**Yet again…not mine. Enjoy and Review!**
Three hours passed, and the guys were all cleaned up, stitched up and sitting around in scrubs. Backup had arrived shortly after the extra nurses showed up and were strategically placed throughout the hospital. Les had called Ranger's mom, and she was flying in on the first flight. I was sitting in one of the chairs that were brought into the room that we had commandeered, staring into space.
"Beautiful." Les said from the bed. He was lying on his stomach to ease the pain in his ass. "How are you doing?"
"I'm fine." I sighed, pressing the heel of my hands into my eyes. I was exhausted and hungry and anxious and terrified. My stomach growled and we both laughed. "I'm hungry, I guess."
"Cal, let's get Beautiful some food." Les called to the other side of the room where Cal was reclined in a chair, his feet propped up against a small table. "Maybe some Pino's?"
Cal dropped his feet and smiled. "I think that sounds good. I'll have Binky go and pick some up. Do you want to the usual, Bomber?"
"Yes please. Thanks." I watched as Cal opened the door and stepped into the hallway; where Binky was standing guard. "How much longer do you think he will be in surgery?" I asked to no one in particular.
"He should be out any minute." Bobby said, continuing the pacing that he had begun hours ago. He stopped, took a deep breath and ran his hands through his hair. "I hate fucking waiting."
"Guys!" Cal ran into the room. "He's out. The doctor is heading over right now."
We all stood, except Les who tried to get up but after a few quick attempts slumped back down and sighed. Doctor Fletcher strode in with the same tired and worn look on his face from hours before.
"Well, he's out of surgery." He smiled his almost there smile. "It went well."
The whole room sighed with relief.
"When can I see him?" I asked, twisting my hands together nervously. "When will we know if he will be okay?"
"You can go and see him shortly. He will still be sedated. We need to keep him unconscious until the swelling goes down more." He extended the file he had been carrying to Bobby. "These are the medical reports that you asked for. We are getting the images placed on disks for you, but they may take a little while."
"Thank you, Dr. Fletcher." Bobby said, taking the file. "I appreciate this."
"We can only have two visitors in the room at a time." Dr. Fletcher turned back to the group. "You can take shifts, of course, but with the amount of equipment in there and the severity of his injuries we need to make sure that we have access to him at all times."
"Stephanie and I will go in first." Tank stated, not looking at anyone but Dr. Fletcher.
"Alright." Dr. Fletcher smiled. "Let's get you down and scrub you in so that you can see him. Until he has run through the second course of antibiotics we don't want to risk any secondary infection."
Tank took my hand as we followed Dr. Fletcher down the hall. My legs were like Jell-O and my head was still spinning. I was grateful for Tank's hand in mine. I tripped slightly as we pushed through a set of double security doors.
"I'm here, Steph." Tank's deep voice enveloped me as he slid his arm around my waist and supported me as we kept walking. "Just take one breath at a time. One step at a time. You aren't going to be alone."
The hallway seemed endless as my eyes darted from doorway to doorway searching for Ranger. I was terrified to see him and yet desperately needed to at the same time. We passed through another set of glass security doors before Dr. Fletcher stopped.
"This is his room." He pointed to room number 314. "He's stable, but if you notice anything call for a nurse. We want to know if anything changes; good or bad."
"Understood." Tank said, sticking out his hand to shake Dr. Fletcher's hand. "Thanks for all that you have done."
"It's my pleasure." He smiled as they shook hands. "I'll leave you to visit. If you need anything, please just ask."
We both stared at the door for a minute. Taking our interlocked hands up to his face, he kissed my knuckles and smiled.
"Let's go see our boy." He pushed open the door and we stepped inside.
The room was minimally lit. It was midday by now, and the blaring afternoon sun was peaking around drawn blackout curtains. The air was overly fresh and dry from the industrial air purifying systems. Ranger was laying supine in the hospital bed, his arms straight against his sides. His eyes were closed, but you could see the subtle movements behind his eyelids.
He had multiple IVs running fluids and medications with a pump attached that beeped occasionally. An NG tube was in his nose and he had a breathing tube. His head was shaved and tubes were taped against his head and fell behind the bed like robotic dreads. Electrodes were stuck to his chest, arms and abdomen. The cut on his side was stitched and a chest tube was in place.
"Oh Carlos." I whispered, dragging Tank by the hand to the bedside. I choked back a sob as I touched his hand. It was limp and cool. His skin was ashy, and the lack of movement was unnerving.
"Geeze Brother." Tank shook his head. "You aren't gonna just shake this shit off."
Tank pulled up two chairs, and we sat butted up to the bed. I turned his hand over and pressed my cheek into his palm. A tear fell down my cheek and pooled in his hand.
"Tank. He looks so…"
"I know, Bomber." He swallowed and stroked my head. "I've seen him in some serious shit, but this is something different."
We sat in silence, Tank stroking my head and me cuddling my face in Ranger's hand. There was a knock on the door.
"Come in." Tank spoke softly, but his deep baritone still managed to seem amplified in the quiet space. The door opened and a petite older nurse came in, her white shoes squeaking.
"Sorry to bother you." She said, checking the monitors, leads and IV lines.
"It's okay." I said, lifting my head from his hand and sighing. "How long do you think he will be out?"
"It's hard to say." The nurse said with a sympathetic smile. "This guy," she chuckled and tilted her head at Ranger. "He's a fighter. I bet it won't take as long as the surgeon expects."
"Why do you say that?"
"Well, I prepped him." She chuckled softly. "He was barely conscious, and frankly he shouldn't have been at all; but he kept trying to get up and leave. He said he had to get Babe."
Tank laughed, clapping his hand on Ranger's leg gently. "That doesn't surprise me."
"You must be Babe?" She asked, pointing at me. I nodded and smiled. "It took four nurses, two doctors and a couple orderlies to keep him on the bed so that the anesthesiologist could sedate him."
"That sounds like Ranger." I chuckled and took his hand. I touched his face gently with my hand. "He can be a little overprotective."
"Honey, that's a man that is truly in love. You are one lucky girl." She wrote some notes on the white board hanging by the monitors. "I'm going to be back in 45 minutes. Do you want me to send you up something to eat?"
"No." Shaking my head. "Someone is bringing food in a little while."
"Okay. If you need anything, just press the call button." She pointed to the side of the bed. "I mean it. Even if you just need to talk. He is my only patient. Between me and Georgina, we will be his nurses." She pointed at the names above Ranger's on the white board. Georgina and Tamatha.
"Thank you, Tamatha." I smiled. "I will keep that in mind."
She nodded and left the room.
"Tank?"
"Yeah, Steph?"
"I'm not leaving his side until he walks out that door."
"I wouldn't anticipate anything else." He smiled, and wrapped an arm around me. "Ranger says the exact same thing."