Thank you for all the kind reviews. Sorry it has taken longer, but with the power outages, computer crashes, and midterms, I haven't had time to work on the second chapter.
Disclaimers still apply.
I like ALL reviews. Hint, hint and wink, wink!
The elderly doctor lead the foursome down the long corridor. Gage could hardly breathe. His heart was pounding through his ears, the sounds of the footsteps vibrating through the hallway was deafening, and he was suffocating inside. The only way he would feel better is if he had Sydney by his side, in perfect condition.
It took the group a few seconds to reach the door that had "Dr. James Ross" emblazoned on the door. Those few seconds felt like a lifetime to the rangers and the young assistant district attorney. The doctor opened the door and showed the group inside and indicated to the four black cushioned seats lined up in front of his large oak desk. Their was a pile of papers and manila folders the towered over the desk. Their was also evidence that the doctor had a family. Pictures of stick figures, lopsided houses, and other various scribbles enhanced the walls, all by the same artist named Joey. Alongside of the scribbles stood many family photographs.
Alex, Walker, and Trivette took a seat, but Gage remained standing. He couldn't sit down and do nothing, so he was forced to stand, switching his weight from foot to foot. The doctor was about to tell Gage he could sit but decided otherwise. He maneuvered his way toward his chaotic desk.
"Ranger Cooke, came in with a bullet wound to her back…" he was beginning tell them her condition before Gage rudely interrupted the Doctor Ross.
"Doctor, we all know that Sydney was shot in the back. Is she alive? Will she be okay?" He yelled toward the doctor. His face was reddened with fury. He needed to know now that Sydney was okay. He needed to know it without the wordy explanation. He need the straight, un-sugar-coated, truth.
The doctor looked into the eyes of the others and saw that they also wanted the quick information. The doctor easily took the hint of the hard stares and continued, but in a shortened version. "Ranger Cooke is alive. She is in a drug-induced coma and is listed in critical condition. She lost a lot of blood. May I ask, does Ranger Cooke have a living will?"
Walker immediately thought about what the doctor was asking. He could only hear "is there anyone who could say it's okay to pull the plug and let her die instantly and painlessly?" from the last sentence.
Alex immediately thought about Sydney. The two girls were talking about the boys and what would happen if one of them got seriously injured. Sydney made it quite clear that she would want to be kept alive if there was any hope of her living, but if there was no possible way of her coming out of the ordeal alive, then she should be taken off of the resuscitating gadgets and her vital organs be donated to people who would need them. Alex had to ask the question. "Is there any chance she'll live?"
The question took the others by surprise. Alex's voice was so quiet and troubled no one knew who it could've been who had broken the awkward silence. They all hoped that the doctor would say that there was a hundred percent chance of her living with no life threatening damage, but if he had to ask that question, then there was little hope.
The doctor paused, reassessing the Sydney's medical file. "There is a chance she could live, but some people do not wish to be resuscitated and I have to know if that is what she wanted."
Alex shook her head. She cleared her throated and whispered, "She wanted to be kept alive if there was any chance of survival. So keep her own the machines."
Trivette sat in his chair sponging up the information. Earlier that morning, before all this happened, everyone was talking about who was going to buy donuts, now they were talking about basically killing Sydney, by denying her the resuscitating machines. A smile crept on his face, remembering that morning and how three out of four rangers had voted Gage the one who would provide the donuts that day. Sydney received one vote from Gage. He just wished that he could rewind the day to that morning. Trivette then caught himself. He talked about everything in the past, like Sydney was already dead. He could've kicked himself for the way he was acting, so pessimistic.
Alex could only rub her aching head. She could feel a headache creep upon her head. She had digested so much information in such little time. She just was so glad that Walker had been holding her hand the entire time. She could feel his sweaty, but comforting grip.
"I'll leave you all alone," the doctor said, breaking the silence. He stood and exited the cramped office.
Walker gently gave Alex's hand a reassuring squeeze before he got up and left also. As he left the office he yelled for the doctor to talk to him.
"Yes Ranger Walker?" The doctor stood erect to the floor and placed his hands into his scrub pockets, playing with the lose strings.
"Is there any serious damage to the back?" He prayed for a no, but had a grave feeling about what horrible effect may come from the incident.
The doctor knew that he had no need to sugarcoat the truth to the strong ranger. "The bullet was shot in the C10 lumbar area. We operated on the area and had to place a few pins in the spine since the bone was damaged. There is swelling that may cause paralysis from the waist down. It may not happen at all or it may last forever. Back injuries are hard determine. I'll have the nurse get you when you can see here. But only short visits in the ICU. I really must be going. If there are more question, have the nurse page me."
Walker turned around, as well as the doctor. Walker went back to the office to find the three looking like zombies. He sat back down in his original spot. The sat reflecting of the past hours and the past years. The few minutes felt like hours before the nurse had come in, informing them that one person at a time could visit their unconscious friend.
Alex, who was very emotional, was granted the privilege to see Sydney, by the others. Alex had to go to the ICU floor. The noise of heart monitors and other noise pierced through the air. The nurse had told her that Sydney's room was 542. Alex was taken of guard when she heard an alarm sound and then a voice yelling "Code Red." She rushed down the hall relieved to see that the stampede was entering the room across the hall from Sydney's hospital room.
She entered the room, stunned by the body lying on the bed. She saw the body of her friend, but she could not see Sydney's normal, cocky self. She couldn't help, to shed tears.
"Syd, you're going to be alright. You're a fighter. We all need you, especially Gage." She took her hand, paying special care to the I.V. needle. "You're going to be okay," she managed to say throughout her sobs. She couldn't gain her composure and felt that her tears did no good to help Sydney. She had to get out of the suffocating room. She walked towards the waiting area on that floor.
Walker immediately hugged Alex when she came into the waiting area. Walker shooed Trivette away and indicated that it was Trivette's time to visit with Sydney.
"God Walker, she looks so helpless." She placed her head into his chest and he place his chin on top of her head. "Where's Gage?" A muffled question came from his breast pocket.
"He's taking a walk on the roof." He couldn't bear to tell her what he had discussed with the doctor in private. He didn't want to hurt her.
SYD'S ROOM
"Hey kid." Trivette's voice was shaky but he wouldn't cry, he couldn't cry. "We're all lost without you. Gage needs some discipline." He could just imagine what Sydney would've done when Gage used his angry tone with the doctor. She would've punched him and gave him 'her look', the look that could knock down buildings. "You got to get better. Remember Gage promised you a sprinkle donut. I have to go now, but you better get better."
He felt guilty but he had to leave. The buzzing and beeps from the machine scared him. He could see that she was close to death. He briskly walked from the room and went back towards the waiting room.
Walker went towards the room, preparing himself for the what was to come. He was shocked to see how small Sydney looked on the bed. He knew that she was on the shorter side but he never knew how much until he saw here at that moment.
"Sydney. What am I going to do with you? You better be coming back fighting because I can't have one of my best rangers out of commission." He couldn't help but to remember his partner before Trivette. He was shot and killed, he was upset but nothing like this. Sydney was like his daughter to him. He gently patted her hand and then took off towards the waiting room.
He saw that Gage had not returned from his walk. Trivette had turned on the news on the small television. The reporters were already informing the city about the young, female ranger who was shot.
THE ROOFTOP
Gage walked around the rooftop gazing out of the sea of lights below. He tried to take his mind off of things but his tiny voice continued to reverberate through his mind.
If he was a better ranger none of this would have happened. He should have seen the gun and the guy. He should be in the hospital or dead. He couldn't shake the vision of Sydney falling on top of him and her last words: I love you. He gripped the black rail, choking it to death. He couldn't see her that night. He couldn't see what he had done to her.
THE NEXT DAY
The drug-induced coma was wearing off, since last night the doctor had discontinued the medicine. Alex had taken the day off and spent all her time with Sydney. Trivette and Walker visited after work. Gage, still filled with guilt, could not find time, and other various excuses, to see Sydney.
The doctor's waited for Sydney to wake up so they could see how much damage the bullet had done. Everyone had hoped that once every trace of the drug left her body she would be awake.
The doctor had not told the others about the possibility of paralysis and neither did Walker. Walker could not hurt his wife more by mentioning the risk of paralysis.
Alex was exhausted after spending the day and previous night at the hospital, sitting in the uncomfortable chair, now dozing off. She had fallen asleep with her hand on top of Sydney's hand and her head slumped to her slide. She woke up when she thought that something had felt something move underneath her hand. Her eyes popped open and two lively eyes were staring back at Alex. Alex leapt from her seat, coming close to knocking it over. She ran out the door and rushed to the nurse's desk. "Ranger Cooke!" She took a breath. "She woke up!"
The nurses had called Dr. Ross to inform him that Sydney was awake. Within seconds he had come down to the floor to see how his patient was. Alex was told to stay out in the waiting room until he was done checking out Sydney. Alex went to the waiting area and took out her cell phone and dialed Walkers number. She told him that Sydney was awake and had to quickly hang up when the doctor had arrived.
Alex followed the elderly doctor to Sydney's room. She was greeted with a smiling face. Sydney had gotten rid of her breathing tube and started to look like her old self again.
Walker and Trivette hurried to the hospital, using their lights to pass through traffic easier. He exchanged no words with Trivette. They were both relieved, but Trivette thought Sydney would now be her good old self, but, Walker was concerned about the possibility of paralysis.
Alex sat back in the waiting room waiting for the boys to come. It had been the first time since this whole ordeal that she smiled. She hugged Trivette then Walker and gave him a small kiss on the cheek.
"The doctor's checking her out now."
SYDNEY'S ROOM
"Sydney, please wiggle your toes." The sheet had been taken off and the doctor stood at her feet. Nothing happened with her toes.
"Good, Sydney. Now tell me if you feel anything." Sydney eyed him closely. Doctor Ross pressed various pressure points that a normal person could always feel. Sydney was not normal anymore.
"Doctor! What's wrong? Why can't I feel it?" Sydney panicked. Her breathing got heavy and labored. She felt clammy. Sweat formed at her brow.
"Sydney, I want to get an MRI taken." He did not have to check her hands since she had curled them into fists. "You are paralyzed from the waist down."
It felt like a dagger through her heart. She couldn't move her legs. That was the first time she had cried in front of someone she didn't know. The doctor quickly and quietly exited the room.
The room was spinning around, making her nauseous, thankfully she regained her self-control. All she could hear, pounding into her brain, was a voice taunting her, telling her she would no longer walk.