Chapter 25
Dutchy calls a cab for him and Charge to follow the two Commanders to the hospital. Just as the cab arrives, the X comes down from the ship. Maxine goes over to her and tells her "Kate, the Hammersley crew will have at least two weeks guaranteed shore leave. And depending on your CO's condition, it might even be longer. But in the meantime you will stay on as acting CO, cause we don't want another debacle like the one with Coburn or Freeman. Is that alright with you?" Kate doesn't know what to say to this news. On one hand she is happy about having her own command, but on the other hand, it's not in the way she wanted it, having to step in for her injured CO.
Maxine sees the emotions washing over Kate's face. She always suspected that there is more to Mike and Kate then just being CO and XO. She just never had any proof. But Kate shows way too much emotion for a man who is just her commanding officer. She decides to ask her "You are worried about Mike?" Kate answers without thinking "Of course I'm worried about him. He is not just my CO, he is a very good friend too." Nodding Maxine replies "I think we should talk about this at a later time. Come to me in my office when all this is over, preferably together with Mike. We have a few things to discuss." Kate nods and salutes, returning to her duty, while Maxine walks back to her car. Getting in, she starts the engine and drives to the hospital at the other end of the city.
When they reach the hospital, they are already expected. A small emergency team consisting of two doctors and four nurses is awaiting them with a gurney. As soon as she stops the car the back door is opened and within seconds the two male nurses have gotten Mike out of the car and lie him gently down on the gurney. Once that is done they roll him inside, checking his vitals along the way. Maxine and Buddy hurry after them. Moments later they catch up with the emergency team. They are working on Mike, hooking him up to all kind of things. One of the nurses is writing everything down. Confused Buddy speaks up "What the hell are you doing?"
One of the doctors turns to him and explains "We have found out that one of his broken ribs has penetrated his lung. We're just prepping him for an immediate emergency surgery. If we wait too long, he'll drown in his own blood." Maxine gasps hearing this "Oh my god! How did this happen?" The doctor answers "We are not sure, but it's possible that he moved around too much. If you excuse me, I have a patient to attend to." With those words the doctor turns back to help his colleagues in prepping Mike for the surgery. Minutes later they have stripped him to his boxers and cover him with a light blanket. Then without further ado, they roll him into the theatre. Buddy and Maxine look worried after them.
Having nothing else to do, they sit down in the waiting area, prepared for a long wait. They are joined by Dutchy and Charge, who have finally managed to reach the hospital. Dutchy asks right away "How is the boss?" Maxine is surprised to hear the Bosun talk about his CO in such an informal way, but in light of the current situation she overlooks it and answers "Your CO is currently being operated on. A rib has penetrated his lung and he was in danger of drowning in his blood. That is all we know so far." Charge can't believe what he hears "That fool. We really should have restrained him to his bunk, to prevent him from running around." Maxine has to laugh a little hearing this. That would really be the only way to get this stubborn prick to listen to reason.
A few hours and a lot of coffees later, the doors leading to the theatre area open and one of the doctors comes out. His green scrubs are covered in blood and his solemn face, makes them fear the worst. Dutchy dares to ask "How is Mike Flynn?" The doctor introduces himself first "Hi. I'm Dr. Lee and I'm one of the doctors who treated Commander Flynn. Are any of you family?" They all shake their heads, but Maxine says "Those men are part of his crew. And those 21 sailors are thanks to Commander Flynn such a tight knit bunch that they all think of themselves as a family, not by blood, but in mind. And I'm his ex-girlfriend. We have a son together. So please tell us, how is he doing?"
"Well to be honest, we all thought he wouldn't make it. There was so much blood in his lungs that we feared we were too late. We managed to pump it out and to close the hole, but still he was bleeding on his inside. To our surprise we found two more broken ribs and those have already damaged some major blood vessels. We were able to patch them all, but the blood loss was so high, that during the surgery his circulatory system broke down and his heart stopped beating. Thrice! And every time it was even harder then before to get him back. He is now resting in a private room in ICU. But to allow his body time to start to heal itself, we decided to put him into an artificial coma. For at least four weeks. That would be enough time for his broken and cracked ribs to heal properly."
Charge thanks the doctor for letting them know how their CO is doing, but asks "What will happen after those four weeks? How long will he have to stay?" Doctor Lee replies "That will depend on how long it will take us to get him out of the coma. Four weeks is a long time and we have to take it slow. Cutting back on the sedatives that kept him under. If we do it too fast it could be fatal. So you have to be patient. As even when he wakes up, he'll be very weak and he has a long way of recovery ahead of him." All four sigh in relief. Dutchy turns to Maxine "What will happen with Hammersley Ma'am? Do we get a new CO till Mike Flynn comes back?" Maxine shakes her head "No. You won't get a new CO. Kate McGregor stays on as acting CO and you guys have now four weeks shoreleave. Dismissed."
Saluting Maxine and content at knowing that their CO is finally getting the help he needed after his nasty fall, Charge, Dutchy and Buddy leave the hospital. They are all more than happy about the long shoreleave. It gives them time to enjoy some of the things they can't, when they are out at sea. First thing they do is to go out with the rest of the crew to their usual haunt to drink to the recovery of their beloved CO Mike Flynn. And as usual one drink turns into several, until they are all fairly drunk.