So you know, I was hoping that the angst would stop, for a chapter or two, but then I reread through this, and...well, I'm really sorry :( I hope you guys have angst shields or something...
Chapter 11: Golden Slumbers
"Miss Drake. Mr. Hunt was hit in the chest with a very large piece of shrapnel."
"They said abdomen," Alex breathed.
The doctor shook his head. It was the chest area. Right under the lungs. The shrapnel destroyed part of his liver, so we had to remove that area. We repaired the damage to the inferior vena cava and the aorta. There was blood in the lung area that collapsed his right lung. We've hooked him up to a chest tube and are reinflating his lung, but it will take a few days. He was having a lot of trouble breathing so we hooked him up to the ventilator. We're keeping him restrained and sedated until we can wean him off of it."
"But he's alive?" She had to reaffirm this. She had to know that Gene was okay.
"The next twenty-four hours are critical, but yes, we expect Mr. Hunt to pull through."
Alex almost fell over in relief. "Can I see him?"
"We're transferring him right now. Once we've got him settled, I'll come get you."
Alex nodded and walked back to the little group of CID. Chris had entered at some point during her conversation with the doctor, and was sitting hand in hand with Shaz, covered in bandages.
"How is he Ma'am?" Ray asked as soon as she got back.
"Alive, but critical. They expect him to make the night though."
The group visibly relaxed. They sat in silence for a moment before Shaz spoke again.
"I just realised Ma'am. You're talking again."
Alex smiled. "That's all down to...Arthur," she said giving him a grateful smile. "He's been helping me get through what happened."
"I'm more stubborn than she is," he said, making the group laugh.
The doctor suddenly appeared at the doorway again. She stood, and he nodded to her. She followed him wordlessly through the corridors of the hospital, back to where Gene was.
"It's going to be disconcerting to see him, but remember that all of the tubes are there to help him."
Alex swallowed and nodded, entering the room where Gene had been placed. She felt herself gasp as she saw Gene. He looked small, smaller than she could have imagined. A plaster was on his cheek; she assumed it was covering a burn or cut. A tube came out of his mouth, taped in place around his lips. A bag of blood hung next to several different IV bags, all flowing into an IV in his arm. She could see a tube emerging from the blankets covering him, going down to a box on the floor. It was marked in millilitres and a small amount of red fluid was already in place.
She walked hesitantly to his bed, sitting next to the bed. She could see the restraints holding his wrists. She knew that they were there because he might try to pull at the ventilator if he started to wake up before the doctors pulled it out.
"Gene," she murmured, running a gentle hand through his hair. He didn't respond, the sedatives keeping their hold on him.
She sat back down and stared at him for the next several minutes, saying nothing, until the doctor came in.
"You can come back in the morning," the doctor said. "Get yourself some sleep. You look like you need it...no offense."
Alex smiled grimly and shook her head. You have no idea, she thought. She stood and took one last look at Gene. He looked so much like a kitten instead of the lion he referred to himself as. It pained her almost physically to see him like that.
"When will he be off the ventilator?" she asked.
"We're going to try and wean him off as we restore lung function. He's already able to breathe better than he was earlier. Probably by tomorrow or the next day, he should be able to get the tube out. Until then, we will keep him sedated. We don't want him to have many visitors until he's ready. We prefer you keep it to short visits as well. There's just going to be a lot of doctors and nurses around him for the moment and it could be traumatic for some people."
Alex nodded, and walked back to the waiting room. Everyone was sitting there, looking at her expectantly. She wasn't sure what they wanted her to say. Gene certainly wasn't fine, but he wasn't dead.
"He's fighting," she said, her voice sounding choked.
Everyone visibly relaxed around her.
"They're going to wean him off the ventilator, but he's going to be sedated for the next few days."
They nodded. "What are we going to do about the station?" Shaz asked.
"Leave it to the MET. They'll let us know what's going to happen. And if they don't, we'll go to Scotland Yard and yell at the commissioner."
The group all gave small smiles.
"They don't want him to have many visitors for the moment. I daresay you four wouldn't be visiting him much anyway?"
"He doesn't like people visiting him in the hospital," Ray said. "Especially those under his rank."
Alex nodded. She had expected that. "I'll visit him until he wakes up. M...Arthur, I'm ready to go."
Mark nodded. "Let's get a taxi. I don't really want to navigate the tube right now. Not in my condition."
Alex smiled and nodded. "Let's go. I'll see you all later," she said to the group. They nodded, all getting ready to leave as well. Alex walked out, her arm linked through Mark's good one. As they got out of the hospital, she immediately hailed a taxi and they clambered in. Alex relaxed against the seat. It had been a very long day.
~(*)~
Shaz sat across from Chris and Ray, as Luigi set a screwdriver in front of her. Fenchurch East was blocked off completely, still smouldering.
"The Guv was targeted," Ray said. "It was in his bloody office. They were trying to kill him."
"But surely they knew it was only going to be a fifty/fifty shot that he was in there. After all, he could've been out on a call," Shaz replied sensibly.
"It's been dead all week," Chris said. "Almost too much so. We're running out of paperwork."
"Do you think someone was controlling that?" Shaz asked suddenly. "Making sure none of the crimes happened on the Guv's patch so we'd be stuck in the office?"
"I think we should talk to our snouts," Ray said. "Starting tomorrow, we can round them all up. Terry's and Bammo's and Poirot's too. And if they won't talk, we'll make them."
Chris nodded. "We'll do it for them. For the Guv."
Ray nodded his head once. "For the Guv."
They sat in silence for quite a while, going through the lists of snouts in their heads. Finally, it was Shaz that spoke again.
"It was nice to see the Ma'am again."
"I suppose," Ray said.
"Why don't you think so, Ray?"
"I just don't like the way she treated the Guv. The way she wouldn't talk to him?"
"But she was traumatised."
"Yeah, but then a few weeks with her friend Arthur and she's suddenly recovered? And don't tell me you believe his name is Arthur."
"No," Shaz agreed. "The Ma'am kept nearly saying a name that started with 'M'."
"The Guv mentioned that a spook had been on the inside. I bet Arthur was that man. And I just can't trust him."
"But if he's helping her..."
"Shaz, he's a spook. You know you can't trust spooks. They don't give a shit about anyone but themselves and their country. They aren't human. They don't have normal emotions. Hell, in their profession it's difficult for them to understand how people have a conscious!"
"But he seemed nice enough around Alex."
Ray shook his head. "You're not seeing it because Arthur's a bloke."
"You're saying that I can't see past the fact that Arthur has a penis?" Shaz said indignantly.
Ray nodded emphatically.
"Out of order mate," Chris said, staring miserably at his water. He wasn't currently allowed to drink any alcohol because of medications.
"Oh just drink a sodding beer, Chris," Ray snapped.
Shaz frowned. Ray had been acting oddly all afternoon, ever since the bomb had gone off. At first she had expected it; she had thought about shock. But now, the initial shock should have worn off.
"Remember when the Ma'am first started?" Ray continued. "Remember how she treated us all like shit? But then she got over it. Now, it's like that woman is back, only just for the Guv."
"But she was so concerned about him this afternoon!" Shaz argued.
"Yeah, but didn't you hear her last statement? 'I'll visit him until he wakes up.' What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"I think you're thinking too much about this Ray."
"Like hell I am," Ray replied, downing his beer and motioning for another. "It's not right. Cause she's got the Guv wrapped around her fucking little finger and he'll come at her bloody beck and call. And then she's a complete bitch to him. All the time. Just listen to her witter on about that Arthur bloke showing the Guv her 'studio.'"
Ray switched to a very poor impersonation of Alex's cut glass tones. "You showed him my studio? I didn't want to be near him and you showed him my studio?"
Shaz closed her eyes for a moment before speaking. "Ray, turn around."
Alex was standing behind their table, and she had just heard Ray's last speech. Her face was one of shock and anger.
"Ma'am!" Ray said, surprised, his voice slightly slurred. "I didn't know you were coming."
"Yes," Alex replied, her voice colder than ice. "That's obvious. Thank you for that fabulous impersonation of me. I'll just go, shall I?"
Alex turned on the ball of her foot and left the building without another word.
"Great, Ray," Shaz said. "Now you've pissed the Ma'am off."
"Good. She can sodding take out her anger on someone else then!"
Shaz sighed. There was going to be no reasoning with Ray tonight. He was drunk and in a frame of mind that she could not understand. Instead, she stood, grabbing her coat and purse.
"Where you going?" Chris asked.
"Home," Shaz replied. "I'll see you tomorrow baby. Try to get some sleep."
Chris nodded as she walked out the door. Shaz walked up the steps, surprised to see a figure sitting on the kerb, staring at the smoking station.
"Ma'am?"
The figure looked up. Shaz saw tear streaks running down her face.
"Don't let Ray get to you Ma'am."
Alex shook her head. "Ray's an arse," she said softly. "It wasn't him."
"Then what's wrong?"
"He was right about me. I've been a bitch to Gene. And I know I have. But no matter what, I couldn't change how I acted towards him. Now he may not make the night..." Alex dissolved into tears.
"Don't talk like that Ma'am. You said it yourself. The Guv is fighting."
"But you didn't see him Shaz. It's bloody terrifying to see him like that."
Shaz took a deep breath. She had never expected to hear Alex Drake's deepest fears. The Ma'am was...well, the Ma'am. She was strong and bolshy and full of attitude and snark. She didn't really have feelings besides anger. She was nice to the lower ranks, especially once she had settled down, but one wrong move and you could end up on her blacklist for almost a week. Even after she had been rescued, Shaz hadn't seen her too often, helping to keep that idea in place.
"And looking at the station..." Alex murmured. "It's like everything I knew before is being eradicated. It's like someone's singled me out to make me suffer at the cost of all of the people I knew before."
"But why would they single you out?"
"Because they figured out that I was the one who went after Layton. When they kidnapped me, they...they tortured me. I was almost dead, and I wanted to die so badly. It hurt so much. They told me they'd end it if I told them about how I knew about their connection to Arthur Layton. Jinks' brother...because of me he's dead."
Alex was staring at the ground, her voice hardly audible.
"They didn't know who I was when they kidnapped me. But now they do, and I bet you that someone escaped. No one will be safe around me, Shaz. If Gene survives, they'll just try to kill him again."
"Now you're talking nonsense Ma'am. It was the IRA who did this. They've claimed everything."
Alex shook her head. "It's going to happen, Shaz. Give it a week, a month, a year, it'll happen. I've got to figure out who's behind this."
"That's what Ray and Chris and I agreed earlier Ma'am. Let us do it. Focus on your recovery, and the Guv's, and everything will be okay."
"I wish I could believe you," Alex replied.
"Then do. Trust me Ma'am. That man who did this won't kill the Guv."
"Thanks."
"Do you want someone to walk you home?"
Alex gave a watery smile and shook her head. "I'll take the tube." Alex stood and walked away slowly, leaving Shaz staring behind her.
Can I just say, I read through this and just grin like crazy at all my foreshadowing? I hope you can get it all. Of course my mate Rolephant didn't get everything when she read through it (she couldn't wait and begged) she got most of it :) (Also, Rolephant was being a guinea pig to make sure that everything worked right. Or some non-animal test subject. :)
