Chapter Four                                                                                                                                               October 14, 1989 6:00 a.m.

I will see you, in a little while, in a place where no shadows fall                                                                                                                 –Delenn, Babylon 5   

After a couple of hours of restless sleep while sitting up in an uncomfortable chair, Lee stretched and realized it was around the time Katie normally woke up. He thought about his baby girl- she was so adorable when she slept. He loved going into the nursery every morning before she woke and watching her sleep for a little while. It had become a little ritual for him, and he felt a little off for not being there this morning.

He glanced over at Amanda, who was sleeping with both boys’ heads in her lap. Her head was lolled to one side, and he knew she was going to have a crick in it if she didn’t move it soon. He thought about how she was dealing with the probable loss of the boys’ father. He remembered how he used to be so jealous, and a little resentful, of Joe. He was so convinced that Joe wanted Amanda back. Who wouldn’t want her? But, when he saw Joe and Carrie together, he realized he had no reason to worry. Joe and Carrie belonged together, just like he did with Amanda.

Now, these two people were in a desperate fight for survival, and he could do nothing except sit here and hope for the best. He watched the boys sleeping. Their father was most likely not going to survive, and he knew they would have a hard time of it in the coming months. ‘They will never feel alone like I did,’ Lee thought to himself. ‘Between Amanda, Dotty, and me, we will never let them grieve on their own. I’m going to make sure they know that I am always going to be here for them.’

A nurse entered the waiting area with a different doctor. Lee stood up and walked over to them. “Mr. Stetson?” the nurse asked. “This is Dr. Peters. He’s Dr. McManus’s replacement on this shift.”

“Hello, doctor,” Lee said, shaking the man’s hand. “Do you have any updates?”

The doctor looked at the nurse, then nodded. Lee held up his hand, and walked over to Amanda, shaking her awake. “Amanda, the new doctor is here with an update.”

Amanda jerked awake, then took Lee’s hand, standing up. “Yes, doctor?”

“I’m afraid it’s not good news. A few minutes ago, Mr. King’s heart stopped. We began immediate resuscitative measures but, unfortunately, there wasn’t anything we could do. His injuries were just too severe and we were unable to save him. I’m so sorry,” the doctor said. He stepped back from the couple and waited at the nurses’ station.

Amanda stared at Lee, who embraced her. After a moment, she pulled away and walked over to her mother. “Mother,” Amanda whispered.

Dotty opened her eyes and looked at her daughter’s face and shook her head. “Joe?” she asked.

“He’s gone, Mother,” Amanda whispered.

“Do the boys know yet?”

“No, the doctor just told us.”

Dotty stood up and went to stand with Lee while Amanda knelt in front of the sleeping boys. As she began the sad task of telling her sons that their father was dead, Lee watched the boys faces crumble. It tore him apart to see all of them hurting like this, especially since there was nothing he could do to fix it. As he stood there, he wondered if this was how the Colonel had felt, all those years ago, when Lee had been the one sitting in the chair with his entire world ripped apart.

As the boys began sobbing, Lee walked over and put his arms out. Phillip held onto his mother, while Jamie grabbed Lee. Dotty walked over to the phone bank and called home.

SMK SMK

Ephraim woke up to the sound of a phone ringing. He groggily answered it and heard Dotty on the other end, telling him that Joe King had died. He hung up and was about to wake up Francine when he heard a distant crying sound. He jumped up and rushed up the stairs to see Sarah and Katie, both crying in their respective cribs. He went and got Katie out of her crib and she latched onto his shirt. Then, he reached down and pulled Sarah up as well. As he headed down the stairs, he knew he needed help.

Francine kept trying to shake that wailing out of her head…was it a train? Why would there be a train in her room? The wailing got louder and she felt someone shaking her.

“Francine! Francine!”

“Not now, Mother, I just need five more minutes…” Francine moaned.

“Francine! You need to get up and help me with these babies!”

Francine jerked awake. “Babies?” she yawned and opened her eyes to see a frantic Ephraim, holding a squalling infant with one arm and another who was trying to get out of his arms and onto the floor. Apparently, she’d fallen asleep on the couch in the den.

“Francine, please! I can’t make them stop!” Ephraim begged. Francine had to stifle a laugh. The poor man looked like he was barely hanging on.

She stood up and grabbed Sarah, who was about to fall. “What time is it?”

Ephraim looked at his watch. “A little after 6…I think we need to change them. Do you know how to do that?”

Francine grimaced. “Yes, but you’re going to help me. Amanda showed me how that time I watched Katie in the Q Bureau. It’s not the most pleasant experience, I can assure you.”

They walked back up the stairs to change the girls. “I guess we need to feed them, too,” Francine mentioned. “I think there’s some stuff in the refrigerator…I don’t know what to feed them, though.”

“Me, either, but we’ve got to do something!” Ephraim responded. “Hey…do you think we could call Billy? He’s got kids…surely he knows what to feed babies!”

Francine stared at Ephraim in amazement. “Ephraim, that’s a brilliant idea! Why don’t I call, while you…”

“No way, Francine. You and I are both going to change these kids…don’t even think of weaseling out!” Ephraim insisted.

Francine again stared at Ephraim. ‘Wow,’ she thought to herself. ‘He really has changed…good for him!’ She nodded and together they began the task of cleaning the girls up.

SMK SMK

As Lee sat with the boys, wrapping each of them with an arm as they sobbed into his chest, Amanda walked up to the nurses’ station. She motioned to Dr. Peters.

“Excuse me, Dr. Peters?” Amanda said. “I was wondering if you had an update on Carrie…Mrs. King.”

“I know that she is still extremely critical, but let me check and see if I have any additional information,” he answered. He turned and headed towards Carrie’s room.

Amanda turned and looked at her boys. How were they going to deal with the loss of their father? She saw how they were leaning into Lee, making a mess of his shirt. Lee glanced up and looked at Amanda, a grim smile on his face. She realized that everything would eventually be OK, and that Lee would be a big part of helping piece the lives of her boys back together. She once again realized how blessed she’d really been that October day 6 years ago.

She began walking back to the seating area when Dr. Peters returned. “Dr. Peters?” she asked warily. He had a decidedly grim look to his face.

“Mrs. King is extremely critical. Her body is in what we call Grade Three Shock. Her kidneys have almost completely shut down, the swelling on her brain has not lessened, and her blood pressure is at a dangerous level. We are doing everything we can, but…I think you need to prepare your family,” he conveyed as he touched her shoulder.

“Oh my gosh,” she whispered as tears came to her eyes. She glanced at Lee and her mother. Dotty stood up and walked over to her. “Carrie’s probably not going to make it, Mother,” she whispered.

Dotty wrapped her arms around her daughter and held her close. “It’s going to be OK, Amanda,” she comforted. Together, they walked over to the guys.

“Fellas,” Amanda croaked. “I, um, I…need to tell you something.” She looked at Lee and shook her head. He looked down and sighed. Then, he increased his hold on the boys. “The doctor told me that Carrie isn’t doing very well…and, well…you need to be prepared for…for…”

“Boys, I know this is hard, but your mother is…” Lee tried to continue.

Phillip looked up at his mother and whispered, “Carrie’s going to die, too, isn’t she?”

Amanda nodded her head. “It looks like it, though she’s still hanging on.”

Jamie whispered, “Mom, what’s going to happen to Sarah? I mean, we’ve all lost Dad…” he started crying hard and leaned into Lee.

Lee pulled him close and said, “Jamie, don’t worry about Sarah. We’ll take care of her. She has a home…with us…if Carrie…well, if Carrie…doesn’t make it.”

SMK SMK

Billy chuckled at the sight of Francine when she answered the door. Her hair was unkempt and her shirt had seen better days. “Good morning, Francine. I can see babysitting agrees with you.”

“Can it, Billy,” Francine snapped. “Can’t you hear that we have an emergency? We have two screaming banshees in here and we have no idea what to feed them!”

Billy glanced in and saw Ephraim desperately trying to comfort Katie while Sarah sat on the floor, screaming. He swallowed his laughter and walked in the door. He went to Sarah and picked her up, crooning, “Poor baby! Is mean ole Francine not feeding you? Let’s see what we can do about that!”

Sarah looked at Billy with a confused look and stopped screaming. She whimpered and squirmed in his arms. “Come on, Sarah, want some cereal? I bet Amanda has some Cheerios around here somewhere….ah, here they are!” He pulled the yellow box out of the cabinet as he walked over to the kitchen table. “Francine, come strap this booster seat into the chair.”

Francine hurried over and completed the task. Billy placed Sarah into the seat and buckled her in. Then he grabbed a plastic bowl out of the drying rack and poured some of the Cheerios into the bowl. Sarah dived for them, cramming them into her mouth. Billy laughed and said, “Francine, pour a little milk into that Sippy cup and make sure the top is on tight…or else you’ll be cleaning Amanda’s kitchen!”

Ephraim walked in, still bouncing Katie, trying to get her to stop. “Billy, a little help here would be great!” he urged.

Billy looked into the cabinets and found some baby food. He pulled out a jar of applesauce, some pears, and a jar of banana. “I’m sure Amanda probably makes her rice or oat cereal, but we’ll just stick to fruit for now. Hand her here, Ephraim,” he said, taking the baby. “Poor Katie, have they been rough on you?” He walked her over to the high chair and placed her in the seat. “Now, use these rubberized spoons to feed her. Don’t put too much on the spoon, unless you want it all over her and all over you.”

“What do you mean?” Francine squeaked. “Aren’t you going to do it?”

“Nope,” Billy replied with a smile. “You told Amanda and Lee that you had it covered, and you do. I think the two of you will handle this just fine. Now, let me see what I can find for you to feed them at lunch, and you’ll be good to go.” He pushed Francine into the seat next to the high chair, and she gingerly gave Katie a bite of plums. She eagerly ate it and opened her mouth for more.

Billy rummaged in the refrigerator and found some ham and American cheese. He fixed up a little plate of bite-sized pieces for Sarah and covered it with plastic wrap. Then, he pulled out some more baby food- some carrots, peas, plums, and some more applesauce. He fixed a Sippy cup with some juice and fixed several bottles of formula. “You’ll need to warm the formula up for Katie when she’s done eating and later when she’s ready for a nap. Just run it under water, then put some on your arm to make sure it’s not too hot. Regular milk will work for Sarah- and you don’t need to warm it. I’ll be at home this morning, so just give me a call if you run into any problems. Jeannie and I’ll come over this afternoon to give you a little break. Have you heard anything at all?”

Francine walked over to them, not knowing the answer. Ephraim glanced at Francine and nodded, “Yeah, Dotty called a little while ago. Joe’s gone, and Carrie is in critical condition.” Francine gasped and Billy shook his head.

“That’s too bad. Joe was a good man,” Billy said. He’d seen too many good men die in his day, but that didn’t make it any easier. “Amanda and Lee are going to have a rough time of it for awhile.” He glanced at Ephraim and Francine, then continued, “It’s a good thing they’ve got good friends like the two of you to help them out. You’re doing a good thing here.”

He smiled at them, then glanced over at the table. Sarah was attempting to feed Katie a Cheerio, and Katie was laughing. “Looks like you two better get to work,” he laughed as he made his way out.

SMK SMK

Lee, Phillip, Jamie, and Amanda stood outside Carrie’s darkened room. Given the seriousness of Carrie’s condition, the doctor had agreed to let the boys see her for a brief time. As they walked into the doorway, Jamie huddled closer to Amanda.

“Jamie, if you don’t want to come in, it’s OK. Nobody is going to think any less of you if you don’t. Lee’s right here and you can look in the window,” Amanda soothed. Jamie looked up at her and shook his head. Amanda led them in, and Lee stood right outside.

“Mom?” Phillip whispered. “She’s so still…is she…”

“She’s still here, Phillip. She’s just unconscious,” Amanda reassured him. Carrie was very still, with even more tubes than she’d had earlier, when she’d been awake. She was so pale and small…it didn’t seem possible that this was the vibrant woman who’d been at her house…yesterday.

“Mom…I, uh, I think I’m going to go…” Jamie bolted out the door into Lee’s arms.

Amanda glanced back at Lee and nodded.“Phillip, you can talk to her…if you want,” Amanda whispered.

“Uh…no…I…uh…” Phillip stuttered and backed into Amanda.

“Phillip, you don’t have to stay. I know it’s a little scary to see her like this, and you can go to Lee, too, if you want. Nobody is going to feel bad…I promise,” she reassured him and gave him a hug. He turned and went out the door.

Amanda turned back to the friend she’d known for too short a time. She walked over to her and put her hand over Carrie’s.

“Carrie,” Amanda croaked. “I want you to know that we all love you. You have made a difference in our family and you are a wonderful mother and friend. Joe loved you so much. I want you to know that you don’t have to worry about Sarah. We’ll take care of her and love her and protect her. We’ll raise her as a part of our family and she’ll never forget you. You can count on me.”

As she stood there, Amanda began to weep for this young woman who would never see her daughter graduate or get married, never hear her call her Mama, never take her to school for the first time. She wept for the loss of a family, destroyed by chance. She wept for the tiny girl at her house, who would never remember her mother holding her in her arms or her father singing her to sleep.

Amanda turned to leave and whispered to Carrie, “Say hello to Joe for me and tell him…we’ve got it covered.”

She walked out the door and into the arms of her loving husband and her grieving sons. Deep down, she knew she’d never see Carrie alive again.