A little less than two hours after being called, Lon, Shawna and Janice
came into the waiting room, all of them full of a thousand questions, none
of which had answers yet. Trying to deal with Janice was the hardest part
for Xander. He had seen her handle delicate situations before. She had
coolness that never rattled. Seeing her on the verge of hysterics was one
of the most unnerving things he had ever seen in his life.
All three of them were inundating him with questions. What happened? Who shot Cole? How many times? Where? What did Jhondie say? Why was he in New York? Was it an accident? When was he going to get out?
"We don't know shit!" Xander finally blurted. He paused to take a breath, continuing in a much more controlled tone. "They were brought in, that's what we know. Lon, Shawna, you're going to need to donate blood. After that, Lon, you're going to flash your badge at the cops and find out if they know anything. An FBI agent was involved; you have jurisdiction."
"If the shooter is alive?" Lon asked in a low voice. He was all for law and order and the like, but roots ran deep when family was involved.
Xander's eyes met his. "Get whatever useful information out of him that you can. And if there's an accident later, then that's just too bad, isn't it?" Both Shawna and Janice heard him, but neither even considered trying to countermand him. Whoever dared to touch not just one, but two of their own was going to pay dearly.
"Excuse me?" a kind voice broke in. They all turned to the volunteer who had come up. She was an older lady, maybe somewhere in her late sixties, and didn't seem to be fazed in the slightest with any of them. "Are one of you Dr. Shawna Baker?"
Shawna blinked. "I'm Shawna Baker," she said hesitantly. She was a medic, yes, but that was far from being an M.D.
"Dr. Carter left word that you would be coming here and asked that you scrub in right away. She also said that I was to send for a nurse when another donor arrived to get blood drawn." She seemed slightly confused at the second instruction. Blood donors were sent over to the phlebotomists to get blood drawn. It wasn't done in the waiting room. That was simply improper.
"That would be me," Lon supplied.
The volunteer smiled. "Wonderful. Dr. Baker, if you'll please come with me, I'll show you to the OR. And I'll be back with a nurse in just a few minutes."
Shawna allowed herself to be led through the double doors. A few minutes later a nurse arrived back in the waiting room and set up the blood draw on Lon. Jhondie must have said something back there because the nurse didn't even suggest that Lon leave the room. One woman in one of the other families had to leave the room at the sight of the dark red fluid winding through the tube, but nobody was quite willing to ask him to leave.
Xander finally sat down with Janice, his arm around her shoulders. Since she and Cole had gotten married, outside of work she was his sister in law and they had become close. Anyone else seeing her would think that she was calming down from her hysterical questioning earlier, but he knew better. She was trembling violently, her skin clammy and pale.
"He's going to make it," Xander said to her. "He's strong. Trust me, it takes a lot more than a few measly gunshots to stop one of us."
She didn't look at him, her gaze locked onto the dark gray double doors in front of them. "Don't," she snapped, her voice harsh with unreleased sobs. "I know when you're lying. We all wouldn't be here if you didn't think it was that bad. Lon wouldn't be giving blood and a cleaner team wouldn't be downstairs."
Xander cursed the fact that she had much of the same training that he had. "We were made to heal from injuries that would be mortal one someone else. And I know Jhondie's a good surgeon. She..." his words trailed off.
"She what?" Janice questioned. Xander didn't answer. "What did she do?" The slightest note of hysteria crept into the demand.
"She stabilized him for surgery," Daniel supplied. "I was in the ER too. Everyone was flying around, but she was right there with him the whole way. She's the best trauma surgeon on the East Coast. And she's not going to let him die on her."
She might not have the choice, Janice thought as she sat there, fear casting a black net around everything. God, what if he died? She had cursed herself a thousand times in the last two hours for not finding out what was going on with him. They both understood in their careers that there were things that they simply couldn't talk about. It didn't matter if the other one knew, it still couldn't be said. Over the last few weeks, Cole had been upset about something but he couldn't tell her. Eight days ago he had received a call at three in the morning. He listened, grunted a few times and then kissed her and said he had to go. She hadn't heard anything from him until...until...no, please, this wasn't happening. Please, God, she prayed silently. We've barely had any time together. Please don't take him from me so soon.
A few minutes after they had settled down, Cyra came in. Daniel hugged his wife, grateful for her support. He would have totally understood if she didn't come, but he was glad she had. Not just for his sake, but Janice's as well. "You might want to have someone talk to Mike," she said to Daniel and Justin. "I ran into him trying to lurk about."
"What did he say to you?" Daniel asked sharply. If Mike had bothered Cyra, then he was going to get bolder and go after the staff and then finally the rest of the family.
"Mostly, ouch, damn, that hurts," she replied. Daniel eyed her strangely. She shrugged. "He wouldn't leave me alone so I kicked him in the shin." Daniel smiled. Cyra knew how to handle his fellow journalists.
They all had to sit and wait once more. Cyra changed positions several times, sometimes sitting with her husband, other times, quietly holding her beloved aunt's hand. A nurse came in and took Lon's blood, but she didn't have any news to give. Xander let Lon rest for a little while after and then sent him off to get with the cops and see if they knew anything. Xander envied him slightly. At least he was getting to do something that felt useful. Pacing, sitting, flipping aimlessly through magazines...nothing was helping to make the time go by faster.
Finally a doctor emerged from the back that didn't immediately go to another family. He scanned the group in front of him. "And who is Daniel?" he asked with a smile.
Daniel was on his feet in a second. "I'm Daniel Raleigh," he said, his words sounding more like a challenge.
"I'm Dr. Ramirez," came the reply as he held out his hand. "Your sister's surgeon."
"Is she..." Daniel tried to ask, for once not being able to get out a question. He missed the obvious relief on Justin's face. Emilio and Jhondie had known each other forever. He had been over many times as they studied together to prep for a surgery. Most importantly, Justin knew what he looked like when he was pleased with the way a surgery went.
"She's fine," Dr. Ramirez answered quickly. "Heather's in post-op right now and we're going to keep her there for a little bit until the anesthesia wears off. After that, we'll be putting her in a room. Overall, she's doing very well and there haven't been any major complications."
Daniel realized that his heart had started beating again at the doctor's encouraging words. "I want to see her."
"As soon as she gets a room, we'll have you up there," the doctor replied, a seasoned veteran of family demands. At least this time he had an ally in the family that understood why certain hospital policies were in place. "There are a lot of patients in post-op and we can't be tripping over all of their families to get to them."
"But she's going to be fine, right?" Daniel pursued. "Nothing unexpected could crop up?"
"She's not in any foreseeable danger," Dr. Ramirez answered. "Short of something cataclysmic, I'm expecting her to be awake and alert and cursing hospital food by tomorrow." His voice lowered and became more serious. "As far as the prognosis for the injury, it's a little hard to say. The bullet that hit your sister fragmented which did more damage than usual. That's why her surgery went a little on the long side. There was damage done to the shoulder joint itself as well as the surrounding tissues. Under most circumstances, I would expect to see some loss of mobility. I've been aware for some time about the, ah, rather unique family traits you possess. Your aunt has said you all can heal more than normal, so given those extenuating circumstances, I'm not sure how much permanent damage Heather will suffer."
Daniel wasn't too sure himself, to be honest. He had never really been hurt that bad before. Most kids took a few falls and broke a couple of bones during childhood, but it was much harder for him to be injured than his friends. Xander spoke up for him to the doctor. "The bones and muscle will grow back properly as long as it's all set," he said tiredly. "Nerves tend to heal quickly and scars fade in a couple of months at most."
Ramirez was obviously impressed. "If more of my patients could heal like that, my job would be much easier," he commented. "On my way up here, I checked in with Dr. Carter to see how things were going there," he added. Now the intense looks he was getting made him feel like hungry wolves were stalking him.
"Things are progressing," he said, feeling rather nervous all of a sudden, like a first year resident talking to a family for the first time. "Dr. Carter has a lot more to patch up than I did, of course, so she's still working, being very careful so that nothing gets missed. It's still going to be a while, but when I left his vitals were stable and Dr. Carter had everything under control." He wisely decided to not tell them the extent of the injuries that Jhondie was trying to fix. The man in that operating room should not be alive, plain and simple.
He let them know that the waiting room volunteer would tell them when Heather was in a room and then left quickly. Daniel was already on the phone, leaving a message on his parent's voice mail the update. Ramirez was just glad that if any bad news was going to have to be delivered, it was going to be Jhondie that did it and not him. That family was definitely the kind to turn on the messenger and he didn't want to be anywhere around if they did.
All three of them were inundating him with questions. What happened? Who shot Cole? How many times? Where? What did Jhondie say? Why was he in New York? Was it an accident? When was he going to get out?
"We don't know shit!" Xander finally blurted. He paused to take a breath, continuing in a much more controlled tone. "They were brought in, that's what we know. Lon, Shawna, you're going to need to donate blood. After that, Lon, you're going to flash your badge at the cops and find out if they know anything. An FBI agent was involved; you have jurisdiction."
"If the shooter is alive?" Lon asked in a low voice. He was all for law and order and the like, but roots ran deep when family was involved.
Xander's eyes met his. "Get whatever useful information out of him that you can. And if there's an accident later, then that's just too bad, isn't it?" Both Shawna and Janice heard him, but neither even considered trying to countermand him. Whoever dared to touch not just one, but two of their own was going to pay dearly.
"Excuse me?" a kind voice broke in. They all turned to the volunteer who had come up. She was an older lady, maybe somewhere in her late sixties, and didn't seem to be fazed in the slightest with any of them. "Are one of you Dr. Shawna Baker?"
Shawna blinked. "I'm Shawna Baker," she said hesitantly. She was a medic, yes, but that was far from being an M.D.
"Dr. Carter left word that you would be coming here and asked that you scrub in right away. She also said that I was to send for a nurse when another donor arrived to get blood drawn." She seemed slightly confused at the second instruction. Blood donors were sent over to the phlebotomists to get blood drawn. It wasn't done in the waiting room. That was simply improper.
"That would be me," Lon supplied.
The volunteer smiled. "Wonderful. Dr. Baker, if you'll please come with me, I'll show you to the OR. And I'll be back with a nurse in just a few minutes."
Shawna allowed herself to be led through the double doors. A few minutes later a nurse arrived back in the waiting room and set up the blood draw on Lon. Jhondie must have said something back there because the nurse didn't even suggest that Lon leave the room. One woman in one of the other families had to leave the room at the sight of the dark red fluid winding through the tube, but nobody was quite willing to ask him to leave.
Xander finally sat down with Janice, his arm around her shoulders. Since she and Cole had gotten married, outside of work she was his sister in law and they had become close. Anyone else seeing her would think that she was calming down from her hysterical questioning earlier, but he knew better. She was trembling violently, her skin clammy and pale.
"He's going to make it," Xander said to her. "He's strong. Trust me, it takes a lot more than a few measly gunshots to stop one of us."
She didn't look at him, her gaze locked onto the dark gray double doors in front of them. "Don't," she snapped, her voice harsh with unreleased sobs. "I know when you're lying. We all wouldn't be here if you didn't think it was that bad. Lon wouldn't be giving blood and a cleaner team wouldn't be downstairs."
Xander cursed the fact that she had much of the same training that he had. "We were made to heal from injuries that would be mortal one someone else. And I know Jhondie's a good surgeon. She..." his words trailed off.
"She what?" Janice questioned. Xander didn't answer. "What did she do?" The slightest note of hysteria crept into the demand.
"She stabilized him for surgery," Daniel supplied. "I was in the ER too. Everyone was flying around, but she was right there with him the whole way. She's the best trauma surgeon on the East Coast. And she's not going to let him die on her."
She might not have the choice, Janice thought as she sat there, fear casting a black net around everything. God, what if he died? She had cursed herself a thousand times in the last two hours for not finding out what was going on with him. They both understood in their careers that there were things that they simply couldn't talk about. It didn't matter if the other one knew, it still couldn't be said. Over the last few weeks, Cole had been upset about something but he couldn't tell her. Eight days ago he had received a call at three in the morning. He listened, grunted a few times and then kissed her and said he had to go. She hadn't heard anything from him until...until...no, please, this wasn't happening. Please, God, she prayed silently. We've barely had any time together. Please don't take him from me so soon.
A few minutes after they had settled down, Cyra came in. Daniel hugged his wife, grateful for her support. He would have totally understood if she didn't come, but he was glad she had. Not just for his sake, but Janice's as well. "You might want to have someone talk to Mike," she said to Daniel and Justin. "I ran into him trying to lurk about."
"What did he say to you?" Daniel asked sharply. If Mike had bothered Cyra, then he was going to get bolder and go after the staff and then finally the rest of the family.
"Mostly, ouch, damn, that hurts," she replied. Daniel eyed her strangely. She shrugged. "He wouldn't leave me alone so I kicked him in the shin." Daniel smiled. Cyra knew how to handle his fellow journalists.
They all had to sit and wait once more. Cyra changed positions several times, sometimes sitting with her husband, other times, quietly holding her beloved aunt's hand. A nurse came in and took Lon's blood, but she didn't have any news to give. Xander let Lon rest for a little while after and then sent him off to get with the cops and see if they knew anything. Xander envied him slightly. At least he was getting to do something that felt useful. Pacing, sitting, flipping aimlessly through magazines...nothing was helping to make the time go by faster.
Finally a doctor emerged from the back that didn't immediately go to another family. He scanned the group in front of him. "And who is Daniel?" he asked with a smile.
Daniel was on his feet in a second. "I'm Daniel Raleigh," he said, his words sounding more like a challenge.
"I'm Dr. Ramirez," came the reply as he held out his hand. "Your sister's surgeon."
"Is she..." Daniel tried to ask, for once not being able to get out a question. He missed the obvious relief on Justin's face. Emilio and Jhondie had known each other forever. He had been over many times as they studied together to prep for a surgery. Most importantly, Justin knew what he looked like when he was pleased with the way a surgery went.
"She's fine," Dr. Ramirez answered quickly. "Heather's in post-op right now and we're going to keep her there for a little bit until the anesthesia wears off. After that, we'll be putting her in a room. Overall, she's doing very well and there haven't been any major complications."
Daniel realized that his heart had started beating again at the doctor's encouraging words. "I want to see her."
"As soon as she gets a room, we'll have you up there," the doctor replied, a seasoned veteran of family demands. At least this time he had an ally in the family that understood why certain hospital policies were in place. "There are a lot of patients in post-op and we can't be tripping over all of their families to get to them."
"But she's going to be fine, right?" Daniel pursued. "Nothing unexpected could crop up?"
"She's not in any foreseeable danger," Dr. Ramirez answered. "Short of something cataclysmic, I'm expecting her to be awake and alert and cursing hospital food by tomorrow." His voice lowered and became more serious. "As far as the prognosis for the injury, it's a little hard to say. The bullet that hit your sister fragmented which did more damage than usual. That's why her surgery went a little on the long side. There was damage done to the shoulder joint itself as well as the surrounding tissues. Under most circumstances, I would expect to see some loss of mobility. I've been aware for some time about the, ah, rather unique family traits you possess. Your aunt has said you all can heal more than normal, so given those extenuating circumstances, I'm not sure how much permanent damage Heather will suffer."
Daniel wasn't too sure himself, to be honest. He had never really been hurt that bad before. Most kids took a few falls and broke a couple of bones during childhood, but it was much harder for him to be injured than his friends. Xander spoke up for him to the doctor. "The bones and muscle will grow back properly as long as it's all set," he said tiredly. "Nerves tend to heal quickly and scars fade in a couple of months at most."
Ramirez was obviously impressed. "If more of my patients could heal like that, my job would be much easier," he commented. "On my way up here, I checked in with Dr. Carter to see how things were going there," he added. Now the intense looks he was getting made him feel like hungry wolves were stalking him.
"Things are progressing," he said, feeling rather nervous all of a sudden, like a first year resident talking to a family for the first time. "Dr. Carter has a lot more to patch up than I did, of course, so she's still working, being very careful so that nothing gets missed. It's still going to be a while, but when I left his vitals were stable and Dr. Carter had everything under control." He wisely decided to not tell them the extent of the injuries that Jhondie was trying to fix. The man in that operating room should not be alive, plain and simple.
He let them know that the waiting room volunteer would tell them when Heather was in a room and then left quickly. Daniel was already on the phone, leaving a message on his parent's voice mail the update. Ramirez was just glad that if any bad news was going to have to be delivered, it was going to be Jhondie that did it and not him. That family was definitely the kind to turn on the messenger and he didn't want to be anywhere around if they did.