The Arrangement

Chapter 48

Chapter 48

My throat was dry and I'd been wringing my hands for as long as I'd been waiting. I jumped up when the doctor came in.

"Mrs. Ralston?" the doctor asked.

I ran over. "That's me. How is he?"

"He's resting." the doctor assured me. "We were able to remove the clot and his leg was set and is casted now."

"How are his other injuries?" I asked.

"He looks like he's recovering well. If you'll come with me we can discuss all of the details. Please follow me."

I followed him back to the back office, Nick was the only one who followed. "Mrs. Ralston, would you like Nick to be in here as well? He qualifies as immediate family, however, it's up to you as his spouse."

"Please," I nodded. "If you don't mind, Nick."

"Not at all," Nick assured me.

"Doctor, please tell me what's going on." I asked, more and more nervous.

"Mrs. Ralston,"

"Call me Mikaela,"

"Mikaela, your husband was involved in an accident as I'm sure you're aware."

I nodded. "I don't know all the details. I just know he was between his car and the other driver's car. That's all I know."

"Well, he had two broken ribs, three more cracked, a broken leg and a concussion. When one of his ribs broke it ruptured his spleen so we removed it. The force of the impact caused his lung to collapse. The concussion is one of our biggest concerns because there was some bleeding on the brain. It looks good at this point, but we'll be keeping him here. Until we're sure the swelling is going to stay down and there's no evidence of further bleeding, we'll be keeping him in a medically induced coma."

I didn't realize I was crying until I felt the tears on my cheeks and the doctor handed me a box of kleenex.

"I wouldn't be too worried at this point." the doctor assured me. "He's not out of the woods yet, but it looks good. I'd even say hopeful."

I was nodding. I couldn't seem to find my voice.

"Mikaela," Nick called. "You look like you're a million miles away. You okay?"

I nodded, as I realized I was still crying. "I guess I'm kind of relieved. He's going to be okay." I sniffled. "Can - can I see him?"

The doctor nodded. "If you'd like to."

I was led to Trent's room and it broke my heart to see him like that. His casted leg was elevated, an IV in his right arm. His head was bandaged and he was covered in a sheet. His face had some bruising and I felt myself breaking down. Nick hugged me as I felt the floodgates open up. Nick let me cry for a little while, until I got it all out. After that I took a step back, a few calming breaths and wrapped my arms around myself. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to lose it like that." I swallowed hard.

"You're allowed to be upset. I'd be a wreck if it was Nat." Nick admitted. "Speaking of, I need to give her a call and give her an update."

"Is - is she okay?"

"She's getting close. She wanted to come, but the stress could have caused her to go into labor. She'll be glad to hear Trent is alright."

I nodded. "I need to make a few calls myself."

I told my parents the news and my crew was waiting in the lounge. Only three people would be allowed in the room at a time. Trent would stay in ICU until they were sure he was out of the woods. They predicted a few days.

Nikki came in first with food. She'd just hit up Chili's and got curbside to go. Everyone came in and said their hellos and gave their condolences. They offered to wait with me, but I turned them down. Rory offered to keep an eye on the site for me. Jason and Meri went home. My parents offered to come down, but there was nothing they could do. I told them I'd keep them in the loop. Before long it was just me and Nick. One of the nurses brought in a rollaway cot for me with pillows and blankets. When visiting hours ended Nick offered to stay, but I told him to go back to his hotel room. I'd keep him posted.

When it was just me and Trent I sat and stared at him for a long while. It was strange watching him. The machines monitoring his vital functions. I hated seeing him like this. He looked so helpless. This wasn't the Trent I was used to. This wasn't the Trent I experienced yesterday. He had to be okay and come back to me so I could fix this.

I took his hand in mine watching his face. "You're going to be okay." I whispered. "You have to be. And when you wake up, we're going to figure this out." I promised. I leaned over and kissed his bandaged forehead. "You just better wake up," I murmured. I pulled the cot closer to Trent's bed and got myself comfortable. I laid down, my hand in Trent's as I let myself fall into a restless sleep.