John paced the waiting room, walking past Fin and Cragen again and again. Elliot and Olivia had taken Weber to central booking and would return as soon as they could, but it made no real difference who was at the hospital and who was not. There had been no word on Casey's condition.
Thirty minutes later a doctor finally approached the three men, carrying a clipboard. John immediately accosted her, demanding, "How is she?"
The doctor took John's arm and led him back to Cragen and Fin to tell them all the news at once. She addressed her words mostly to John, however, apparently deducing that he was the most concerned party. "We've stabilized the three broken ribs. She's severely dehydrated and has hypothermia. Her temperature was ninety-three when we measured it. Hypothermia is generally not deadly until the body temperature is below ninety, but had she been exposed for much longer, it may have been too late." She continued, "We're removing her blood to warm it and then replacing it, along with a blood transfusion because of her blood loss. She has mild to severe internal hemorrhaging from being struck with blunt objects; based on the shape of some of the bruises, we're guessing a metal pole of some kind."
John leaned back against the wall, his legs threatening to give out. The doctor looked at him with concern, but he shook his head. "Go on."
"She's suffering from hypovolemic shock, but it did not progress to the point that cell death or organ failure are major concerns. She's stable and should make a full recovery, but we're going to keep her here for a few days, just until we get everything under control and she gets her strength back. She's still unconscious, but she'll be waking up soon." She lowered her voice and said, "We did a rape kit as well. No signs of vaginal trauma and no fluids."
John let out a breath he did not realize he had been holding. "Thank you," he breathed, feeling a smile break across his face for the first time in days. It was over. There was no permanent damage. "When can I see her?"
"In about twenty minutes. I'll come get you. When she wakes up she'll be dizzy and nauseated and possibly incoherent. We've got her on pain medication."
"Thank you," John said again, sighing. He sat down, more exhausted than before. Now that Casey was out of danger, he did not have adrenaline to keep him going anymore. Everything that had happened over the past two days hit him full force and he could hardly keep his eyes from falling closed.
By the time the doctor came back to bring them to Casey, Elliot and Olivia had returned. She led them to Casey's room and let them all go in, despite it being against hospital regulations to have so many visitors at once. They were cops and had been through the unthinkable.
They all sat there for close to an hour, basking in the wonderful knowledge that Casey was alive and would recover. The steady beeping of the heart rate monitor along with the sound of Casey breathing was enough to lull them all into peace.
A while later, the doctor returned to say that they should all rest and that she really could not let them all remain. Everyone but John got to their feet. "Can he stay?" Cragen asked the doctor softly.
"Of course."
John smiled as Olivia kissed Casey's cheek and Fin kissed her forehead, saying, "See ya later, baby girl." The four of them told John they would come back later and he thanked them all.
"Go get some rest," he said to them. "And thanks."
"Of course, John," Elliot said, and they left.
Thankful to finally be alone with Casey, John moved his chair closer to the bed and grasped her hand. He was grateful for his team and how much they cared about Casey and about him, but he wanted to be with her…just her.
"Thank God you're ok, Case," he whispered. He reached into his pocket and pulled out her ring, sliding it carefully onto her finger once again. He smiled at it fondly, caressing her fingers with his thumb and squeezing her hand gently.
