Signed, SEALed, Delivered

by Jaime Russell

  Gabriele Marks

  Two weeks later

  “Dr. Kane, it’s been two weeks. Can’t you tell us anything?” Kelly’s at the nurse’s station again.

  “What did the doctor tell you?” I ask her, and it’s the same thing. No change. “No change is a good thing, especially with a brain injury, like the one Zack sustained. The coma is letting his mind and body rest, while the machines are keeping him alive. He’s breathing on his own, so there’s no reason for a tube to be down his throat. What do you want to do, as a family?” He looks to me.

  I

  don’t get a chance to speak, as Kelly grumbles. She’s mad that his mom is making all the decisions without us.

  “We want to take him off next week, if there’s no improvement.” Zach’s mom says.

  Sam’s sitting next to Kelly in a wheelchair. He has a lot of rehab work to do to get back to even being at eight five percent better. His CIA field days are over. The bullets did a lot major organ damage, and he confided in me that he’s going to quit. It’s time for him to retire.

  “No, we are not taking him off anything.” Kelly spits out.

  “It’s her legal right to do that because she’s family.” Dr. Kane says.

  “His mother gave up her rights years ago, so how does that work?” Kelly is furious.

  Who is the closest living relative?” Dr. Kane asks.

  “His seven-year-old son, and then it would be.” She answers.

  “Then it’s your decision, especially if you’re power of attorney of his affairs, when he’s deployed.” I smile, as she pulls out the paperwork.

  “He’s not to come off of that machine, until I say so, got it?” Kelly points at him, and he nods with a smile.

  “Thanks for getting that paperwork.” I shake Sam’s hand.

  “Zack is fine man.” I thank him, as I head back to Zack’s room. It’s been two weeks, since we got that call about him. Erin, Alec’s mother, came and got him, so he didn’t miss anymore school. He calls me with nightly Annie updates. It’s the Veteran’s Day Parade today, and Alec wanted to skip it, but between Kelly and I, we talked him into honoring his dad.

  “Good afternoon, handsome.” I lean over, kissing his forehead. “Today’s weather is a little chillier than yesterday. I’m just kidding. I’m so hot that I had to go buy tank tops. Can you believe that tank tops in November?” I hear a knock on the door. “Oh, good. It’s my lunch.” I sit down and open my pizza. I have it delivered every day at lunch or dinner because I know it’s his favorite food.

  I take a bite and moan, bragging about how great it tastes. “Oh, look your Titans suck, but hey, they always did.” I chuckle. “Alec’s in his parade today, and he’s pretty excited about it. My mom’s heading there today because Erin needs to head home. I’m a little nervous about my mother’s influence on him, but I can deprogram her anytime.” I laugh.

  “She’s recording the parade, so I’ll be able to play it for you. Oh, Kelly might have a new boyfriend. She’s been quite busy, but it’s fine with me, because I get all of your undivided attention. It’s pretty nice that I can finally get a word in.” After a bit, I finally fall asleep in my chair, watching some stupid show. I wasn’t even really paying attention to it.

  I feel someone touch my shoulder, as I jump up. “I’m sorry. I wanted to cover you up. It’s chilly in here.” Natalie tells me.

  “Thanks. I haven’t been sleeping much. I just want to hear his voice. I miss him.” I wipe the tears.

  “He’s a strong man, and he loves you. He talks about you and his son constantly. Kelly is his sister, right?” She asks, and I nod. “He would tell me that she saved his life more times than not.”

  “I know she’ll be happy to hear that.” I smile at her. She tells me that she’s making her rounds in visiting her team members. Ellen has been doing a lot of rehab, but she’s patched things up with her husband, the good doctor. Sam is also working hard on his rehab, and he might be moving to Tennessee.

  “If you need anything, call me. I’m not leaving, until every single one of my team members is out of the hospital.”

  “Thank you.” I get up to hug her. She leaves, as I start to walk around the room. “Okay, Zack. It’s been two fucking weeks. That’s right, baby, two weeks that you and I have been this close, and I’m doing all the talking. I’m surprised that you’ve let me do this much talking without a peep, but it sure would be nice to hear a word or two from you. Wake up already. I can’t believe you’ve been sleeping this long. I didn’t think you needed this much sleep other than your normal four hours.” I slap his shoulder lightly.

  I head back to my chair, pulling up my email to do some work to get my head cleared. I’m working on the Valentine’s Day campaign, and I’m getting frustrated. I slam the laptop shut, as I say, “God, I can’t concentrate.”

  “Ella?” I hear Zack’s voice, so I jump from my chair to sit on the bed, grabbing his hand, as I start bawling.

  “Zack, I never thought I would hear you say my name again. Say it again, please.” I beg.

  “Ella. Ella. Ella.” Kelly stands in the doorway, and I look to her.

  “He’s awake. Go get Dr. Kane.”

  He tries to sit up. “Easy, baby. Take it slow.” His eyes are fluttering, as he’s trying to open them, so I dim the lights.

  “Where are you? Ella! I can’t see you. What’s wrong? I need help.”

  “Calm down. First things first.” I lean in to kiss him. It’s not a friendly peck on the lips either. It’s the ‘you may now kiss your bride’ type of kiss. “I’ve been wanting to do that, since you left back in September.”

  “I’m so confused about what happened, and my head hurts.” He says, as I lay him back down.

  “Now, baby, listen to my voice. You took a bad hit to the head, and from what the doctors are saying, there’s a lot of swelling in your brain, where the optic nerves are. The blindness might be temporary, but we have to wait for the swelling to go down. They’ve been running a lot of tests.” I say, trying to reassure him.

  “My right arm?” He swallows hard. “Will that come back, too?” He’s now crying even harder.

  “Oh, Alec has already told us that he’s going to make you a hook.” I say, trying to make a joke. “Your arm was crushed under a beam, and they had to remove it at above your elbow, or you could have lost your life.”

  “I guess it’s a good thing that I can still shoot with my left hand, too.” He jokes. “Medical discharge, huh?”

  “I’m afraid so.” I tell him.

  Me: Your dad is awake.

  Alec: Can I call him?

  “Baby, Alec wants to call you?” I mention to him.

  “I want to talk to him.” I start dialing Skype, as he says, “I can’t see him.”

  “It’s okay, baby. He just wants to see and talk to you.” Alec picks up right away.

  “Daddy! You’re awake.” He squeals.

  “Hey, buddy. I am awake. I’m going to try to be home, before Christmas.”

  “Good. I love you. I can’t talk long because I’m set to go on for the parade in a couple of minutes. I’ll call later. Nana Marks is recording me, so she’s sending it to Momma later. Oh, gotta go. Bye!” He hangs up the phone.

  “Nana Marks? Momma? Did I miss something?” Zack chuckles. “Is he calling your dad grandpa?”

  “No. My dad and him talk occasionally, but nothing like my mom and him. She’s teaching him how to crochet. She thought it would be fun, and he likes having the attention on him.” I laugh.

  “I hope I can get back to Tennessee by Christmas. I don’t want to miss Christmas with Alec.” He sounds sad.

  “Zack, well hello there. I heard you were awake.” Dr. Kane comes in with a smile on his face. “How are we feeling today?”

  “I can’t see, and my right hand is gone. How do you think I’m feeling?” Zack’s angry. He pushes the tray that has his water on it, and it goes flying across the room, making me jump.

  “I’d be
pissed off too, but we’re going to try to help you the best we can. You were straight with me in Germany and treated me with respect, so I’m going to do the same thing to you. Life is going to be different for you, but you have a great girlfriend, sister, and son who are ready to help you. Plus, there are a lot of rehab devices and people to help.”

  “When can I go home?” Zack asks.

  “Not right now. If you’re wanting to be there before Thanksgiving, then it’s not going to happen. Christmas is a maybe. I do need to take him for some testing. I’ll bring him back in an hour or so. Is that okay?” Dr. Kane asks me.

  “Do you have to take him? I just got him awake.” I laugh, as I kiss Zack goodbye, as transport takes him.

  “You’ll be here, won’t you?” Zack sounds like a scared kid.

  “Of course, baby. Wild horses can’t drag me away from here.” I swallow hard.

  *********

  A few weeks later

  “What’s the doctor saying?” I ask Zack. It’s the Monday after Thanksgiving, and he’s getting antsy. Plus, we’ve been arguing a lot.

  “She’s telling me that I’m going to be in here for a while for rehab with my arm, and this stupid blindness is most likely permanent. She’s ordering more tests.” He yells out in pain.

  “What’s the matter?” I get up from the chair.

  “My arm is killing me. I think my wrist is broken.” I grimace.

  “Which one?” He tells me that it’s his right one. “You don’t have a right wrist.”

  “But the pain feels so real. Can you call the doctor?” He begs, as I tell him that I’ll do that.

  Dr. Martin comes in and gives him something for the pain, after taking the bandages off to check to see if there is some sort of infection. Dr. Kane comes in, as Dr. Martin explains what Zack is going through.

  “It’s phantom pain, which is normal, but there’s some infection forming that is giving him some pain at the end of the arm. I need to contact the infectious disease doctor to see if he can monitor this arm.”

  “Where do you need me?” I ask, and they tell me in the hallway. I kiss Zac, as I head out into the hallway.

  Zachary Sanders

  “I want Ella here.” I beg the doctors.

  “Okay. She’s right in the hallway.” I hear Matt ask Ella to step back in.

  “We need to keep the patient calm.” Dr. Martin tells her.

  “Zack, there’s going to be a lot of pulling, ripping, and scraping.” Matt begins telling me. “Ella, you’re going to need to be holding Zack’s hand.”

  “The good one?” I crack a joke through the pain, as all of them laugh.

  “Did you decide if you’re going to get the hook yet?” Ella asks me.

  “Do you know now many times that I’d have come see Dr. Martin because my hook got stuck in my eyeball?” We both laugh.

  “You do rub your eyes a lot. Oh, you need the middle finger, instead of a foam finger.” Ella cracks another joke.

  “Perfect. I think we’ll order that one.” I wince. “Fuck!” I scream out in pain, trying not to move.

  “I’m sorry, Lt. Sanders, but there was some dried blood stuck on some dead tissue. I guess, I pulled a little too hard.” The nurse apologizes to me.

  “It’s okay. I just wasn’t expecting that. The pain is starting to subside, and I’m getting sleepy.”

  “You rest. Listen to your body. It knows you better than anyone.” The nurse tells me, as I fight the sleep, listening to Dr. Martin and Matt talk, while the nurse finishes.

  “We have an MRI scheduled for early in the morning. I need to check the swelling.” Dr. Martin tells me or Ella, since I can’t see anyone.

  “How does his arm look?” Ella asks.

  “Bad. Did anyone change the dressing, when you were here?”

  “No. Actually, no one has been in here to change it for a week, I think. Can you teach me to change them?” Ella asks. “I’m going to be doing this, when we get home anyway, and I want to learn as much as I can.”

  “There’s no indication of anyone changing it in a while. He now has an infection because of it.” Dr. Martin is ordering a couple of strong antibiotics and some tests. “I’m going to be honest here. I don’t know when he’s going to be one hundred percent. Don’t expect miracles. Some advice about treating him, don’t make him feel like he’s disabled. Make jokes with him and talk to him, like you normally do.” Dr. Martin tells Ella and me. She thanks him for taking good care of me.

  “Ella, when do you leave for Ruth’s wedding?” I ask her, as I yawn.

  “Oh, I don’t know. I need to figure that out.” She laughs.

  “Come here.” I pat the bed. All of my other injuries have healed. My arm and eyes are my main issue right now. I feel the bed move, and I know that’s my Ella, lying next to me. “God, I missed your body next to mine. It’s like you were made just for me.”

  “I was. I thought you knew this by now.” Ella laughs. After a bit, we both start to fall asleep to the sound of the machines.

  “Ella, what are we going to do? I can’t live like this, and you know it.” I ask her, as I kiss the top of her head.

  “What being taken care of, or relying on someone for your daily needs?” She asks.

  “I don’t want people to be my eyes and arm!” I yell at her in anger.

  “Zack, listen to me. No one is going to be your eyes and arms forever. You’re going through rehab, so you don’t need people. This is a setback right now. The Zack Sanders that I fell in love with didn’t give up so easily.”

  “Well, I guess we don’t know each other, as well as we thought we did.”

  “You’re being an ass.” She calls me out. “Grow up. Boohoo! You lost an arm and your eyesight. You could be dead and never be able to talk to Alec or me. I’m not trying to be mean to you. I was told to encourage you. What more am I to do? I have no words to tell you to make you feel better. I’ve never been in this situation before, and I can tell you it's going to be a long road, but I’m here for you.”

  “I don’t know if I can do it,” I cry.

  “Baby, I know you can do it. You’re the strongest person I know. It’s only been a couple of weeks. Fight for us. If anything, fight for yourself.”

  We spend some time crying and reassuring each other that we’re going to be there for each other. I hear her breathing level out, so I know she’s sleeping. I listen to her breathing, and for the first time in a while, I feel like I can make it. Something startles Ella.

  “Oh, I’m sorry.” She tells them it’s okay. “Good morning, Lt Sanders and Mrs. Sanders. My name is Amy. I’m going to be one of three of your rehab team members. Today, we’re going to work on feeding yourself and learning your surroundings.”

  “I don’t know if I can do it.” I feel so defeated, as Amy ignores my defeated attitude.

  “Mrs. Sanders, rehab’s going to take a while, so why don’t you go back to your hotel room, get a shower, and then sleep for a couple of hours. Just go do whatever you need to do.” Ella starts to argue with her, but I cut her off.

  “Babe, go shower, rest, and get some things done. I’ll be okay, until this afternoon. I love you.” She leans down to kiss me.

  “You have them call me if you need me sooner, okay? I love you.” She kisses me again.

  Amy continues talking about the breakfast, after she sits me up in the bed, and I’m assuming that Ella’s gone.

  “Breakfast is scrambled eggs, toast, orange juice, and mixed fruit. Now, take your left arm to start feeling the tray. It’s going to be awkward and difficult for a while, until we get a better plan.”

  “I’m going to try.” I smile at her, hoping she sees it. I do as she tells me, as I feel the plastic silverware. I fumble on the tray, and the eggs feel so gross on my fingers. I even tell her, which makes us laugh. I move around more for the toast and fruit. I pick up the toast and take a bite of it. “There’s no butter on it.”

  “The butter is to the right of the toast on
the tray. You felt the knife. Do you think that you can butter it?”

  “No. I have one arm. I can’t hold the toast and butter it.” She tells me okay, as she helps me. I do okay eating my breakfast, but I did end up spilling some of the eggs on me. It was kind of funny.

  “Okay. Ella brought you a couple changes of clothes, so how about you and I get you changed, and then we can get you walking down to the rehab room, where I’m going to teach you how to walk with the walking stick for a little bit. Matt told me that you were getting restless staying in bed, so we are going to make you work. Now, the clothes that Ella brought you are black basketball shorts and a blue t-shirt. This will be easy for you, when you get a shower.”

  “Can I ask you something personal?” I ask, as she tells me yes. “Will I ever feel normal again?”

  “You will, but it will take time. Once you start to move around, you will get used to a new normal.”

  “Okay. I just want to go home.” I tell her. She helps me with my pants, and it’s a struggle, trying to figure out how to get dressed by myself. I don’t know how I’m going to this on my own.

  “All dressed and ready to go. This is your walking stick. I’m sure you’ve seen it on television and movies with how people use it. Just tap the floor lightly and move it around.” She explains to me that the sound bounces off different sound barriers. It’s kind of cool that my other senses have heightened. I can still smell Ella’s perfume.

  “Okay.” Since I’m already standing, I take a few steps forward and nearly fall, because I’ve been in bed for almost a month. “Woah. I just got these legs, so excuse me.” I laugh.

  “You’ve never been able to walk and chew bubble gum.” I hear Mark’s sarcastic tone.

  “I tripped once, and you never let me forget it.” I shake my head. “Ignore the jerk in the doorway.” I tell Amy.

  “I came to see how things are going and talk to Ella about switching out with her, so she can go deal with Bridezilla, or more like Fatherzilla.” Mark laughs.

  “Wait, she’s leaving? Can I go with her?” I ask Amy.