Page 74 of Refuge for Ailsa

The bed was back in the room, and Ailsa was in it. There was some kind of weird thing on her head, and there were three people buzzing around her. “Hey, what’s going on?”

One of the people, a man in scrubs, turned to look at him as he spoke. “They decided against an ICP monitor.”

“What’s that?”

“An intercranial pressure monitor. They’re going to the medication protocol instead, plus this.” He tapped the odd-looking thing on Ailsa’s head. “It’s called a cooling cap. They use them for chemo patients to try to keep their hair from falling out, but we’ve used them on a few heat stroke patients and they’re oddly effective. You wouldn’t think they’d help at all, but they seem to, and they’re non-invasive. The monitor would be anything but.”

“So now…” He didn’t know what to ask.

“We should see some improvement in a few hours, but she’ll need the treatment for a few days. If we’re lucky, and I think we are, this will help with the swelling she’s already had and keep her from having more.”

Tavish nodded. “Got it.”

“So I think we’ve got it now,” the man said.

“Sir, I’ve got this calibrated at…” The woman said some things that Tavish didn’t understand.

“Thanks, Janet. I think she’s all set.” Tavish watched as the two women who’d been helping the man left the room. Then the man turned to him. “I’m Dr.Jackari, the on-staff neurologist. I work down in ICU, but when she came in, I wanted to treat her. I just want you to know, Dr.Cobb was right on the money, and it was your lucky day when he walked into this room.”

“Is she okay?”

“We’ve got her sedated. The more she moves around, the more the swelling will increase. So she’s out and we’ll keep her like that for at least twenty-four hours, but probably forty-eight. Don’t let it alarm you. It’s just a safety measure.”

“Okay.” He was alarmed, but whatever. There was nothing he could do about it anyway. “If I can do anything, please…”

Dr.Jackari gave him a soft smile. “Just be here. She may be able to hear you, so talk to her. Make sure you’re the first person she sees when she wakes up. Hold her hand, stroke her arm, stroke her hair. When she wakes up, she’s going to be scared. So just be here.”

“Yes, sir. I have no intention of going anywhere.”

“Good. And be sure to call the nurses if anything looks amiss. Anything we need to do, we’ll do. Try not to worry, Mr.MacDougal. She’s going to be fine.”

“Thanks.” Tavish listened to the neurologist’s footsteps as they retreated down the hallway. Forearms resting on his thighs, he pressed his thumbs into his forehead and sat there, willing the sense of doom away. She was going to be fine. He had to believe it.

A nurse cared for her foot later, then dressed it and left. There was a call Tavish had to make, and he’d been dreading it, but it was one o’clock and it had to happen. The phone rang once and a voice said, “Hey, Tav!”

He tried to keep his voice even so as not to scare her dad. “Magnus, we have to talk.”

“Is something wrong?”

A deep sigh left his lips. “Is Maeve there?”

“She’s in the kitchen. I’ll?”

“No, no. Don’t. I’d rather tell you and let you tell her.”

“Okay. I can take it.”

Tavish launched into the events of the morning. Magnus didn’t say a word, and he didn’t interrupt either. Tavish finished with, “And I didn’t call you because I didn’t know what was going on, and I wish I had, but?”

“Tav? Tav. Stop. It’s okay. You had your hands full. As long as you’re there with her, that’s all I could ask.”

What? No accusations? No threatening to kick my ass? Because that’s sure how my parents would react if it was my sister, he thought. “Thank you, sir. You know I’d never do anything or make any big decision without you guys unless it was absolutely necessary.”

“We know that. We trust you. We’ll be there in a little while to?”

“She won’t know you’re here.”

“No, but you’ll know we’re there, and we’ll talk to her so maybe she’ll know. That’ll give you a chance to get a few hours of worry-free sleep with us watching her.”

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