The waiting room was quiet and cold. Flack and Stella had been sitting so long without sound of movement it could have been mistaken for a morgue. Stella had fallen asleep on Flack's shoulder a short time ago as Flack sat staring ahead waiting for the doors to the operating room to open. Stella readjusted herself in her sleep as Flack moved her head to lay her down.
'Stella? Stel, wake up.' Flack said in a low voice.
'What? Any word?' She said sitting up.
'No, no, I'm going to get some coffee, want one?' He said leaning over her.
'Yeah, yeah I think I need one. How long was I out?' He said rubbing her eyes with her knuckles.
'Not long, let me know when the doc comes out, I'm gonna call Mac and see if there is any news on this jag-off. I'll be back.' He said turning and leaving the hallway.
Stella sat for a second willing herself to stay awake. Pulling herself back into a sitting position, she reached her arms out and stretched. Standing and walking to the window in the waiting area she noticed that the once beautiful morning had become black clouds with thunder and lightning. Watching the clouds roll and crash, she did not notice the doors open and a Doctor in surgical gowns approach her.
'Are you here for Ms. Monroe?' He said plainly.
'What? Sorry... yes I am here for Lindsay.' She answered in a startled tone.
'Are you family?' The doctor said pointing her in the direction of the chairs.
'I'm her supervisor, her family is in Montana. Oh, Stella Bonesera.' She said extended her hand to the doctor as they sat down.
'Hi Stella, I'm Dr. Murphy. Lindsay's doing great. We've removed her spleen and stopped the bleeding, but, unfortunately there was nothing we could do.'
'What? I thought you said she was doing great?' Stella was confused, and it showed.
'We couldn't save the baby. There was too much trauma to her abdomen, the blood loss cause hypotension. The uterus is very sensitive to this kind of trauma. The O.B.G.Y.N. is finishing up the D&C now, she'll be in recovery and once she is well enough to move we'll she'll be placed into a private room. Once again, I'm sorry.' Mr. Murphy said with a frown.
'I didn't even know she was pregnant.' Shock moved through her body, Did Lindsay even know she was pregnant? 'How far along was she?' Stella wondered out loud.
'About five weeks.' His voice was soothing.
'Oh god.' Stella put a hand over her mouth. She had known Lindsay was busy lately, but was it possible for her to be so busy she did not know she was pregnant and if she did, had she told Danny. 'Th.. thank you Doctor.' She said with shaking hands.
'I'm sorry. When she is out of recovery I'll let you know. Is there anyone I can call? The father maybe?' The doctor put a comforting hand on her lap.
'No, he's actually in surgery right now.' A tear fell from her eye.
'The chest wound?' Stella gave a nod to answer. 'I see, he seems to be doing better, they were having some trouble closing his artery and his pressure is still low. They are doing everything they can, but I want you to prepare yourself. With these types of injuries to the heart, they involve opening the chest cavity, when this happens his chances of recovery drop drastically.' Letting out a deep breath, he continued, 'Like I said though, we're doing everything we can. I'm sorry.' He said while giving Stella's knee a light squeeze, with that he stood and left the room. Leaving Stella in shock as tears rolled down her cheeks.
Hawkes had been staring a computer screen so long his eyes felt like they were pulling from his skull. Only when it was absolutely crucial was when D.N.A. results taken this long. Letting out an esaperated sigh, he stretched his arms over his head and cracked his back. Feeling a presence in the room he turned to see Mac standing behind him.
'Mac, any news?' He asked looking at the worried look on his face.
'Lindsay is out of surgery, she's doing alright. Danny is... he's still in surgery. Doctors think it'll be awhile.' He said plainly as his words got caught on Danny.
'He'll make it, Mac, it's Danny.' He convinced himself.
'Yeah.' Mac said, unconvinced. 'Where are we with D.N.A.?' He said pulling their attention off their pained friends and back to the task at hand.
'Nothing yet, it's been running for hours. Either this guy isn't in the system or is in a different database.' As he finished his sentence, the computer beeped with results. 'Oh my god.' Hawkes said staring at the screen in disbelief.
'What? Hawkes who is it?' Mac said looking closer, realizing the shock. 'You've got to be kidding me.' Mac said as Hawkes looked up at his boss with the same look of dread on his face while Mac read the name out loud. 'Anthony Joesph Messer, Danny's cousin.'
'Have we contacted his parents?' Hawkes asked pulling his cell phone from his pocket.
'Personnelle has been trying to reach them all day, no answer.' Mac said as Hawkes started dialing.
'Hello, this is Sheldon Hawkes from the crime lab, I need all personal contact information on Danny Messer brought to the lab A.S.A.P... no, I don't have ten minutes I need it now.' Hawkes yelled into his phone while Mac looked through the file on screen looking for any leads. 'Thank you.' He finished hanging up the phone. "Personnelle will have the file up here in a couple minutes. Why would his cousin want him dead?'
'I don't know Hawkes, but I sure as hell am not going to wait around here looking for answers. We need to find his parents.' Mac said leaving the lab Hawkes hot on his heals.