A Cut Above The Rest

A/N : Again a sincere thanks to all those following, reading and reviewing this story. Your kind words mean a lot. I am sorry for the delay in updating. Real life has become very challenging of late and while I hope to complete my two current stories as quickly as possible I am afraid that due to current real life situations I very much doubt I will get to post any further new stories for the foreseeable future. I hope chapter four proves to have been worth the wait. Again I have researched the medical details to the best of my ability.

Chapter 4

As Steve was wheeled up to the OR, he was feeling the full effects of the sedative. As the gurney travelled along the corridors, Steve felt very strange. He felt light-headed and while he felt physically relaxed he still felt slightly anxious about the surgery. As he lay on the gurney he saw mostly the ceiling and the intermittent ceiling lights but a quick glance either side saw Dr. MacKenzie and Dr. Santos and the nurse travelling along side him. After travelling up to the fourth floor via the elevator it wasn't long before they had arrived up in the OR. Wheeling him inside, the nurse wished him well and assured him that he would be fine and then took her leave to return to the ER but two other OR nurses took her place and were readying the instruments and equipment.

Steve was transferred from the gurney onto the operating table and turned slightly onto his right side. A flurry of activity was taking place around him as monitors were connected and drips hung up. Dr. Santos came to his right side and seating himself in front of Steve he smiled warmly at his patient and spoke.

"Well Steve, we haven't been formally introduced yet. I'm Dr. Santos. I'm the anesthesiologist. It's my job to make sure you're ok throughout the procedure so I'll be making sure you're pain-free and that your vitals remain steady. So let's start by finding out how you're feeling now, shall we? Are you in any pain or discomfort now?"

"No ... I feel ok. Just a little light-headed ... and a bit dizzy."

"Good. Well the dizziness is normal. It's just the effect of the sedative and the blood loss is making you feel light-headed. Are you feeling nauseous at all?"

"No ..."

"Great. The reason we have you slightly turned to the side is just in case you start to feel sick. The sedative and the local anesthetic can react and make you feel nauseous. Now you shouldn't feel any pain but you might feel pressure on your arm or a slight pulling as they repair the damage but it shouldn't cause you any great discomfort. Now I'm going to be sitting right here throughout the surgery so if you feel any pain or if you don't feel well for any reason you need to tell me. Ok Steve?"

"Ok ..."

Steve nodded and strangely he felt slightly less nervous. This Doctor had a good bedside manner and definitely instilled confidence in his patients. He had felt worried especially with Mike not around but he reckoned that he was in safe hands with this Doctor.

Dr. Santos continued to monitor his vital signs and the equipment that he might need to use and then excused himself for a few minutes to go and get ready. As he left the two surgical nurses reappeared and helped prepare Steve for surgery and then placed a small screen up at Steve's chest blocking his view of his injured arm. Then within minutes a tall surgeon appeared into the room followed by Dr. MacKenzie. They were both all decked out in surgical green and had masks over their faces. The tall surgeon came over and closely examined the injury and then came around to Steve and the only thing Steve could see were his eyes which were an icy blue just like Mike's! He spoke to Steve in a very calm and confident manner and Steve detected a distinctive British accent.

"Well, Mr Keller, you just need to bear with us young man and we'll have that arm good as new. My name is Dr. Montgomery and I've performed more surgeries like this than you've had hot breakfasts so there's really nothing to be worried about. You know Dr. MacKenzie here and Dr. Santos will be onside making sure you're ok throughout the surgery. Now I've had a look at the arm and it's a fairly straight forward repair. It's a fairly straight clean cut so we need to fix the artery first, and then do some muscle and tissue repair and then stitch it up. However Dr. MacKenzie here is concerned about nerve damage. He says you had trouble moving your index finger and thumb. Tell me, did you have any numbness in your hand or fingers prior to moving them or any tingling, pins and needles perhaps?"

"No ... I could feel them. It was just very painful to move them." Steve explained.

"I see ..." Dr. Montgomery said thoughtfully. "When you did move them was there a sharp stabbing pain like a hot poker where the wound was?"

Steve was taken slightly by surprise that the Doctor had described exactly what had happened. He stammered his answer.

"Yes ... that's exactly it. How did you know that?"

Even though all Steve could see were the Doctor's eyes he could tell by them that under his mask he was smiling at Steve's shocked reaction.

"I told you young man. I've been doing this a very long time. Sounds more like muscle damage to me. I don't think you have anything to be concerned about. We'll have you back to chasing bad guys and keeping the streets safe before you know it with full use of that hand! Now, let's make a start shall we? Try to relax Mr. Keller and we should be done in just over an hour all going according to plan. Dr. Santos, I will leave this young man's monitoring in your capable hands."

With that Dr. Santos took his seat in front of Steve and the two other Doctors went around the other side of the table and a flurry of activity ensued. Trays of metal instruments were rattled and moved into position and orders were given very professionally as the two nurses stood side by side ready to assist. While Steve still felt very relaxed due to the drugs in his system he couldn't help but feel slightly anxious and his pulse quickened as a result. Sensing Steve's unease Dr. Santos started diversionary tactics to take Steve's mind off what the surgeons were doing on the other side of the screen.

"So Steve, you're a police officer huh? What rank?"

Steve had watched the surgeon's faces or at least what he could see of them from behind the screen but Dr. Santos' question had the desired effect and he turned back towards the Doctor and answered.

"Yeah ... I'm an inspector."

"Wow ... you're fairly young to be an inspector. How did you manage that?"

Steve found himself smiling briefly. People always had that same reaction.

"Just lucky I guess" was Steve's humble reply.

"I doubt luck had much to do it. You must be good at what you do?"

Then seeing Steve blush slightly and realizing that he was uncomfortable with continuing that conversation he changed the topic quickly.

"The man downstairs who was with you in the ER ... Was that your father?"

Steve smiled again. That was another assumption a lot of people made.

"No ... no he's my boss and my partner. We work together in homicide. You could say he's taught me all I know. Although ... I guess he does act like my father a lot of the time but I'm ok with that."

"You're lucky. We hardly ever see our bosses and when they do come to see us there's usually a good reason to run in the opposite direction!" Dr. Santos joked.

Steve chuckled. He figured he was pretty lucky to have a boss and a friend like Mike who always kept him on the straight and narrow and was always there for him no matter what. He thought about Mike. He was probably pacing his way around the waiting area downstairs. As Steve lost himself in his thoughts for a few moments, Dr. Santos took the opportunity to see what the surgeons were doing. From where he sat he could see both sides of the screen and from the way the blood had started to free flow from the wound he could tell they were repairing the artery as he watched. He cast another glance at Steve who was still miles away and then checked the blood transfusion line and Steve's blood pressure and heart rate. Knowing that at this critical point in the procedure Steve would start feeling some pressure and tugging at his arm he observed his patient closely and therefore wasn't surprised when Steve seemed to come out of his thoughts and winced slightly as the new-found discomfort started to irritate him.

"They're repairing the artery now so you're probably feeling a bit of discomfort at the minute. Are you Steve? "

"Yeah ... a little ... It's not sore though just a strange feeling. Kind of feels like ... a flock of birds pecking at my arm." Steve said trying to relate what the strange sensation felt like."

Dr. Santos chuckled this time. "Good description Steve!" but his chuckle didn't last long as a new flurry of activity started at the surgery site and he could see the surgeon requesting more suction to remove the blood so he could see more clearly what he was doing and he saw the other nurse wipe the surgeon's brow. Steve noticed Dr. Santos' change of expression and noted that he was watching the surgery. Glancing again over the screen he took in the frenzied scene too and started to worry.

"What's wrong? Has something happened?" Steve asked more anxiously than he intended.

Before the Doctor had a chance to answer him, alarms started going off on the machine Dr. Santos was watching and Steve noticed Dr. Santos exchanging concerned looks to the other Doctors. Again he felt himself getting worried and asked again.

"Why is that alarm going off? "

Dr. Santos could see Steve was getting anxious and could see his heart rate quicken, so he intervened to try to calm him.

"It's ok Steve. Your blood pressure has dropped that's all. Try to relax. We just need to keep an eye on it. Everything's alright."

Dr. Santos was concerned that Steve was bleeding out quicker than he could transfuse it back in and Steve's vitals were becoming unstable but didn't want to alarm his patient. He had tried to convey that to the Doctors in the look he had given them but Dr. Montgomery however seemed unconcerned and was working on Steve's arm with a renewed speed at least acknowledging that it was important to get this surgery completed as quickly as possible.

Steve tried to do as he was asked but the dizziness had returned with a vengeance and the irritating sensation he was feeling as they worked on his arm had intensified. He suddenly wished that Mike was there. Mike always seemed to make everything easier to cope with somehow. Then suddenly he began to feel even stranger. The voices in the room faded slightly until they became an incoherent mumble and he could feel himself breaking out in a cold sweat. He started to feel cold again and began to shiver involuntarily. He could hear Dr. Santos talking to him but couldn't make out what he was saying. Then as he heard the voices get louder and sound more urgent he felt blackness closing in on him and as fear gripped his heart he felt himself sink into the darkness.

Dr. Santos had noticed the change in Steve's condition and knew it was due to the blood loss. He flew into action and tried to pull Steve back to consciousness. Dr. Montgomery gave clear instructions for oxygen to be given and assured the anesthesiologist that the artery had been repaired and that any further blood loss would be minimal. Dr. Santos admired the older surgeon's professionalism as he was the only one who remained totally calm as he continued the surgery and placed his complete trust in him to bring Steve back around. Grateful for this confidence he placed a mask over Steve's face and let the oxygen do it's work while he continued to talk to Steve quite loudly encouraging him back.

Steve had felt himself sinking as the noises in the room and the other voices faded until he couldn't hear them anymore but there was one voice still persisting. One voice that he couldn't quite make out. He felt himself trying to fight the darkness that was pulling at him and felt the cool oxygen that was forcefully filling his lungs. Was it Mike? He couldn't tell but if it was he couldn't let him down. Some words seemed to clear and he heard them albeit as if through a fog.

"Steve. Look at me. You need to open those eyes for me."

Mike had used similar words earlier to him. It had to be him! Fighting even harder against the pull of unconsciousness, Steve once more heard the sounds around him and forced his voice to speak.

"Mike? ..."

He forced his eyes to open and blinked against the bright light that assaulted his pupils. But instead of Mike he saw the surgical clad Doctor at his side. Realizing that he was still in the OR, he was momentarily disappointed and could feel his emotions start to react at still having to endure this procedure and almost began to wish he had just let the blackness rescue him from it.

Dr. Santos could see the disappointment in Steve's face at not seeing Mike when he opened his eyes and remembered the close bond the two men had shown down in the cubicle in the ER.

"No Steve. I'm afraid you're stuck with me for the time being but as soon as we get you through this and over to Recovery we'll send for Mike ok?"

Steve reckoned that would have to suffice for now. The pulling on his arm was so annoying and the pressure felt like they were crushing his arm. He shivered again and shook his head to clear the last of the fog that was still lingering in his brain. He felt cold and the nausea that Dr. Santos had mentioned earlier seemed to be trying to make itself known. Steve felt lousy. He pulled the mask off his face with his good hand and looking at Dr. Santos pleadingly, he forced himself to speak again.

"Are they nearly done ?"

Dr. Santos could tell that Steve was reaching the limit of what he could tolerate and after glancing behind the screen at the surgeon's progress he assured his patient accordingly.

"Yes Steve. They're just finishing the tissue repair and then they just have to stitch the wound closed. Just hang in there a little while longer. Try to keep the mask on for me now and keep taking deep breaths."

Dr. Santos replaced the oxygen mask over Steve's nose and mouth. Steve nodded and did as he was asked but the longer the procedure continued the more agitated Steve was becoming. He was now shaking and he felt chilled and nauseous. He closed his eyes and wished he was anywhere else but there in that OR. His heart rate had increased and his demeanor and his shakiness was not lost on any of the Doctors. The strong flow of oxygen that was flowing through the mask only served to agitate him further and once more he pulled the mask off his face and started breathing erratically. Dr. Santos spoke to Steve again as he tried to replace the mask for a second time.

"Steve. Talk to me. What's going on? How are you feeling? Steve, you really need to keep the mask on."

"No ... don't want the mask. I feel cold ... and sick ..."

That was all Steve managed to say as he groaned audibly. One of the nurses flew into action and a foil blanket was placed over his upper chest and a bowl was produced in case his nausea worsened. Dr Montgomery had just begun to stitch the wound when he observed this latest complication. Indicating to Dr. Santos that he was to prepare another syringe he leaned over the screen and spoke calmly to his patient.

"Now Mr Keller. The surgery has gone very well indeed. I just need to stitch your arm up and we'll have you in Recovery in the next fifteen minutes. I think you've earned a rest now so Dr. Santos here is going to top you up with another mild dose of sedative so you can just let yourself drift off. Try to relax young man and when you wake up it will all be over and we'll have you right as rain before you know it. "

Steve nodded, grateful that he wasn't going to have to endure another minute of this discomfort and as he watched Dr. Santos administer the syringe into his IV he felt himself sink into oblivion again only this time he didn't fear it, he welcomed it.

Meanwhile...

Downstairs in the waiting area of the ER, Steve hadn't been far wrong. Mike had gotten tired of sitting and was now pacing up and down impatiently waiting for news of his partner. He had drunk two cups of coffee and the caffeine was making him edgy too. Just as he had turned and paced back towards the ER doors for the umpteenth time, a blonde nurse called over to him from the reception desk.

"Lieutenant Stone! There's a phone call for you."

Mike hurried over to the desk and thanked the nurse kindly. Picking up the receiver he spoke.

"Stone here."

"Mike it's Bill. Floyd has been charged and is currently being processed and I've started the paperwork. I also have some of that other information you wanted. I got my hands on some of those eye-witness statements. Looks like Floyd was trying to get to his car when Steve reached him. He swiped at Steve but Steve jumped back. Steve was telling him to give himself up, that it was all over but he wouldn't come quietly. He managed to open the door to his car but before he could get in Steve managed to kick the door closed again. Floyd wasn't pleased and swiped at Steve again. From the statements it looks like that's when Steve got hurt. Then all the eye-witness accounts tell of how he took Floyd on one on one and managed to take him down single-handedly within a few minutes. The general consensus was that Steve acted bravely and heroically. "

Mike had listened carefully and tried to picture in his head how it had taken place. Bravely and heroically huh? Sounded like Steve alright. Before he got a chance to reply Bill had continued.

"I also filled in the Captain on what happened. He's stuck in a meeting with the Mayor at the minute but he said he'll try to call down to the hospital afterwards to see how Steve is and he said to take as much time as you need. Mike, how is Steve?"

"As far as I know he's still up in surgery. I'm still waiting on word. You did good Bill. Thanks for the updates. Did you get to talk to Jack yet about Steve's gun?"

There was an awkward silence on the other end of the line and Mike got a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach.

"Bill ... you still there?"

"Yeah Mike. I'm here ... That's the only bad news Mike. Jack searched the stairwell. There's no sign of Steve's 38". Eye witness reports remembered him dropping it but no-one knows where it is now. Jack is still down there looking. He said he'll call me if there's any more news."

Mike rubbed at his face with his right hand. That was all he needed. He knew Steve would ask about his gun later and he also knew how he would react if Mike had to tell him that it was still missing! Thinking for a minute he spoke again to Bill.

"Bill. Get onto Jack. Tell him to pull all the CCTV footage of that stairwell. That gun didn't sprout legs and walk away all by itself. Someone picked it up and took it and I want to know who! Do you hear me? Get on it Bill. Steve is going to be feeling bad enough after his surgery without me having to tell him his gun is still missing too!"

"Ok. Don't worry Mike. I'll take care of it."

"Ok thanks Bill. I know you will. I'll check back with you in a while."

With that the two men said their goodbyes and Mike hung up and handed the phone back to the nurse at the reception desk. Then with even more on his mind to think about he resumed his anguished pacing.