"Here you go," a coffee cup appeared in Bosco's line of vision. He
looked up from his perch on the front pew of the chapel in Angel of Mercy
Hospital. Jimmy was standing above him, a torn smile tugging at his lips.
Bosco took the Styrofoam cup from the firefighter's hands and gave him a
grateful smile in return. Jimmy sat down next to him, taking a sip from his
own coffee cup.
"When did you get here?" Bosco raised an eyebrow.
"About an hour ago. When they wouldn't tell us anything I decided to come down here. Kim said you were down here, so I brought you some coffee," Jimmy answered. "How long have you been here?"
"Since they brought her in," Bosco sighed, trying to wrench his mind away from the scene in Soho. He couldn't stop the images from flooding in his mind over and over. He could even see them flashing before his eyes when he was staring at the giant Jesus crucifix that hung in the front of the chapel. "I thought I saw her, but I thought she was at the studio. I turned around, and next thing I knew I saw her lying on the ground. So, I panicked and ran over to her and pushed this Officer Morris kid out of the way."
"Was she conscious?" Jimmy wanted to know. Bosco nodded sadly. "What did the doctors tell you?"
"Not a damn thing," his friend scorned. "They kept talking about how it was going to be a messy operation because it might've hit her spinal cord and that there wasn't an exit wound, so they had to locate the bullet and remove it."
"Here," Jimmy could tell Bosco was frustrated as hell. He dug into his pocket and pulled a string of Rosary beads. He held them out for Bosco to take. Bosco shook his head.
"No thanks," he released his left hand. His own string tumbled from his hand then caught on his thumb and swung from there for a few seconds.
"I didn't think you were the religious type," Jimmy announced. Bosco kept his eyes trained on the crucifix. He wasn't deeply religious at all. More of a non-practicing Catholic. He prayed when he felt the time was necessary, and he was a good boy when he wasn't being his well-known sex- crazy, short-tempered self. Though Raeanne was of Christian faith, he knew he'd feel better once he prayed for her.
"I'm not usually," Bosco agreed. "I figured it couldn't hurt."
"Bos, Jimmy," Faith's voice echoed against the chapel walls. Bosco and Jimmy both stood up and looked to the back of the room, where Faith and Kim stood. Faith had driven over after leaving Fred a note on the refrigerator, saying she was heading to the hospital to be with her friends. Kim's shift was nearly over by the time she was done filling out the masses of paperwork so she had also accompanied Bosco in the waiting room. They were both to alert him if anything happened, good or bad.
"What happened?" Bosco felt his heart begin to race. He could feel his muscles tense up.
"We just saw the doctor. He said since there's no family or spouse he'd like to talk to you," Kim answered, crossing her arms nervously.
"Did he say what's up?" Jimmy questioned as the small group herded themselves through the long corridors to the waiting area of the ER. Faith shook her head, trying to stay calm for Bosco. Dr. Casey Nichols and a small band of surgeons were busy discussing amongst themselves when they returned. The promptly stopped the conversation and turned toward Bosco. Dr. Nichols and a surgeon took Bosco aside to a private corner of the room. Faith, Kim, and Jimmy's curious eyes bore into the back of the doctor's heads.
"Hello, Mr. Boscorelli. I'm Dr. McGinnis. I was the chief surgeon during Ms. Spangler's operation," Dr. McGinnis smiled warmly. Bosco rolled his eyes. Come on, Doc, you're killing me. Tell me what happened and spare me the news brief. McGinnis took the hint. "Well, Mr. Boscorelli, when we took Raeanne from the ER to surgery we weren't sure if she was going to live or die. As you know, she was in poor, if not critical, condition and one wrong move could've ended it all.
"We took her to radiology, where they discovered that the bullet had shattered upon entry of her body. It only shattered into three pieces as you can see," the surgeon held the x-ray up for Bosco to see. Bosco winced. "but we were able to retrieve all of the pieces."
"That's good," Bosco sighed slightly.
"Yes, it is. One of the smaller pieces didn't go much farther than some of the fatty tissue in her lower back. The other smaller piece strayed toward the left and punctured part of her left lung. She was breathing fairly well until she reached here, when her lung started to fade in and out of operation. The larger piece, well sadly, it managed to knick a portion of her spinal cord,"
"Christ," Bosco mumbled, rubbing his temples gently to see if he could halt his oncoming headache. This McGinnis guy was really beginning to piss him off and Bosco could feel his temper breaking down. Why wouldn't he just say if Raeanne was alive?
"It didn't do enough to damage her entirely," the doctor jumped back in. "We were able to remove the bullet without any further damage being done. Ms. Spangler is in stable condition. She's temporarily paralyzed because of the location of the bullet. In time, she should be able to walk."
"So you're saying she's alive?" Bosco held his breath.
"Yes, sir," he answered with a nod. Bosco let out a long breath of relief. "She's alive and should be recovering from the medication very shortly. We're moving her up to her private room right now. We didn't want her to be disturbed by a constant flow of a roommate's visitors, what she needs is rest and relaxation. Do you know of any family members that she might like to contact? Cousins?"
"No, she hasn't mentioned any. I know she has some friends in Ohio and in Chicago, but I'd have to wait for her to get their addresses," Bosco shook his head. "How long is recovery going to take?"
"Anywhere from 30 to 60 days," Dr. McGinnis heralded.
"When can I see her?"
"A nurse will be down to lead you to her room as soon as Raeanne's settled. You'll make the visit brief once she's awake. I don't want her getting worked up,"
"Thanks," Bosco shook his hand. He watched the doctors walk off, slapping each other on the back in congratulations. He rolled his neck in a circular motion. He caught the blank stares of Faith, Kim, and Jimmy. He wiped away a tear.
"Is she-?" Faith's face crumpled.
"She's alive," was all Bosco could manage to say before he started to let the tears slide down his cheeks. But before his friends got the chance to hug him, Bosco pulled the Rosary from his pocket and kissed it.
"When did you get here?" Bosco raised an eyebrow.
"About an hour ago. When they wouldn't tell us anything I decided to come down here. Kim said you were down here, so I brought you some coffee," Jimmy answered. "How long have you been here?"
"Since they brought her in," Bosco sighed, trying to wrench his mind away from the scene in Soho. He couldn't stop the images from flooding in his mind over and over. He could even see them flashing before his eyes when he was staring at the giant Jesus crucifix that hung in the front of the chapel. "I thought I saw her, but I thought she was at the studio. I turned around, and next thing I knew I saw her lying on the ground. So, I panicked and ran over to her and pushed this Officer Morris kid out of the way."
"Was she conscious?" Jimmy wanted to know. Bosco nodded sadly. "What did the doctors tell you?"
"Not a damn thing," his friend scorned. "They kept talking about how it was going to be a messy operation because it might've hit her spinal cord and that there wasn't an exit wound, so they had to locate the bullet and remove it."
"Here," Jimmy could tell Bosco was frustrated as hell. He dug into his pocket and pulled a string of Rosary beads. He held them out for Bosco to take. Bosco shook his head.
"No thanks," he released his left hand. His own string tumbled from his hand then caught on his thumb and swung from there for a few seconds.
"I didn't think you were the religious type," Jimmy announced. Bosco kept his eyes trained on the crucifix. He wasn't deeply religious at all. More of a non-practicing Catholic. He prayed when he felt the time was necessary, and he was a good boy when he wasn't being his well-known sex- crazy, short-tempered self. Though Raeanne was of Christian faith, he knew he'd feel better once he prayed for her.
"I'm not usually," Bosco agreed. "I figured it couldn't hurt."
"Bos, Jimmy," Faith's voice echoed against the chapel walls. Bosco and Jimmy both stood up and looked to the back of the room, where Faith and Kim stood. Faith had driven over after leaving Fred a note on the refrigerator, saying she was heading to the hospital to be with her friends. Kim's shift was nearly over by the time she was done filling out the masses of paperwork so she had also accompanied Bosco in the waiting room. They were both to alert him if anything happened, good or bad.
"What happened?" Bosco felt his heart begin to race. He could feel his muscles tense up.
"We just saw the doctor. He said since there's no family or spouse he'd like to talk to you," Kim answered, crossing her arms nervously.
"Did he say what's up?" Jimmy questioned as the small group herded themselves through the long corridors to the waiting area of the ER. Faith shook her head, trying to stay calm for Bosco. Dr. Casey Nichols and a small band of surgeons were busy discussing amongst themselves when they returned. The promptly stopped the conversation and turned toward Bosco. Dr. Nichols and a surgeon took Bosco aside to a private corner of the room. Faith, Kim, and Jimmy's curious eyes bore into the back of the doctor's heads.
"Hello, Mr. Boscorelli. I'm Dr. McGinnis. I was the chief surgeon during Ms. Spangler's operation," Dr. McGinnis smiled warmly. Bosco rolled his eyes. Come on, Doc, you're killing me. Tell me what happened and spare me the news brief. McGinnis took the hint. "Well, Mr. Boscorelli, when we took Raeanne from the ER to surgery we weren't sure if she was going to live or die. As you know, she was in poor, if not critical, condition and one wrong move could've ended it all.
"We took her to radiology, where they discovered that the bullet had shattered upon entry of her body. It only shattered into three pieces as you can see," the surgeon held the x-ray up for Bosco to see. Bosco winced. "but we were able to retrieve all of the pieces."
"That's good," Bosco sighed slightly.
"Yes, it is. One of the smaller pieces didn't go much farther than some of the fatty tissue in her lower back. The other smaller piece strayed toward the left and punctured part of her left lung. She was breathing fairly well until she reached here, when her lung started to fade in and out of operation. The larger piece, well sadly, it managed to knick a portion of her spinal cord,"
"Christ," Bosco mumbled, rubbing his temples gently to see if he could halt his oncoming headache. This McGinnis guy was really beginning to piss him off and Bosco could feel his temper breaking down. Why wouldn't he just say if Raeanne was alive?
"It didn't do enough to damage her entirely," the doctor jumped back in. "We were able to remove the bullet without any further damage being done. Ms. Spangler is in stable condition. She's temporarily paralyzed because of the location of the bullet. In time, she should be able to walk."
"So you're saying she's alive?" Bosco held his breath.
"Yes, sir," he answered with a nod. Bosco let out a long breath of relief. "She's alive and should be recovering from the medication very shortly. We're moving her up to her private room right now. We didn't want her to be disturbed by a constant flow of a roommate's visitors, what she needs is rest and relaxation. Do you know of any family members that she might like to contact? Cousins?"
"No, she hasn't mentioned any. I know she has some friends in Ohio and in Chicago, but I'd have to wait for her to get their addresses," Bosco shook his head. "How long is recovery going to take?"
"Anywhere from 30 to 60 days," Dr. McGinnis heralded.
"When can I see her?"
"A nurse will be down to lead you to her room as soon as Raeanne's settled. You'll make the visit brief once she's awake. I don't want her getting worked up,"
"Thanks," Bosco shook his hand. He watched the doctors walk off, slapping each other on the back in congratulations. He rolled his neck in a circular motion. He caught the blank stares of Faith, Kim, and Jimmy. He wiped away a tear.
"Is she-?" Faith's face crumpled.
"She's alive," was all Bosco could manage to say before he started to let the tears slide down his cheeks. But before his friends got the chance to hug him, Bosco pulled the Rosary from his pocket and kissed it.