KILTED DESIRE - Sands of Betrayal (25 page)

Katie said nothing. All that was left to do was break down
and cry. Her whole body trembled. Her legs gave way as she crumbled to the
kitchen floor.

“Are you there, Katie?” the doctor asked.

“Yes, I have to go now. Thanks for calling,” she managed to
say, as she tried to fight back the tears. The realization of everything that
had happened began to sink in. She dreaded the thought that she would never see
him again. She doubted a flight could get her there in time to say goodbye. Her
mother stepped out of her room upstairs and walked halfway down when she heard Katie
crying. She walked into the kitchen just in time to see Katie lose
consciousness.

Katie awoke in the hospital. She had only fainted, but her
mom called an ambulance and she was taken to the hospital. She was in the
emergency room and they had already run a number of tests. She needed to eat
and rest to regain her strength. As she slowly regained total consciousness,
she recalled every word of Dr. Hamilton’s phone call. She remembered his voice,
then his words and how helpless she felt. Her mother asked what he had said,
and she now relayed the horrible news to her mother who sat by her bedside.

“I’m so sorry, Katie. Honey, I’ll help you get through
this.”

“I’m not sure I want to, mom.”

“Don’t say that, Katie. Scott wouldn’t want you to talk like
this. What about your girls? You know, Scott always says they come first.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

Their conversation was interrupted by a nurse who came to
check on Katie. She said they planned to keep her overnight for observation.
Katie didn’t want to stay, but knew she needed the rest. She expected another
call from Dr. Hamilton and feared the next call would be the one that would
change her life forever.

She hadn’t waited long when the phone rang. She looked at
her mother, and trembled as she reached for the phone.

“Hello,” she said nervously.

“Hello, Katie, this is Dr. Hamilton.”

Something was not right, Katie thought to herself. He
sounded excited.

“Katie, I have some amazing news,” he continued.

“What is it?” she said, as she sat up.

“The nurse was about to administer a drug when she saw Scott’s
hand move, then his eyes flickered and he tried to roll over. The last
recording you sent played from his nightstand. She believes he reacted to what
you recorded. His heart rate and blood pressure have started to stabilize too.”

“Oh my god,” she said softly. She smiled and felt relieved
for any good news right now.

“Let me be clear. The nurse didn’t administer the drugs that
would have increased his heart rate. This happened just before she began. She
played the recording again and he definitely reacted to your voice.”

“I can’t believe it.” She started to cry, this time happy
tears.

“Katie, it does not mean he is out of the woods yet. He is still
in critical condition, but this is a huge development. I have to go now, but I
will keep in touch.”

“Thank you so much, Dr. Hamilton,” she said, with a smile in
her voice.

“What did he say, Katie?” her mother asked excitedly.

“He reacted to my voice, moved his hands and eyes and his
heart rate and blood pressure started to go back up,” she said, as she continued
to cry. Now there was a huge smile on her face. It was the first time her mom
had seen her smile for a while and she started to cry, too.

“He’s going to be okay, Mom! I just know it. I know that
he’s fighting now.”

“I hope you’re right, honey, I really do. This is great
news.”

Over the next few days, the doctor continued to update Katie
on Scott’s progress. His blood pressure and heart rate returned to near normal
and he continued to react to the sound of her voice. Tom and Britney witnessed
movement, too, when they visited and passed this information on to Katie. But
as yet, he still hadn’t woken up, and it was now, over three weeks. The
movements were getting more pronounced and longer and now it looked like he was
just asleep and dreaming, rather than being in a coma. Dr. Hamilton told Katie
that he expected Scott to wake up at any time and when he did it, would be
important for them to have something familiar for him to see. He explained that
Scott could be extremely confused and would not know where he was. Photos of
Katie were put by the side of his bed and the recordings continued to be
played. What they did not want was for him to wake up and be scared and
confused. The doctor wanted him surrounded with familiar things. He wanted him
to stay calm when he woke up so they could explain what had happened, since he
may not remember. He didn’t want him to try to get up and be injured more
severely.  

It was a cold Wednesday, November morning in Ohio when Katie
received the most important call from the doctor. He said that Scott woke up
and, saw the nurse in his room, seemed startled and tried to sit up. He accidentally
pulled the catheter and IV out when he moved so quickly. He was very confused
and hadn’t initially recognized her photo. He was awake for only a minute before
falling back to sleep. The doctor assured her that his reaction to her picture was
nothing to worry about and when Scott woke up again, he would try and be there
to explain things to him and to see what he remembered.

Katie was a little worried that he hadn’t recognized her and
was worried that he may not remember her at all. But, she was so glad that he regained
consciousness that the other just didn’t seem all that important right now!

Later that night, Katie received another call from the
doctor.

“Hi Katie, it is Dr. Hamilton. How are you doing?”

“I’m good. Has Scott woken up again?”

“Yes, Katie. He was awake for about half an hour. He’s still
a little confused, but he does remember some things.”

“Does he remember me?”

“I’m pretty sure he does. It took a while, but I tried to
explain to him what happened, that he was safe and in the hospital. I told him
to keep looking at the photo and tell me who it was. As I mentioned before, it
took a while and he stared at your picture for a few minutes, but eventually he
smiled and said Katie.”

“Oh, Dr. Hamilton, that’s great! I’m so happy! What else
does he remember?”

“He remembers being in Baghdad for work and recognizes Tom
and Britney, too, or at least he said he did. But, he didn’t remember anything
about what happened prior to when he was attacked.”

“Okay, the first part is great! But his not remembering that
day, is that something we should be worried about?”

“It is actually very good, Katie, and I’m not saying that’s
all he can’t remember. He was only awake for a short time, so we didn’t talk
much. It would be very normal for him to not remember anything in the lead up
to a traumatic event. But, it’s quite possible there will be other things that
he won’t remember or will be confused about, too. He remained in a coma for a
long period of time. It’s important we don’t try and push him too much and take
things slowly.”

“Absolutely! I’m just happy he’s alive and by the sound of
it, he’s going to get better. Doctor, you have no idea how ecstatic I feel
right now.”

“I think I can guess.”

“What about his other injuries, Dr. Hamilton? How are they
progressing?”

“The swelling in his head has gone down considerably. We
will need to get him transferred to a better facility when he’s well enough to travel
so they can do a CAT scan to completely check things out. The cast on his wrist
will be removed in a week or so, the cast on his leg maybe a week after that.
The burns on his left side and the lacerations on his face have been healing nicely,
too.”

“This is great. I know it is probably too early to say, but
do you have any idea when he could come home?”

“I don’t yet, Katie, but I won’t keep him here any longer
than I need to.”

“Okay, that’s good. One more thing, when may I talk with him?
When do you think he will be up to it?”

“Again, I can’t give you an exact time or date. We’ll see
how he is the next time he wakes up and how long he stays awake. I don’t see that
you talking to him will be a problem, if he’s up to it. We will see, but maybe some
time over the next couple of days.”

“That is great! Thank you, Dr. Hamilton.”

“You’re welcome, Katie, I’ll be in touch.”

Katie was thrilled! This was the best news she could
possibly have received. Things improved with just a call. She felt good again. She
arranged for the girls to come home and she wanted to go back to work. She was
happy and decided to get things back to normal, plus, she was going to be able
to talk to Scott.

Tom and Britney received the news about Scott, too, from the
doctor and Katie. They visited him the next day and hoped they would find him awake.
With the increased violence in the city, they stayed only about an hour and he
was asleep the whole time they were there. The nurse told them earlier that
morning, he was awake briefly, but it was best not to wake him. Britney was
particularly disappointed. She really wanted to talk to him, but was happy that
he seemed to be getting better. Tom brought Scott a new cell phone. He knew at
some point, he would want to call Katie. The phone that was in his pocket when
he was injured was destroyed. Tom smiled as he set the phone down by Scott. He was
glad his guard and friend had survived and that all he had lost was another
phone.

The following day, back in Ohio, Katie answered her phone. It
was Dr. Hamilton.

“Hi, Katie! Are you ready to talk to Scott, today?”

“Oh my, of course!  I’ve been waiting for this for so long.
How is he doing today?”

“He’s doing okay. He just woke up, but he doesn’t stay awake
for very long at a time just yet, so try and keep it short.”

“Okay I will keep it short, I promise. Is he there now?” she
asked. She was so excited to talk with him.

“No, I’m in my office. Scott said he was going to call you,
but he realized he didn’t remember the number. I came back to my office to get
it for him and thought I’d let you know he was about to call.”

“But my number should be in his phone.”

“Tom said he’d brought him a new phone because the other one
was damaged in the blast.”

“Oh, okay. I didn’t think about that. Yes, please give him
the number and tell him I’m ready and waiting anxiously to talk with him.”

“Katie, give me a couple minutes to get back to his room and
please call me after you speak with him to let me know what you think. You are
the one person who knows him best, so you’ll be able to let me know how he
seems.”

“Okay, I will. Thank you, Dr. Hamilton.”

Katie smiled from ear to ear. She had come so close to the
losing the man she loved and now she was going to get the chance to talk to him
again. It was something she believed was never going to happen. She waited, stared
at her phone and willed it to ring. Her pulse raced and she felt like a small
child on Christmas Eve. Then it happened. Her phone started to ring.

“Hello,” she said, excitedly.

“Hey baby, how are yer?”

“Oh, my god, Scott!!! I can’t believe I’m talking to you,”
she said, bursting into tears.

“Dinnae cry, baby.”

“How are you feeling?” Katie asked, as she wiped away her
tears and tried to compose herself.

“I’m a wee bit tired and in pain, but I think I’m okay.”

“I can’t believe this. I thought I’d lost you.”

“Nae, yer will never lose me.”

“I was so scared! I can never go through this again. When
you’re well enough to come home, I’m never letting you out of my sight again.”

“The doctor said I could come haem tomorrow.”

“No, he didn’t babe. I think you’re getting confused.”

“Aye, he did. He told me earlier,” Scott said, convinced he
was telling the truth.

“Okay. I’ll talk to him later, but I think you’ll be there
for a while yet. It’s okay, don’t worry about it.”

“Actually, maybe he dinnae say that. I’m nae sure reet now.
My head seems very cloudy at the moment.”

“Don’t worry, Scott. That’s perfectly normal. You’ve had a
bad head injury and you’ve been in a coma for weeks. You’re going to be little confused
and things are going to seem cloudy for a while.”

“Aye, I suppose so. I have a really bad headache.”

“I’m sure you do. Why don’t you ask the doctor to give you
some pain medication? He’s really nice. He’s been talking to me since you were
brought in.”

“Aye, okay.”

“Do you remember anything about what happened yet?”

“Nae really. I remember being in the car and a flash of
light, but reet now that’s all.”

“Do you remember that you were at the airport?”

“Nae.”

“You’d just gotten back to Baghdad after coming home to see
me. Do you remember that?”

“I think I remember coming tae see yer. But I dinnae
remember anything aboot the journey back and I definitely dinnae remember
anything aboot being at the airport.”

“Just try and be patient and don’t worry about it. The rest
of your memory will come back. Do you remember us getting engaged?”

“Aye, I do.”

“Where did we get engaged?”

“By the side of Loch Ness.”

“That’s great, Scott! Do you remember what we did when you
last came home?”

“I dinnae think we did much. I just remember watching
movies.”

“That’s right. You’re doing great.”

“Aye, my head’s hurting. I want tae sleep.”

“Okay, baby, that’s fine. Close your eyes and get some rest.
I’m so glad I got to talk to you.”

“I’ll talk tae yer later.”

“I love you! Glad you’re getting better. I can’t wait for
you to come home, I miss you so much.”

“Love yer, too. Bye.”

“Bye, Scott.”

Katie was delighted at how their talk went. She was concerned
that he hadn’t remembered things about them. His memory seemed pretty good,
apart from the build-up to his attack, which the doctor said was normal.