Dave and Leroy

Chapter 17 - Shit Seems To Always Happen

Dave and Lee were talking in the backyard. They had been waiting for Leroy to come back out. He went in to get another drink, then, of course, they started hearing him yelling at Jason, but they weren't going to get in the middle of it. Then it stopped, and they assumed he would be coming out.

Jason ran out into the backyard, "DAD! Come quick!" Dave instantly jumped up and ran by his scared-looking son as Lee and Jason followed. Jason started explaining, "We were fighting about my schoolwork, and he just fell. I don't know. I've never seen this before."

Dave knew Jason probably wouldn't remember Leroy having a seizure. It had been a few years. When Dave came in, Leroy was still seizing. "Lee, call nine-one-one." Dave grabbed a blanket from the couch and spread it out to cushion Leroy's head as much as he could from hitting the tile floor. Leroy was already bleeding, but Dave hoped he could keep him from hurting himself more.

"Dad, they're here." Dave looked up at Jason and then the paramedics. Leroy had just stopped seizing. It had been nearly ten minutes, and Leroy wasn't awake.

"Sir, can we please have you step back?" Dave just nodded, kissed Leroy's forehead, and got up.

Lee was holding Jason, and Dave stood with them, looking down at the paramedics working on getting Leroy ready to transport. He was still unconscious.

Dave couldn't remember Leroy not ever coming out of a seizure within a few minutes or losing his bodily functions. This one was serious. The last brain scan was a year and a half ago, and it was clear. He will be due for one in February because it's always around Leroy's birthday, but that was almost four months away.

When the paramedics restrained Leroy to the stretcher, he had another seizure. The paramedics quickly moved him to the ambulance. Dave, Lee, and Jason followed behind. Lee called Aaron, who put the word out to everyone else.

Aaron's first call was to Jeff, who met them in the ER. He had called Dr. Harding. Dave was happy to see Jeff when they walked through the doors. "Have you seen him?"

"They are working on him, trying to get his seizures under control. Once they get him to stop seizing, then they can work." Jeff responded. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Dad?" Dave looked over at Jason. "Did I cause this?"

Dave walked over and hugged him. "No, Jason, never think that again. Your father has something wrong that we probably should have talked to you about once you've gotten older. But we thought we had time."

"Dad, what happened?" Jason asked.

"Your Dad has seizures. They started after a tumor was found and removed from his brain." Dave didn't think he would have to tell his ten-year-old son this while Leroy laid in the ER, and he couldn't see him.

Jeff came out twenty minutes later, "Dave, he's awake if you would like to come back."

Dave walked with Jeff to where they had Leroy. Dr. Harding was there and wanted to talk before he went in. "Hello, Dave. It's always a pleasure to see you. This guy, not so much." Dave smiled as he pointed towards the room, "Well, at least I got a smile out of you. He's fine, stressed but fine."

"What do you mean stressed?"

"Well, back when I first told you the things that could cause him to have seizures?" Harding said.

"Yeah, being overtired, emotionally worn out, and a few other things I can't remember right now. And yeah, stressed."

"I asked Leroy to tell me what he was doing just before his seizure because his blood pressure is extremely high."

"He was arguing with our son."

"Yes, and had been watching the news."

"Yes, that tends to get his blood to boil lately," Dave responded.

"Well, we have to get Leroy's blood pressure down, and it will also reduce his seizures. You know he will be a bitch because he won't be able to drive for a while." Harding stated.

"Don't remind me," Dave responded. "Are you going to change his seizure meds?"

"We will see. Let's see if getting Leroy's blood pressure under control will do it. If not, I will have to mess with the medication again. And he'll not like it."

"Okay," Dave responded.

"Let's go in and see him before he starts to think I ran off with you." Dr. Harding stated, and Dave laughed at that one.

Leroy's eyes were closed when Dave, Jeff, and Dr. Harding walked into the small room. He felt like hell. His head felt like it was more than just bruised. "Hey, Babe," Dave said when he walked in. Dave could see some stitches in Leroy's hairline. Leroy opened his eyes, and just the light hurt, Dave could tell. "What's wrong?"

"Head hurts, I have a headache, and I'm light sensitive," Leroy responded. "What did I hit?"

"When Jason came and got us, you were in the middle of the family room, banging your head on the hard floor. I got a blanket to cushion your head a little, but you were already bleeding." Dave stated.

"I'd like to keep Leroy overnight for observation, maybe two. We'll see." Dr. Harding stated. "Leroy, I'll order something for your head."

"Thanks, Doc," Leroy said, then looked at Dave. "Where's Jason?" Dr. Harding and Jeff took that moment to leave to give Dave and Leroy some time to talk.

"He's in the waiting room with Lee." Dave stated, "What were you two arguing about?"

"His homework. He wanted to go to his friends' house."

"So why didn't you just let him go?" Dave asked.

"Because he will have to learn there are rules, he needs to know what is expected of him before he's allowed to play."

"Leroy, just because that's how you were brought up isn't how you need to bring our son up. Relax a little."

"So our son will grow up without any rules?"

"I didn't say that. You have done a great job so far. Just relax a little on this one. Before you cause yourself to have a stroke." Dave smiled.

"Yeah, Dave."

"Look at your blood pressure." Leroy looked over at his readings. "I was scared this afternoon, Hon. You scared your son. He didn't know what was going on."

"I'm sorry."

"I know you are. I know you didn't know you were going to have this reaction. It's been years since you've had a seizure." Dave looked at Leroy. "I love you. You mean everything to me. I can't lose you over homework."

Leroy took a deep breath and let it out. "Ditto," and smiled. Dave leaned down and gave him a kiss. "I love you, Dave. But..."

"No buts, Leroy. You need to destress, Babe. Maybe I need to start taking over the raising of our son for a little while. You heard the Doctor."

Leroy laughed, Dave did work first shift, but he didn't know how he would take over running Jason from here to there and doing everything Jason needed. Hell, he can't now because he is currently not allowed to drive for three or more months. Leroy just closed his eyes. They still hurt along with his head.

Jeff came back in. "The nurse will be in shortly with the painkillers. He ordered a scan for tomorrow to make sure nothing has reappeared, but he really thinks it's stress." Dave looked at Leroy, but he didn't reopen his eyes. "Other than that, if Leroy continues to have seizures, he will tweak the meds. But he hopes that he doesn't have to due to the meds working until this point. Leroy?" Leroy looked at Jeff. "You need to learn to relax, don't let things bother you."

"Yeah, Jeff, remember you all have lives. I'm the one playing Mr. Mom. I love my son, but sometimes he can just find that one nerve that he keeps stomping on."

"Well, what did you do when you were in the Marines."

"Shoot things." Leroy smiled.

"Dave, you need to take your husband to the range." Leroy looked over at Dave when Jeff said that.

Dave laughed, "Looks like I might have to. He perked up at that point."

It didn't take long before they moved Leroy to a room, and Lee and Jason walked in. "Dad, I'm sorry."

"You didn't do anything wrong, kid." Leroy was looking at the guiltiest looking kid in the world. "It's my fault, Jason, I got myself overly stressed, and I knew better."

"Are you going to have another one?"

"Maybe, hopefully not, but I've taken medicine every day, so I don't have any." Leroy felt bad. "Jason, come here." Jason climbed up on the bed. "I'm sorry for yelling at you. We do need to work on a schedule for your homework. I'll help you with it, so you will have all weekend free to spend with your friends. Also, it's going to change in the house for a while. I won't be able to drive for at least three months."

"Why?"

"That's the rule when anyone has a seizure. They're not allowed to drive for three months, as long as I stay seizure-free. So sadly, we will be relying on Papa and Dad to take us anywhere." Jason looked at Dave and Lee.

"Everywhere?"

"Unless we walk." Leroy laughed. He knows that Jason really hates to walk.

"Okay." Dave and Lee smiled. Dave knows Leroy is soft on Jason too, but sometimes little things will stress him, and he doesn't know why.

Lee took Jason down to the car to wait for Dave but told him to take his time. Dave went over and sat with Leroy for a few minutes. "Babe, I love you. Do you want me to come back and stay with you tonight?"

"No, you have work tomorrow. Sleep, and I will tell you the results of the tests and what Harding has to say when you get off."

"Like I'm going to work tomorrow."

"Dave, go to work. Stop worrying about me." Leroy responded. "Please, I'll be okay."

Dave didn't want to argue with him. He told him he loved him and left. When he walked out to the nurse's station, he asked them to please call if anything happened. Then walked out to the car. "Dad, is Dad really going to be okay?" Jason asked.

"Jason, everything will be okay. Please. Don't let this worry you. You didn't cause this."

Overnight the hospital called Dave to inform him that Leroy had another set of seizures, that they had called Dr. Harding, and he had increased his seizure medication. Dave asked if he could come in and sit with Leroy, and they have no issues with him coming in.

Dave packed a bag since it was just two in the morning. He also packed Leroy a bag for when he would be able to come home. Leroy had a safe installed in Dave's trunk for his service gun for when he wanted to stop other places before coming home. Being on first shift has changed things for Dave, so it was nice to be able to lock up his gun. So he put his gun in the trunk along with his duty belt. He left a note for Lee on the table and went up to the hospital. Depending on how well Leroy is doing will depend on if he goes to work.

Dave was about to walk into the hospital room as Dr. Harding was walking out, and he just motioned for Dave to follow him. It surprised Dave to see Dr. Harding there. "Dave, I'm having Leroy taken down for the CT now. I'm here. There are techs down there, might as well take a look."

"How many seizures has he had tonight?" Dave looked worried.

"Only five, but that was enough to get my attention with what was described earlier of the seizures. I still think they are stress-related, or the stress is what started them. But we need to get them under control."

"Okay, can I sit with him until you take him?"

"Yup, I'm sure it will take a while until they get transport up here. I'll come back up when the scan is done and talk with you."

"Thank you, Doctor." When Dave walked into the room, he noticed that the nurse was finishing up changing Leroy's bedding, and Leroy looked worn out. "Hey, Babe." Leroy looked up at him and barely smiled. "Leroy, Harding will get the seizures back under control. Just give him a bit of time." Dave sat down on the bed and gave him a kiss. "I love you, Honey."

"They have him well drugged, Sir. Just to let you know." The nurse stated.

"I can see that. Why?" Dave asked when he wasn't getting a response out of Leroy.

"It was the only way to stop the seizures. I take it Dr. Harding didn't tell you." Dave shook his head. "Would you like me to page him back to the floor?"

Dave took in a deep breath and blew it out. "No, he'll be back up after the scan. He said to talk to me. I'll bring it up to him then. Thank you." Dave turned his attention back to Leroy, brushed his hair away from his forehead, and continued to rub his head. Leroy closed his eyes and curled towards Dave.

Leroy may have not been able to express what he wanted to tell Dave, but he did appreciate the little things that Dave did for him. The comfort that he was showing to him right then was a lot. Leroy held Dave's other hand, kissed it, and fell asleep.

"Mr. Standish-Ayers, Sir, we need you to wake up." the next thing Leroy knew, he was being woken to be taken down to CT. They needed him to transfer to the gurney they brought up with them.

"Leroy?" The nurse questioned to see if he was going to respond.

"Yeah." Leroy opened his eyes. Dave had already gotten off the bed when the transport team came in. He was still sluggish, but he finally could answer.

"Do you think you can stand, or do you want the team to transfer you?" The nurse asked.

Leroy looked like he was thinking hard on that question. "I'm not sure."

"We'll transfer him." One of them stated.

Dave watched as they lined up the bed and the gurney, and then they grabbed the pad under Leroy and basically picked him up and slid him over to the gurney. The team covered him with a blanket when they left.

"It shouldn't be more than forty-five minutes, especially at this time of night." The nurse said as she straightened up Leroy's bed before leaving the room.

"Thank you," Dave said as he worried about Leroy. He checked the time. A little after three, Dave decided to text Terry, his partner, and tell him about Leroy. To let Terry know that he will be calling off work. Terry texted back almost right away and said he would be praying for Leroy.

The next thing Dave knew, Shane was walking into the room. "So the big lug went and hurt himself again?" Shane smiled.

"Hey, what are you doing up here?"

"Filling in. Terry said you were somewhere here, so I looked you up since my patients were quiet. I asked another nurse to call me if they needed me, that I would be a floor down."

Shane sat with Dave for ten minutes until he was called back to his floor, but Shane said he would stop again when he could, if not after seven when he got off. Dave thanked him and then continued to sit there until Leroy was brought back in. Leroy was more alert, and the nurse returned with the transport team.

"Leroy, would you like to move over this time?"

"Yes," Leroy said. They lowered the gurney, and the nurse put a clean pad on his bed before he stood, walked over and sat down. He didn't look happy at all.

"Babe, how are you feeling?"

"Fine," Leroy said gruffly.

The nurse hooks him back up to the monitors and switches his IV fluid. She knew they were low when he had left, so she had them ready when he returned. When the nurse was finished and left the room, Dave sat down on the bed to talk with Leroy.

"Babe, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Leroy responded, then looked at Dave and softened. "I'm sorry. I now remembered why I hate hospitals."

"Why?"

"Being half-naked in cold exam rooms and almost getting dropped by idiots." Leroy bitched. Dave was happier now that Leroy seemed almost back to normal. In Dave's opinion, he did still seem to be a little drugged, but not like he was.

"I'm sure they didn't mean to. Maybe they're not used to carting around such a handsome guy." Dave smiled, and Leroy chuckled.

"Yeah, Dave, I love you."

"That sounds like sarcasm, but I love you too, Babe." Leroy opened his arms, and Dave laid down, but sure enough, as soon as he did, Doctor Harding walked in.

"Well, Dave, I am glad you can tame this beast." Harding smiled.

"Funny Doc. Just be glad that I can put up with your shit." Leroy grumbled.

"Dave, how do you put up with his shit?" Harding asked as he pointed at Leroy.

"No comment," Dave said as he got off the bed.

"Well, the good news is, the scan is still clear." That put Dave's nerves at ease. "So, we will have to get Mister here to lower his blood pressure. Leroy, if you continue to have seizures, you know I'll have to change your medications. You know what that did to you during the first few years when we tried to find the right dose and type for you."

"Yeah, I remember. I hated it. I hated what I felt like, and my moods were affected." Leroy said.

"Yes, I don't want to start messing with your medications. So I'm going to stress. Destress, find some outlets for it. I'm going to leave you now. I'll try to grab a few hours of sleep before coming back here." He smiled.

"Sorry for pulling you here, but I didn't tell them to call you." Leroy looks at him.

"No, you didn't, but your thirty minutes of off-and-on seizures required my attention," Harding stated. "Leroy, you're one of my patients that I do like. There are not many of you that I can joke around with. So I have to keep you alive." Harding smiled.

"Thanks, Doc," Leroy responded with a smirk.

"Have a good day, Doc. Will we be seeing you later?" Dave asked.

"Of course, as I said, he's one of my favorite patients. As always, it's a pleasure to see you, Dave. Keep this one calm, please."

"I'll try. Thank you."

"You're not going to work?" Leroy asked, and Dave shook his head. "I'm sorry for causing issues."

"Leroy, you didn't. I love you. Maybe I needed a day off." Dave smiled. "Do we need you to start routine visits with Dr. Watts again?"

"I guess it might not be a bad idea, but again I don't want to be a...."

"LEROY!"

"Well, Damn it, I'm back at square one. I can't drive." Leroy looked at Dave. "What am I supposed to say? I'm going to be a burden on someone. If not you or my Dad, it will be someone."

"Well, you're not going to be my burden, do you know why?" Leroy just looked at him. "Because I expect you to pay out in sex to me." Leroy laughed. "I will expect it, Leroy."

Leroy smiled, "Yes, Sir." Dave bent down and kissed him. "Come on, Babe lay down with me."

Dave laid down, and when they opened their eyes again, Shane was sitting in the chair beside the bed. "Oh, it's just nice that families think they can snuggle up in the bed with our pain in the ass patients."

"Well, if nurses wouldn't be so fucking mean, then we wouldn't have to have our family here to defend us," Leroy stated as his new nurse walked in. "Oh, sorry, I was just commenting back to this asshole." Leroy looked at the nurses' expressions.

Shane laughed. "Leroy, now I know what you think of me. Huh, I'm going to go home and tell my fiancé."

"Whoa, when did this happen?" Leroy asked. "Terry's making a mistake. He should be looking at me." Leroy laughed. "Congratulations, Shane."

"Thanks," Shane stated. "I know this one already knew." He pointed at Dave.

"What, me?" Dave laughed as he got up so the nurse could do what she needed to do. "Congratulations. I'm glad he finally asked you."

"I know he's been planning it for a while, but I know the time just has to be right with Terry." Shane laughed. "Look how long it took him to ask me out every time he would come into the ER."

"Believe me, I remember. I suffered being in the car with him after leaving." Dave continued to laugh.

They talked for a while, and then Lee came up with Jason in tow. Lee had brought Dave some breakfast. He knew Dave would be hungry and wouldn't want to leave Leroy. So it gave Shane his excuse to go.

"Dad?" Leroy had his eyes closed, so he didn't know that Jason was talking to him. "Dad?"

"Leroy?" Dave spoke. "Jason is calling you."

Leroy opened his eyes and looked over at Jason. "Yeah, Kid."

"Before I caused the seizure yesterday, when was your last one?"

"For the last time, Jason, you didn't cause this, do you hear me? I can have seizures for many different reasons."

"Okay, but when was the last one you had because I don't remember you ever having one."