Daniel glanced up at the ceiling. “I tried,” he said with a sigh and a shrug.
“Indeed you did, Doctor,” Ashley admitted. “Carol, dear, I trust our limo driver is still outside, waiting for us?”
“As far as I know,” Carol said. “He was when I checked an hour ago, and I told him to stay until he heard from me.”
“Excellent,” Ashley said. He swung his legs over the side of the bed in a manner that surprised everyone, including himself. “Glory be! I do not think I could have done that this morning.” He stood up. “Well then, this country boy is ready to return to the pleasures of the Atlantis and the splendor of the Poseidon Suite.”
Fifteen minutes later in the parking area in front of the Wingate Clinic, a discussion ensued about the travel arrangements. Eventually, it was decided that Daniel would ride with Ashley and Carol in the limo while Stephanie would drive the rent-a-car. Carol had offered to ride with Stephanie, but Stephanie assured her she would be fine and actually preferred to be alone. Daniel had the vial of the sedative combination, several syringes, a handful of sealed individual alcohol pledgets, and a tourniquet in a small, black, zippered pouch compliments of Myron. Armed with the medication, Daniel felt it was imperative for him to remain in Ashley’s presence in case of a problem, at least until Ashley was safely in his suite.
Daniel sat in the seat facing the rear directly behind the glass shield separating the driver’s compartment from the passenger section. Ashley and Carol were sitting in the back, their faces intermittently illuminated by the flickering light of oncoming vehicles. With his procedure behind him, Ashley was ostensibly euphoric, carrying on an animated conversation with Carol about his political agenda after the Congressional recess. In reality, the discourse was more like a monologue, since Carol merely nodded or said yes at infrequent intervals.
As Ashley talked and carried on, Daniel began to relax from the tension engendered by his worry that Ashley was about to have a seizure and the associated concern of having to give a dose of the sedative. If the seizure was anything like what had occurred in the OR, Daniel knew the intravenous route would be close to impossible, and he’d be reduced to giving it intramuscularly. The problem with the IM route was that it took longer for the drugs to cause an effect, and any delay could be problematic if aggression was an issue, as Dr. Nawaz had strenuously warned. Considering Ashley’s size and surprising strength, Daniel knew that wrestling with him within the confines of the limo would be a nightmare.
The more relaxed Daniel became, the more his mind was able to go beyond the seizure concern. He became progressively amazed at the degree of mobility Ashley was displaying with his gestures and how normal his facial expressions and voice modulation were. He was a far cry from the semifrozen individual Daniel had seen that morning. Daniel was puzzled, since the treatment cells were not in their proper location, as was shown all too clearly on the CAT scan. But the effect he was observing could not be the result of the sedative or placebo, as he’d so blithely suggested earlier. There had to be some other explanation.
Like all scientists, Daniel was aware that science occasionally leapt ahead not by hard work alone but also by serendipity. He started to wonder if the errant site the treatment cells now occupied might prove to be particularly appropriate for dopamine-producing cells. It didn’t make sense, because Daniel knew that the area of the limbic system where the cells now resided was not a modulator of motion, but rather was involved with olfaction, autonomic behaviors like sex, and emotion. Yet there was a lot about the human brain and its function that was still a mystery, and at the moment Daniel was enjoying seeing such a positive result from his efforts.
When they arrived at the Atlantis, Ashley made it a point that he did not need assistance from the doormen as he climbed from the car. Although he had another bout of dizziness when he got to his feet, requiring him to hold on to Carol for a moment, it passed quickly, and he was able to walk reasonably normally into the lobby and to the elevators.
“Where is that gorgeous Dr. D’Agostino?” Ashley asked as they waited.
Daniel shrugged. “She either got here before us or will be here shortly. I’m not concerned. She’s a big girl.”
“Indeed!” Ashley agreed. “And smart as a whip.”
In the hallway of the thirty-second floor, Ashley walked ahead as if showing off his new capabilities. Although he was still hunched over to a degree, he was moving much more normally, including his arm swing, which had been almost negligent that morning.
Carol used her keycard when they got to the mermaid door. She opened it and stepped aside for Ashley to enter. As he did so, he turned on the lights. “Every time they make up the room, they close everything to make the place look like a root cellar,” he complained. He walked over to the wall switches and activated the curtains and the sliding-glass panels simultaneously.
At night, the view from inside the suite was nowhere near as dramatic as it was in the day, since the expanse of ocean was as dark as crude oil. But that was not the case from the balcony, where Ashley immediately went. He put his hands down on the cool stone balustrade, leaned forward, and surveyed the vast semicircular Atlantis water park splayed out in front of him. With its profusion of pools, waterfalls, walkways, and aquariums, all creatively illuminated, it was a feast for his eyes after the stress of the day.
Carol disappeared into her room while Daniel advanced to the balcony’s threshold. For a moment he watched Ashley as the senator closed his eyes and raised his head into the cool tropical breeze coming off the ocean. The wind rustled his hair and the sleeves of his Bahamian print shirt, but he was otherwise motionless. Daniel wondered if Ashley was praying or communicating with his God in some personal fashion now that he thought he had genes from Jesus Christ embedded in his brain.
A slight smile appeared on Daniel’s face. Suddenly he had more optimism about the outcome of treating Ashley than he had since the seizure in the operating room and more optimism than he thought possible after seeing the CAT scan. He began to think there was something of a miracle involved.
“Senator!” Daniel called after five minutes had passed and Ashley had not moved a muscle. “I don’t mean to bother you, but I think I will go to my own room.”
Ashley turned around and acted as if he was surprised to see Daniel standing there. “Why, Dr. Lowell!” he called out. “How nice to see you!” He pushed away from the balustrade and walked directly up to Daniel. Before Daniel knew what was happening, he was enveloped in a bear hug that kept his own arms pinned to his sides.
Self-consciously, Daniel allowed himself to be hugged, although he wondered if he had any choice in the matter. It was a testament to how much bigger and heavier the stocky Ashley was in comparison to Daniel’s spare and comparatively bony frame. The hugging continued beyond what Daniel thought reasonable, and just when he was about to voice impatience, Ashley let up and stepped back but kept one hand gripping Daniel’s shoulder.
“My dear, dear friend,” Ashley oozed. “I want to thank you for all you have done from the bottom of my heart. You are a tribute to your profession.”
“Well, thank you for saying so,” Daniel murmured. Feeling himself blush, he was embarrassed.
Carol reappeared from her bedroom and her presence rescued Daniel from Ashley’s clutches. “I’m on my way back to my room,” Daniel called out to her.