Chapter 4

As they arrived on base, Jason's feelings were on a roller-coaster ride. They haven't heard anything from Trent so far and he didn't know if that was something good or bad. He remembered Trent's desperate expression when he examined Clay. As his thought went on and on, spinning deeper and deeper into the abyss of his imagination, bile started to rise again at the back of his throat. He had to get a grip on his feelings. He had to lead his brothers. He had to be strong. He was the one looked to and if he faltered they all would crumble. So he straitened his back and marched on.

The hospital was a place they all only knew too well and they all hated it here. Maybe feared it a little bit as well. And in Sonny's case for sure loathing it.

Jason spotted Trent sitting in one of the private waiting rooms adjoined to the OR. "Trent, how is he? Any news?" "He was alive when we arrived, but that is all I can give you at the moment. The Doc said to buckle in for an long wait." So they all gripped a chair and retreated into their own head space. Ray was praying. Trent had is had in his hands and start at the floor. Brock cradling Cerberus, who rested half on his lap. Sonny was pacing up and down the small space, mumbling under his breath. Davis was silently crocking back and forth in one of the chairs. That and more Jason saw from his spot in the corner. He had chosen this place for two reasons: First - He needed the support of both walls to ground him. To not break down. And Second - So he could have all of his brothers in view. He knew he wasn't able to provide them with any comfort at the moment. But he would be dammed if he let them out of his sight today. They had to stick together.

1 hour past - nothing so far.

1,5 hours past - Blackburn arrived and took an seat next to Jason. "Everything was handled with the police. Emma is required to give an statement tomorrow, but of cause I told them that they have to wait until you go with her."

2 hours past - no information jet

3 hours past - still no god dam information

4 hours past - what the hell

5 hours past - Trent went to retrieve any information possible. And returned with nothing

6 hours past - Jason was praying at this point

6,5 hours - The door cracked open and a Doctor entered the waiting room. They all jumped right at him, Jason the first to ask "How is he? Is he alive?" "Yes. Yes, he is alive. Barely. He is in critical condition. The next 24 hours have to decide."

With that all fight left Jason's body and he sat down on the floor, hard. He was alive. Oh joy he was alive. His hart was pumping so fast it would leap out of his chest at any second. Alive - Clay is alive. He repeated those words again and again. Almost as if he had to convince himself of that.

"What about his injuries" Trent asked. That got Jason up from the floor. Ray keeping a hand on his shoulder to steady him. "

"Mr. Spencer has an severe concussion and a laceration on his head which we stitched up. He is whiplashed and has to wear the cervical collar for about 2-4 weeks. His left leg was broken below his knee and angled backwards. We had to realign it and fix it with some screws and a nail in his shin. His shoulder was dislocated, which we also fixed. Furthermore we had to remove his spleen as it ruptured due to the impact. He has three broken ribs and several more are cracked. One of the ribs punctures his lung. As you all have seen the medics were unable to intubate him on scene, so they had to do an tracheotomy. Which means he is on a ventilator at the moment to secure is airway. He has multiple lacerations which we had to stitch up - 60 stitches over all. And multiple bruises all over, especially on his hip and back" "Ok, that all sounds manageable to me" Trent went. "Yes, but there is one more thing... Eh, we also found that one of his vertebras was injured. He may be paraplegic…. But we have to wait until he wakes up from the induced coma to confirm that."

Shock wasn't the right word to describe what Jason felt at that moment. How could someone be that broken and live? He had seen others with less severe injuries who didn't made it. He jolted himself out of his stupor "How long will he be in the coma?" "We intent to hold him in the coma round about one week. Maybe longer. It all depends on his progress" Jason sucked in a breath "Can we see him?"

"Yes, he will be settled in the ICU and one of the nurses will come and bring you to him as soon as everything is done. But I have to ask you to keep it down. I understand that you will be with him and as I know you guy's there will be somebody with him at all times. That is fine by me. We all know how strong your team spirit is. But please be aware that he is very weak and prone to infections at this stage. So it would be perfect if you could prevent your small soldier on four legs over there from sniffing or liking anything. Other than that you are all good to go. I will give my contact details to Miss Davis and if there is anything you want to know (he directed his gaze towards Trent) don't hesitate to call. Ok?" With that he turned and left them alone.

Jason took a long looked into his teams eyes and saw defeat there. That scared him more than anything. They always fight through everything. Together they could handle it all. "I know it looks bad, but he is alive. We have to cling to that. Clay is strong. He was in bad situations before and we always got him back. He will pull through again." And one after the other hugged and as a team, as a family they stepped out of the waiting room. Ready to go and see Clay and help him to their best abilities.