Chapter 10
Thank you so much for all the kind words, it means so much to me to know you all are still reading this story, and enjoying it. Please, as always, let me know either way, but be nice about it. Sadly, I still don't own any part of STFBE… Wouldn't that be wonderful!
xxx
Anne walked beside Sue, checking her chart one last time.
"OK, we're here." She said to Sue. "Can you come over here for me?" She patted the smaller gurney.
"Sure." Sue said and climbed onto the other table.
"How ya doin?" She asked.
"Scared." Sue answered honestly.
"I bet." Anne replied. She put a shot into Sue's IV and opened the line. "That will help." She said smiling.
"What did you give me?" She asked.
"Just something to make you relax a bit. This is a scary time, probably the most stressful." Anne paused. "So, how's the book coming?" She asked. Sue smiled then giggled.
"Wow… good stuff!" Sue said giggling again. "The book is really good, thank you. I'm just getting to the good part. I think it'll be pretty soon when they get together." She said smiling. The smile faded a bit.
"The romance is the best part, isn't it?" Anne laughed, but noticed Sue was a bit down. "What's going on in there?" She asked Sue. Sue gave her a halfhearted smile and shook her head. Anne smiled knowingly. "Ahh, that handsome young G-man in there. I would have sworn on a stack of bibles that you and he were an item." Anne grinned. "I never understood how two people so obviously in love with one another are not together." She said exasperated.
"Work." Sue answered. "Rules." Sue's eyes began to get heavy and her blinks longer. A tear slipped from Sue's eye.
"None of that. You're going to be fine, Sue. We caught this in plenty of time." Anne assured her.
"I know." Sue whispered.
"Then what it is?" She asked. She finally stopped fiddling with tubes, charts and medicines.
"I-I wonder… I wonder if it will happen for me…" Sue said, her words blurring together.
"What's that?" Anne asked.
"The love the woman in the book has… "She said softly.
"Oh, Hun, you already have that." Anne said. Anne looked up to see the doctor signaling her from the window that he was ready for Sue. "It's show time Sue. Ready?" Sue nodded her head. Anne patted her hand and stroked her arm.
"Good morning Sue. I'm Dr. Reynolds. I'll be performing your surgery today. Anne is going to put a mask over your nose and mouth. I want you to talk to me Sue. Tell me what you do for a living; tell me a little bit about yourself. When you wake up, this will all done." He said in a very even tone.
"I'm Sue Thomas. I work for the FBI. You can find that in my file though. Is it OK if I just say a prayer?" She asked.
"Sure, if that's what you'd like." He answered. He nodded to Anne. Anne put the mask over Sue's mouth and nose. Sue noticed the doctor as well as another nurse in her line of sight bowed their heads, and closed their eyes as well.
"Our Father, who are in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy…kingdom come…Thy… will…be done… on Earth…as… it… is…i-n… H…ea…v…" was as far as Sue go before she finally fell into a deep sleep.
"Amen." Anne said softly, followed by a multitude of other voices in the room "AMEN!"
"Steady hands." The doctor whispered. "Scalpel." He ordered as he began to trace the lines that were marked on Sue's breast as a map for the incision.
XXXXX
Jack paced around the waiting area while Lucy nursed her second cup of coffee leaning against the over sized windows that looked down at the city below. The cars, taxis and buses rode in what seemed like circles one after another, blending into the one before it and the one after it. The people looked like parading ants hurrying to their destinations all oblivious that her best friend was in the midst of a life saving procedure. Lucy sighed heavily. She dropped into the chair next to Jack. He rubbed her forearm and patted her hand trying to comfort her some.
They sat together, both full of nervous energy. Jack jumped back up and began to pace. Lucy picked up a magazine and began to flip the pages. Jack paced four steps and turned around and followed the same four steps in the other direction.
"Jack!" She snapped. "Sit! Please. She could be in there for a few hours." Lucy said.
"I know. I don't know what to do. I can't sit, I'm too nervous. My pacing is driving you nuts." Jack said.
"I could use some coffee. Want to take a walk?" Lucy asked.
"I can't leave. What if she needs me? I promised her I would be here." Jack said.
"Jack, they just started a half hour ago. They're going to be in there another couple hours at least." Lucy tried to reason with him.
"I'm good. Thanks. You go, I'll wait." Jack said. Lucy got up and walked past him, rubbing his shoulder. He looked over his shoulder at her as she walked away. Jack reached into his coat pocket for his cell phone to call D to check in, and grabbed Sue's instead. He held it in his hand for a minute, opening it to see a picture of her and Levi as her wallpaper. He smiled.
He turned the phone on, and looked through her contacts. He found the number he was searching for and took his own phone out and dialed the number. The phone rang twice before it was answered.
"Hello?" a man's voice came on the line.
"Mr. Thomas?" Jack asked.
"Yes. Who's this?" He asked.
"Jack Hudson, Sir. I'm a friend of Sue's." He said, the nervousness in his voice was beginning to rear its ugly head.
"Oh, yes, Jack. How are you?" Mr. Thomas asked.
"I'm doing OK, Sir." He answered. "Uhh…" He started.
"So, what can I do for you Jack?" He asked.
"Well, Sir. You and Mrs. Thomas need to come to DC. Sue's in the hospital." Jack said. He could feel the lump in his throat become thicker, his voice giving away his true feelings. He paused to try to regain his composure.
"She's what?" He asked. "Is she alright?" He asked.
"I think she will be, but she needs you." Jack answered.
"What happened?" He asked Jack.
"I'd rather explain all of it when you get here." Jack answered.
"We'll be there as soon as we can." He said and the phone was disconnected.
Jack hung up the phone and dropped into the closest chair. Lucy walked behind him, handing him a muffin and coffee when she noticed the look on his face.
"What's wrong?" She asked. "What happened?" She asked with a bit of panic in her voice.
"I called her parents." Jack answered.
"You did what?!" Lucy exclaimed. "She's not going to be happy with you." Lucy scolded.
"They need to know. And, Sue tried to call them the other day, but they were on vacation until today." He explained.
"Are they coming?" Lucy asked.
"Yeah. I talked to her dad; he said they're on their way." Jack said. Lucy put her coffee and muffin on the table. She wrapped her arms around Jack and held him tight.
The hours passed slowly. Lucy and Jack took turns pacing and checking in at the office.
"I just wish they'd tell us something." She said as she got back up. Jack followed her to the window, Jack checked his watch- another hour had passed.
"What the hell is taking so long?" Jack growled. "They said it would be a few hours- that was a half an hour ago!" He grumbled.
Lucy walked to him, wrapping her arms around him. "Oh my God..." Lucy began. "Maybe they found more than what they originally thought..." Lucy whispered as her tears fell.
"Or maybe we just got her settled into recovery." Anne said.
"How is she?!" They both asked.
"She's sleeping. She did great. The doctor didn't see any other sign of the cancer. Everything's being analyzed." Anne said reassuring them.
"Thank God." Jack said.
"Hi Anne, how are you?" Lucy asked.
"I'm good hun.
"Can we see her?" Jack asked.
"Once we get her in a room." She answered.
"Please? We'll stay out of the way. I- I promised her I would be here when she wakes up." Jack pleaded.
"Tell you what- give her another fifteen minutes with the ICU nurse and we'll see where she's going. Maybe I can sneak you in for a few minutes. Once she's out of recover and ICU, she can have a party if she wants.
"Thank you." They both said.
The pair of friends paced, both checking their phones. Nearly thirty minutes passed when Anne returned.
"OK. I got both of you a pass for a few minutes." Anne said.
She opened the door to the recovery area to show four other beds. Sue was laying in the last one in the corner, closest to the nurse's station.
"This is Peggy, she's our recovery nurse. Until we get her settled into her own room, she'll be taking care of Sue. Everyone exchanged pleasantries.
"Come this way." Peggy said, leading them to Sue's cubical. "I should warn you, she's attached to machines and tubes as well as all sorts of other wonderful things." Peggy pulled back the curtain to Sue's makeshift room and went about checking her vitals and IV's.
Sue's hair was pulled back into a hair net, her eyes closed. She was a bit pale and had oxygen tubes coming from her nose. She had an oxygen sensor on her right index finger. Heart monitors were beeping. The IV bags hung above her right side. Jack spotted the tubes coming from the site of the surgery that were barely covered by a light surgical sheet. Her bottom half was covered by a thick blanket, but her feet were uncovered. Lucy was the first to notice the wraps on her lower legs.
"What's that for?" Lucy asked.
"Circulation. She's been off her feet, and not moving for hours, and will be for quite a few more. We want to keep everything moving smoothly." Peggy answered.
Peggy continued to write in Sue's chart, and make adjustments to the machines. The friends stared at Sue lying so still, so quiet in the bed.
"Peggy?" Lucy asked.
"Yes?" She answered as she hung the chart back on the end of Sue's bed.
"Is she in any pain?" Lucy asked.
"No. We've given her some really good pain medicine; she'll be comfortable for a few more hours at least. We have her on a pain management regimen." She added.
"What now?" Jack asked, his voice breaking a little.
"She'll stay here for a little while, another hour, maybe. Then, as long as things look good still, she'll get her own room or more likely, one with a roommate, where she'll stay for a few more days. Then you guys get to take her home." She finished.
"That simple?" Jack asked.
"That's the text book version of it, yes. I won't lie to you. It's going to be a long few days. It's going to be a long couple of weeks. But, she'll be fine and in six months, this will be a fading memory."
"She'll have a constant reminder." Lucy whispered.
"Don't let that reminder be you two. She needs as much support as she can get." Peggy said as she tweaked Sue's IV and left. Jack and Lucy looked at each other, then down at Sue. The machines beeped, and pumps went up and down. Peggy was right, it was going to be a long night.