The wait at the hospital was unbearable. Frank was nervously pacing there and back in front of the O.R., eagerly waiting for any word on Jamie's or the boy's he thought was his son condition. When they arrived at the hospital the doctors ran a couple of tests necessary before they whisked Jamie/the boy to the emergency surgery for he was bleeding internally. That was already three hours ago.
Frank wondered whether he should call pops or Danny but he decided to wait till he will have more information about the boy's condition. He just prayed that the boy will be okay.
An hour later an older-looking surgeon, whom Frank knew from the past, and whose name was doctor Collins, finally came to talk to him.
"Frank," he greeted the commissioner when he saw him waiting in the hallway in front of the E.R., "The nurse told me there was someone from the police to talk to me about the condition of the boy they brought here earlier tonight. I guess, I didn't expect to see the chief of the police himself," the doctor told the commissioner, surprised to see him.
He was well aware that it was hardly a job of the police commissioner to wait for the results of the surgery he performed on a homeless child.
"Well, what can I tell you, John, all my men were occupied," Frank made a small joke before he grew serious again. "How is he?" He asked nervously, fearing for the boy's wellbeing.
"The surgery went well," doctor Collins informed him. "The kid was quite lucky because he was stabbed in his abdomen two times. The blade missed his spleen and kidney only by accident." The doctor revealed to the commissioner. "But still did some pretty damage. We had to give that poor child two units of blood before we were able to stabilize him."
"Thank God!" The commissioner sighed with relief.
"We will keep him here at least for a week or two. The boy is also showing some signs of malnourishment and hypothermia. His left arm is broken and he has got cuts and bruises all over his body. There are also some signs of previous injuries. Seems like someone was using that poor child as a punching bag." The older doctor announced to the commissioner as gently as he could, suspecting that the boy must have been somehow special for Frank.
"John, I need to ask you for a favor," the commissioner interrupted the doctor.
"Shoot," the other man stated casually.
"I need you to withdraw the boy's blood and run a DNA test," the commissioner asked the man.
"Alright," doctor Collins nodded his head, "But against whose sample do you want me to test it?" He asked practically.
"Against mine," the commissioner stated simply. He did not doubt that that the boy was his son, but he needed proof.
"Of course," the doctor just swallowed his surprise, "I will tell one of the nurses to take you to one of the emergency rooms and withdraw your blood for testing," the doctor suggested, "But may I ask what makes you believe it's your son?" The doctor asked, putting two and two together. Besides, he was well aware that the commissioner's son went missing about six years ago.
"I don't know, it's just this strong bound I have been feeling towards this child ever since I met him. Plus, there are similarities between him and Jamie, or at least how I pictured he would look like at this age. Besides, they are approximately the same age. But there is a thing that makes me worried, he doesn't seem to recognize me or pops, or the house…," Frank announced sadly.
"Might be some kind of neurological injury," the doctor took his guess. "Alright, we will run an MRI and CT scan as soon as possible, but not before he will recover from the surgery at least partially," the doctor promised as he was about to leave so he could tend to his other patients. "I'll talk to you later."
"Thank you, John," the commissioner told the doctor. Not long after he was addressed by a young-looking nurse.
"Commissioner, if you could, I will take you to have your blood withdrawn for testing," the nurse told Frank as she gestured him to follow her.
"Of course," the chief of police mumbled, following the nurse to the empty emergency room so she could take his blood.
"Just clench your fist," the young female instructed him as she was about to insert a needle into his left arm. Frank hated the needles, that's something he and Jamie had in common and therefore he looked away once the needle neared his arm. Frank could feel as its tip pierced through his skin. He winced a little, but soon it was done.
"Alright, that's it," the nurse told the commissioner as she was marking the flask which now contained Frank's blood with some notes for the lab. "I understood from what doctor Collins have told me, that this is a special circumstance and therefore top priority, yet, it might take a couple of hours before we will get the results back from the lab. I would recommend you get some rest in the meantime before we get the results." She suggested, knowing that this will most likely be a long nerve-wracking night for the man who was sitting opposite to her.
"I would very much like to go back to my son if that's possible," the chief of police asked the nurse. He and Jamie were separated from each other already for six long years and he wasn't going to waste even a minute when he could be with his son.
"Of course," the nurse uttered in a low voice, "I will take you right back, but you still need to wait here couple more minutes, in case you got sick... We don't want the commissioner of the NYPD fainting in one of our hospital corridors, do we?" She reminded him before she accompanied him back to the ICU on the pediatric floor.
***BB***
It was already late at night when Jamie's doctor came back to check on his patient.
Frank was just sitting in a chair next to Jamie's bed, holding the boy's hand in his, assuring his child that everything will be alright. Although, Jamie could hardly hear him for he was sleeping the entire time. And as doctor Collins expected he would be sleeping the whole night.
The doctor nodded his head towards Frank once he entered the room before he started checking Jamie's vitals, writing something down in his hospital chart. The boy was just lifelessly lying on the bed, not knowing what was happening around him.
When he was finished, the doctor turned to the commissioner.
"Frank, I have got the results of the DNA test for you," he addressed the commissioner. "It's a 99,7% match."
Frank could feel as if a stone fell from his chest. That sweet boy he met only a few weeks ago, that homeless boy he felt so much attached to, was his son, and now he had a proof. Frank could feel his eyes were starting to water. "Thank you for the news," the chief of police thanked the doctor as he took a piece of paper with the results from doctor Collins' hands.
"Frank," the doctor interrupted him from his thoughts, "I'm afraid Jamie has a long road ahead because from what you have described to me earlier it seems he might be suffering from some kind of neurological injury or he might suffer some kind of trauma and his brain is now blocking his memories and therefore he doesn't recognize you… Either or, we need to run some tests and see what they will tell us. From what I can tell, Jamie is showing some signs of neurological injury or at least judging by the character of his injuries on his left leg and arm, but as I told you, we will know more when we run those tests. Unfortunately, thanks to the fact that he just had surgery, plus it's Thanksgiving, and that his injuries are older, and therefore are not seen as urgent, I'm afraid we will have to wait till Monday morning. Till then, may I just suggest that you spend some time with your son and try to bond with him, but do not push it. God knows, what he has been through during those years when he was missing," the chief of the pediatric department told to Frank.
"Thank you, John," the chief of police told to Jamie's doctor as the older man was once again about to leave.
"And, just more thing, Frank, happy Thanksgiving!"
"To you too, John," the commissioner replied. He almost forgot today was Thanksgiving.
Frank slowly walked towards his son's bed, leaned over to Jamie, and planted his son's head a loving kiss. His eyes starting to water once again.
"Happy Thanksgiving, Jamie," he whispered as he was showering his son with his love, thanking God that he gave him his son finally back.
An hour later, when the chief of police has relatively calmed down and overcame the initial strain of emotions, he dialed the number of one person he needed to see now the most, besides Jamie, of course.
"Hey, it's me. I know, it's late, but I'm at the hospital…, do you think you could come?" He asked the person on the other end of the line.
"Thanks," the chief of police uttered before he hung up.
***BB**
"I got your message, Francis," Henry told to his son as he entered the room where his grandson was sleeping in his hospital bed.
Naturally, the former commissioner was surprised to hear from his son so late at night but then given his occupation as the former chief of police, he got used to late phone calls over the years.
"It's him, pops," Frank told to his father with tears in his eyes, handing the older man a piece of paper he was grasping in his shaking hands.
Henry took the paper from Frank and gave it a brief look. It was the results of a DNA test and it showed 99,7% match.
"Good Lord," Henry whispered as he read the news. "It really is him!"
"Yes, it is," his son uttered. "It's our Jamie."
TBC
AN: "So, there you go guys, Jamie's alive. How will his siblings react to the news and will Jamie finally recognize someone?