Forever After (Unrestrained 5)

I turned back to the waiting room just as Drake walked down the hall from the elevators.

He came right over to me and kissed me. “Is he here yet?”

I shook my head. “No, and there’s no news.”

Drake removed his coat and scarf, kissed Elaine on the cheek and then gave me a hug. “Sophie had a bottle and went down without any fuss,” he said, then pulled back. “Let me go and check on things.”

He left, taking the hallway to the surgical suites so he could check on my father.

“Thank God Drake’s here,” Elaine said, her voice soft.

“Yes,” I said and sat beside her, taking her hand and squeezing. “Thank God.”

We sat and waited, watching the small screen in the waiting room, which was set to a local news channel. The volume was turned down and so we watched the news feed along the bottom.

It was then I saw the headline.

Local doctor caught in murder plot mystery

“Oh, my God,” I said and watched in horror as an image of Drake appeared on the television screen.

“What?” Elaine asked. I pointed wordlessly at the television. Elaine watched as well, and I saw her face fall when she read the headline. “Oh, God, those bastards.”

The photo had been taken of him leaving the hospital, and he looked devastatingly handsome in his white lab coat and scrubs, his dark hair a little long. It was taken earlier in the year, since Drake hadn’t been working or doing his class since the accident.

We couldn’t hear what the reporter was saying but there was a new photo of Lisa, taken from court where she appeared to be charged and her bail set. She looked disheveled in her prison orange, her face ashen. Then, a photo of me, taken when I had been with Kurt outside the Doctors Without Borders event so long ago.

“Why are they doing this?” Elaine asked, shaking her head. “Drake had nothing to do with the attack.”

I shrugged, although I didn’t feel at all relaxed about it. “It’s because of Drake’s past before he met me. Anything to sell a newspaper or get more viewers, I guess.”

“Couldn’t Drake sue them for defamation or something? They shouldn’t be allowed to run his name down in public like this.”

I sighed. “Until the police put the whole story she’s telling to bed, there’ll probably be speculation.”

“They should come out and say he had nothing to do with it,” Elaine said angrily. “The woman’s clearly delusional.”

“I know that and you know that, and Drake knows that. Until the police do, they’re going to keep this rumor alive.”

I watched as the news story changed to something else and felt a sinking sensation. This was going to harm Drake – maybe permanently. People always remember the lie but usually are uninterested in learning the truth. That’s what decades of politicians had realized, using it to their advantage. The media was using it to sell copy or ad time. It sickened me, and made me feel totally helpless at the same time.

Drake arrived back about fifteen minutes later. His face was unreadable. He sat down beside me and glanced between Elaine and me.

“He’s had a complication and they’ll be keeping him in recovery for a little while longer. His blood pressure – they’re having difficulty stabilizing it.”

“But he’s okay,” I said, panic rising in me. “They’ll give him some medication to fix it, right?”

“They’re doing what they can, but it’s touch and go,” Drake said and looked at Elaine. “He’s had another stroke. This time, it’s what’s called a brain stem stroke. Part of the brain that controls certain vital functions has been affected.”

“What do you mean?” she replied, her face pale.

“The part of his brain that controls blood pressure. That’s why they’re having trouble stabilizing it. They have to go back in and treat it.”

“He’s going back in for more surgery?”

Drake nodded. “They’ll use medication to break up the clot, but that could lead to more bleeding. I hate to tell you this, but it could go either way at this point. The damage to his brain… it may be too much.”

“When can we go see him?” I asked, hoping beyond hope that I could go and hold his hand. “When will he be out of surgery? Maybe if he hears us, he’ll fight.”