Chapter 22 Cole's Rapid Recovery.

Evan and Dr. Andrews only hung around for the first few minutes after Margo was wheeled away before excusing themselves to visit the fourth floor, where Cole had been transferred. He was no longer in the ICU, but had been moved to a regular recovery room. His injuries were healing remarkably well-too remarkably.

Dr. Andrews was worried he was going to draw suspicion and was debating bringing him home to let him finish his recovery there.

Evan and Theo were talking in hushed tones just inside Cole's door, discussing the matter.

"What did he say?"

"He kept shaking his head in amazement and talked about bringing genetic specialists he knew who are trying to determine a way to create rapid regeneration of tissues."

"Does he suspect Cole isn't human?"

"No, I doubt that thought has occurred to him. He seems to think that he does have some genetic or chromosomal abnormality that has increased his ability to heal. They're going to want to perform a lot of testing on Cole's blood, on his DNA and chromosomes."

"And that would be a bad thing," Evan deadpanned, trying to ease stress.

"Very bad," Theo nodded in agreement.

"So we get him the heck out of here. Let's take him home tonight. We can manage his care with two doctors and a medical genius in the house."

"It's not that simple. I can't just force them to release Cole. He's still a minor and cannot insist on his own release. If I insist on taking him before his doctors formally release him, I would have to answer to police and child protective services."

Evan leaned back against the wall.

Both were lost in thought.

How can we get Cole home and away from questioning eyes? Evan asked himself and felt an answer right on the tip of his brain, but he couldn't quite grasp the idea his mind was trying to give him.

"Dad?" Cole's voice was still raspy from the breathing tube they'd just removed yesterday.

Startled, Theo jumped before moving to the other side of the room to see his son.

"Hey Cole, you're up." Theo leaned over his son's healing face to look into the green eyes he'd gotten from his deceased mother.

"Water?" Cole managed to say.

"Sure thing. Hey, Evan's here. He came to see you," Theo motioned to Evan to step out of the shadows and come say hello. It was the first time Evan had spoken to his friend since the day of his accident more than a week ago.

"Hi Cole. I'm glad to see you're feeling better," Evan began hesitantly. What am I supposed to say to the guy who tried to kill himself because he saw my sister had chosen Creed instead of him?

"Hey, Evan. Where's Meg?"

Inwardly Evan groaned. Dealing with emotions was not his specialty. This is where Meg would be helpful...except in this instance, she was the problem.

"Meg's downstairs with-everyone else. We're waiting for our mom to get out of surgery."

Cole frowned, "What happened to Dr. Winter?"

Evan looked over at Theo, wondering if he'd just let the cat out of the bag.

"Remember when I told you they went ahead with the plan to attack the Facility in Germany?" Theo held the straw still so Cole could take a sip of the cool water he'd just brought him.

"Well, Margo was hurt. A bullet hit her spinal cord. They're trying to see if they can reconstruct the bundle of nerves."

"Was Meg hurt?" Although Evan knew it must hurt to talk, Cole was determined to hear about his sister.

"No, Cole. Meg is fine. She was a little beaten and bruised, but she's already healed up. And hey, that's kinda what I want to talk with you about." Evan smoothly redirected the subject.

"Yes, Evan's right. We need to talk about your rapid healing."

Cole looked down at his body for the first time. He was wearing a sling on his right arm to help support his broken collarbone and there was still a cast on his right leg from where he'd shattered his knee when it hit the steering wheel on his way out the windshield. His ribs were and lacerated liver had responded beautifully to bed rest.

The look on his face was obvious.

"I know son. You're wondering why it's a bad thing that you're healing so quickly." Theo's voice was hushed as he leaned in to talk.

"It's not normal, you see?" He nodded, brows raised.

Cole's facial expression was still confused.

"Humans don't heal this fast," Theo added with a nod.

"Ohh," Cole's eyes widened with realization.

"We need to figure out a way to get you out of here before the right people ask the wrong questions." Theo nodded meaningfully.

"Yes," Cole croaked, understanding the implications of someone learning he wasn't exactly human anymore.

"And I can't just discharge you without your doctor's permission. If I tried, the police and CPS would be called."

"Dr. Andrews, about that-I have an idea." Evan motioned for Dr. Andrews to follow him back to the door so they could discuss his plan without upsetting Cole.

Cole stared up at the ceiling and took a deep breath. His eyelids felt heavy so he allowed himself to drift off, even as he tried to hear what Evan and his dad were talking about.

Chapter 23 Influenced.

Cole's attending physician, Dr. Joe Mastiff, was exhausted. He had been on duty since seven last night, and was supposed to be off at seven this morning. Just as he was about to leave this morning, he was paged to one of his patient's rooms. The fifty-seven-year-old bus driver who had suffered a heart attack last night was coding again. Dr. Mastiff worked to try to bring the patient back for forty-nine minutes before calling it. Most other doctors would have a lot sooner, but Joe knew the man. He had been his own children's school bus driver and a good, kindhearted man.

"Time of death," he sighed, drained, "oh-eight-thirteen." A nurse made a note of the official time and began cleaning up the room as the doctor dragged himself toward the door, removing his latex gloves slowly. He hesitated at the patient's doorway, glanced back at the pasty, overweight body of the man who had happily spent his days driving children to and from school and enjoyed way too many fast-food stops.

He sighed deeply and chucked his gloves in the hazardous waste bin nearest him. He would have to have the nurses search for the next of kin in earnest. So far, it looked like the poor fellow was alone in the world. Now he was gone and no one was around to mourn his loss.

He walked away holding his pounding head knowing he now had a lot of paperwork to do. A never ending pile of red tape had to be dealt with every time a patient was lost.

He made his way slowly back to the office he was trying desperately to escape. He was already longing for the small bottle stashed in the bottom left-hand drawer. The headache was coming on fast and he needed to deal with it before it turned in to a full-blown migraine.

"Excuse me, Dr. Mastiff?" a voice came from beside him.

When he turned, he saw a pretty girl with attractive dark eyes framed by long, unpainted lashes looking at him with a tentative smile.

"Yes?" He sounded tired to his own ears.

"I won't take but a moment of your time, doctor. I just need your signature on these discharge orders." The girl smiled sweetly as she held a pen and a clipboard out to the doctor.

The doctor frowned at his hands as they reached out and took what was offered to him.

His head started to pound with more velocity. If he held really still, he could see his heartbeat pulsing in his eyes. This was going to be a bad one, he thought, looking at, but not seeing the papers in his hands.

"Whose discharge papers are these?" he asked, although if could see the fine print, he could read for himself.

"Cole Andrews, doctor." The girl nodded and smiled as though completely confident in what she was requesting.

The doctor stared blankly at the clipboard still stupidly held in his hands. The pen, however, had slipped from his silent, loose grip and landed on the vinyl tile floor at their feet.

Both the girl and the doctor moved to reach for it at the same time. Their hands brushed. That was the final element the girl needed to make the exchange smooth and complete.

She held her hand against his and watched his gaze, forcing his eyes to focus on her.

"You have beautiful eyes," the middle-aged doctor with the receding hairline and unremarkable looks murmured.

"Thank you, Dr. Mastiff. You aren't feeling very well; I can see that. This patient has made enough progress for him to be discharged into the capable hands of his parent, who also happens to be a doctor. We both know the insurance companies will be happy to see you so proficient in your skills that you're able to release this patient in an efficient, timely manner."

The doctor stood, unmoving. Fatigue was written as clear as Sharpie across his face.

"You really do need to rest, doctor," the girl cooed. "This is the last thing you need worry about today," she coaxed. "Just a signature right there," she leaned over the clipboard and pointed with a slender, delicate finger at the line on the bottom of the discharge papers Dr. Andrews had drawn up.

"Just this last thing to do," he echoed her words. His hand raised the pen to the paper and he scrawled an illegible but authentic signature.

"Thank you, Dr. Mastiff. I will handle the rest from here. Your head is pounding so badly, I can see your pulse in your temples." The girl reached up with her free hand and touched the side of the man's head.

"You'll need to go to your office now, lock the door behind you so you won't be disturbed and lie down on your sofa. You'll sleep for at least four hours and when you wake, you'll feel rested and confident about your decision to release Cole Andrews."

"Yes, I need to lie down," the doctor mumbled, holding his head with two hands now and half stumbled away from the dark-eyed girl moving deliberately toward his office. He had every intention of following her excellent advice, exactly as she suggested.

Meg smiled to herself, though she was definitely feeling drained after spending the week working with Danny and now pushing herself to use her advanced ability, but it was worth it.

She had gotten the signature she needed.

She turned on her heels and headed back to the fourth floor where Dr. Andrews and Evan were waiting for her just outside Cole's hospital room.

"Well?" Theo asked the moment she stepped into view.

Meg kept her face stoic at first before bursting into a wide smile.

"You got it?" Evan asked.

"I got it," Meg beamed.

"Oh, thank God!" Theo reached out to see for himself the signature of Cole's attending physician. "Was it difficult to do?"

"You were right, Dr. Andrews. He was definitely exhausted from working past his shift. He had also just lost a patient and had a migraine coming on. All three of those things made it possible for me to use my influence on him. I have found that usually, I can only use my power of suggestion on the weak-minded. Dr. Mastiff is not weak-minded ordinarily. I happened to luck out in finding him so raw from a rough day." Meg was sure to use a whispered voice, not wanting one of the nurses to overhear their conversation.

"You did awesome, sister," Evan grinned widely. "I knew you could do it!"

"Yes, thank you Meg," Dr. Andrews offered a genuine smile. Meg knew he was still holding a deep-seated grudge against her as he blamed her actions for Cole's self-destructive choices, but having helped pave the way for Cole to be released without complications softened his heart toward her. Meg knew they had a long way to go before the family would heal from the events that landed them there in the hospital, but every journey begins with a single step-or so they say.

"I'm going to plant these discharge papers at the nurses' station so they'll be found and we can get out of here."

"Wait, before you go, has there been any word about Mom?"

"No Meg, not yet. They've only been in the operating room for an hour, so it will be at least another two hours before she's out and in recovery," Evan said logically.

He saw Meg's dark eyes swell with fresh sadness and added, "But I'll go down and see what I can find out." He nodded reassuringly at his sister before turning and heading toward the elevators.

The two started walking away from Meg who seemed lost in thought. Dr. Andrews turned back and watched her for just a moment before he spoke. "He would really like to see you Meg."

Her head jerked up as she looked at Theo, surprised to see him still standing so near. She had been thinking about Cole and wondering how she was going to face him.

"Oh, I wouldn't know what to say," Meg mumbled, blushing deeply for having been caught wondering about the boy lying in a hospital bed on the other side of the faux wood door because of her.

"You could tell him about the part you just played in getting him released from here. He'll be thrilled to know he'll be going home today." Theo offered a reassuring smile before nodding and adding, "Just be careful of his...um...feelings, okay?" The doctor stammered.

"Of course," Meg dropped her eyes shamefully to the floor. She knew exactly what he was worried about, but she also knew she needed to get this awkward moment out of the way. Cole had been her dear friend during some of the most traumatic moments of her life. She owed him so much.

The doctor turned and walked away, headed toward the charge nurse's desk to leave the signed discharge papers.

Meg turned to the door and rapped on it softly.

"Come in," a raspy voice called from inside.

Meg reached down and turned the knob, steeling herself for what may happen next.