He didn't remember being freed from his mess of the truck, he didn't remember being loaded into the ambulance. His truck had been pushed into more cars before his truck came to a stop against the rafter. Meredith Grey was paged to the pit, by Owen. She didn't know what they were getting. All they had known as they were getting casualties. Not knowing that one of them was Jack. Jack and the semi-truck driver had got the worse end of the deal. Both Jack and the driver of the semi were pinned in their vehicles.
The driver of the semi was freed before Jack was. Bailey had him in the OR already. Trauma 1 was already prepped and waiting for Meredith and Owen. The ambulance could be heard from where Meredith and Owen were standing. 30 seconds later, the ambulance halted to a stop. Owen was the first to run to the idle ambulance. He opened one door, while the paramedic opened the other. He pulled the bottom part of the stretcher out. "John Doe was pinned in his truck by a semi; GCS 9. Lost consciousness in route. BP was 100/40, now it's 90/70. Was pinned in for 15-20 minutes," the paramedic relayed. "It isn't John Doe," Owen said. He and Meredith both looked at each other. "It's Jack Gibson," they both said at once.
His face was still recognizable, even if he had facial lacs. They whisked into Trauma 1. Owen cut open Jack's shirt and jacket, throwing it off to the side. His right leg was splinted. "Someone page Neuro and Ortho, and get me that x-ray machine," Meredith ordered as she was handed the doppler. The right side of his chest was bruised. As Owen was listening to his lungs, he heard wheezing from the right side. "I need a chest tube," he said, as Meredith was finishing the doppler. "He's got free fluid in his belly, he needs to be in an OR ASAP," she said. She assisted Owen with the chest tube.
The x-ray was wheeled in seconds later. "I want a chest x-ray and a right leg film, make it fast," Owen said, standing off to the side so the x-ray tech could come in. Here comes the fun part; rolling Jack so they could get the board under him. "Someone get ahold of his wife please," Meredith ordered. She knew she could do it herself, but she had to go into the OR with him. A nurse had already walked off, getting ready to call Andy. Who had no idea what was going on. Or what had happened.
A grunt had come out of Jack when they put the board under him. But that was all they heard. He had heard the muffled voices and the monitor beeping. "Why am I at Grey-Sloan?" was the question running through his mind. The picture came up on the screen. "2 broken ribs and his right lung is slowly inflating," he pointed out.
The leg was done next, it was shown it was broken. Amelia walked in, followed by Link. "Where do you need us?" Amelia asked. "We've got a broken right leg, but we need to make sure he has no injury to his brain," Meredith said. She grabbed her penlight from her coat and flashed it in his eyes. "His pupils are equal and reactive, there's no evidence of a brain bleed or a hematoma," she said. Link was looking at the x-ray. "It's a clean tib/fib fracture. It needs surgery," he said. "An OR's booked," Schmitt said as he was walking back into the room.
"Let's roll," Owen said. They pushed Jack towards the elevator and the mess they left behind. Andy was on the couch, listening to Greyson play in the toy room and Rowan in her bouncer. She heard her phone ring from where it was on the kitchen counter. She saw who was calling, her heart sunk. "Hello?" she answered. "Is this Jack Gibson's wife?" the unfamiliar voice said. "Yes, this is she," she said, her heart rate was starting to pick up. "I'm afraid your husband has been brought into our ER due to injuries sustained in an accident, are you available to come in?" the same voice asked. "Uhm, I have to get ahold of my kids' babysitter and then I can be there," she stammered.
"Damn it, Jack, I told you to be careful," she thought. She hung up the phone and immediately called Jess. She was brief but told her what happened. Jess said she could be there in 5 minutes. She kept her promise. Andy didn't hesitate to get out the door and to her car. She walked into Grey-Sloan 15 minutes later. Bailey was standing there waiting for her. "Miranda, I- what happened?" she asked. "A semi rammed into the back of Jack's truck. Causing him to get pinned, he's in the OR right now with Hunt, Grey, and Link," Bailey said.
She added, "Andy, do you know where Jack was going on the freeway?" "Here, he was coming here for his 6-month follow-up with Pierce. He left the house early so he could get here on time and beat the traffic," she said, taking a seat in one of the chairs. "From when he had his heart attack?" Bailey asked. "Yeah, we had got so busy on shift that it slipped his mind," she sighed. "No one else from 19 knows yet?" Bailey wondered. She took in a deep breath, "No, except for you. But you're a fireman wife; I'm scared to get all the team down here at once," she said.
"How about we call Maya and Ben. Will that work?" Miranda asked her. "Yeah that'll work, Maya's my best friend; along with you and Ben. That's all I need right now is my friends, Travis, Vic, and Dean are busy. I don't want to bother them," she said. "Alright, I'm going to save you the stress. I'll call them, they'll be here. And you'll be waiting a while. They've been in the OR for 30 minutes now," Miranda said, pulling her phone out of her coat pocket. She walked off a fair distance away so Andy wouldn't hear it. She sat there and waited. She couldn't believe it. And it wasn't Jack's fault this time, it was a semi's fault.
She told him to be careful, he listened. But what it sounded like to her was that the traffic on the freeway was bad. His appointment with Pierce didn't matter anymore. She stared off into space, which looked like she was daydreaming. "Andy, they're on their way," Miranda said, taking a seat next to her. All she did was nod her head yes. Maya was the first to show up. Andy locked eyes with her. "Andy, have you heard anything?" she asked, embracing her into a hug. "No, and what it sounds like is that he'll be in the OR awhile," she said, voice breaking.
"Come with me," Maya ordered. "Why?" she stammered. "Just come with me," Maya said, wrapping her arm around Andy. She led her to a nearby supply closet. Maya walked in there with Andy and locked the door behind her. "Now, let it out. I know you want to," she encouraged, turning around to look at Andy. And so she did, she let it all out. "I told Jack to be careful, and he was and he still got injured," she cried. "We were going to go out tonight," she added. "Andy, hey. We both know that he's still on this earth. He'll put up a good fight," Maya said as she was still crying.
"Us firefighter wives are used to this. This. This, hospital visits, surgeries, injuries. All of it," she stammered but continued. "Jack's been through a hell hole, even I have. Watching him go through all of this. But I have to stay strong, for Rowan and Grey both. They're our kids, they can't lose their mother and father on the same day," "And they definitely can't lose their father. They need him, that's what. Jack's a fighter, he always has been. He's come back from his injuries. He's strong, and that's my favorite thing about him, how strong he is, and doesn't lose a fight," she went on, still crying and her voice starting to break in the process.
"Do you need another hug?" Maya asked. She shook her head yes. She walked over to Andy, and embraced her, "It'll be all ok. Jack will pull through this surgery and come back to 19 better than he ever has been," she said, running her hand down Andy's back. "Do you feel better now?" she asked. "Yeah, I needed this. Thank you, Maya," Andy said. "That's what friends do," she said. She unlocked the supply closet's door and let Andy walk out first.
Ben was in the waiting room next to Miranda when she walked back into the waiting room. "Andy," he said, standing up and hugging her. He didn't bombard her with any questions, all he did was hug her. She took her normal seat, Maya sitting next to her. She had what friends she wanted, she didn't want the whole team here. She didn't want to affect their plans. They waited a couple of more hours. Ben was the first one to see Owen and Meredith walk out. "Andy," was all he said. She stood up. "Let's have a seat, Andy," Meredith said, pointing to the chairs. They sat. "Uhm. How is he?" she asked, taking a deep breath.
"Well, his injuries were significant. We had to repair his collapsed lung, take out his spleen. Fix his hepatic vein, suture a tear on his pancreas and liver both. Link had to put in 2 plates and screws to keep his leg aligned. His road to recovery is going to be rough. We have him in the ICU for monitoring. His body needs time to recover from the injuries he went through. He's going to be okay Andy. It's just going to be a long road to recovery for him and you both," Meredith said. "But, you do have all of 19 standing beside you, every step of the way," Maya interjected, resting a hand on her shoulder.
"Andy. He's in good hands, us doctors know what we're doing," Owen added. "I know, you've all done a great deal for us if one of us gets injured," she said. "First responders always stick together. No matter what," he mentioned. "Can I see him?" was the next thing she asked. Owen's pager went off before he could say anything. "I can follow me," Meredith said. At the same time, Bailey's pager went off. "Andy, I'll catch you later," she said, starting to walk off. "Miranda," she said before she walked off. "Yeah?" she asked, turning around. "Thank you," she replied. "Anytime," she nodded. Maya and Ben walked with Andy and Meredith to the ICU. The others still had no clue what was going on.
Meredith stopped in front of Jack's ICU room a short time later. "Now, as I said. The reason he's on the vent is so his body can recover from the injuries. I and Hunt will have to decide on a time to take him off. But, you might feel movements now and then. That isn't a sign of him waking up, he might be dreaming," she said, pulling the revolving door open. "I do have other patients to do rounds on. I will leave you 3 to it," she said. "Thanks, Grey," Andy said. She nodded her head like she was saying your welcome and walked off to do her other patients. The 3 of them walked in, Andy taking the chair closest to Jack.
Ben and Maya sat on the opposite side, as there were more chairs. "It was just a stupid appointment," she whispered. Ben perked up when he heard a whisper from her. "What'd you just say?" he asked her. "It was just a stupid appointment. He was coming here for an appointment with Pierce. If he hadn't taken the damn freeway he wouldn't be here right now," she cried, rubbing her hands along her face. "Andy. It's not Jack's fault, he was being safe. Jack's not the one to blame. It's the semi-driver for not paying attention to where he's going," Maya reasoned.
"We were talking about maybe a 3rd kid. Maybe even a 4th, we haven't fully decided yet," she said. "But, now we're halted to a stop like a train is. We can't even celebrate his birthday at the station as we had originally planned. We might have to push it to a day or two after he gets home from the hospital," Ben said. "We'll still celebrate, but later. He's going to be in the hospital for his birthday. I have an instinct that he will," she mentioned. "You never know. We've all been in this waiting game before. I and Carina have to go through it as well. We both have picked a donor, which it's someone we all know. We both already talked to him, and he wants to do it," Maya responded.
That perked her up. "Then tell us who it is," she breathed. "He's decided to stay anonymous," Maya said. "We will after we do the transfer. Because we have to make sure everyone is together at the station first. Including Miranda, Emmett, and Theo," Maya said, referring to everyone. "Well," she said. "I guess you can keep it a secret then," "Okay then," Maya chuckled. They sat there, talked about past stories of Jack. And how he was when Andy had first joined 19 with Maya.
She reminisced on she laid her eyes on Jack that first minute she walked through the doors of 19. She had known since her first day, that Jack was the right one for her. They had left once visiting hours were over. She wished she could've stayed, but she had to tell the others tomorrow. Which was going to be fun for her to do. And hard. But she would work up the courage to do it. She walked into the house after leaving the hospital 15 minutes prior. Jess was sitting in the chair next to the kitchen island.
She slipped her shoes off and put the keys into the bowl. She slipped her shoes off and put them with the others. She walked into the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of wine out of the fridge. "How is he?" Jess asked. "Critical, but stable. His injuries were significant. He had a collapsed lung, they had to take out his spleen, fix his hepatic vein, suture a tear on his pancreas and liver. Link had to put in 2 plates and screws to keep his leg aligned. His road to recovery is going to be rough. They have him in the ICU for monitoring. His body needs time to recover from the injuries he went through," she sighed, taking a deep breath before pouring herself a glass of wine.
She continued, "His road to recovery is going to be rough. But Maya and Ben will be there with me every step of the way, even the doctors on his team. Vic, Dean, and Travis will find out tomorrow once I tell them," "Andy, don't forget. I'm here with you as well. I've always thought of you and Jack as my 2nd family," Jess said, resting one of her hands on Andy's, who was messing with the bottom of her wine glass before taking a drink of it. She smiled. "I know. I've always thought of you as my older daughter, and the little man thinks of you as his "big sister"," she chuckled.
"I know, I should get going. It's late. They both went down without any trouble," Jess said, picking up her purse from the edge of the chair. "See you later Andy," she said. She waved at her and watched her walk out the front door. She walked to the couch to turn on the TV and watch a random TV show that was on. It was 9:00, the kids went down an hour ago. She had quiet. She drank a couple of glasses of wine before it was her turn to go to bed. She changed into comfier clothes before pulling back the covers on her bed and crawling in. She plugged her phone in, turned off her side lamp, and fell asleep.
Her sleep was restless. But she got some good sleep. She woke up that morning before the kids did. She got her shower in before she heard Rowan on the baby monitor. She changed into her civil clothes and walked to Rowan's room and smiled. She picked her up and turned around to the changing table to get her diaper changed and into clothes before Jess came over. She peeked into Grey's room to see him still asleep. It was only 7:00, she was leaving in 30 minutes. Jess was coming in 15. She had been up since 6:45. She had felt productive in those 15 minutes. Rowan was already dressed for the day.
Andy was already downstairs with her. She placed her in the high chair and put a bib on her so she could feed her oatmeal to her. She mixed the oatmeal in one of the small bowls they had with a baby spoon. She heard her front door opening, Jess was earlier than she thought she would be. "Well, you're early," she said. "I figured I would come over earlier to help you, since you're single momming this until Jack comes home and recovers," Jess reasoned.
"Now, you have a point there," she said, pointing her finger with the spoon in her hand before feeding Rowan. "Now, let me feed her, you need to get ready still," Jess chuckled. "I am, but I can put my hair up at the station," she interjected. She checked the time. "It's only 7:10, I can get breakfast at the station" she motioned. "Ok ok, you win the battle," Jess laughed, feeding Rowan another serving of her oatmeal.
"Grey's still asleep, he'll be up in 20 minutes give or take," she said, putting her shoes on. "I thought he would be awake by now," Jess said somberly. "I know, I thought that as well. But I guess he thought it was the day to sleep in," she smiled. "Now, be careful on your way in. Even if it's only a 5-minute drive to the station. And you've got today, you will be strong telling the others, I have faith in you," Jess responded. She took a deep breath. "I know, I'll make it through today, Maya, Ben, you, and everyone at Grey-Sloan have my back. And Vic, Dean, and Travis will have mine once I tell them," she said, picking up her coat to put on.
She picked up her jump bag, keys, and purse; walked out the front door to unlock her car. She placed the jump bag and the purse in the passenger seat before getting in herself. She drove the 5 minutes listening to music along the way, which she hardly did. But today she was in a good mood. Her mind wasn't focused on worrying about Jack. It was time for her job. She put a little mascara on, but that was it. She never went overboard. When she parked in her normal spot at the station. It felt weird, it was always Jack that drove.
But that was going to be the new normal for the next couple of weeks. So she would have to get used to it until he was back on shift, and that wasn't going to be for a while yet. It was only Thursday. She had another day to go before she got 2 days off, which would be spent in the hospital. Bailey had promised her that she would give her updates on Jack when she could, but not all the time. Since she had a job as well. As she got out, she saw Maya pulling in as well. "I see you got here early as I did," she said, once she got out of her car.
"I'm usually the first one in so I can get a workout in before shift, but I still can. Are you going to be in your office until the others get here?" Maya asked her, as they were walking in sync to the door of the station. "Yeah, HQ already knows about Jack. I called them at the hospital before they closed for the day. Theo's supposed to be filling in for him until he gets back," she responded, unlocking the door. "He has no idea why he's filling in?" Maya mentioned. "No, he thinks that Jack's out of town or something like that," she reasoned.
They both went into the locker room. Maya changed into her workout clothes and headed to the workout room. Andy put her hair up and walked into her office to get started on assigning everyone to their designated spots for the day and mentally preparing herself to tell the others about what had occurred yesterday afternoon. She put Travis and Ben on Aid car, the others on Ladder. She heard the others coming in 10 minutes later, and what sounded like Vic and Travis bickering like all friends do.
She had heard Dean ask, "Where's Gibson? I thought he would be in by now. Andy's here, but he's not," She heard Ben's lie. "He's sick, Andy called me and told me last night, that's why he's not here. And why Theo here is filling in for him," She smiled. Ben had her side, ever since yesterday. He knew the situation she was in for telling the others today. She was finally ready. To tell the others. It was time.
When she got onto the apparatus bay, everyone had arrived. She made eye contact with Ben and Maya both. They nodded. "Alright 19. Listen up. I know you are questioning why my husband is not here today. The truth is; he was involved in an accident on the freeway yesterday afternoon on the way to Grey-Sloan. He's critical but stable. That's all I have right now, but he is going to be out for some time due to his leg being broke," she announced.
She continued before they started to ask questions. "Montgomery and Warren, you are on aid car. The rest of you are on the ladder truck," "If you have any questions about what happened to Jack. Ask either Maya or Ben for further details," she finished. She walked off and into her office to take a breather. She did it. She told them without crying. She was proud of herself.
Meanwhile, Ben and Maya were in the kitchen getting a cup of coffee. Montgomery was in the Aid car doing an inventory before they had a medical call. Dean was coming into the kitchen for what looked like an apple. "So tell me, how did you guys find out before the rest of us?" he asked, grabbing an apple out of the fruit bowl. "Because Andy told my wife to call us," Ben responded. "So, how is he?" he answered. "As Andy said, critical but stable. They have him in the ICU, his body has been through hell. They're giving him time to recover from his injuries so that's led them to sedate him. So he can recover," Maya interrupted.
"That answers my question. But how in the hell did it happen?" he questioned. "A semi rammed into the back of him. He was in traffic, and the semi wasn't paying attention when he was coming to a stop," Ben answered. "So the semi-driver must've been on their phone instead of paying attention?" he wondered. "Correct, either that or falling asleep behind the wheel," Maya interjected. Vic had walked in, Maya and Ben assuming she heard it all. "Now, what do we do?" she asked. "Be there for her, support her. Anything. Jess helps her with the kids, but here on shift is what she needs help here the most. She will try her best to stay focused on calls and paperwork but occasionally thinks about Jack. We don't need her to think about him, even if she might," Ben mentioned.
"We're a family, families stick together through thick and thin. No matter what the situation is," Vic said. "Damn right," they all agreed. They went on with their day. Andy was in her office most of the day doing paperwork, but coming out to get lunch here and there. She had thought about Jack some, but not a whole lot. Miranda had texted her once today saying that his hepatic artery suture came loose, so they had to go back in. But other than that, he was fine. She was going to go to the hospital after shift Saturday morning.
She had messaged Jess about what she was going to do, and she was fine with it. She understood. And she was glad she did. She had already texted Miranda ahead of time that she was coming. The others had left already. So no one would be joining her except for Miranda. Which she was glad she had the company. She didn't want the monitor beeping back and forth to keep her company. When she got into Jack's room, he was the same. Foot wrapped in a cast and propped on a pillow. His face was covered with cuts, and tape; which was holding the tube in place, which was connected to the vent.
She took a chair, which didn't matter to her. She grabbed a hold of his hand and held it. She kissed it, telling him that she was there. Even if he couldn't hear her. Miranda walked in shortly after she did. "Did you get through shift okay ?" she asked her. "It was rough. But I did," she breathed. "How did the other 3 take it?" she said. "I told them if they had any questions could go to Ben and Maya," she answered. "Good, I didn't want them to bombard you with questions for all of the shift," she said.
She shook her head yes without saying anything. They sat there for the next couple of hours before Bailey had to go on another case. Now she was alone. The heart monitor was beating in the background. It had been 3 days after the accident. She had been alone for 3 days. But she had everyone else, so she wasn't alone. But she missed her husband like crazy. She wanted him in her arms again, his smell, his touch. All it was now was a waiting game. And she had a hell of a team standing with her along the way.