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Chapter 12: Decisions
When the boys finished their phone call they gave each other a high-five in salute. It was disappointing not to be able to talk to their Mom, but she wasn’t home so they would call again. They returned downstairs to the cafe and sat down in a booth with Harold and waited for the Sheriff to arrive. Word of mouth was spreading the news of the boys' arrival in Shepherds Junction. The cafe was beginning to fill up, and everyone was peering over their shoulders at the boys.
"Its starting already!" Zac exclaimed.
"What’s starting?" Harold ask.
"The zoo effect." Taylor explained. "And, we’re the exhibition."
"Well, hell boys, you’re news!" Harold exclaimed.
Ike laughed at the mans simple statement. "You never get used to the press." he explained. "Because they are never satisfied."
They turned at the sound of sirens in the distance and then a few minutes later the loud roar of a helicopter made it impossible to hear anything. They walked outside of the cafe and watched as huge military looking helicopter landed on the roadway. A man in a uniform got out of helicopter followed by three people in flight jump suits.
The uniformed man introduced himself. "I’m Captain Daniel Monroe, of the Mountain Rangers. We’ll be transporting you to Grand Junction, Colorado. Does anyone need medical attention?"
Ike hesitated and looked over to his brother who shook his head slightly. "No. Will our parents be in Grand Junction?"
"We’ve already contacted them, and they’re on their way" Captain Monroe answered. "But there are procedures we need to follow, so we need your cooperation. If you’ll come this way we’ll get started." Then he started to walk back towards the helicopter.
"Are we supposed to salute him or something?" Taylor ask Ike sarcastically.
Ike grinned. "If that’s what it takes to get home, I’m game."
Ike called to Zac and Antonio and walked over to Harold’s truck and started lifting their bags out.
"We don’t need that stuff anymore." Zac protested.
"Do you want to see it in some celebrity auction or priced to sell on the internet?" Ike ask tossing his brother a bag. "Besides don’t you want credit for all those lessons you did?"
"You bet! Zac and Taylor said at the same time.
"Taylor, keep an extra eye on your back pack, that’s were I’ve got all the songs and lyrics packed." Ike suggested.
"You boys are something," Harold Cromley said sticking his hand out for a handshake. "Captain Monroe will get you home from here."
Ike shook the man’s hand, as did his brothers. Then they walked over to the porch of the Cafe and thanked Millie for her help and shook her hand politely. Then they finally walked towards the helicopter.
"Are you boys going to be okay with the flight?" Captain Monroe ask.
"Keep a barf bag handy." Taylor suggested with a grin. "This might be a white knuckle ride."
The man nodded with little humor and led them to the helicopter where the medical attendants made sure that they were buckled into their seats. As the helicopter lifted off the ground, Captain Monroe pulled out a map and began to consult with Ike over the location of the plane. He directed the helicopter to follow their path back to Harold Cromley’s ranch. Then they followed the stream bed, flew over the forest and finally hovered over the face of the mountain. Ike pointed out the cliff where the plane was buried under the snow and the cavern entrance where they had spent the last two months.
Finally the helicopter circled and headed for its destination of Grand Junction, Wyoming. After hours in the air the aircraft landed on a compact landing pad positioned approximately two hundred yards from the hospital. Captain Monroe had explained to boys that it was standard procedure for them to be taken there for medical examinations. Then there would be interviews with representatives of the National Aviation Association and later there would sessions with insurance carriers.
Ike had privately ask the Captain Monroe about Katie’s parents and he had reported that they were both passengers on the aircraft. Her maternal grandparents had been notified and were in transport.
When the doors opened, it was apparent that not only their parents had been notified of their return. There were at least two dozen members of the press standing by, cameras poised and waiting. The flashbulbs flashed in their faces, and the journalists shouted questions, but the medical attendants and Captain Monroe circled the boys and lead them inside to the emergency room. They were taken into an examination room and several doctors and nurses filed into the room.
"Well, you’re about the best looking crash survivors, I’ve seen in a while." joked a doctor with the name tag identifying him as Dr. Kahn. "Usually, we get them on stretchers."
"Okay, why don’t you give me a run down on injuries." the doctor suggested. "Which one is Isaac?" he ask picking up a clipboard.
"Me," Ike announced. "Taylor’s the only one that needs immediate attention. He was clawed by a mountain lion yesterday."
Another doctor stepped forward, took a clipboard off the tray and turned his attention to his brother.
"As far as I go, I think I had broken toes."
"Head injuries?" the doctor ask.
Ike took a deep breath. "I was hit in the face, bloody nose, black eyes, nothing serious. I think we were all knocked out at first. Tay was hit in the back of the head, he had a good sized lump and I think had a slight concussion. Zac had a really bad concussion. You can see the scar on his forehead, and up into his hairline. He was unconscious for about thirty hours I think. It took a long time for him to wake up and he still has headaches. I don’t think Antonio was hurt at all. At least we didn’t see any evidence of injury. We thought he was in shock, but it turned out he couldn’t understand English. Katie had a broken right arm. She wasn’t talking at the time so we couldn’t get any answers out of her. She still doesn’t talk much."
The doctor was writing quickly on several clipboards as the Ike reported individual details. He looked up and ask, "Who is Katie? I have the little girl listed as Kimberly Richardson."
"Kimberly." Taylor exclaimed. "She wouldn’ tell us her name, so we named her Katie." He turned to the little girl and said, "Hi Kimberly."
"Me Katie!" she countered.
"Oops!" Taylor exclaimed. ‘I think we created a identity crisis."
"Oops!" Katie now Kimberly mimicked.
Everyone laughed, and Dr. Kahn began to issue orders. He ordered full sets of skull x-rays on all three brothers, foot x-rays on Ike and x-rays on Katie’s and Taylor’s arm. But when he tried to separate Antonio and Katie from the brothers, Katie began to scream and Antonio began to cry and the boys began to protest. So, the doctor sent them all to the radiology department together.
When they returned to the emergency room the doctors began the medical examinations. Because of his injury, Taylor was treated immediately. He was laid out on bed while a doctor and nurse set about stitching up his arm.
Zac protested loudly when he was approached with a needle for blood tests. Zac hated needles of any kind. So Ike had to reassure his little brother that it wouldn’t hurt. And, for that lie, he was punched in the arm angrily. Antonio cried through the ordeal and Katie screamed and fought even though both Ike and Zac tried to keep her calm.
The examinations seemed to last for hours. The x-rays generated a great deal of discussion between the doctors, which they did not discuss openly with the patients.
Taylor was feeling lousy, his arm had been stitched up and was still numb from the local asthenia. It had been dressed heavily and they had inserted an IV drip into his other arm.
Finally, a nurse came into the area and told Ike and the boys they could redress. She checked the IV in Taylor’s arm and assured them that the doctors would be back soon.
So they waited, and waited but the doctors didn’t return.
They were the only ones in the emergency room except for a man that had been admitted with chest pains. The fabric drapes had been drawn around his cubicle.
Ike went over to his brother bed and set Katie down.
‘How do you feel?"
"Worst than when I came in," Taylor complained.
Zac sided up beside his brother and whispered. "Mom and Dad are here."
"Where?" Ike demanded.
Zac shrugged his shoulders. "I don’t know. I just heard that nurse say that they were in a conference room being briefed. What does that mean."
"That means Captain Monroe is giving them a report on us instead of letting them see us." Taylor exclaimed. "Ike get me out of this thing."
"Tay, I don’t think you should get up." Ike cautioned.
"Either take it out, or I’ll take it with me but I’m finding Mom and Dad," Taylor warned as he struggled to get to his feet.
"Zac, pull that curtain." Ike ordered. Then, when the curtain was pulled and the nurses view of them was blocked he helped his brother out of the bed careful not to dislodge the IV. Taylor pulled on his pants but there was no hope of getting a shirt on over the bandages or the IV cords and bag. Ike confiscated a wheelchair and dumped all their duffel bags and back packs into it and set Katie on top. Then they sent Zac over to ask the nurse to get them a paper cup for some water and when she went into the back room, they slipped out the main door into the corridor.
* * * *
Diana Hanson was about to become unglued. She couldn’t remember when she had felt more frustrated. Captain Monroe kept droning on and on about the complications of air craft disaster survivors. He had assured the Hansons and Estaveg’s that their children were not seriously injured but he wanted to explain the situation to them. All they wanted to do was see their children.
"Captain Monroe," Diana interrupted for the forth time. "I want to see my children now."
"Just as soon as we complete..." the Captain began.
"No." Diana and Walker both interrupted. "We want to see our children, now!"
"We wish to see our son, also," Mr. Estaveg exclaimed. He and his wife were clearly as upset as the other couple.
The telephone rang and Captain Monroe answered it. "What do you mean they are gone?" he ask.
Diana looked at her husband and they grabbed the hands of their children and ushered them out into the hallway. They had walked to end of the corridor when Jessica let out a squeal. "Momma, there they are!"
Diana burst into tears at the sight of her sons and tried to grab and hug and kiss each one all at the time. Walker was doing the same while their younger brother and sisters jumped up and down and yelled for attention. Antonio was smothered by hugs and kisses from his father and mother.
When the initial moment of chaos had subsided, Diana took her sons one by one, put their faces between her hands and traced their faces for changes and to forever engrave that moment in her mind. She held Zac, pushed his hair back out of his face and traced the small scar on his forehead with her fingertip and kissed him gently. Then she took Ike and did the same, inspecting him, looking into his eyes and knowing that he grown older and witnessed more than any seventeen year old should. Then she finally pulled Taylor into her arms carefully, surprised that he was holding an IV drip bag up on his shoulder. She traced his face and touched the little scar above his lip and saw pain in his eyes, a suffering that went beyond the physical pain in his arm. She had missed two months of their lives. Two precious months that she would never recover.
Walker was completing his own inspection of his sons. He saw hardship and endurance in the rags they wore for clothing. He saw courage and self-sufficiency in their stance and in the way the conducted themselves. Ike and Taylor demeanor seemed to command a respect from the younger children. Gone were his boys, these were young men on the threshold of maturity.
Captain Monroe was not a happy man. Both families were ignoring him and he was a man who liked to be in command of every situation.
Dr. Kahn joined the group and he too was not happy. He insisted that the boys especially Taylor return to the emergency room. He retrieved a wheelchair from the nurse's area and attached the IV bag to the pole extending from the back of the chair. Then he checked the shunt in the boys' arm and assessed that it had not dislodged. Then he ask the entire family to follow him. Taylor plopped Katie on one knee and grabbed Avery for the other as they rode down the hallway. Ike carried Mackie in his arms and Zac was holding Jessica’s hand. Walker followed behind pushing the wheelchair full of their bags and Diana carried the baby carrier with Zoe inside. The Estaveg’s followed with Mr. Estaveg carrying his son.
Dr. Kahn insisted that Taylor return to the bed and reattached the IV drip.
Then he dropped his news that he wanted to admit the three boys for overnight observation.
The outcry was immediate and loud. When it became apparent that everyone was talking but no one was listening Walker calmed his family.
"Why?" Ike demanded.
"We need to do some more tests," Dr. Kahn explained. "Isaac, your toes have healed incorrectly. We’re going to have to operate and rebreak them to set them properly. Taylor obviously needs to be watched for infection and we still have to make a decision on whether or not we should administer a series of rabies shots. And, Zachary needs a MRI to see if any damage has been done by the concussion he suffered."
"What kind of damage?" Zac demanded. "My head is okay."
"If they do a MRI they might find it empty." Taylor joked only to have Zac try to punch him, a movement which Walker deflected.
"If you feel its best." Walker said but both Ike and Taylor interrupted.
"I’ve been walking on these toes for the past nine weeks." Ike complained. "Zacs been walking around just fine, and as far as Taylor goes, well I don’t know. But it seems to me, that there isn’t any test or whatever that can’t wait until we get back home."
"I second that," Taylor said sitting up in the bed. "This cut happened yesterday, and so far nothing looks infected. Besides, you’ve been pumping me full of antibiotics ever since I got here. I going home."
"You also have to have full physiological examinations." Captain Monroe inserted.
"Why?" Ike demanded. "So some shrink can tell us that we need to come to terms with what happened. That we might have nightmares. Well, guess what, we’ve already had them, and we’ve already come to terms with it. End of subject."
"There is a certain procedures that need to be followed." Captain Monroe advised. "In search and rescue....."
"Excuse me," Taylor interrupted. "But your search and rescue didn’t do anything for us except give us a lift from Shepherds Junction. That doesn’t entitle you give us orders."
"Tay," Walker said softly and his son gave him a look but subsided.
"Is there any test, that you can give my boys here that can’t be done in a hospital in Tulsa or Oklahoma City?" Diana ask.
"No." Dr. Kahn admitted. "But I would recommend that you don’t delay treatment on either Isaac’s foot or getting the MRI on Zachary. The gash on Taylor’s arm took seventy-two stitches to put back together. Its going to be painful for some time. A little common sense and antibiotics should take care of it. The biggest worry is infection."
"Then I say we get out of here." Taylor exclaimed.
"I agree." Diana said softly and heard cheers from her children. "But only as far as the hotel."
"What about Katie?" Zac ask. "Her grandparents aren’t here yet."
"We’ll have to take custody of the little girl." Captain Monroe said.
"I think not," Ike denied "We’ve taken care of her from the beginning. We’ll keep her until we have to turn her over to her grandparents. We need to talk to her anyway, try to explain what’s going on."
"When her folks show up, tell them what hotel we’re staying at." Taylor said jumping out of the bed as soon as Dr. Kahn unhooked his IV.
"That is not procedure." Captain Monroe exclaimed.
"It’s our procedure!" Zac called over this shoulder as he barreled through the emergency room doors only to be stopped by a man in a suit.
"Mr. Simmons, Hospital Administrator," the man introduced himself. "We have a problem. There are at least a hundred reporters and camera crews waiting outside." he advised, "And more arriving every minute."
"Is there another way out?" Walker ask.
"I’ve already figured that out. But first, I need you to agreed to a statement that the hospital will give to them after you have left the premises."
Walker, Mr. Estaveg and Mr. Simmons and Dr. Kahn closed ranks for a conference and after a few minutes of discussion, agreed upon what the hospital would release to the press.
Then Mr. Simmons guided them through the hospital and down into the basement and over to the delivery docks. Two ambulances were parked and waiting. He took the keys to the rental vehicles that Mr. Hanson and Mr. Estaveg had rented and promised he would have them driven over to the hotel. He shook hands with the men and wished them luck as they all climbed into the ambulances.
The ambulances left the hospital grounds with sirens blaring as if they were on a call, and once they were about six blocks away the drivers turned them off. They drove them to the Crestwood Hotel, where the Hansons and Estavegs had registered earlier in the day and where a suite was reserved for the grandparents of Katie. Again, they drove to the back of the hotel where the staff had been alerted. The entire front of the hotel was overrun by members of the press. They were escorted through the service departments of the hotel and took the service elevator up to the top floor of building to their suite.
Walker thanked the manager and made arrangements for dinner to be delivered for his family and invited the Estaveg’s to stay with them but they declined. They wanted to spend some private time with their son. Walker knew exactly how they felt and watched as Ike, Taylor and Zac all hugged Antonio before they would let him go off with his parents. Walker wanted to seal the world out for a while and hold onto his family tightly.
Zac ran into the room and immediately grabbed the remote and turned on the television. He pressed a few buttons and then let out a howl.
"Hey, guys, we’re on the T.V." and he turned up the volume as the whole family turned its attention to television.
The news correspondence had an old picture of them posted behind him as he spoke.
"In a remarkable turn of events today’s the three brothers known in the music world as Hanson, and two other children turned up today in a small town in Idaho. The Tulsa trio have been surviving in the mountainous terrain of the Grand Tetons somewhere between the Wyoming and Idaho border. The privately charted jet has been missing since February 23 of this year and it was assumed crashed with no survivors. No details are available yet, but we have been told that the children seem to be in good health. We will keep you posted as details become available."
"He called us children!" Zac wailed and changed the station. An almost identical account was being given with the MMMBop video playing in the background. Each news station was same. Taylor captured the remote and turned it off.
"Well guys, its started," Walker exclaimed.
"Tomorrow Dad." Ike said and picked up Avery and whirled her around in a circle. "We can start taking care of all that stuff tomorrow. Today is just us again."