When time stands still, seconds become hours. Whilst the officer in front of me was talking, all I could think about was my dad had been injured. The officer's lips were moving but his voice echoed in my mind, repeating the same thing, "your dad has had a car accident and he's been taken to the hospital." The room began to swirl and twist around me, and I grabbed for something stable, my hands found Chase.
Chase held me steady and lead me to the sofa, gently sitting me down, as though I would break. I was going to break, something deep inside my consciousness showed me visions of my dad's battered and bruised body, surrounded by machines keeping him alive, doctors hovering around his bedside looking helpless.
"Miss Maclaren, I can take you to your father now, he's at Sinai Chicago Hospital over by Douglas Park." The officer spoke slowly and motioned for me to follow him.
My legs and feet were numb, immovable.
Chase took my right hand and eased me to my feet; his left hand supporting me at my lower back.
"I can drive us over Officer Short, my car is waiting downstairs. Thank you for your assistance."
"If there is anything else we can do, please call us, he's one of our own, and we look after our family" Officer Short gave Chase a card, and left the office, leaving Chase and I alone once again.
"Come on Elena, let's get you to your dad, you both need each other right now." All I could do was nod; tears now began to fill my eyes. I had been able to hold them off until now. But once the officer had left, I couldn't stop them this time.
"Chase!" I said with such devastation and pain, Chase immediately took me into his arms and held me close as the flood washed out of me. My legs crumbled and Chase lowered me back down to the sofa, letting me feel everything for the first time since I had got the news. He then took out his phone and sent a quick message.
"Let's go see your dad," he said, and I willed my legs to move. Helping me up he smiled softly, wiping my tear-stained cheeks with his delicate hands. I took a deep breath and swallowed back the fear, allowing him to guide me towards the elevators and to the waiting car.
Thankfully, the ride to the hospital was brief. Most of the rush hour traffic had made it to their destinations, clearing the roads ready for any late-night users. The driver, Turner, pulled the car to the front of the Emergency Room and opened the door. Chase stepped out first, then took my hand and helped me exit the car. Once past reception, we headed to level four where a sullen nurse carrying too many charts greeted us.
"Excuse me Ma'am, please can you tell Miss Maclaren here where her father's room is? His name is Charlie Maclaren." Sighing, she placed the charts at the nurse's station and went around to the whiteboard attached to the back wall.
"Are you next of kin Miss Maclaren? As we cannot tell you his condition unless you are, sorry but those are the rules."
"Yes, I am his only family, please tell me where my dad is!" Turning around she scanned the whiteboard, wrote his room number on a hospital card, handing it to me, Chase and I walked four doors up from the nurse's station and came to an open door. Chase took my hand and gently squeezed, showing me that today he is my shoulder, my support, and my light in this impossible situation.
I entered the room first and peeked around the curtain closing off the bed from the entrance. Dad lay in a bed which made him look so small and old. He was attached to different wires, and bags of liquid were hung around his bed, with tubes connecting them to cannulas in my dad's arms. An oxygen mask sat over his mouth and nose, and his eyes were closed. He appeared heavily sedated following the surgery he had just faced alone, and the end of the bed had been lifted, with the blanket over the top, allowing his legs to move unrestrictedly.
"Are you ok If I go find a doctor for an update?" Chase asked. I nodded and left the room. Sitting next to Dad, I took his hand between mine. He looked so frail in the bed. He was usually so large and full of life. It was hard seeing him like this. He had always said he was immortal and that nothing would take him away from me, but today just cemented his mortality for me.
"We will get you through this dad, I promise! I'll look after you and you'll get better soon!" I squeezed Dads hand a little more and a small cough took my attention away from Dad, and to Chase, standing at the foot of the bed.
"Elena, the doctor outside is here to talk to you." I slowly rose from the chair not wanting to be parted from Dad, but needing to know how he was. Stepping from the room I was greeted by a doctor standing outside.
"Hello Miss Maclaren, I'm Doctor Percival, I was the one that performed surgery on your father this afternoon." I nodded. "So, when he came in, he was in bad shape. Scans confirmed that he had multiple broken bones in both legs and his left arm. He had a ruptured spleen and had lacerated his liver. In surgery we were able to secure the bones that needed pinning, unfortunately, we had to remove your father's spleen as it was too damaged to repair." I gasped. He took a moment, then ended with, "the liver was partially dissected, but it will regrow in time."
My eyes dropped down to my hands; they had started to shake. I attempted to rub them on my trousers to remove the sweat that had begun to build. I could feel myself shrinking against the wall beside me, using it to help prop me up.
His eyes appeared saddened, and he took a small sigh as he continued to speak in a slow tone.
"I'm sorry to say but your father's right foot was completely shattered, we had to decide to amputate it, as the risk of infection would be greater than the chance of making even a partial recovery." My breathing increased as the adrenaline was spiking in my system, and nature's fight or flight mode was becoming active inside me. Chase, who had originally stepped from my side to give me space, was now looking concerned as my eyes widened and the room began to spin.
"Your father will need you now for support, to help with his recovery. There are many prosthetic options for once the stump has healed which can be explored later." This was when I fainted.
Chase caught me before I hit the floor, I awoke moments later and sobbed into my hands.
I cried for my dad, I cried that he was now disabled and wouldn't be able to be a detective anymore, but I mainly cried because I felt hopeless. How was I going to get him through this?
The next few days consisted of phone calls and hospital visits. The car that had hit my dad's had run a red light; they were at fault but had no insurance. I had a special visit from Dad's police captain and was told that due to Dads' disability, he would have to take medical retirement. Not only that but because Dads' accident wasn't in the line of duty he would be classed as ordinary disablement, which meant he would receive 50% of his salary for the next five years. I wasn't sure how we would make it through. Being a detective was my dad's life. He loved that job, but now, with no job and no money. What could we do? How were we going to pay the bills?