Search and Rescue

Chapter 14

Mike was not a patient man so waiting on word on Hannah was difficult. Every nightmare scenario crossed his mind. At least Kaitlyn was alright and leaning on him. She was sitting on his right side and Maddie was on his left side. Finally, the surgeon called them into a conference room. Of course, Max was considered Hannah's next-of-kin, so he didn't even have to consult Mike on any decisions. They all settled in the chairs and waited after introducing themselves.

"Alright; my name is Dr. Alex Carpenter. I am a cardiac thoracic surgeon, and we had a general surgeon as well. Hannah pulled through the surgery. Her left lung collapsed due to broken ribs, she has a break in her sternum, and for a minute; we thought her pericardial sac was punctured, but the lung has reinflated, and the chest tube is out. She also has a bruised kidney and we had to remove her spleen. She also has a broken arm; both her wrist and a bone above her elbow is broken. Once she stabilizes a bit more, they will be operating on that, unless they loss a pulse on that side. All in all, Hannah is a very lucky girl." Dr. Carpenter explained.

"Is she awake?" Max asked.

"In and out. We are keeping her pretty heavily sedated due to her pain level. That sternum break is going to hurt pretty bad." Dr. Carpenter said.

"Any head injuries and spinal issues?" Mike asked. Dr. Carpenter gave Max a look and Max nodded at him.

"None. When she is awake, she is pretty cognizant, and is responding to tests of her lower extremities." Dr. Carpenter answered.

"Can we see her?" Max asked. Mike must have given him a look because he nodded back at him.

"Yes, but only two at once, and you have to keep the visits to a minimum." Dr. Carpenter said.

"Mike; you and Kaitlyn should go in first and I will work on having your name put on the paperwork so they'll talk to you." Max told Mike. It was generous at best.

"Thank you." Mike said simply. He helped Kaitlyn stand up and they followed the doctor to a room, while Max dealt with paperwork. As soon as Mike walked into the room, he was shocked at how small Hannah looked in the bed. Her long, dark hair was down and spread over the pillow. Mike gently kissed her forehead and touched her hand before sitting down. He grateful that Max was allowing him this time. A few moments later, Hannah's eyes popped open and she looked around a little.

"Daddy?" Hannah asked. Mike immediately stood up and took her hand.

"Hey, sweetie." Mike said. Kaitlyn had stepped out to let the nurse know Hannah was awake.

"So…thirsty." Hannah said.

"The nurse will be here in a minute." Mike told her just as the nurse and Kaitlyn walked in. Max was standing at the door as well. "She's thirsty." Mike said as ran his hand through her hair.

"Hurt." Hannah said.

"Yes, its to be expected. We're putting you on a morphine drip and let's raise your head a bit so you can have some water." The nurse said. Mike could tell it was hurting Hannah, but she was tough.

"Can you stay?" Hannah asked. At first he thought she was talking to Max or Kaitlyn but she was looking at him.

"Me?" Mike asked.

"Yeah." Hannah answered. Mike looked up at Max who nodded at him.

"Of course, baby girl." Mike told her.

"I can have a cot brought in." The nurse offered.

"Yes, thank you." Max told her before she left. Kaitlyn had also followed her out, and once the door shut; Max spoke. "Mike; I got the paperwork fixed to where you can make a decision and they are able to tell you about her treatments. I think its appropriate you stay here. Besides, Kaitlyn said Hannah wanted you here. This is your chance with them." Max said.

"And I plan on taking it." Mike said.

"Mike; I never planned on taking your family away from you. The kids needed taken care of, and Mom couldn't do it all. If anything; having to help with them saved my life. But you are back now, and they have to accept you." Max remarked.

"I wish there was an easy way to do that." Mike said.

"I think this is it. We would have both preferred Hannah not go through this, but it may be a godsend. Now, I'll stay in here if you want to go say bye to Maddie and Kaitlyn." Max offered and Mike nodded in agreement. Hannah had fallen back to sleep, but Mike gave her a kiss on the forehead before leaving the room. His parents, Kaitlyn and Maddie were in the waiting room. Maddie handed him a sandwich and cup of coffee as soon as he approached and he gave her a kiss.

"Kaitlyn told us you were staying. Figured you'd want to eat." Maddie said.

"Will you be alright?" Mike asked her.

"She's going to stay with us tonight. She'll be just fine." Barbara said.

"I'll be fine." Maddie said with a smile. Mike turned towards his oldest daughter knowing she was still beating herself up. Mike sat down next to her and put an arm around her.

"Hannah will be alright. You go home and get some rest tonight, okay?" Mike begged.

"Okay." Kaitlyn said. She laid her head on Mike's shoulder. He kissed her forehead and just held her for a moment.

"I know its hard to believe, but I do love you girls. Just give me some time to prove it to you." Mike said.

"Okay. You'll take care of Hannah?" Kaitlyn asked.

"You bet." Mike told her. He stood up and helped her stand up. He gave her another kiss before hugging Maddie. As he held her, he put a hand on her stomach, as had become a habit. He knew his very perceptive mom would notice, and as soon as Maddie pulled away, Barbara gave him a suspicious look. He knew they would have to announce the pregnancy soon. Hopefully, his mom wouldn't hassle Maddie. He gave Maddie a kiss and hugged his mom before they left. They needed to all concentrate on Hannah and even Kaitlyn, and not worry about the baby being born out of wedlock. As bad of a reaction as Mike had had to the news of Maddie's pregnancy, he knew he would love their baby and that was what mattered.

Mike relieved Max, spoke with a doctor about Hannah's surgery on her arm, and settled in with his coffee and sandwich. The cot had been delivered and Hannah was still asleep. Mike knew he would have to sleep at some point, but for the time being; he wanted to be there for her when she did wake up again.