“Did they say anything?” he asked anxiously.
“Nothing new,” she said softly. And then, “She looked so sweet just lying there, before they took her. I keep wanting to wake her up, but she doesn't.” Her eyes filled with tears, and she turned away from him. She no longer wanted to burden him with her feelings. She had lost her trust in him, and the openness they had always shared. It was as though he were someone else now. It was strange how you could lose someone so easily, how everything could change in a matter of moments. But she tried not to let herself think of that either, as they waited.
It was a long day, as they waited in the ICU waiting room, on uncomfortable chairs, amidst a constantly changing group of strangers. She and Brad said very little to each other all day. He was very quiet, and unusually patient with her, almost as though he felt obliged to be polite to her. They reminisced once or twice about Allie a little, but it was just too painful. Most of the time, they sat quietly, lost in their own thoughts, saying nothing to each other.
They finally went to get sandwiches in the cafeteria at four in the afternoon, and there was still no news. They told the nurse where they were going, and they ran into Trygve in the lobby. He wished them luck, and then went upstairs to see Chloe, and they didn't see him again after that. The Clarkes stayed to themselves in the small airless waiting room, watching the clock, and waiting to hear from the surgeon.
He finally came in at six-fifteen, and by then they both looked like they were ready to collapse from the endless tension. It had been yet another day filled with terror for them.
“How is she?” Brad leapt to his feet and met the doctor's eyes head-on, but the doctor nodded in satisfaction.
“She did better than we expected.”
“What does that mean?” Brad challenged him instantly, as Page sat tensely and listened. She thought that if she stood up, she might swoon, so she didn't move, she just sat there.
“It means that she survived, her vital signs are good. She gave us a little scare early on, but she rallied. We relieved as much pressure as we could. It was somewhat worse than we had suspected. But there's still every reason to believe she could make a full recovery, or close to it. We just have to wait and see how she does now, and of course how long she remains in the coma. Actually, we want her pretty subdued now, and she's being medicated accordingly. She needs that to allow her brain to repair, but in a few weeks we'll need to reevaluate her position.”
“A few weeks?” Brad looked horrified. “You expect her to stay in a coma for a few weeks?”
“It's possible …and not unlikely. In fact, longer than that wouldn't rule out a successful result, Mr. Clarke. This kind of injury requires a lot of patience.” Brad rolled his eyes and the surgeon smiled, and then looked down at Page. “She did fine, Mrs. Clarke,” he said gently, “she's not out of danger yet, by any means, but we're one step further, one more day, she survived one more enormous trauma. It's an encouraging sign. Of course we still have to wait to see the extent of her recovery, what lasting impact the trauma may have had, if any. But we're still a long way from there.” They still had to wait and see if she even survived it. She could still die very easily, and they all understood that. “She'll be in the recovery room overnight again. You may want to go home. We can call you there if there's any problem.”
“Do you expect there to be?” Page asked in a choked voice, and the surgeon hesitated for an instant before he answered.
“No, but we have to be realistic. This is her second major surgery in four days, she's withstood a great deal of trauma, both in surgery and from the accident. This adds further jeopardy to her status, until she stabilizes of course. She's doing well, but we're watching her very closely.”
“More so than after the last operation?” Page asked, and he nodded.
“She's weaker than she was. But we're hopeful about the outcome.”
“Hopeful.” Page had come to hate the word, and she had understood what he was saying. Allie was doing well, but the operation might have been too much for her. She could still die at any moment.
He left them after a few minutes and Brad sighed and sat down, and looked at her. They were like two people who had almost drowned and were lying breathless on the beach after the terror of it.
“It knocks the shit out of you, doesn't it? I feel like I climbed Everest today, and all I did was sit here,” Brad said miserably.
“I'd rather be climbing Everest,” Page said sadly, and he smiled at her.