Here's another short one...

:)

I hope you all enjoy it!

Chapter Eleven: What's to Come

The next morning, I walked into the hospital room to find Danny and Dr, Saheed talking to one another with quiet voices.

"Montana," he said, noticing me walk in, "I'm glad yer here. The Doc was jus' about to explain to me how this whole thing is gonna work. I'd like it if ya were here with me." He stretched out an arm and I sat down on the bed beside him. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders. I was comforted by his warmth.

"Alright," said Dr. Saheed, seeing that we were ready, "here's how this whole thing is going to work; Danny will be released from the hospital for now. We can't really do anything for him until we find a viable heart. Now, it may take weeks, even months to find a match, but once we do, you will be called in immediately." he looked over at Danny, "Once here, we will run several tests to ensure that you are healthy enough to get through the operation. We are also required to run some emotional and psychological tests. If all goes well, you will then be started on some immuno-suppressants. This is so your body will not reject the donor heart. Hopefully, within a day or two of finding the heart, you will be sent into the OR. Now there are obviously some risks with this surgery, as there are with any procedure, but what we really need to be careful about is infection after the fact. If everything runs smoothly in the OR, you will be kept here at the hospital for at least six of those weeks, you will need to stay in a clean, germ-free room. We will need to limit the amount of visitors you have to decrease the chance of contamination. Knowing your friends, Danny, that will be a difficult task. But the immuno-suppressants that you will have been given will make your immune system very weak and very susceptible to infection, so it's best that we stay on the safe side. After that, you will be transferred to a regular room. Barring any complications, Danny, you should be in and out of here in less than two months."

"An' then it's back to fightin' crime and chasin' down perps, right?" asked Danny. I could tell he was only half joking.

Dr. Saheed looked sternly down at the man sitting next to me, "Now, Danny, I said you'd be out of here within two months. That does not mean you will be back to full strength by then. I would suggest taking off at least a year before even thinking about returning to work. And that is not up for negotiation. I'll be speaking to that scary boss of yours about this too to make sure he knows about it. The medications you'll be on alone will be enough to knock you out for most of the day. Not to mention the weakness, nausea, and lethargy that follows such a major operation. And you'll need some one to stay with you... or you need to stay with some one." He looked at me pointedly, "I'm guessing that won't be a problem?"

I smiled, "Of course not."

I felt Danny give my shoulder a squeeze. I gave him one right back.

Dr. Saheed gave us both a warm smile. "Danny, I already gave you my number. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. I've informed Nurse Rita that you are to be discharged. She should be here fairly soon."

"Alright, Doc. I'll talk to ya later."

Dr. Saheed gave us another smile and a brief wave before turning and walking out the door.

As soon as he was gone, Danny turned to me and asked, "Are ya sure it's okay I stay with ya after the surgery? I mean, from what the doc said, I think I'm gonna be pretty out of it for a while. I might not be very good company."

I scoffed. How could he even ask that? Even if we hadn't just admitted our feelings to each other, Danny was still a friend. "Don't be stupid Messer. Of course you're staying with me."

He smiled and pulled me closer to his body. I nuzzled his neck. I could still smell his cologne, despite the fact that he hadn't actually put any on in a couple days.

"Thank you for doing this." I said.

"Thanks for staying by my side." he replied, giving me a chaste kiss on the lips.

I snuggled even closer to his warm body and closed my eyes, breathing in his scent.

I will be incorporating one other episode the next chapter(s). I'll let you guys try to guess which one. :P (Hint, there will be suspense.)

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