Author's Note: I know absolutely nothing about hospital procedure. Most of
what I know is from watching TV, and we all know how inaccurate that can
be, unless we're watching Discovery. So just bear with me. And as I said
before, if you didn't read the re-write of chapter 6, go back and re-read
it. It'll come into play next chapter.
~~~~
Samantha sat on the couch, her arms wrapped around her abdomen. She felt safe, secure, and she didn't know why. She glanced at the clock for the umpteenth time, and considered calling Martin to ask how much longer he was going to be. She twisted and let herself fall backwards, and pulling her feet up so that she was lying on the couch, lengthwise.
She was beginning to feel herself fall asleep when her cell phone rang. She sat up abruptly, hoping it was Martin. Glancing at the caller ID feature on the phone, she saw a number she didn't recognize. She frowned, and answered it. "Spade."
"Miss Spade, this is Nicole Garrett, I'm a doctor at Mount Sinai hospital. About an hour ago, Danny Taylor and Martin Fitzgerald were brought in after being involved in a drunk driving accident."
"Oh god." Samantha whispered, clutching the phone. The light that reflected off her ring and hit the wall seemed to be mocking her.
"Will they be all right?" She asked, her voice cracking. On the other end of the line, Nicole sighed.
"They're both still in the ER. Mr. Fitzgerald is going to be headed up to surgery soon. I think it'd be best if you came in with any other loved ones that they may have."
"I'll be right there." Samantha whispered. She hung up the phone and sat there, frozen for a brief moment. Then, with frenzy that Samantha never knew she possessed, she ran, grabbed her keys and purse and ran out of the apartment building. As she hailed a taxi, because she honestly didn't think she could drive, she called Viviane.
"Samantha?" Viviane answered questioningly, wondering what the younger woman would be calling her for.
"There's been an accident." Samantha whispered. "Martin and Danny were hit by a drunk driver.they're still in the ER and Martin's going up to surgery soon."
"Oh god Samantha." The older woman breathed, instantly worried about the two boys that were a huge asset to the team, as well as their hearts. Samantha closed her eyes.
"Can you call Martin's father for me? I know I should probably do it but." She trailed off.
"Of course I can. I'll Jack too, he'll need to know." Viviane mused. "Do you want me to go to the hospital to be with you?" She asked gently, her heart breaking for the beautiful blonde-haired agent.
Samantha shook her head, although Viviane couldn't see it. "No, stay with your family. I'll call you if anything happens. Thank you." She said, and hung up. The taxi pulled up in front of the emergency entrance, she paid the taxi driver, tipping him well before she ran into the ER.
"Fitzgerald and Taylor." She breathed, stopping at the nurses' station. The nurse there took in Samantha's disheveled state.
"Are you Samantha Spade?" The nurse said, and Samantha nodded, needing to see Martin, needing to touch him, make sure for herself that he'd be okay.
"The doctor wants to speak with you herself, but I can tell you that they should both be okay." The words had no sooner left her mouth than a team of doctors, all wearing bloodied scrubs burst through a set of doors, pushing a gurney. The man on the gurney was pale, and was covered in blood. He looked to be unconscious, and he had a tube down his throat, which was breathing for him. Samantha realized, with a small cry, that the man on the gurney was Martin. The gurney was pushed into a waiting elevator, which Samantha assumed carried them to the operating room.
"Miss Spade?" Samantha turned around, and faced a pretty woman with blue eyes and dark hair, which was pulled back into a ponytail. "I'm Dr. Garrett, we spoke on the phone."
"Hi." Samantha said. Her chest felt like an elephant was sitting on her, and her eyes prickled with the tears that felt like a thousand fire-hot needles.
"I was Martin's doctor." Dr. Garrett said gently, leading her away from the bustle of the hectic ER.
"Is he- is he going to be okay?" Samantha whispered, tears threatening to overflow. Dr. Garrett smiled.
"Eventually, yes. He has a few cracked ribs, one of which punctured a lung. We were able to fix that here. He has some internal bleeding, which is why we sent him up to the OR. Besides that, all he's got is a few broken bones. He was extremely lucky that he wasn't killed."
"Yeah." Samantha whispered, the image of Martin lying helpless on the stretcher flashing in her mind. "What about Danny?"
"I'm not his doctor, so I don't know, but I can bring you in to see him. I do know that they're keeping him overnight for observation." Dr. Garrett said, leading her into the bowels of the ER before stopping in front of a door.
Samantha took a deep breath before entering the dimly lit room. Her heart ached when she saw Danny lying there: pale, drifting in and out of consciousness. He nowhere near resembled the practical joker that they'd all come to love.
His eyes opened and focused on her as she slowly entered. "Hey." She said, smiling through the tears that threatened to fall.
"Hey." He said slowly, obviously under the influence of pain medication. "Is Martin okay? They won't tell me anything." He said softly, painfully.
"He's in surgery." Samantha said in way of explanation. "He has some internal bleeding." He nodded and closed his eyes.
"I'm sorry Samantha." He murmured, so soft that she wasn't sure he had spoken.
"Danny?"
"It should have been me." He opened his eyes, which were unusually bright. "He has parents, he has you. I don't have anybody." Samantha took his hand in hers.
"You have me, you have Martin. You have Jack and Viviane, and you have everybody at the Bureau." Danny's eyes closed.
"Martin needs you Sam." He whispered. "Why are you with me? Be with him." He squeezed her hand weakly before drifting back to sleep.
She bit her lip, trying to fight back the tears. Talking to Danny had eased some of the fears, and had allowed her to push back the fears that had flooded her since learning about the accident.
She slowly made her way up to the surgical waiting room. Upon reaching the empty room, she sank into one of the chairs and buried her head in her hands. A hot tear trickled out of her eyes, and she didn't fight them. The entire night was a blur, from her offering to wait for him till now, waiting for him to get out of life-saving surgery.
'Please.' She thought. 'Don't let him die. Please, I don't think I could handle it.' She stayed there, lost in her own private thoughts. The minutes ticked by, so slowly that the clock didn't seem to move. An hour passed by, and the waiting room door opened, but Samantha didn't notice. She was so lost in her silent prayers that she didn't realize that somebody else was in the room until "Agent Spade?"
Samantha looked up and saw the imposing stature of Victor Fitzgerald standing there. "Agent Fitzgerald." She said weakly, feeling odd addressing somebody else by her fiancée's title. She was slightly surprised to see the look of worry and fear in his eyes. Her gaze shifted to the woman standing slightly behind him, worry etched all over her face.
"Please call me Mary." She said quietly when Samantha had addressed her as 'Mrs. Fitzgerald.'
"How long has he been in surgery?" Victor asked, sitting in one of the chairs, Mary sitting next to him.
"Uh, about an hour and a half." Samantha said softly, rubbing her forehead hard. (AN: I figure the hour that she was sitting there, about 5-10 minutes that she was talking to Danny, then the rest of the time was spent getting lost. Those hospitals are such a maze nowadays. And I'm just basing this off of a New Hampshire hospital. I'm sure Mount Sinai is much worse.)
"And the other agent?"
"Danny's been admitted for observation." The door opened again, and the trio looked up to see Jack standing in the door, with Viviane right behind him.
"What are you guys doing here? I told you to be with your families."
"Marie's visiting her parents, I left the girls with a neighbor." Jack put in, keeping a wary eye on Victor, who was in turn keeping a wary eye on Jack.
"I left Reggie with his father." Viviane said, sitting next to Samantha and putting an arm around her.
"Did you guys stop in to see Danny?"
"Yeah, he was sleeping and we didn't want to wake him." Jack answered, as the door opened yet again. This time, however, a weary looking surgeon was standing there, and his blue eyes took in the group of five worried people.
"Are y'all here for Martin Fitzgerald?" The doctor drawled with a southern accent. The group nodded, Samantha and Victor stood.
"We managed to repair his internal bleeding. He's being sent to a private room. He'll be left on life-support until he's able to breathe on his own."
"Can we see him?" Viviane asked, gently squeezing Samantha's hand.
"Only immediate family, which includes fiancées." The doctor said, sending a smile to Samantha, who let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding.
Samantha sat on the couch, her arms wrapped around her abdomen. She felt safe, secure, and she didn't know why. She glanced at the clock for the umpteenth time, and considered calling Martin to ask how much longer he was going to be. She twisted and let herself fall backwards, and pulling her feet up so that she was lying on the couch, lengthwise.
She was beginning to feel herself fall asleep when her cell phone rang. She sat up abruptly, hoping it was Martin. Glancing at the caller ID feature on the phone, she saw a number she didn't recognize. She frowned, and answered it. "Spade."
"Miss Spade, this is Nicole Garrett, I'm a doctor at Mount Sinai hospital. About an hour ago, Danny Taylor and Martin Fitzgerald were brought in after being involved in a drunk driving accident."
"Oh god." Samantha whispered, clutching the phone. The light that reflected off her ring and hit the wall seemed to be mocking her.
"Will they be all right?" She asked, her voice cracking. On the other end of the line, Nicole sighed.
"They're both still in the ER. Mr. Fitzgerald is going to be headed up to surgery soon. I think it'd be best if you came in with any other loved ones that they may have."
"I'll be right there." Samantha whispered. She hung up the phone and sat there, frozen for a brief moment. Then, with frenzy that Samantha never knew she possessed, she ran, grabbed her keys and purse and ran out of the apartment building. As she hailed a taxi, because she honestly didn't think she could drive, she called Viviane.
"Samantha?" Viviane answered questioningly, wondering what the younger woman would be calling her for.
"There's been an accident." Samantha whispered. "Martin and Danny were hit by a drunk driver.they're still in the ER and Martin's going up to surgery soon."
"Oh god Samantha." The older woman breathed, instantly worried about the two boys that were a huge asset to the team, as well as their hearts. Samantha closed her eyes.
"Can you call Martin's father for me? I know I should probably do it but." She trailed off.
"Of course I can. I'll Jack too, he'll need to know." Viviane mused. "Do you want me to go to the hospital to be with you?" She asked gently, her heart breaking for the beautiful blonde-haired agent.
Samantha shook her head, although Viviane couldn't see it. "No, stay with your family. I'll call you if anything happens. Thank you." She said, and hung up. The taxi pulled up in front of the emergency entrance, she paid the taxi driver, tipping him well before she ran into the ER.
"Fitzgerald and Taylor." She breathed, stopping at the nurses' station. The nurse there took in Samantha's disheveled state.
"Are you Samantha Spade?" The nurse said, and Samantha nodded, needing to see Martin, needing to touch him, make sure for herself that he'd be okay.
"The doctor wants to speak with you herself, but I can tell you that they should both be okay." The words had no sooner left her mouth than a team of doctors, all wearing bloodied scrubs burst through a set of doors, pushing a gurney. The man on the gurney was pale, and was covered in blood. He looked to be unconscious, and he had a tube down his throat, which was breathing for him. Samantha realized, with a small cry, that the man on the gurney was Martin. The gurney was pushed into a waiting elevator, which Samantha assumed carried them to the operating room.
"Miss Spade?" Samantha turned around, and faced a pretty woman with blue eyes and dark hair, which was pulled back into a ponytail. "I'm Dr. Garrett, we spoke on the phone."
"Hi." Samantha said. Her chest felt like an elephant was sitting on her, and her eyes prickled with the tears that felt like a thousand fire-hot needles.
"I was Martin's doctor." Dr. Garrett said gently, leading her away from the bustle of the hectic ER.
"Is he- is he going to be okay?" Samantha whispered, tears threatening to overflow. Dr. Garrett smiled.
"Eventually, yes. He has a few cracked ribs, one of which punctured a lung. We were able to fix that here. He has some internal bleeding, which is why we sent him up to the OR. Besides that, all he's got is a few broken bones. He was extremely lucky that he wasn't killed."
"Yeah." Samantha whispered, the image of Martin lying helpless on the stretcher flashing in her mind. "What about Danny?"
"I'm not his doctor, so I don't know, but I can bring you in to see him. I do know that they're keeping him overnight for observation." Dr. Garrett said, leading her into the bowels of the ER before stopping in front of a door.
Samantha took a deep breath before entering the dimly lit room. Her heart ached when she saw Danny lying there: pale, drifting in and out of consciousness. He nowhere near resembled the practical joker that they'd all come to love.
His eyes opened and focused on her as she slowly entered. "Hey." She said, smiling through the tears that threatened to fall.
"Hey." He said slowly, obviously under the influence of pain medication. "Is Martin okay? They won't tell me anything." He said softly, painfully.
"He's in surgery." Samantha said in way of explanation. "He has some internal bleeding." He nodded and closed his eyes.
"I'm sorry Samantha." He murmured, so soft that she wasn't sure he had spoken.
"Danny?"
"It should have been me." He opened his eyes, which were unusually bright. "He has parents, he has you. I don't have anybody." Samantha took his hand in hers.
"You have me, you have Martin. You have Jack and Viviane, and you have everybody at the Bureau." Danny's eyes closed.
"Martin needs you Sam." He whispered. "Why are you with me? Be with him." He squeezed her hand weakly before drifting back to sleep.
She bit her lip, trying to fight back the tears. Talking to Danny had eased some of the fears, and had allowed her to push back the fears that had flooded her since learning about the accident.
She slowly made her way up to the surgical waiting room. Upon reaching the empty room, she sank into one of the chairs and buried her head in her hands. A hot tear trickled out of her eyes, and she didn't fight them. The entire night was a blur, from her offering to wait for him till now, waiting for him to get out of life-saving surgery.
'Please.' She thought. 'Don't let him die. Please, I don't think I could handle it.' She stayed there, lost in her own private thoughts. The minutes ticked by, so slowly that the clock didn't seem to move. An hour passed by, and the waiting room door opened, but Samantha didn't notice. She was so lost in her silent prayers that she didn't realize that somebody else was in the room until "Agent Spade?"
Samantha looked up and saw the imposing stature of Victor Fitzgerald standing there. "Agent Fitzgerald." She said weakly, feeling odd addressing somebody else by her fiancée's title. She was slightly surprised to see the look of worry and fear in his eyes. Her gaze shifted to the woman standing slightly behind him, worry etched all over her face.
"Please call me Mary." She said quietly when Samantha had addressed her as 'Mrs. Fitzgerald.'
"How long has he been in surgery?" Victor asked, sitting in one of the chairs, Mary sitting next to him.
"Uh, about an hour and a half." Samantha said softly, rubbing her forehead hard. (AN: I figure the hour that she was sitting there, about 5-10 minutes that she was talking to Danny, then the rest of the time was spent getting lost. Those hospitals are such a maze nowadays. And I'm just basing this off of a New Hampshire hospital. I'm sure Mount Sinai is much worse.)
"And the other agent?"
"Danny's been admitted for observation." The door opened again, and the trio looked up to see Jack standing in the door, with Viviane right behind him.
"What are you guys doing here? I told you to be with your families."
"Marie's visiting her parents, I left the girls with a neighbor." Jack put in, keeping a wary eye on Victor, who was in turn keeping a wary eye on Jack.
"I left Reggie with his father." Viviane said, sitting next to Samantha and putting an arm around her.
"Did you guys stop in to see Danny?"
"Yeah, he was sleeping and we didn't want to wake him." Jack answered, as the door opened yet again. This time, however, a weary looking surgeon was standing there, and his blue eyes took in the group of five worried people.
"Are y'all here for Martin Fitzgerald?" The doctor drawled with a southern accent. The group nodded, Samantha and Victor stood.
"We managed to repair his internal bleeding. He's being sent to a private room. He'll be left on life-support until he's able to breathe on his own."
"Can we see him?" Viviane asked, gently squeezing Samantha's hand.
"Only immediate family, which includes fiancées." The doctor said, sending a smile to Samantha, who let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding.