"Here you go, M." Larry said handing her some water and crackers. "Don would never forgive me if I didn't make you eat. He also wouldn't forgive me if he knew I let you out of my sight for more than 30 seconds."
Meryl laughed at her husband's best friend. "I won't tell him. I'm really not hungry."
"I know, but you need to eat. Do it for Don." Larry laughed as she did. "M, I am not going anywhere, I want you to know that. But, would you like me to call your parents or Third or Dana?"
Meryl sighed. "I don't want my parents to come up here; as much as I want to see our baby, and I know Don will right now, they really need to stay home with him and his strep throat. I might have you call Third in a little bit. Dana was leaving today to be gone all week on business. Besides, unless my parents said something to them, which I doubt they did, my brothers don't even know what's going on."
"Jane?" Larry asked cautiously.
This caused Meryl to run her fingers forcefully through her hair. "Oh, Larry, I don't know. I know she's his mother and deserves to know; but that means James will know."
"The new and improved James?" Larry asked shaking his head.
Meryl let out a cynical laugh. Ever since James' car wreck and recovery he was supposedly new and improved. Only Don's mom and brothers believed it. Don, Meryl, Larry, Liz and Meryl's family didn't buy it for a second. "Yeah, right. I sure don't want the old James, or the new and improved James, or whoever the fuck he is anywhere near my husband. Not now. I don't know if I will EVER feel comfortable with that. I know Don feels the same way when it comes to us as well. I won't tell his side unless I have his blessing to do so. I do really appreciate you being here, I can't tell you how much."
"I meant what I said. Besides, I don't need numb nuts coming after 'ole chicken shit." Larry said making Meryl laugh.
Meryl just shook her head. "You two."
"Mrs. Gummer?" The doctor asked walking in.
Meryl immediately stood up. "What's wrong with my husband?"
"Please, sit, Mrs. Gummer." The doctor said as Larry helped her sit down. "We are prepping him for surgery right now. Your husband suffered strangulation which can be very serious. That is why we did a scan on him because it can cause unseen damage."
Meryl nodded as she wiped away her tears. "Go on."
"There is swelling in his windpipe and cutting off air flow. We need to reconstruct it. We also need to restore blood flow to his veins in that area. It is a tricky surgery but we have the best surgeon on the east coast on call and is scrubbing up right now." The doctor said handing Meryl authorization papers.
Meryl was trying to understand all this. "If he doesn't have the surgery?"
"Then we'll lose him." The doctor said frankly.
Larry wrapped his arm around Meryl. "I know this is a lot to take in, M, but this is what's best for Don."
"I know." Meryl cried as she signed the papers as 'ML Gummer.'
The doctor took the papers from her. "We gave him stitches to his head and he has a concussion which is the least of our concern at the moment."
"Can I see him before surgery?" Meryl choked in a whisper. "Please, I need to see him."
***
"Baby?" Meryl whispered as she kissed her husband's sleeping lips and smiled when she saw him open those beautiful blue eyes. "Hey there, my Don Man."
Don looked around in fear and tried to sit up. "Where's Larry?"
"I'm right here, buddy." Don waved from the corner of the room. "I promise I won't let her out of my sight; I just wanted to give you two some privacy."
Meryl carefully helped him lay back down. "I'm fine, sweetheart; Mann is in lockup. I'll call Mom and Dad in a bit to tell them what's going on. Sweetheart, there has been some major damage to your windpipe and they have to reconstruct it. You have the best surgeon on the east coast and I know you will be just fine. Baby, I need to ask; do you want me to tell your mom?"
"No." Don shook his head. "She thinks Dad...fine. Will bring...him here. Don't want him."
Meryl nodded as she ran her fingers through his hair. "Then we won't say anything yet. Is it okay to tell Mom, Dad and my brothers?"
"Of course...want them support...you." Don breathed.
Meryl smiled tearfully at her husband, always looking out for her. She sighed as the nurse peeked her head in and nodded. "Okay, my Don Man, it's time for your surgery. I want you to know how incredibly much I love you, Donald Gummer; I love you more than I could ever put into words. You and Henry are EVERYTHING to me; and I do mean EVERYTHING. I'm gonna make this up to you, baby."
"Nothing to make...up. Just want you...Henry...with me always." Don said bringing her hand up to his lips.
Meryl tenderly kissed his lips. "We will be because of you."
"Love you so...damn much...more...ever." Don breathed.
Meryl nodded her head as the tears streamed down her cheek. "Me too, baby; I'll see you soon."
"Bye, numb nuts." Larry winked at Don as they started to wheel him away and Don pulled his down to him.
Don tried to breathe. "Take...care...."
"They will both be safe; I promise you." Larry winked. "Just come back to us."
The tears came faster when she saw Don look at her as he was being wheeled at and mouthed he loved her while she did the same. She started to collapse in tears when Larry caught her. "He has to be okay, Larry, he just has to be."
"He will be." Larry said walking to the door with her. "Come on, let's go to that waiting room where they said we would wait. We'll call your parents, brothers and I'll tell you about how numb nuts and chicken shit got their names."
***
"Hi, Mom, how's our baby?" Meryl asked when she called her parents.
Mary Streep could immediately tell something wasn't right with her daughter. "He's sleeping, again. We are keeping his fever down and his medicine in him. He is starting to drink a little more. Mary, what happened?"
"It's Don." Meryl choked as she told her mother what happened. "Now he is in surgery."
Mary Streep just shook her head wondering how much more her poor son-in-law's body could take especially after still healing from his father's attacks 6 months earlier. "Oh sweetheart; you know this isn't your fault, right? That Don was doing exactly what he wanted and it's because he loves you and Henry so much."
"I know, Mama." Meryl choked. "In addition to something happening to Henry my greatest fear has been something happening to Don and now it has."
Mary wiped her tears even though her daughter couldn't see, which she was happy about. "I know Donald Gummer and he will be fine. Do you want Daddy and I to come up? Maybe ask Jacobson to watch Henry?"
"No, I really want him with you and Daddy as he is so comfortable with you two. I would have you three come stay at the apartment but I hear it's pretty trashed. I can't even think about it right now. I just miss my baby." Meryl was so conflicted she knew the hospital wasn't a good place for him but she missed him and she knew Don would as well.
Mary was trying to figure out things. "I know you do, sweetheart, and I know how hard it is to be away when he sick but he really is okay; I promise. Besides, it sounds like this is going to be a rough surgery for Don and he needs you. How about tomorrow Daddy and I take him to the Jersey house? That way we would only be about 30 minutes away and can bring him in to visit once he's better. We could also be close enough to help check the apartment or whatever."
"That would be great, Mama, thank you. I don't know how to thank you." Meryl started crying.
Mary felt bad for her daughter, wishing she was there. "You don't need to thank us. This is just a hellish situation that NONE of you deserve. Have you called your brothers?"
"Larry is on the phone with the police and then he said he would call them; but would you mind? I know Dana is gone this week." Meryl said.
Mary was mentally going through all the people she needed to call. "Yes, Dana is on his way to Boston for the week for work. He always calls us so I will let him know and I will call Third and Maeve. I am sure that they, or at least Third, will be right up. Would you like me to call Jane?"
"No!" Meryl said quickly. "Sorry, didn't mean to act like that. I was able to ask Don before he was taken for surgery and he did not want his mother to know. He was terrified that she would come with the so-called new James and my husband doesn't need that right now."
Mary and Harry didn't believe that James had changed anymore than Don, Meryl and Larry had. "I completely understand. You just take care of that husband of yours and we'll take care of everything on this end. Please call once he is out of surgery."
"Of course, Mama, and please give our boy hugs and kisses from us." Meryl choked.
Mary knew her place was taking care of Henry but it was so hard not to be there. "I will, and take care of my girl as well. I love you, little Mary."
"I love you too, Mama, bye." Meryl said taking a deep breath once she ended the call.
Larry walked over to where Meryl was sitting by the courtesy phone in the waiting room after sitting in another corner of the room talking to the police station. "How's Henry?"
"They're keeping his fever down and he's drinking more and sleeping which is good. Mom is going to call Third and Maeve so I'm sure they'll be here soon. Dana is on his way to Boston for work so she'll let him know when he calls. I told her not to call Jane. They are going to go to the Jersey house and stay with Henry tomorrow so they'll be closer. Any news regarding the case?" Meryl asked.
Larry smiled. "It's looking real good. They recorded the threats he made. We can now add 2 counts of attempted murder to the charges; though I hate that my best friend was the target but I KNOW not as much as you do."
"You have no idea how much I hate it." Meryl choked as she was twirling her wedding ring. "2 counts of attempted murder?"
Larry took a deep breath. "Yeah, both towards Don."
"The gun and strangulation?" Meryl whispered.
Larry nodded. "Yeah. He's going to be okay you know?"
"He better be." Meryl cried.
Larry reached over and squeezed her hand. He knew he needed to distract her. "Want to hear why numb nuts is numb nuts?"
"You know how I love hearing about Don's younger years, chicken shit." Meryl finally smiled.
Larry laughed. "Well, Don was probably 14 and trying to impress some girl."
"Of course he was." Meryl laughed at her husband and how he was always trying to impress her though she told him over and over that he already got her.
Larry continued. "He was trying to do some tricks on his bike, he went over a dirt mound and twisted the handles just right, when he came up off his seat he came back down on the bar. It took him awhile to be able to talk. Hence, numb nuts."
"My husband." Meryl laughed thinking he was no longer numb in that area anymore, thankfully. "So, chicken shit?"
Larry laughed. "I'm sure your husband would be happy to tell you about this one. My grandfather was a chicken farmer and we would help out there a lot when we were younger. Well, there was this one who started coming after me and scared the shit out of me, LITERALLY."
"I'm sure Don enjoyed that." Meryl laughed then she got serious and started crying.
Larry squeezed her knee. "Hey, no tears; he IS going to be okay."
Meryl nodded as she wrung her hands together. "I just keep thinking that I could get through this if only Don were here."
***
"M, are you sure I can't get out something to eat? Do you want to try to sleep for a bit?" Larry asked.
Meryl couldn't help but laugh at the question. "You know I won't be able to close my eyes until I know he is alright. Larry, how long has it been?"
"We're going into four hours." Larry sighed.
Meryl closed her eyes tightly. "Four hours? That can't be good."
"Sis." Third said running in. "I'm sorry we were out all night and just got Mom's message and talked to her. How is he?"
Larry gave Third a worried look over Meryl's head so she wouldn't see. "We're still waiting for word."
"Hey, this is Don Gummer; he'll be fine." Third said kissing his sister's cheek. "Maeve sends her love but has a ridiculously early call in the morning and I told her I would keep her updated. Why didn't you two tell us what was going on?"
Meryl wiped her tears. "Today is when it really amped up and we were just trying to protect everyone; Don was trying to protect us."
"I'm just glad they got that fucker." Third said turning to Larry. "Thank you for all you've done and for being with Meryl. I know it's been a long day and night so if you need to go home..."
Larry cut off what Third was saying. "Not only did I make a promise to Don, which I always keep, but I don't want to leave until he is out of surgery."
"Meryl." Dr. Abbott came running in.
Meryl was instantly relieved and yet her fear grew at the same time as she embraced their friend and doctor. "Do you know about Don?"
"Yes, they called me in and I've been with him. I asked them to let me update you." Dr. Abbott explained.
Meryl nodded as she sat in between Larry and her brother, her husband's two best friends. "Tell me, Hal, how is he? Don't sugarcoat anything for me."
"I'm going to be honest, Meryl, we almost lost him. Well we did lose him but we got him right back." Dr. Abbott told Meryl.
The tears flowed faster down Meryl's cheeks as she struggled to find her breath. "But he didn't die, right? He's still with us."
"Yes, he is stable and considering everything he is doing well." Dr. Abbott said squeezing her hand and giving her a small smile.
Third wrapped his arm around is sister. "What do you mean everything?"
"I'm Don's best friend and his lawyer." Larry began. "I want a copy of his medical records so I can slam the fucker that did this to him."
Meryl nodded in agreement with Larry. "Tell me, Hal."
"As you know Don was a victim of strangulation. He suffered a concussion but that is least of our worries as you know. His windpipe was severely damaged and we reconstructed it. Victims of strangulation can go into cardiac arrest; which he did. That is when we lost him but we were able to IMMEDIATELY bring him back. We repaired damage to his heart." Dr. Abbott told Meryl.
Meryl nodded as she wiped her tears. "How is his heart now? Any permanent damage?"
"No, it is working perfectly. That was nothing short of a miracle." Dr. Abbott assured Meryl. "Once we knew his heart was fine we went on to the reconstruction. This is what you need to understand. This is what he will be recovering from, not the heart scare."
Third nodded as he smiled encouragingly at Meryl. "We are all here to help both Don and Meryl through his recovery."
"Yes, we are." Larry said supportively.
Dr. Abbott nodded. "Let me explain the procedure. He has several incisions: one at the base of his neck and one along his breast bone. He has two drains out of the side of his neck. This will be hard for you to see, Meryl."
"I understand." Meryl said feeling completely overwhelmed. "How long will those drains be there?"
Dr. Abbott continued. "I hope they can be removed tomorrow or the day after. The drains are attached to a small bulb that creates a suction to remove air and fluid from the surgical site. He also has a catheter which will hopefully be removed in the next few days. The incisions are closed with staples and I can remove those in the next 10 days. The stitches under his skin will dissolve. He will be on IVs and some heavy duty pain medication for a few days so he'll be in and out of it for awhile. He's also on oxygen. No breathing tube. He really is doing well considering. Don't be surprised if he gets confused or emotional easily. Strangulation can do that."
"Like with his brain surgery last November?" Meryl asked.
Dr. Abbott nodded sadly. "That's right. I have NO reason to believe that he won't make a complete recovery."
"Thank God." Meryl cried on Third's shoulder then regained her composure. "How long will he be in the hospital? Can Henry come see him?"
Dr. Abbott took a deep breath. "He'll be in for 5-7 days. I'm really sorry, but Henry shouldn't see him for a few days. For one it could be incredibly upsetting to him; and two his injuries are very delicate so he needs to be extremely careful. I know those two, there's no keeping them apart when they're in the same room."
"Don and his little clone." Larry teased.
Meryl knew that was coming and she would just have to make everything okay. "I understand. If nothing else my parents can bring him and I can see him outside of Don's room. By the way, I don't care what the rules are I AM staying with my husband. After all this happened because..."
"Hey, hey, what did we talk about?" Larry asked Meryl. "No guilt. This is not your fault."
Dr. Abbott tried to reassure her. "No, it is NOT. The last thing in the world Don would want is for you to blame yourself. Of course you can stay with him; it's already arranged."
"Thank you, Dr. Abbott." Meryl said hugging him. "For EVERYTHING."
Dr. Abbott smiled at her. "It's my pleasure; you two are very special patients. Now, how would you like to see your husband?"
"More than anything." Meryl said getting up quickly. "Take me to him, NOW."
***
I tried to get this up as quickly as possible! As usual, it took on a life of it's own.