503: BY HER SIDE

LUKE'S POV Several hours passed in a haze of medication and fitful slumber as the dedicated medical team worked tirelessly to soothe the raw, burning agony that had seared through my flesh. The scalpel's cruel blade had left its mark, but the skilled hands of the doctors had stemmed the bleeding, stitched the wound, and applied the necessary salves. Though the pain still pulsed like a dull, persistent drumbeat in my body, it was a far cry from the scorching, blinding agony that had gripped me just hours before. I walked out of the hospital room, hand on my head, and looked around, wondering about the room where Ariel had been admitted. As I paced the hospital's sterile white hallways, my mind raced like a broken hamster wheel. I had no idea about the room Ariel was admitted to, and I needed to stay strong for her. I caught a nurse rushing by and called out, "Hey, you! Where's my wife? She needs me." The nurse glanced at me, a look of sympathy flashing in her ey