A/N: I know I say this a lot, but I really mean it - thanks for your support and feedback. You all have really set my muse in overdrive - all chapters are completed in rough draft - 18 chapters total. So, only 4 chapters left.
PS - Don't lose heart, it's a "romance" and by definition (at least my definition) romances have happy endings. The saying - the harder you work the sweeter the rewards - applies here, and Cat has been working her backside off. ;-). Thx.
Progeny
Chapter 14
"Detective Chandler," Doctor Barnes said, "I need to talk to you about your fiancé's condition." He shot a questioning glance at Tess.
"It's okay, Doctor. Tess is my partner and best friend. Whatever you need to tell me, Tess can hear."
"If you wish," he said. "Let's sit down."
Catherine's heart started pounding and her shoulders pinched with tension. "What is it?" she asked.
"Detective Chandler-"
"Call me Catherine," she said.
He nodded. "Catherine, Vincent is out of surgery. But he's in critical condition." He paused and sucked in a short breath. "There's no easy way to put this …, his chance of survival is questionable right now. The bullet entered the right side of his chest at a downward angle, tearing the subclavian vein and puncturing his right lung."
Tess let out a hiss.
"The lung isn't the main problem. It's the blood loss. He's lost a lot. Too much, too fast. We struggled to repair the vein and finally stopped the bleeding. But we may have been too late."
Catherine stared at the doctor, her mind and body going numb, barely able to hear him.
"The next several hours are critical. We'll know more by then. In the mean time I want to let his family know, so if they want to see him before …," his voice trailed off.
Catherine forced her attention to the doctor's face. "Thank you, Doctor."
He sat, looking at Catherine for a long time, then pushed out a breath. "You need to go sit with him. Talk to him," he said.
"What?" Catherine said.
"I'm considered a little weird by my colleagues," Barnes explained. "I believe that a patient's subconscious can hear and understand what's being said to them when they're unconscious or in a comma. I also believe the mind and spirit are connected and that both, when working together, can perform miraculous things."
"What are you saying?" Catherine asked.
"I'm saying, go and be with him. Tell him you love him. Remind him of who you are together." He scrubbed a hand through his brown hair and nodded toward the ring on Catherine's left hand. "Emotion is the most powerful force in the universe. It's the basis for everything. The outbreak of war and the triumph of peace. The birth of art and of every scientific breakthrough. Most importantly, the creation and nurturing of life."
The doctor swallowed hard and his voice cracked just a little. "He needs to be reminded that he has something to fight for. Someone to come back to. I've done all I can do to bring his body back. It's up to you to bring his spirit back."
Catherine nodded. "I …, I can do that. Where is he? Can someone take me to him?"
Barnes smiled. "I'll get a nurse to take you to his room as soon as he's out of recovery." He stood and turned to leave.
Catherine reached out and caught his hand. He turned back toward her. "Thank you, Doctor Barnes."
He nodded, then added as an afterthought, "All the thanks I'll need is an invitation to the wedding."
Letting out a choked chuckle Catherine said, "Front row seats."
Barnes smiled. Catherine let his hand slide free and he turned and left the waiting room.
Catherine looked at her watch as she followed the nurse through the hospital toward the Intensive Care Unit. It was almost midnight, three hours since her conversation with Doctor Barnes. Three monotonous hours in the waiting room going out of her mind. Finally she was going to be with Vincent.
JT had shown up just after Barnes had left. Since there was nothing either he or Tess could do at the hospital Catherine had convinced them to return to the precinct and start to hunt for Vincent's assassin. He was still out there and Vincent wouldn't be safe until they captured him and put him behind bars. Tess had pulled a reluctant JT out the door assuring Catherine that they'd find the shooter no matter what it took.
"Detective Chandler," the nurse said as they stopped in front of Vincent's room, "are you sure you're ready for this."
"I've been in a hospital plenty of times," Catherine said, "and seen plenty of injured people. Even been in the bed myself."
"I have no doubt, given your profession," the woman said. "It's just that …, well …, it's different when it's someone you love. I understand you're newly engaged," she glanced down at the ring on Catherine's hand. "I just want you to be emotionally prepared, that's all."
Catherine nodded and drew in her feelings, stuffing them deep down. "I'm ready. Let's go," and she followed the nurse into the room.
As Catherine stepped through the door the sharp tang of disinfectant cleansers and bleach assailed her nose. The rhythmic beeping of a heart monitor and the intermittent hissing and clicking of the oxygenator droned in the background. Squinting through the dim light she could barely make out Vincent laying unconscious in the bed, still as death except for the slow rise and fall of his chest. A small, nasal prong oxygen mask sat on his upper lip and IV's stuck out from both arms.
The nurse was right. It was different. The fear she'd been fighting down all evening clawed it's way back to the surface. Her pulse kicked-up a notch and for a moment vertigo threatened to overtake her. She took a faltering step to the side and the nurse reached out quickly and grabbed her arm, supporting her.
"Are you all right?" the nurse asked.
Catherine swallowed and nodded. "Yeah. I'll be okay." She took breath and steadied herself. "Can I go to him? Can I touch him?" she said, looking at the nurse for permission.
"Absolutely," the nurse replied. "I know Doctor Barnes is big on talking to patients when they're not conscious. So, talk to him. Hold his hand. Touch his face. Just be careful to not dislodge anything."
"Thank you," Catherine said.
"Of course," the nurse said. "If you need anything, just press the call button." She turned and left the room.
Catherine stepped to the bed and gulped hard as she stood over Vincent staring down at his quiet form. He looked weak, vulnerable, so far removed from the strong, viable man she knew. She forced back a shuddering sob and pushed hard at her fear, driving it back down into her depths.
The irony didn't escape her. Only seven months ago the situation had been reversed, she lying in a hospital bed almost bleeding to death and he standing vigil by her bedside.
With trembling hands she tentatively reached out, hesitating before she took Vincent's left hand in both of hers. She looked at the beautiful ring on her hand juxtaposed to the barren ring finger of his.
We're gonna fix that as soon as you're out of here, she thought. There's gonna be a ring on that finger, Mr. Keller. Mark my words. A quiet laugh escaped her lips at her thought.
The doctor had told her to talk to him, even if he wasn't awake. He said Vincent would hear her, at least his subconscious mind would. He said she needed to bring him back to this life, she needed to give him a reason to keep fighting. It was worth a try. She took in several deep breaths, calming herself, focusing her attention.
"Vincent," Catherine said, rubbing his hand in both of hers, "it's Catherine. I'm here." A surge of emotion roiled up and she had to stop and swallow hard. She clamped down on her mind and heart, forcing them to bend to her will. After several heart beats she regained control.
"I don't know if you can hear me," she said, her voice shaky. "I hope there's some part of you that knows I'm here." Catherine paused, then leaned slowly down, bringing her lips to Vincent's in a soft kiss. "I love you," she whispered, "and I need you, more than I can say. Please fight to come back to me. Fight to come back us."
Catherine moved Vincent's fingers so they rested on her diamond ring. "I got your ring," she said. "Here it is. Do you feel it? I put it on my finger. It's beautiful, so beautiful." A smile quirked her lips. "And the answer is yes. Yes, I'll marry you. But I still want to hear you ask me. I want to hear the words come from your lips. I need you to fight, Vincent."
Moving her lips to Vincent's ear her voice was soft, but intense and full of emotion. "I never felt whole until you loved me. I never fit in. I didn't know how to love. But with you everything has changed. My life is full. I have hope again. And it's because of you."
"But you've got to come back to me," she said, tears trickling down her face, dripping on his hands clasped in hers. "I want to build my life with you, grow old with you. I want to have children with you. We have a chance, Vincent. A chance to build a family." She took in a shuddering breath. "Please come back. Please."
Catherine moved her face down to place one last kiss on Vincent's lips, then lowered his hand to the bed and slipped her fingers out from underneath.
She grabbed an extra blanket and pillow from the counter across the room, pulled up a chair beside Vincent's bed and hunkered into it wrapping the blanket around her, beginning her silent vigil.
The warmth of the blanket and comfort of the pillow enveloped her and her mind slowly began to calm, releasing its death grip on the fear and grief she'd been holding at bay. The tension in her muscles began to drain away and fatigue began to stalk her like a predator. She fought it off as long as she could, but eventually exhaustion overwhelmed her and she dropped off to sleep.
Catherine woke with a start to the quiet rustlings of someone moving close by. Her eyes snapped open and darted around, momentarily disoriented. Then she recognized the hospital room and remembered where she was. Bringing her eyes to Vincent's bed she noticed Doctor Barnes standing on the other side, flipping through papers on a clipboard, surveying equipment readouts and checking the various tubes attached to Vincent.
Catherine moved to stretch her arms and legs and the doctor glanced over at her. "Sorry I woke you," he said.
Catherine finished her stretch and looked at her watch. 3 AM. "No problem, Doc," she said at the end of a long yawn. "How's he doing?"
"Still too early to tell," Barnes said.
His voice was hoarse and his face was pale with large dark circles under his eyes. He looked exhausted but seemed nervous and fidgety. Probably the result of no rest. At least she'd racked-up about three hours of sleep. Better than nothing.
"Why don't you go down to the hospital's guest quarters. You can take a shower, sleep on a regular bed. Maybe swing by the cafeteria and get something to eat."
"I'm good, Doc. But thanks."
Barnes looked down nervously at his clipboard. "You know, Catherine, you're not going to do Vincent any good if you're exhausted. He's going to need your strength and support to pull through."
Catherine cringed at his words. She was exhausted and her stomach grumbled with hunger. Her dinner had ended up on the roof of her apartment building and she'd been a little too preoccupied to think about food since then. "I just don't want to leave him alone," she said.
"Tell you what," Barnes said, "how about just a shower and some food." He scribbled down something on a piece of paper and handed it to her. "Here's the code to the family overnight guest quarters. You can grab a quick shower. It'll make you feel better. The other number is my cafeteria account. Grab something to eat, and bring it back here. You'll be gone twenty minutes, tops. I'll stay with Vincent until you get back."
"But I need to be close, to protect him," Catherine said.
"Have you seen the two officers that just took over guard duty? They're huge. No offense, Catherine, but I think they can handle anything that might happen in the next twenty minutes - and then some."
"But what if he wakes up while I'm gone?"
"Your cell phone number's on his chart. If he wakes while you're gone, I'll call you."
Catherine mulled over the doctor's offer. She was starving and she smelled like dirt and blood and sweat. A shower would be a relief and food would make her feel a lot better. "Okay," she said. "But I'll be back in fifteen. Call me if anything changes."
Barnes nodded and Catherine jumped out of her chair, moving quickly out of the room.
She briefed the uniformed cops on guard duty and sprinted down the corridor, taking the stars two at a time to the ground floor where the hospital's guest quarters and cafeteria were located.
She stripped, showered, dried and redressed in less than ten minutes. The cafeteria was almost empty at that time of the morning and she jogged through, snagging a bagel, some fruit, a power bar and a cup of coffee. As she paid for the food with the doctor's account a code blue emergency alert sounded over the hospital's speaker system in the background. The cashier smiled at Catherine and nodded as she passed through the checkout. With her arms full of food she navigated to the elevator.
As the lift slowly carried her back up to Vincent's floor Catherine munched on her power bar. She did feel better, her outlook a little brighter. Vincent could do this. He'd pull through. He was strong. And she'd keep talking to him, urging him on, encouraging him to fight to stay alive. Even if he couldn't hear her, it made her feel better.
The elevator door opened and Catherine exited and strode down the hallway through the ICU's double doors toward Vincent's room. As she drew closer she immediately felt like something was off. A heartbeat later she realized what it was. Both of the cops standing guard duty were gone.
Dropping the food in her arms Catherine rushed forward to the room, oblivious as everything crashed to the floor. She bolted inside and pulled up short, her heart pounding in her chest. The room was empty. Vincent's bed and all of the attached equipment were missing. Panic pulsed through her, thoughts churning, muscles tensing.
She spun around and ran out to the nurses' station. Dashing up to the counter she blurted out," Vincent Keller. Where is he?" to a nurse she didn't recognize sitting at a computer work station.
The nurse's eyes shot up at the mention of Vincent's name. "Are you Catherine Chandler?" the nurse asked.
"Yes," Catherine snapped. "Where is Vincent?"
"And you're Mr. Keller's immediate family," she squinted at the computer screen, "his fiancé?"
"Yes, goddammit. Now where is he!"
The nurse's expression turned grave. "He went into cardiac arrest. Dr. Barnes was in the room with him when it happened and called a code blue alert. Mr. Keller's in emergency surgery."
Catherine turned, sprinting out of the ICU and flew down the stars to the hospital's ER section, back toward the operating room area where she had waited earlier in the evening. Running up to the waiting room she saw the two uniformed cops standing in front of the double doors leading back to the ER operating rooms. Both men stepped toward her and she stopped.
"Where is he?" she pushed out in between gulps of air.
The larger of the two - and both were huge - was a cop named O'Malley, who she knew and liked. "In surgery," he said.
"What happened?" Catherine asked.
"Not sure," O'Malley said. "Doc said Keller had a heart attack. We were on it Chandler. He never left our sight until they took him into the operating room."
Catherine took a step toward the double doors but O'Malley blocked her way. "You know you can't go in there."
Catherine tried to push past the big man but he put his hands on her shoulders and held her back. "Come on, detective, get a grip," he growled.
Anger flared, red hot, as she struggled to pry O'Malley's hands off her and push him out of the way. But she was no match for the man who was at least a half-foot taller than Vincent and easily weighed twice as much as her.
Anger turned to panic as she realized she had neither the strength or energy to fight past the man. She stopped struggling and O'Malley's hands relaxed but he didn't let go of her shoulders.
"Look, Chandler, I know this is your case. But you're exhausted and you're acting kinda whacked. You need to get out of here and get some sleep. And on your way out get someone to call Keller's next of kin. The doctor said things don't look so good."
Catherine looked up at O'Malley, knowing her eyes were begging. "But you don't understand," she said.
"Don't understand what?" the big man said, exasperated.
Every ounce of energy drained out of Catherine's body and she went almost limp in the man's huge hands. She looked down through watery eyes at the ring on her finger. "He doesn't have any family, except for me."
She lifted her eyes up to O'Malley and saw him staring at the ring on her hand.
"You and this guy … engaged?" he said.
Catherine nodded.
"Jesus," O'Malley said under his breath. "Holy Mary Mother of God." He pulled Catherine into a bear hug. "I'm sorry, Chandler. Come on. Sit down over here. You're with us on this. We're not going anywhere."
Catherine nodded. "Thanks, O'Malley. Thanks a lot."
"Don't mention it, kid," he said.
Catherine let out a half-hearted laugh at the big cop's comment. He was probably the same age as her.
A moment later she heard the whoosh of the hallway double doors opening and turned to see Dr. Barnes walking from the direction of the operating rooms, his blue scrubs spotted with blood, an operating room cap over his hair and a mask pulled down under his chin. She stood and walked toward him. As he caught sight of Catherine he stopped, his shoulders dropped and he took in a strangled breath. His expression told her everything she needed to know.
"Catherine, I'm …," he struggled for words. "He'd lost too much blood. His heart failed. We did everything we could. Everything." He paused and swallowed hard. "He's gone. I'm so sorry."
The world started to spin and Catherine's legs gave way. She felt strong arms catch her and ease her down to the floor. Slowly her mind pushed back the gray veil that threatened to overtake her and her vision cleared. She stared up at the ceiling lights glaring overhead.
Vincent was dead.
Tendrils of darkness flowed up from her depths into her chest, surrounding her heart, slowly squeezing down, imprisoning it forever in numbing cold.