Okay, I lied again. It actually took me two chapters to finish the story. I'm still not totally satisfied with the ending. If anyone has suggestions to improve the ending, let me know and I'll consider editing it.

Chapter 6

10:56pm

Tony spent the evening trying to pack and play with Wrigley and do anything that took his mind off of Michelle. He knew she could handle herself, but sometimes these things blew up in your face. You never knew what was going to happen when you were out in the field. Every bad scenario that he could possibly imagine went through his head. He tried to tell himself that is was stupid, that she would be fine, but he couldn't convince himself. He just had a bad feeling.

It was time for the 11 o'clock news, so Tony sat down hoping to hear that the suspect had been arrested.

"Good evening," the news anchor said, "and thank you for joining us tonight. For our top story tonight we'll go live to Jill Tucker in south central LA where we understand that the FBI has just arrested a suspect in the serial rape and murder cases that have rocked LA in the past several months. Jill, what can you tell us?"

Tony smiled as he thought about the part that Michelle had played in this arrest. He knew it would be hours before everything was complete and she was home again, but when she got home he was going to kiss her and congratulate her and apologize for giving her such a hard time about going out in the field.

"Well, Jim," the reporter said as sirens wailed behind her. "As you said, the FBI is confirming that they have arrested a suspect in the recent spate of rapes and murders in the suburban areas around LA. That's the good news tonight. The bad news is that the arrest didn't come without bloodshed. The suspect made a last ditch attempt to escape. He was well armed and came out firing. Andrew Hanson, the Special Agent in Charge of the LA field office, has just confirmed that in the process of arresting 27 year old Keith Wright, Wright was shot in the leg. His injuries are not thought to be life threatening and he was taken by ambulance to a local hospital. Unfortunately, Special Agent Hanson also confirms that before his agents were able to bring him down, Wright shot three FBI agents."

Tony sat staring at the television in stunned silence. He could feel his heart rate rise.

The reporter continued. "One agent was pronounced dead at the scene. The other two have been flown by helicopter to area trauma centers. They have not release the names of the dead and injured agents pending notification of their next of kin. Witnesses at the scene have described both of the injured agents as 'young women' in their 'late 20's or early 30's'. Witnesses also tell us that one of the agents was shot a second time after she was already down on the ground. All other details are sketchy at this time. We will update you as soon as we have more information. Back to you, Jim."

Tony could barely think. His mouth had gone dry and he was breathing in short, audible pants as if he had just run a long distance. "Not Michelle," he whispered out loud. "Oh God, please, not Michelle."

He picked up the phone and called her cell phone. The call was immediately answered by her voice mail. He told himself that that meant nothing. Agents in the field rarely left their personal cell phones turned on; they couldn't take a chance on them ringing and giving away their location. He disconnected and dialed the number at her desk. Again, the phone went to voice mail with instructions to 'dial zero for the receptionist if you need to speak with someone immediately'.

Tony punched the zero button and a receptionist with a soft, stoic voice answered.

"This is Tony Almeida," he told her. "I need to speak with my wife, Michelle Dessler."

"Agent Dessler is in the field right now, Mr. Almeida. Would you like to leave a message?" The receptionist told him.

"No, I want you to connect me with her. I want to know that she's alright."

"I can try, Mr. Almeida. I'm not sure if any of the agents are taking calls right now. You understand I'm sure, the crime scene is pretty hectic at the moment."

"I understand that three agents have been shot and one is dead and my wife is at the scene. I want to talk to her right now. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir, I'll try and connect you."

Tony waited for what seemed like an eternity. He finally heard the line open up.

"Michelle," he said quickly into the phone.

"No, Mr. Almeida. This is Drew Hanson. I'm the Special Agent in Charge."

"Where's Michelle? Is she alright? Is she alive?"

"Yes, Mr. Almeida, she is alive, however she is one of the agents that was shot."

"Oh God, no! How badly is she hurt? Where was she hit?"

"I can't tell you that, Mr. Almeida. I just arrived at the scene a few minutes ago. When I got here she was already on her way to USC Medical Center. I have a pair of agents dispatched to your home to pick you up and take you there. In fact, they should be there in just a few minutes. I'm sorry, Mr. Almeida," he added softly.

Tony hung up and grabbed his jacket. He decided to run downstairs and wait for the agents to pick him up. He thought about driving himself, but he was too upset. He ran down the steps instead of waiting for the elevator and stepped out of the building into the cool night air. While he waited he pulled out his phone and dialed Michelle's parents.

"Ed," he said as he father-in-law answered. "It's Tony."

"Hey Tony," Ed replied. "Everybody's looking forward to the party tomorrow night."

"Ed, we're going to need to cancel the party," Tony told him.

"Cancel? Why?" Ed asked him.

"Did you hear the late news? Three FBI agents were shot. Ed, I'm sorry," Tony paused to compose himself. "Michelle was one of them. She's being taken to USC Medical Center. I'm on my way there now."

"My God, Tony, is she going to be alright?" Her father asked panic flooding his voice.

"They couldn't tell me anything, Ed. We just have to pray that she'll be okay," Tony said as his voice wavered with emotion.

"Helen and I will meet you at the hospital. It'll take us about a half hour from here. Call us if you get any new information."

"I will, Ed," Tony promised him. As he hung up the phone just as the FBI agents pulled up to the curb.

They dropped Tony off at the medical center's trauma entrance. Tony thanked the agents hastily and ran through the door and into the lobby to the registration desk.

"My wife, Michelle Dessler, was just brought in by helicopter. Can I see her?"

"I'm sorry, sir," the young woman told him. "The doctor's are with her now. I'll let them know you're here. There's a waiting room right over there," she pointed to her left. "They'll meet you there."

"I just need to know how she's doing. Please, if you can tell me anything…"

"Sir, I'm sorry. I wish I could help, but I really don't have any information. I'm sure as soon as they can, one of the doctors will be out to talk to you. I know this is hard, but please be patient. The staff is doing everything possible for your wife."

Tony nodded and thanked her and went to the waiting room that was already crowded with other people who were waiting for word on their loved ones as well. Like any big city trauma center on a Friday evening, this one was busy. Accident victims, victims of gang violence and drug related shootings and innocent bystanders who got caught in the crossfire all ended up here and tonight was no exception.

The trauma area hummed with activity. Doctors and nurses all dressed in green scrubs moved quickly and purposefully. Police who were hoping to talk to victims or families were scattered around waiting, sometimes patiently and sometimes not. Family members sat on uncomfortable chairs and leafed through old magazines in the waiting room. Some paced to try and make the time go faster. Some were crying; openly weeping or stifling sniffles, it didn't matter, their anguish was palpable. Others were silent and numb, like Tony. They couldn't believe what was happening. It was surreal and they hoped to wake and find it all a dream.

Every so often a name was called out and someone's family was guided out by a staff member. They all had the same look when that happened. It was a look of relief that they were finally getting some information mixed with a fear of what the information might be.

Tony was still pacing in the back of the waiting room when Michelle's parents arrived. He hugged them tearfully and told them that here was no new information. The three of them were huddled together in a corner of the room when a young nurse stepped into the waiting room.

"The family of Michelle Dessler," she called as her eyes scanned the room.

Tony hurried toward her with Michelle's parents following closely behind. "I'm Michelle's husband. How is she? Can I see her? These are her parents, they'd like to see her, too."

The nurse smiled and nodded toward Helen and Ed. "The doctors have stabilized her, but I can't let you see her right now. We're prepping her for surgery."

"Where was she shot? How serious are her injuries?" Tony asked as the nurse led Tony and his in-laws into a private consultation room.

"She's in serious condition. She's lost a lot of blood and she has a long surgery ahead of her. I'll let our trauma surgeon Dr. Fledderman fill you in on all of the details. Right now I need to know if she has any medical conditions that we should know about, things like high blood pressure or diabetes."

"No, nothing at all. She's always been very healthy." They all agreed.

"Does she take any medications or birth control pills?"

"No, nothing. I mean, maybe Tylenol once in a while for a headache, but nothing on a regular basis." Tony told her.

"Okay, that's really all I need. Let me give you this," she said as she handed Tony a plastic bag the contained Michelle's jewelry and cell phone. "These are all of the personal items we took off of her. I know this is hard, but try and relax. The doctor will be in shortly," she told them as she left the room.

Tony opened the plastic bag and emptied its contents on a table. He slipped the phone into his jacket pocket. He picked up the pretty sterling silver necklace that had sparkled this morning in the sun as it hung from Michelle's neck. It had been splashed with her blood and Tony pulled out a handkerchief to try and clean it. Once clean he put the necklace on his mother-in-law.

"I gave this to Michelle for our second anniversary. I'd like it if you would wear it until she's well enough to wear it again."

Helen nodded, unable to speak without crying.

Tony returned a bracelet, watch and earrings to the bag and put the bag in his pocket. Michelle's wedding ring lay alone on the table. He stared at it for a moment and then slipped it on his pinky the same way he had every night while he was in prison. He would have happily gone back to prison if it meant that Michelle would be well and safe and curled up in bed and not in a trauma center fighting for her life.

Dr. Neil Fledderman knocked lightly on the door but didn't wait for a response before he entered. He was about Tony's age and carried with him an air of authority but his manner was gentle and he instantly put Tony at ease. He introduced himself to Tony and the Desslers and they all set down.

"Please tell me that my wife is going to be alright. I need to know that she's going to live."

"I can't promise you anything, Mr. Almeida. I will do everything possible to make sure she walks out of this hospital with you. Right now she's pretty sick." He sat back and began to describe her injuries to the family.

"Michelle was hit twice, once in the chest and once in the arm," he started.

"In the chest! Wasn't she wearing a bullet proof vest?" Tony asked incredulously.

"She was, Mr. Almeida. In fact it was still on her when they brought her in. The bullet hit just above the vest and if she had been standing when it hit her, it probably would have passed through near her shoulder and wouldn't have done any life threatening damage. Unfortunately, based on the trajectory of the bullet, she was hit as she was going down or was already down. The bullet traveled from just above her collar bone down into her left lung and is now lodged near her breast bone. The lung has collapsed and she is having some difficulty breathing and getting enough oxygen. We put her on a ventilator to assist her breathing."

"So that's the worst of it, right?" Tony asked. "The other bullet just hit her arm."

"Not exactly, Mr. Almeida. The bullet that hit her left forearm did a lot of damage. It shattered one of the bones and over the next few days, that's going to require more surgery. The bigger problem is that the bullet hit her radial artery. She's lost a lot of blood and right now she has very little circulation to her wrist and hand. I've got a vascular surgeon looking at that right now and planning a strategy to re-establish circulation."

"And if he can't?" Tony asked him.

The doctor looked at the floor for a long time before he looked back at Tony. "We would have to amputate her arm just below the elbow," he said in a calm, quiet voice. "That would be an absolute last resort, Mr. Almeida. The vascular surgeon will try a couple of techniques before he would resort to that."

Tony, along with Ed and Helen, was trying to process all of the information when an intercom in the room buzzed.

"Dr. Fledderman," said the voice of a young intern who was working with him. "Michelle Dessler's labs are available now on the computer. You need to take a look at them."

"Excuse me," the doctor said as he moved to a computer in the corner of the room and picked up the hand set on the phone so he could speak to his intern. "Is there anything special I need to look at?"

Tony wished he could hear the other end of the conversation. The caller was obviously giving the doctor information that he wasn't happy about. His eyes traveled down the computer screen as he considered the results of the various lab tests.

"Oh shit," he said softly into the phone. "Did the lab repeat the test? Get an ultrasound technician stat then call Dr. Olivia Scott. I saw her in the cafeteria earlier and I'm pretty sure she's on call up on 3 West. I need Olivia to see Agent Dessler before we can take her to the OR. Have you told the anesthesiologist about this? She needs to know. She can talk to Olivia about what anesthetics she recommends. Oh, and give her two more units of blood. I was trying to hold off, but I don't think we have a choice now. I'll be back in a couple of minutes. Call me if you need me." He hung up the phone and turned toward the family.

"I take it there's a problem," Tony said trying to anticipate the blow.

Dr. Fledderman sat down and was silent for a moment as he gathered his thoughts. "More of a complication than a problem," he answered. He drew a soft breath, "Mr. Almeida, I ran a number of routine labs on your wife and her serum HCG test came back elevated."

Tony shook his head. "I don't know what that is," he told the doctor.

"It's a pregnancy test. Based on the numbers, it looks like she's maybe four or five weeks pregnant. She may not even have realized it yet."

Tony closed his eyes trying to process yet another unexpected piece of information. "If she knew, she didn't tell me. I had no idea or I would have told you immediately. What does this mean? How does this change things?"

"Some things it doesn't change. She still needs surgery immediately and we will go forward with that. Before we go to surgery, we'll get an ultrasound and see if the baby is okay. Michelle has had a tremendous shock to her body tonight and sometimes that kind of shock will result in a miscarriage. We'll be able to tell on ultrasound if the baby's heart is still beating. If it is, we need to proceed with caution. We'll do everything we can to avoid drugs that could harm a developing baby and we'll make sure she is well shielded when we have to do x-rays. That's also why I told my intern to give her more blood. I want to make sure that the oxygen supply to the baby remains good. I called in a specialist to see her as well. I'll make sure that she stops in here and talks to you when she's finished." He looked at his watch. "I really need to get back to your wife, Mr. Almeida, but I need you to sign the consent for surgery first."

He handed Tony the consent forms to sign. Tony felt hot tears sting his eyes as he scrawled his signature across the bottom.

"Dr. Scott will be in shortly to talk to you. We'll let you see Michelle before we take her into surgery. Please try and relax," Dr. Fledderman told them. "This is going to be a long night."

The room was quiet after Dr. Fledderman left. Tony sat with his head in his hands wondering how he would go on if he lost his beautiful Michelle. It was bad enough that he had to be away from her while he was in prison, but at least she was alive and well and safe.

"Why is this happening?" He whispered aloud. "All we ever wanted was to be together, to have a family. We never wanted power or money. We just wanted each other. Every time we get together, something bad happens, some force tears us apart. I don't understand it."

"Don't give up, Tony. Michelle's strong; she's not going anywhere without a fight," Helen said as she put her arm around his shoulder. "And you might have that family sooner than you think." She tried to smile but was only marginally successful.

As promised, Dr. Olivia Scott, a specialist in high risk pregnancies, stopped in the consultation room to talk to Tony. She was about 55 and had short cropped hair that was prematurely white. She had bright blue eyes that had a gentle twinkle in them.

"Hi, I'm Liv Scott," she told them casually. "I just examined Michelle and I was happy with what I found. I easily located the baby's heartbeat on ultrasound. It's clear and loud, the rate and rhythm are both good for this stage of development. So far I think Michelle's body has protected the baby well. The next few hours in surgery are going to be critical. I asked Dr. Fledderman to call me as soon as she's out of the OR so I can examine her again."

"And if the baby is okay after surgery, does that mean we shouldn't expect any more problems?" Tony asked.

"If the baby survives the surgery and the next few days that's a good sign. Realistically, Michelle will need to be watched closely throughout her pregnancy. For now, let's just take one step at a time."

Tony was about to ask another question but a knock at the door interrupted him. The nurse who first spoke to Tony opened the door and leaned in.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but Ms. Dessler is on her way to the OR, would you like to see her for a second?"

"Of course," Tony answered abruptly.

He stepped into the hallway as they wheeled the gurney carrying Michelle toward the double doors of the operating room.

"Hold up a second, Tommy," the nurse told a young assistant. "The family wants to spend a little time with her."

Tony looked down at her and swallowed hard. The usual pink glow on the apples of her cheeks was gone. It was replaced by a sallow white that was emphasized by the bleached white sheets on the bed. A thick gauze pad on her left collar bone was beginning to show signs of blood seeping through. Her left arm was swathed in bandages and resting on a large absorbent pad that was crimson with her blood. Her left hand was cold, the skin blue and mottled. He reached for her right hand and was grateful to find it warm.

"Hi, Sweetheart," he leaned in close and whispered. "Michelle, I know this is hard, but you've got to fight, Honey. Your mom and dad and I will be here waiting for you and praying for you. I love you so much, Michelle. You have to get better, Honey. We've got so many plans. I can't do all of those things without you." Tony's voice cracked as he tried to control his emotion. If Michelle could hear him, he didn't want her to hear him cry. He wanted to stay strong for her.

"We really have to go now, sir," the nurse told him.

Tony closed his eyes and nodded as tears slid down his face. He kissed her pale cheek gently and laid his hand on her stomach.

"Please," he said to the team surrounding the gurney, "take good care of both of them."

"We will," the nurse told him as she touched his hand. "There's a waiting room over there," she pointed down the hall. "Try and get some rest. She's going to be in surgery at least three hours. Dr. Fledderman will be out to talk to you as soon as we're finished."