaw declared.

#

The door closed gently behind them and yet, the sound of it echoed like a gunshot in Lora's heart. Dr Owen Shaw walked past her and leaned back to rest against his desk, motioning at his chair. It was the only chair in the office and he was offering it to her. She declined the seat politely, preferring to stand at a comfortable distance as she crossed her arms over her chest. She kept her eyes on the floor, her hair falling in front of her face.

She felt uncomfortable, embarrassed, intimidated. Maybe it was because he'd seen her crying twice already today and it wasn't even noon yet. Maybe it was the way his green eyes narrowed as they examined her. He wasn't being unfriendly or judgemental. On the contrary, the concern in his eyes only made him seem more human than she initially thought him to be. But she was standing less than two metres away from him in a dead silent room with the door closed behind them and she felt more on edge than she had ever felt in her life.

"Are you alright?" he asked in a soft voice she hadn't heard him use before now. It was warm and soothing and reminded her of chocolate.

"I'm fine," she answered quickly. Too quickly.

Dr Shaw's frown became more pronounced. "Mrs Scicluna, I heard you-"

"Please, stay out of it. It's personal," she snapped at him. She didn't mean to. She was tired and scared and this was how Lora coped. She got defensive. 

But she regretted it as soon as she noticed the doctor's eyes widen with shock. Or was it hurt?

"I apologise," Dr Shaw replied after a short pause. "I didn't mean to intrude."

"You wanted to talk to me?" she asked, wanting nothing more than to get out of the stuffy office.

The young man cleared his throat loudly, hoping it would also clear the air. "Yes. I wanted to talk to you about Jonathan's surgery."

"What about it?" Lora prompted when he didn't say anything else. His eyes were on her again. They roamed over her face shamelessly making her wrap her arms tighter around her torso.

"What are your expectations from this surgery?" he started slowly.