Note: Okay, here's the next chapter, as promised, within a few days!! Yay!!
::Pats back:: Oh yeah, thanks for the reviews! And to Jo, you make a very
good point about the whole dream thing. Don't worry, it will be explained
later on. Anyway, enjoy!!:-)
**
Heart pounding, Mark made his way to Steve's room within seconds, praying that nothing further had happened to his son. Because if that were to happen, most of the joy he had in his life would be gone.
He made his way through some of the doctors and nurses that had assembled and saw Steve lying there, fresh blood on his sheets. "Oh, god, no. Jesse? What- how-"
Jesse shook his head. "I don't know what happened, Mark. And why someone did this. It looks like he only got hit in his shoulder though, so he should be all right. We're going to go check him out right now, and see how serious it is."
"But he hasn't woken up, yet. I mean, if he were all right, shouldn't he have woken up from this?"
"Mark, look, we're doing everything we can. It's only been four and a half hours, so we have a little while longer for him to wake up before we consider surgery. Listen to me, I'm going to do everything I can to help him, but you're going to have to relax, all right? Why don't you call Chief Masters and tell him what happened. Maybe he'll send a couple of guards over and then you won't be worrying so much."
Mark nodded. "Good idea. Thanks, Jesse."
Jesse smiled and made his way down the hall, following Steve as he was pushed down the hall by a couple of nurses.
Mark stood in his son's room for a couple of minutes still in shock from what happened and wondered who would be wanting his son dead. He then felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned to find Dr. Reed standing there, a sympathetic look on her face.
"Are you all right?"
"I uh..... Give me time."
"It must be awful having to feel the pain of losing another child."
Mark's attention was suddenly diverted to her, with a puzzled look on his face. "What are you talking about? Steve should be fine. He only got shot in the shoulder."
Melissa's hands then turned into fists of rage, as she tried to keep her calm for Mark's sake. "Oh, so he should be okay, then. Well good! Someone's defiantly watching over him."
"Yeah, and has been for awhile, thankfully. Uh, well, if you'd excuse me, there are a few calls I need to make."
"Of course. I'm sorry we couldn't have gotten to know each other at a different time."
"Me, too. But I'm here all the time, so we should be able to continue our discussion some other time."
"I'm looking forward to it. Good night, Dr. Sloan."
"Good night."
Melissa walked out, leaving Mark to ponder what could have happened. Some one must have recently gotten out of jail, seeking revenge. It wouldn't have been the first time, and whoever it was it was had their last attempt on Steve's life. Mark was going to be sure of it. He then turned to walk out of the room, suddenly tripping on something right near the doorway. He held his balance, and leaned over to see what it was, soon be shocked at it being what looked like a child's slipper.
"Now how did this get in here?"
"What?"
Startled, Mark dropped the slipper. "Oh, Amanda! You scared me."
"Sorry. I've been down in my lab for a while and Alex just came by and told me what happened. Is Steve all right?"
"Well, I hope so. We'll know more as soon as Jesse's finished examining him."
"Who would be dumb enough to try and kill someone with a gun, in place where there's lots of people around? I'm surprised they didn't get caught."
"Well whoever it was must have been a professional. I'm going to call Chief Masters and get a list of who has recently gotten out of jail that Steve had put away."
"Good idea. Is there anything I can do?"
"Yes, pray that my son's going to be all right."
Amanda slightly smiled, and pulled Mark into a gentle hug. "I'm sure he will be. He has before. But I'll keep praying for him anyway."
"Thanks, honey. I'll be in my office. I won't be long." **
Melissa quietly entered Lacey's room, only to find her huddled up in her covers, quietly sobbing. "Oh please. You expect me to believe that little cry baby act?"
Lacey turned over, wiping her tear-streaked face. "Look, I shot him all right? So leave me alone!! And leave my sister alone!!"
"You expect me to believe you actually tried to kill him? I could have come closer to killing him with my eyes closed!!"
"I've never shot a gun before though. I didn't know how to aim right. I don't even know where I shot him. I ran out before anyone could catch me!"
"In the shoulder! You shot him in the shoulder you little brat!" she replied, grabbing Lacey by her shirt.
"I'm sorry! I told you, I've never shot a gun before! Maybe there's still a chance he won't make it. Maybe he lost a lot of blood or something."
"Yeah, right, and I'm the richest woman in L.A.!"
"Well, he still has that head injury. Maybe he could still die from that."
"You'd better hope he does! I'll wait and see what happens, but if he does make it, I'm going to kill him myself if I have to, and then I'm coming back for-"
"No!! I told you to leave her alone!!"
"Well, maybe you should have done a better job, then."
Lacey's heart skipped a beat as she flashed back to Steve waking up and calling out for his father. She knew he was going to make it, and as much as she wanted him to, she couldn't let anything happen to her sister, who's stood by her and taken care of her ever since her parents died in a car accident when she was only two. Now at twelve, she was hopefully smart enough to be able to save her sister and Steve, she just needed to buy some more time.
"All right, how about I try again? I'll think of a plan tonight and tell you tomorrow. And it'll be one that will be sure to work."
Melissa sighed and released her hold on Lacey's shirt. "Fine. I'll be here first thing in the morning. Don't let me down, or you know what will happen."
Lacey swallowed hard as she watched Melissa walk out of the room in a hurry, and prayed that she could think of something- fast. **
A couple hours later, Jesse found Mark and Chief Masters in a serious conversation by Steve's room, along with two uniforms standing next to them.
"Uh, Mark?"
Mark suddenly turned his attention to the sound of Jesse's voice, nervously awaiting the news of how Steve was. "Jesse, how is he?"
"Well, we had to operate on him. Apparently the bullet was lodged in there pretty good, but we were able to remove it. He's still unconscious, but now it's just from the anesthetic, because he was able to wake up for a couple seconds while we were in the ER. So he's probably going to be all right."
"Oh, thank god," Mark said as he let how a big breath, and one he felt he had been holding for a long time. "Where is he, Jesse?"
"We moved him to the maternity ward, in room 412."
"The maternity ward?"
"Well yeah, we figured it'd be harder for whoever tried to kill him to find him if he was someplace unexpected."
"Oh, I see," Mark replied with a slight grin.
"Well, we'll head up there now. Thank you, Dr. Travis," the Chief said.
Jesse nodded and smiled. "Sure thing, Chief!"
"It's okay, Jesse, it's not like he's going to shoot you or anything," Mark stated as he walked by.
"Yeah, but he could pick me up and drop me with one hand."
Mark grinned and shook his head. Poor Jesse. He could only imagine how intimidated he must feel each time the chief stood next to him. But nonetheless, Jesse was a good doctor and always seemed to please him anyhow.
A couple minutes later, Mark, the Chief, and the two uniforms made it to Steve's room, hearing babies from the nursery crying just down the hall. Mark smiled, and went over to sit down next to Steve's bedside, just like he had been doing hours before.
As the chief gave his orders to the two uniforms outside, Mark gently stroked Steve's hair taking in the sight of his living, breathing son. "Come on, son. I need you to wake up for me. I need to know that you're to be all right. I need to see it myself."
Steve's hand moved slightly as he began to awaken, much to Mark's relief. "That's it, come on, son."
"Mmph..... Dad....."
"Yes, it's dad. I'm here. And you're going to be fine."
"Little girl....."
Mark's look of joy, soon turned to confusion as he tried to figure out what Steve was saying. "Steve, I can't hear you. What are you trying to say?"
"Little girl..... she shot..... she was here....."
"What's this about a little girl?" the Chief asked as he came up beside Mark.
Mark shook his head. "I don't know. Steve, you're not making any sense. What little girl? Who shot you?"
"Mmmm....."
Steve then passed out into unconsciousness once more, frustrating Mark. "No! Steve, we need to know who shot you! Steve, son, I need you to stay awake!!"
"Mark, you know how anesthetics can make you go in and out. He should be awake by the morning."
"I know. I just wish I knew what he meant by a little girl supposedly shooting him. It doesn't make any sense."
"I'm sure there's logical explanation for this, Mark. And I'm sure he'll tell us in the morning. Right now, you should go home and get some rest."
"No, I couldn't possibly sleep. Not now. A little gir- the slipper!!" he exclaimed as he ran out of the room.
Puzzled, the Chief followed. "What slipper? Mark, you're not making any sense!"
He then sighed as he watched Mark disappear into the elevators, and turned back towards one of the guards. "Runs in the family, I guess." **
Lacey lay awake staring at the ceiling, hoping to come up with something, anything, that would help save her sister and Steve at the same time. She sighed and rubbed her face. "A twelve year old isn't supposed to have this much stress. I can't figure out anything, though. No! I can't think that way, I have to come up with something!" she pondered her thoughts for a few minutes then groaned. "Maybe a walk will help."
She then climbed out of bed and slipped her left foot into her slipper, then became puzzled when the other one wasn't next to it.
"Now where did that go to....." she wondered out loud as she looked under the bed for it.
Her head suddenly popped up when a realization went off in her head, followed by panic. "Oh no!! I must have left it in the room and didn't notice it!!"
She then ran out of the room in a flash, hoping that she could get to it before someone else could, or all her hopes for a happy future would soon be behind her.
TBC.....
Heart pounding, Mark made his way to Steve's room within seconds, praying that nothing further had happened to his son. Because if that were to happen, most of the joy he had in his life would be gone.
He made his way through some of the doctors and nurses that had assembled and saw Steve lying there, fresh blood on his sheets. "Oh, god, no. Jesse? What- how-"
Jesse shook his head. "I don't know what happened, Mark. And why someone did this. It looks like he only got hit in his shoulder though, so he should be all right. We're going to go check him out right now, and see how serious it is."
"But he hasn't woken up, yet. I mean, if he were all right, shouldn't he have woken up from this?"
"Mark, look, we're doing everything we can. It's only been four and a half hours, so we have a little while longer for him to wake up before we consider surgery. Listen to me, I'm going to do everything I can to help him, but you're going to have to relax, all right? Why don't you call Chief Masters and tell him what happened. Maybe he'll send a couple of guards over and then you won't be worrying so much."
Mark nodded. "Good idea. Thanks, Jesse."
Jesse smiled and made his way down the hall, following Steve as he was pushed down the hall by a couple of nurses.
Mark stood in his son's room for a couple of minutes still in shock from what happened and wondered who would be wanting his son dead. He then felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned to find Dr. Reed standing there, a sympathetic look on her face.
"Are you all right?"
"I uh..... Give me time."
"It must be awful having to feel the pain of losing another child."
Mark's attention was suddenly diverted to her, with a puzzled look on his face. "What are you talking about? Steve should be fine. He only got shot in the shoulder."
Melissa's hands then turned into fists of rage, as she tried to keep her calm for Mark's sake. "Oh, so he should be okay, then. Well good! Someone's defiantly watching over him."
"Yeah, and has been for awhile, thankfully. Uh, well, if you'd excuse me, there are a few calls I need to make."
"Of course. I'm sorry we couldn't have gotten to know each other at a different time."
"Me, too. But I'm here all the time, so we should be able to continue our discussion some other time."
"I'm looking forward to it. Good night, Dr. Sloan."
"Good night."
Melissa walked out, leaving Mark to ponder what could have happened. Some one must have recently gotten out of jail, seeking revenge. It wouldn't have been the first time, and whoever it was it was had their last attempt on Steve's life. Mark was going to be sure of it. He then turned to walk out of the room, suddenly tripping on something right near the doorway. He held his balance, and leaned over to see what it was, soon be shocked at it being what looked like a child's slipper.
"Now how did this get in here?"
"What?"
Startled, Mark dropped the slipper. "Oh, Amanda! You scared me."
"Sorry. I've been down in my lab for a while and Alex just came by and told me what happened. Is Steve all right?"
"Well, I hope so. We'll know more as soon as Jesse's finished examining him."
"Who would be dumb enough to try and kill someone with a gun, in place where there's lots of people around? I'm surprised they didn't get caught."
"Well whoever it was must have been a professional. I'm going to call Chief Masters and get a list of who has recently gotten out of jail that Steve had put away."
"Good idea. Is there anything I can do?"
"Yes, pray that my son's going to be all right."
Amanda slightly smiled, and pulled Mark into a gentle hug. "I'm sure he will be. He has before. But I'll keep praying for him anyway."
"Thanks, honey. I'll be in my office. I won't be long." **
Melissa quietly entered Lacey's room, only to find her huddled up in her covers, quietly sobbing. "Oh please. You expect me to believe that little cry baby act?"
Lacey turned over, wiping her tear-streaked face. "Look, I shot him all right? So leave me alone!! And leave my sister alone!!"
"You expect me to believe you actually tried to kill him? I could have come closer to killing him with my eyes closed!!"
"I've never shot a gun before though. I didn't know how to aim right. I don't even know where I shot him. I ran out before anyone could catch me!"
"In the shoulder! You shot him in the shoulder you little brat!" she replied, grabbing Lacey by her shirt.
"I'm sorry! I told you, I've never shot a gun before! Maybe there's still a chance he won't make it. Maybe he lost a lot of blood or something."
"Yeah, right, and I'm the richest woman in L.A.!"
"Well, he still has that head injury. Maybe he could still die from that."
"You'd better hope he does! I'll wait and see what happens, but if he does make it, I'm going to kill him myself if I have to, and then I'm coming back for-"
"No!! I told you to leave her alone!!"
"Well, maybe you should have done a better job, then."
Lacey's heart skipped a beat as she flashed back to Steve waking up and calling out for his father. She knew he was going to make it, and as much as she wanted him to, she couldn't let anything happen to her sister, who's stood by her and taken care of her ever since her parents died in a car accident when she was only two. Now at twelve, she was hopefully smart enough to be able to save her sister and Steve, she just needed to buy some more time.
"All right, how about I try again? I'll think of a plan tonight and tell you tomorrow. And it'll be one that will be sure to work."
Melissa sighed and released her hold on Lacey's shirt. "Fine. I'll be here first thing in the morning. Don't let me down, or you know what will happen."
Lacey swallowed hard as she watched Melissa walk out of the room in a hurry, and prayed that she could think of something- fast. **
A couple hours later, Jesse found Mark and Chief Masters in a serious conversation by Steve's room, along with two uniforms standing next to them.
"Uh, Mark?"
Mark suddenly turned his attention to the sound of Jesse's voice, nervously awaiting the news of how Steve was. "Jesse, how is he?"
"Well, we had to operate on him. Apparently the bullet was lodged in there pretty good, but we were able to remove it. He's still unconscious, but now it's just from the anesthetic, because he was able to wake up for a couple seconds while we were in the ER. So he's probably going to be all right."
"Oh, thank god," Mark said as he let how a big breath, and one he felt he had been holding for a long time. "Where is he, Jesse?"
"We moved him to the maternity ward, in room 412."
"The maternity ward?"
"Well yeah, we figured it'd be harder for whoever tried to kill him to find him if he was someplace unexpected."
"Oh, I see," Mark replied with a slight grin.
"Well, we'll head up there now. Thank you, Dr. Travis," the Chief said.
Jesse nodded and smiled. "Sure thing, Chief!"
"It's okay, Jesse, it's not like he's going to shoot you or anything," Mark stated as he walked by.
"Yeah, but he could pick me up and drop me with one hand."
Mark grinned and shook his head. Poor Jesse. He could only imagine how intimidated he must feel each time the chief stood next to him. But nonetheless, Jesse was a good doctor and always seemed to please him anyhow.
A couple minutes later, Mark, the Chief, and the two uniforms made it to Steve's room, hearing babies from the nursery crying just down the hall. Mark smiled, and went over to sit down next to Steve's bedside, just like he had been doing hours before.
As the chief gave his orders to the two uniforms outside, Mark gently stroked Steve's hair taking in the sight of his living, breathing son. "Come on, son. I need you to wake up for me. I need to know that you're to be all right. I need to see it myself."
Steve's hand moved slightly as he began to awaken, much to Mark's relief. "That's it, come on, son."
"Mmph..... Dad....."
"Yes, it's dad. I'm here. And you're going to be fine."
"Little girl....."
Mark's look of joy, soon turned to confusion as he tried to figure out what Steve was saying. "Steve, I can't hear you. What are you trying to say?"
"Little girl..... she shot..... she was here....."
"What's this about a little girl?" the Chief asked as he came up beside Mark.
Mark shook his head. "I don't know. Steve, you're not making any sense. What little girl? Who shot you?"
"Mmmm....."
Steve then passed out into unconsciousness once more, frustrating Mark. "No! Steve, we need to know who shot you! Steve, son, I need you to stay awake!!"
"Mark, you know how anesthetics can make you go in and out. He should be awake by the morning."
"I know. I just wish I knew what he meant by a little girl supposedly shooting him. It doesn't make any sense."
"I'm sure there's logical explanation for this, Mark. And I'm sure he'll tell us in the morning. Right now, you should go home and get some rest."
"No, I couldn't possibly sleep. Not now. A little gir- the slipper!!" he exclaimed as he ran out of the room.
Puzzled, the Chief followed. "What slipper? Mark, you're not making any sense!"
He then sighed as he watched Mark disappear into the elevators, and turned back towards one of the guards. "Runs in the family, I guess." **
Lacey lay awake staring at the ceiling, hoping to come up with something, anything, that would help save her sister and Steve at the same time. She sighed and rubbed her face. "A twelve year old isn't supposed to have this much stress. I can't figure out anything, though. No! I can't think that way, I have to come up with something!" she pondered her thoughts for a few minutes then groaned. "Maybe a walk will help."
She then climbed out of bed and slipped her left foot into her slipper, then became puzzled when the other one wasn't next to it.
"Now where did that go to....." she wondered out loud as she looked under the bed for it.
Her head suddenly popped up when a realization went off in her head, followed by panic. "Oh no!! I must have left it in the room and didn't notice it!!"
She then ran out of the room in a flash, hoping that she could get to it before someone else could, or all her hopes for a happy future would soon be behind her.
TBC.....