Chapter 9:

Fenton, Laura, Joe, Callie, Vanessa, Biff, and George were all waiting for word from the surgeon about Frank's condition. They stayed silent mostly. Vanessa was alternating comforting Callie and Joe. George and Biff stayed off to the side providing enough space for the Hardy's but also making sure no one else intruded on their solitude. A group of reporters had already tried to come once. Biff took the camera out of the camera man's hands and pointed to the door. The wait went on and on and seemed to take forever. But to Biff that was a good sign. No news was good news. A pretty blond girl came out of the elevator.

"George!"

"Bess! What are you doing here?"

"Biff invited me to come for dinner...since he didn't want me to be by myself. His mom said you were here." Her eyes scanned the waiting room. "Oh my god is that Joe Hardy?"

"Yeah...It's Frank. He was shot and we are all waiting to hear about him."

Bess's eyes filled with tears. "Why do they always have to be shot?"

George pulled her cousin close. "It's okay Bess. Frank was hit in the side. He should be okay."

Bess squared her shoulders and walked over to Joe. George watched as Joe did a double take and enveloped her cousin in a big hug. He gestured to Vanessa and Callie and they began to talk quietly.

"How do you know Frank and Joe?"

"Nancy knew them...they solved some cases together. Bess and I sometimes helped."

Then a man in green scrubs came over. "Mrs. Hardy?"

Callie jumped to her feet. So did Laura. "Yes?" They both said.

The doctor smiled. "Mom and wife right?"

They looked at each other, and then answered. "Yes."

The doctor gestured to the seats and they all sat down. He took Callie's hand. "I'm Doctor Page, I was sent by his surgeon to give you an update. Frank has sustained a severe injury to the abdomen. The bullet went through a part of his liver, we had to perform a Hepatectomy."

Callie interupted. "What does that mean?"

The doctor answered, "We had to remove part of his liver to control the bleeding. This is actually a pretty common procedure and it was the only way we could stop the bleeding. Without controlling the bleeding he would have died pretty quickly. That outweighed the other possible complications."

"What complications?" Fenton asked.

"This procedure is most common for organ donation and cancer treatment. The liver regenerates itself. As long as what remaining liver Frank has continues to function he should recover."

"What are the chances that his liver could fail?" Laura asked.

"Pretty low. He was in good health...his liver looked like it was in very good shape. We'll know more over the next 72 hours. If he doesn't go into liver failure his prognosis is excellent. But because of the traumatic nature of his injury we have to be cautious."

Fenton held his wife and squeezed Callie's hand. "Thank you Doctor."

He stood up and said. "He'll be moved into recovery after that he'll be moved to moderate care. You will be able to see him then."

Callie leaned over and cried in her hands. She was so scared for her husband.

HBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHB

Frank woke up in a lot of pain. Where was he? He opened one eye and saw his wife and mother looking down at him. He smiled. "Hi."

Callie kissed him softly. "How are you feeling?"

Frank grimaced. "Awful."

Joe came over and smiled. "Well no offence bro we'll take awful for the moment. You scared us half to death."

Frank sighed. "I'm sorry...did the shooters leave any notes behind? Or anything. I noticed that they drove a white van."

Fenton smiled at that. Frank never missed a beat. He had just been shot and he was asking about the assailants. "They did...the police have it."

Frank could tell by his dad's cryptic response that he did not want to mention what it said in front of Callie. "Dad what did that note say. I know Con would have told you."

"It said...'back off Hardy's...the baby is gone...get over it.' "

Frank squeezed Callie's hand as she did what she could to disguise her sob. She failed miserably. Frank kissed her hand. "We'll find him Callie...this just means that we have to be more careful and it means that we are on the right track."

Joe rubbed Callie's shoulders. "Frank's right Cal...We'll be more careful but we will continue to dig."

Laura was looking at Frank's monitors and reading his chart. "Are you in much pain honey?"

"Not bad."

Laura Hardy narrowed her eyes. "Don't lie to me Franklin...I can see your vitals. Now what level of pain are you in?"

"An eight mom."

Laura Hardy was out the door faster then a speeding bullet. She wasn't about to let her son be in that much pain. The doctor came in at that moment. "Well good evening Mr. Hardy...you've had an exciting day."

"What happened?"

"Well we had to remove part of your liver...but the good news is that you are maintaining your liver function thus far. We will watch you for the next 72 hours. If you don't start bleeding and your liver function stays within the normal range you will be home by next week."

Frank closed his eyes but nodded. "Alright."

Callie smiled at the doctor and he left just as Laura Hardy came back in. She had the morphine for him in hand and was ready to give it. The doctor smiled. "You work with my brother don't you Mrs. Hardy?"

Laura took an alcohol swab and cleaned the lead on the IV. "Yes...I've been a labour and delivery nurse for over 30 years."

"Well...when he heard your son was here he told me to look after him."

Laura smiled at that. She knew that Dr. Cole was one of the leading surgeons in the field. "I appreciate that."

"Frank...your liver will regenerate in about a week's time. We had to remove about 40 percent of it. You may feel week for a few days and may experience diarrhoea and nausea but you should recover from this fully. The only complications we have to watch for are haemorrhage, blood clots, and liver failure."

Frank nodded. He was suddenly very drowsy from what he could only deduce was the pain medication that his mother administered. The doctor smiled. "Get some rest and I will check on you later."

HBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHB

Callie Hardy was watching as the monitor's monitoring her husband's condition beep. She was on the makeshift cot and wrapped in a blanket. Her husband had made it 70 hours without incident. She was watching the clock counting down the seconds of the last two hours. She was so scared that she was going to loose him. She subconsciously rubbed her abdomen and a lone tear fell down her cheek. She was so happy about the pregnancy but was terrified for Luke. Callie remembered every single detail about Luke's beautiful face. He looked just like Frank and Fenton with big brown eyes and a laugh that made your heart just melt. She reached into her bag and pulled out a lamb. It was his favourite and Callie's heart just twisted in her chest knowing that he didn't have it with him. He must have cried for days...which made her feel worse.

"Callie..."

She almost jumped out of her skin and hurried to his bedside. "Hey handsome." She caressed his cheek. "How do you feel?"

"Pretty weak actually."

She kissed his cheek then his lips. "That is what the doctor said would happen."

Frank pulled her down beside him. She gratefully complied. He kissed her hair. "I miss him too Callie."

"Frank...I'm scared...I don't like being oblivious to his whereabouts. We should be at home...right now as a family."

"Believe me when I find the men that took him and the one they report too they are going to wish they never touched Luke."

Callie swallowed. "I know...but Frank...what if we never find him?"

"We will...have faith my love. God will guide us to where he is or bring him back to us."

Callie's eyes filled with Frank's conviction. He was right. As much as she hated it she had to be patient. Right now she needed to focus on getting him better. She gave him a lingering kiss. "Just don't scare me like this again. I'm so worried."

"I'm fine sweetie...just fine… especially with you beside me." He kissed her then and Callie allowed herself to be comforted by her husband.