Hit and Run - Chapter 3
Alex made her way up to the waiting area outside of the Operating Room. Ty, Sully, Bosco, Faith, Doc and Carlos had all had to return to duty. After all, there were still people getting sick in the City and Bosco was hell-bent on finding the animal that had run Kim down and then just took off. Ty didn't want to leave Alex, but she swore to him that she was okay. He finally agreed and told her he would be back as soon as his shift was over. He cupped her face in his hand and kissed her forehead before finally leaving.
She looked around the room and saw Jimmy sitting in the corner with Kim's mother who had arrived about a half hour ago. He saw her walk in the room and slowly stood up. She wasn't sure what he was feeling. He looked angry and anxious all at the same time. "Is he angry with me?" she thought to herself. She took steps toward him and it seemed to take forever. Finally, they were face-to-face and she started to speak, "Jimmy, I...." She was cut-off by the swift movement of him throwing his arms around her and hugging her. "Alex, thank you for taking care of her until Doc got there. I know how awful it must have been, but the doctor said that if it wasn't for the care she received immediately after it happened, she might not be with us anymore. Thank you," he said again, a tear sliding down his cheek. She immediately relaxed and allowed herself to offer support to her friend. He finally let her go and introduced her to Kim's mother.
"So, is there any word from the doctor yet?" she asked him as they both sat down, still holding each other's hands. Jimmy shook his head no and said, "The nurse came out once and said that she was doing okay and it would probably be another couple of hours. They're taking care of her femur fracture and the plastic surgeon was just finishing up her facial fractures."
"What about the internal bleeding? I'd heard something about some blood in her abdomen?" she asked him. "I guess there's a laceration of her liver, but they stitched it up and think it'll heal on it's own. They're just gonna keep an eye on it," he finished, falling silent again. Over the next half hour to forty-five minutes, there was a steady trickle of co-workers that were getting off shift or stopping by before work to see how Kim was doing. Ty and Sully had returned after their shift and were just returning with some coffee from the cafeteria.
The doctor, finally finished with Kim's surgeries, came out into the waiting area to find the room full of firefighters, police officers and medics from the 55th Precinct. Jimmy was the first to see him because he hadn't taken his eyes off those doors since he had gotten there. He took Mrs. Zambrano's hand and the two stood up and walked toward the doctor. The room full of Kim's friends and co-workers became silent as they all looked at the doctor. Alex grabbed Ty's hand and he moved closer to her.
"Mr. Doherty?" he asked and Jimmy nodded his head. He looked at Kim's mom and introduced her to the doctor. "How is she, Doctor?" he asked.
"Well, as you know, she's taken quite an assault on her body. But, we've been able to put her back together again. The internal bleeding has been stopped, the leg fracture had to be pinned and the plastic surgeons did a fantastic job with her facial fractures. I expect all those injuries to heal beautifully with minimal if any scarring," he said, sounding very upbeat.
"Great," said Jimmy quietly. "But, what about her skull fracture? Is she gonna be okay?" he asked, the words coming out sounding like he was pleading with the doctor to tell him she was fine.
"Well, we did a CT Scan and it appears that there was no permanent damage to the brain. However, there is some considerable swelling, which is perfectly normal after an injury such as this. We're just going to have to wait and see if she has any motor or neuro function deficits. It will be at least a couple of days until we know any more. We have to keep her pretty heavily sedated in order to keep the pressure down in her brain and give it time to heal," he explained.
Jimmy let out a heavy sigh, "Okay, Doctor. Thank you for all you're doing for her. Can I see her?"
"She's going to be in the Recovery Room for a short time yet," he said looking at his watch. "I'd say give her another 45 minutes or so and they can move her up to the ICU. I'll let the nurses know that you can see her, very briefly, as soon as they get her settled there," he finished, shaking Jimmy's hand and lightly touching Mrs. Zambrano's shoulder before turning and heading back through the doors.
Jimmy looked down at Kim's mother and saw that she was crying and beginning to shake. He put an arm around her and helped her back to chair. He looked at Alex and motioned for her to come over and sit with her. He needed to get away from this room, to get some fresh air and thank God that Kim was still alive. He walked out of the waiting area and down the hall to another waiting area with no one there. He walked over to the window and opened it, feeling the refreshing cool night air. He breathed it in deeply and slowly released the breath, letting the tightness he felt in his chest and stomach go with it. And then, he allowed himself to release all the emotion that he had been holding in check back there. Tears flowed freely and he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned slightly and saw that his good friend, D.K., was standing behind him, just offering him any support that he could. "She's gonna be okay, Brother. I just know it," he offered. Jimmy nodded his head, unable to speak. After a few minutes, he found his voice again. He cleared his throat and turned to his friend. "I've gotta call my Mom. She's got Joey. He's probably terrified." He pulled the cell phone out of his pocket and began dialing and D.K. said, "Okay. I'll go back and let you know when they say it's okay for you to go see her."
"Thanks," Jimmy said as D.K. walked away and his mother answered the phone on the first ring.
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Bosco and Faith had gotten held over at work with an assault call and had finally been heading in toward the station to check out when a call came over the radio.
"Central to all 55 Units. 10-13, Officer Down; 10-13, Officer Down. Mountainview and 130th, hit and run. EMS is in route."
"Dammit!" yelled Bosco as Faith turned on the lights and siren and Bosco turned the car around to head toward the injured officer. "55-David to Central, we are in route to the 10-13," Faith said over the radio.
"What the hell is going on?!" Faith yelled over the sound of the siren. Bosco just shook his head, "I don't know, but I got a bad feeling."
They were the first to arrive at the scene and found Officer Bobby Cassidy lying on the ground, his partner, a rookie, next to him with his coat stuffed under his head. They heard the approach of EMS and other police units in the distance. Bosco bent down over Cassidy and saw that he was conscious. "Bobby, you're gonna be okay. EMS is right around the corner. You just hang on," he urged the man. Bosco looked over the other officer to see if he could tell how seriously he was injured. He looked like he had an obvious leg fracture, but he couldn't see any blood anywhere. He tried to keep him talking.
Faith took the rookie officer aside and sat him down on the curb. He looked extremely pale. "So, what happened, Shore?" she asked him, looking quickly at his name tag. "Uh, I'm not really sure Ma'am. We were called to an unknown problem and couldn't find anything. We were coming back to the RMP and then this car came out of nowhere with no headlights. I yelled and Bobby managed to jump out of the way, but I think he got clipped in the leg," he said rapidly, looking over at his partner with concern.
The paramedics had arrived and were working on the officer and Bosco stepped back to give them room. "Bosco," Cassidy said. "Tell the kid he did good. If not for him I wouldn't be talking to you right now. I didn't even see the bastard coming until Keith yelled over to me." Bosco nodded, "Okay Bobby. I'll tell him. He gonna be okay?" Bosco asked the medics that were working on him. One of the medics nodded and said, "Yeah, it looks like just a broken leg. We're gonna take him over to Mercy." Bosco breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I'll see you over at the hospital, Man. I'm gonna go talk to your partner." Cassidy nodded to Bosco and let out a cry of pain as the medics put the splint on his leg.
"Okay, Shore," Faith said, trying to calm him down again. "Tell me again. What did the car look like?" Bosco came over next to Faith and the young officer as the Lieutenant pulled up. "Busted leg. He's gonna be okay," Bosco informed both officers.
"It was a dark-colored - maybe dark blue or black - late model sedan. No headlights on. Looked like there was only the driver, but I couldn't see if it was a male or female because it was dark," the rookie cop said, regaining his composure now that he knew his partner was going to be okay.
Lieutenant Swersky walked up to the three officers after checking on the status of Cassidy before the medics took off for the hospital. "Okay, run it for me Yokas," he said noticing she was the one with the notebook. He looked over at the rookie. "You okay Shore? You need to get checked out?"
"N-n-no, Sir," he replied. "I'm fine, but I'd like to go with Cassidy." The Lieutenant looked over to Faith to make sure she had all the information they needed for now and she nodded to him that she did. "Okay," said the Lieutenant. "Christopher - take Shore over to Mercy and wait with him. . I'll bring their unit over to the hospital later. I wanna talk to these guys and the crime scene crew."
"Yes, Sir," said Sgt. Christopher.
"Shore," Bosco called after the young officer who turned to look back at him. "Cassidy said you did good. If not for you, he wouldn't be talking to us. Nice job," he finished and the officer turned and walked toward the Lieutenant's car. Bosco turned back to Faith and the Lieutenant who were just staring at him with a surprised look on their faces. "What?!" he asked, not knowing what they were looking at.
"YOU giving words of encouragement to a ROOKIE?" asked Swersky with a crooked smile on his face.
"Yeah, well. He looked like he was ready to puke and, you know," Bosco didn't finish before Faith and Swersky chuckled. "Okay, Yokas. Run it for me," said the Lieutenant.
Faith gave him the information and after a few minutes one of the crime scene techs came over to brief them on what they'd found.
"We have bits of glass from what looks like a broken headlight," he said solemnly.
"What haven't you told us?" asked the Lieutenant.
"Looks like a match to the glass found at the scene from the earlier hit and run with the medic," he finished gravely.
"What the hell?" all three officers said in unison.
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TBC...
Alex made her way up to the waiting area outside of the Operating Room. Ty, Sully, Bosco, Faith, Doc and Carlos had all had to return to duty. After all, there were still people getting sick in the City and Bosco was hell-bent on finding the animal that had run Kim down and then just took off. Ty didn't want to leave Alex, but she swore to him that she was okay. He finally agreed and told her he would be back as soon as his shift was over. He cupped her face in his hand and kissed her forehead before finally leaving.
She looked around the room and saw Jimmy sitting in the corner with Kim's mother who had arrived about a half hour ago. He saw her walk in the room and slowly stood up. She wasn't sure what he was feeling. He looked angry and anxious all at the same time. "Is he angry with me?" she thought to herself. She took steps toward him and it seemed to take forever. Finally, they were face-to-face and she started to speak, "Jimmy, I...." She was cut-off by the swift movement of him throwing his arms around her and hugging her. "Alex, thank you for taking care of her until Doc got there. I know how awful it must have been, but the doctor said that if it wasn't for the care she received immediately after it happened, she might not be with us anymore. Thank you," he said again, a tear sliding down his cheek. She immediately relaxed and allowed herself to offer support to her friend. He finally let her go and introduced her to Kim's mother.
"So, is there any word from the doctor yet?" she asked him as they both sat down, still holding each other's hands. Jimmy shook his head no and said, "The nurse came out once and said that she was doing okay and it would probably be another couple of hours. They're taking care of her femur fracture and the plastic surgeon was just finishing up her facial fractures."
"What about the internal bleeding? I'd heard something about some blood in her abdomen?" she asked him. "I guess there's a laceration of her liver, but they stitched it up and think it'll heal on it's own. They're just gonna keep an eye on it," he finished, falling silent again. Over the next half hour to forty-five minutes, there was a steady trickle of co-workers that were getting off shift or stopping by before work to see how Kim was doing. Ty and Sully had returned after their shift and were just returning with some coffee from the cafeteria.
The doctor, finally finished with Kim's surgeries, came out into the waiting area to find the room full of firefighters, police officers and medics from the 55th Precinct. Jimmy was the first to see him because he hadn't taken his eyes off those doors since he had gotten there. He took Mrs. Zambrano's hand and the two stood up and walked toward the doctor. The room full of Kim's friends and co-workers became silent as they all looked at the doctor. Alex grabbed Ty's hand and he moved closer to her.
"Mr. Doherty?" he asked and Jimmy nodded his head. He looked at Kim's mom and introduced her to the doctor. "How is she, Doctor?" he asked.
"Well, as you know, she's taken quite an assault on her body. But, we've been able to put her back together again. The internal bleeding has been stopped, the leg fracture had to be pinned and the plastic surgeons did a fantastic job with her facial fractures. I expect all those injuries to heal beautifully with minimal if any scarring," he said, sounding very upbeat.
"Great," said Jimmy quietly. "But, what about her skull fracture? Is she gonna be okay?" he asked, the words coming out sounding like he was pleading with the doctor to tell him she was fine.
"Well, we did a CT Scan and it appears that there was no permanent damage to the brain. However, there is some considerable swelling, which is perfectly normal after an injury such as this. We're just going to have to wait and see if she has any motor or neuro function deficits. It will be at least a couple of days until we know any more. We have to keep her pretty heavily sedated in order to keep the pressure down in her brain and give it time to heal," he explained.
Jimmy let out a heavy sigh, "Okay, Doctor. Thank you for all you're doing for her. Can I see her?"
"She's going to be in the Recovery Room for a short time yet," he said looking at his watch. "I'd say give her another 45 minutes or so and they can move her up to the ICU. I'll let the nurses know that you can see her, very briefly, as soon as they get her settled there," he finished, shaking Jimmy's hand and lightly touching Mrs. Zambrano's shoulder before turning and heading back through the doors.
Jimmy looked down at Kim's mother and saw that she was crying and beginning to shake. He put an arm around her and helped her back to chair. He looked at Alex and motioned for her to come over and sit with her. He needed to get away from this room, to get some fresh air and thank God that Kim was still alive. He walked out of the waiting area and down the hall to another waiting area with no one there. He walked over to the window and opened it, feeling the refreshing cool night air. He breathed it in deeply and slowly released the breath, letting the tightness he felt in his chest and stomach go with it. And then, he allowed himself to release all the emotion that he had been holding in check back there. Tears flowed freely and he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned slightly and saw that his good friend, D.K., was standing behind him, just offering him any support that he could. "She's gonna be okay, Brother. I just know it," he offered. Jimmy nodded his head, unable to speak. After a few minutes, he found his voice again. He cleared his throat and turned to his friend. "I've gotta call my Mom. She's got Joey. He's probably terrified." He pulled the cell phone out of his pocket and began dialing and D.K. said, "Okay. I'll go back and let you know when they say it's okay for you to go see her."
"Thanks," Jimmy said as D.K. walked away and his mother answered the phone on the first ring.
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Bosco and Faith had gotten held over at work with an assault call and had finally been heading in toward the station to check out when a call came over the radio.
"Central to all 55 Units. 10-13, Officer Down; 10-13, Officer Down. Mountainview and 130th, hit and run. EMS is in route."
"Dammit!" yelled Bosco as Faith turned on the lights and siren and Bosco turned the car around to head toward the injured officer. "55-David to Central, we are in route to the 10-13," Faith said over the radio.
"What the hell is going on?!" Faith yelled over the sound of the siren. Bosco just shook his head, "I don't know, but I got a bad feeling."
They were the first to arrive at the scene and found Officer Bobby Cassidy lying on the ground, his partner, a rookie, next to him with his coat stuffed under his head. They heard the approach of EMS and other police units in the distance. Bosco bent down over Cassidy and saw that he was conscious. "Bobby, you're gonna be okay. EMS is right around the corner. You just hang on," he urged the man. Bosco looked over the other officer to see if he could tell how seriously he was injured. He looked like he had an obvious leg fracture, but he couldn't see any blood anywhere. He tried to keep him talking.
Faith took the rookie officer aside and sat him down on the curb. He looked extremely pale. "So, what happened, Shore?" she asked him, looking quickly at his name tag. "Uh, I'm not really sure Ma'am. We were called to an unknown problem and couldn't find anything. We were coming back to the RMP and then this car came out of nowhere with no headlights. I yelled and Bobby managed to jump out of the way, but I think he got clipped in the leg," he said rapidly, looking over at his partner with concern.
The paramedics had arrived and were working on the officer and Bosco stepped back to give them room. "Bosco," Cassidy said. "Tell the kid he did good. If not for him I wouldn't be talking to you right now. I didn't even see the bastard coming until Keith yelled over to me." Bosco nodded, "Okay Bobby. I'll tell him. He gonna be okay?" Bosco asked the medics that were working on him. One of the medics nodded and said, "Yeah, it looks like just a broken leg. We're gonna take him over to Mercy." Bosco breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I'll see you over at the hospital, Man. I'm gonna go talk to your partner." Cassidy nodded to Bosco and let out a cry of pain as the medics put the splint on his leg.
"Okay, Shore," Faith said, trying to calm him down again. "Tell me again. What did the car look like?" Bosco came over next to Faith and the young officer as the Lieutenant pulled up. "Busted leg. He's gonna be okay," Bosco informed both officers.
"It was a dark-colored - maybe dark blue or black - late model sedan. No headlights on. Looked like there was only the driver, but I couldn't see if it was a male or female because it was dark," the rookie cop said, regaining his composure now that he knew his partner was going to be okay.
Lieutenant Swersky walked up to the three officers after checking on the status of Cassidy before the medics took off for the hospital. "Okay, run it for me Yokas," he said noticing she was the one with the notebook. He looked over at the rookie. "You okay Shore? You need to get checked out?"
"N-n-no, Sir," he replied. "I'm fine, but I'd like to go with Cassidy." The Lieutenant looked over to Faith to make sure she had all the information they needed for now and she nodded to him that she did. "Okay," said the Lieutenant. "Christopher - take Shore over to Mercy and wait with him. . I'll bring their unit over to the hospital later. I wanna talk to these guys and the crime scene crew."
"Yes, Sir," said Sgt. Christopher.
"Shore," Bosco called after the young officer who turned to look back at him. "Cassidy said you did good. If not for you, he wouldn't be talking to us. Nice job," he finished and the officer turned and walked toward the Lieutenant's car. Bosco turned back to Faith and the Lieutenant who were just staring at him with a surprised look on their faces. "What?!" he asked, not knowing what they were looking at.
"YOU giving words of encouragement to a ROOKIE?" asked Swersky with a crooked smile on his face.
"Yeah, well. He looked like he was ready to puke and, you know," Bosco didn't finish before Faith and Swersky chuckled. "Okay, Yokas. Run it for me," said the Lieutenant.
Faith gave him the information and after a few minutes one of the crime scene techs came over to brief them on what they'd found.
"We have bits of glass from what looks like a broken headlight," he said solemnly.
"What haven't you told us?" asked the Lieutenant.
"Looks like a match to the glass found at the scene from the earlier hit and run with the medic," he finished gravely.
"What the hell?" all three officers said in unison.
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TBC...