After hanging up the phone, T.K. turns to Carlos.
'That was my dad.' T.K. whispers to Carlos. 'He got a call from Captain Sherwood. Your mom and dad were in an accident. They're at the hospital.'
'How bad?' Carlos asks, keeping his voice quiet.
'I don't know.' T.K. shakes his head. 'Dad said I just needed to get you and Carter to the hospital.' Carlos looks to Carter who is still engrossed in her book. 'I'm assuming he's at the hospital.'
'I don't know what to tell her.' Carlos states.
'The truth.' T.K. says simply. 'Tell her that your mom and dad were in an accident, you don't know anything yet and you two have got to go to the hospital.' Carlos nods and walks over to his sister.
'Carter.' He starts and she looks up at him. 'Can you put the book down a sec?'
'Did you get hold of mom and dad?' Carter asks as she puts her bookmark in the book and closes it.
'No.' Carlos shakes his head. 'T.K. just got a call from Owen. Mom and Dad were in an accident. We need to go to the hospital. I don't know anything else.'
'Hospital?' Carter says quietly. 'They're too loud.'
'I know.' Carlos nods. 'Do you have your loops?'
'No.' Carter shakes her head. 'They're in my suitcase at home.'
'I keep some here. You can use those but we need to go now.' Carlos tells her. 'No matter what happens, it will be okay. I'll be right there.' He grabs hold of her hand and squeezes it.
.
Almost half an hour later, Carlos, T.K. and Carter arrive at the hospital.
'My dad texted me just before we left, he was just leaving so he should be here by now. He said to meet him in the ER.' T.K. tells them.
'You wanna put your loops in now?' Carlos asks Carter, handing her a little box.
'Yeah, thanks.' Carter takes the box, opens it, removes the loop earplugs and puts them in her ear. She takes a deep breath and turns to her older brother. 'I'm ready.' She nods. The three of them walk into the ER where Owen is waiting for them. When he sees them, he walks towards the trio.
'Hey.' He nods. 'They haven't been able to tell me anything other than they're still being treated since I'm not next of kin. All I know is they were in an MVA near the airport.'
'Oh my god,' Carter gasps, 'this is my fault.'
'No, no.' Carlos shakes his head.
'If I had just told them I was coming home earlier, they wouldn't have gotten into that accident.' She adds, panicking. Carlos turns to his younger sister and puts his hands on her upper arms.
'Carter, breathe. Deep breaths.' He comforts her. Carter takes some deep breaths, slightly calming her down. 'This isn't your fault. Mom and Dad would not want you blaming yourself. Yes, you should have told them you were home earlier than they expected but this was a freak accident. I'm going to go and let the nurse at the desk know we're here, okay?'
'Yeah.' Carter nods quietly before Carlos walks over to the front desk.
'Your brother is right.' Owen tells the young girl. 'A car was driving in the wrong lane, causing the MVA.' Carlos returns and Carter turns to him.
'They're still being treated. The nurse couldn't tell me much other than they both have some major trauma.' Carlos tells them. 'They're letting the doctors know we're here.'
.
After half an hour of waiting, they're informed that Andrea and Gabriel were moved up to the ICU and they can be updated there. They make their way up to the ICU and let the nurse know they're there.
'If you take a seat over there,' the nurse points to the waiting area, 'I'll let the doctors know that you're here. They are still working on Mr and Mrs Reyes but they will come and update you as soon as they can.' The four of them make their way to the waiting area and sit down. Whilst Carter sits scrolling through her phone, Carlos, T.K. and Owen talk. Ten minutes later, Carter stands up and lies on the floor.
'Carlos.' T.K. nudges him and points at Carter. 'I'll time.' Carlos nods, stands up and kneels beside his sister, preparing for what's about to happen. The nurse at the desk walks up to them.
'Excuse me?' They say and Carlos looks up at her. 'She can't lie on the floor.'
'She's about to have a seizure.' Carlos states.
'Does she need medical attention?' The nurse asks.
'Not unless it reaches three minutes. She has epilepsy.' He shakes his head. Carter starts seizing so Carlos keeps watch over her to make sure she doesn't bang her head on the seats. He grabs her bag and gets her water bottle out ready for when she stops seizing.
'Are you sure she doesn't need to be checked out?' The nurse questions.
'I'm sure.' Carlos nods. 'Like I said, she has epilepsy, the stress of what's going on must have triggered it. If it surpasses three minutes, you can check her out.' Eventually, Carter stops seizing so Carlos puts her in the recovery position. 'How long?' He looks at Carlos.
'Three minutes, fifty seconds.' T.K. informs him. Carlos looks at the nurse.
'You can check her out once she comes to.' He tells her. 'She might be a bit uncooperative at first. She has autism and struggles with new people.'
'Does she see one of the doctors here for the epilepsy?' The nurse asks.
'Dr Clayton.' Carlos responds.
'I'll page him and we'll take-'
'Carter.' Carlos tells the nurse.
'We'll take Carter into one of our consult rooms up here. That way you're still nearby when the doctors know more about your mom and dad.' The nurse adds.
'Thank you.' Carlos nods appreciatively. The nurse walks off and back to her desk as Carter starts to come around. 'Hey,' Carlos smiles softly as Carter rolls onto her back, 'you're okay. You had a seizure.' He helps her sit up. 'You had a seizure, it lasted nearly four minutes.'
'Exact time?' Carter asks.
'Three minutes fifty.' Carlos replies. 'They're going to get Dr Clayton to come and check you over.'
'But what about mom and dad?'
'They'll get you into one of the consult rooms up here so that we're close.' Carlos says. 'Here.' He hands her her water bottle.
'Thanks.' Carter takes her water bottle, opens it and drinks from it. The nurse returns.
'Dr Clayton is on his way down.' The nurse informs them. 'I'll take you through to a consult room and do a set of obs whilst we wait.'
'You ready to stand?' Carlos asks his sister and she nods. Carlos helps her stand up and she picks up her bag. Carlos looks back to T.K. and Owen.
'We'll stay here and come get you if there's any news.'
'Thanks.' Carlos nods appreciatively. The nurse leads Carter and Carlos to a consult room. Carter sits on the bed whilst Carlos leans against a wall with his arms crossed over his chest,
'My name is Emily.' The nurse introduces herself. 'Is it okay if I hook you up to the monitors?'
'Go for it.' Carter nods. Emily starts attaching the blood cuff and pulse oximeter.
'When was your last seizure before today?' Emily asks.
'Two days ago. It lasted one minute, thirty.' Carter replies.
'Is it normal for you to have regular seizures?' Emily questions. When Carter doesn't reply, Emily looks at boarding school.
'No,' Carlos shakes his head, 'not if she's taking her Keppra.' He raises an eyebrow at his sister. 'You said you were taking it.'
'I have.' Carter assures him. 'The seizures are getting worse, becoming more frequent.' Emily looks back at her.
'How long has this been going on?' Emily queries.
'About a month.' Carter admits. 'I just thought it was down to stress.' The door to the consult room opens and Doctor Clayton walks in.
'Hey, Carter.' He smiles, walking over to her. 'I hear you had a seizure.'
'Hey,' Carter smiles back, 'and yeah, a long one.'
'Okay,' Doctor Clayton, 'we'll run some tests. Full blood panel, and let's get a CT, MRI and EEG.' He looks at Emily who nods. 'How are her obs?'
'All stable.' Emily replies. Doctor Clayton turns his attention back to Carter.
'You been taking your Keppra?'
'I have, but the seizures have been getting worse and more frequent. I assumed it was down to stress from school.' Carter replies.
'It could be.' Doctor Clayton nods. 'Once we've got your scans and labs back, we'll see about upping your Keppra dose.'
'Will the tests take long?' Carter asks.
'We'll get them done as fast as we can.' Doctor Clayton tells her. 'I heard about your mom and dad, I can assure you they're in the best possible hands.' Carter smiles slightly. 'Normally, I would take you down to the ER so that you can be formally evaluated, but given the circumstances, we'll keep you up here.'
'Thanks, doc.' Carter smiles slightly.
'I'll be back to check on you when I have all your results back.' Doctor Clayton nods once more before walking out of the room. As he walks out, T.K. walks in.
'They have an update on your parents.' T.K. informs them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ooooo. How bad do you think it is? Will Carter stay with Carlos whilst Andrea and Gabriel are in hospital, or will it be decided that she has to go into the care system?
Let me know what you think!