Page 7 of Ghost of Christmas Future
Cope’s eyes widened. “Why are you asking me that question? Sweet Jesus, is my husband going to die?” His entire body began to shake and he struggled to take a breath.
Fitz knelt in front of Cope and took his hands. “With Jude in the medically induced coma, he can’t make medical decisions for himself. You’ll be the one who will have to make decisions for him.”
“Like shutting off life support!” Cope bounced out of his seat. His fight or flight response was in full swing. He wanted to punch Fitzgibbon in the face and run out of the room as fast as his legs could carry him.
“You’ll need to makealldecisions, Mr. Forbes. For starters, do you want Jude have the MRI? Do you want him placed in the ICU? There will be more decisions to be made once we have the imaging results. I promise our staff in the ICU will give you all the information you’ll need to make informed decisions. We’re going to do everything in our power for your husband, but it’s going to require your participation.”
Cope took several deep breaths. Having a panic attack in the middle of the waiting room wasn’t going to help Jude one bit. “We made a will and healthcare proxies after we adopted our son several years ago. I am Jude’s healthcare proxy with Ronan and Fitz listed as secondary decision makers in case I’m incapacitated as well.”
Ronan and Fitz gasped at the news. “I had no idea,” Ronan said, turning to Fitz. “Did you?”
Fitzgibbon shook his head. “No.”
“We were hoping you two would never need to know.” Cope shrugged.
“We’ll need you to provide a copy of the health directive, but for now, I’ll take you to see Jude. Please come with me.”
“Ten, will you come too?” Cope needed someone by his side when he saw Jude. “Ronan, can you call Reagan Pryce’s office? Let them know what’s happening with Jude and that I need a copy of the document.”
“On it.” Ronan grabbed his phone from his back pocket and walked out of the room.
Dr. Karl opened the door and led Cope and Ten into the ER, past several curtained cubicles, stopping in front of the fourth one they passed. “You can stay with him until he’s taken for the MRI. Do you have any questions?”
Cope had several, but none of which the doctor could answer at the moment. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for Jude. I consent to the MRI and the medically induced coma.”
“You’re welcome.” Dr. Karl pulled the curtain back enough to peek in on Jude.
With fear coursing through every cell in his body, Cope opened the curtain and walked into the cubicle. “Oh, Jude!”
Cope couldn’t believe his eyes. Jude lay flat on his back. Wires and tubes of every sort were attached to beeping machines and then to Jude. An IV had been placed in the back of his left hand. Cope could see the skin around it was bruised purple. Several other bruises were forming on his arms and face. Jude looked like he’d gone a couple of rounds in an MMA octagon. What parts of his face weren’t bruised were grey and pasty looking.
An hour ago Jude had been full of life. Putting up the Christmas tree with Wolf. Telling jokes. Listening to all the things that had gone on while he, Ronan, and Fitz were in Vermont. Now, Jude was a shadow of himself.
Tennyson gasped behind him when he walked past the curtain. He began to pray.
Cope knew the words Ten was speaking but didn’t recite along. He walked to Jude’s bedside and set his hand on top of Jude’s. His skin was warm to the touch. “Hey, babe.” Cope bent to press a kiss to Jude’s forehead. Up close, the bruises on Jude’s face looked even more vicious. He had no doubt the purple was going to darken to black. “I need you to fight harder than you’ve ever fought before to come back to me, Jude. You are my entire life. I won’t make it without you. Wolf and Lizbet need you too. We’ve got so much to look forward to; ballgames, Daddy-Daughter dances, graduations, engagements, weddings, grandbabies. We need you here for those things and a million more I can’t name. Be strong, Jude. I love you so much.” He bent to press another kiss to Jude’s head, just as an orderly walked into the cube.
“We need to take Mr. Byrne for his MRI,” the young man said.
Cope nodded, moving out of the way so that the hospital bed could be taken out of the cubicle. Ronan was waiting near the nurses’ station. He wordlessly followed behind Jude. He gave Cope’s shoulder a squeeze on the way past.
When the orderly turned the corner and Jude was out of sight, Cope began to pray. He’d fallen so far away from God over the years, but knew his Lord and Savior would hear his pleas. With three weeks to go until Christmas Day, it was going to take a miracle for Jude to be home in time for Santa’s arrival.
5
Jude
Jude felt his body begin to float back down to earth. Whatever pain medication he’d been given must be wearing off. He tried again to wiggle his fingers and toes and was unable to do either. Was he still strapped down to the gurney? It felt as though time had passed. How much, he wasn’t sure. He felt alone, as if he were lost somewhere in the void without a map or a compass.
“Jude?” A familiar voice asked. “Are you awake?”
That was a good question. Was he awake? He tried to open his mouth to speak, but found that he couldn’t. There was something in his mouth and down his throat. What the hell was going on?
“Take my hand, sweetheart, and open your eyes.”
“Bertha?” Jude whispered. He opened his eyes to see Bertha Craig sitting in a chair beside him. Jude sat up and took a look around the room. It was sterile looking, with a sink, a red biohazard bag and a television mounted across the way. Machines surrounded the bed. Some beeped. Others whooshed and hissed. He turned to get a better look at them and saw his body laying prone on the bed.
Gasping, Jude hopped to his feet. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. How was it possible for him to be standing beside his own body? For that matter, how was it possible that he could see Bertha. “Oh, fuck. I’m dead.” He looked to Bertha who wore a sad look in her blue eyes. “I’m dead and you’re my guardian angel. Please tell me you’re here to take me to heaven.”
