DISCLAIMER: All characters and locations belong to Mark VII and NBC Universal. I only own Julianna.
Mike and Johnny went into the exam room that held Julianna.
Johnny went to the left side of the bed and Mike stood to the right.
Brackett and Early were at the foot of the bed. Johnny took a deep breath and asked, "What's wrong?"
"She's got a concussion," Early said.
"Is that why she's still unconscious," Mike asked.
Brackett shook his head. "No, she's got some internal bleeding and needs to go to the OR. We're not sure what we're going to find," he said.
"Are you taking her now," Johnny asked.
"As soon as the consent is signed. Mike, you're her relative, you have to give consent," Brackett said.
Mike turned to Johnny. "Do you give permission," Mike asked.
"You need to give the permission, Mike," Johnny said.
"And I will, I just want to make sure that you agree. You love her, too," Mike said.
Johnny nodded his head.
"Where do I sign," Mike asked, never letting go of his sister's hand.
"Dixie will bring the form. We'll get her prepped for surgery," Brackett said.
"Mike, do you know your blood type," Early asked.
"Why," he asked.
"In case she needs blood and we want to give it," Johnny said.
"We know Julianna and Johnny are compatible," Early said.
"I don't know," Mike said.
"Well, we can test you and see, just to be on the safe side. You've got ten minutes before we take her to surgery. I'll get Dixie to draw a sample from you Mike and Johnny you can give your blood when they are prepping Julianna," Early said.
He left the room, leaving the two men in Julianna's life alone with her. Dixie came in right away to monitor Julianna, but stayed out of the way of the two men.
Mike looked at his sister. The normally stoic engineer was fighting to maintain his composure. The thought of something happening to his sister was almost too much for him to take. He squeezed her hand. "I love you, Juju. I'll be waiting out here with Johnny. Then we can plan the birthday party for him. I love you, sis," Mike said.
Johnny leaned down and whispered in Julianna's ear.
"Jules, I love you. I'll see you when you get out of here and we'll talk about the kind of house we want. I'll be right here waiting, OK. I love you."
Just as Johnny placed a kiss on her forehead, the orderlies came in to take her to surgery.
Johnny let go of her hand as she headed out the door. He watched her stretcher enter the swinging doors, hoping he'd get the chance to hold that hand again.
Johnny and Mike stood in the hallway, watching the doors swing back and forth.
"I'd better go and call mom and dad. They will probably want to grab a flight and come out," Mike said.
"You can probably use the phone in Brackett's office," Johnny said. "Hey, Dix, Mike's going to use the phone in Brackett's office to call their parents."
"OK, Johnny," Dixie said. Johnny knew she wanted to say more to him, but she wasn't sure exactly what to say.
Johnny led the way to Brackett's office and Mike sat down and used the phone to call his parents.
Johnny waited and listened to Mike's side of the call.
"Hey mom...Yeah, I'm good... Listen, something happened to Juli... She was in an accident and they just took her to surgery... The doctors think she'll be OK, but she needs the surgery... I'm waiting at the hospital... No, I'm not waiting alone. John's here with me... He's my co-worker and I think him and Juli are dating... OK. I'll probably wait here for several hours until I know Juli's OK. ...I'll see you when you get here... I'll tell her... Love you, too. Bye," Mike said.
"They coming," Johnny asked.
"Yeah, they're going to try to catch a flight as soon as they can. They said they'd take a cab from the airport," Mike said.
"When did they move," Johnny asked, trying to make small talk to keep from wondering about Julianna.
"Julianna's first year of medical school. Dad reached his retirement and with mom's parents still alive at the time and living in Florida, they decided it would be good if they went and spent time with her," Mike said.
"They always seemed really nice when I was dating Juli. I think they actually liked me," Johnny said.
"From hearing mom talk, dad thought you a good guy. Of course, I didn't like you," Mike said.
"You didn't even know me," Johnny said.
"Didn't matter. You were the guy that had taken away the awe my sister felt for me," Mike said.
"And now," Johnny asked.
"You've been a co-worker for years and a friend. Now you're dating my sister," Mike said.
Mike smiled a small smile that quickly faded. The silence overtook the room, neither man wanting to express their fears over what might happen to Julianna.
Dixie opened the door to Brackett's office and found Johnny and Mike sitting there, staring at the wall.
"Brackett's looking for you both. Julianna's out of surgery," Dixie said.
Johnny and Mike got up and followed her out of the room.
Dr. Brackett stood at the nurses station, his face dotted with sweat.
"Juli's out of surgery. She had a lac to her liver and a tear in her spleen. We took the spleen, just to be cautious. The liver laceration was easily repairable. Ortho is setting the fractured forearm," Brackett said.
"Fractured forearm? I didn't notice that," Johnny said, mentally kicking himself for not seeing that injury.
"It's fine Johnny. We almost missed it. OR noticed swelling in the arm that didn't have the IV. They decided to xray and found the splintered fracture. Ortho has decided to splint it in the OR for best results, " Brackett said.
Johnny looked at Mike, his mouth dry. He wanted to ask about the baby, but was scared. He swallowed and said, "The baby?"
Brackett shook his head. "I'm sorry, Johnny. She was already bleeding when she came here. The trauma to her abdomen most likely caused her to have a traumatic miscarriage. I'm truly sorry," Brackett said.
Johnny couldn't maintain the strong facade he'd held since Julianna had been injured. Tears started streaming down his face. When Mike tried to grab his shoulder, Johnny turned away and walked down the hallway toward the ambulance bay and the outside.
Mike watched him walk away and knew he had to let Johnny be alone. He had to deal with those emotions in his own time.
"When can we see her," Mike asked.
Brackett was still staring at the space Johnny had been standing before he left. "In about 20 minutes. She'll be leaving recovery and then to her own room. We'll monitor for blood loss over the next 24-48 hours," Brackett said.
"Thanks," Mike said.
"I'm sorry, Mike," Brackett said.
"She's alive and I'm concentrating on that right now. Johnny and I will be in to see her in 20 minutes," Mike said.
Brackett headed back to the nurses station to write the orders for Julianna's admission to the hospital.
Mike headed to the cafeteria to find Roy. If anyone could comfort Johnny right now, Roy would be the person.
He found the crew sitting around a table. They looked up when he came into the cafeteria.
"Mike, is Juli out of surgery," Roy asked.
"Yeah. Can you go find Johnny? He took off to the ambulance entrance when Brackett said she'd lost the baby. Thought you could help him," Mike said.
"Sure. You OK," Roy asked.
"Juju's alive. I don't know how I would handle it if something happened to her," he said.
He sat down next to Cap and Marco. Chet brought him a cup of coffee.
Mike stared at the steaming liquid for several minutes before Cap spoke.
"How is she, really," he asked.
"She had her spleen removed and a liver laceration. Dr. Brackett said the trauma to her abdomen caused a traumatic miscarriage. He didn't say there was any other abdominal trauma. She also broke her forearm in the accident. They didn't find it until she went to the OR. She'll be out in 20 minutes and Johnny and I can see her," Mike said.
No one else said anything, they just looked at a random spot in the cafeteria and drank their coffee.
Roy headed out to the ambulance entrance of Rampart. He wasn't surprised to find his partner sitting in the passenger side of the squad, turning a piece of paper over in his hand.
"Hey, Johnny," Roy said.
Johnny didn't look up. Roy stood next to his partner. "I'm sorry," he said.
Johnny looked up and sniffled. The tears were still wet on his face and Roy's heart broke.
"What's wrong with us, Roy. Why can't we have the happiness that everyone else has? What do we have to do? Are we cursed," Johnny asked Roy.
Roy didn't have an answer for him. "I don't know Johnny. This was an accident. A terrible accident. I know it sounds empty, but you guys will get passed this. You will go on to have another child. You love her and she loves you. Together, you'll get passed this and have a happy future," Roy said.
"Poor, Juli. This is going to crush her. God, Roy, the pain is unbelievable. I can't imagine how badly she's going to be. I don't know if I'll be able to survive it," Johnny said, wiping his face with his hand.
"You'll survive. You need to. For Juli. She needs to know you don't blame her for this, just like you didn't blame her the first time. I know this sounds like the whole universe is against you, but you have to believe it will be better," Roy said.
"What if she doesn't want to be with me after all of this," Johnny asked.
"You have to give her time. She loves you, and I know you love her. Just be patient with her. I know it hurts, but we're all here for you. I'm here if you need to talk about anything," Roy said.
"I need to go see her," Johnny said.
"OK, just remember, let her know that you love her, no matter what," Roy said.
Johnny nodded and went back into the hospital. Roy followed behind, hating what this was doing to his partner.
