“There’s been an accident.”
These were, he’d learned, the four scariest words in the world.
At 3:54, Jim had been on the phone with a client when the company’s executive assistant, Claire, had entered, her face pale.
“Just a moment, please,” he’d said to the client, clicking the phone to hold. “Claire?”
She’d looked grave. “Jim, the other line is for you. It’s an emergency.” She’d swallowed. “It’s the hospital.”
His stomach had dropped, his mind racing with all the possibilities.
“Pick up with Mr. Olsen, tell him I’ll call him back,” he’d said. She nodded and left. He took a deep breath, wiped his sweating palms on his pants and picked up the phone.
“Jim Halpert.”
“Mr. Halpert,” a calm voice came over the phone. “My name is Patricia Hull. I’m calling from Moses Taylor Hospital. There’s been an accident, sir.”
He felt sick. And why the hell wasn’t this Patricia Hull saying anything else?
“What happened?”
“Your daughter, Cecelia Halpert…”
He didn’t hear anything after that.
****
The next thing he knew, he was being escorted down a long hallway by a surly nurse in pink and purple teddy bear scrubs that could not be a worse match for her demeanor.
He had next to no recollection of leaving the office.
He assumed he must have driven to the hospital.
He vaguely remembered calling Pam, who was at a counselors’ conference in Philadelphia. He was pretty sure she'd said something about catching the first train.
He wasn’t sure if he’d actually gone Shirley MacLaine on the desk nurse or if that had been a dream.
When the nurse pulled back the curtain surrounding a bed in the emergency exam area and he saw Cece, Jim snapped back to reality.
She was lying on a gurney, her head immobilized by a bright orange neck brace. Her right arm was also in a brace, placed across her stomach. She held it gingerly with her left arm. There were bruises on her face.
“Cece,” he gasped.
At the sound of his voice, she burst into tears. “Daddy,” she cried, trying to sit up and crying harder from the pain.
“Stay still,” the nurse ordered, briskly but not unkindly as Jim rushed to Cece’s side.
“Lie still, sweetheart,” he soothed, stroking her hair. “Daddy’s here. I’ve got you.” He leaned down to press soothing kisses to her forehead, trying to quiet her sobs. “You’re okay, baby, you’re okay.”
He continued to stroke Cece’s head as he looked at the nurse. “What happened?”
She looked at the chart in her hand. “Looks like she ran her car into a tree,” she said. “The paramedics said they located a cell phone on the floor by the gas pedal. You know how kids are with their texting…”
Cece sobbed again and Jim‘s heart wrenched. “Daddy, I’m so sorry,” she cried, “the car…”
He shook his head. “I don’t care about the car,” he insisted. “You’re what’s important to me.”
“But you told me not text while I was in the car and I swear I was just looking for a second and…”
“Hey, hey,” he shushed her. “We’ll talk about it later, okay? All I care about right now is making sure you’re okay.”
They would have a good talk later, that was certain, about being responsible behind the wheel, but now wasn’t the time.
He kissed her head again and she cried harder.
“Shhhh, shhhhh,” Jim soothed. “Don’t be scared, baby, you’re okay. Daddy’s going to keep you safe.”
As he ran his hand over the top of her head, the curtain was pushed back and a white haired man in blue scrubs and a white lab coat entered.
“Hello,” he said, his tone pleasantly soothing. “I’m Dr. Thompson; I‘m the attending. Cecelia Halpert?”
“Yes,” she squeaked.
The doctor looked to Jim. “Mr. Halpert?” He extended a hand.
“Yes,” Jim replied, shaking the doctor’s hand quickly. He was glad to have someone older attending to Cece. Some doctors looked like they were barely out of high school and that just made him nervous. He didn’t need Doogie Howser working on his kids.
“All right,” Dr. Thompson said in his calm tone. “The X-rays show no damage at all to Cecelia’s spine, head or neck. That’s very good news.” Jim breathed a sigh of relief. “You might have some muscle strain though, Cecelia,” he indicated, “so you’ll have to wear a brace for a week or so-” -- she groaned - “but I promise we’ll get you one that’s a little more stylish than that thing.”
“Why is her face bruised?” Jim asked, and his fiercely independent 16-year-old didn’t snap at him for speaking on her behalf, content to let her father take care of her.
“Probably from the airbag,” Dr. Thompson said. “I know it looks bad, but if she’d hit the steering wheel, it’d be a lot worse. The bruising will subside in a few days.”
“And her arm?”
“Minor fracture to the ulna,” he replied. “We’ll put her in a cast and she’ll be good as new in about eight weeks. Her emergency card indicated no allergies other than strawberries and consent to treat in an emergency. We gave her a Demerol injection for the pain. She might have some dizziness, a little blurred vision, but she seems to be handling it very well.”
Jim nodded, running his hand over Cece’s head. “Any other injuries, doctor? Has she been checked for internal bleeding? Are all her organs okay? Anything she needs, MRI, CAT scan, whatever you have to do. I’m insured. I don’t care about the money. You just take care of my little girl.”
At his words, Cece, clearly fragile from her ordeal and, Jim knew, probably feeling guilty, started to cry again.
“Cecelia’s been thoroughly checked, Mr. Halpert,” Dr. Thompson, who clearly had a lot of experience dealing with hysterical parents, assured. “All her scans came back clean. As soon as we get the cast on her arm and get her fitted for a neck brace, you can take her home.”
Jim shook his head. “No,” he insisted. “No, I want her to stay here overnight. I want you to watch her.”
Cece thumped her heel against the gurney. “Daddy, no,” she protested. “Don’t leave me here.”
He dropped kisses on top of her head. “No one’s leaving you, baby,” he insisted. “Mommy’s on her way from her conference and Grandma or Aunt Isobel can stay with Nattie and Alex. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Mr. Halpert,” the doctor said, “truly, it’s not necessary for Cecelia to be admitted overnight. This really was a very minor car accident. I know it looks bad, but she’s sustained no serious injuries, no damage to her organs or spine. The biggest problem is the broken arm and that should heal very cleanly. The neck brace is a precaution and the facial bruising is superficial. There’s no bruising to any bones in Cecelia’s face or jaw, no major contusions…”
Jim shook his head. “I’ve heard about patients getting sent home too early and it turns out they were bleeding in their brains and they…”
“Mr. Halpert,” Dr. Thompson interrupted him, his tone firm but soothing. “I understand your concern, sir, I really do.” He smiled gently. “Look, I appreciate that you’re worried, Mr. Halpert. I have four children of my own, and if I were you, I’d be doing the same thing. I have done the same thing, in fact.”
The doctor nodded.
“Look, why don’t I admit Cecelia and I’ll continue to observe her for the next several hours? If there’s any reason at all to keep her overnight, I promise you we’ll do so for the most minor cause. But if she progresses as expected, you can take her home tonight, okay?”
“Dad, I want to go home,” Cece piped up.
Jim sighed. “I really think she should stay overnight,“ he told the doctor. “I don’t want to take any risks.”
Dr. Thompson nodded. “I assure you,” he said, “Cecelia is getting the best possible care. Let’s just see how she’s doing in a few hours, and if I think she needs further observation, I’ll keep her longer.”
Cece was quiet. Jim could see she was starting to drift off, probably from the injection she’d been given. He brushed her bangs off her forehead.
“Is that safe?” he asked. “Should she stay awake?”
Dr. Thompson shook his head. “There’s no concussion,” he said. “She’s perfectly safe.”
The doctor patted Cece’s leg and Jim’s shoulder.
“A nurse will come and move Cecelia to a room,” he said, “and a resident will get the cast and brace set. Then we’ll get her a prescription for some pain pills. And we’ll watch her for a while.”
Jim nodded, reaching to shake the doctor’s hand. “Thank you, Doctor,” he said.
Dr. Thompson nodded. “Don’t worry, Mr. Halpert,” he said. “Your daughter’s being taken care of.”
With a final reassuring smile, he left the curtained off area. Jim knew he’d been acting like Paranoid Psycho Parent, but what was he supposed to do?
“I’m sorry, Daddy,” Cece whimpered drowsily. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to.”
“I know, Cee,” he said softly. “We can talk about it later.”
“Daddy?”
“Yeah, baby?”
“I’m so tired.”
Jim leaned down, pressing his lips to Cece’s hairline. “Just rest, sweet girl,” he murmured. “Daddy’s here.”
Author's Chapter Notes:
This chapter has other prominent characters other than just Jim and Cece. I had to take creative license with some aspects of the chapter. Hopefully it doesn't come across ridiculous.
Chapter End Notes:
So Jim was in super protective mode here. Hopefully that was somewhat realistic as to how a parent would react in that situation. And apparently in the future, minors will have emergency contact cards in which a parent can indicate whether the child can be treated immediately in case of emergency, even if the parent isn't there. And teens and texting will still be a safety issue.
