Page 26 of The Road Home
"You shouldn't have done that. I gave you my card, you could have called me."
"I didn't have a phone to use." Orson shrugged. "I was okay. I told the others I'd find out if it was Harry. One guy said he swore it was, but said he couldn't get close enough to confirm it. I hoped you were still here and would tell me."
"You're lucky, I usually leave at eleven. I had extra paperwork to do tonight." Jared didn't like the thought of Orson walking through the city in the darkness. It wasn't like it was really all that dangerous, but he'd already seen Orson hurt once, and he didn't want to see it again.
"I had to chance it. I would have asked someone else if you weren't here." Orson stepped onto the elevator.
"I'm glad I was here." Jared fisted his hand to keep from reaching out and reassuring Orson. As the elevator came to a stop and the door opened to the fourth floor, Jared followed Orson out. "This way." He led them to the nurses' station and smiled at the nurse behind the computer. "Just checking on the patient in four-sixteen." He didn't want them wondering why an ER physician was hanging around the medical services unit.
"His condition hasn't changed." She glanced up at him, then over to Orson.
"I'm hoping we can get his identity." Jared looked over at Orson. "We won't be long."
"Let us know if you need anything." She quickly went back to typing on her keyboard.
Jared led them down the hallway, watching the door numbers to make sure they got the right room. He hadn't spent a lot of time on the floors since his internship, and it was a bit strange being in a part of the hospital that was so quiet.
Worried about Orson's reaction to seeing the man he'd worked on, he turned to him as they stopped outside the open doorway. "I need to stress, he will recover, but what you see isn't—"
"I'm okay. I've been through it, remember? Maybe not the same injuries, but I know how bad it can be." Orson gripped Jared's forearm. "I'll be okay."
Jared sighed, but nodded. He couldn't protect Orson. He slowly stepped aside and let Orson enter the room first, praying that it wasn't Harry lying in the bed.
Orson took three steps and froze, his body tensing as he brought his hand to his mouth. "Harry."
"You're sure?" Jared came up behind him, gripping both his shoulders.
"Yeah, it's him." Orson shook his head. "His face?"
"Jaw." Even though he wasn't supposed to give out any of the medical information to anyone but family, he figured Harry probably didn't have any family. He'd be careful what he told Orson, but it was clear from the bruises and swelling there was some kind of facial damage.
"Broken?"
"Yeah, but not bad enough to wire. It should heal, but it will take a couple of months." Jared pressed Orson forward. "He hasn't regained consciousness since they brought him in. We've run tests and I didn't see any brain damage, but there is a lot of swelling. The neurologist will have a second look in the morning."
"What else?" Orson asked as came to the edge of the bed and set his hand over Harry's.
"Bruises, lacerations, a couple broken ribs," Jared told him.
"Was he…" Orson glanced back at Jared.
"I can't tell you more." Jared had to draw the line somewhere.
"Jared, please. You know I can handle this."
"It's not about what you can handle. It's about patient rights. It's against the law for me to tell you even what I already have."
Orson shook his head. "Will he wake up?"
"He should."
"Then you'll tell him everything you found?"
Jared nodded, then realized Orson wasn't watching him. "Yeah, someone will tell him."
"He was trying to find Megan. She went missing two nights ago. Someone thought they'd seen her near the park. He was only gone a half an hour before we saw all the lights and heard the sirens." Orson's voice was unsteady.
Jared stayed back, giving Orson space to deal with things, but what he wanted to do was to pull Orson into his arms and take away the pain he could clearly see as he stared at his friend. "I had to stitch a few spots on his head. That was probably why there was so much blood."
