AN: So when I started this story this was the first thing I wrote for it, but I realized I wanted the 'how we got here' stuff to come first instead of being explained later. I honestly thought that this would be chapter 3. Thanks for sticking with me on this! There are several more chapters to come so I hope you will hang around a while longer.

I am NOT a doctor or in the medical field in anyway. There are probably oodles of things I got wrong. Don't be afraid to let me know, but do keep in mind that this is fiction. Some of the basic hygiene/sterility issues that I skipped here are, hopefully satisfactorily, explained in the next chapter.

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CHAPTER 8

Bareknuckle Surgery

"Ms. Teo is my mamma, and she told me I needed to come here to help one of her boys. A wolf by the name of Eliot Spencer. She told me to bring this gris gris bag so that you would know she sent me." He hooked the bag with a thumb and pushed it forward.

Parker still frowning opened the door and let him in. "What do you know about Eliot?"

Dr. Terry stepped past Parker who hurriedly locked the door behind him. He took in Parker's bloody clothes and mussed hair and her grip on the revolver she was now holding at her side. "I know that if my mamma thinks he needs my help, your friend is in serious trouble."

Sophie stepped into the room, Hardison's paintball gun dangling from her right hand. With her left she wiped at her eyes. This only proved to make her smudged mascara even worse but considering the state of her clothes her general appearance really couldn't get any worse. "Parker, you might as well let him take a look. Nothing we've done has helped and..." Sophie gestured at their bloody clothes and up to the rooms above the pub.

Parker nodded at Sophie and focused her attention back on Dr. Terry. "Eliot was shot twice while he was in his wolf shape. He managed a shift but he isn't healing. He…he's…" Parker's debriefing started off calm and clinical but dwindled to nothing by the end. Finally she turned and walked back through the offices.

Sophie extended a hand toward the doctor but noticed the bloody smears and wiped her hand on her pant leg. "Thanks for coming. I'm not sure what you can do at this point but we appreciate it." Sophie walked with him through the office meeting area and led the way up the stairs.

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Dr. Tyrell Theriot, known as Dr. Terry by all his patients and most of his colleagues, slipped off his jacket and tie as he ascended the stairs. On the second floor they passed through a living room of sorts and he draped his discarded jacket and tie over the back of a couch on his way past. He rolled up his sleeves as he followed the brunette down a short hall and into some sort of home gym. At the back of the room, he saw a middle-aged white man wiping the brow of a younger looking man that must be the wolf he'd been sent to help. A young black man was adjusting several files and images on a giant touch screen on the wall not far from the wolf.

When he got closer, he paused. "May I approach?" Wolves could be very unpredictable and territorial at the best of times. The last thing he wanted was to upset an entire pack of wolves. And of course considering the patient himself, wounded and around people the wolf would feel a need to defend was no time for surprises.

"He's been in and out of consciousness since he completed his shift to human and mostly he's been unresponsive even when you can tell he's awake." Nate didn't take his eyes off of Eliot while he talked to the doctor. Nate started to back away as the doctor got closer.

"No, stay there where he can smell you. He may not seem responsive, but I don't want him to think I've driven you away." Tyrell walked around to the other side of the exam table that Eliot was laying on. He grabbed up a wrist in one hand to check the pulse and used his other to slide his patient's eyelids up. Yellow eyes with uneven pupils and a pulse of thirty, not good signs. Eliot gave a quiet growl and Tyrell noticed that Eliot's teeth hadn't quite made it back to human shape. The canines were much too long and all of his teeth were a little too pointy.

"Was it a silver bullet?" The lack of healing might be an indicator of silver but it could also mean that his system was just so over taxed that the visible damage just hadn't been dealt with.

Nate fished in his pocket and pulled out a slightly misshapen silver lump. He held it out for Tyrell to look at. "This was the round that went through his leg. It had to be the same shooter so I'm certain the second round is silver too."

Tyrell noticed the ease with which Nate handled the silver bullet. "You're not a wolf."

"No."

Tyrell pulled the sheet they'd draped over Eliot away and took a look at the overall damage. Numerous deep slashes, various punctures, and an entry and exit wound in the right leg. Wrapping an arm across Eliot's chest he leaned him forward and inspected his back. Eliot's breathing immediately became more labored and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. There was an entry wound directly over Eliot's right shoulder blade but Tyrell couldn't see any damage to the bone. "He was wolf when he was shot, so no telling what alignment the bullet's trajectory may have had." Tyrell leaned Eliot back.

"Can you help him?" Parker's voice floated down from the rafters above.

Tyrell glanced up but didn't spot Parker. "There's no exit wound. We need to find the bullet before I see to the rest of his injuries."

"Here." Hardison handed Tyrell a portable x-ray device. It looked like a large white camera with a zoom lens and a large clear plastic disc on the front. "We were about to start looking for the round ourselves when you got here."

"You all should stand clear while I use this." Tyrell waggled the portable x-ray for a second before he lined up to take the first image.

The portable x-ray couldn't take a complete image of Eliot's chest so Tyrell started with Eliot's upper right quadrant and continued until he had enough images to cover the entire rib cage. As each image was taken a digital copy was displayed on the giant touch screen on the wall. Hardison started arranging the images until there was one clear picture.

"Found it! Right here doc." Hardison pointed at a bright spot in the middle left side of Eliot's ribcage.

Tyrell squinted at the image in thought for a moment. "Okay. Let's take just a couple more images and then I think I can get that out of there pretty quick." He looked around for a second and decided on the man he'd first spoken to. Since the man wasn't a wolf giving him orders wouldn't cause a problem. "You." He pointed. "Can you help me here?"

"Nate. My name's Nathan but you can call me Nate." Nate stepped up to Eliot's side again.

"Okay, Nate, I need you to support his weight and lean him forwards so that I can get an image from the back and the side." He looked at the young man that had handed him the portable x-ray. "Do you have a lead apron for Nate?"

"Hardison." Hardison pointed at himself. "And maybe." He looked up. "Babe? Did we ever get those aprons?" Hardison knew he should have ordered them but Parker had planned on steeling a couple.

"Doesn't matter. Let's just do this." Nate ran a hand over Eliot's hair. "Come on. One more time okay." The last was obviously addressed to Eliot as Nate braced an arm across Eliot's chest and leaned him forward.

Tyrell wasted no time getting the additional images he needed and Hardison put them up on the screen. Nate wiped more blood from Eliot's chin as he leaned him back again.

"Do you have any bagged blood for him?" So far these people had been very well equipped so he figured it was worth asking. "If not I can get some from the hospital but that will take a little while."

"We've got two units of his own blood that aren't more than thirty days old in the fridge here and we've got twelve units that are in a cryo unit across town." Hardison walked over to the mini fridge and pulled out the two bags that belonged to Eliot and two more bags that belonged to him. "We're compatible so he can use my blood. I can give you more now if you need or I can get the stuff from cryo if you want." Hardison was relieved that they were finally on a course of action that might help Eliot.

Sophie pulled an IV pole out of the closet and set it up near Eliot. She had been feeling a little useless since this night had begun so she was glad that she could help out from the periphery.

"You're a wolf?" Tyrell asked Hardison as he hung the bags and started to attach the tubing.

"No, but Eliot said that it didn't matter. He said that…" Hardison took a deep breath and stopped the babble before it really had a chance to get going. "Can you use my blood or not?"

"I'm sure it's fine." Tyrell's tone was professional and conciliatory. So neither of the men were wolves and he had done surgery on Parker, so unless she had become a wolf in the meantime he was left to wonder where Eliot's pack was. It was very strange to have such a severely injured wolf without his pack around him. Especially to not have his Alpha around to help him keep control while he was vulnerable and in pain. "Where's his Alpha? I need to cut the bullet out and that is going to be very painful."

"He's our Alpha." Parker slid down one of her ropes.

"But you're all human. Aren't you?" Tyrell looked around at the four people standing around the exam table.

"Yes. We'll tell you all about it later if you like, but for now can you please help Eliot." Sophie grabbed Nate's hand as she answered Tyrell.

"Um, okay. We are probably going to need some straps then to hold him down."

"No." All four of them said at the same time.

"No straps. Eliot will panic if he realizes that he's been tied down." Parker stepped forward and held Eliot's hand.

"We'll do our best to hold him." Hardison stepped up to Eliot's other side.

"Alright. If he starts thrashing I'll have to stop." Tyrell went to the small cupboard near the mini fridge that had the blood and rummaged through it until he found a suture kit that included a sterilely packaged scalpel. He pulled a stool up next to Eliot's left side and sat down. "I need someone to hold his arm over his head."

Parker walked around the head of the exam table and pulled Eliot's arm up and threaded her own arms around his. She turned her face toward Eliot's and whispered something in his ear. "Okay doc, we're ready."

Hardison grabbed Eliot's other wrist and braced against his upper arm. "Ready."

Tyrell was pretty sure that this was going to end up with his patient strapped to the table but if they wanted to try it this way first he didn't feel that there was time to argue. "Alright, making the incision." Placing the scalpel between the fifth and sixth ribs he cut his first incision. This would be a wide incision because he would need room to maneuver in order to find and remove the bullet.

Eliot's eyes opened and he jerked, but Parker and Hardison just leaned more heavily on Eliot's arms. "It's okay Eliot. We're here." Parker spoke soothingly into Eliot's left ear.

"El! El, look at me man. Good to see you back with us. We need you to hold still. The doctor's got to do a little more cutting, but it's to help get the bullet out okay."

Tyrell had taken the scalpel away and waited to see if they could get any kind of compliance out of his patient. Eliot glanced at him but locked eyes with Hardison and nodded. He was about to make his next incision when he realized he'd forgotten something. "Plastic wrap. I'm gonna need plastic wrap."

Sophie didn't question or hesitate she just hurried from the room to find the plastic wrap in the kitchen.

"Alright here we go again." Tyrell started in the exact same spot cutting deeper into Eliot's side through the subcutaneous tissue. "It looks like the bullet passed under the spine missing the right lung but went through the left lung, missed the heart and got lodged behind the fifth rib."

Eliot started to move but Parker leaned on his arm. "Don't move. It's like waiting for a Marc ten laser to pass by. You can beat the system but you just have to hold still until the laser is passed. Even if your leg or arm cramps up you just have to hold still." Parker tried to put a smile on her face for encouragement, even though Eliot was looking at Hardison, but her smile was a little wobbly due to the tears in her eyes.

Nate couldn't help the half smile when he heard Parker's encouraging words. He knew that it wouldn't matter what she said, just that she did her best, and that seemed to be working. Eliot's frame was taught but he stopped moving. Nate leaned over and took the plastic wrap from Sophie when she came back in. "He's going to need three very large jars with screw on plastic lids. If Eliot doesn't have any in his cupboards look and see what's in the fridge. I know there's a mayonnaise jar that would work and probably the pickles. See what you can find okay?" Without a word Sophie hurried out of the room again.

Tyrell paused just before he cut through the plural membrane, the last layer of tissue that separated the lungs from the outside world. "I know you can't breathe well because your left lung has collapsed but I still need you to take as deep a breath as possible and hold it. What I'm going to do is reach in and pull out the bullet. That means you won't be able to breath for a moment okay." Eliot glanced at Tyrell again.

Eliot looked at Hardison and took as deep a breath as he could. He immediately felt like he was choking and wanted to cough but instead he swallowed hard and nodded.

"Here we go." With just a little pressure on the scalpel he could feel the popping sensation as the scalpel slid through and the tissue split. He shoved his index and middle finger into the intercostal incision and curled his fingers up behind the fifth rib, feeling for the bullet. Sliding his fingers along the slick tissue that encased the rib he felt his way along until his fingers encountered a globular shape that stood out from the rib. He shoved and pulled until, with a scraping sensation, the bullet came loose from the rib. Squeezing the bullet between his fingers he pulled his fingers out of Eliot's ribcage.

Nate approached with a square of plastic wrap already torn from the roll. When the doctor pulled his fingers and the bullet out, Nate draped the plastic sheet over Eliot's side.

As soon as the doctor's fingers pulled free Eliot let out the breath he'd been holding. The air left him in a wolf whine, and he panted shallowly for a moment while he got himself back under control. Unfortunately, the panting exacerbated the breathing problems he was already having. Eliot started to cough, and Tyrell slapped a hand over the incision trying to form an impromptu seal.

"Stop! Stop coughing! Stop moving!" Tyrell shouted. Eliot growled and started to pull away from Parker and Hardison. Tyrell kept his palm over the wound but looked at the floor and tilted his chin to expose his neck in a submissive position. "Alpha, if you move or cough it will pull air into the space around your lungs."

"Eliot, lay back down." Parker's order was firm.

"Come on man. The doctor's just doing what's best for you. Please." Hardison was still gripping Eliot's forearm and he pushed gently on his shoulder, guiding him back onto the table.

After a moment Tyrell looked at Eliot and back and forth between Parker and Hardison. "Okay. I need to put a tube in and place stitches to hold it." He looked over the suture kit and found plenty of number five suture thread but no suture wire.

Eliot was feeling less sick and more aware now that the silver bullet was gone. He knew his reaction to being given an order was over the top but he'd been in a lot of pain. Looking at the doctor he saw what the man was looking for. "Ther…thers…" he couldn't get enough air to talk and it made him choke.

"Try not to talk if you can help it." Tyrell didn't look up as he took one more look through the suture kit.

With his head down the doctor missed the mulish look on Eliot's face but Hardison didn't. "Tap it. The buds will pick it up."

Eliot tapped against the metal side of the exam table with a fingernail. Over the earbuds the team heard his voice.

"Eliot says that the suture wire is on the top shelf in the back." Hardison conveyed the directions to the doctor.

Parker started to let go of Eliot so that she could get the suture wire but Eliot held onto her.

Tyrell found the wire and threaded a curved needle. "This will hurt but nothing as bad as a moment ago."

Sophie returned with three clean glass jars that had plastic lids. "Now what?"

Nate led her to the counter closest to Eliot that had a sink in it. "Fill one of them almost all the way to the top with water leave maybe an inch of air then and tighten all the lids." He headed for the door and called back over his shoulder. "Hardison where's your soldering iron?"

"Tool bag on the shelf near my desk." Hardison kept his eyes on Eliot. "Doctor'll have you breathing better soon."

Sophie came over with a cool cloth and wiped Eliot's face and neck while she smoothed his hair. "There you are."

Eliot gave her a half smile and tapped on the exam table. "Thanks."

Nate came back and started melting holes in the plastic lids with Hardison's soldering iron. Tyrell joined him and started feeding bits of tubing through the holes. In no time they had the jars configured the way they wanted them and they hooked up Eliot's chest tube to the closest jar. Blood and air were pulled into the first jar and Eliot's breathing improved.

Nate leaned back against the counter and watched Hardison talking quietly to Eliot.

"You done this kinda thing before?" Tyrell asked as he washed up in the small sink.

"Life threatening medical procedures? No not really."

"So how'd you know how to build a Wangensteen suction?" Tyrell leaned tiredly against the wall near Nate.

"Saw it once on an episode of M.A.S.H."

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AN: A Wangensteen suction apparatus is a modified siphon that maintains constant negative pressure. It was first created by Owen Harding Wangensteen (1898-1981) the Chief of Surgery at the University of Minnesota. This invention has been credited with saving more than 100,000 lives.