Chris wasn't sure how they managed it, but he and the rest of the team made it to the trauma center at UCHealth before the ambulance carrying Ezra and Nathan arrived. "There," he said pointing to an ambulance just backing into the bay. He and the others watched as medical personnel poured out of the hospital to meet it.
The first out was Nathan. If possible, his shirt was even bloodier than it had at the scene. He spotted where Chris and the others were and jogged over to them. "He's holding on," he said without being asked. Chris wondered what had happened that left Nathan looking so stunned but didn't ask.
A gurney was pulled from the back of the ambulance and was swiftly surrounded by medical personnel. Chris was able to catch the briefest glimpse of his other agent. What he saw wasn't comforting. If Nathan hadn't just reported that he was holding on, he would have thought Ezra dead he was so still and waxen.
Their simple op had gone horrible wrong. Instead of an easy arrest of a group of gunrunners, it had been a setup resulting in an ambush. Either Tonelli had an inside man or he'd somehow broken Ezra's cover. Whichever, they'd been pinned down until backup arrived. It was nothing short of miraculous that Ezra had been the only one hit. The first shot had found it's mark and he'd gone down. Although it wasn't more than a minute, it seemed like ten times that before they were able to reach him and pull him to cover.
When Ezra was first hit, Chris had thought he was stunned from the force of the bullet impacting his body armor. It was only when he and Vin reached him that they saw the blood starting to pool under him. The sons of bitches were using armor piercing bullets.
Somehow, Nathan was able to keep Ezra alive until backup arrived. Once they were outnumbered, Tonelli and his gang pulled back to who knew where.
It was just minutes later that the ambulance arrived. The EMT's quickly bundled Ezra onto a gurney and whisked him into the back of the ambulance. His golden hour was ticking down. There was no time to waste.
Nathan insisted he accompany Ezra. It was only the fact that he was still a licensed EMT that he was allowed to ride in the back. As the ambulance doors were slammed shut and it pulled away, Chris wondered if that was the last time he'd see Ezra alive.
"Should someone call his mom?" JD asked into the silence after Ezra was out of sight.
"Travis is taking care of that." Chris said. "C'mon. Let's go to the waiting room."
They reached the waiting room just as several other ATF agents arrived. One of their own had gone down. It didn't matter whose team he was on, there'd be a group of agents keeping vigil until they knew Ezra would either make it or... Chris wasn't going to think the unthinkable.
As the others found seats, Nick Baker, one of the other SAC's came over the Chris. He and his team were the first to arrive on scene to backup Team Seven. "Any word?"
"No. They just got him here." Chris pointed over to where Nathan was sitting. "Jackson said he was holding on." He looked down and shook his head slightly. "It's bad, though."
Baker reached over and quickly squeezed Chris's shoulder. "Standish is a tough SOB. He's going to make it."
Chris blew out a breath. "Yeah. I hope you're right." With a quick nod, he backed away from Baker, joining the rest of Team Seven where they sat waiting for word. They were huddled a little apart from the others, keeping to themselves. Chris noticed how the other agents made a protective wall around them. It was just a matter of time before the media circus arrived and he had no doubt Baker and the others would do their damnedest to make sure it didn't find them.
"He's going to be ok, isn't he?" JD asked. "Isn't he?" he demanded when no one answered him. "Nathan..." he implored when there was still no answer.
"I don't know, JD," Nathan answered somberly. "It's a chest wound. He was losing a lot of blood. He…" He trailed off and shook his head. "I just don't know.
"You did the best you could," Chris consoled as he squeezed Nathan shoulder in support. "You gave him a fighting chance."
"Fighting chance," Nathan scoffed. "It was like trying to plug a leaking dike with my finger."
"I shoulda seen that sniper," Vine said. "Shoulda seen him and taken him out before he could pull the trigger."
"Stop it," Chris commanded before anyone else could criticize his own efforts. "It wasn't anyone's fault but Tonelli's and his goons, so everyone knock it off blaming yourself. It's not going to do Ezra a damned bit of good."
The entire waiting room lapsed into a stunned silence at Chris's raised voice. In the silence, the ding of an arriving elevator was clearly heard. Everyone turned toward it not knowing what to expect. The doors opened and Nathan's wife walked out. Raine worked in the radiology department, and it wasn't clear if her arrival were a coincidence of if she'd somehow been alerted to her husband's and his team's presence.
Catching sight of her husband, she gasped when she saw him. "Nathan! What happened?" she asked as she ran to him.
Nathan got up and met his wife. "It's not mine, Baby," he assured her as her hands fluttered over his blood-stained shirt. "It's Ezra," he said numbly. "He was shot. There was so much blood." He took a shuddering breath. "He coded in the ambulance. They got him back, though. So much blood," he repeated in a near whisper.
Chris's head jerked up at Nathan's words. He wondered who Nathan was trying to protect by not telling them Ezra had nearly died in the ambulance. It explained why he look so stunned...so disconnected.
Chris walked over to join Nathan and Raine where they were standing. He rubbed Nathan's back a couple of times. "He needs to get cleaned up," he said addressing Raine.
"I'll take care of him." Raine took her husband by the hand and started to lead him away. "C'mon. Let's get you cleaned up."
Nathan hesitated, pulling back. "I can't. I need to wait."
"Hey," Rain said gently. "It's going to take a while for them to assess him and start treatment. You don't want him to see you like this when they let you back there, do you?" When Nathan still hesitated, she added, "You've got your phone. Someone will call if the doctor comes out."
Nathan finally nodded. "Yeah. Ok." He looked back at Chris. "I'll...uh...I'll be right back," he said before letting Raine lead him away.
Josiah got up and joined Chris where he was still standing. "He's a lucky man," he said as Nathan and Raine rounded a corner and were out of sight.
"Yeah." Chris sat heavily and wiped his hands down his face. "Let's hope it's rubbed off on Ezra.
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"What's taking so long?" Buck complained. "Shouldn't someone have come out here and let us know what's going on by now?"
"It's only been thirty minutes," Nathan said looking at his watch. It had taken him less than 15 minutes to cleaned up, changed and return to the waiting room. He sat by Raine clad in blue hospital scrubs. "We need to be patient and give them time to work on him."
Chris snorted at the advice. If there was one thing he knew about his men it was that they weren't very well acquainted with 'patient'. He'd been thinking the same thing Buck had vocalized. It was only sheer willpower that was keeping him in his seat and not up at the desk demanding answers. He wasn't sure how much longer he'd be able to restrain himself, though. Luckily, he didn't have to find out when a doctor came out to the waiting room from the trauma bay about five minutes later. He stopped to talk with the nurse at the desk then walked over to where Chris was sitting.
"You're here for Mr. Standish," the doctor asked stopping in front of Chris.
"Yeah," Chris said as he got up. "Is he..." he couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence.
"We had to do a thoracotomy in trauma, he's being moved to a surgical suite now to finish the procedure. Right now, it's touch and go and his condition's critical."
"What does that mean?" Chris questioned. He didn't have Nathan's medical knowledge, but he had a feeling the procedure the doctor had mentioned wasn't usually done in trauma.
"Both his left ventricle and the top of his left lung were nicked by the bullet as it passed. The internal bleeding and collapsed lung were causing a hemopneumothorax. That needed to relieved right away and the hole in his heart needed to be closed. We've also started him on a massive blood transfusion protocol because of the hypovolemic shock."
Chris looked bewildered at the explanation. Nathan, who'd also gotten up, quickly explained, "There was air and blood in his chest cavity. It puts pressure on the heart and lungs making it hard for them to function properly. Hypovolemia means he's lost a lot of blood."
The doctor nodded at the explanation. "To be honest, it's amazing that he made it here. I was told he coded once in the ambulance. He coded again when we had him open, but we were able to get him back."
Chris rubbed his hand over his face. Two times, now, Ezra had cheated death. "He's a fighter," he heard himself say.
"That he is," the doctor agreed. He took in the number of people arrayed around him hanging on his every word. "There's a waiting on the fourth floor. If you'd like to wait there."
"Yeah." Chris took a deep breath. "Yeah. We'll wait there." He paused thinking about what the doctor had said about blood loss. "What about blood donation?"
"The blood bank is well stocked, but we're always happy for volunteers. The intake nurse can direct you where to go."
"Thanks, Doc."
The doctor nodded once. "Do you have any other questions?"
Chris almost asked what Ezra's chances were of surviving the surgery, then realized he didn't want to know. That he was alive and still fighting was enough. "No. Not right now." He thanked the doctor again and watched him walk away. He looked around at the rest of the men and women who were still gathered around. He noticed Nick was talking with the intake nurse. "I guess we should move," he suggested.
"Yeah," Vin agreed. "Baker's finding out where to go to donate blood. I figure a bunch of us'll probably want to."
"Yeah. I guess," Chris agreed. He felt numb. In the years that Team Seven had worked together, they'd had their fair share of injuries and close calls, but nothing like this had ever happened. "We should figure something out so at least one of us is in the waiting room in case the surgeon comes out."
"How about we let Nick get that coordinated," Josiah suggested. "I'll let him know and then we can go wait." He waited until Chris nodded before going to talk with Nick and let him know what they'd decided.
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They'd been sitting in the surgical waiting room for over two hours waiting for word. Nick Baker had taken over organizing the list of fellow agents who were willing to donate blood. There'd been a constant stream of them rotating in and out of the waiting room. The only constants were the six remaining men from Team Seven.
More than just fellow agents were waiting now. Raine sat by her husband holding his hand and lending her support. Nettie Welles had shown up with her niece Casey. She'd quickly taken charge of making sure those waiting were supplied with a steady stream of coffee, sandwiches, and fruit. Chris wasn't sure how she found out what had happened. He suspected Judge Travis had contacted them. He, his wife Evie, and daughter-in-law Mary had shown up about thirty minutes ago.
He looked around at the people arrayed in the waiting room. There wasn't a free chair to be found. Some were sitting on the floor and others leaning against the wall. "If Ezra could see," he muttered.
"What was that?" Josiah asked as he came over and handed Chris a cup of coffee.
"I was just saying if Ezra could see how many people are here, worrying about him, he probably wouldn't believe it."
Josiah also looked around at the assembled people. "He's made quite an impact, even if he doesn't always realize it. We'll make sure he knows."
"Yeah," Chris said then took a sip of coffee. "If he…"
"He will," Josiah said emphatically cutting Chris off.
"I hope you're right."
Chris lost track of time after that. He sat quietly watching the others and waiting. The cup of coffee he held was forgotten and soon grew cold. He was just reaching to put it down on the table by the chair when someone new walked into the room. The man was wearing scrubs and still had a scrub hat on. It had to be the surgeon. Chris got up and quickly walked over to him.
"You're here for Mr. Standish," the man asked.
Chris gestured around the room. "We all are."
"I'm Dr. Carmichael," the man introduced himself. "I'm a thoracic surgeon."
"Chris Larabee," Chris introduced himself. "I'm in charge of the ATF team Ezra's with. How is he?"
Carmichael gestured to two chairs that were kitty corner to each other in the back of the room. "Why don't we sit down." He looked around at the others. "Unless you want to go somewhere more private."
Chris moved to the indicated chairs and sat. "No. This is fine."
"It was touch and go," the doctor said as he took the other chair.
"The doctor down in trauma said the bullet nicked his lung and his heart," Chris prompted. "He said something about a…a…" he looked over to Nathan for help.
"Hemopneumothorax," Nathan supplied.
"Yeah. That."
"There was a hemopneumothorax," Carmichael agreed. "He has a chest tube to drain off any blood and air from the chest cavity. I've also repaired the damage to his heart and lung. He's currently on a ventilator to give him time to rest and heal. I'll be honest with you. The damage was extensive as was the blood loss. We had to replace over fifty percent of his blood volume."
"What are his chances, doc. Is he going to make it?"
"If he makes it through the next twenty-four hours, I'd say his chances are very good."
"Twenty-four hours," Chris echoed. "Can we see him."
"He's going to be moved to ICU. It's customary to allow one visitor for ten minutes every hour…generally only immediate family."
"We're as close as that," Buck interjected.
"Dr. Carmichael," Travis said as he came over to where Chris and the doctor were. "I'm Orrin Travis, Assistant Director of the Denver ATF Field office. These men," he said as he pointed to Chris and the other members of Team Seven, "are as close to family as you'll find. I'd suggest you let them in to visit Agent Standish."
Carmichael looked from Travis to the earnest faces of the men he'd pointed out. "Ok," he relented. "It's unorthodox, but I'll let you men in. As I said, though, only one at a time, ten minutes every hour."
"That's not going to work," Vin said. "Someone needs to be with Ezra all the time."
"As I said Agent…"
"Tanner. Vin Tanner."
"Visitation rules for ICU are very strict. I'll already be bending them by letting you men in even though you aren't immediate family. I can't allow you take up a bedside vigil."
"You don't understand, doc. We all made a promise to Ezra that he'd never be alone. He gets squirrelly about things. It wasn't all sunshine and roses when he was a kid and sometimes he forgets there's people who are gonna be there for him and he starts thinking he's alone."
"He wakes up and doesn't see someone he recognizes," Nathan chimed in, "he's going to start panicking. He won't let you see it…or he'll try his hardest to hide it, but it'll happen. I can't see how that can be good for him."
Carmichael looked around at the six determined faces then over to Travis hoping he'd be of some help. "I think you should listen to these boys," Travis said. "They know what they're talking about."
"Ok," Carmichael relented. "I'll allow someone in the room with him around the clock, but only one person. You'll have to work that out amongst yourselves. And you're to stay out of the way of medical personnel and if they tell you they need the room for treatments or dressing changes, you're to leave. Am I clear?"
"As crystal," Chris agreed. "Thanks."
Carmichael nodded and looked around the room again. "I hope I don't regret this."