When Rachel and Joey arrived at the emergency department of Flowerence Hospital, all the people in the hall were in a mess.
Some people were injured.
They waited for nurses to dress their wounds.
And the others were family members of the patients.
Doctors could also be seen in the hall.
There was a faint smell of blood in the air.
People made different kinds of noise.
This was the first time Joey was witnessing such a chaotic scene.
But his mother was beside him.So he held onto her hand tightly.
All these injured patients had just been transferred from Gentlefolk.
As if that wasnât enough, there was a steady stream of injured people still on their way.
âIt was only a building that was set on fire.Why are there so many injured people? Where is Daddy?â
Joey thought anxiously He pressed his lips and looked around the hall.
The little boy searched for a familiar figure in the crowd.But unfortunately, he didnât find what he was looking for.
"Miss Bennet, right?" A nurse walked up to Rachel.
"Yes, I am." Rachel nodded and looked behind the nurse.
But she didnât see Andy.
The nurse had to make an explanation when she noticed that Rachelâs gaze was focused elsewhere.
"Hello, Iâm the one who called you just now.Mr.Torres has been transferred to the general ward.Come along with me if you donât mind.Iâll take you where he is."
When she heard that Andy was fine, Rachel heaved a deep sigh.
She felt relieved.
Thereafter, she followed the nurse out of the emergency hall to the inpatient building.
While they were on their way there, Rachel remembered what the nurse told her on the phone.
After stating her identity, the nurse informed Rachel that Andy was in a coma and someone needed to go through the admission procedures for him.
Actually, the nurse called Rachel because Andy had set her number as the emergency contact in his phone.
This particular setting worked in such a way that would force Andyâs phone to ring even if it was kept muted.
He set Rachelâs phone number as an emergency contact in order to prevent missing her calls.
However, it never occurred to Andy that this setting would be of use to him at some point in time.
It wasnât long before they arrived at the ward where Andy was.
After looking through the window of the ward, Rachel saw that Andy was lying in the bed.
He was yet to wake up.His forehead was covered with gauze, and his arm was put in a cast.
"Donât worry, Miss Bennet.Mr.Torres suffered a broken arm but he is all right now.He is expected to wake up very soon," the nurse said gently after following Rachelâs gaze.
"Mr.Torres is going to recover fully as long as he rests for a sufficient period of time, without any sequela."
"Thatâs good to know.Thank you very much."
In response to what Rachel said, the nurse quickly waved her hand and replied, "No trouble at all.If itâs convenient, Miss Bennet, can you give me your ID card? I need to go through the admission procedure for Mr.Torres."
Rachel nodded her head in agreement.
She took out her ID card and handed it to the nurse.
The nurse collected it and left immediately.She still had to contact the other patientsâ families.
Rachel was about to open the door when Joey pulled her clothes.
This made her stop what she was doing.
"Whatâs wrong?"
"Mommy, I⦠I have got to go to the bathroom."
Joey touched the tip of his nose and his lashes trembled.
Whoever observed the little boy carefully would find out that there was a trace of guilt in his tone.
Looking at Joeyâs habitual action of touching his nose, Rachel suddenly remembered what he said in the restaurant a short while ago.
Hence, she quickly understood that he wanted to look for Victor.
Rachel didnât expose Joeyâs lie.She wasnât oblivious to the fact that he had been absent-minded all the way.
Despite being aware that her son wouldnât go anywhere if she told him not to, she still didnât refuse him.
This was because if she had done otherwise, he might not be able to sleep that night.
Maybe this was as a result of the blood relationship.
Despite not wanting Joey to get closer to Victor, Rachel couldnât be selfish enough to ask the little boy not to have any form of interaction and communication with his father.
She was conscious of the fact the child ought not to be treated as her property.
Therefore, she wasnât supposed to interfere with his feelings.
Rachel could tell that Joeyâs attitude towards Victor had been changing.She didnât know whether or not it was good for the thing to go on like this.
But in that given instant, she didnât want to let joey got affected because of the matter between her and Victor.
"Alright, you can go.But make sure you keep your watch on so as to know exactly where you are at any point in time.And you canât leave this floor."
When Joey heard what she said, his eyes lit up at once and he agreed.He asked Rachel to squat down.
Then, he kissed her on the cheek and said softly, "I love you!"
After that, the little boy went in that direction where the nurse just left.
A few seconds later, Rachel raised her eyes to look at the sign hanging above.
The bathroom was located in the opposite direction.
She touched her cheek with the back of her hand and smiled.
When she entered the ward, Andy was just waking up.
"Miss Bennetâ¦"
Andy was stunned to see Rachel.
He looked around and slowly realized that he was in the hospital.
"Are you feeling comfortable? Do you need me to get the doctor?"
Rachel poured a glass of warm water and put it on the bedside table.
Andy shook his head.He felt a sharp pain in his forehead.
This made him inhale and exhale deeply.
Then, he reached out his hand and was about to place it above his eyebrows when Rachel hit the back of his hand.
There was a crisp sound.
And he stopped what he was doing.
"The wound on your forehead has just been dressed.You arenât supposed to touch it!"
Rachel said before sitting down.
Andy cast a gaze on her face.Her countenance appeared emotionless.
But her slap made him realize that Rachel was unhappy For reasons best known to him, he felt a little guilty.
"When did you come back?" Rachel asked him a question before he could utter a word.
"The case in Baltimore came to trial yesterday.I didnât come back until today.I had it in mind to call you tomorrow to invite you and Joey to have a meal."
In the past few days, Andy had been busy with several cases, traveling from one city to another.
At the same time, Rachel was of the opinion that his work kept him occupied.
But when she was about to have dinner, her phone rang.
It was a call from the hospital saying that he was in a coma.
Although Rachel did her best to conceal how anxious she was, her appetite had been long lost.
After answering the phone call, she rushed over with Joey.
On the way to the hospital, she had the same feeling when she heard that Abby was injured four years ago.
When she saw that the emergency hall was full of people who were injured, she was as worried as Joey.
There was a lingering fear in her mind.
She was scared that she might not be able to meet Andy again.
Now that she was sure that Andy was fine, Rachel was relieved.
Of course, she was both hungry and angry.
"Why didnât you have a good rest after coming back? Why did you go to Gentlefolk? How did you get injured?"
The slap defused Rachelâs anger which was initially aroused by the fact that she didnât eat because of him.