Chapter 15,16,17

Chapter 15

“Hey Carp!” Larry shouts. 

“Hey, Larry.  Thanks again for doing this.  Here are all the arrangements.  Suzy will pick you up at the airport.  She is the daughter of the patient.  If you need anything, just call me.” 

“Tina, this must really mean a lot to you,” Larry says.

“It does Doctor Gordon,” Tina replies.

“Wow, I got the Doctor Gordon.  I know this is serious.  What’s up?”

Tina starts to tear up.  “The patient is the father of my fi…, a very close friend.  He is out of the country on a dangerous mission.  I have to make sure his father makes it…even if my friend doesn’t come…”  Tina started crying and couldn’t finish the sentence.  Larry puts his arm around her.

“It’s ok Tina.  I will make sure he gets the best care possible.  And as far as your friend, I am sure he will be fine.  I will pray for his safety.”

Tina answers through tears, “Thanks Larry.  That means a lot.  It’s just really hard having him all the way over there.  WE lost contact for so long and finally reconnected just to have all of this happen.  If I lost him again, I don’t know if I could bear it.  I want to spend the rest of my life with him.  I always have.”

Larry hands Tina his handkerchief.  “Are you talking about Cole?”

Tina looks at him surprised, “How do you know about Cole?”

Larry laughs.  “You told me all about him when you were in med school after he left to work for the F.B.I.  You were at dinner with Bess and me, crying your eyes out cause he left.”

Tina smiles as she wipes the tears.  “Yes I remember that.  You and Bess were life savers.”

Larry smiled, “As I recall, it was mostly Bess.  You two talked for hours.  I stayed out.”

Tina smiles as she hands him back the handkerchief.  “Exactly, and that was a life saver.  She was there with girl talk and you were there for support at the hospital.  You were a really great mentor.  I am glad I was paired with such a great person and doctor.”

Larry smiled, “It was mainly because you wanted cardiac as your specialty, if I remember correctly.  I am still upset about you changing on me.  You were the best student I ever had.  You would have made a wonderful cardiac surgeon.  What did I do to scare you off?”

“Don’t you remember?  I told you the story of that little boy named Jacob.”

Larry grins, “Of course I do.  I am just teasing you.  You know I have to give you a hard time.  Look when I get back, come over for dinner.  I know Bess would love to hear about Cole and she keeps asking me about you.”

Tina hugs him.  “Thanks Larry.  I’d love that.  Now get going and call me if you need anything.”

“Later Carp!”  Larry shouts as he walks through the charter flight door to the plane.

Tina looks at her watch and it reads a few minutes past 7AM.  She realizes if she doesn’t hurry, she will be late getting to the hospital.  She decides to be safe, she better call and let them know.  She searched for her cell phone as she waits for the shuttle.  After not finding it, she hopes she left it in the car.

As she finally gets to her car, she can hear her phone ringing.  It stops just as she gets to door unlocked.  She picks up but no one is there.  She punches in the number for her office.  After two rings she hear, “Doctor Carpenter’s office how may I help you?”

“Hey Trudy, its Tina.  I am just now getting into my car at the airport.  The Duncan’s are coming in at 8 for test results.  I may be a few minutes late.  Take good care of them until I get there please.” 

“Certainly Doctor,” Trudy replies.  “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

“Yes, I have a consult with Dr. Stonebridge at 9 on the Mettler case.  Can you please pull that file?  Also call Doctor Fowler and set up a consult with him within the next few days on the Wiggins case.  That should do it.  Thanks Trudy!”  Tina hangs up as she pulls out of the parking garage.  Just then a voice mail comes through.  She puts it on Bluetooth to listen.

“Hey T, I was just calling to hear your voice.  I miss you and love you.  I hope you haven’t told anyone about the engagement.  I want to do it together.  I am getting ready to go to work now but please call me back when you can.  I LOVE YOU MY SWEET T!”

She had tears rolling down her cheeks as she listened.  She didn’t realize how much she missed Cole.  It had only been two days but it seemed forever.  She saved the message and decided to call him later.  She didn’t want to interrupt if he was in the middle of something.  She pulled into her parking space at the hospital at three minutes past 8AM.  She grabbed her things and hurried to her office.

As she walked in Trudy greeted her. “Good morning Doctor.  No messages yet.  I pulled the Mettler file and its on your desk.  The Duncan’s are in the lounge.  They just arrived.  I have pulled you schedule for today and put a copy on your desk.  Here is your morning smoothie.  Anything else?”

Tina smiled and grabbed the smoothie.  “Thank you Trudy.  Give me a few minutes to get settled then please send the Duncan’s in.”

Tina sat at her desk and gathered her thoughts for the day.  She closed her eyes, bowed her head and prayed for her day just as she did every morning.  She prayed for Cole and the kids.  She prayed for Cole’s father and she prayed for her patients.  As she finished she buzzed Trudy.  “Please show the Duncan’s in.”

Within moments the door opened and the Duncan’s come in.  Little Joey came running to her and gave her a hug.  “Hey Doc!”

“Hey Joey.  I see you got your energy back.  That’s good.”  Tina greeted his mother. 

“Good for him,” his mother laughed.  “Not so much for me.  He is running me ragged but considering where we were, I’ll take it,” She said as she and Tina both sat down.  Joey jumped up into Tina’s lap.

Tina talked with Joey’s mom about the test results and future treatment.  They discuss several options before ending the meeting.  Joey give Tina a big hug as he leaves

After they leave, Tina sits at her desk exhausted.  Less than an hour at work and she feels like going home.  She hasn’t slept well in days thinking about Cole and it’s starting to get to her.  She pulls out her cell phone and listens to the message again.  She can hear the stress and anxiety in his voice.  She so wants to talk to him.  She decided to call him back.  She dials the number.  There are butterflies in her stomach as it rings.  Finally a quiet voice answers.

“Hello?”

“Cole, is that you?”

“T, I am so glad you called back.  Listen, hopefully I can get things wrapped up in the next few days.  I got a big operation getting ready to start.  I just wanted to talk to you and let you know how much I love you,” he says

Tina replies, “I love you too Cole.  Listen I need to talk you about something.  It’s about your dad.  He’s…”

Cole interrupts, “Tina, not now.  I need to keep my mind on the mission.  Tell them all I love them and hope to see them soon.  Love you T.  Gotta go.”

“Cole, be careful and I love you too.  Bye.”  Tina hangs up and now almost wishes she didn’t call.  She knew Cole was trying to focus on the task ahead of him but he seemed really standoffish and distant.  Tina bows her head and prays for Cole.  Just as she finished, Trudy buzzes her.

“Yes Trudy?”

“Doctor, they need you in the research lab.  It’s an emergency,” Trudy says.

“I’ll be right down.  If I am not back when Dr. Stonebridge gets here, please have him wait if possible.  If not, reschedule.”  Tina grabs her lab coat and rushes out.

It is almost lunch time before Tina clears up the emergency in the lab.  One of her techs had accidently contaminated some samples.  Tina had to work very carefully to save them.  Luckily she was able to save all but two.  She was glad.  This part of the research had taken her more than six months.  Losing all of them would have been a disaster. 

The lab emergency had drained all Tina’s energy.  She just wanted to rest.  As she returned to her office, Trudy handed her a phone message. 

“Doctor Gordon called while you were out and said he was in route with the patient.  He said he’d call when they were almost here,” Trudy continued.  “Also I rescheduled Doctor Stonebridge until next week.  Anything you need?”

“Yes,” Tina answered.  “I need about 30 minutes of rest.  Can you please hold all my calls and buzz me in 30?”

Trudy smiled, “yes Doctor.”

Tina stretched out on the sofa in her office.  It has been a whirlwind of a few days and she is totally exhausted.  She closes her eyes as a thousand thoughts run through her mind.  It isn’t long before she dozes off the sleep. 

Chapter 16

As Cole slowly circles the parking lot, he keeps his eyes peeled for any suspicious activity.  He sees a few people that he suspects are working with Phiny.  He notes locations and weapons as he pulls on a side street.  He quickly slips on his disguise and pulls into a spot.  Cole calls Michael to rely to the team that he is there and the disguise he is wearing. 

Cole gets out and slowly walks toward the post office to pick up the package the team leader left for him.  As he walks by several of Phiny’s team members, none suspect a thing.

Cole picks up the package and takes it to the restroom.  He checks to make sure no one else is in there before locking the door and opening the package. 

“Eagle to Shepherd and Fisherman.  This is Eagle signing on.  DO you copy?”

“Eagle, this is Fisherman.  I read you loud and clear.”

“Eagle, this is Shepherd.  I copy.  I am standing just outside the restroom at the newsstand in a blue and yellow stripped shirt.  I have 6 men spread throughout the terminal.  Each can be identified by the green bracelet on their left wrist.  Do you copy?”

“Roger that Shepherd,” Cole replies.  “I will exit now and continue as planned.  Everything ready?”

“Roger,” Shepherd replies.  “Everything going as planned.”

Just as Cole walks out the restroom door, a man in a blue and yellow striped shirt crosses in his path and smiles.  The man continues on and takes a seat at the terminal gate.  Cole crosses the hallway and sits down in an empty seat.  He looks at the man 3 seats down who is reading the paper.  Cole notices the green bracelet on his left hand.  As Cole looks around the terminal, he notices several men looking at him.  None of them have a green bracelet so he assumes they are working for Phiny.

Cole nervously looks at his watch.  Then he hears a voice in his ear.  “Relax man, we got your back.”  Cole looks in the direction of the team leader who gives him a nod.  Cole takes a deep breath and leans back in his chair. 

It isn’t long before he hears the announcement on the loud speaker.  “Attention passengers!  Flight 2779 to Miami now boarding at Gate 5.”  Cole grabs his backpack and heads with the crowd toward the gate.  He takes his seat on the last row just in front of the rear galley.  He is relieved to see the closet member of Phiny’s team is six rows ahead of him.  The workers behind him are working fast to fill the galley snacks and drinks from the supply truck.  Cole waits until the very last second to make his move.

The workers finish and begin backing the truck away from the plane.  Cole jumps from his seat, through the open galley door and onto the top of the truck.  The man inside the truck looks up and sees Cole.  He sticks his arm out the window and give Cole a thumbs up.  Cole notices the green bracelet on his wrist.

He hangs onto the truck until it comes to a stop and he climbs down.  The plane starts to pull away as the truck driver says, “Come on.  They still have guys on the ground.  They figured you wouldn’t stay on.”

Cole says, “Working like a charm then.”  The two men hurry through a door under the terminal bridge.  After a series of hallways, they finally come to an underground parking garage.  The truck driver hands Cole a key. “Here you go.  This should get you out.  She is parked right over there.  Before you go, take a look.”  The man motions to someone in the shadows.  A man that looks just like Cole steps up.  “What do you think?”

Cole is amazed.  “Wow, he looks like me alright.  Good job.”  Cole rushes to the black sedan and jumps in.  He prays for God’s continued mercy and guidance in the plan.  He prays for everyone’s safety. 

The truck driver and Cole’s look alike walk back into the terminal and make sure the members of Phiny’s team follow him out to the black Tahoe Cole parked earlier.  The look-a-like jumps in and takes off, making sure they follow. 

As Cole pulls his sedan up to the terminal, he sees the chase unfolding on the highway outside the airport gate.  He smiles as he hands his key to the valet.  He heads straight to the chartered flights counter.  A quick flight over to Grand Cayman and then catch a flight to Houston.  Cole checks in and the counter attendant tells him, “Yes, Mr. Eagleton.  You are our last passenger.  Please hurry.  They are waiting on you.”

Cole rushed to the assigned door and up the steps of the small 10 passenger plane.  He quickly scanned the faces to see if anyone looked suspicious.  Satisfied with everyone, he sat down as the Pilot closes the door and climbs into the cockpit. 

“Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen.  This is Captian Robert.  The ground crew is finishing up some last minute checks.  We will be underway shortly.  I ask that everyone please remain seated with your seatbelts fastened for the duration of this flight to Grand Cayman.”

Cole takes a deep breath and finally begins to relax.  That is until the captain announced, “Ladies and Gentlemen, the ground crew had just informed me that they have found a slight problem in out pre-check.  They are asking us to deplane while they take it in for a look.  Sorry for the inconvenience.  They assure me it is an easy fix and should only take a few minutes.  A member of the ground crew will open the door.  Please deplane and return to the lobby.”

Cole is the last one off the plane.  He is nervous about the situation.  Although nothing seems out of the normal for the others, Cole can’t help but think Phiny might be involved.  He knew everything was going too smoothly.

Just as he sits down, he hears an announcement on the loud speaker.  “Attention Passengers, if there is a Donavan Malony in the airport, Please go to the nearest blue courtesy phone and dial 9 for an important message.  Mr. Donavan Malony.”

Cole’s heart skips a beat.  He slowly walks over to the blue courtesy phone and dials 9.  After a few seconds, he hears Phiny’s voice.

“So you thought it’d be that easy?  I know your tricks.  Now you can leave if you want but James, Ellen and the 2 little ones will pay.  Seems taping Rosta’s phone was a good idea on my part.  You’ve got 30 minutes of they all die.”

The message ends, Cole slams the phone down and hurries out the door.

It seems like an eternity waiting on the valet to retrieve his car.  He finally shows up.  Cole gives him a tip and speeds off.  As he rushes across town, Cole call Michael.  As soon as Michael picks up Cole hears, “Cole, I’m sorry.  I did all I could.  They bugged Rosta’s phone through a secure channel.  They got a connection when he called them this morning.  It’s a sophisticated system that went up as soon as he called them.  From then on they could listen to all his calls.  Not long after he hung up form them he called James and they started talking about you.  Look I have several agents on the way.  Phiny has gone rouge so they can take her.  She wants you to herself so none of her team is there.  She knew this would lure you in.”

“Michael, cancel the agents.  She’s mine!”

“Cole, that’s not your job,” Michael replies. 

Cole angered, “Michael, I don’t care.  I have a plan.  Please.”

Michael agrees as Cole pulls up to the church.  He rushes into the back door and sees James and Ellen holding the kids.  Phiny sits across from them with a gun in her hand.  She looks up as Cole comes in.  “Well Donavan, you made excellent time.  You must really care about the ingrates.  So where’s your weapon?”

Cole raises his arms.  “I am unarmed.  Want to check?”

“Drop your pack, you vest, and your belt on the table,” Phiny tells him.  As Cole removes them, Phiny checks for guns and communication devices.  “Well, you certainly didn’t think this through,” Phiny continues.  “You have no weapon and no one to call for help.”

Isaac who has been asleep on James’ lap wakes up and sees Cole.  “Daddy you came back.”  He jumps up and rushes to Cole. 

Cole picks him up.  “Hey buddy.  I need you to go stay with Pappy James.  You go back and don’t say a word ok buddy?”  Isaac hugs him.

“Ok daddy.  I love you”

“I love you too,” Cole says as he puts the boy down.  Isaac runs back to James. 

Phiny laughs, “Ahh how sweet daddy.”

“Look Phiny,” Cole replies.  “Let them go.  It’s me you want.  You got me.  Alone and weaponless.  How much better can it get.  Do what you want with me but let them go.  You don’t need them.  They have no part in this.”

Phiny sticks the gun in his chest.  “Tell you what.  I’ll let one child and one adult go.  The others are coming with us.  You choose which ones.”

Cole takes a deep breath.  “Phiny, you don’t need any of them.  Look I have a roll of cash in my pack, several thousand dollars.  Let them all go and it’s yours.”

Phiny shoves the gun under his chin.  “How much?”

“I’m not sure,” Cole replies.  “I can check.”

Phiny pushes the gun harder.  “Not a chance.  Have her count it,” she says pointing to Ellen.

“Ok,” Cole says.  “Ellen, there is an inside zipper pocket on the left side.  It is in there.”

Ellen slowly opens the pack and finds the pocket.  She reaches in and pulls out a big roll of money.

“Count it out on the table so I can see,” Phiny yells.

Ellen nervously counts out the money.  The total comes to $9,700.  Phiny laughs and asks, “That’s all you have?  Come on I know you are hiding more.”  She shoves the gun into his side so hard Cole can hardly breathe. 

“My emergency $5000 is in the hidden compartment on my belt,” Cole manages to squeak out. 

“It better be,” Phiny says as she reaches down for the belt.  Still pointing the gun at Cole she opens the compartment and pulls out the money.  “Ok Donavan,” Phiny says as she grabs all the money.  “Let’s go!”  Phiny shoves him towards the door.

“What about my pack?  I need that,” Cole says.

Phiny laughs.  “Oh no you don’t.  In an hour all you’re gonna need it a coffin.  Let’s go.”  Phiny shoves him out the door and into her car.  “You sit right there.  Try anything and I’ll have one of my men shoot all four of them.  They are just down the block and can be there before you blink.”

Phiny drove to a remote part of the island.  She ties Cole to a tree.  “Any last words, Donavan?”

Cole takes a breath, “Did you kidnap Mr. Lawrence?”

Phiny checks the ropes.  “Still trying to figure all of this out I see.  No I did not.  I was actually surprised when that happened.  That was an added bonus.  It actually almost spoiled my mission of killing you.  When you headed out to take the rest of the family out of the country, well I had to improvise.  That ambush was not part of the original plan but I had to stop you from leaving.  Anything else you want to say?”

Cole takes another deep breath.  “Yes!  Phiny, I will pray for you.  I will pray your hard heart will turn to God.  You could do great things for Him.  If this is how I die, so be it.  I know where I am going.  I will spend my last moments on earth praying for you.”

Phiny stuck the gun under Cole’s chin.  “Always a Bible thumper to the end.  Well let’s see if your so called god can save you from some of the harshest conditions in the world.”  Phiny gives him a long kiss and walks back to her car.  “Oh I almost forgot.”  She points the gun as Cole.  “Goodbye Donavan.”  Phiny opens fire at Cole and empties the entire magazine before getting in the car and driving off.

Chapter 17

Not long after Cole left the church with Phiny, the cell phone in Cole’s backpack rang.  Pastor James answered it.

“Cole, is that you?”

“No this is Pastor James Greene,” James replied.

“Oh, Pastor James, this is Michael.  I am Cole’s communicator.  Where is he?”

James isn’t sure who to trust but decides if he is calling Cole, he is pretty safe.  “Phiny took him but made him leave all his stuff.  She took him and all his money,” James tells him.

Michael seems uneasy.  “Are you guys ok?”

“Yes we are fine, just a little shaken.”

Michael continues, “I will send someone out there right away to make sure you guys are protected.  You never know if Phiny might come back or send someone after you.  When someone comes to your door, ask who it is.  Don’t open it for anyone unless they say, Mr. Falcon.  You will know I sent them.  Now I have to find Cole.  Mr. Falcon should be there in less than ten minutes.”

Pastor James hangs up the phone and tells Ellen what was said.  They immediately say a prayer for Cole.  Luckily Isaac and Laura are playing and don’t know or understand what is going on.  After the prayer, Ellen decided to she needed to make an important phone call.  She dials the number as tears roll down her cheeks.

“Doctor Carpenter,” a sleepy voice says.

“Tina, its Ellen.  Do you have a minute?”

Tina sits up and tries to focus.  “Sure Ellen.  Is something wrong?  Are the kids ok?”

Ellen hesitates but then proceeds to tell Tina what all just happened and Tina starts to cry.

When Ellen finishes, Tina says, “Ellen I think we need to get the kids out of there.  I would fly them here but they don’t have any papers and couldn’t stay.  What can we do?”

Ellen smiles, “Tina, there are ways for adopted orphans to travel into the country as long as they are being escorted by an adoption representative to the adoptive parent.  James can have the papers drown up by the time the children and I are packed.  We can make it happen if you really want to do this.”

Tina laughs, “Ellen, you are too much.  I’ll make the arrangements for a flight and call you back with the information.  Will James come too?”

“No, sweetie,” Ellen replies.  “He must stay here.  Besides, he hates flying.”

After a bit more chatting the call ends and Ellen goes to pack while James gets the paperwork.  Within the hour, Ellen, Isaac and Laura are boarding a plane to the United States.  Ellen made sure to keep a close eye out for suspicious people.  As the plane finely lifted off the ground, Ellen sighed with relief and prays for Cole and James.  She knows both are still in danger but also that God will protect them. 

Tina wishes she hadn’t been woken up that way.  Now she felt more tired than before.  On top of that she was now more worried than ever about Cole and the kids.  She cleared her head with a cup of coffee while sorting through her files.  She glanced at the clock and realized Ellen’s flight should have taken off by now.  She called Pam to explain the situation and see if she could pick them up at the airport. 

Just as she hung up with Pam, Trudy buzzed her.  “Doctor, a call from Doctor Gordon.  I knew you would want it.”

“Thank you Trudy.  Put him through,” Tina said sitting at her desk. 

Tina waits and hears, “Hey Carp.  We will be there in about 15 minutes.  Meet me in the bay.”

“Sure Larry.  How’s he doing?”

“Well,” Doctor Gordon answers, “he’s very weak.  We need to get him out of this ambulance and in a room.  I am surprised he’s done this well.  He’s a fighter.”

Tina almost wants to cry, “Yes Larry, he is.  Must run tin the family.  I will see you in a bit.  I’ll make sure everything here is set.”

“Thanks Carp.  See ya.”

Tina buzzes Trudy.  “Doctor Gordon is almost here.  Let them know upstairs and make sure everything is set.  I am heading down to the bay.  Page me if you need me.”

“Yes Doctor,” Trudy replies.  “What about your 3:00 with the Davidson’s?”

Tina answers, “If I am not back by 2:30, page me.  I defiantly want to talk to them today.  Is that my last one?”

“Yes ma’am.  That is all,” Trudy answers.

“Thank you Trudy,” Tina continues.  “What does tomorrow look like?”

“Well, tomorrow is a research day.  Dr. Thomas was hoping to go over a few things in the morning,” Trudy tells her.

“Ok.  Can you see if he can meet this afternoon and clear tomorrow for me and the day after as well?  I have sort of a family emergency,” Tina says.

“Consider it done. Now I better call and let them know Doctor Gordon is almost here.”

“Yes, thank you Trudy.”

Tina grabs her pager and checks her cell phone before heading to the ambulance bay.  She is only there for a minute when she sees the ICU transport coming up the street.

It slowly backs up, the door pops open and out jumps Doctor Gordon.  “Hey Carp, been waiting long?”

“Not really.  Just got here.  Tina asks, “Where’s the family?”

“Oh they followed behind.  They are probably parking,” Doctor Gordon says.

“Ok good,” Tina continues.  “What about the patient?”

“Well, he’s stable but very weak.  Probably be a day or two before we can even consider surgery.  Let’s get him in,” Doctor Gordon says reaching for the gurney.

Tina helps Doctor Gordon pull the gurney out of the ambulance.  Just as the wheels pop down and hit the ground, Hazel and Suzy walk up.

“Tina, how are you sweetie?”  Hazel asks as she puts her arms around Tina for a hug.

“Hello Hazel,” Tina replies.  “I am fine.  How are you?”

“Tired but hanging in there, Lord willing.”

Tina and Suzy exchange hugs and they all make small talk as they head into the hospital.  Then Hazel asks the question Tina was hoping wouldn’t come up.  “Tina, have you talked to Cole?”

“I spoke to him this morning, briefly,” Tina says.  “He was working and I didn’t have a change to tell him about Matt.”

“Well hopefully there won’t be a need to tell him anything,” Hazel replies.  “So sweetie, tell me how you two ended up meeting again after all these years.”

Tina began telling Hazel how they met on the plane to Jamaica and at least part of the conversations they had as they all settled Matt into his room.  Then came the other question Tina was hoping to avoid.

“So, you two getting back together?”

Suzy answered from across the room, “Mother!”

“What?  A mother needs to know these things,” Hazel laughs.  “Besides, I really consider Tina one of my own.”

“Well, thank you Hazel,” Tina smiles.  “Cole and I talked about…” Tina’s pager interrupted.  She looked to see it was Trudy reminding her of her appointment.  “Sorry ladies, duty calls.  I’ll come back later.”

Hazel laughs.  “Avoiding the question, I see.  That’s always a good sign.  Ok, sweetie.  See you later.”

Tina hugs Hazel and Suzy, then heads back to her office.  Alone on the elevator, she prays out loud for Cole’s safety as she plays with the engagement ring he gave her.  Luckily, no one had noticed the new beautiful ring on her left ring finger.  She thought about putting it on her right hand until Cole came back but decided not to.  Cole had put it on that finger and that was where it would stay.  She thought of several good excuses she could tell people if they asked.  She arrived back at her office, downed a glass of juice and sat down just as her appointment arrived.

After Tina finishes things up in her office, she heads back to Matt’s room and finds Doctor Gordon talking to Hazel.  “Hey Carp, I was just telling Mrs. Connor that the best thing she can do is get a good night sleep and come back in the morning,” he says.

Tina smiles, “That’s a great idea.  Hazel, Suzy, you gals come stay at my house.  There’s plenty of room.”

Hazel replies, “I really want to stay with Matt.”

Suzy steps up, “Mom, they are right.  There is nothing we can do.  Dad is in good hands.”

“Actually Suzy,” Tina continues, “he is in the best hands.”  Tina gives Doctor Gordon a wink and a smile and continues.  “Besides, Doctor Gordon will call me immediately if there are any changes, right?”

“Of course Carp,” he answers.  “Mrs. Connor, you will need your rest the next few days.  Believe me, that’s the best way you can help him right now.”

Hazel sighs, “OK.  You sure we won’t be too much trouble, Tina sweetie?”

“Not at all,” Tina says.  “I’d enjoy the company.  You can follow me home.”  The three walk out of the hospital together.

Driving home, Tina runs through her mind how she will explain Isaac and Laura to Hazel and Suzy and where everyone will sleep.  She finishes just as she pulls up the drive.