Returning the Favor
Chapter 11
~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was now 3:00 a.m. Bosco was still in surgery. It had been about three hours. Faith had sent Fred back home so that the kids wouldn't wake up in the morning and find them both gone. She thought that it would scare them after what happened the night of the blackout. Fred told her he'd get the kids off to school, grab her some clean clothes and come back in the morning. He gave her a kiss and told her that he was glad she was okay. "Give the kids a kiss for me," she said, smiling up at him.
Ty, Sully, Angela, Kim, Alex, Doc and Carlos were there, along with Littrell. The crews from the firehouse and the police station had been taking turns as their shifts changed. Lieutenant Swersky had called a few times and Faith finally told him that she would call him when he was out of surgery.
Everyone was sitting, with the exception of Bosco's mother who kept pacing and looking at her watch. Alex and Kim had tried to get her to calm down. They offered to take her to get a cup of coffee. It wasn't until Bosco's brother, Mikey, arrived that she settled down somewhat. But, that didn't last long and she was up and pacing again.
The television in the waiting room was on and for what seemed like the millionth time the newscaster was reporting on the heroic efforts of a cop from the 55th Precinct. They watched as the reporter again told of how the police officer was shot by the mentally disturbed ex-employee at the Prescott Building earlier in the day. But, the reporter added, it was not before he made sure that the disturbed man would be unable to harm anyone else.
Faith got up and walked over and switched the television off. "He'd hate that," she said simply and everyone knew she was right. Bosco wasn't the kind of cop that enjoyed killing people. Sure, he liked to make life tough for the scumbags, but this reporter was making him out to have shot some deranged man so he couldn't escape into the City and kill more. He wasn't going anywhere. ESU was there and all the exits were covered. He just wanted to provide some coverage for the civilians and medics so that they could get to safety.
"What the hell's taking so long?" Ty finally said.
"They said it could be as much as four hours or more. It's really delicate surgery," Alex said, even though she knew he knew.
Carlos walked over to Littrell. "So, this is pretty familiar," Carlos said to him.
"Oh yeah? How so?" asked Littrell.
"My first week with the 5-5 and we were going to a call for a man down with gunshot wounds. I was the new guy, like you are now, and I was with Doc and another medic, Jerry. Anyway, we were walking up the stairs of this apartment building and Jerry was ahead of us. We reached the top of the stairs to the second floor when all of a sudden we were being shot at. Doc and I were both able to take cover, but Jerry was right there, man. He took it all. Right in the chest. He fell down the stairs and we had no idea where this mental patient took off to. Doc tried to go help Jerry, but the guy was still there. He shot at Jerry again and hit him in the arm. Jerry almost died," Carlos said, thinking back to that night. "Anyway, it was just like this - everyone standing around and waiting," he finished after a moment.
Littrell nodded and looked around the waiting room. "You guys are all like family. It's nice," he said as he walked over to Kim.
A few minutes later the door to the surgical waiting area opened and all eyes fell upon Bosco's surgeon.
Rose and Faith both stood up and walked over to the doctor, followed by Mikey.
"Doctor? Is he okay? Is my Maurice okay?" Rose asked anxiously.
The doctor looked exhausted and took the surgical cap from his head as he took a deep, relaxing breath. After what seemed like forever, but was in reality only a fraction of a second, he looked at Rose and Faith and smiled.
"Well, Mrs. Boscorelli, Officer Yokas, we were able to repair his leg wound. We were able to remove the bullet from his back and repaired the damage done as it traveled through his chest. The bullet was resting just against the spinal cord. But, from what we could tell there was no actual damage to the cord. There is some bruising and inflammation, along with some nerve damage. We feel that this is what is causing his paralysis - which we feel is only temporary. Now, it's impossible to predict how the nerves will react in how quickly they heal, but with therapy and hard work, I believe Officer Boscorelli should be able to make a complete recovery," he said, looking at the two women to see if they had any questions.
"Can I see him?" both of them asked at the same time.
The doctor laughed and said, "Well, we're getting ready to take him to the recovery room. Why don't you give us a little bit to get him settled and then you can go and see him. He'll probably still be sleeping and he still has the medication to paralyze him so that he doesn't aggravate the spinal cord while it is trying to heal, so if I'm not there when he wakes up, please explain to him that is why he is still unable to move."
The two nodded and the doctor shook Rose's hand and turned to return to his patient, stopping for a moment and turning back to the group. "By the way, whoever treated Officer Boscorelli at the scene did a fine job in preventing any further injury. He could have very easily suffered a permanent insult to his spinal cord had he been moved incorrectly even the slightest bit." Alex and Kim looked at each other and then over to Littrell, who seemed to be a bit embarrassed. The doctor turned and left.
After the door closed, Faith and Rose hugged each other. Rose turned to Mikey to give him a hug and the crowd from the police and fire station came over to join in the good news as Faith went to the call the Lieutenant.
"Littrell, you did a great job out there today," Kim said to him as Alex agreed.
"Thanks," he replied. "It was a pretty stressful day," he said, suddenly feeling the tension he had been feeling all day leave him as one by one, members of the police and fire departments came along to congratulate and welcome him aboard.
"Yeah, well you held your own, that's for sure," Alex said to him.
A nurse came out into the waiting area to tell Rose and Faith that they could go back and see Bosco for a few minutes and they followed her through the doors to the Recovery Room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TBC...
Chapter 11
~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was now 3:00 a.m. Bosco was still in surgery. It had been about three hours. Faith had sent Fred back home so that the kids wouldn't wake up in the morning and find them both gone. She thought that it would scare them after what happened the night of the blackout. Fred told her he'd get the kids off to school, grab her some clean clothes and come back in the morning. He gave her a kiss and told her that he was glad she was okay. "Give the kids a kiss for me," she said, smiling up at him.
Ty, Sully, Angela, Kim, Alex, Doc and Carlos were there, along with Littrell. The crews from the firehouse and the police station had been taking turns as their shifts changed. Lieutenant Swersky had called a few times and Faith finally told him that she would call him when he was out of surgery.
Everyone was sitting, with the exception of Bosco's mother who kept pacing and looking at her watch. Alex and Kim had tried to get her to calm down. They offered to take her to get a cup of coffee. It wasn't until Bosco's brother, Mikey, arrived that she settled down somewhat. But, that didn't last long and she was up and pacing again.
The television in the waiting room was on and for what seemed like the millionth time the newscaster was reporting on the heroic efforts of a cop from the 55th Precinct. They watched as the reporter again told of how the police officer was shot by the mentally disturbed ex-employee at the Prescott Building earlier in the day. But, the reporter added, it was not before he made sure that the disturbed man would be unable to harm anyone else.
Faith got up and walked over and switched the television off. "He'd hate that," she said simply and everyone knew she was right. Bosco wasn't the kind of cop that enjoyed killing people. Sure, he liked to make life tough for the scumbags, but this reporter was making him out to have shot some deranged man so he couldn't escape into the City and kill more. He wasn't going anywhere. ESU was there and all the exits were covered. He just wanted to provide some coverage for the civilians and medics so that they could get to safety.
"What the hell's taking so long?" Ty finally said.
"They said it could be as much as four hours or more. It's really delicate surgery," Alex said, even though she knew he knew.
Carlos walked over to Littrell. "So, this is pretty familiar," Carlos said to him.
"Oh yeah? How so?" asked Littrell.
"My first week with the 5-5 and we were going to a call for a man down with gunshot wounds. I was the new guy, like you are now, and I was with Doc and another medic, Jerry. Anyway, we were walking up the stairs of this apartment building and Jerry was ahead of us. We reached the top of the stairs to the second floor when all of a sudden we were being shot at. Doc and I were both able to take cover, but Jerry was right there, man. He took it all. Right in the chest. He fell down the stairs and we had no idea where this mental patient took off to. Doc tried to go help Jerry, but the guy was still there. He shot at Jerry again and hit him in the arm. Jerry almost died," Carlos said, thinking back to that night. "Anyway, it was just like this - everyone standing around and waiting," he finished after a moment.
Littrell nodded and looked around the waiting room. "You guys are all like family. It's nice," he said as he walked over to Kim.
A few minutes later the door to the surgical waiting area opened and all eyes fell upon Bosco's surgeon.
Rose and Faith both stood up and walked over to the doctor, followed by Mikey.
"Doctor? Is he okay? Is my Maurice okay?" Rose asked anxiously.
The doctor looked exhausted and took the surgical cap from his head as he took a deep, relaxing breath. After what seemed like forever, but was in reality only a fraction of a second, he looked at Rose and Faith and smiled.
"Well, Mrs. Boscorelli, Officer Yokas, we were able to repair his leg wound. We were able to remove the bullet from his back and repaired the damage done as it traveled through his chest. The bullet was resting just against the spinal cord. But, from what we could tell there was no actual damage to the cord. There is some bruising and inflammation, along with some nerve damage. We feel that this is what is causing his paralysis - which we feel is only temporary. Now, it's impossible to predict how the nerves will react in how quickly they heal, but with therapy and hard work, I believe Officer Boscorelli should be able to make a complete recovery," he said, looking at the two women to see if they had any questions.
"Can I see him?" both of them asked at the same time.
The doctor laughed and said, "Well, we're getting ready to take him to the recovery room. Why don't you give us a little bit to get him settled and then you can go and see him. He'll probably still be sleeping and he still has the medication to paralyze him so that he doesn't aggravate the spinal cord while it is trying to heal, so if I'm not there when he wakes up, please explain to him that is why he is still unable to move."
The two nodded and the doctor shook Rose's hand and turned to return to his patient, stopping for a moment and turning back to the group. "By the way, whoever treated Officer Boscorelli at the scene did a fine job in preventing any further injury. He could have very easily suffered a permanent insult to his spinal cord had he been moved incorrectly even the slightest bit." Alex and Kim looked at each other and then over to Littrell, who seemed to be a bit embarrassed. The doctor turned and left.
After the door closed, Faith and Rose hugged each other. Rose turned to Mikey to give him a hug and the crowd from the police and fire station came over to join in the good news as Faith went to the call the Lieutenant.
"Littrell, you did a great job out there today," Kim said to him as Alex agreed.
"Thanks," he replied. "It was a pretty stressful day," he said, suddenly feeling the tension he had been feeling all day leave him as one by one, members of the police and fire departments came along to congratulate and welcome him aboard.
"Yeah, well you held your own, that's for sure," Alex said to him.
A nurse came out into the waiting area to tell Rose and Faith that they could go back and see Bosco for a few minutes and they followed her through the doors to the Recovery Room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TBC...