As Katie and Sam returned to the now-dual bedside of father and son, Thelma glanced up at them through sunken eyes.
“Where have you two been?”
Katie gave Sam a knowing look. “Girl talk,” she replied, as she took a seat.
“It’s almost four in the morning,” Sam said, rubbing his eyes. “Do you have a room somewhere?”
Thelma sighed. “John booked a motel room, but we haven’t even had the chance to check in,” she said quietly. “But even if we had, how could I leave both of my boys? I’ll sleep here in this chair if I have to.”
“What about Katie?” Sam asked, placing a hand on his sister’s shoulder. “I have an apartment across town, she can have a sleep there for a few hours if you’re okay with it. I’m about to call up a cab.”
Katie’s eyes lit up, and grabbed Sam’s arm. “Can I, Mom? Please?”
Thelma regarded the two of them. “Well, she’s certainly taken a shine to you.” She glanced at her sleeping husband for a moment, before shifting her eyes back to Sam. “Yes, I think that will be okay. You seem to have a good head on your shoulders, Yolanda.”
Sam gave her a thankful smile. “I’ll have her back in one piece, I promise.”
“Have who back…?” The gravelly voice of John Beckett mumbled, as his eyes fluttered open.
“Daddy…” said Katie, as she moved to his side and curled a hand around his fingers. “Are you okay?”
“Well I’m still alive, it seems,” he said with a crooked smile. His eyes moved to Sam. “Thanks to this young lady, if I remember right.”
Sam returned the smile. “I, uh… I lost my Dad to a heart attack long ago, and since then I’ve made sure I know exactly what to do if I see the signs.”
His eyes met Katie’s momentarily, and she bit her lip.
“It was the darndest thing,” John continued, turning his head towards the comatose Sam. “When it was happening, I thought I heard Sam’s voice beggin’ me not to die. Maybe he’s still here with us in some way…”
“I think so too,” said Katie, grinning. Sam kept a poker face as she looked at him.
“Alright, we’d better get out of here, Katie… get some sleep,” he said after a moment. He smiled at his father. “You take it easy, okay? Stay in bed.”
“But I need a smoke,” he grumbled. Sam winced.
“In here? Really not a good idea…”
In 1972, it was normal to smoke just about anywhere in a hospital — even in the operating theater — Sam realised, but not if he had anything to say about it.
“I’ll get you some chewin’ tobacco, honey,” said Thelma, with a wink at Sam.
John’s face screwed up. “That any way to treat a dyin’ old man?” But, after a moment, he sighed. “Yeah, all right. It’ll do.”
* * *
As Sam escorted Katie through the halls of the apartment building, she was quiet and pensive.
“Something wrong?” he asked her, as he felt around in his purse for the keys.
“I don’t understand why you can’t just tell Mom and Dad that it’s you.”
Sam opened the door, and flipped the lights on. Blitzen was sitting on a side table, staring at the two of them.
“Katie, I know you believe me, but it’s not exactly an easy story to swallow. I’ve tried it before.” He picked up the cat, giving it a stroke.
“But Dad heard your voice.”
“That only proves to me how close he was to dying. I don’t want to put him under any further stress.”
He presented the cat to Katie. “Check the name tag on this fella,” he said.
Katie read the tag, and her mouth curled into a smile. “Huh. That’s a coincidence.”
“I don’t know who this cat belongs to,” Sam admitted, letting the feline jump to the floor. “No cat supplies in here. Maybe it’s a neighbour’s.”
“Aww, he’s a great big puffball,” Katie cooed, as the cat ran its body against her leg.
“Anyway, you can take the bed,” said Sam, gesturing to the bedroom. “I’ll sleep on the couch.”
Katie scuffed a foot into the carpet. “We could both sleep in the bed, couldn’t we? I don’t really wanna be alone.”
Sam’s heart melted at this, and he nodded. “Okay, if you want.”
The clock was just reaching 5am as Katie drifted to sleep, nestled into Sam’s chest, with a mystery cat curled up in the crook of her arm.
Sam peered down at her, wondering how he could ever accept letting her lose so many loved ones in such a short period of time.
And as he tried desperately to puzzle out how to fix all of this, his mind became too clouded with fatigue and headache to continue, and he too descended into sleep.
* * *
The clock read 12:23pm when Sam awoke. From the sharp pain in his head, it might have been the headache itself that had roused him. Katie was still sleeping soundly against him, and he gingerly moved her head to a pillow as he slipped out from under her.
He gave her a kiss on the forehead before grasping Yolanda’s purse and pulling out two items: the aspirin bottle, and the business card.
He made use of both, and nervously swallowed as he heard Professor LoNigro answering his phone.
“Professor… it’s Yolanda Bennett. I hope I haven’t called at a bad time,” he said tentatively.
“Not at all, it’s my lunch hour. What can I do for you?”
“Is there any chance I could meet with you in person today? I have something kind of major to discuss with you, and it can’t wait.”
“Something about Sam?”
“Yes,” Sam said firmly.
“I see. Given the circumstances, I’ll cancel my lecture for this afternoon. If it’s as urgent as you say.”
“Thank you, Professor. It really is. I don’t want to be far from the hospital, so would you be able to meet me there at about two o’clock?”
“I can do that, Miss Bennett.”
As Sam hung up the phone, he turned to see Katie rubbing her eyes with one hand and carrying a contented Blitzen with the other.
“Sorry, did I wake you?” Sam asked. She shook her head.
“No, it was him,” she said, gesturing to the cat. “He was pawing at me.”
“He’s probably hungry…” Sam mumbled, as he crossed to the pantry. “I think there’s another tuna can somewhere in here.”
“Is there a litter box set up?” Katie wondered aloud.
Sam shook his head. “I haven’t seen one.”
“I wonder where he’s been going to the bathroom if he’s been locked in here, then…”
Sam grimaced, as he opened the tin he’d found. Blitzen jumped out of Katie’s arms, and eagerly began to eat.
“I don’t smell anything… untoward,” said Sam. “Maybe he has a way in and out of here that I don’t know about.”
“Well, you should set something up anyway, just in case. This little guy’s no farm cat. I think he needs a bit more care than our Blitzen.”
Sam smiled at his sister’s pragmatism. He’d had so many pressing matters on his mind, and had been missing the basics.
“Alright, there’s a convenience store across the road… let’s get some supplies real quick.”