They watched nervously as the surgeon walked out to speak to them.
"Mrs. Taylor." He said as he took off his cap
"Yes?" She stood up nervously, Lt. Johnson stood up as well
"I'm Doctor Wagner, I was one of the surgeons who worked on your daughter." The man said
"How is she?" Beth Taylor wanted to know.
"Can we talk in private?" The doctor asked as he looked around the waiting room
"Francis, please come with me." Beth replied
Lt. Johnson nodded his head as he followed the doctor into another room.
"If they want to talk in private, that's not good right?" DK asked
"Maybe." Kim replied as Jimmy took her hand
"It's Taylor." Walsh's voice cracked, "She'll be fine.- I hope." He said under his breath
Dr. Wagner closed the door.
"Please have a seat." He said
"I've been sitting for hours." Beth replied
"Okay, well then let's just get right down to it." Dr. Wagner began. "We have basically begun working on fixing the major injuries. We'll have to keep her sedated and perform a couple more surgeries to fix some smaller problems."
"Will she be okay?" Beth asked
"We'll know more once we finish all of the surgeries. Right now is a crucial period. We need to keep her vital signs up so that she can withstand the additional surgeries." Dr. Wagner said
"Can I see her?" Beth asked
"Yes, but only for a moment." Dr. Wagner replied
Beth let go of Lt. Johnson's arm and followed Dr. Wagner. Lt. Johnson returned to the waiting room.
"Well?" Jimmy asked as everyone was anxious to hear the news.
"She's not out of it yet." Lt. Johnson said, "It's going to take a lot of prayers to get her through this."
Everyone began to worry. Lt. Johnson was normally straightforward with his answers, but this time he wasn't.
Taylor could hear her mother walk into the room. She also heard the clicking of the ventilator that she was on, and the beep of the monitors. Her mother took her hand.
"Alex honey, I hope you can hear me." Beth paused to gain composure. "I'm here, we're all here. You need to get better. We need you." A tear streamed down Beth's face.
Suddenly Taylor wanted to speak.
"Why can't I speak?" She asked herself, "I can hear you, mom, don't worry I'll be okay."
She wanted to blurt it out but she couldn't. She felt powerless. Then she heard the nurse tell her mother that she needed to let her rest.
"No, mom. Please don't leave me!" Taylor cried in her mind
Her mother left the room and Taylor felt alone and helpless again. A tear fell down her cheek. Suddenly, as if she wasn't in control of her own body she began shaking. The alarms began going off.
"I need a doctor in here!" The nurse yelled as she rushed to Taylor's bedside. "She's seizing!"
Dr. Wagner rushed into the room to see Taylor flailing like a fish out of water.
"Give her valium now! And somebody stop her mother from leaving! I need to talk to her." Dr. Wagner ordered
The nurse came running down the hall after Beth Taylor, who was walking amid the members of the Squad.
"Mrs. Taylor!" The nurse yelled
Everyone stopped in their tracks.
"Mrs. Taylor, Dr. Wagner needs to speak with you. Urgently." The nurse was slightly out of breath
Everyone's hearts sank.
Lt. Johnson escorted Beth back to the waiting room while everyone stood out in the hallway. It wasn't long before Dr. Wagner entered the room carrying papers.
"Mrs. Taylor." He spoke softly. "Your daughter had a seizure. We had to medicate her to stop it. I'm afraid that we don't know how much damage it may have caused though." He stopped.
Beth looked at him, more like right through him. Lt. Johnson couldn't take it any longer.
"What are you saying Doctor?" Lt. Johnson asked
"There's a possibility that she may never come out of this." Dr. Wagner said frankly.
"You can't do anything to help her?" Lt. Johnson asked
"I wish I could say that we can, but unless she wakes up on her own, I'm afraid not." Dr. Wagner replied, "Which is why I brought these papers out."
Beth Taylor fought back tears.
"Mrs. Taylor, do you know if Alexandra has any advance directives such as a 'Do Not Resuscitate Order' or a living will?" Dr. Wagner asked
"I… I don't know." Beth replied
"Mrs. Taylor, I know that this is difficult, but would your daughter want heroic measures carried out if she were to go into cardiac arrest?" Dr. Wagner asked
Beth fought back her emotions and stood silently. Lt. Johnson watched her.
"You mean that there is a chance that my daughter is going to die?" Beth asked
Dr. Wagner looked down for a moment.
"We don't know." He said glumly
"Tell me that my daughter's not going to die in that bed!" Beth screamed
"Mrs. Taylor." Dr. Wagner tried to calm her. "We're doing everything we can to help her, but facing the situation that she's in… anything's possible."
Lt. Johnson was visibly troubled by the news.
"Beth, please, think about what Taylor would want." He urged
Beth cried, "I'll sign the paper."
Dr. Wagner handed the paper to Beth as well as a pen.
Beth signed her name and then gathered her composure.
"Please, do whatever you can to help my daughter." She said
"We will do all that we can, I promise." Dr. Wagner said
"Come on Beth, I'll take you home." Lt. Johnson said as he looked through the window and saw everyone watching them.
"Please, don't tell them what just happened." Beth asked
"I won't." Lt. Johnson said calmly
As they walked out of the room you could hear a pin drop.
"Let's go home." Lt. Johnson said
Everyone left the hospital silently…