"We're lost in a cloud
With too much rain
We're trapped in a world
That's troubled with pain
~ "If I Can Dream", Elvis Presley
Abe stepped off of the elevator at University Hospital, and walked down to the area where they kept secure patients. Stefano had been admitted early that morning for extremely high blood pressure, and headaches. Abe wasn't sure Stefano was really ill. The man had already faked his own death several times over, but, as he looked through the window in the door to his hospital room, Abe had to admit that the man lying in the hospital bed did not look good. His skin was sallow, he had a fine sheen of sweat over his brow, and he seemed as if he was struggling to breath. Looking at the two officers at the door, Abe said to them, "Have you seen his doctor? Who is it?"
"This morning, it was Dr. Horton," replied Officer Benton.
"Thanks," Abe replied. "I'm going to have him paged. No one, and I mean no one, besides myself, or the doctor, gets into this room."
"Yes, sir," Officer Williams said.
Abe was rounding the corner to have Mike paged, when he ran into the man, "Hey buddy!" Abe said to him in surprise. "I was just on my way to find you!"
"You can follow me if you like, since I was on my way to check on Stefano," Mike told him with a smile. "We were able to get his blood pressure down to 180/118 by this morning, but that is still considered well outside the normal range. The stress on his heart puts him in danger of a stroke, or even a heart attack."
They entered Stefano's room, and Mike was immediately even more concerned. Stefano's face had a droop to it on one side, and when Mike tried to ask him questions his words were slurred, and unintelligible. Looking at Abe, he said hurriedly, "I think he's just had a stroke!" Mike hit the nurse call button, and when he arrived Mike told him, "We need to get him up to CT for a brain scan, and I need tPA, stat."
Mike looked at Abe and said, "I know you're suspicious of his motives, but he can't fake a stroke." Upon further examination Mike realized that Stefano had lost most of his speech, as well as the use of the left side of his body.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Bo stared at Kristen through the bars of her cell at the Salem PD, with a dumbfounded expression. The woman was delusional. She was insisting that they have John come see her. According to her, this was all a misunderstanding.
"So you see, Bo. None of this is my fault! I simply went to San Cristobal to do some charity work, and while I was there, Susan, dressed like me, threw Marlena in a secret room in the wine cellar. I didn't even know that room existed!" she said, with a pitiful whine. "You've known me for years. Does that seem like something I would do?"
"Look, we have Marlena and Susan's versions of events. We also have Ivan and Vivian's version of events, and they all line up," Bo told her. He watched the emotions play over her face, as she struggled to maintain the look of innocence, but Bo saw that underneath it all she was seething. "Plus, Kristen, I don't know if you've considered this, but Marlena was missing for nearly two days before you went on your charity trip."
"Please, I'm just asking that you have John come see me," she said, switching tactics to meek and mild, since whiny and begging was working. "I love him so much."
"Love? If everything they say you did is true...Kristen, that's not love. It's obsession, it's controlling, and it's evil." They both turned toward the sound of footsteps, as Abe rounded the corner.
