“No, just let them up please, thanks.” Grace could hear Madge hit the disconnect button from her end. As she watched Joan she wondered what on earth could have happened. Grace looked around to see if Joan had hit her head on something but could see no blood or anything close enough to knock her out. She noticed the ceiling fan going and the window open. Joan rarely did either so something was different. Opening the window alone was confusing as it was all electronic and as Joan didn’t want dust, salt, and sand in her studio it was rarely done, besides the panel was tricky and closing it could be an ordeal. Grace notice another spasm seizing Joan. She went into another convulsion. This one was choking her. Grace raced to pull her tongue aside so she didn’t swallow it or bite it, she was careful with her fingers so Joan didn’t bite her either. She was having trouble breathing. Grace immediately started CPR. She could hear the sirens in the background. She didn’t know how long she’d been doing CPR when she was gently pushed aside by two paramedics one of whom took the vitals. Her heart was racing now, her breathing erratic. As they strapped her to the gurney they asked Grace questions. Did she take anything? Was she on drugs? Had she hit her head? All the usual stuff but Grace could only answer NO. She followed them dumbly and grabbed her purse and keys. Madge stood there wringing her hands. Grace asked her to turn off the fan and close the window. She ran after the paramedics. They weren’t going to let her ride with Joan but then seeing how distraught she was they let her in.
They took Joan to Malibu Medical Center. To Joan this had always seemed a rich man’s nightmare. It was small but had so much money around that they specialized in cosmetic procedures. Their equipment though was state of the art. They rushed Joan into the ER. She had another seizure in the ambulance, this one accompanied by vomiting. A lot of water came up and then she had dry heaves. She appeared to be foaming at the mouth. It was horrible to her see her body arching up like that. Without the straps she might have arched right over the edge. Grace sat there helplessly, watching. They weren’t going to let Grace in the ER room either but they needed to ask questions. They asked the same ones the paramedics had even though the paramedics had already given them all the information they had. They asked what she did for a living. Did she drink? What she could have eaten that day? Her drug habits, they asked several times. It was apparent they didn’t know what was causing this. Grace watched in agony as they pumped her full of their drugs to counteract her symptoms. Finally they determined that she had been poisoned and took appropriate action. Grace couldn’t give them any more information and they asked her to leave, her usefullness to them was over. Pulling herself up she told them she was Doctor Grace Monroe, that Joan was her life partner and that she would have to be bodily removed if they wanted her to leave. The doctor in charge tried to pull Grace aside to calm her down but Grace wouldn’t budge. She stood far enough away that she wasn’t in anyones way but close enough to see Joan and what they were doing to her. It was touch and go for awhile. They finally stabilized her but by then she was in a coma. They would do a scan to determine brain waves to see if there was any damage.
Hours later Grace sat in the intensive care with Joan. She realized it was the middle of the night but she knew she should call the boys. They needed to get here. The hospital wouldn’t listen to Grace and her orders as she wasn’t recognized as a relative in the state of California. They had let her stay with Joan out of respect as a fellow doctor and her statement as life partner.
Getting a cup of coffee she pulled out her cell phone and address book. She only had Craig’s number. Joan had given her the home number for some reason once and she had fortunately put it in her palm pilot. It was still there and she called it. A sleepy voice answered. It was Craig. Grace was relieved as she didn’t want to have to deal with Jane at this time.
“Craig? It’s Grace, there’s been an accident.”
Craig came instantly awake. He knew that Grace was back in his mother’s life. Joan had written them all telling them that they were friends again. “What’s wrong?”
“Your mother is in ICU in Malibu Medical Center. She’s in a coma and they aren’t sure that she will be coming out of it. It’s been touch and go for hours. I’m sorry but this is the first chance I’ve had to call you. They need one of you here to make your mother’s medical decisions.” She blurted this out and then added with a sob “can you come?”
“My God Grace, what the hell happened?” The concern boomed across the miles.
Telling him what she had found and what the doctors believed was all she could tell him. They simply didn’t know.
“I’ll be there as soon as I can. I think the first flight out is at 6, I’ll try to charter something if I can get out earlier. Give me your cell number and the number there at the hospital.” He wrote down both. “Grace, take care of her ‘til I get there okay?”
She was quietly crying as she agreed and hung up.
~ CHAPTER 15 ~
Grace sat next to Joan’s bed for hours. There really hadn’t been any change. They didn’t know what the poison was but they treated the symptoms. It had been tricky as some poisons react differently with some medicines. Joan was intibated so that she could breathe with the help of a machine. The beeping of the machines was driving Grace nuts. Grace watched the rise and fall of Joan’s chest. She could not believe everything that was happening. She felt like someone had run over her own chest with a steamroller. It’s was so tight, she was so hurt. She almost lost Joan and they weren’t certain yet that she was completely out of the woods. The brain scan was inconclusive.
She just sat there looking stunned. Her coffee has long since turned cold. A police officer comes by and he takes her statement. Her information isn’t too valuable as there isn’t much she can tell him. He asks if they may search the apartment tomorrow when she is home and she agrees immediately. Their preliminary search of the scene had turned up nothing and they wanted to do a more thorough search. He lets her return to her lonely vigil. Nurses come and go checking that everything is working correctly. Joan just lays there, occasional muscle spasms hit her. When morning comes Grace calls her hospital to take a leave of absence explaining to her boss that her partner is in the hospital with some type of poisoning, that it is touch and go. He didn’t even know she was dating anyone but she is an excellent doctor and he grants her request asking only to be kept updated. At noon she is dozing with her head on the edge of the bed when Craig, Adam, and Bryan walk into the ICU.
Pulling herself up she looked at them sleepily. “Hello Grace, how is she?” Craig asks politely, concern written all over his face.
“Not too good I’m afraid. They don’t know what they are fighting. We don’t know what the poison is at this point. All they can do is cautiously treat the symptoms. Some poisons react differently with different medicines.” She shrugged tiredly “all we can do is hope right now.”
“Is she in pain?” This from Adam.
Shaking her head “No, she is in a coma right now.”
Just then Joan had a muscle spasm. All three men’s eyes were drawn to her. “Is she waking up?” Asked Adam.
“No, that is just a spasm. She has quite a few, they believe it’s her body reacting to the drugs or the poison.”
Bryan finally asked “do they know IF she is going to wake up?”
Shrugging ruefully Grace shook her head no. Just then one of Joans doctors came in the room. Too many people in the ICU. Grace left so that the doctor could talk to the guys. She waited by the nurses station until they came out. Their faces were identical with concern and fear for their mother. They stood by the door helplessly.
“Craig?” He looked up at Grace and came over.
“Would you like to stay at the apartment instead of a hotel?” Grace inquired solicitously.
“That would be nice. Won’t it be a little small though?”
“Well there is the pull out couch, two could share that and one can use one of the recliners. It will be a little tight but the hotels down her
e are outrageous.” She knew they wouldn’t worry about money but they needed to be close to their mother right now.
“Yeah okay, we need a place to crash anyway. Thanks.” He seemed a little relieved. She guessed he hadn’t really thought about a place to stay.
Her phone went off as they stood there. Answering it she found the officer she had spoken to last night. They wanted to search the apartment. She told him to see Madge and that she’d arrange for Madge to let them in. Hanging up she phoned the gallery and told Madge the arrangement. She asked that Madge stay there while they searched the place.
After standing around eating bad food from the vending machines and drinking poor coffee and soda they all decided that sitting there wasn’t doing anyone a bit of good. The guys grabbed their bags and they called a cab to take them back to the apartment. Grace let them in. She obviously knew her way around as her palmprint was on the alarm plate and she knew the code. She unlocked the door to find the apartment in shambles. The officers had really ransacked the place. What a mess. The guys helped her straighten up but it took hours. She refused to allow them to help her in the bedroom after she saw that the officers had gone through the toy box. They must have really enjoyed it too as each and every toy was out of the drawer by the bed. She didn’t want the guys to see THAT. There weren’t a lot of toys but the fact that they existed would be embarrassing to them all. Madge came up while they were cleaning up and apologized. She’d been unable to stop them from moving things around and generally creating chaos. Grace found that they’d been thorough in the studio too. Tubes and a few can’s of paint were everywhere as well as other supplies.
Grace called Jack’s and had dinner delivered. She wasn’t up to cooking for the guys. Everyone had pitched in to clean up but very little had been spoken. The meal was hot and delicious but no one felt much like eating. Grace called the hospital several times for updates but there was nothing to tell, no news. Grace and the guys spoke about neutral subjects but it was stilted.
It was awkward when bedtime came around but Grace showed them where extra blankets were and the couch was pulled open to reveal the bed already made with sheets on it. The guys were using the spare bathroom and Grace let them alone as she went into the master bedroom and for the first time that she could remember the door was closed to it.
Adam turned to the others and said “She stays here?”
Amused Craig answered “She lives here with Mom, didn’t you know?”
“Well Mom mentioned that she had moved in but I guess I thought she had her own room. Oh God, have we taken her bed?”
Bryan was amused as well “No, I don’t think we’ve taken her bed. I think we have just found out that Mom and Grace are more than just friends if you get my drift.”
It took a few seconds to penetrate his brain, Adam was horrified. “Your saying Mom is a lesbian?”
“I’m saying that Grace makes Mom happy. If they are lovers, that’s their business.” Bryan shrugged it off as being no big deal. He’d seen a lot at college and he didn’t judge others. He sat in the recliner and pulled a blanket over himself.
Craig was sitting on the edge of the pull out bed. Turning he leaned against the back of it and grabbed the channel changer. Grace had turned on the music channel awhile ago. He turned it all off with a press of the button.
Adam couldn’t shrug it off like that. He made a horrified face and said “how can you talk like that? That’s your mother your talking about you know.” His voice was raising and the other two shushed him. They didn’t want Grace hearing their conversation. “Did you two know?”
Craig shrugged and said that he had suspected. Mom had not told any of them but it was not that hard to figure out when two woman of means moved in together. Besides hadn’t Adam noticed how happy Mom was since Grace had moved in?
Adam got onto the pull out on the other side. He was still horrified at the news.
Craig and Bryan talked things over with Adam for a good hour before he finally conceded that if Mom was happy this way then so be it. It wasn’t his choice. She hadn’t confided in any of them so it wasn’t his business. Beside they all admitted that Grace really did care for Mom.
Each went to sleep with their own thoughts on the situation. How weird to basically confirm that their mother who they had known all these years was leading a private life, and with a woman to boot.
~ CHAPTER 16 ~
Five days had dragged by since the ‘accident.’ The doctors had ruled out a lot of poisons but they still have no way of knowing what caused the incident. The police too had no clues. The theory was that some sort of airborne toxin came in the open window. Grace wasn’t buying that one. She did however make a formal protest at the state of the apartment and received written apologies from the officers involved.
Joan still laid there and they had moved her out of intensive care. The guys had no idea what to do with themselves. They wanted to be there for their mom but they were at loose ends. Grace gave them the keys to their mothers new car. She found in Joan’s purse the new insurance policy that Joan must have purchased that Monday. She warned the guys though if they put so much as a scratch on the car their mother would have their collective hides. They all took turns sitting with Joan and talking to her. The brain activity has risen but the doctor’s were cautious in saying anything. Grace was used to doctor double-talk but the guys were frustrated.
After five days of nothing they no longer knew what to do with themselves. No one wants to stray far from the hospital in case she wakes up but there is only so much to do there. Going to and from the apartment is all anyone seems to do. The guys start to bicker over their mother’s care. Grace who has had conversations with Joan over stuff like this tries not to get in the middle but when it is suggested that they take her off the machines she steps in and blasts them. There is brain activity. She is alive. She is off the ventilator and breathing on her own. Just because there is no quick fix doesn’t mean that she won’t wake up. They can’t give up hope. Craig tries to pacify Grace telling her that Mom had never wanted extraordinary measures. Grace knows that Joan wouldn’t want that and in turn tells him these aren’t. They are humane. The machines aren’t keeping her alive they are helping her, assisting her, monitoring and feeding her. There is still hope. She isn’t brain dead. She is fearful that the guys in their desperation will give up and make decisions that she cannot participate in. She is only here she knows, as a courtesy. If they wanted to make things difficult for her they could.
The doctor was recommending the possibility of long term care for their mother. The boys discuss about moving her back to Wisconsin so they can see her when they want. Grace is terrified they will take her and go but doesn’t voice her concerns.
The guys decide to take the car and head back to the apartment. Craig says he is going to check on some of the property Mom owns in LA and Orange County. He will be gone for hours. Adam tags along. Three people in the convertible is too many so Bryan sits at the apartment channel surfing.
Grace sits by the bed talking to Joan. She has big circles under her eyes as she has slept very little in the past five days. Taking Joan’s hand she pleads with her to wake up, give them a sign that she hears them. She too is frustrated at the waiting game but what else can they do. Sighing she puts her head down for a moment. Dozing she thinks she feels the hand she is holding squeeze hers. Her head whips up to look at Joan. “Joan, can you hear me? Wake up honey, wake up. Joan, if you can hear me, squeeze my hand again. Squeeze my hand, PLEASE!”
She watches Joans hand and then her face for some sign she hasn’t imagined things. Nothing. She must have wished for it or it had been an involuntary muscle spasm. There had been a lot of those. She was about to put her head down again on the edge of the bed when she felt distinctly a movement of the fingers and then a squeeze of her hand. Not tight but a definite squeeze. Joan’s breathing was normal but Grace was sure she heard a catch.
“Joan, darling, wake up. Please wake up. Squeeze m
y hand again. Joan?” She was almost sobbing in her excitement.
Another squeeze came and no more. Grace tried several times to get another one but a long time passed and she let it go. Joans doctor came in and Grace got up to report what had happened. He was interested but it seemed he didn’t really care. Grace was getting upset with him. She let him know it too. She was telling him off when she heard behind her “Grace,” a throaty whisper. She whipped around to see Joan staring sleepily at her. She went to the bed immediately and grabbed her hand.
“Oh my gawd, oh my gawd, your awake!” she sobbed. She couldn’t help herself the tears started flowing.
Dr Warniac butted in and started asking Joan questions. What did she remember, did she know where she was, how did she feel? He didn’t give her much time to answer before going on to the next question. Joan didn’t answer any of them but looked at him puzzled and sleepily. He pressed a button on the wall and called a nurse in. They went to the end of the bed and began discussing Joan as though she weren’t there.
Joan turned her eyes on Grace. Releasing Graces hand she reached up and caught a tear that was dripping down her face. Cupping her hand to Graces face she gave a little smile before she drifted off to sleep. Her hand fell down on the bed. It was a real sleep this time, they could tell by the monitors.
Grace left the room to go wash her face and call the guys. Bryan was the only one at the apartment and he had no way to get down there unless he called a cab. He could get a hold of Craig on his cell though. He’d be down himself in a few and if the cab took too long he’d run down. He was so excited.
Grace went and sat again by the bed. Bryan came in and sat with her. They whispered occasionally while they watched Joan sleep. A few hours later Craig and Adam came into the room. They were all sitting there when Joan woke up. The first person she saw was Grace and she gave her a sleepy little smile. Her eyes move around the room to each of the boys showing no surprise that they were there.
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