St. Martins; early Saturday morning; Bridget, Phin, NPCs
The doctor and various nurses were speaking quickly about Phin's condition and calling for other doctors as they ushered Phin into an empty room and started working on him, shining lights in his eyes and trying to get answers out of him as they worked around him. Grace kept Bridget in the hall with her even though there was a clear view through the room's windows. "Do you have anyone who can come and stay with you in the waiting room? Anyone at all you want me to call for you?" Grace asked Bridget.
Bridget was highly distracted by the action going on in the room, so after glancing at Grace for a moment, it took her a little bit before she answered. "I need to call my brother so he can watch the kids," she said absently as she watched one of the doctors wielding a flashlight in Phin's face. "And Carter, Phin's partner..." She took a look around the hallway as though she expected him to just be standing there. "I don't know where he went."
Grace's eyes widened a little when Bridget mentioned the kids since it made her remember that the Pandigaeshiks had toddlers. "I'm sure he's on his way," She said about Phin's partner. "Is someone with your kids now?" She asked even though she was hoping Bridget wouldn't have been so shocked that she left them alone. "If you want I can call your brother for you?" She offered, arching her eyebrows and put her hand on Bridget's arm to try and get her attention.
Bridget settled her gaze on Grace for just a brief moment before she brought her eyes back to the room where Phin was. "It's complicated. I need to talk to him." She was quiet for a moment before she asked, "How long until we find out if he's going to be okay?"
Grace hated that question, mostly because the answer was usually, 'we'll have to wait and see' or something lame like that. She glanced into the room. "Tell you what," She answered. "If you go down that hall and make a right there's a waiting room. There's a phone in there you can use as well. Call your brother to watch your kids and I'll go in and get an update from the doctor, okay?" She arched her eyebrows again.
Bridget shook her head. "I'm going to wait here." What if Phin asked for her again? She needed to be nearby. "I have a cell phone." She pulled it out of her pocket and showed it to Grace. Surely she could use that.
Technically, Grace was supposed to tell her to turn the cell phone off to avoid having it interfere with the machines. Grace wasn't really big on arguing with patients relatives when their loved one was in the other room practically dying - unless it was necessary, like to stop them from interfering. Grace pressed her lips together and nodded. "Okay," she agreed with a nod, "You do that, and I'll go get an update," She offered. "Okay?"
Bridget nodded quickly. "Yes, thank you." She took another look inside the room and then pulled her cell phone closer so she could bring up Neil's number.
Grace nodded and then went into the room, letting the door shut behind her and putting the chart down as she pulled on some gloves to help out and to get a clue as to how bad Phin was at the moment. He was babbling again, asking where Bridget was while the doctors asked him questions. He was having trouble seeing and the doctors were focusing on his spleen at the moment.
Once she was sure they wanted to take him to the operating room, as well as getting CT scans later for his head and spine, Grace informed them that Phin's wife was outside the room. One of the doctors nodded and started pulling off his gloves and protective scrubs, ordering Grace to get some consent forms for Bridget to sign and then said she'd go and speak to Bridget. Grace nodded and left the room with Phin's chart. "Doctor Edmondson is on her way out to speak to you, I'll be back in just a second. I need some paperwork," Grace told Bridget quickly despite the woman being on the phone.
Neil was half sleep when Bridget called him. She'd forgotten he'd just had a fight that night She gave him the rundown, and though he obviously wasn't Phin's biggest fan at the moment, he was concerned for all of them and said he'd come by the Manor as quickly as he could. Bridget had to tell him to hold on for a second when Grace came out. She pulled the phone away from her ear and nodded at what she told her. Once Grace left, Bridget brought the phone back and wrapped up her conversation with her brother.
"The nurse says the doctor is on her way out. I told the security guard to let you up. Tell Stone thank you for me." She nodded at Neil's response and leaned over to get a look into the room. "Yeah," she continued. "Okay. Thank you. I'll call you as soon as I find out. Bye." She hung up the phone and gripped onto it tightly as she waited.
The doctor emerged once she'd thrown her lab coat back on. "Mrs. Pandigaeshik?" She asked when she saw Bridget, figuring she had to be right as the other doctor and nurses started prepping Phin to be moved and to head to the OR. Grace moved quickly to get the right forms and clip them to the chart and then jogged back down a few halls from the nurse's station to the hall Bridget and the doctor were in.
"That's me," Bridget nodded repeatedly. "How is he?"
"I'm doctor Edmondson," The doctor said quickly. "Your husband's stable right now but we need to take him up to the operating room. It appears he has a ruptured spleen and that seems to be where the internal bleeding is emanating from," the doctor said. "That's our first priority right now. We'll be taking care of the open wounds as well in the OR. Once we're clear on that, we'll address head and spinal injuries. Do you understand everything I've said so far?" She didn't ask it to be rude but a lot of the times relatives were in shock while they were in the hospital and she needed to make sure was all.
Bridget looked into the room as the other doctors got Phin ready and Edmondson explained what was going to happen. Spleen, head, spine? His leg was bad too; that was obvious just by looking at him. And his arm had been under all that rubble. Bridget blinked and looked at the doctor. "He does have spinal injuries?"
The doctor gave Bridget a sympathetic look. "We'll know more once we take care of his internal injuries and then get him through some CT scans," She answered. "He does have feeling in his limbs," She added. "But that doesn't rule out spinal injuries. First we need to take care of the internal bleeding and his spleen. Grace has some consent forms she's going to go over with you so we can take your husband up to the operating room for his leg and his spleen. We're going to have you go over those while we're preparing a room for him upstairs. He's awake right now as well, so when you're finished up you can go in and talk to him before we take him to the OR. Do you have someone who can wait with you in the mean time?"
Bridget was quiet for a few moments as she processed all of that. "I..." She looked into the room again before shrugging her shoulders up. "I don't know. But I have to do those forms, right? Quickly?" She turned to look for Grace.
Grace was back, and holding up a pen. The doctor nodded and told Bridget that she'd see her in the room before heading back inside. "These are consent forms. Basically you're giving us permission to operate on your husband for his spleen in this one," She pointed to one paper and then lifted it to show another, "and for permission to operate on his leg in this one," she looked at Bridget. "Do you want to read them first?" she asked. People seemed about 50-50 on this question, depending on how bad the injury their loved one had sustained.
"Um." Bridget was torn. On one hand she wanted to get Phin through as quickly as possible, but on the other, she wanted to make sure everything was on the up and up. But what would she do if something wasn't? Leave Phin there to bleed out internally? She compromised with her conscience by taking the clipboard and scanning over the forms quickly. A few phrases here and there registered with her, but that was about all she could comprehend in her current state, and none of it was objectionable. So she grabbed the pen from Grace and signed her name in the right places.
"It would be good if someone could give me a rundown of everything you guys are going to do in there while you're moving him," she said as she handed the clipboard back. She really didn't want to waste any time talking about it beforehand.
Grace nodded. "I'll make sure someone lets you know," Or she'd periodically let Bridget know as well. "I'll go and get you copies of these so you can read them better while you're waiting too," To at least distract her a little bit. She pulled the door open. "Why don't you go in and talk to him before they bring him upstairs? I'll come get you and bring you to the OR waiting room when they're ready. Whenever...Carter was it? When he shows up I'll send it right up to the waiting room too." She assured.
Bridget nodded and put her phone back in her jacket pocket. Grace led her into the room and then left her alone. Bridget looked the place over as she walked up to Phin. He looked even worse in the harsh lighting of the hospital. She could really see every cut and bruise, not only from the accident, but from the work the medical staff had been doing. And the neck brace wasn't exactly a happy sight.
She frowned deeply and stopped next to the bed. "Phin? Are you awake?" She reached down for his hand.
Phin's eyes were only cracked when Bridget came in. When he heard her speaking, even though it sounded muffled to him, he forced them open a little more and rolled his eyes around to find her blurry form. His fingers curled around her hand but only a little bit because it hurt. "Hmmm?" He hummed out, way too tired to try and form words. He barely even knew where he was to be honest.
Bridget let out a relieved breath when he responded, but it didn't make her frown any less. In fact, her eyes were starting to fill up again, just thinking about how this could possibly be the last time they spoke together. Or she spoke to him, it seemed, since he was out of it. "It's me," she said, leaning closer. "They're going to take you into the OR soon, but they let me come in and talk to you."
Phin squinted his eyes in hopes of getting a better view of Bridget in case he never saw her again. What about the kids? Was he ever going to see them again? What if they asked for him? What if they eventually stopped asking for him? Yeah that got a stray tear in with the dirt and blood on his face as he squeezed her hand a little more. When she finally came into some form of focus, he started rambling, in a broken murmur through a grimace or two. "M'mem'ry sucks bu'...I'member day, first saw you..." Okay it was choppy and words were cut into with grimacing and grunting but the point of it was important.
Bridget's face contorted and she squeezed Phin's hand without thinking about it. She really didn't know what to say in response, as she was kind of floored. Not good when you were talking to your (estranged) husband for what could be the last time.
"Phin..." A few tears rolled down her cheek, but she didn't bother wiping them away. "I love you...and...and when you come back out, we're going to talk. About us."
Phin's face contorted thanks to the hand squeezing and what Bridget was saying. He'd wanted to hear those words for a long time now and the idea that he might not be able to work it out with her in the end was more than painful. It caused a few more tears to slide from the corners of his eyes down his temples. Seriously though, dude was in a lot of physical as well as emotional pain here. "I love you," He told her since he was getting sleepy again, probably from whatever they'd injected to him at this point. "M'so sorry." He added. And then he started murmuring about mistakes, and also about the kids and wished he could've seen them and how he loved them too and she had to tell them. It was all dotted with pauses and grimaces, grunts, a couple coughs, and all that.
"Hey, no, you can tell them yourself," Bridget shook her head. "Later, okay? It's gonna be okay." She bent down and kissed the hand she was holding before moving to kiss Phin's cheek and then his lips. She pulled back with some babbles of her own about how she would see him after the operation was over.
Phin frowned as she kissed his hand and his cheek. He was barely able to respond to that other kiss too - another thing he thought he'd never get to do again. He let out a shaky breath but didn't get to answer. The medicine they'd given him was kicking in and his eyelids were drooping again. That and a doctor and a couple of orderlies had come and announced that it was time to take Phin up to the OR. Phin's eyelids drooped a little more but he squeezed onto Bridget's hand and didn't want to let go. He honestly didn't think he was coming back. A fucking building fell on him after all. Who lived through shit like that? Grace walked in and waited a few feet away from Bridget. "You can walk with him until we get up there," she told Bridget as the orderlies started releasing the wheel locks and preparing to move the bed.
Bridget had a panicky look on her face when the hospital staff started trickling back into the room. She thought she'd have longer with Phin, but she realized that the faster they got him out of there, the better it was for him. She kept ahold of his hand and nodded when Grace said she could stay with him. She looked down at Phin and gave his hand another squeeze before leaning down again to kiss the back of it.
Phin's forehead scrunched together as they started wheeling the bed. He tried to keep his eyes on Bridget, but it was getting harder. He felt like one of the kids, blinking repeatedly when his eyes closed to try and keep them open. The orderlies rolled the gurney into the hall and to the elevator. Grace followed behind them, preparing to show Bridget the way to the waiting room once they reached the operating room. Phin started murmuring again as he fought to keep opening his eyes, that he loved her and the kids and that she had to tell them in case he couldn't.
"You can tell them when you see them," Bridget assured. It was hard to hear Phin as they walked along, so she had to do so partially bent over. She kept her eyes on him as much as possible and as a result nearly tripped a few times. She was able to stay on her feet the entire walk, though, and by the end gave in to start wiping her eyes on her sleeve without letting go of Phin's hand.
Phin tried to hold on to Bridget's hand even as they started making her let go. He couldn't fight very much and he was mostly out before they even got to anesthesia. Grace waited until they'd rolled Phin through the double doors before she reached out and put her arm around Bridget's shoulders. "They're good surgeons," she said. "Why don't we get you to the waiting room and I'll fill you in on what exactly they're going to be doing?" She asked.
Bridget did not want to let go of Phin's hand, especially since he was grabbing onto hers tighter, but she knew he had to go and she had to let them help him. So she let go and just stood there, watching them wheel him down the hall and through the doors she couldn't pass.
It took her a few moments to realize that Grace was holding onto her. "All right," she said quietly with just a glance in her direction.
Grace nodded but made sure she didn't make any 'it'll be okay' comments. She just led Bridget to the waiting room, which was fancier than the ER waiting room and looked more like a combined living room/kitchen with a table, coffee pot some cabinets full of snacklike things, a couple cushy couches, a TV and some chairs. Grace led Bridget to one of the couches and sat down with her. "Last I heard, your husband's partner, Carter? Is answering questions and dealing with some paperwork and then he'll be here." She said.
"Oh," Bridget nodded absently as she sat down. "That's good." Then she gasped and turned quickly to Grace. "I have to call his family. Phin's family. They haven't heard."
Grace nodded. "Do you want me to leave you alone for a few minutes to do that?" She asked as calmly as possible.
"Yeah," Bridget nodded, and then quickly changed her mind. "No. First you should fill me in. So I know what to tell them." She swallowed and nodded a few times.
Grace took a deep breath. She wasn't supposed to technically be the one telling Bridget this but she'd explained to the doctor that they were neighbors and besides the doctor was needed elsewhere. It took her about ten minutes or so to go over everything with Bridget. She tried not to sugar coat it but she tried not to be crass about it either. She tried to answer all of Bridget's questions and all too.
It was exhausting just listening to it. Bridget asked a few questions when she had them, but mostly she just stayed quiet and listening, wiping at her eyes every now and then. Grace's explanation left Bridget even more doubtful of Phin's fate than before. She took a breath when Grace finished, and then asked one of the big questions: "How long will it take?"
Grace hesitated to answer that question. "It depends," She said. "Two, maybe three hours, depending on how extensive the damage is. More if there are complications. I'll bring you updates as I get them." Or send someone to do so since she had to get back to work and all still.
That was a long time to wait. Bridget was probably going to drive herself crazy with worry in that time. "Thank you," she nodded. "Please let me know whatever you hear...good or bad."
Grace nodded. "I will," she promised. "Make those calls. I'll let you know when I find anything else out," she assured with a squeeze to Bridget's shoulders. She left the consent form copies with Bridget and brought over a box of tissues from one of the nearby tables too before she left the room.
"Thanks," Bridget said again, quieter than before. She took the forms and the tissues and set them down in her lap. Phone calls. She had to make phone calls. Or maybe she just had to call Billie and Billie would do the rest. Bridget pulled her phone out of her pocket and found Phin's sister's number. As she waited through the rings, Bridget sniffled and pulled a tissue out of the box.
Billie was awake, and writing a paper that seemed never ending. When he phone rang, she eagerly reached for it, fully expecting it to be a friend. When she saw Bridget's name, however, her brow furrowed and she looked at the clock. it was really late to be getting phone calls from her (soon to be ex?) sister in law. She quickly flipped the phone open and put it to her ear. "Hey night owl," She greeted. "What's up?"
"Billie. Hi," Bridget said, sounding a little breathless. After she got that out, she realized she hadn't thought about what to say next. Cutting to the chase was, of course, the best option. "Phin was in an accident at one of the sites. I'm at the hospital. They just took him to the OR for surgery. Part of the building collapsed on him," she explained, trying to keep her voice even even though the shakiness was winning out.
Billie's eyebrows arched at Bridget's greeting. She was going to ask what was up but then Bridget started talking and Billie's eyes widened even more. "What?" She asked as she tried to wrap her mind around that. She startled her roommate as she started moving for her sneakers. "Is he okay though? Like...why the OR? He's like awake and stuff right? Are the kids with you? What hospital are you at?" It was rapid fire question time as she tugged her sneakers on and haphazardly tied them before grabbing her bag to throw her keys wallet and such in there.
"St. Martins. The kids are with a neighbor, but Neil is on his way over. There. On his way over there. Phin was awake, but barely...and the doctors had to knock him out for the surgery," Bridget slumped in her seat as she explained. "He got...his leg is mangled. Probably broken. And, um..." Bridget frowned further as she blanked on the rest.
Billie tried to take all that in. "What about you? Where are you? Are you alone?" She turned to her roommate, "Sam, I need you to drive me to St. Martin's." She interrupted before she went back to talking to Bridget. "I'll be up there soon as possible."
"I'm in the waiting room, by my -- his spleen!" Bridget sat up straighter as the words came back. "It's his spleen. It's ruptured and he has internal bleeding. Everything fell on his chest. Carter said he went from, from the second floor down to the first."
Billie was quiet on the other end except for a shocked exhale of air. Her brain sort of shut down as she processed all of that.
"And his arm had been under a pile too," Bridget continued. "They had to dig him out. They don't even know everything that's wrong with him yet 'cause they want to fix his spleen first. There's a possibility of spinal injuries, but...they don't know. His, um, his limbs. He can move them, though. So...that's one good thing."
Billie had to sit back down on the edge of the bed as Bridget went on. It was harder to breathe with every injury she added. Her eyes filled and she ignored the tears as her roommate urged her up and they started walking quickly to the parking lot. Billie sniffled. "I'll..." she paused a moment to breathe, "I'll call my parents and tell them." she sniffled a little again. "Sam's gonna drive me over. I'll stay on the phone with you though."
Bridget nodded at first, but a moment later shook her head. "You should...probably call your parents. I'm okay over here. I mean, without anyone. Carter's coming soon, and I think I'm going to try and call Brad."
Billie frowned. "I'll call them." she assured. "You're nuts if you think I'm not coming over there." she added. "I'll find you when I get there." she said.
"No, no, I meant you don't have to stay on the phone with me," Bridget shook her head. "You should definitely come here. It'll be good for him to have people around...when he comes out." She almost said 'if', but luckily caught herself in time.
Billie took a slow breath and nodded to herself as she climbed into Sam's car. "Okay. I'm gonna call my parents. I'll be there as quick as I can." She decided so they wouldn't talk in circles.
"Okay. Be careful. I'll call you if I hear anything." Bridget sniffled again. She wanted to tell Billie that Phin was going to be okay, but she wouldn't have been very convincing. Bridget's optimism was rapidly fading.
Billie took the lead for her, needing to convince both of them. "It'll be all right, Bridge. You'll see." she insisted with a sniffle. "I'll see you soon." she promised before she finally hung up to go call her parents.
Bridget said goodbye and hung up the phone on her end. Then she was all alone. Well, relatively speaking as there were some other people in the waiting room. She thought about calling either one of her brothers, or even her parents, but instead looked down at the consent forms she had. After she took some time to read those, then she'd call more people.
Billie called her parents. Of course her mother answered, which left a lackluster reaction. Her father would have been more alarmed. Her mother, however, was concerned but was going to call back to see if they'd head to the hospital or not. Billie wanted her to wake her dad up because he would definitely bring both of them down, maybe even the guys too. She sent a couple of texts to Clive and Dante, but didn't expect either of them to respond for at least an hour or two. It's just the way they were, which is why Billie and Phin were pretty much each other's favorite family member. Not the point. The point is, Billie's roommate dropped her at the hospital and Billie asked a nurse where the right waiting room was and then met up with Bridget. The next three and a half hours were pretty crazy, with updates and phone calls and what not. Then the doctor finally came down to give an official update.
Once they had reached the three-hour mark, Bridget's worrying had increased exponentially. Phin was supposed to be out by then. Bridget understood that the doctors couldn't give her an exact time, only an estimate, but still, he should have been out. So she was kind of freaking out, but kept it as under control as possible. At least she wasn't alone anymore. Billie was there and Carter was there. Neil was safely with the kids at the apartment. Brad said to call with an update as soon as Bridget found out more, and the same when for her parents. Now all she had to do was wait for more information.
Bridget didn't notice the doctor when she came in as she had been too focused on watching her knee move up and down as she tapped her foot on the floor. She was incredibly exhausted, but didn't want to sleep, no matter how much the people she talked to told her to take a nap. She wanted to find out if Phin was okay. Then she could sleep.
Billie was all for not forcing Bridget to take a nap. Billie was restless herself. Carter kept insisting that the girls rest and take a nap. It was ridiculous. Billie reached out and nudged Bridget lightly when she noticed the doctor, too afraid to ask the doctor anything herself. The doctor cleared her throat and introduced herself since Carter and Billie were there now.
Bridget looked up. First at Billie and then over at the doctor. She stilled her leg and stood up right away, scrutinizing the doctor's face for any sign of what was going on with Phin. "How is he?" she asked, almost cutting the doctor off at the end of her introduction. Billie and Carter knew the doctor was a doctor. She just needed to tell them what they'd all been waiting to hear.
Billie stood up and stuck pretty close to Bridget's side. She was almost literally holding her breath. Carter was quiet and stayed in his seat, arms crossed tight, nervous. The doctor looked at them and then nodded and took a breath. "Your husband is in stable condition. He's being moved into an observation room right now." she started out the conversation with that.
Bridget almost dropped back down into her seat from relief. For a second there she wasn't sure if she'd be able to keep her knees from buckling. But Bridget remained upright, and she even smiled. This was incredible news, even though they weren't out of the woods yet. She glanced at Billie quickly before turning back to the doctor. "Is his spleen fixed, then? And do you know anything more about his spine?"
Billie felt a similar relief but she was more concerned about Bridget, so she moved her arm around Bridget as she let out her own relieved sigh of air. The doctor spoke again. "We managed to save a portion of his spleen and only had to removed about seventy-five percent of it because of the damage, which will also lower his risk of infection." She answered. "With the spleen we took care of the internal bleeding. We took him for CTs and X-rays after surgery. We're waiting for those to come back for his spine and neck. He's still got feeling and mobility in his arms and legs. He does have a concussion and sustained a fair amount of damage to his occipital lobe," she motioned to the back of her head. "Which may cause some issues in regards to vision, but it will take some time before we see how it will play out and if it will be permanent or temporary." She stopped there to give them all a chance to absorb it all.
Bridget's eyes widened. Now there was a new thing to worry about? His vision? "What do you mean, 'some issues'?"
The doctor took a deep breath and held her hand up. "We won't know until he wakes up. The CT showed damage to the back of his brain in the occipital lobe, most likely from the fall," Obviously. "We have to take everything a step at a time. Right now he's stable, he's got motion in his limbs. He's going to need recovery time, everything won't be okay over night, but he made it through the surgery, his leg was reparable, his pressure is good and so are his reflexes. We'll know more when the spinal CTs and X-rays come back." She looked at everyone in the room and then settled on Bridget again. "Do you have any other questions?"
Bridget wanted to know if they could go in and see him, but she didn't ask as she was too busy trying to parse the fact that Phin had some degree of brain damage. And unexplained 'issues' with his vision. And he could still have spinal problems, despite the fact that he had feeling in his limbs.
Billie cleared her throat and asked the question instead, if they could see him. The doctor nodded. "Of course. I'll have a nurse come and get you once he's set up in his room." She assured as he pager went off. She looked down at it momentarily. "If you have no other questions, please excuse me and I'll come give you an update once I have the test results?" She arched her eyebrows. Billie thanked the doctor and looked at Bridget to see if she had any questions.
Bridget nodded when she realized that they were looking at her. She was sure she had other questions, but she was having trouble thinking of them at the moment.
Billie grabbed the consent forms and folded them to shove them in her bag. She made a mental note to write down any questions Bridget asked after the doctor left so that next time she came back they could ask. She thanked the doctor and said they'd think of questions for when she came back with the test results. And then they had to wait again. Carter stood up and cleared his throat. "I'm gonna make a quick call to Cally," He looked at them both to see if that was okay. Billie shrugged and nodded since it didn't matter to her.
That reminded Bridget that she had people to call as well. She nodded as she sat down again and pulled out her phone, trying to decide who to get in touch with first. She decided on Neil, since he was with the kids. And also he was the first person to come to mind.
Billie motioned to the other side of the room. "I'm gonna go call my parents and update them," she said as she pulled out her cell phone and waved it a little for show.
Bridget nodded once again as she waited for Neil to pick up his phone. Bridget talked to him and then her parents. She was about to call up Brad after that when a nurse came by to tell them that Phin's room was ready. Bridget hung up her phone right away and looked at Billie.
Billie was just hanging up with her parents when the nurse arrived. She looked at Bridget and then nodded to her. "You go ahead, I'll come find you in a few minutes. I need to make another call and get some coffee. Do you want some?" She really wanted to see her brother, but she wanted Bridget to get some time alone with him first. The nurse told Billie what number the room was so she'd know what signs to look at to find it and then asked Bridget if she was ready to follow her to see Phin.
Bridget was surprised that Billie didn't want to go in right away, but she wasn't going to argue with her if it meant she was getting some alone time with Phin. "Yes, please," she nodded as she stood up again. She followed the nurse to Phin's room and hesitated a moment before she followed her inside.
"If you need anything, there's a nurse's station at the end of the hall," The nurse pointed before she left Bridget on her own to be with her husband. Phin was a mess, to say the least. His left leg up to his waist was covered with a blanket but the right one was out and casted, propped up by some foam pillows. He was in a hospital gown instead of his clothes and the outlines of the gauze pads taped to his torso from the (partial) splenectomy were visible through the thin material.
His left arm showed the heart monitor clipped to his index finger, an IV line in the back of his hand and one in the inside of his elbow as well. His right arm was free though it was all wrapped up from his shoulder to his elbow due to all the scrapes and scratches and various stitches he'd needed. There were scrapes scratches, bruises, small masses of stitches and cuts dotting pretty much his whole body. The neck brace was still on and he also had an oxygen tube in his nose that ran up and around his ears, connected under his chin and led to a wall outlet that was supplying the regulated O2. His eyes were closed as he wasn't completely out of the anesthesia yet, but his heart drummed a steady rhythm on the monitor at least. Phin was a mess.
But he was a living mess, which was something Bridget had to remind herself when she saw him. Even though the sight of Phin all torn up wasn't something Bridget was going to be forgetting anytime soon, it was still pretty shocking for her to see it yet again as she walked into the room. It was probably the addition of the oxygen tube as well as all the gauze and stitches and plaster that made it worse. And the doctors didn't even know if that was all he would end up needing.
Bridget stopped next to the bed and looked down at him, only nodding a little bit to acknowledge the nurse when she spoke. Once she left, Bridget reached her hand up to wipe off her eyes, which had been filling up again. She shouldn't have left the tissues in the waiting room. She walked around the bed to the other side, since Phin's right hand wasn't stuck with needles and heart monitors, and pulled up a chair next to the bed. She frowned down at his hand for a few moments before she braved slipping her hand into his. At least his hand was warm. It was another reminder that he was still alive. As was the beeping heart monitor.
Bridget squeezed his hand a little with a sniffle and lifted her head up to look at the machine before turning her eyes back down to Phin. She moved her other hand over his as well and quietly mumbled some apologies for him being at the site working when he could have been safe at home with his family.
Phin was groggy. He wanted to open his eyes but they were so heavy, he'd given up when they'd settled him in the room. His eyes moved under his closed lids when Bridget first moved her hand into his. His heartbeat picked up a little on the monitor as well. His forehead creased at her apologies. It took a few minutes to finally crack his eyes open. He really hated that he could only turn his eyes and not his head because of the neck brace. He curled his fingers a little around her hand but not much because it hurt to move at all. "My fault," He rasped out when he finally forced himself to speak.
Bridget had heard the heart monitor pick up, but since Phin hadn't made any other movement, she figured he was still asleep. When he spoke, her eyes widened and she unconsciously squeezed his hand harder. "I...didn't think you'd be awake yet," she said, leaning closer to him. She smiled a little bit, totally relieved that she didn't have to wait longer for him to wake up.
Phin let out a small grunt at the hand squeezing. He nodded, as much as someone in a neck brace could but couldn't really force his eyes to open up anymore than they already were. He wanted to tell her that his entire body was in too much pain to actually stay asleep but figured she was freaked out enough. Plus he wouldn't have been able to physically get all of that out. Also, he knew they had to have given him pain medication, which made him want to shudder knowing that the amount of pain he was in was the dull version. Also, with his eyes cracked like that, he couldn't see anything. "Sorry," He said, though he didn't bother specifying about what since there were so many thing he had to apologize for and all.
"Don't worry about that right now," Bridget shook her head. "You were in the OR for a few hours. They fixed your spleen." She frowned and looked at the mound of gauze under his hospital gown. "...and had to remove of a lot of it. And, um." Her frown deepened as she dragged her eyes back up to his face. "They're still waiting on other tests." She let out a breath of air and moved her hand along his forearm just a little. "But you're stable now, thank God. How are you feeling?"
Phin let his eyes close that last little bit again while Bridget spoke. His spleen? That sounded bad. But she was right, he was alive and that was something to be thankful for right? He wanted to see the kids but it was pretty late and he was sure they were at home. Also, he didn't actually want them to see him this way...all mangled and hooked up to things. "M'fine," He answered even though it was a total lie. He was not fine. He had pain he couldn't really describe in so many places throughout his body that he could pinpoint one specific one that hurt more than any of the others. He took a deep breath and forced his eyes open to try and look at her. The problem, however, was that even when he did so he still couldn't see her. He thought maybe he was mistaken and he hadn't opened his eyes so he tried to again and then he blinked them. And then the heart rate on the monitor picked up a good bit because he could feel that his eyelids were open but he couldn't see anything, at all.
"That's good," Bridget nodded, figuring they must have pumped him so full of drugs that he didn't feel much. Which only meant he'd feel worse once they wore off, but right now things were okay. When he opened up his eyes and to look at her, she smiled, way wider than she had since Carter had first called her that evening. But it faded quickly once the heart monitor sped up and she saw the confused look on Phin's face. The doctor's words about Phin's vision echoed in her head, and she hoped he was just having some minor blurriness after the anesthesia.
"...what's the matter?"
Phin hesitated. Maybe it just had to do with the medicine and anesthesia wearing off. That was possible wasn't it? Had he gotten something in his eyes and now they were all fucked up? Did Bridget leave that part out? His forehead scrunched up more and his face contorted some. "I..." He hesitated again and tried to blink a few more times. "...Can't see," That about said it all, yes?
If Bridget had a heart monitor attached to her finger, it would have been going a little crazy. Her mouth fell open a little bit and she moved one of her hands off Phin's to wave it in front of his face. As if that would help. He didn't react and she dropped her hand down at her side. Phin was blind. He was alive, yes, but he was blind. She swallowed a lump in her throat and said, "The doctor also said that...you have some damage to the back of your brain. Which affects your sight." She paused to sniffle. "But they didn't know how it would."
Phin was calmer at first in the time between when he spoke, when she let go with one of her hands and when she spoke. The heart monitor was starting to annoy him since it picked up even more after that while his brain worked through all the implications of that. His eyes welled up some, he felt that at least. He was such a monumental idiot. Not only was he never going to, literally, see Bridget and the kids again, if he couldn't see, he couldn't do his job so there went their whole financial future. How was he supposed to process just those two things let alone all the other things racing through his mind? He didn't speak since he didn't know what to say. He was more than a little terrified on top of being in pain and being mostly immobile, now he couldn't see either? Phin didn't really think he could take all of this at once.
Bridget pulled her hand up and wiped at her eyes quickly before reaching out to do the same for Phin. "She said it could be permanent or temporary." Which was one good thing, but Bridget didn't want to get her hopes up.
Phin's face contorted a little more. He really didn't hear the 'temporary' part. This didn't seem like something that could be temporary. He set his jaw tightly to try and stop his stupid, damn and not sightless eyes, from tearing up anymore. He was acting like a child, he had to stop that. Fuck, what were they going to do?
Bridget's frown deepened as she watched Phin's face. She wiped another tear away from his eyes before moving her hand down to cup his cheek. "But you're still here," she reminded him (and herself). "That's the important part." They lucked out enough to have that much. The odds of Phin coming out of this permanently unscathed were pretty low. And now they still had the possible spinal injuries to worry about.
Phin stopped moving when he felt her hand on his cheek, long enough to think about how long before tonight/this morning it had been since she'd intentionally touched him. He tried to shake his head but it wasn't exactly possible. "Can't work...blind," fuck the spinal stuff, he could still handle the architectural side of it.
This couldn't be happening. Really. His biggest concern was actually the kids. Would Bridget ever let him watch or be with them when he couldn't actually see them once they were divorced or would he have to wait until they were old enough not to even need him? Phin didn't want to be a useless part of his family, regardless of divorce and what have you. He couldn't help the few extra tears that went sliding down his temples as he thought about it. He needed to calm down too, his heart was kind of erratic.
Bridget glanced at the machine beeping out Phin's heartrate. She turned her eyes back down to him and lifted her hand again to wipe off those extra tears, her chin quivering a little bit as she did so. "I know," she said quietly. She wondered if Carter would be able to work something out with him. Let Phin take care of the business side of things while Carter took all the hands-on stuff that required an eye. Surely he wouldn't just ditch Phin, especially after he was injured on one of their own sites. "There's still a chance it's temporary, though. Or maybe there's something that could be done to fix it..." Bridget trailed off with a sniffle. "The doctor didn't say much about it."
Phin's expression, he was sure, held no signs of optimism. They were probably going to lose the Kobol site for this. But it wasn't structural and something exploded but there was no electrical work done on the second floor though.
"Tommy, Alex and..." and who else was there? "Karl?" Had they gotten hurt? Had he gotten any of them killed? "It exploded." he was having trouble with coherent full sentences what with being all worked up and all.
Bridget nodded without realizing that Phin couldn't see her. When she did, she frowned. "They're okay," she assured. "I guess they were far enough away. They were the ones who found you. Last I saw, Karl was talking to the police at the site." Bridget sniffled again before leaning down to kiss the back of Phin's hand. When she pulled back again, she continued. "Carter's here, but he needed to make a phone call. Billie's here too. She's calling your parents."
Phin frowned. He squeezed her hand a little harder than he intended and attempted to locate her with his eyes. He failed miserably. He was exhausted and he really truly felt like every muscle in his body ached.
He frowned more when she said Billie was calling his parents. He was glad Billie was here sure, but he doubted the rest of his family would show. Not until tomorrow at the least. He frowned some more, that was one reason why it was so depressing that his actual family, Bridget and the kids that is, was falling apart because of his douchebag mistake. Sure she was here now, but what happened when she realized he was really going to be okay and her anger returned? "I'm so...so sorry." It didn't even begin to express how horrible he felt. Seriously.
It was painful watching him look for her but not actually see her. Bridget needed to take a moment before she could answer. She squeezed his hand back and took a deep breath before she began. "Phin...I don't want you to worry about that right now. There's more important stuff going on. Don't stress yourself out...your body can only take so much right now."
Phin was getting really pissed that he couldn't properly shake his head. "No," He kept trying to look for her, he kind of couldn't help it. "There's not," Okay maybe there was but really it was important. And she did say something about talking about it when he was out of the OR and he was out of the OR. granted she probably didn't mean right away but what if there were complications or something or what if she went home and she realized he was indeed okay and she just went back to hating him? He wondered for a moment if she meant the stuff she'd said to him at the site and before the operating room.
"Yeah, there is," Bridget argued, shaking her head enough for the both of them. "All I care about right now is whether or not you're all right. I'm not even thinking about the other stuff. We can worry about it later."
Phin kept his lips pressed together. He shifted a little since he was uncomfortable and then he had to close his eyes a moment...not that they were of much use open. He didn't know what to say. His thoughts felt about as erratic as his heartbeat. He hesitated a moment and then blinked his (useless) eyes open. "I'm scared..." He murmured quietly, fairly ashamed to admit it. It was pathetic, but he really was, scared that is.
Bridget's breath caught a little. She turned her head down and kissed Phin's hand again, a few times. "I am too," she said, her voice breaking on the last word. She sniffled a lot louder than she would have liked and tried to regain her composure. At least Phin didn't have to see her looking all distraught. That couldn't have helped his morale. But then again he could hear her, which was probably just as bad. "But...no matter what happens, we'll figure it out."
Phin's face contorted again, this time more in an emotionally touched (equally pathetic) kind of way. He didn't deserve it after what he did to her, regardless of whether or not he'd almost died tonight. He sniffled a little and squeezed on to her hand a little harder. "Okay," He wasn't entirely convinced but he was groggy and in pain, and a total wreck and all.
Bridget smiled to cheer him up before remembering once again that he couldn't see her. If this was permanent, the adjustment would be huge. She frowned some as she pictured telling the kids that their dad couldn't see them anymore. No more showing him things that they drew or playing catch or even watching them change as they grew up. Bridget's nose started burning and she had to sniffle again. She leaned down and kissed the back of his hand once more.
Phin was highly aware of that, to the point that he closed his eyes to keep anymore tears from escaping. It was bad enough Bridget had seen a building lying on top of him and had to be here now while he was all mangled, especially when he knew she'd pretty much been reduced to hating him on some level for all he'd done to her. He really wanted to see the kids...like actually see them, not just be with them. He wondered how long he was going to have to wait before he could actually feel okay about having them see him. He didn't want them to see him all beat up and covered in stitches, gauze, and bruises. And Billie too. She was probably going to freak out when she finally came back.
Bridget would have rather have the kids come and see him all mangled than make them wait to see him and lie about it in the meantime. She lifted her head up again and looked to see that Phin had a few more tears running down the sides of his face. Bridget frowned and reached out to wipe them off again with a quiet comment that she loved him.
Phin managed to repeat that he loved her in a whispery little broken murmur right before there was a light knock on the door. It cracked open but Billie didn't actually poke her head in, she was too afraid too really. She did ask if she was interrupted and they wanted her to come back later though. Phin sniffled as quietly as possible and tried to calm back down.
Bridget looked up when she heard the door. She glanced down at Phin and shook her head. "I'll be right back," she told him quietly. She squeezed his hand and then let it go so she could stand up and walk over to Billie. She figured she should quickly brief her on the vision thing.
"Okay," Phin said even though he was reluctant to let go of her hand, mostly because if he opened his eyes he knew he wouldn't see if she was still there. Billie was waiting on the other side of the door, still cracked open and listening for any clue that it was okay for her to come in.
Bridget walked over to the door and opened it up some so she could talk quietly with Billie. "He's awake," she said. "But...he can't see anything."
Billie was relieved when Bridget opened the door but Billie still couldn't see Phin and she was kind of thankful because the anticipation of however horrible he could look was making her heart race at an an unnatural speed. She swallowed hard when Bridget spoke though and her eyes filled up a little. "What?" It was just an natural reaction because it was going to take a while to process that. "A-at all? No...light or...or anything?"
Bridget put her hand on Billie's arm, her own eyes getting misty again just watching her reaction. "I...didn't ask about light," Bridget said, mentally chiding herself for not thinking to do so. She looked back into the room and then quickly turned back to Billie. She didn't want to leave Phin alone and blind for too long, so she needed to finish quickly. "But even so, he said he can't see anything."
Billie's shoulders slumped a little. This was absolutely horrible. She took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay," she whispered with a couple of nods. "Okay." She inhaled deeply again and then let it out slowly as she slipped her phone into her pocket. "Can I come in now...or do you want a few more minutes with him?" She asked.
Bridget shook her head. "No, it's okay. I actually want to find a doctor to tell them about his eyes." She gave Billie's arm a squeeze. "You can go in."
Billie took a deep breath and shook her head. "Okay," she nodded, trying to ready herself before she opened the door up to actually move into the room so that Bridget could make her way out the door. She turned her eyes to look at Phin and then had to reach up to wipe her cheeks off. She reminded herself repeatedly that it was good he was alive at all. She started for the right side of the bed so she could move her hand into his. Phin blinked a few times, startled and was about to ask who it was but Billie beat him to the punch. "Hey..." She greeted before she leaned over to kiss the side of his forehead. Phin tried not to frown as he returned the greeting. "Way to have a building fall on you, jackass..." Billie teased in an attempt to get a smirk or a chuckle. Phin gave her the smirk but not the chuckle because it would've hurt. He apologized to her and she told him to shut up with that and then asked how he was feeling.
Bridget watched them for a minute or two with a pained look on her face. After he answered Billie, she turned around and headed down the hall in search of some answers. She made it to the nurse's station and told the man on duty that her husband had woken up blind after surgery, and they needed to talk to a doctor to find out how bad it was. The nurse told her that a doctor would be down soon, which of course really meant nothing. 'Soon' was all relative. But Bridget went back down to Phin's room. On the way, she called and left a message for her boss at work, telling her that she wouldn't be in the next day. Or today, as it were.
Billie was talking to Phin about their parents. "I told them I'd call with an update. Mom said they'd be up in the morning since clearly the hospital was going to kick us out soon, being way past visiting hours," She rolled her eyes. "Clive never really woke up for the phone call but Dante said he was gonna hijack dad's car to come up." She smirked. "I told him he'd better not if he didn't want to wind up sharing a room with you once dad got through with him for touching his baby." She smirked a little though the idea that they all hadn't rushed over here to make sure he was okay made her angry and sad and a lot of other things.
It hurt Phin too but it wasn't altogether surprising. He tried to brush it off as if he didn't mind that they weren't crowding him. "S'okay," He stated quietly. "I'm tired anyway." He reasoned. "Wouldn't be awake when they got here anyway." He said. Obviously Billie knew he was full of it, Bridget probably would too.
Bridget hung up her phone and quietly re-entered the room so she wouldn't disturb Phin and his sister. She walked over to the free side of the bed and pulled over a chair. "A doctor is supposed to be coming soon," she said. Since she couldn't hold Phin's hand on that side, she just put hers lightly on his upper arm.
Phin didn't want to talk to a doctor. He was too exhausted to hear more bad news. He couldn't turn his head in Bridget's direction so he wound up literally staring at the ceiling blankly. "Okay," he paused a moment. "Don't go anywhere okay?" He was pretty freaked out so it was a quiet request. Billie squeezed his hand.
Bridget nodded and also gave him a squeeze, but hers was on his arm. "I won't, don't worry," she assured. "I called in at work so I'll be able to stay here." She wasn't sure what to do about the kids yet, but it was still early, so she had time to figure it out.
Phin nodded. He wanted to reach out with his left hand to find her hand but he couldn't see and that arm felt pretty heavy. Plus it was filled with wires and all. He thanked them both quietly and then closed his eyes, mostly because it was making him freak out more the longer he had them open and could see nothing. He let out a slow breath and tried to think of something to say next but he was tired. He forced his eyes open again when he realized he was starting to doze off, something that he was, frankly, afraid to do.
Billie watched them both and then hesitated after a few long minutes. "I'm gonna go get use some food," And coffee. Definitely coffee. "I'll be back in a few minutes," she promised before she leaned over and kissed Phin's cheek. Phin nodded just a little but stayed quiet.
"Thanks," Bridget said quietly. Once Billie was gone, Bridget turned back to Phin. "I'm just going to walk around to your other side," she told him before she let go and did just that. Once she sat down in the seat, she picked up his right hand with both of hers.
"If you're tired, you should sleep," she said. "I'll still be here."
Phin took a slow breath when Bridget let go too. He curled his hand around hers and held on. He felt childish but did nothing about it. He shook his head a little at her comment, glad she was going to stay but not wanting to go to sleep. Who knew what would happen to him when he woke up next time if he couldn't see after waking up this time? "I'm okay," He insisted.
"You'll be better if you rest," Bridget pointed out. She bent down and kissed his hand. "The worst is over now." Or so she hoped. "You should give your body a break."
What if he woke up and could feel his legs or his arms? He was quiet for a few moments. "I'm afraid to." It was obvious sure, but she was encourage him to go to sleep so he figured he should tell her why he didn't want to. He still felt pretty childish.
Bridget frowned. She gave his hand a squeeze. She'd never seen him as vulnerable as he'd been the past few months with all the divorce stuff, but this moment right here was really taking the cake. "You're stable now. Nothing bad will happen to you if you just take a nap, I promise."
Phin closed his eyes and then blinked them open again, as if doing so would suddenly clear up whatever was blocking his vision. His face fell a little more after he stared at the darkness some more. He really was tired. What did it matter if he woke up paralyzed next time if he was already blind? He was tired though, beyond tired. His eyelids were even starting to droop as he fought to keep them open. He held onto Bridget's hand a little tighter. Then he told her he loved her since he was clearly convinced that any number of things could happen once he went to sleep. Afterward he apologized again, a blanket 'I'm sorry' to cover lots of areas.
Bridget watched with a pained look on her face as he blinked and stared at nothing. She returned the hand squeeze and whispered that she loved him too. When he apologized, she brushed her hand along his cheek again and shook her head. "It's okay. Go to sleep," she said quietly.
Phin really was tired. It was hard not to get paranoid about falling asleep but it was even harder to keep fighting off sleep. So his eyes closed a little more each time he blinked until they were closed. Wasn't like he could see anyway. His heartbeat finally leveled off into a steady rhythm too and soon after that so did his breathing, though it was a little shallower than normal. His grip didn't really loosen all that much though, even though it hurt.
That was a little troubling, but Bridget kept right on holding his hand. She stared at him for a long time after he fell asleep, and just let the tears that began falling roll down her face since she didn't want to let go of his hand to wipe them off. She needed to figure out what they were going to do if his blindness was indeed permanent, but she was having trouble focusing on it right now.