Chapter 18

Suzi left the sports store, her mind racing as she drove the rest of the way to the hospital. The clock read just past 3 p.m., so she felt like she was right on time. The elevator carried her to the ICU, where a doctor conversed with Owen, Ruth, Reed, and Rio in the waiting room.

“Mrs. McCord,” the doctor greeted her, extending his hand. “I’m Arthur Finnigan, the director of medicine here at South.”

Suzi hesitated, waiting for Judas to intervene, but the silence persisted. “Suzi, please,” she replied, her voice steady. “I spoke with Dr. Beelart earlier. I was quite—”

“Yes,” Dr. Finnigan interrupted. “Dr. Beelart informed me of your displeasure with his questioning. Let me assure you, Mrs. McCord, that we are the best-equipped medical facility in Illinois to care for your husband.”

Suzi sensed their ulterior motive—to keep Aiden in the ICU for an extended stay, racking up expenses. “I don’t have his insurance information,” she stated firmly. “And I won’t entertain any treatment limitations dictated by insurance companies.”

“Rest assured,” Dr. Finnigan said, maintaining eye contact. “We’ll recommend the best treatment for his needs. I share your disdain for insurance negotiations, but they’re there to help cover the costs of what will likely be an expensive stay.”

“That’s acceptable,” Suzi replied, her resolve unwavering. “Give me your word that you won’t restrict his treatment based on insurance recommendations. We can settle with them later or pay out of pocket. But if I catch even a hint of misrepresentation from your staff, I’ll move him before you can hang another IV bag.”

The doctor blinked, perhaps realizing the gravity of her threat. “Of course. Now, let me be transparent. Aiden is currently sedated to allow for his brain swelling to be reduced. His other injuries are extensive, so I’d like to keep him under until he’s further healed—about four weeks.”

Rio’s sobs echoed through the room, and Reed enveloped her in a hug.

Suzi’s mind raced. “His bones would almost be healed by then,” she observed.

“His body faces significant repair,” Dr. Finnigan explained. “Bone healing will likely take a full twelve weeks, followed by physical therapy. He’ll need to learn to walk again, considering muscle atrophy from prolonged bed rest.”

“But he’ll be alright?” Ruth’s voice trembled as she clung to Owen’s hand.

“He’s not out of the woods,” the doctor cautioned. “His brain remains swollen, and that’s our priority. Risks of seizure, stroke, or infection are still prevalent. We’ve performed surgeries, and more may be necessary. He’ll be blind in his left eye until we attempt cornea reattachment—if viable—or consider a transplant.”

Reed got to the heart of it: “Bottom line it for us, Doc. What are his chances?”

“I hesitate to say,” Dr. Finnigan admitted. “But right now, I’d say fifty-fifty. Each day brings improvement.”

“Thank you,” Suzi said, her emotions raw. “And I apologize if I came across—”

“No need,” the doctor interrupted. “Trauma elicits varied responses.” He handed her a business card. “Call me if you need anything or feel his treatment falls short of your expectations.”

“Are we collecting fucking business cards now?” the hateful Judy identity scoffed.

Suzi accepted the card, watching Dr. Finnigan depart.

Rio’s tearful plea broke the silence. “Four weeks? He’ll sleep through Christmas and New Year’s. We can’t stay here that long.”

Ruth and Reed held each other, their pain palpable. Suzi faced the group. “Do we consider moving him back home to Missouri?”

Owen spoke up, “No. He shouldn’t be moved until at least after he wakes up. Chicago Med is solid. Much better than the hospitals in the Ozarks. He’d want to be here with you anyhow.”

“We’ll stay for a few days and fly back home. We can video chat with you every day from his bedside to get updates. When they wake him up, we can come back,” Ruth told everyone.

Suzi nodded, her resolve firm. She would spend every waking moment by Aiden’s side. Hugging Ruth and Rio, she felt Reed join the embrace, and Owen’s hand rested on her shoulder. His stoicism was typical—emotions kept in check.

Suzi and Rio entered Aiden’s room, and after about 45 minutes, Reed took Rio’s place.

“How’s Kara? And Ruby?” Suzi asked her son.

“Kara’s good,” Reed replied. “She wanted to come with us but couldn’t get away from work. Ruby, well, she’s Ruby. I wish I could’ve brought her to see Dad and Ygritte.”

“Once he’s better,” Suzi promised, “we’ll all spend time together. And how’s work?”

“Slow right now due to the cold. Not many projects. But I’m keeping busy and it’ll pick up in spring. How about you? Did you ever get your patent?”

“No. I keep getting denied. Basically, they tell me ‘Congratulations. You are using a 3-D printer to make something.’ Unfortunately, the barbaric restoration process was ‘anything you could find’ so there was no real process to improve upon and politics are woefully ignorant of the fundamental funeral processes. Other than that… meh.” Suzi smiled, trying to hide her concern that she was a hair’s breadth from getting fired.

“You’ll get there,” Reed encouraged. “And how are you feeling? After the coma and the mirror incident?”

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“I’m good,” Suzi quipped. “A shard of glass won’t keep me down. Seriously, though, I feel better than ever. Off my meds for two weeks, and it’s made a difference.”

“You look good,” Reed observed. “We were worried. Dad cried—I haven’t seen that since…” He hesitated.

“Since I left,” Suzi finished, understanding his unspoken words.

“Yeah. I suppose.”

“Baby, your dad and I talked long about it. I know it hurt him. It hurt me too. I didn’t want to go, but it was a calling I had to fulfill. I wish I could explain it better,” Suzi said, her voice soft.

“I get it,” Reed assured her, “Rio left and it just left you two. Dad had his career, and you couldn’t get anyone to hire or take you seriously. You felt you needed to find that missing piece, and he didn’t want to leave Grandma and Pops. Dad explained it to us as he spent his time split between down there and up here for that first year, and –“

“What?” Suzi held up her hand and stopped him.

“What ‘what’?” Reed was confused about what she didn’t understand.

“You said he spent his time between here and there for the first year?”

“Yeah. After we came up and helped you move all of Ricky’s stuff to storage? He was up here at least every other weekend spending time with you after that.”

Suzi’s heart clenched. “No, he wasn’t. The last time I saw him was when he brought Ygritte up three months after you helped me move in. That was over two years ago—until last week when I woke up.”

Reed’s eyes widened. “Mom, I’m telling you, he was here. We tracked him. He visited your apartment or the funeral home every time.”

Tears welled up. “He never came to see me,” Suzi whispered. “He watched from a distance, ensuring I was okay while giving me space.” The tears burst forth.

Reed chuckled through his own tears. “Not creepy at all.”

Ruth and Owen swapped places with Suzi and Reed for the last 45 minutes of the visitation. In the waiting room, they discussed recent events—Ygritte, Mr. McGillicuddy’s estate.

“His entire estate?” Rio’s excitement bubbled.

“Yes,” Suzi confirmed. “But I don’t think it's really much. He was a farm boy with only a 10th-grade education, joined the military and became a mechanic. He has six kids. I’m sure he’d left me directions to leave them all something. He just wanted to make them sweat it out. He was a war-time veteran with a Medal of Honor and other awards, so I’m sure he got a monthly pension, but I’m betting that just covered the nursing home and medical needs.”

“Oh.” Rio looked disappointed. “I thought estate meant like large amounts of property.”

“It’s really any amount of property a person owned. It could also mean any debt that property carried that I am now responsible for. I have not talked to the lawyer or read any paperwork yet, so I don’t know much.”

“That is cool, mom. You always had a soft place in your heart for veterans and their stories,” Reed commented.

“Vets have a lot of good stories, and it’s my way of helping their legends live on. You should get your grandpa to tell you his stories.”

Ruth and Owen showed up right at 6 o'clock.

“Do we want to get some dinner and turn in for the night?” Ruth asked.

Rio and Reed simultaneously responded, “Dave and Buster’s?”

Suzi smiled. “I’ll meet you guys downstairs. I want to tell Aiden ‘Good Night.’”

She went to Aiden’s room, and the grandparents took the grandkids to the elevator.

She checked in with the officer on guard, the nurse at the nurse’s station made a vocal ‘ah-hem’ sound. Suzi looked at her, and the nurse pointed at her watch. Suzi held up her left hand with all five fingers spread wide and mouthed ‘five minutes.’ The nurse frowned and waved her on.

She stood at the foot of the bed and placed her hand on Aiden’s leg. The connection was energetic- like his body knew that her body loved him entirely. She spoke his name, and the room blurred—the sterile hospital fading, giving way to the shadowy realm of Guillermo, where her frozen personas awaited.

She eyed Judas, unsure if she was frozen in place like the others or just standing at attention. The demon was in a fetal position in the furthest corner of its cell from Judas.

Aiden materialized in his own room.

“Hello, my love.” Suzi whispered to the apparition of Aiden.

“Suzi? Where are we? I can’t see you.”

“We are in Guillermo, remember? You were attacked and are in a coma. I’m somehow able to connect with you. Reed and Rio and your parents are here in the hospital with us.”

Aiden’s frustration echoed through the void. “I can feel my body, but I can’t move. I can’t see anything, and the sounds are distant, distorted.”

“You are sedated so you can heal. You have some serious injuries they have to take care of to improve your chances of living.”

“Are you ok? You were hurt,” Aiden remembered. “I was supposed to come back to get you!”

“I’m fine. Ygritte is fine. You’ll be fine also.” Suzi’s voice cracked. “We’ll get through this together.”

“Suzi – “

“Yes, Aiden.”

Silence enveloped them. Aiden remained motionless in his room, and Suzi’s heart clenched.

“Aiden?” she called again, desperation rising.

Reality crashed back into view as the officer pushed her back. A flurry of medical staff was lowering the head of Aiden’s bed, listening to his chest, and injecting something into his IV while another performed chest compressions. The monitors no longer beeped-beep-beeped with his heart rate but instead signaled a long, low, continuous tone.

Suzi retreated to the corner of the room, crouched, and clasped her hand over her mouth as tears began streaming down her cheeks. She watched in horror as the look on the doctors’ and nurses’ faces began to show signs of them giving up.

“I’m calling it,” one doctor declared after several minutes. “We lost him.”

“Time is 1817,” someone else said.

“NO!” Suzi’s scream echoed through the room, unwilling to accept defeat. “Bring him back! He’s strong!”

The nurse held her, soothing words lost in the storm of grief. Suzi dropped to her knees and crawled to Aiden’s bedside. His hand hung there, no longer suspended by a harness. She clutched it, desperate.

“Aiden,” she sobbed.

In the empty cave of his vessel, Suzi wept. He was gone.

“Shall we bind to this vessel?” Judas’ voice came to her.

“Leave me ALONE!” Suzi screamed within herself.

Judas appeared out of nowhere, seemingly stepping out of Suzi’s consciousness. In her nude warrior magnificence, fierce and otherworldly, cradled a body in her arms—a body shroud in blue jeans and a T-shirt. She turned to face Suzi. It was Aiden, as she saw him in Guillermo.

“What…? How…?” Suzi’s voice trembled.

“His consciousness remained while his body expired as he was bound to us. If you choose to bind him to this vessel, his essence will be forever bound by your will.” Judas explained.

“I don’t know what that means!” Suzi’s mind raced.

Judas urged, “You must choose quickly.”

“If we bind him, he’ll live?” she asked.

“Correct.”

“Fuck yes! Do it! Do it now!”

Judas dissolved, and Aiden floated within his cave. At first, he lay horizontally, a faint ‘v’ at his waist as if Judas still cradled him. But then he rotated, limbs spread-eagle, hovering within the dark cavern. His eyes fluttered open, and Suzi witnessed two delicate bands of gold light extend from her consciousness to encircle his wrists.

“Suzi?” Aiden’s voice trembled, confusion etched across his ethereal features.

“Aiden. Honey!” Suzi’s words rushed forth. “You’re going to be—”

Reality slammed into her like a taser to the face. Her skull throbbed as if Paul Bunyan himself had split it open with an axe. She clutched her head, desperate to keep her brain from escaping. Her face was wet—tears or sweat, she couldn’t tell. The word ‘Yujo’ reverberated in her ears, etched into her very being. And then she heard it.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

The heart rate monitor beeped, a lifeline rekindled. Suzi staggered to her feet, yelling out the door. Nurses and doctors rushed back in, astonishment mirrored in their eyes.

“Ma’am, you must leave. We need to care for him,” the nurse insisted, pushing Suzi toward the exit.

Her head throbbed, agony and hope warring within her. As she fled down the hall, she glimpsed Ruth, Owen, Reed, and Rio huddled together, staring at her as if she held the answers.

Suzi collapsed to her knees and vomited.