Finally Home

28. Jenna

I was frantic. What do I do first? I have to get to Cleveland. Josh. Debby.

I picked up my phone and dialled Debby's number.

She didn't pick up at first. I couldn't blame her. It was 2 am. I punched redial.

"Hello? Jenna? Are you okay? It's..." a pause while she checked the time. "It's two in the morning."

I broke down as Tyler had when he called.

"I need you. Or Josh," I sobbed.

"Sweetheart. What's the matter?" Debby sounded more awake.

"Tyler and Samantha were in an accident in Cleveland. Tyler says Samantha's gone! I have to go to Cleveland."

"Oh my god. Jenna! Are you sure?"

"That's what Tyler said," I sobbed. "I don't want to wake Rosie. But I have to go to Cleveland!"

"Okay. Okay. Josh and I are getting dressed. Josh will drive you to Cleveland. I'll stay with Rosie, okay?"

I sobbed out a thank you and got dressed and threw some clothes in a bag. I grabbed some for Tyler too, because whenever he could leave the hospital, he'd probably need clean clothes.

I grabbed him some toiletries, too. I forgot he had toiletries in their hotel.

I went into Samantha's room to grab her a change of clothes. But stopped. The tears started again. Samantha wouldn't need a change of clothes.

I took my bag downstairs just as the alert that the gate had been opened went off. I turned off the alarm and opened the door as I heard Josh's car rev up the driveway and squeal to a stop.

Debby came running into the house and wrapped her arms around me. We sobbed in each other's arms.

"Josh is waiting. Go. Go. Call me as soon as you know anything!"

I nodded. Josh met me at the car and hugged me tight.

"Let's go," he said, closing the door behind me.

Josh was quiet, his jaw set, as he pulled onto the highway.

"Josh, talk to me. I can't stand the silence," I said.

"I'm sorry Jenna. I'm trying to hold it together. I can't believe Sam is gone. I won't believe it. Not our Sam."

Tears rolled down my cheeks. I couldn't believe it either. Rosie was going to be so lost. This new baby will never know his or her amazing sister.

"Me neither," I said. "After everything she's been through, I can't believe she's gone."

"I won't believe it. I just won't," I agreed.

We talked about Samantha the whole way up to the hospital. We told each other stories about her that made us smile. We cried, just a little, as well.

At 4:30 am, we pulled into the parking lot and as soon as Josh parked, we ran into the hospital.

"I'm here for Tyler Joseph?" I said to the person at the desk.

"Tyler Joseph," she repeated, typing into her computer. "Oh."

"Oh? Oh what?! Please, tell me he's okay!" I couldn't handle hearing I'd lost him, too.

"There's a note here. Is your daughter Samantha Joseph?"

"Is? What about her?"

"The note here is to tell you that Samantha is in surgery and will be admitted to the PICU once they're finished."

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" I asked. Why would Samantha be in surgery? And why in the PICU after? That would mean...

"Are you saying Samantha is alive?" I asked.

"Well, it seems that way. I'll have the surgeon come talk to you in your husband's room. He's in 7North 321."

I stumbled away from the desk. Josh caught me.

"Is she alright?" The person at the desk asked.

"We -," I heard Josh say. "We thought she was gone. We thought she'd died. Tyler told us she died."

"Oh. No. She came in unconscious and they restarted her heart in the field, but no. She's alive."

I looked at Josh and broke down into tears. He did, too. We stood there, crying for a minute.

"She's alive," I whispered at Josh. "She's alive."

He nodded, tears streaming down his face.

"Let's go see Tyler," he said. "Let's tell him."

We went up to Tyler's room. He was asleep, and his nurse said he'd been sedated. We pulled up chairs and I took Tyler's hand. I didn't want to wake him up. He needed rest. But I wanted to tell him so badly. The nurse said he was pretty heavily sedated anyway, and he'd be unlikely to understand if we woke him.

About an hour after we arrived, a doctor in surgical scrubs came in.

"Mrs. Joseph?" He whispered as he came in.

"Hi," I said.

"I'm Dr Cooper. I operated on your daughter, Samantha."

"How is she?" I asked, tears springing to my eyes, worried he'd tell me we'd lost her after all.

"She's in critical condition. The right side of her chest was crushed, and her lung collapsed. Her right femur was broken and she lost a lot of blood. She has a pretty serious head injury. We had to remove a piece of her skull to allow for some room for swelling. She is in a coma. Right now, she's registering as a 3 on the Glasgow Coma Scale. She was unconscious when she arrived and hasn't regained consciousness."

"Is she going to be okay?" I asked.

"We're being very cautious. She was very severely injured. I can't answer your question right now."

"But, she's alive?"

The doctor sighed.

"Technically, yes. It's machines keeping her alive right now."

I looked at Josh. He looked at me with tears streaming down his face.

"Can I see her?" I asked.

"Of course. She's in the PICU. Room seven. Bed two."

I ran out of the room and to my daughter's bedside.