Page 97 of Dr. Brandt

“Really?” I might not have been an eternal optimist, but I needed to hear that. “I read about it online, but there are so many conflicting stories.”

“I think it depends on what state their brain may be in, but I believe the subconscious mind picks up everything.”

“I think so, too. I hope so, anyway.”

“Just keep talking to him, Mama,” she said. “If anything, he will find comfort in your voice.”

“Thank you, Polly.”

I walked back into Jackson’s room, seeing my handsome son resting peacefully, and I took his hand in mine. “This better work,” I muttered, feeling my anxiety climb. “The nurse says that you might be able to hear me, Jacks, and I hope you can. Maybe if I keep talking, you’ll want to wake up just to shut me up.” I laughed nervously as I rubbed his limp hand. Here goes. “So, I’m going to tell you something about Dr. Brandt. Remember when you told me that you two had so much in common and that it was freaky?” Jacks and Cam had taken on Jake and Collin in a game of tag football on the beach that day, and Jacks noticed how Cam threw the ball exactly the way he did. “I almost told you then, but Cameron and I decided to wait until after your surgery, so you weren’t stressed or anything, but—” I inhaled, paused, and then continued with a big sigh. “Cameron’s your dad, honey.” I sniffed and wiped a tear from my cheek, wishing I could look into his beautiful eyes as I revealed this. “Imagine that. Your best buddy—and doctor—is actually your father. We were very young when it happened, but it happened nonetheless, and we really need you to come back to us now, Jackson.”

I exhaled. The last of my nerves that’d spiked had dissipated along with all my hope and excitement, believing that revelation would snap my son awake. I would’ve dealt with any kind of fallout later, and when nothing happened after my life-changing reveal, I would have begged for any type of fallout to happen just to get him to wake up. I was desperate.

“Come back to me, Jackson. Please wake up and talk to me, yell at me, or tell me you want me to leave you alone!” I was pleading, begging, and crying with the desolation I felt. “Tell me anything, baby. Just please wake up. Please, please, wake up, Jacks.”

I let the tears erupt from deep inside and laid my head on his chest, holding him and wishing he was awake to shove me off him. I felt like I would go mad if Cameron didn’t have a solution by tomorrow. I needed something. Right now, all I could do was sob and be as close to my sleeping, handsome man as I could be.

“Come here, Jess,” Cam said, rousing me awake after falling asleep on Jacks.

He positioned me to turn and face where he knelt in front of me. I reached for his face and studied his eyes. “I need him back, Cam,” I said, running my thumb underneath Cam’s brilliant eyes. “Please do something.”

I started crying again and leaned into his embrace. I felt Cam soften and hold me for the first time since meeting the solemn surgeon who’d taken over. His arms ran up my back, bringing a warm and soothing comfort to my aching soul.

“I’m going to, Jessa,” he said. “I’m going through with the surgery.”

I snapped my head up to look at him. “You’re confident?”

As he nodded, I could see he was sure. “If I weren’t confident, I wouldn’t consider it as I’ve told you. But, yes, this is going to take care of a lot of issues. After surgery, he may wake up within hours, or it might take days, at the most. I need you to understand there can and may be complications, though, as with any surgery.”

“I understand. I think I do, anyway.” I sniffed and ran my hands over my eyes. “Please tell me you’re saying this because of protocol or something?”

“Yes, protocol, but I also want you to be prepared for anything,” he continued. “I know this has been quite a journey for you and our son, and this will be the steepest mountain to climb. However, this past month has shown me that you and Jacks have what it takes to get to the top.”

I hugged him tightly, and for the first time since this happened, my inward resentment of Cam subsided. Maybe it wasn’t fair of me to loop him into my self-loathing, but I did. He was my accomplice in selfishly neglecting our child, and even though I couldn’t forgive either one of us for our actions, it felt good to know he was able to help turn this situation around. At least one of us had the power to redeem ourselves; it sure wasn’t me, though, and I wouldn’t let myself off the hook that quickly anyway.

I pulled away as the ICU nurse admitted Warren. “Dr. Brandt, there’s a call for you.”

“Thanks, Laticia.” Cam stood and faced me as Warren stood next to me. “It’s good that you’re here,” he acknowledged Warren. “The phone call is from the lab. They’ve got the results I’ve been expecting to show that Jackson is a candidate for surgery, and so, I plan on surgery at four in the morning.”

“Don’t you think that is a bit fast?” Warren questioned Cameron.

Cam eyed me, then Warren. “Actually, I believe the surgery could have taken place yesterday; however, I wanted Dr. Astor’s opinion. You are aware of that, are you not?”

Cameron was that hard-faced and stiff-talking surgeon again, and Warren was face-to-face with a man who would bury him with words if he wasn’t careful.

“I understand that, Cameron—”

“Thank you, Dr. Brandt,” I acknowledged Cameron professionally since his current demeanor demanded it, and Warren knew that.

Warren was being a prick, and I knew it. I wasn’t in the mood for games, though. I wanted my son to be well and for Cameron to be confident in this surgery. I didn’t have time for cockfights between two grown men who hated each other.

“I am very confident performing this, like I was telling you, Jessa,” Cam said. “It will be roughly a six-hour surgery, and I expect a full recovery after that. We will have our neuropsychology team ready to aid you with any further questions, but that will come after surgery. This can take a toll on you, but you’ve already been through hell, so this is just one more thing to push through.”

“I understand,” I said.

“Once Jackson is awake,” he looked between Warren and me, “which I expect to happen within hours after surgery, our rehab center will begin working with him immediately. I want him to be challenged, and I will not back down.”

“Do you think that is necessary so quickly after surgery?” Warren asked, speaking before I could.

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