Dark as Daylight Ch. 25

They were walked to 2 separate areas, about 30 feet apart, directly adjacent to the nurses' station. There was no patient, or a bed, between them.

Jemma was situated to the right, while Lucius was to the left. Each was surrounded by a myriad of high-tech instruments, and medications being administered intravenously. Carts carrying other types of medications were nearby, in case of emergency, and overhead, machines were showing heart rate, pulse, blood oxygen saturation level, respiration, and most of all sinus rhythm. Jemma's new heart was performing excellently. Her blood pressure was 105/67, her pulse was 55, respiration was 40, oxygen saturation level was 97, and her sinus rhythm was normal. Everything Doctor Matti Williams could ask for from her patient was happening now. If it continued overnight, she could wake her patient up in the morning.

Lucius was not giving up. His new heart was not meant for an athletic body. His muscles wanted more oxygen than the heart was providing, and alarms kept sounding because of it. Celia kept getting paged each time an alarm sounded trying to figure out the cause. Finally, she had enough. After she finished showering and dressed, she went up to recovery to see what was happening for herself.

She moved 'the wall that talked' out of the way, and the shrimp that was with him, to the end of the bed, to assess the situation. Seconds later, Harvey Reynolds was on the other side of the bed, looking down at his patient.

"What do we have, Celia?"

"Oxygen deprivation, Harvey. It's an easy fix. We have to tent him, as well is keeping the cannula in his nose. 100% oxygen all the time, for at least the next 3 days. His body has got to get used to this new heart, or he won't make it for the next 2 weeks, at most."

Paul said, "Doctor, I don't care if I have to carry a 200-pound cylinder of oxygen on my shoulder to keep my Colonel alive. You do your part, and I will take care of anything else that has to be done. Do we understand each other, Doctor? If we don't, I can explain it to you in other ways."

Harvey said, "We do everything in our power not to lose a patient. That's why we work here, and that's what we do day after day. If there is a way to save this man, we will find it, and we will do it. If you are the next of kin, we will fill you in on anything that has to be done, or can be done to keep him alive. No threats of any kind will be necessary. Is that understood?"

"Clear as day, Doctor. I just needed you to know how important this man is to me."

"I want you to know that I operated on this man for 11 hours today, and he is just as important to me."

"Thank you, Doctor".

Celia said, "It was only 10 hours and 37 minutes, Harvey."

"Celia, even the insurance company pays me for 11 hours when I worked that long. Why are you being a pain in the ass about it?"

"I just wanted you to be accurate about the time you worked."

"If we go on that trip with Matti together, I'm going to throw you overboard, in shark infested waters."

"Who will you use as your anesthesiologist in tough cases like today's, Harvey?"

"Any kid just out of med school will do."

"Don't turn your back on me, Harvey. I will inject your ass with a serum that will make you sleep forever."

"Women, you can't even joke with them anymore."

"Harvey, you will never feel the injection."

Matti Williams said, "Will you two stop it already! I have the trip of a lifetime riding on the outcome of these procedures. If either one of them doesn't make it, I'm going to be a participant at three funerals, and two of them are going to be yours. Isn't that correct, Paul?"

"It will be accidental, of course, Doctor."

"Of course, Paul, I would have it no other way. If Mrs. Valentino disagrees, I'm sure Mr. Valentino would not miss his Missus, if she were to pass away, unexpectedly.

"I've been offered $500 million if that were to happen, Doctor."

"That's a very handsome payday for you, sir. Would you like to come on an all-expenses-paid tour, around the world with me? Mr. William Zabo has offered me that trip as long as Mrs. Zabo lives."

"I don't like ships, very much, Doctor. I am a land animal, that's why I joined the Army. Ships sink, and it's a long swim to land, most of the time. Thank you for the offer, but I think I'll decline it."

"That's fine, but if at any time you decide to change your mind, the offer will remain open."

"Thank you, Doctor."

"Celia, are you going to order the tent for your patient, or are you going to bend over, and make Harvey a happy man?"

"Matti, you are disgusting."

"Natalie, I need an oxygen tent for my patient. O2-100% 72hours. Call my service every 4 hours with an update on his status, or immediately if he has a downturn."

"Write it up, Doctor, and I will get it set up immediately."

"Put my name on it, also, Celia."

"I'll think about it, Harvey"

"Isn't she a pain in the ass, when she gets her tits in a ringer?"

"I'm going to make sure this patient lives, just to come on that trip with you, and make sure it's the most unpleasant vacation you have ever had."

"Celia, you are going to be the 1^st person I invite, just so I can pick out your room. I will be on the top deck, in the presidential suite. I will put you on the lowest deck possible, in the rear of the boat. Every time you want to see me, it will take you an hour to get to my suite. You will never know if I'm there, or at the casino, or the pool, or the gym, or the restaurant, or just walking around the promenade. By the time you find me, you will have forgotten what you wanted to say to me, or why you were angry.

I could see you coming, and run the other way. This would anger you even more, but you wouldn't have the energy to run after me.

I could have the captain have 1 of his crewmen keep you away from me, by either paying him, or sleeping with him, depending on his looks.

There are ways I could keep myself busy, and never see you on that trip for one whole year, and you would be the angriest person in the entire world."

"I will plant an IED in front of your door, or under your seat, or in your bikini, just to see how high I can get you to fly. Do you see how angry you've gotten me already, Matti?"

"Harvey, take her home and fuck her senseless. She needs something I cannot offer her. It's a piece of equipment I was not born with, and she needs it desperately. I will keep your wife busy, while you're taking care of the best anesthesiologist in this building."

"She will call it rape, if she doesn't agree."

"After she cums 4 or 5 times, she will say thank you, Harvey. Take her out to 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' and all will be sealed with a kiss."

"No, It Will Not, You Pervert! I don't fool around with married men."

"How about married women? Do you fool around with them?"

"Of course, I do. Women are a totally different sex. We are all sisters under the skin. We can do nothing to destroy a marriage."

"Celia, you are so full of shit, your eyes are beginning to change colors."

"Matti, if you ever need an operation, I want to be your anesthetist. You will see things, as you sleep, that will terrify you for the rest of your life."

"If I am your surgeon, Celia, 'I WILL DO NO HARM'."

"You are such a bitch."

"I know it. That's why I take everyone to Bob's Burger's after surgery."

"You are so cheap, you squeak."

"I am not. I just enjoy burgers, more than beef steaks, lamb, or seafood."

Harvey said, "She's being honest. Even when we take her out to dinner, she will order a burger, rather than something fancy or expensive. She is really a down to earth girl."

Two nurses approached, and moved the two doctors out of the way. They opened the bottom of the vinyl tent halfway down Lucius arms. They connected two hoses to it, which filled the tent with oxygen and moved it over the frame of Lucius bed. Using nylon strings on both sides. They connected the tent to the steel rods that were holding the curtains that framed the bed, and the oxygen content was now secure. The Colonel was now in a cocoon of pure oxygen, and he would stay that way, until his doctors made other decisions about him, and his prospects.

Unknown to them, Lucius had already made that decision for them. He was going to live. William had made him promise that he would live through this operation, and he was not going to disappoint his friend. He would sleep and build up as much strength as he could using Jemma's weakened heart. When it was his time to go, he would still fight to go further, because that's who he was. He never gave up without a fight, and this was a fight to the VERY END. He knew Paul would be at his side, and Paul would help him every inch of the way.

Paul was his son, not by birth, but by bond. Since they met at his basic training site, at Fort Leonard Wood, in the Missouri Ozarks, it was evident to him that Paul was going to be a special soldier. At 6'4" tall, and all muscle, he towered over every other recruit in his squadron. His Drill Sergeant was a mere 5'7" tall, and Lucius at a bare 5'6" wasn't very impressive either, next to this huge teenager.

Standing at attention, neither senior soldier had a chance to make eye contact with this kid. They stood 6 feet back from him to see the grin in his eyes, and the smirk on his lips as they ordered him to do any exercise they required. These exercises were so easy for Paul to do, and in the amount of them he had do, to keep them within regulations, it frustrated the drill Sergeant.

Finally, Lucius said, "Short stuff, come with me. I'm going to teach you what exercise actually is."

Paul said to himself, "Oh shit, I think this guy actually means it."

He did. Over the next 4 hours, in the blazing summer sun, Lucius put Paul through exercises he learned at karate schools, after hours, both at the Academy, and during parachute training, at Fort Benning, Georgia. Not only did he put Paul through these exercises, he did them with him, every one of them. Paul couldn't believe this little guy had the stamina to keep up with him, and even exceed what he was doing. The bond between them began to form that day, and it kept growing for the next 45 years. Lucius had to pull some strings to keep this kid with him, but it was worth it. He trained him to become officer material, but knew he could never become one, because he did not have a college degree.

There was nothing Paul could not do that any Lieutenant, Captain, or Major could do. Paul was capable of doing everything in the Army Field manual. He knew every Army code, without looking at a book, knew how to disperse his men, maneuvering skills, artillery targeting for both small and large rounds, and his rifle skills were 2^nd only to his own, and not by very much.

During the wars in Europe and the Middle East, and the peace at home, they didn't need a radio to do what the other party was thinking of doing. They did it instinctively, because they knew it had to be done, or was going to be done by the other.

When they would finally link up, one would say to the other, "What took you so long?" or, "What did you do, stop for dinner?" Some appellation or another was always awarded to the other, as they clasped each other's shoulder in greetings, and gratitude.

The next thing the Colonel always asked was, "How many casualties did you have?"

The only acceptable number was none. If you lost anyone, you had to explain why, in detail. If it was someone the Colonel trained personally, it was never acceptable. To lose any man in combat was sickening to him, but to lose a man he trained, cut his heart to pieces. He could name every man he ever trained, and every man he lost in combat. Thankfully the number he lost in combat was still less the number of fingers he had on both hands, and he intended to keep it that way. He always led his men from the front, so they always knew what he wanted them to do. There was never any doubt or miscommunication between command and the soldier. Lucius gave the order directly to his men, and Lucius or Paul was out in front of the men leading the battle. Either of them would lay their lives on the line for their men, and the men knew it. The men received more commendations than any other combat command in Europe or the Mideast. Every general wanted Lucius in his command, but the big brass hated him like the plague, because he never followed orders completely. He always achieved their targets, but he was always further ahead of their timelines, not by hours, but by days. Finally, they couldn't take it any longer, and they mustered him out of the Army. How did they do it? On his discharge it stated, "For the Good of the Army."

The newspapers couldn't believe it. The reporters that were embedded with his outfit were furious with the brass and really laid into the senior brass in print.

However, Lucius never said a bad word about the Army. When he was asked by the press to make a statement, all he said was, "You are going to have to ask them, because I have no idea why I was discharged."

He could've had four-star generals testify in his favor, but that would have started airing out the Army's Dirty Laundry. That was not Lucius's way. The Army was his life, and he would not say one bad word about it.

Besides his clothes he only took one thing the Army had, and that was Paul. Paul had to serve out the remainder of his 16 months enlistment, because the Army was being a bitch about it. However, Paul knew exactly where, and who Lucius was working for, and had a job waiting for him as soon as he was discharged.

He wasn't really happy being the body person for Mrs. Jemma Zabo, but he lived through it. He thought he was going to die, when she became pregnant with Patrick, because her moods were slightly off kilter. If they could package her moods, the Russians would have packed up their ballistic missiles, moved to Siberia, dug under the permafrost, and lived a subterranean life permanently.

As he spoke to Lucius about this, all his Colonel did was smile at him, nod his head, and ask him when he was getting married.

As he finished this statement, the Colonel was running full tilt away from Paul to get away from his rage. When Paul finally calmed down, Lucius would tell him about his 3 unsuccessful marriages, and how each 1 failed.

Paul couldn't understand how the Colonel married the 2^nd time, no less the 3^rd time, after the 1^st time failed. The 1^st time was too painful. Why set yourself up for pain again and again.

Lucius liked this memory, but it tired him, and he shut down his mind, and fell into a deep sleep.

"Look at the smile on his face," Matti said.

Celia replied, "It's probably gas."

"Celia, you're an idiot. He's been on pure oxygen for 2 ½ hours. How can it possibly be gas?"

"Oxygen is a gas."

"She's got you there, Matti."

"If you stick your dick up her ass, will you give her gas?"

"Probably not, because what I will give her, will be in the form of a liquid, instead of an aerosol."

"You 2 are disgusting. Keep away from my ass, you perverts. I know it's the nicest thing you've seen, in 20 years, but I'm keeping it to myself, and it's not for sale to anyone, especially doctors."

"How did she know I was taking pictures of her, while she was showering, after surgery? I didn't have the flash on, and I waited until her head was under water, rinsing off the soap from her hair, and body, so she wouldn't hear the click from my cell phone. I only took 30 or 40 pictures of her naked body. I have15 anonymous bids on them already. I am just waiting for a higher price to come in."

"You better be lying, Harvey, or your wife is going to be a very rich widow."

"How would you possibly know it was me that was selling your pictures? I said it was done anonymously. I only took the pictures of a naked lady."

"It wouldn't matter to me, Harvey. It would be like the Austrians claiming they didn't know that the Jewish survivors of the German death camps of World War II, were the rightful owners of the works of art given to them by the German high command towards the end of World War 2 Those assholes are still fighting to keep their ill-gotten gains. If it was up to me, I kill all of them, without blinking an eye."

"You're not angry with them at all, are you Celia?"

"Not one little bit. As far as I am concerned, putting all of them in jail is too good for them. They should reopen Nuremberg, and put them all on trial as war criminals. They are as much at fault for the pain and suffering of the survivors of the death camps, as were the guards, the officers in charge of the camps, and the leaders of Germany. The prisons are still open, and there's plenty of room inside just waiting for them."

"Harvey destroy every picture you ever took of her, and then burn the phone."

"I never took a picture, Matti. I was just pulling her leg. I didn't realize how much trouble I could get in by doing that to her."

Celia screamed, "Harvey Reynolds, I'm going to give your balls a trim."

"How soon are we leaving on that trip, Matti? I think I'd better get out of here in a hurry. There are too many knives in this hospital, and she has access to all of them."

"Are you going to have all your meals sent to your room, Harvey? There are an awful lot of knives in the dining room on that ship."

"Yes, I know, but maybe my wife will protect me, from Celia's wrath."

"You know what they say, Harvey. We live in hope, and die in despair."

"In this hospital, we fight tooth and nail to keep that from occurring, don't we, Celia?"

"Leave me alone, Harvey. I'm going to be looking for my pictures online, for the next 3 or 4 months, just to make sure you're not lying to me."

"I swear, Celia, I never took a picture of you, ever. Here is my cell phone. You can keep it overnight and look through it, just to make sure I'm not lying to you."

"I hate innocent people. They will do anything to prove their innocence. It takes all the fun out of life. I don't like you, Harvey, I don't think I ever did."

"I'm leaving. I have enough trouble dealing with my wife. I don't need to deal with you, since I didn't do anything wrong."

Matti said, "Harvey, are you sure you're not the one with a pussy, in the family? You sure act like one."

"That's because my wife drilled all the manhood out of me, during the last 28 years. I only know these answers when I walk through the doors to my home, "Yes dear; whatever you say dear; you're right as always dear; if you say it's correct, it is correct dear. I don't know who made up this saying, but every man I know lives by it. A happy wife is a happy life, and a happy life is made up by a happy wife. One is not possible without the other, for a married man."

Matti asked, "Why wasn't it that way for me, when I was married?"

"You were too much like a man, when you were married, Matti. That's why it didn't work for you and Mickey. Honestly, I was amazed it lasted as long as it did for you two. For 2, high-powered, Type A-plus, personalities, to remain married to one another, and remain faithful to one another during those years, is beyond my area of cognition. It's not that you are not pretty, or anything, Matti, but Mickey was a handsome stud, and in the advertising world, I thought women would be all over him, all the time, because of his position in the firm. As a senior vice president, he had the power of life and death over their careers, and could have demanded anything from anyone on their way up."

"That's why we got a divorce, Harvey, that's almost exactly what he told me near the end. He said he still loved me, but they were transferring him to San Francisco, and the temptation was becoming much too great for him to deny. He proves he still loves me every time he comes into the city. He calls me, before he leaves San Francisco, to see if I am available. He makes a date to stay with me for as long as we can be together. We talk like we are still married. He tells me what's going on in his life. I tell him what's going on with mine. He asks me if I need, or want anything so he could buy it for me. I tell him to look around the apartment.