I noticed Nurse Proctor's eyes quickly survey the room, getting the same
response from each one of us.
"It's very serious. Look, I wish I had better news for you. He'll be in surgery for a while. I'll keep you updated as best I can but as you can imagine, were short-staffed after the shootings tonight. If you have any questions, you can have me paged."
It was with mixed emotion that I watched Mary silently walk away. On one hand, I had a million questions but it was obvious that Mary had no more information. Had she been able to tell us more, she would have. On the other hand, I didn't know if I could find a voice to ask the numerous questions that flooded my mind.
One word...one tiny little five-letter word had the potential to tumble my already shaky house of cards that had come to represent my life.
"He's strong Faith," Lieu replied, his tone of voice missing its usual strength. I hadn't missed that. Neither had Ty or Sully as both of them stood in stoned silence.
With my lips tight holding back a range of emotions, I nodded my head. It was the only function I was able to control at the moment.
I'd all but forgotten that Emily was still standing beside me. She had been anyway. Now she sat beside me. Her voice a whisper...she recited that same five-letter word Mary had just hanging.
"Brain?"
I glanced over at her; the expression on her face must've been a mirrored image of my own.
Without a word I put an arm around her small shoulders. She fell into me, her arms wrapped around my waist.
"He's strong baby...he's strong," I replied, not even realizing I'd said the same thing Lieu just had. I hope it carried more weight...offered Emily ore comfort than when Lieu had said them.
I don't know if my words were an effort to convince Emily or myself. Either way I think they feel on deaf ears.
From what little Mary had to offer, we knew the bullet had entered his brain on the left side. Its point of entry had been just above his ear. I know it sounds silly but if she'd said 'head' instead of 'brain' maybe it wouldn't have sounded so bad. I know that makes little sense but 'brain' sounded more serious...more life-threatening than the word 'head'. I was grasping for any little piece of hope...anything positive to hold onto.
It was a little over an hour later that Mary reappeared. It was a surge of energy that I didn't know I had left. That energy diminished almost as fast as it came. It was too soon....too soon for him to be out of surgery.
Apparently Mary knew that too. She held her hands up, palms facing out.
"He's still in surgery," she replied. It was then that I noticed her attention was focused on me.
"I was hoping you could help me out," she replied. "It's Rose...she's taken a turn for the worse. Do you know of any family members I should contact?"
For the second time in a couple hours, I was at a loss for words. I sat there, my head shaking to indicate a no reply. After a few moments, I offered what little help I had to give. Really, it was no help at all...my thoughts merely confirmations of what Mary already knew.
"Other than Bosco...Mikey's gone...I don't know of any other family. She has an ex-husband but I wouldn't know how to contact him."
"It was a long shot," Mary offered. "Thank you anyway."
"Can I see her?" I questioned causing Mary to stop.
"Of course," I said, getting to my feet. This was Rose we were talking about. As worried as I was about Bosco and with good reason, I knew he wouldn't want Rose to be alone. In all the chaos of the shootings, I'd completely forgotten she was in Mercy.
"I'll go with you" Emily offered, getting to her feet.
I glanced over at Lieu before following Mary.
"We'll find you if there's any word."
"Thanks Lieu," I said with only a nod of my head.
I had no idea what I was doing....what I could say but I knew Bosco wouldn't want Rose to be alone. He wouldn't want her to...to die alone. The thought left me choked up.
Luckily Mary noticed and she paused before we entered Rose's room.
"In addition to the injury to her arm, she also has internal injuries that include her heart and both lungs. It's a miracle she survived the surgery."
"Has she regained consciousness?" I asked.
"No, she was unconscious when she was brought in. Faith, we were able to operate since Bosco authorized it when she was brought in. I don't know if she's going to need further surgery or if her body is strong enough to withstand it. Since she got out of surgery we've haven't been able to stabilize her."
"She knows about Bosco," I replied getting a strange look from both Emily and Nurse Proctor.
"I know it sounds crazy but the two of them are very close...she knows he's hurt. She always told him...every time he got himself shot or something...'don't you die before me'. She knows."
Bosco kept his promise to his mother. She died while Emily and I were sitting with her. I'd been talking to her, holding her hand, telling her things that I don't remember saying. In the end, I hope she could hear me and I hope she understood how much her son loved her...how much both her sons loved her. I glanced over at Emily, sitting at the foot of Rose's bed. Tears had stained her face. I reached over taking her hand in mine. She stood, putting her around my shoulder as the two of us cried together.
At that moment, more than anything I needed Bosco to survive his injuries. I hoped that he was strong enough and that he didn't know that his mother had died. Somehow though, despite the fact that he was several floors above and unconscious due to the anesthesia I know that he knew she was gone. At least I'd had something to occupy my mind while we waited for news on Bosco. I would have preferred that the time not be spent making initial preparations for his mother's funeral but that was exactly what I did. I'd contacted a funeral home owned by the same one that had planned the services for Mikey. It seemed odd to me that Rose was no longer grieving the loss of her son. She was with him.
It was still several hours before we got word on Bosco. He had survived surgery but he'd be in recovery for several hours before being moved to ICU. By the time they moved him, my emotions had reached the anger point. I was angry with the lives lost due to one man's need for revenge. Anti-crime and Narcotics had suffered great losses. The total lives lost to the 55 had reached nine with another six injured. Numerous hospital staff and civilians had been killed or injured. The numbers seemed to change constantly.
Somewhere along the line, Ty had informed someone of our belief that Mann was behind this. With the loss of so many officers and civilians, the FBI had been brought in. Their combined efforts with the NYPD had stopped Mann's plane from being able to get airborne. In the end, further bombings took the lives of those on board...including Mann. I found it ironic than someone with a name like Mann was far from being one. In the end, he'd taken the cowardly way out just as he'd been the coward all along...finding others to do the dirty work of destroying lives.
Whether or not Bosco's life would be destroyed hung in the balance. For those of us who called him friend, co-worker, or Uncle B...the final decision as to how much our lives would change remained to be seen.
"It's very serious. Look, I wish I had better news for you. He'll be in surgery for a while. I'll keep you updated as best I can but as you can imagine, were short-staffed after the shootings tonight. If you have any questions, you can have me paged."
It was with mixed emotion that I watched Mary silently walk away. On one hand, I had a million questions but it was obvious that Mary had no more information. Had she been able to tell us more, she would have. On the other hand, I didn't know if I could find a voice to ask the numerous questions that flooded my mind.
One word...one tiny little five-letter word had the potential to tumble my already shaky house of cards that had come to represent my life.
"He's strong Faith," Lieu replied, his tone of voice missing its usual strength. I hadn't missed that. Neither had Ty or Sully as both of them stood in stoned silence.
With my lips tight holding back a range of emotions, I nodded my head. It was the only function I was able to control at the moment.
I'd all but forgotten that Emily was still standing beside me. She had been anyway. Now she sat beside me. Her voice a whisper...she recited that same five-letter word Mary had just hanging.
"Brain?"
I glanced over at her; the expression on her face must've been a mirrored image of my own.
Without a word I put an arm around her small shoulders. She fell into me, her arms wrapped around my waist.
"He's strong baby...he's strong," I replied, not even realizing I'd said the same thing Lieu just had. I hope it carried more weight...offered Emily ore comfort than when Lieu had said them.
I don't know if my words were an effort to convince Emily or myself. Either way I think they feel on deaf ears.
From what little Mary had to offer, we knew the bullet had entered his brain on the left side. Its point of entry had been just above his ear. I know it sounds silly but if she'd said 'head' instead of 'brain' maybe it wouldn't have sounded so bad. I know that makes little sense but 'brain' sounded more serious...more life-threatening than the word 'head'. I was grasping for any little piece of hope...anything positive to hold onto.
It was a little over an hour later that Mary reappeared. It was a surge of energy that I didn't know I had left. That energy diminished almost as fast as it came. It was too soon....too soon for him to be out of surgery.
Apparently Mary knew that too. She held her hands up, palms facing out.
"He's still in surgery," she replied. It was then that I noticed her attention was focused on me.
"I was hoping you could help me out," she replied. "It's Rose...she's taken a turn for the worse. Do you know of any family members I should contact?"
For the second time in a couple hours, I was at a loss for words. I sat there, my head shaking to indicate a no reply. After a few moments, I offered what little help I had to give. Really, it was no help at all...my thoughts merely confirmations of what Mary already knew.
"Other than Bosco...Mikey's gone...I don't know of any other family. She has an ex-husband but I wouldn't know how to contact him."
"It was a long shot," Mary offered. "Thank you anyway."
"Can I see her?" I questioned causing Mary to stop.
"Of course," I said, getting to my feet. This was Rose we were talking about. As worried as I was about Bosco and with good reason, I knew he wouldn't want Rose to be alone. In all the chaos of the shootings, I'd completely forgotten she was in Mercy.
"I'll go with you" Emily offered, getting to her feet.
I glanced over at Lieu before following Mary.
"We'll find you if there's any word."
"Thanks Lieu," I said with only a nod of my head.
I had no idea what I was doing....what I could say but I knew Bosco wouldn't want Rose to be alone. He wouldn't want her to...to die alone. The thought left me choked up.
Luckily Mary noticed and she paused before we entered Rose's room.
"In addition to the injury to her arm, she also has internal injuries that include her heart and both lungs. It's a miracle she survived the surgery."
"Has she regained consciousness?" I asked.
"No, she was unconscious when she was brought in. Faith, we were able to operate since Bosco authorized it when she was brought in. I don't know if she's going to need further surgery or if her body is strong enough to withstand it. Since she got out of surgery we've haven't been able to stabilize her."
"She knows about Bosco," I replied getting a strange look from both Emily and Nurse Proctor.
"I know it sounds crazy but the two of them are very close...she knows he's hurt. She always told him...every time he got himself shot or something...'don't you die before me'. She knows."
Bosco kept his promise to his mother. She died while Emily and I were sitting with her. I'd been talking to her, holding her hand, telling her things that I don't remember saying. In the end, I hope she could hear me and I hope she understood how much her son loved her...how much both her sons loved her. I glanced over at Emily, sitting at the foot of Rose's bed. Tears had stained her face. I reached over taking her hand in mine. She stood, putting her around my shoulder as the two of us cried together.
At that moment, more than anything I needed Bosco to survive his injuries. I hoped that he was strong enough and that he didn't know that his mother had died. Somehow though, despite the fact that he was several floors above and unconscious due to the anesthesia I know that he knew she was gone. At least I'd had something to occupy my mind while we waited for news on Bosco. I would have preferred that the time not be spent making initial preparations for his mother's funeral but that was exactly what I did. I'd contacted a funeral home owned by the same one that had planned the services for Mikey. It seemed odd to me that Rose was no longer grieving the loss of her son. She was with him.
It was still several hours before we got word on Bosco. He had survived surgery but he'd be in recovery for several hours before being moved to ICU. By the time they moved him, my emotions had reached the anger point. I was angry with the lives lost due to one man's need for revenge. Anti-crime and Narcotics had suffered great losses. The total lives lost to the 55 had reached nine with another six injured. Numerous hospital staff and civilians had been killed or injured. The numbers seemed to change constantly.
Somewhere along the line, Ty had informed someone of our belief that Mann was behind this. With the loss of so many officers and civilians, the FBI had been brought in. Their combined efforts with the NYPD had stopped Mann's plane from being able to get airborne. In the end, further bombings took the lives of those on board...including Mann. I found it ironic than someone with a name like Mann was far from being one. In the end, he'd taken the cowardly way out just as he'd been the coward all along...finding others to do the dirty work of destroying lives.
Whether or not Bosco's life would be destroyed hung in the balance. For those of us who called him friend, co-worker, or Uncle B...the final decision as to how much our lives would change remained to be seen.