Acceptance- Chapter 26

Sorry that it has been so long. Been kinda bummed and didn't feel like writing. Reviews always make me feel good.

Bobby's POV

Vince's body spasmed as the second shock ripped through him. All eyes went to the monitor, where that flat line remained unchanged. Shit. "Still asystole. Resume CPR." The well rehearsed movements of the team continued. The doctor's eyes were confused as they went back and forth between Vince's face and the flat line racing across the monitor. " I don't understand this. He was stable. This shouldn't be happening." He should have responded by now."

I held the empty potassium vial up between two gloved fingers. " This is why it happened. Someone gave him a mega dose of potassium." The doctor looked pleased to at least have some explanation for Vince's arrest. " Ok, folks, lets push calcium gluconate, then resume the CPR " If they could keep Vince going while they gave drugs to reverse the effects of the potassium, then Vince still had a chance. "Hang in there, Vince" I whispered to my friend.

I didn't want to leave Vince, but could see Steph at the window, crying, her head buried in Lester's shoulder. I put the empty vial in my pocket and went out to the waiting area. Steph ran up to me, tears flowing down her face. " Oh, my God, Bobby, what happened? He's dying. He was doing better." I put her head against my shoulder, held her, and turned her away from where they were working on Vince.

"Um, honey, he had a bad reaction to a drug someone gave him, and it sent him back into cardiac arrest. They are doing everything they can for him." I heard my own voice breaking and tried to stay calm. Vince was my friend, and it wasn't looking good for him. I didn't want to tell Steph what I had found or my suspicions about what Ranger had done, not until I was sure. I handed Steph back to Lester, who tried to take her over to the waiting area, but she insisted on staying right outside Vince's room, her face buried in Lester's shoulder.

I stepped a few feet away and motioned Woody and Ram over. Lester was listening from a few feet away, Stephanie huddled against him, his jacket around her. We could hear the muffled sounds of her sobbing, her face buried in Lester's jacket. I huddled the guys. " Vince's arrest was deliberate. Someone gave him a massive dose of potassium to stop his heart." I nodded toward Vince's room. " They are trying to counteract the potassium and restart his heart now. " I made eye contact with each of them and knew that they had also put together the pieces. " We need to find Ranger, and alert Trenton PD and hospital security." Woody's face was grim. Ranger had been the last one in the room. Shit. They shouldn't have left him alone in there. " you don't think… even Ranger wouldn't…would he? Fuck. Vince has been his friend for years. " I turned to look at Steph, but she was buried in Lester's jacket, crying , so she didn't hear anything we were saying.

Steph's POV

I wasn't sure what was happening, just that Vince had been waking up, and now he was dying. He had been getting better, almost awake. I couldn't lose Vince. I loved him. I barely even felt Lester's arms around me and his hands stroking my back trying to comfort me. I couldn't stop crying. All my attention was focused on the frantic motion around Vince, the straight line on the monitor. Bobby came out and I could see past his blankface to the worry beneath.

I barely heard his voice, I was dizzy and lightheaded. " Vince had a bad reaction to something someone gave him, and it made his heart stop. They are doing all they can." He didn't seem very hopeful. I felt dizzy and lightheaded, glad that Lester was supporting me. That kind of thing wasn't supposed to happen in a hospital, was it? Lester tried to drag me away, but I wanted to be close to Vince.

Woody's POV

Shit. Vince was dying. And I couldn't believe it was Ranger who might have killed him. He wouldn't do that would he? I knew he had gotten Vince sent away so he could have Steph, but to actually kill Vince to get her? That seemed fucking ruthless , even for him. If it was true, I would kill that fucker myself. We couldn't confront him without proof could we? The Trenton PD could see if there were prints on the vial, but there probably wouldn't be any. Ranger was too smart to leave prints. We called Tank and alerted him to come over with the PD.

Bobby, Ram, and I were still discussing how the fuck we were going to handle this, when Steph's sobbing stopped abruptly. We all looked up and saw the doctor that was head of the code team come up to us. Steph's tear streaked face looked up at him hopefully, Lester's arms around her. Bobby went to stand beside her.

" Mr. Sonterra had a sudden cardiac arrest due to a …" he looked at Bobby meaningfully, "drug reaction. He initially didn't respond to resuscitation until we were able to give him another drug to counteract the first one and kept him alive until it had time to work. We were able to get his heart beating normally again. " The silence of the room was broken by the sound of Steph's relieved exhalation. She slumped against Lester in relief. " His heart was stopped for a significant time period, so there is the possibility of permanent brain damage. However, we kept him well oxygenated, so the possibility is small. We are stabilizing him now."

Steph's POV

When the doctor told us Vince was alive, I felt myself sag, and felt Bobby's arms instantly close around me . My mind refused to accept the part about the possibility of Vince having brain damage. That couldn't happen. I slumped into Bobby's arms, and he held me tightly, whispering that it was going to be ok. I was lightheaded and numb. " Bobby, what did he mean a drug reaction? Like an allergy to something they gave him? Shouldn't they know about allergies? What kind of hospital is this?"

I knew I was rambling now, " what do they mean brain damage? Oh, God, that is bad. He can't have brain damage. " Bobby was holding me, guiding me to the couch. " I don't know sweetie. We'll find out. Just take it easy and go sit down." I was shaking and he brought me water and covered me with his jacket. There was so much activity around me but it seemed separate from me. I could tell from the furtive looks between the guys that they did know something that they weren't telling me.

Suddenly there was a lot of activity. A bunch of guys from Rangeman suddenly showed up. Bobby, Woody, Lester, and Ram were joined by Tank, Hal, and Zip, and Binkie. A couple of Trenton PD guys showed up. Bobby left me sitting on the couch while he talked with them in a corner. I heard Tank and Hal leave, saying they were going to "cover Ranger." Zip and Binkie were told to "cover Vince's door, maximum security". The cops were talking to the doctors and the guys. Something big was going on that the guys didn't want me to know about. Part of me objected to being cut out of the loop. But most of me was just so numb and shaky and relieved that Vince had survived and I trusted that Bobby and the guys would take care of me. In some kind of delayed reaction, I felt myself go lightheaded and my last thought was that it was ok, the guys would take care of everything.

Bobby's POV

Steph's blue eyes opened slowly and I could tell when it registered that she was lying on the couch, her feet up, covered with a jacket. I was standing a few feet away, talking with Hal on the phone about surveillance on Ranger, but I abruptly ended the call when I saw that she was awake. " How are you feeling , sweetie. " She tried to sit up. "Oh, God, Bobby, I'm sorry. " She tried to sit up but I kept her lying on the couch. " I was just so scared and there is so much going on and I just got lightheaded , worried about Vince, and there is something else going on that no one is telling me about."

I knew she was in shock from everything that had happened, and now almost losing Vince again, but I was concerned that she had fainted again. I crouched beside her , taking her hand . "Sweetie, don't worry. Vince is alive and so far there's no sign of brain damage. Just relax. Don't worry about anything else. Trust us to take care of it." I was worried about her. She'd been so fragile the last few weeks, granted she'd had a lot of stuff going on, but she seemed so shaky. Steph was usually pretty tough and she'd been through a lot the last few weeks, with Vince leaving, Ranger coming, Vince getting shot, Ranger pressuring her. And now this crisis with Vince. But this was the third time she had fainted.

I had promised Vince I would take care of her and I was worried about her. She was going to need her strength to keep fending off Ranger, and who knows what danger she'll be in when we confront him about trying to kill Vince. If there was something going on with her, we needed to face it.

I knew that she and Vince had been intimate. Hell, I remembered giving him grief about the noisy bedsprings. But I wondered… " Steph, sweetie. Vince is stable for now. And yes, there are some other things going on that you need to know about , but first, I need to take care of you. You have been shaky and fainted twice now. I want you to get checked out. I know that you and Vince…well, is there any chance you could be pregnant?"

Her eyes got huge, and I could tell that with worrying about Vince and fending off Ranger, she hadn't thought about the possibility. "Oh, my God, Bobby…"