"How's that morphine working" the doctor asks Jennifer. "It has taken the edge off the pain" she replies.

"Good, we'll give you another shot and get this leg straightened out" he says. Jennifer squeezes my hand a little tighter at that news. The nurse gives her another shot and I feel her grip loosen a bit more on my hand.

"You need to call my mom" she says as I can tell her mind is beginning to wander from the horrible pain. "Call Sid too, tell him what happened. I hope he doesn't take the case away from me" she says with a slightly sad tone to her voice.

"I'll call him for you over the weekend. I'm sure he'll give you a fair chance to keep the case" I try to reassure her. As we speak, the nurse grasps her leg above the knee. The doctor quickly tugs on the broken leg and with a clunk sound the leg appears to straighten out. Again her grip tightens on my hand.

"AAAAAAHHHHHH" she screams louder than I had ever heard her scream.

"One more" the doctor says and no sooner he gives a smaller tug to the leg. I see a wince envelope Jennifer's face as I thought my hand would be crushed. "There I think we are all done" the doctor says. "Let's just get one more picture of it, so I know it is together right". Two orderly's come and wheel the gurney away.

"Come with me Tom" she says softly. "I'm sorry he can't go into x-ray with you" the doctor says. "But as soon as you get out, he can see you again". I feel sad seeing Jennifer being wheeled away when I know she needs me so badly. "Thanks for everything doctor" I tell him as I watch Jennifer disappear down the hall.

"Just doing my job" he replies quickly. "The real work is up to her now" he adds. "She seems to be a very strong and determined girl and that should be a big help, as long as she doesn't over do it".

"I just hope her leg will be OK soon, she is very active and being laid up will be tough on her" I tell him. "With summer coming it will be even tougher. We have a vacation planned for June in the islands, do you think she will be able to go by then?" I ask.

"If things go well she should be able to make the trip. Of course, that's only six weeks away so she will still be on the crutches and have the long leg cast. But once she is up and moving around it's up to her how much she wants to do, as long as she doesn't put any weight on it."

The door opens and her gurney rolls back in. "Hi honey" I say again taking my position at her side and taking her hand. "How do you feel"?

"Better now that it's set and the morphine doesn't hurt either" she says with the closest thing I have seen to a smile on her face since the accident.

"I'm so glad you feel better" I say gently kissing her cheek. As we talk I see the doctor looking at the x-rays on the light board. After a few minutes of study, he approaches us.

"OK, looks like we have this thing in the proper position. But until these bones begin to knit, we are going to have to keep you and this leg completely immobile. We will initially put it in a splint and keep it elevated. Once the swelling goes down, in a day or two, we will put you in your cast. But we will have to keep you immobile with that leg in a sling, for at least a couple days here, and you will need complete bed rest when you go home also. I don't want you even on crutches for two weeks". As he talks, the nurse is bringing in a cart of equipment. As he continues on with the do's and don'ts, the nurse places a large plastic splint on Jennifer's lower leg. She then secures the splint to the leg with ace bandages which look like they are four inches wide. The splint stops at Jennifer's knee.

"Does this mean I won't have the long leg cast?" Jennifer asks with a tone of delight as she sees the splint stopping at her knee.

"No, I am afraid you will. This is just to stabilize the lower leg until the swelling goes down. As soon as that happens, we will put you in a long leg cast" he replies. As the doctor explains these things, Jennifer begins to slowly nod out. It is now nearly 11PM and the whole experience has exhausted her. "We'll get her set up in a room and get her leg in a traction sling" the doctor assures me.

"Will I be able to stay with her?" I ask. "Yeah that will be ok, give us a few minutes to set her up in a room and you can go in with her".

"Thanks for everything again doc" I say patting him on the arm. With the few minutes, I call Jennifer's mom in Miami and tell her about the accident. I catch her off guard at the late hour but I assure her Jen will call her tomorrow. I think about calling her boss Sid but think better of it when I remember it is Friday and we have the weekend to tell him. Although we need to fill him in soon so he is aware of the situation. After a few minutes, they tell me she is set up in her room and I can go in. As I slowly enter the dark room, I can see the silhouette of her body on the bed with her leg hanging from the sling, deeply encased in the plastic and ace wrap entombment. I quietly enter not wanting to wake her. I carefully move the chair next to her bed and sit in it. I grasp her hand and she replies with a reassuring grasp as she sleeps. I sit there holding her hand, drifting in and out of sleep, thinking of the way our life has changed so much in the last few hours.