Part eleven of 'Assaulted!' Again, keep the reviews/comments coming because they really help me stay motivated.
As you can see, this is really short but. like I posted over at LJ: "... I think I've come up with what I'm going to do and where the story's going... again /laugh. And I'm really hoping you enjoy what I've planned because there are a few twists going to be happening.... :D :)) "
As Don and Ian headed to the FBI office in a silence that was equal parts awkward yet comfortable, each was lost in their own thoughts. Apparently, just acknowledging what had been going on inside them was like hitting a brick wall; the exhaustion that had been dogging them had finally caught up with them between one moment and the next and they'd ended up falling asleep on Don's bed, to be awoken with the blaring of the alarm an hour and a half later.
Each had grumbled about how the short downtime made them feel even worse then if they'd stayed up all night but they'd quickly gotten themselves together, wanting nothing more than to get back to the office and continue the investigation.
By unspoken agreement, their early morning 'discussion' was avoided, even though they both knew that they had a lot of things to… figure out as soon the case was closed.
Before arriving at the office though, Don took them to the hospital for another check on Colby.
Since he was in ICU, guests, and gifts, were being limited. The nurses had been keeping the cards that were arriving for the agent while stating that the flowers, balloons and stuffed animals accompanying them had to be taken elsewhere. However, apparently they weren't even allowing the cards now simply because there wasn't anywhere to put them. If the stack of well wishes on the over-the-bed table was anything to go by, Colby's cubicle at the office was going to be overwhelmed with all the offerings of his coworkers and peers.
Doctor Bethany was making rounds of the ICU when Don and Ian arrived and she let them know that they had started decreasing the sedation of the hospitalized agent. With any luck, Colby would be awake or aware enough some time in the early evening for them to find out how the head injury was affecting him.
Don had contemplated putting some security on his injured agent but, with the serial rapist being one of their own and the only people Don trusted at the moment being his team, there just wasn't enough manpower to do it. With that in mind, he had impressed the ICU staff with the need to be very observant of Colby, saying that the person who'd assaulted him hadn't been caught yet and might try to get to the agent to make sure he was never identified.
There wasn't any real need for him to mention that the perpetrator was in law enforcement, let alone an employee of the bureau, because they didn't need that type of thing circulating, nor did he want the type of panic that it could cause, especially in the hospital.
***
A few minutes later, when they reached the office, Don filled the rest of the team in on the news. It wasn't much but it was something positive and the atmosphere of the bullpen lightened minutely. As always, there were other cases to focus on and, even though the Assistant Director had prioritized the FBI serial rapist as their number one case, when things slowed down on it – waiting for research, leads or such to be processed – the team worked on others.
With the end of the day, Don had been ordered to give his team Sunday off – they needed some downtime – and, even though he was upset and frustrated, Don knew that all of them needed some time to recharge. Sighing inwardly, he sent all of them home, making sure they'd all be in at seven on Monday morning unless something came up that needed their presence.
Almost as one, they all ended up at the hospital about the same time, anxious to see if their friend and coworker had awakened yet. When they walked into ICU, however, they were shocked to find that the alarm they'd been hearing growing steadily louder as they'd gotten closer, was for Colby's cubicle, which seemed to be filled with machines and medical personnel.
It was hard holding themselves back from running over, asking questions or trying to help – even if there was nothing any of them could do – and simply standing and staying out of the way. The worried knot watched as all manner of things was done to Colby before one of the nurses pulled the curtain, cutting the cubicle off from view.
***
When all the alarms had been silent for a few moments, Doctor Bethany came out of Agent Granger's cubicle, obviously concerned, and headed straight for the nurses station. Before any of the FBI agents could move though, a nurse approached them, trying to soothe them and get them to move to the waiting room area as Don watched the doctor make a phone call. Several of them opened their mouths to protest but Don continued to focus on Doctor Bethany, who had turned away from the group near the entrance of the ICU ward.
"One of the doctors will come out to let you know what they can just as soon as they're able." The nurse said firmly as she successfully maneuvered them out of the immediate area and towards the waiting room.
***
Three hours later it looked like a repeat of when Colby had been admitted on Thursday night. Alan, Amita, Charlie and Larry had joined them and they were in similar positions spaced out around the ICU waiting room area. Don had paced for a good portion of the time but had finally settled to a standing position a few feet away from the window that Ian was decidedly not staring out into the LA evening from.
When the doors to the ward opened, all of them looked to find Doctor Bethany once again striding towards them.
Waving them all to a seat, she took one close to Don, who'd followed Ian over.
"I'm sorry it's taken me so long to come and fill you in on what's going on but I've been consulting with a couple of other doctors." She started, looking to each of them. Frowning slightly, she took a breath before continuing. "Agent Granger's head injuries are more severe than we had believed and, when we attempted to take him off the sedative, his system went into shock – something that he might have done at some point when he was admitted if we hadn't sedated him when we did.
"After Colby coded, I ordered some scans and tests and then, after consulting with a couple of our doctors from the Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital, we've changed my diagnosis to a severe head injury or Traumatic Brain Injury, or TBI."
Tense silence filled the room before Alan broke it.
"Severe head injury… Traumatic Brain Injury?" He questioned softly.
Doctor Bethany nodded slightly. "A head injury is a TBI but in a broader category because the head injury can involve damage to other things besides the brain, like the scalp and skull – which obviously did happen. TBI is classified based on the severity of the injury; a blow, jolt or some type of penetrating injury that disrupts the function of the brain."
"What does all that mean?" Don asked.
The doctor sighed. "What that means for Colby is that we won't know how severe the TBI is until he wakes but that the injury is causing abnormal functioning of the brain and the body." Doctor Bethany paused before saying the last. "I'm sorry, but when Colby went into shock, he also went into a coma."
***