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“Radius? That’s her arm?” Riker asked.
“That’s right.” Doc Gideon answered.
“And the baby’s okay?” Riker still found that hard to believe.
“There were some complications, being the baby is premature, but the main thing is yes. The baby is going to be fine. The impact of the crash caused the placenta to detach. We took the baby c-section. And the infant will have to stay in NICU for a while. but all signs point to the positive.”
Riker didn’t know how to feel. The surge of joy he felt at the news of his son’s birth and surprisingly stable health status, should have filled him with happiness. Instead, the best he could do was let a little bit of cautious optimism rise up. This was a whole lot to take in and it had been a hell of a day.
“Can I see Gia now?”
“Yes. Of course.” Doctor Gideon nodded.
Prosper moved between Riker and the door.
“Brother, be prepared.”
“For?”
“Gia’s hooked up to a whole bunch of machines and she’s packed in ice.” Prosper told him.
When Doctor Gideon glared at him again, Prosper grumbled. “It is what it is, Gabriel. You know I’ve got nothing but respect for you, and I like to think that goes both ways. But first you give me shit fornottelling Riker, now you wanna give me shitfortelling him? Make up my fucking mind.”
“Your delivery could use some work.” Doctor Gideon said dryly. Then he turned to Riker. “Right now it’s in Gia’s best interest for us to let the machines do the work her body would typically do”
“Don’t see how that can be true, doc.” Riker shook his head.
“I know it seems counter-intuitive to the healing process, but when the brain is awake it uses a lot of energy responding to sensory impressions, conscious thoughts and muscle movement. We need to slow down all Gia’s body functions so that it can relax and put its energy into getting Gia better. It’s called Therapeutic Hypothermia. And although we are cooling her down to depress organ functions, Gia is most certainly not packed in ice.” Doctor Gideon paused here and gave Prosper a pointed look.
Prosper kept his mouth shut.
“We are keeping her body cool by air filled inflatables. Her body temperature is a stable ninety-two degrees.”
“Jesus.” Riker shivered involuntarily. “Couldn’t that cause other problems?”
“We have that under control, son.” Doctor Gideon told him.
“Well, let’s hope the fuck so.”
Nothing the doctor said could have prepared Riker for what he saw when he walked into the room. Gia looked like she was caught in some futuristic torture chamber. She was hooked up and plugged into countless machines. Her face was covered in bandages and there was a tube in her mouth.
But worst of all, she looked…deflated.
Like half of her was missing.
The Baby.
She doesn’t even know she’s had the baby.
This was his fault.
All his fault.
Riker raced to Gia’s bedside. He called her name over and over and over again. When she didn’t respond, Riker began to pace around the room. Back and forth, back and forth, he stomped with the ferocity and agony of a caged jungle cat. He hated everything about hospitals: the cold industrial tiles beneath his feet, the moans of the sick and dying, the tiny rooms filled with the cloying scent of fear and hopelessness. Riker felt like he had just traded one prison room for another.
But most of all, he hated that Gia was here ?but really not here. He hated that she was caught in between the living and the dead.Resting my ass!He thought to himself.My woman is not resting, she is fighting for her life.
Riker’s whole body tensed with rage. When he pulled back his arm to propel his fist through the stark white, smooth hospital wall, an arm made of pure iron hooked around his and stopped him short.
