All My Tomorrows (36 page)

EPILOGUE

UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT MEDICAL CENTER

SHELBURNE, VERMONT, 2112

Kale glanced at the lab technician assisting him then returned his gaze to the rodent trying furiously to escape his grasp. "Okay, Dave, I'll hold the little bugger while you slightly increase the current to the implant. I'll tell you when to stop."

Kale was in the middle of an experiment on a rat in which damaged musculoskeletal nerves were replaced with synthetic fiber optics. Just as Dave completed the first incremental step, Kale's communicator chimed loudly.

"Hello?"

"Kale, Jordan is hurt. Come quickly."

Kale felt like someone had punched him in the stomach. "Andi? Andi, slow down. Tell me what happened. Where are you?"

"We're in the emergency room. She was on the bus. It went off the road and rolled over. Please, come quickly."

"I'm on my way. Hold on, love. I'm on my way."

The University of Vermont was affiliated with the medical center teaching hospital, and the laboratory was located just on the other side of the parking lot opposite the emergency room. Realizing he could cover the distance between the lab and the hospital quicker on foot than by trying to find his vehicle in the vast parking lot, he set off running, making it to the emergency room within five minutes of Andi's call. Andi met him at the door. He grabbed her by the shoulders. "Where is she?" he asked desperately.

Andi was barely able to speak as she pointed to the door of an examination room. "They took her in there."

Kale was frantic as he ran toward the door, only to be stopped by a resident who would not permit him to enter.

"I'm afraid you can't go in there," the resident informed him.

"I'm afraid I don't care," Kale responded as he tried to push his way past the man. "Let me by," he said.

"No can do. You'll need to see the doctor if you want a status."

Just then, Peter Michaels exited the room Kale was attempting to gain access to. "Peter. Peter, how is she?" By this time, Andi had joined Kale and was clinging tightly to his arm.

Peter took Kale by the arm and walked a few feet away from the door. Andi followed closely. "She's stable. As stable as she can be, considering her condition."

Andi stepped forward. She was clearly distraught as she wiped the tears from her cheeks. "Tell me, Peter. How bad is she?"

Peter looked back and forth between Andi and Kale. "Judging by the severity of her injuries, it's apparent she was violently thrown around the bus."

Peter ran his hand through his hair then looked at his friends and coworkers once more. "All indications are that she's broken her back and probably severed her spinal cord completely."

Andi nearly collapsed and Kale supported her with an arm around her waist. "No," she moaned.

Kale felt he needed to be strong for Andi's sake, and tried not to cry. "Can we see her?"

Peter nodded. "Of course. They'll be preparing her for surgery soon to further stabilize her spine, so you'll only have a few moments. We'll let you know as soon as she's been settled into Intensive Care.

Kale nodded. He tightened his arm around Andi and led her into Jordan's room. Peter followed close behind. Andi was shaking uncontrollably. "She looks so small and helpless."

Kale was unable to speak for fear of losing control. As they approached the bed, they separated, with Andi on one side and Kale on the other. Kale leaned over the small form lying in the bed and kissed her on the cheek.

"Jordan, honey. Daddy's here. Mommy's here too, baby." Andi rubbed the back of the girl's hand as Kale spoke. "You're going to be all right, sweetie. Mommy and I will be right here waiting for you to wake up, okay?"

Andi inhaled deeply to control the tears that cascaded down her face. She leaned in close to the injured child. "We love you, sweetheart. You'll be better soon. Just wait and see."

Peter motioned to them that time was up as the technicians entered the room to wheel the child to the operating room.

Andi looked at Peter and nodded, then turned back to her daughter. "Jordie… the doctors are here to take care of you, but we'll be here when you come back, okay? Mommy and Daddy love you, honey."

Andi and Kale kissed their child tenderly then stood together by the window as they watched the technicians move the five-year-old Jordan from the room.

* * *

Andi paced back and forth across the waiting room as Kale sat hunched over with his head in his hands. Every few moments, Andi blew her nose, left runny by nonstop weeping. Kale felt totally helpless as his baby girl lay clinging to life on the operating table and his wife paced worriedly across the floor in front of him. Few words passed between them as they waited for news of their child.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, a man wearing a white lab coat entered the room. He looked at the clipboard in his hand before addressing Kale and Andi. "Mr. and Mrs. Simmons?"

They were on their feet immediately. Together, they approached the man who extended his hand to them. "My name is Dr. Lewis. I'll be evaluating your daughter's condition."

Kale looked at the man's nametag as he firmly shook his hand.

Dr. Jordan Lewis. What the hell?

His eyes moved form the nametag to the man's face. He appeared to be around fifty years old, and something about him felt familiar.

"Dr. Lewis," Kale replied as he shook the man's hand and then stepped aside to afford the same courtesy to Andi.

"How is she?" Andi asked.

Dr. Lewis smiled. "She made it through surgery just fine. I won't be sure about the extent of her injuries or her chances for recovery until I've had a chance to examine her holograph."

"When can we see her?" Kale asked.

"She's being moved to the ICU right now. You should be able to see her in a couple of hours."

Andi noticed the doctor's nametag as Dr. Lewis answered Kale's questions. She gasped and gently elbowed Kale in the ribs to call his attention to the badge. Kale briefly glanced at his wife and acknowledged that he was aware of it.

Dr. Lewis scribbled a few comments on his clipboard. "I encourage you to get something to eat while you wait. There's a cafeteria downstairs that serves hot meals. Neither of you will be of any use to your daughter if you don't take care of yourselves. You can stop by the nurse's station at the ICU afterward and they'll be able to direct you to your daughter's room. I'll check on her as soon as she's settled in."

Kale stopped the doctor as he turned to leave. "Dr. Lewis?"

The doctor stopped his retreat and turned back to Kale. "Yes?"

"We couldn't help but notice your nametag." Kale looked at Andi, and then back at the doctor. "We… we knew a Jordan Lewis. In fact, we were very close to her." He cleared his throat before continuing. "We loved her very much. So much that we named our daughter after her."

Dr. Lewis simply nodded, then left the room.

Outside the waiting room, Dr. Lewis stopped and leaned against the wall. After taking a deep breath, he scanned the papers attached to his clipboard.

Simmons, Jordan. Age 5. Parents: Kale and Andrea Simmons.

Dr. Lewis pressed the back of his head into the wall and closed his eyes.

It's them!

* * *

Kale stood at the window of Jordan's room and looked out over the city. A canopy of stars stood guard over the night and streetlights dotted the scenery below. Andi sat at her daughter's bedside and hummed nursery tunes in time to the various monitors that beeped in harmony with her voice. Both parents waged internal battles between hope and desperation as they waited for their daughter to regain consciousness.

After a time, their vigil was interrupted by Peter's arrival. Andi looked up at him with expectation and hope on her face.

"Peter?"

Peter walked over to the bed and placed his hand on Jordan's forehead. He addressed Kale and Andi without taking his eyes from the little girl. "She's a beautiful child, very much like her namesake."

Kale approached Peter and placed a hand on his shoulder. "What can you tell us?"

Peter turned to address them. "As you might guess, she's in pretty rough shape. We know her spinal cord is severed, but we have yet to determine just how catastrophic her injury is. I assume you've met Dr. Lewis?"

"Yes," Kale replied. "Do you realize his name is Jordan Lewis? How odd is that?"

Peter's eyebrows rose on his forehead. "Yes, I know. What's even stranger is that he's rapidly building a reputation for new spinal cord regeneration techniques — techniques that are supposed to restore complete sensory communication and feeling in a matter of months rather than the years we would have realized from our own research. He's apparently been doing independent research for the better part of his career, largely funded through a private organization named JEM."

"Do you think he can be trusted?" Andi asked.

"I checked out his credentials thoroughly. He has an excellent reputation and from all reports, his patients are doing exceptionally well. From what I can tell, he's little Jordan's best chance at this point."

"When do you think we'll know if he can help her?" Kale asked.

Peter inhaled deeply. "Well, Dr. Lewis and I examined her while you two were having dinner. Hopefully, we'll know better tomorrow morning after Dr. Lewis has reviewed the test results."

Kale and Andi absorbed Peter's statement. Peter headed toward the door, but stopped and turned around. "The two of you should go home and rest. She'll be sedated throughout the night so I don't expect she'll be aware of your presence at least until morning.

Andi shook her head. "I can't leave her."

Peter looked at Kale. "I'm staying as well," Kale said.

Peter nodded. "All right. At least take turns napping, okay? You two need to take care of yourselves in order to help your daughter through this."

* * *

Dr. Jordan Lewis entered the Intensive Care Unit the next morning to find Andrea Simmons sleeping with her head resting on her daughter's bed. Kale was pacing the floor.

Kale's attention was immediately drawn to the door as it opened. He reached out to shake the doctor's hand. "Dr. Lewis, good morning."

Andi stirred at the sound of voices in the room. "Kale?" she asked groggily.

Kale walked over to the bed and rubbed Andi's back. "Sweetheart, Dr. Lewis is here."

Dr. Lewis walked over to the bed and shook Andi's hand, then he pulled up a chair and sat down. He motioned for Kale to sit as well.

"Please sit. I have some news for you."

He waited for Kale to sit on the arm of Andi's chair and place his arm around her shoulder to both give and receive emotional support.

"I believe I can help your daughter."

Andi began to weep softly.

Dr. Lewis continued. "I've been working for the past thirty years on a revolutionary method for restoring spinal function in a completely severed spinal cord."

He stopped speaking for a moment both to allow Kale and Andi to absorb what he had said, and to prepare himself for what he had to say next.

"We can't thank you enough," Kale said, wiping the tears from his face.

Dr. Lewis reached into his breast pocket and extracted an envelope. "Before you thank me, you need to read this. You see, there is a reason my first name is Jordan. I was named after my grandmother.

Kale's knees bucked and he slowly lowered himself to the edge of the hospital bed. "Oh, my God. Jordan," he whispered.

Dr. Lewis smiled. "Yes, Jordan — your Jordan. She and Grandma Maggie wed in 2020. My father, Kale, was born through artificial insemination, followed by my Aunt Andrea a year later."

Kale and Andi looked at each other. They were speechless as Dr. Lewis continued.

"You see, I know about how you two helped her transcend time so she could be with Maggie." Dr. Lewis stared off into the distance as he fought the mist that was forming in his eyes. "They were the happiest two people I have ever known in my life. Grandma Jordan lived to the ripe old age of ninety. Grandma Maggie died a year later."

He looked back at Kale and Andi as he continued. "Thanks to you, she was not only a happy woman, but she also brought into the past, all the knowledge and talent required to advance stem cell and spinal regeneration research a century before it would otherwise have been done. Granted, we have really just begun clinical testing on the newest device. Your daughter will become part of that. If her accident had happened even fifty years ago, there would have been little hope of a quick recovery. So, as you can see, it's her you should be thanking."

Dr. Lewis smiled as he watched Kale and Andi attempt to compose themselves.

"I can't believe it." Kale knelt in front of Andi. "Sweetheart, he's Jordan's grandson. She made it. I always felt like she had, and now thanks to her, our baby has a chance to live a normal life."

Kale lowered his head into Andi's lap while he cried. Andi rested her cheek on top of his head and spoke soothingly to him. "Now maybe you can let go of all the guilt you've been carrying around for the past several years. Not only did she make it, but she made it in time to save Maggie, and thanks to you and your whacky time machine, she was able to live the rest of her life with the one she loved more than life itself."