Alex gently stroked her son’s hair. Dylan had fallen asleep in the chair, his head lying on the bed and his hand clutching the sheet over Daniel’s stomach. The redhead gazed at the minister. Her emotions toward him were so clear now. She loved him, more than she had ever loved any man in her life. Though she had loved Steve, it had not been this deep, all-consuming thing that she was feeling toward Daniel. If what was happening to him had happened to Steve, she would have grieved, but she knew in her heart that it would not have been the devastating, soul-deep anguish that she was suffering now. She would never love another man as she loved Daniel.
Alex got up and went around Dylan’s chair. She knelt as close to Daniel’s head as the machines and monitors he was hooked up to would allow. Taking his hand, she kissed it and clasped it to her breast over her heart.
“Daniel, I’m so sorry that when you told me you were giving your heart away to me, I didn’t tell you that I was giving my heart to you too. I was scared and stupid. All I could think about was what happened with Steve and my father. I was afraid to love you. But I’m not afraid anymore.” Tears began to fall silently down her cheeks to drip upon the minister’s arm. “You have to come back to me, Daniel. You can’t leave me. I need you. I want to see you every day for the rest of my life. I want to go to bed with you every night and wake up with you every morning. I want to give Dylan little brothers and sisters, knowing that we made them, you and I. I want--” Alex’s voice broke. “I want to kiss you again. Please, Daniel. You can’t die. You have to get well.”
Bowing her head and closing her eyes, Alex quietly wept. Only a moment had passed when she heard a small sound. She looked up to see Cliff Cooper watching her, a strange expression on his face. Standing, Alex wiped her cheeks, feeling a little self-conscious.
“I’m sorry for disturbing you,” the minister said. “It’s going on twelve. We’re going down to the cafeteria for lunch and wanted to know if you’d like to join us.” His eyes went to Dylan. “I see that he’s asleep.”
Alex looked at her son fondly. “He cried himself out.” Her gaze returned to Daniel’s father. “Thank you for arranging this. Dylan really needed to see Daniel. He blames himself for what happened.”
Cliff came farther into the room. “How so?”
Realizing that she would now have to tell the man the whole truth, Alex nervously took a deep breath. “Dylan wanted to go bike riding that morning. The storm wasn’t due to hit us until late in the afternoon. I thought it would be safe. I told Dylan to be home by noon, but he lost track of the time. Then the storm moved in earlier than expected and Dylan got caught in it. When Daniel found out, he went to find him, and . . . and this happened. I’m so sorry.” She looked away, unable to face the condemnation that she was certain was coming. She heard Cliff draw closer.
“For the last hour, your friends have been telling me about my son, about what he’s done during the time he has been on Hope Island,” the minister told her, causing her to meet his gaze. “Though I can’t pretend to know Daniel as well as I should, I do know that he wouldn’t blame either you or your son for what happened.” His eyes went to Daniel. “I don’t know what God’s plan is for my son, but I have faith that things will turn out as they are supposed to, even if . . . even if it means that Daniel is going to leave us.” He turned back to Alex, seeing the pain that had leapt into her eyes at his last words. Bonnie was right. This woman before him loved their son deeply. He had heard the words she spoke to Daniel as she knelt at his side. Is this the kind of love that Daniel had shared with Kate? Knowing what he did now, Cliff bitterly regretted his response to his son’s relationship with the Catholic woman, though he still believed that their marriage would have been a mistake. But what about this woman? Could he deny his son a life with the woman he loved simply because she had borne a child out of wedlock? Could he still ask his son to sacrifice his own happiness for the sake of Cooper Ministries?
Someone else came into the room. Cliff turned to see his wife. Her gaze was upon Alex, not having missed the telltale signs of weeping. Then she looked down at Dylan, and a gentle smile curved her lips.
“Did Cliff tell you that we’re going to lunch?” she asked.
Alex nodded. “I’m going to stay here. I don’t have the heart to wake Dylan up. We’ll get something to eat later.”
“Are you sure? I can stay with Dylan, if you’d like.”
“Thank you, Bonnie, but I’m really not very hungry anyway.” The truth was that the mere thought of food made Alex want to choke.
Bonnie gave her a motherly smile. “All right then. Perhaps we can bring you back something.”
“Thanks. Maybe an egg or tuna salad sandwich for Dylan and some fruit for me.”
“We’ll do that.”
Daniel’s parents left. As quietly as possible, Alex moved her chair over to the other side of the bed. She sat in the chair, tucking her legs underneath her. Laying Daniel’s hand within her left hand, she began caressing it with her right, being careful not to jostle the IV. After a few minutes, she leaned over and laid her head on Daniel’s shoulder, closing her eyes. Moments later, she joined her son in sleep.
Alex looked about at the peaceful meadow. Everything had a strange, unfocused appearance, as if she was looking at it through a filtered camera lens. There were no birds, no animals. It was completely silent. Not a breath of wind stirred the trees.
“Alex?”
The redhead spun around to see Daniel standing before her. “Daniel!” She threw herself into his arms, clinging to him tightly as she began to cry. The minister held her, stroking her hair.
“Shh. Don’t cry, Alex. It’s all right.”
Alex lifted her head to gaze at Daniel. He was looking at her, love for her glowing in his eyes. Then his lips descended to meet hers in a deep, tender kiss, filling Alex’s heart with joy and love. As their lips separated, he kissed each of her eyelids.
“I love you, Daniel,” Alex whispered.
“And I love you.” He gave her a gentle smile. But then, his eyes went past her to focus on something in the distance. Alex turned to see that the sky had opened up. A warm, bright light was pouring from the opening in the clouds.
“It’s time for me to go now, Alex,” Daniel said, his voice and the expression on his face tranquil.
“No! I don’t want you to go. Please, Daniel, you can’t leave.” Alex started to cry again.
The minister met her gaze. “I have to.” He caressed her cheek. “I will always love you, Alex. Never forget that.” He began moving away from her and toward the light.
“No, Daniel, no, please!” Alex clutched at him, fighting with all her strength to hold onto him, but he kept slipping away. The light surrounded him. She tried to go after him into the light, but she could not move. “No! No! Daniel, don’t leave me. Don’t leave me,” she pleaded. And then, he was gone. . . .
“Alex, wake up,” said a familiar voice.
The redhead sat up, her heart thundering. Her thoughts focused, and she realized that she was still in the hospital. Immediately, her eyes went to Daniel and the heart monitor. There was no describing the relief she felt upon seeing the heartbeat registered on the screen and hearing the steady beeping. Alex turned to Molly, who had been the one to wake her up.
“You were dreaming. You started to cry and call Daniel’s name, so I thought I should wake you,” her friend said.
Alex wiped the wetness from her face. She looked around to see that Kevin was also in the room. “Where are Daniel’s parents?” she asked.
“They went for a walk and to talk to hospital administration,” Molly told her. “Cliff is concerned that the press will find out what’s happening and invade the hospital. He wants to try to avoid that. He talked to some people in the hospital about it earlier, but he wants to make sure they aren’t going to release the story to the press.”
Alex shuddered at the thought of the media flooding the hospital, asking everyone questions and trying to get into Daniel’s room. She didn’t want that. She didn’t want this horrible thing to be turned into a media event. She hated the thought of it being splashed all over the papers and the news, to become just another big story for people to read and hear about.
Molly brushed a lock of hair from Alex’s forehead. “Were you having a nightmare?”
Alex turned to look at Daniel, nodding her head. “I . . . I dreamt that he died, that he was taken away into heaven. I tried to hold onto him, b-but I couldn’t.”
“Oh, Alex.” Molly held onto her friend tightly. She looked up at Kevin. There was the faint sheen of tears in his eyes.
“Do you want to eat something?” Molly asked Alex after a few minutes. “We brought you some fruit and a small salad.”
The redhead looked over at the table. There was an apple, some grapes, and a plastic container of salad, as well as an egg salad sandwich and two cans of soda. “I’m not hungry,” she said.
“Alex, you have to eat something.”
“Maybe later.” She gave a shaky sigh. “I guess I should wake Dylan up.” She rose and went to her son. She gently shook his shoulder. “Dylan? Dylan, wake up, honey.”
The boy made a sound of protest, then his eyes cracked open. A look of confusion crossed his face, then he sat up, turning to Daniel.
“Is he okay?” he asked.
“He’s still the same, sweetheart.”
“Oh.” Her son’s shoulders slumped. “It was just a dream.”
“What dream? Did you have a dream about Daniel?”
Dylan nodded. “I dreamed that you, and me, and Daniel were on the beach together. We were building a sand castle. We were all laughing and happy.”
“That sounds like a very nice dream. Maybe after Daniel gets better, we’ll do that.” She smoothed Dylan’s hair back. “Are you hungry? There’s a sandwich for you.”
Dylan nodded. Alex unwrapped the sandwich and gave it to him along with half the grapes and one of the sodas.
“I guess I should get back to Hope,” Kevin said. “The suitcases are over there in the corner.”
“Thank you for coming, Kevin, and for bringing Molly,” Alex said.
The cop nodded. “It’s going to be all right, Alex.”
Molly kissed and hugged her husband goodbye. “I’ll call you when we know something.” After he was gone, she sat in the vacant chair. Alex had settled on the edge of the bed.
Molly pulled some money out of her pocket. “I got some money out of the till for you.”
Alex took the bills. “Thanks.” Her gaze went to Daniel, the memory of the dream returning. Even knowing that it hadn’t been real, the pain of seeing him go away made her feel as if she was losing some of herself as well. She knew that if he died, a part of her would die with him.
“Alex, won’t you please eat something? For me?” Molly pleaded.
The redhead sighed and nodded. She half-heartedly nibbled at the grapes, but only managed to eat a handful. Molly watched her friend, her heart breaking. She’d never seen Alex like this before, not even when her mother died. Molly didn’t want to think about what would happen if Daniel did die. For the hundredth time, she sent up a fervent prayer that the minister would recover.
A while later, Bonnie and Cliff returned.
“Did you get the hospital to agree not to notify the press?” Alex asked.
Cliff nodded. “They assured me that no one would contact the media, including the doctors and nurses. Unfortunately, there’s no guarantee that someone, an orderly or somebody else, won’t recognize me and decide to call one of the newspapers or television stations. At times like this, I wish that I wasn’t such a public figure.”
“Did Kevin go back to the island?” Bonnie asked Molly.
“Yes. He needed to get back to work.”
“He seems like a fine young man.”
Molly smiled. “He is.” Her smile dimmed. “It was Daniel who married us.” The smile returned. “And he was also Kevin’s best man.”
Bonnie smiled. “That must have been quite a ceremony.”
“It was wonderful.” She gave a giggle. “But I couldn’t throw my bouquet.”
“Oh? Why not?”
“Because it was a kitten.”
“A kitten?” Bonnie repeated in surprise and puzzlement.
“It’s a long story,” Molly explained. “The wedding happened kind of suddenly, on the night of the big storm. Kevin had gone out to help someone. He was gone for a long time, and I was so worried about him. When he came back, we decided that we couldn’t wait a moment longer to get married. But I didn’t have anything blue. There was this kitten that Kevin had rescued, and it turned out that his name was Blue. Daniel got the idea for me to carry Blue like a bouquet.”
Bonnie laughed. She had found out a lot of things about her son in the past couple of hours, things that filled her with pride and delight. How blessed she had been to be given such a wonderful son.
Alex closed her eyes for a moment, remembering the wedding. As Kevin and Molly kissed, Daniel had turned and looked at her. As their eyes met, she had felt something pass between them, something that made her feel happy, and serene, and excited all at the same time. She should have known then that she had forever given her heart to him.
“Is your husband a member of Daniel’s church?” Cliff asked, not remembering having seen the man there.
“No, Kevin’s Catholic, though he sometimes attends church with me,” Molly told him.
Startled, Cliff was speechless for a moment, his mind immediately going to his reaction to Daniel wanting to marry a Catholic. “Doesn’t that cause a problem for both of you? Being of different faiths?”
“Well, there was a problem with where to hold the ceremony. Kevin wanted to be married by Father Mac in the Catholic church, and I wanted Daniel to perform the ceremony. We talked to both Father Mac and Daniel. When I found out that I’d have to agree to raise my children Catholic if the ceremony was performed in the Catholic church, I flat out refused. Things were pretty tense for a while, but then Kevin told me that he didn’t care what church we got married in as long as we were together.”
“Will you be raising your children Protestant?” Bonnie asked.
“We’ll raise them to make their own decision on what faith they want to follow. It should be their choice, anyway.”
“Yes, it should,” Bonnie agreed. Her gaze went to Cliff. The minister was staring silently at the floor, his face unreadable. She couldn’t help but wonder what he was thinking.
Deciding that the subject needed to be changed, Bonnie began talking about something else. Though he didn’t say anything, she could tell that her husband was grateful for the change of topic.
The four adults talked quietly as Dylan sat silently curled up on the foot of Daniel’s bed. They’d been talking for around half an hour when the door opened to reveal Callie and Father Mac, who were both carrying flowers.
“Callie! Father Mac!” Alex came forward and took their hands. “It’s great to see you.”
“We wanted to visit Daniel,” the journalist said with a smile. Then she looked over at Daniel, and the smile faded to be replaced by an expression of distress. She walked over to him. Placing the vase full of flowers on the table, she then touched the minister’s cheek. When she looked back at Alex, her eyes were bright with tears. “How is he?”
“We don’t know yet. As far as we know, nothing has changed.” Alex turned to Father Mac. There was a look of sorrow on the priest’s face. She then glanced at Cliff and saw that he was staring at the priest in surprise.
Father Mac turned to the televangelist and held out his hand. “I’m Father MacAnally.”
Pausing only an instant, Cliff shook the priest’s hand. “Cliff Cooper, and this is my wife, Bonnie.”
Bonnie smiled and nodded at Father Mac. “Are you a friend of our son’s?”
“Yes. Yes, I am.” He looked down at the potted African violets he was carrying. “Where would you like me to put these?”
“Over there on the table is fine,” Bonnie said. She went to the table, admiring the huge bouquet of cut flowers. “How beautiful.”
“That’s only a tiny fraction of what we could have brought,” Callie told her. “You would not believe how many flowers are being left at the churches for Daniel.” She reached into her purse and pulled out a thick stack of greeting cards. “These are from the islanders. Again, that’s only some of them. I think that there’s at least two hundred cards still back on the island.” She looked at Alex. “Ruby and Bonita completely ran out of greeting cards. People were using birthday cards, anniversary cards, and just about every other kind of card and writing their own words inside them. After the printed cards were gone, people started making their own.”
Alex smiled, blinking back the tears. It felt so good to know that so many people cared so much about Daniel.
Bonnie took the cards. “Thank you, Callie. It is easy to see why Daniel loves Hope Island so much.”
“Hope Island loves him, Mrs. Cooper. We’re all praying that he gets better.”
Father Mac walked over to the other side of the bed. He laid his hand upon Daniel’s, crossing himself. His head bowed in prayer. Alex looked over at Cliff to see the expression of surprise again.
Callie came over to the redhead. “Alex, everyone on the island is wanting news of Daniel’s condition and what’s being done for him. I’d like to print a few copies of a special edition of The Lookout to update everyone, but I wanted to make sure that was all right with you and his parents.”
“You’re a reporter?” Cliff asked, a frown on his face.
“Reporter, editor, press operator, and pretty much everything else. I own the island’s local newspaper.” She noticed the look on his face. “Please don’t worry, Reverend Cooper. I won’t print anything you don’t want me to, and The Lookout has zero circulation off the island, so there’s virtually no danger of what I print getting onto the mainland. I realize that you don’t want the press hounds flocking here.”
Cliff lifted his eyebrows in surprise. “That’s a strange attitude coming from a member of the press.”
“I may be a newspaper woman, but I’m also Daniel’s friend. That’s a lot more important to me.”
“Thank you.” He glanced about the room. “I’m finally beginning to realize how many good friends my son has.”
The door opened again, this time to admit a nurse. She stopped for a moment in surprise.
“I’m sorry, but there’s too many people in here. Some of you will have to go outside.”
“I’ll step out for a while,” Father Mac offered.
“But you just got here, Father Mac,” Alex said. “Dylan and I can go for a walk or something.”
The priest took her hand. “No, Alex. You stay with Daniel. I’ll be back in a little while, then someone else can leave for a bit.”
“I want to find Doctor Watson and get some information,” Callie said. “I’ll be back in a while too.”
She and Father Mac left. After a moment’s pause, Cliff Cooper followed them out. “Father MacAnally?”
The priest stopped and turned to face the televangelist. “Yes?”
“Could we talk for a moment?”
“Certainly. Shall we go outside?”
“I think it would be better to stay inside.”
Father Mac looked at him questioningly.
“As you know, I’m a very public figure,” Cliff explained. “Many people recognize me on sight. Just being out in public, I risk someone seeing me and calling the media, but if I was seen walking with a Catholic priest, that would breed even more curiosity.”
“I understand. It must be difficult at times to be so much in the public’s eye.”
“Until now, I didn’t mind it. It is a part of what I do. But, now, the last thing I want is for the press to be around.”
Father Mac nodded. “I believe there is a place we can talk where we won’t raise any eyebrows.” He took Cliff to the hospital chapel. The two men sat on a pew.
“So, what did you want to talk about?” Father Mac asked.
Cliff paused. “In Daniel’s room, you said that you were his friend.”
“Yes, that’s right.” He studied the man’s expression. “And that surprises you.”
“Yes.”
Father Mac smiled. “Well, to tell you the truth, I was not pleased when Daniel first came to the island. There were several reasons for this, most of which I am not proud of, though up until recently, I would not have admitted that I was in the wrong. It took me a while to accept that there was room there for both of us.”
He paused for a moment. “The day before the accident, Daniel and I talked. He told me about the other woman, the one who died, and why you refused to allow the marriage.” The priest shifted in his seat. What he was going to say now would be a tough thing to admit aloud, but this was not the time for egos. “I told you that there were a number of reasons why I was not pleased when Daniel came to Hope. Well, one of the main reasons was because of what he is, a Protestant minister. That was the last thing I wanted to see on the island.”
“What changed things?”
“Not what, who. Daniel changed things, though I doubt he realizes it. It was watching him reach out to the people of Hope, offering them his friendship and his help regardless of who they were or what their religious beliefs were. It was seeing him struggle with his questions and self-doubt, making mistakes along the way and trying to put them right, going through the pain of knowing that he cannot help everyone, yet, through it all, never losing for a moment his strong, unswerving faith and devotion to God.”
Father Mac looked at the cross on the wall. “It was a slow and grudging process at first, learning to accept Daniel’s presences and allow myself to admit that having a Protestant minister on the island was a good thing. What finally broke through the wall was a motorcycle.”
“A motorcycle?” Cliff repeated, puzzled.
The priest turned back to his fellow cleric. “Years ago, I had obtained from a deceased parishioner an old, disassembled Indian motorcycle. Daniel found the bike and wanted to buy it from me. I refused to sell it to him. I told him that I intended to put it together myself so that I could use it to visit my parishioners around the island--even though it had been collecting dust since I got it.” He shook his head faintly. “As I stood before that box of motorcycle parts, having no real desire to do anything with it, I admitted to myself that the reason why I didn’t want Daniel to have the motorcycle was because of who he was. That’s when it finally became clear to me how intolerant I’d been, not just since Daniel arrived, but my entire life. In the end, I gave the bike to Daniel. Since then, we have slowly been forming a friendship, though, if I am to be honest with myself, I’d have to admit that he has made more of an effort to build our friendship than I have. We still don’t see eye to eye on many things, and I still find myself sometimes resentful of his youth and enthusiasm, but I respect him for the man that he is. He is someone whom any man could be proud to call a son.”
The priest studied Cliff’s face for a moment, trying to judge whether or not he should say what he wanted to. Finally, he chose to speak. “When Daniel and I talked, we also talked about his relationship with Alex. He admitted to me his fears about how you would react to his involvement with her and the danger of the media finding out.”
Cliff sighed. “You must think I am an incredibly selfish and self-centered man to demand that my son give up the woman he loved for the sake of my ministry.”
“No, but I do think that you lost sight of some very important things and that your priorities may have gotten mixed up. Children are a gift from God. They are the future. We are charged with caring for them, nurturing them, and putting their feet on the right path. Other than God Himself, nothing should be more important to any man or woman than their family.” Father Mac paused.
“Forgive me for being blunt, but I feel as if I have to say this. Every Sunday, you preach to millions of people you cannot see, whereas every Sunday, Daniel shares his love and knowledge of God to a handful of people whom he can call friends. And every day of the week, he offers himself--a listening ear, a helping hand, whatever is needed--to two thousand souls, regardless of their religion or beliefs. Now, I’m not saying that what you do is not important, but let me ask you this. If you had to stop ministering on television, would that end your service to God? And those millions of people who listen to you. Would they then be denied hearing God’s word?”
Cliff stood and walked away a few paces, not speaking.
“I believe that you would find other ways to spread God’s word,” Father Mac continued, “perhaps in a congregation not unlike Daniel’s, and those millions that tuned in to watch you would turn to others, maybe their local ministers or perhaps another televangelist. True faith would not be destroyed by the end of Cooper Ministries.” The priest stood and took a couple of steps toward the minister. “But Daniel has no one else to be his father, and there is no one or nothing else that can take his place if you drive him away or . . . or if you lose him.” He drew up besides Cliff. “There doesn’t have to be a choice to make, at least not a choice between God and your son. You can be the right kind of father to Daniel, yet remain the Reverend Cliff Cooper.”
Without waiting for the minister to respond, Father Mac turned and left the chapel.
Father Mac had returned a few moments ago. A short time later, Molly left with the suitcases to go get a motel room for herself, Alex, and Dylan. Neither Cliff Cooper nor Callie had come back.
Bonnie looked at the priest and Alex. She had a feeling that Father Mac wanted to speak to Alex alone. “Dylan? Would you like to come stretch your legs with me? We could go down to the gift shop and find a present for Daniel.”
The boy nodded, smiling over the idea of shopping for a gift for the minister. Bonnie looked at Alex.
“We’ll be back in twenty minutes or so.”
“Okay. Thanks, Bonnie.” Alex watched them leave. “She is so much like Daniel,” she commented, half to herself.
“She seems like a very nice person,” Father Mac agreed. He came around the bed to stand beside Alex’s chair. “How are you doing?”
“I’m all. . . .” The redhead stopped herself. She gave a weary sigh. “No, I’m not all right. I’m not all right at all.”
The priest glanced at Daniel. “Let’s go out in the hall.” He took Alex’s hand and led her into the hallway just beyond Daniel’s room. He searched her face. “Do you feel like talking about it?”
Alex swallowed. “It’s killing me inside, Father Mac. Every hour that passes, I feel as if another part of my heart is dying because I know that each of those hours may be bringing him that much closer to death.”
Father Mac took her hands. “Alex, why are you so certain that Daniel isn’t going to survive?”
“I . . . I’m not. I-I mean, I haven’t given up on him. With all my heart I keeping hoping that he’ll get better, but . . . I just have this horrible, terrible feeling that what they’re doing isn’t going to work. And if they have to operate, he’ll die.” She lifted tear-filled eyes to the priest. “I love him, Father Mac. And I never told him.”
“Alex, listen to me. He knows. In his heart, Daniel knows that you love him, and you know that he loves you.” He tightened his grip on her hands. “And God knows too.” He saw Callie coming down the hall. “We’re probably going to be heading back soon, but if you need to talk, you know my phone number.”
“Hi,” Callie said upon reaching them. She looked very somber, which made Alex suspect that Lily Watson had told the journalist the whole brutal truth. “I should get back now so that I can print the story and get it out. I’m just going to print a few copies for the office, the Widow’s Walk, the bulletin board, and the general store. That will be enough to get the word around.” She looked over at the door to the minister’s room. “I’m going to go say goodbye to Daniel.”
Callie slipped into the room. She felt her throat tighten again at the sight of Daniel lying in the hospital bed. Settling in one of the chairs, she laid her hand over his.
“Hey there. You’ve turned out to be big news after all. Everyone on the island is talking about you. I’m even printing a special edition about you. I don’t do that for just anything or anyone, you know.” The forced lightness in her voice fell away. “We’re all hoping and praying for you. You should see the churches. There are so many flowers and plants that Father Mac can’t even reach his altar. But he wasn’t complaining. We’re all waiting for you to get better and come back to us.” She stood and placed a kiss upon the minister’s forehead. “We’ve all opened our heart to you, Daniel,” she whispered. “Don’t you leave us.” Blinking away her tears, Callie left the room.
“Are you coming with me, Father Mac?” she asked. “We’ll have to get a fisherman or someone else to give us a ride back.”
“Yes, I want to get back too.” He had a feeling that after Callie posted the news about Daniel, more people would be coming to him to talk.
The priest turned back to Alex. “Remember what I said. If you feel like talking, I’ll be there to listen.”
“Thanks, Father Mac.”
Once they were gone, Alex went back into Daniel’s room. She stood looking down at him for a moment, then bent over and kissed his eyelids as he had hers in the dream. “I love you, Daniel,” she said. She then kissed his cheek and the corner of his mouth. “I love you,” she said again, this time more quietly. At last, she kissed him full on the lips, then rested her forehead against his, closing her eyes. “I will always love you,” she whispered, so softly that if anyone else had been in the room, they would not have heard.
Somehow feeling better, Alex sat in the chair and waited for the others to return. The first to show up was Daniel’s father. Not saying anything, he went to Daniel’s side and stared down at him. Alex could see that something was deeply troubling the man. She was toying with the idea of asking him what was wrong when Molly came in.
“Hey, Mol.”
“Hi. I got a room for us for the night. It’s the same motel you stayed at last night.”
“Thanks.”
“Where’s everyone else?” Molly glanced at Cliff, who had moved to the window.
“Callie and Father Mac went back home. Dylan and Bonnie are in the gift shop looking for a present for Daniel.”
A moment after the words were out of her mouth, her son and Daniel’s mother came walking in.
“Look what we got for Daniel,” the boy said. He handed Alex a beautifully painted figurine. It was of a captain at the wheel of his ship in the midst of a storm. Before him, amidst the crashing waves, was an angel, a light like a star glowing in her hand. The star was actually glowing, lit by a tiny bulb within it.
“Oh, Dylan, this is beautiful. Daniel will love it.”
Her son smiled. “You think so?”
“I know so. Why don’t you put it there on the table with the flowers.”
The boy carefully placed the figurine on the table. Just then, Doctor Watson came in. She looked around at everyone in the room.
“We’re going to take Daniel down for an MRI,” she told them.
“Why? What’s wrong?” Alex asked quickly. “I thought you were going to wait twelve to eighteen hours.”
“We need to keep checking the condition of the hematoma, Alex, to make sure there haven’t been any sudden changes.”
“Why an MRI? Why not another CAT scan,” Cliff asked.
“An MRI will provide a more detailed picture than the CT scan. It will give us a more accurate view of what’s going on.”
Two orderlies came in, and Daniel was wheeled away. The time crawled by as everyone waited. Very little was said. Finally, the minister was brought back. They were told that a doctor would let them know the results as soon as the data had been analyzed. And so, they waited again. At last, Doctor Watson came back in, followed by the neurologist, Doctor Harding. He introduced himself to Daniel’s parents and Molly.
“What did the MRI show?” Bonnie asked.
“The hematoma is not showing signs of breaking up yet, but it’s still too early to come to any conclusions,” Doctor Harding told them.
“What about the bleeding? Is the hematoma getting bigger?” Alex asked, her body tense.
There was a brief pause. “The hematoma is slightly larger,” Lily admitted, “but only slightly. There’s still a chance that the anticoagulants will work.”
Feeling like she needed to sit down, Alex sank into one of the chairs.
“Like we said, it’s too early to make any determinations,” the neurologist said. “We’ve scheduled another MRI for tonight at eight o’clock. We’ll have a better idea of what’s going on then.”
“Thank you, Doctors,” Cliff said.
After the doctors left, there was silence in the room, broken only by the sounds of the heart monitor and ventilator.
“I . . . I guess I should call Callie and Kevin and give them an update,” Molly said, her voice subdued.
Alex nodded, not trusting herself to speak.
As Molly left, Dylan looked around at the faces of the adults. He turned to his mother. “What does this mean, Mom?”
Alex cleared her throat. “It means that the drugs they’re giving Daniel aren’t working yet, but that there’s still a chance they might work. We have to wait a few more hours to see what’s going to happen.”
“He could still be okay then, right?” Dylan asked, a note of desperation in his voice.
“Yes, Dylan. He could still be okay.”
“He’s going to be okay. He has to be,” her son murmured.
Alex pulled Dylan onto her lap, cradling him against her as she prepared to wait the long hours.