CRAZY LIFE

Chapter 48

** SPECIAL DEDICATION: You ladies know who you are!!! 

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Austin pushes Adam's wheel chair up to Tim's bed and he walks around to the other side. They stare at Tim in silence. The only sound was the beeping on the heart monitor and the breathing machine.

Adam slowing reaches and takes Tim's hand in his. "Baby? Can you hear me? Don't give up, Okay? You have to fight. You have to come back to us. I love you so much." Adam says as he wipes a tear.  "Don't worry about me. I'm fine. You just get better." 

"Hey, Bro? What the hell do you think you're doing scaring us like this? Huh?" Austin smiles through his tears. "I love you, big brother. I want you to know that. We tend to forget to say that sometimes. But you're all I've got and I don't want to lose you. You're tough. I know you are. You're gonna beat this."

They remain in the room for a while whispering words of encouragement.

The door opens and a doctor walks in. But it wasn't Dr. Pharrell.

"Hi. I'm Doctor Chance. I'm the ICU physician." He introduces himself as he shakes their hands.

"So is Dr. Pharrell not his doctor any more?" Austin ask.

"Oh, No. Dr. Pharrell is still his doctor. We're just working together on this while Tim is in ICU." Dr Chance looks around at the monitors, writing down a few things on his clip board. "Actually, he seems to be holding his own pretty well. And that's good."

"So does that mean his chances are good?" Austin ask.

Adam stays silent as he holds Tim's hand to his cheek, kissing it frequently.

"Well, he's not out of the woods yet. But it is good that he is breathing on his own. The machine has only had to take a couple of breaths for him. His heart rate is just a little fast, but that's to be expected. And it's a pretty strong heartbeat. And that's good. Once he comes out of this coma, we'll be able to run a lot more test. I'm sure Dr Pharrell has explained a lot to you. But I want to kind of give you a warning. When he wakes up, there maybe some things wrong with him that will probably be temporary."

"Temporary? Like what?" Adam says looking up at the doctor.

"His head took a very hard hit, giving his brain a severe jolt. Like the doctor told you, his brain is swelled and it's putting a lot of pressure on the nerves in his brain. Just say for instance, he could be paralyzed, deaf, unable to talk, blind, anything. BUT, as the swelling goes down, relieving the pressure, we're hoping that it will all turn out good. It may take awhile. Even after he's discharged from here. Just don't lose hope and don't let him lose hope. Alright?" Dr. Chance says as he pats Adam on the shoulder.

Adam nods. "Thank you."

"I guess we need to let the others come in to see him." Austin says, squeezing Tim's hand.

Adam leans over placing a kiss on Tim's forehead, just below the bandages. He also kisses him on the cheek, careful not to hit any of the tubes that were run down Tim's throat.

Leaning over next to Tim's ear, he whispers. "I love you so much, Swamp Rat."

A few seconds later a nurse appears at the door. "Is everything alright?" She ask with a concerned look on her face.

"I guess. Why?" Austin ask as he shoots a glance over at Adam.

"His heart rate jumped up a bit." The nurse tells them.

"What did you say to him?" Austin ask Adam.

"I told him I loved him and I called him Swamp Rat." Adam smiles.

"Does that mean he can hear us?" Austin ask the nurse.

"It's very possible. Is Swamp Rat some kind of pet name?" She ask with a smile.

Adam smiles and nods. "He's my Swamp Rat."

~~

Dr. Lavine eventually had to make Adam go back to his room and get some rest. Dr. Chance suggested that they let Tim get some rest also.

Chris and Jenika decided to go back home and pack everyone up some clothes. Tim would be in the hospital for awhile. They knew that even after Adam was discharged, he would not want to leave Tim and Austin had already said that he was staying also. Olena, unfortunately, had to come home with Chris and Jenika. She has a job and is unable to stay at the hospital.

They pack everyone a suit case and packs Tim some clothes to wear home from the hospital. Chris decided that they should wait until the next day to head back to Atlanta. They both needed showers and a decent night sleep. He knew that Austin or Adam would call if anything happens.

There was a extra bed in Adam's room, so Dr. Lavine told Austin that he was more than welcome to sleep in it for the night. He told them that Adam would probably be released the next day. He promised them that if anything at all happen during the night with Tim that he would come to get them.

Exhaustion finally won and the two men quickly fell asleep.

Adam was awaken by Dr. Lavine lightly patting him on the arm. "Hey, Adam?"

Adam slowly opens his eyes and sees the doctor. His eyes widens in fear as he remembers Tim and what the doctor had told them about if anything happens.

"Oh my God." He gasp as he sits up. "Tim!"

"No, No. Everything is the same. Tim made it through the night. But it's morning and I was just wondering if you would like to be discharged." Lavine says with a smile, handing him the papers to sign for release.

"I can't write too well left handed." Adam chuckles as he scribbles his name.

"Your clothes are laying over there in the chair, along with your other belongings." Dr. Lavine says as he looks around at a still sleeping Austin. "Wake up, Sleeping Beauty." He laughs as his pops Austin's leg.

Austin jumps up and looks at a smiling Adam. Everything must have went alright last night. 

Austin helps him get dressed. He was having a lot of difficulty trying to do it with one arm.

Adam picks up the bag containing his stuff and his eyes lights up when he sees his promise ring.

"My ring." He smiles as he digs it out of the bag.

"What ring?" Austin ask as he put on his shoes.

"The promise ring that Tim gave me." He says as tears begins to fill his eyes.

"Wow, that's nice." Austin says, looking at the ring. "Do you need me to help you put it back on."

"No." Adam says softly as he slides the ring into his pocket. "I want Tim to put it back on my finger."

"Well, let's go visit my big brother shall we." Austin smiles.

They head to the elevator. The ride down to the ICU floor was filled with silence. Both deep in thought.

The door opens, they step out into the hallway and head to ICU.

A female voice comes over the intercom above them.

"DR. CHANCE! ICU #2 STAT!!  DR. ADAM CHANCE!! ICU #2 STAT!!!!"

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