After meeting with Tom, aka Dr. Thibodaux, and sitting with him while he talked Yvette and her handler through the procedure, Jake got ready to leave after making Dr. Thibodaux promise to call or text him as soon as the surgery was over. As he walked out he was sure to stop and talk to Dr. Rodriguez. “By the way, Rodriguez, the EEG machine and the camera just saved her fucking life and showed me what caused her to stroke. I’m going to be launching a formal complaint with the review board against you and any other Doctor who’s had Corporal Jennings under their care in my absence whether it be from illness or not being scheduled. I’m going to site that after her second stroke, I wrote in my notes that addressing that young woman by her name and rank upset her and sent her into a stroke so she needed to be addressed by her first name and you jack asses ignored what I said. And because you assholes kept ignoring me, the clot kept dislodging and sending her into stroke after stroke. Maybe after they get finished with you, you MIGHT be able to apologize before you have to be out of the hospital because I’m going to make sure that this goes straight up the chain to the national review board.”
“I still want to know what the EEG machine was for, Draiman.”
“It was to monitor brain activity, your fucking moron! And the camera was so I could see her behavior so that I could pin point the clot. God you’re an idiot.” Jake just looked at the older man. “Look, I’m just giving you fair warning and letting you know what to expect in the near future.” And with that, he turned and walked toward the elevator.
---------------
He was so relieved when he walked in the door after arriving home. He headed to the kitchen where he was sure everyone was with a bounce in his step. His parents and wife noticed. “What happened to you, honey? I left for class this morning and you were passed out on the couch. I get home and you’re not even on the property”, Delilah asked.
“Well, you all remember that young woman who’s 24 but thinks she’s 13?” he asked everyone in the room.
“That girl you were talking to that day Jordan, Malachai and I went to work with you?” David asked.
“Yeah her. Well, the strokes have been getting worse and more frequent. I was at a loss. I called a former professor of mine at Johns- Hopkins to consult. He suggested something I hadn’t even thought of. I did it and set a video camera up in her room. Not only did that save her life, but I’m launching a complaint against the fuckers because of their behavior toward a patient.”
“Why?”
“Because calling her by her rank freaks her out and triggered the strokes.”
“Triggered? Past tense?” Brie asked.
“Yes, past tense. I found that mother fucker in her occipital lobe and it’s being very carefully removed as we speak. I owe the neurosurgeon doing the procedure a HUGE favor for this and he’s going to monitor her for me over the next 24- 36 hours.”
“What does he want in return?” Delilah asked.
“He wants me to see if I can get Reckless Disregard to play his niece’s sweet 16 OR if I can score tickets for her and a few friends to their next Denver show.”
“I think they’re doing something before Thanksgiving, but I wouldn’t suggest that show for a bunch of teenagers. Too many drunks”, Brie said to her son.
“Her birthday’s not until March, Mom.” He chuckled as he thought about what day the girl’s birthday was. “March 13 as a matter of fact.”
David laughed. “Seeing as I’m currently running their label and the girl shares a birthday with me, I’ll see what I can do about them being in Denver on March 13 so this girl can take a bunch of friends to the show. I’ll need her name so that we can reserve some tickets for her… and the number of girls going.”
“I’ll tell Tom when he calls me to let me know how the patient is doing.” He yawned. “The adrenaline is wearing off. I need to go lay down for a while.” He looked at his mother. “What time is dinner tonight, Mom?”
“It will be at the usual time; 7:30, Jacob.”
He checked his watch. “I’m going to lie down for a couple of hours. I’m exhausted. I’ve been going for damn near 36 straight and my body’s not used to it anymore.”
“Go lay down then, Jakey. I’ll come join you here soon, handsome”, Delilah said after pressing her lips to his cheek.
His finger tips traced down her cheek as he turned his face toward hers to kiss her lips. “I look forward to it.” He kissed her lips and left the house out the back door.
“I love you!”, she called after him.
“I love you, too”, he called back over his shoulder.
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“That young man works entirely too hard”, Brie said after she saw Jake head down the steps that led off of the back porch. “Research projects and having the nurses page him when a patient starts to have a stroke. He needs a vacation.”
“You know your son, Mom”, Delilah said. “He’s not going to take a vacation until he finishes his work. He’s far too dedicated to this to take a break from it now. The holidays are one thing, but a vacation where we actually leave the country isn’t going to happen. You and I both know that.”
“You can say that again”, David said and looked at his wife. “He has our work ethic.”
“I know, but he’s going to put himself in an early grave working the way he does”, Brie responded with a sigh.
“Like I’m going to let that happen, Mom”, Delilah said with a laugh. “When I go out there to lay down with him here shortly, if I have to wear him out- which I doubt I’ll have to do- then I’ll do it. But if he’s as tired as he looked, then getting him to sleep shouldn’t be too much trouble. And he’s off work for the next few days. It will give him time to clear his head.”
“He could use the break”, David said.
“But, we all know Jacob. He’s going to be thinking about his patients all day, especially that young woman that’s been having the strokes”, Brie added.
“And his research”, Delilah mentioned. “But, I’m used to it. I figured it would be like this when I started dating him while he was Pre- med. I knew that if things were to become more, that I’d run the risk of him obsessing over a patient until he figured out what was wrong and how to fix it.”
“You’re a better woman than I am, Delilah”, Brie said with a laugh.
“No, I wouldn’t go that far, Mom. You have to deal with Dad’s career, which is worse if you ask me. He spends long periods of time away from the house either touring or recording in Chicago. When he’s here and they’re working on a new record, his mind’s on the music and not you.”
“His mind is always on me. Sometimes I have to remind him who comes first, but I’m used to it. I knew what I was getting myself into when we got married.”
“See, and I could say that you’re a better woman than I am, and I’d be wrong.”
Brie laughed. “I see you’re point. We’re both strong women because we have to deal with our men’s difficult careers.”
“Precisely.”
David couldn’t help but laugh. “My career isn’t that fucking difficult.”
“Oh yeah, and I’m the first lady”, Brie said with a laugh.
“You had the opportunity to be, if you’ll recall.”
“Dear Lord, I would have killed you if you had taken that offer. I did NOT want you to have to run the country. Not after you had to end the War your former employers were supposed to have ended a long time before it did.”
“I wasn’t about to run the country. You and our children are far too important to me to have done something stupid like that. I wasn’t about to sell my soul for politics.”
“And I’m glad you did, because I would have kicked your ass”, she said with a laugh. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his lips. “Any way, your soul as well as your ass, belongs to me and I don’t share”, she added with a laugh.
Delilah laughed. “I love the dynamic you two have. I hope Jake and I can develop something like that.”
“When you’ve been through the shit we’ve been though together, you’ll have the dynamic we have”, David said, his eyes never leaving the face of the woman who completed his heart and was, by just existing, the very essence of his soul.
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When she finally headed out to the little house, she was smiling. She’d learned more about the man and woman her husband was raised by. They were both amazingly strong people. David was Brie’s rock. Brie was David’s strength. She could only hope that she and Jacob would develop a relationship like that. So far, they were. She was being strong for him while he did his work. She knew that he would support her no matter what. He was with her Body- Mind training. She knew he was happy about the baby, even though they hadn’t had much of an opportunity to talk about it.
When she walked into the house, he was sitting on the couch, taking notes while he talked on the phone. “That’s great, Tom. You’re amazing! I could kiss you”, he laughed. “Not literally, you dick head. Figuratively speaking.” He chuckled. “You’re great, Tommy. You’re awesome. I’ll be in the check on her tomorrow. I need to get some sleep and the look in my wife’s face says that if I don’t get off this phone, she’s going to kill me.” He was quiet for a moment. “Actually, I talked to my dad about that. He said that he needs her name and the number of people going to the concert so he can put tickets back. Jordan and Malachai always try to have a show on both of our parents’ birthday’s and they try to be a state away at the farthest.” Silence. “Well, March 13 is my Dad’s birthday.” He pulled the phone away from his ear. “Ok, tell her I’ll see what I can do about that one too, and that she needs to chill out. Ok, I’ve got the get the hell off of this thing before I suffer severe hearing damage. I’ll talk to you later. Thank you so much, again, Tom. Bye.”
Delilah looked at her husband. “What were you doing on the phone? I thought you were tired, Jacob Micah?”
“I am, baby. I’m fucking exhausted, but Tom called to update me on my patient like I had asked. Now I’m ready to turn off my phone and pager, crawl in bed next to you, and pass the hell out.”
She reached out and took his hand. “Come on, Jakey, and lay down with me. I missed having you next to me last night. That big ole’ bed is so cold and lonely without you.” She pulled him to standing and tugged him toward their bedroom.
He smiled and let her take the lead. He didn’t care what happened as long as he was with her. He needed to take his mind off of the shit at work for a little while. No thinking about his research, no thinking about his patients. All he wanted to think about was the beautiful woman he now called his wife and the tiny thing that was barely bigger than his thumbnail that they had created together and was now growing in her womb.
When they reached their bedroom, he kicked off his sneakers and pulled his shirt off before climbing in bed next to her. She settled into the bed beside him and put her head on his chest. It wasn’t long before they were both asleep and dreaming of the little one they needed to start preparing for.
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