“This better be damn good,” Austin snapped.

“Our fathers are at Harbor View Medical Center.” Lucas didn’t waste time on greetings.

“Who else needs to be notified?”

“You’re the first one I dialed.”

“I’ll call my siblings, you call yours. I’ll meet you there,” Austin replied, his tone alert and clipped.

“Thanks,” Lucas whispered before dropping the phone for the second time. He quickly called the rest of his siblings, then breathed a sigh of relief as Amy rushed back into the room. She immediately went to their closet and grabbed him a change of clothes, dropping them on the bed in front of him before going in and grabbing her own items.

They changed quickly, neither of them talking as they rushed to get ready. As the seconds ticked by, Lucas found himself fighting harder not to let the panic rise.

His father was invincible, he told himself.

“He’ll be fine, Lucas. Joseph is too stubborn to let anything happen to him,” Amy reassured him as her arms wrapped around him in a comforting embrace. Pulling her in closer, Lucas ran his hand down the familiar softness of her hair, and gently kissed the top of her head, the feel of her, calming him, giving him the needed strength to press forward.

“I’m scared,” he admitted, finally allowing a trace of his fear to show.

Amy shook in his arms as she tried to control her own emotions from spilling out. She and Joseph had a special bond.

A father had been one of the many things Amy had been deprived of as a child. Joseph had immediately opened his arms to her and she rushed right in. She was the daughter he always wanted, but was never blessed with, and he was the father she’d always dreamed of. It would hurt her as much as Lucas if Joseph were to leave the world early.

Amy pulled back and looked in Lucas’s eyes. Her own were red and glassy and he could see she was fighting the tears from falling, trying to be strong for him.

“Thank you,” he whispered. She looked at him with confusion. “Thank you for giving me the strength to get through this. You humble me with nothing other than your presence. Thank you, Amy. You’re right. He will be okay. He’s far too stubborn to let go at such a young age. I’m ready now. We need to be there for Mom. I don’t want her alone.”

Amy didn’t reply as her built up tears finally fell, silently running down her cheeks. He wrapped his arm around her as they rushed from the room.

◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊

“Over here, Mark,” Lucas called as his brother and Emily stepped into the emergency room. The couple changed direction and quickly approached their group.

“How are they? Why aren’t you with them? What’s going on?” Mark fired questions at the growing mass of people, containing his mom, brothers, cousins and many spouses.

“We don’t know anything, yet. It seems the only thing anyone in this freaking hospital knows how to say is, The doctor will be with you shortly,” Alex snapped.

“Alex, anger won’t help your father or uncle. Please be patient,” Katherine said, her voice strong, though her face was pale with worry.

“I’m sorry, Mom. I just…” Alex trailed off, anxiety written on his face.

“How are you doing, Mom. Can I do anything?” Emily asked as she pushed past the circle surrounding Katherine and gave her a comforting hug.

“I’m hanging in there, darling. Joseph isn’t ready to leave me just yet. I know that and so does he,” Katherine said, though a tremor ran through her voice.

“I’d just feel better if they’d let me see him,” Lucas thundered, his temper obviously close to the breaking point.

“Soon, Lucas. It will be soon,” Amy said, gently rubbing her hand along his arm, immediately calming him.

“Katherine, I got here as soon as I could,” Esther panted as she rushed into the room. “I’m so sorry. Have you heard anything, yet?”

“No. We’re still waiting. Thank you for coming. I know it’s late,” Katherine said as Esther wrapped her in a consoling embrace.

“Nonsense. I’d be terribly upset if no one had notified me. I have to be here. Let’s look at the positive. No news is good news, right? That means they’re fighting. Those men certainly know how to fight,” Esther said through her tears.

“Yes they do, Esther, yes they do,” Katherine said with a watery laugh. She was obviously glad to have her friend there.

“I remember times when you would’ve gladly run over Joseph. He’s got some thick skin and there’s no way one little accident will keep him down. Same goes for George.”

“You’re right again, Esther. That man… Well, let’s just say he has a way of keeping my heart accelerated. They were out driving that blasted car I told him to sell months ago. I truly despise those tiny things,” Katherine said.

The kids looked at her, all of them relieved to see her fear dim as anger took its place. At least the anger brought a bit of color to her cheeks.

“Grown men trying to act like teenagers. What were they thinking? We’ll just have to talk to them,” Esther threatened.

The two women continued to rant until they were interrupted by an approaching doctor.

◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊

“What do you mean, you want him released? Are you kidding me!” Kinsey snapped at the young doctor who didn’t even bother looking up from the notes he was writing in Joseph’s file.

“He’s fine, nurse. Why don’t you do your job and let me do mine.”

“I’m trying to do my job. I’m trying not to let you kill my patient!”

“That’s enough. Either stop now or you can look for another job.”

“You don’t have the power to fire me. I’m not backing down. I know this man and there is no way I’m going to let anything happen to him,” Kinsey snapped. She was losing her patience with the arrogant new doctor who was barely out of medical school. She hated dealing with baby doctors, as the nursing staff called them. Some of them were just too damn arrogant to ask for help, even when they knew they were screwing up.

Maybe in the hospital where he’d done his residency, they didn’t do more thorough checks on patients, but here, the doctors had confidence in the nursing staff and didn’t usually fight them when they knew there was a problem. He’s new, she reminded herself, trying to keep calm. She knew Joseph wasn’t even close to being ready to be released.

“He sustained a head injury, doctor. He needs a CT scan and a Neuro consult,” Kinsey insisted.

“Look, I’ve lost patience now. I’ve done a thorough evaluation on him and he’s fine. His eyes are responsive. His vitals are good. I’m releasing him.” The doctor walked away and Kinsey wanted to throw her pen at his back. She felt like a child on the verge of a major tantrum. How hard was it to order a CT scan? Joseph had been experiencing headaches since he’d arrived. It was common practice to order the scan.

She always fought hard for her patients, but this was Joseph, and she’d fight to the point of losing her job for him.

“You can quit fighting for me now, Kinsey. I feel fine. What I need to do is check on my brother,” Joseph whispered.

“Now, Joseph,” she gently admonished as she turned around. “I don’t think you’re in any way ready to make that call. You were in a terrible wreck and have been fading in and out of consciousness.” Kinsey rushed back over to his side and immediately picked up his hand and began checking his pulse. He was still hooked up to the monitors, but she felt better double checking the equipment with the good-old-fashioned, hands-on approach.

“I’m tougher than I look. Right now the only thing I want is to see George,” Joseph repeated.

Kinsey looked into his pain filled eyes and felt her own tear up. She knew how much he was blaming himself for the accident. She also knew that family was more important to him than anything else. His family couldn’t afford to lose him, though, and she needed to get that through his head.

“Joseph, I understand that you’re tougher than a freight liner, but I think you’re in shock. I’ve seen this before. I’m very concerned about the headache you’ve had since arriving. I want you to have a CT scan and a consult with a Neuro Surgeon,” Kinsey argued. Now she was fighting with the doctor and her patient. Her job was rarely easy.

“Kinsey, dear, I’ve been through worse than a little car accident. I’m okay. Now, listen to your doctor, and help me get out of here. I need to check on my brother.”

“Please, just indulge me for another hour? That’s not asking much. I’ll personally go and check on George and come right back with an update,” Kinsey pleaded.

“Dad!” Lucas rushed into the room. “How are you feeling? What has the doctor said? Where’s Uncle George? I can’t seem to get answers from anyone,” Lucas fired, not giving Joseph enough time to answer before he fired off another question. Alex and Mark came in right behind him, along with Amy, Jessica and Emily.

Kinsey smiled at the look of love and worry on their faces. Her best friend was indeed lucky to have married into such a beautiful family. They were good people, inside and out. She quietly slipped from the room so they could visit privately.

“Did you start the discharge process?”

Kinsey took a fortifying breath before turning. The same doctor was back, breathing down her neck. She knew now it was just a power-of-wills. He didn’t care about the patient – he cared about his orders being followed.

“As you can see, Mr. Anderson’s family just arrived. He’ll be busy for a while answering their questions. When he’s finished, I’ll start the discharge process,” Kinsey stalled.

“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing. I will be reporting you to your supervisor. Get him discharged, now!”

“You pompous, son-of-a-b…”

“Stop right there. I don’t care what it takes. You’ll be escorted out of here within the next hour. It’s either you, or me.”

“Why can’t you just admit to the fact that you may be wrong? It doesn’t hurt you, in the least, to order a CT scan and have a neurosurgeon do a consult.” Kinsey was done dealing with the doctor. She’d go to her supervisor – but she wasn’t backing down.

“You’re finished here,” he snarled before walking off.

Yes, I most likely am finished, she thought as she walked over to the nurses’ station and picked up the phone.

“Yes, Dr. Mason has ordered a Neuro consult on a patient, Joseph Anderson, and it needs to be soon. Also, he’s ordered a CT scan,” Kinsey said.

Not knowing the difference, they sent out the page, and Kinsey turned toward the room Joseph was in. She felt it in her gut that something was wrong. The doctor would be furious with her, but she didn’t care. If Joseph turned out to be okay, it was worth the doctor’s wrath. She’d already made the decision to sacrifice her job.