Rememberances
part 6
"In Times of Trouble"
By Pat
“I’ve got a pulse.” He told MacLeod. “Thank God, he’s still alive.”
“Tell me what you need me to do, Luka.” Duncan replied.
By now, Melanie’s state of frozen shock had passed and both she and Amanda raced towards the street, Melanie intent on reaching her son. Both men looked up at the sound of the women’s approach.
“Hold her back, Amanda!” Duncan ordered. He could see the panic on Melanie’s face and knew she would only be in the way of whatever Luka needed to do.
“Let go of me, I have to get to my son!” Melanie protested, trying to twist loose from Amanda’s grasp. “He needs me!”
“Honey, you need to let Luka take care of Davie now.” Amanda stated firmly. “You can help more by staying out of the way and letting him work.” Amanda felt helpless as she stood next to Melanie, feeling her shoulders shake as the tears flowed down her cheeks. These mortals, so fragile, she thought, especially the children. Her heart went out to Melanie and her son. Surprisingly, she had grown quite fond of them both in the short time they had spent together.
Meanwhile, Luka finished his assessment. Davie had an obvious fracture of his leg that would need surgical treatment, but he was more concerned about the possible head injury. Thank God the boy had been wearing a helmet. “Hold his neck steady, Duncan, while I remove the helmet.” Luka ordered. He waited until Duncan was in position, then gently unfastened the helmet and slid it off. He was dismayed to see the blood oozing from Davie’s ear. “Keep the neck steady, I’m calling 911.” He told MacLeod. Glancing at the boy while he did as Luka ordered, Duncan, from his experience as a medic during the First World War, knew the situation was not good. It seemed like an eternity that they knelt there on the ground until they heard the approach of the ambulance. Assisting the paramedics, Luka stabilized Davie’s fracture, after placing him in a collar and backboard. Before they loaded him into the ambulance, Melanie could wait no longer. She hurried to Davie’s side, “Darling, mommy’s here, I love you. Oh Luka, my poor baby, help him.” She cried.
“I’ll take good care of him, my love, but you have to let us get him to the hospital now.” Luka urged. “No, honey, stay with Duncan, he’ll drive you there.” He told her as she had attempted to climb into the ambulance.
“Duncan, take care of Melanie. Follow us to Penrose.” Luka called to MacLeod before closing the doors and the ambulance sped away. Supporting her on each side, Amanda and Duncan led Melanie to the car. Leaving Melanie sobbing softly in Amanda’s arms, Duncan maneuvered the car onto the street and towards the hospital. For Melanie’s sake, he hid the grave concern he felt for Davie’s condition. He prayed the boy would still be alive when they arrived.
In the waiting room, Duncan sat next to Melanie, his arm wrapped around her, offering his support. “Oh Duncan, I’m so scared…he’s so little and helpless.” Melanie sobbed. “I should never have gotten him that bike.”
“No, Melanie, this was not your fault. You mustn’t blame yourself. It was an accident.” Duncan was emphatic; he didn’t want to see her torturing herself this way. “He’s in good hands. I’ve known Luka for a long time and he’s the best doctor I’ve ever seen. He’ll do everything he possibly can for Davie, you know that. He loves you both so much.” He held her closer, feeling her tears on his shirt while over her head his eyes met Amanda’s equally concerned and worried look. The three friends looked up at the sound of footsteps to see Luka approaching them, a grave look on his face. Melanie ran to him, and he wrapped her in his arms. “He’s dead isn’t he?” she sobbed. Behind her, Duncan and Amanda waited anxiously for the news.
“No, no, honey, he’s stable. He’s on his way to CT scan right now. The orthopedic surgeon can fix the leg, but we’re most concerned about the head injury. We think he may have a skull fracture.” Luka slowly explained, giving Melanie time to process what he was telling her. “We’ll know more in a little bit when we see the CT scan. I need to get back to Davie now, are you holding up okay?” He gently inquired.
Melanie nodded. “When can I see him, Luka? I want to be with him.”
“I’ll come and get you as soon as he’s back from radiology.” He promised.
Once again, they waited for the sound of Luka’s footsteps. Time seemed to have slowed to an eternity before Luka once more appeared. Sitting in the chair next to her, he took Melanie’s hands in his as Duncan and Amanda stood behind her, their hands on her shoulders.
“He’s still holding his own, my darling.” Luka explained. “The CT scan did show a small skull fracture, but thankfully there’s very little injury to the brain. Just some slight bruising. The orthopedic surgeons are getting ready to take him to the OR to fix his leg. Then we just have to wait for him to regain consciousness.”
“Oh Luka, thank God, thank God!” Melanie cried, collapsing into his arms. He held her close to him murmuring words of comfort to her. “Can I see him, please Luka, I need to see my baby.”
“Of course, I’ll take you back to him now.” He looked at Duncan and Amanda. “Thank you both for taking care of my lady.” He said sincerely.
“No thank you needed, Luka, that’s what friends are for. We’ll be right here if you need us.” Amanda replied as Duncan indicated his agreement.
After Luka and Melanie had gone, Amanda turned to MacLeod, “Oh Duncan, I don’t know how you do it. Its so hard being friends with these mortals. They are so fragile, especially that little boy. I hope he’s going to be okay.”
“Amanda, you surprise me.” Duncan answered. “I didn’t think you were fond of children.” He teased gently.
With tears in her eyes, Amanda looked at MacLeod, “Well, I’m not always the cold-hearted bitch everyone thinks I am!” she protested. Pulling her into his arms and holding her close, Duncan whispered reassuringly, “Amanda, my love, I’ve known that for years.”
While Duncan and Amanda kept vigil in the waiting room, Luka and Melanie stayed by Davie’s side both of them holding his hands, stroking his hair back off his face, talking to the boy in the hope that he could hear them. As several days passed, Luka’s concern grew, as Davie remained unconscious. He went over in his mind time and time again, what could he have missed? What he could have done differently? But no answers came to him. Finally, on the third day, Melanie looked over at Luka slumped in a chair and smiled. “Luka, he just squeezed my fingers!”
Luka quickly approached the bed. He gently rubbed Davie’s shoulder, calling his name, coaxing him to open his eyes. He felt tears of joy fill his eyes when Davie focused on Melanie and he heard his soft “Mommy, I’m hungry.”
Melanie sat on the bed, gently gathering her son into her arms, crooning softly and reassuringly to him. With one arm she beckoned Luka to join them and they held each other close. Finally, Luka remarked, “I better go tell Duncan and Amanda the good news, they’ve been here all this time as well.”
Waiting for an update, Duncan and Amanda hurried to meet Luka as he walked towards them. They could tell from the smile on his face that he had good news for them. Wrapping an arm around both of his friends, Luka told them of Davie’s recovery.
“I knew if anyone could pull him through, you would do it, Luka.” Duncan told his friend.
“He’s an amazing kid. He did most of it himself. I had very little to do with it.” Luka admitted. “But thank you both for staying here, Melanie and I appreciate all your help and concern.”
“You and Melanie are our friends.” Duncan stated simply. No more needed to be said.
After another week in the hospital, the big day finally arrived…it was time to take Davie home. The day before, they had decorated the house and yard with Welcome Home signs, ribbons and balloons. When Luka’s car pulled up in front of the house, he was surprised to see MacLeod waiting there alone. After a small celebration, Melanie took Davie to his room to settle him in for a nap. At this point Luka questioned MacLeod, “What’s going on, Duncan? Where’s Amanda?”
“She left.” Duncan replied. “I have to leave as well, Luka. Something’s come up that I have to take care of.” Luka could tell by the grim look on his friend’s face that something was wrong.
“Is it something to do with another immortal?” He questioned quietly.
“Yes.” MacLeod replied. “I’ve waited 100 years to find this man who killed a friend of mine. Now he’s surfaced and I intend to finish this once and for all.”
“And Amanda didn’t want you to go.” Luka ascertained a guess, not surprised when MacLeod nodded in agreement. “I can’t say I disagree with her, Duncan, but I know you have to do what you feel you must. But please be careful.” He knew what MacLeod faced and the fact there was a distinct possibility he would never see his friend again.
“I will. Now, I want to say good-bye to Melanie and Davie.” Duncan stated.
He knocked softly on the door to Davie’s room, approaching the bed at Melanie’s invitation. He explained that he had to leave on business. Rising from where she was sitting, Melanie walked up to Duncan, kissing him on the cheek. “Hurry back to us when you can, Duncan, you are always welcome here, you know.”
“Thank you for everything. Amanda sends her best wishes as well. Hopefully, we will see you all again soon.” Walking over to the bed, he sat down beside Davie who surprised the Highlander when he wrapped his arms around Duncan’s neck, hugging him. “Don’t go, Duncan, I want you to stay.” Davie protested.
“I’m sorry, my little friend,” MacLeod told the boy, “I have to go for now, but you are a brave warrior and hopefully I will see you soon.” He hugged the boy gently before rising and walking away. Melanie stood by Luka’s side as they watched MacLeod walk to the door. Turning, he looked at his friend.
“Luka.”
“Duncan.”
Then he closed the door and he was gone.
Melanie looked up at Luka. She knew something was wrong by the worried look on his face. But she wouldn’t pry, she would wait and hopefully he would tell her when he was ready. She squeezed his hand reassuringly before murmuring that she was going to see that Davie was settled in for his nap. Luka watched from the doorway as she tucked the blankets in around her son, kissing him on the forehead as he snuggled in and fell asleep.
Luka had made a decision. Taking Melanie by the hand he led her to the sofa. Holding her hands in his and looking into her eyes, he spoke, “You know I love you and Davie more than anything in this world. I want to spend my life with you, loving you, taking care of you. I want so much to ask you to be my wife.” He saw the smile that lit up Melanie’s face and the love in her eyes.
“Oh Luka, I love you so much and I….” He gently laid his fingers on her lips, stopping her words. Then taking a deep breath, he continued.
“Wait my love, before you answer, there’s something I have to tell you, something about me you have to know….
The End?