The Hostage
Chapter nine
"You can help him can't you?" Billie asked.
"I'll do what I can."
"We need to get him to the hospital!" Deaq stood up.
"We will…….what I need to do now is stabilize him the best I can or he might not make it to the hospital."
Deaq spun around just as they were leading Winston out to the squad car.
"You son of a bitch!" Deaq advanced on him. "He's the bastard that shot my partner!" He said when the officers escorting Winston tried to hold him back.
"I might have shot your partner, but you're the one that probably killed him with that shot you gave him." Winston said smirking. He had heard the exchange with Chris about the morphine shot.
"You bastard!" Deaq tried once again to reach him but the officers held him back.
Billie ran over and grabbed Deaq's arm.
"Get him the hell out of here!" She ordered. The officers pulled Winston out of the bank. He took one last look back at Deaq and smiled. Deaq tried to pull away from Billie but she held onto him.
"Deaq let him go. It's over, and you're not going to help Van by getting yourself arrested."
"Damn it Billie he's right you know! If Van doesn't make it, it's because of me!" Deaq looked at her his eyes welling up with tears.
"Deaq, don't talk so stupid! You didn't hurt Van, you tried to help him."
"Yeah Billie, but Van had begged us to give him something for the pain and I remembered Chris saying he wouldn't be able to give Van much of the shot because he was already so weak." He wiped angrily at his tears as he looked down at Van. "But I couldn't stand to see him in so much pain. And…….all I could think of was that I had to take the pain away if I could."
"That's because you care about him and couldn't stand to see him suffering. You only did what you thought was best for your partner at the time."
Deaq kept staring down at Van, not knowing if it might be the last time he'd see him alive. He finally looked over at Billie.
"Yeah, Billie if Van dies it's because of me. I left him here alone when I should have been here with him. This might not have happened if I had been with him. Together we might have been able to take these bastards down. Then I gave him a shot which now could kill him." He swallowed hard. " Yeah Billie……….this is all my fault." He knelt down beside his partner.
"How is he?" He asked Chris.
"I'm doing the best I can for him."
"That's not what I asked, I asked how he is?"
"Not too good." Chris said sadly as he continued to work on stabilizing Van.
"What are his chances?"
"Deaq………."Billie put her hand on Deaq's shoulder. "Let's go outside and let him do his job." She knew he was tearing himself up inside and wanted to get him away from the scene.
"Billie, I need to know." He glanced at her then looked back over at Chris. "What are his chances?" He once more asked Chris.
"I'm not
going to lie to you. He has about a twenty five percent chance of
making it. I'm sorry………..it's just been too long.
Deaq stood up in stunned shock. His partner, his friend, was more
then likely going to die. He swayed a little and Billie reached out
a hand to steady him. They watched as Van was loaded onto a
stretcher and rushed to an ambulance.
"We'll do everything we can for him." Chris called over to them.
Deaq followed the stretcher and attempted to climb in the back with Van but was held back by Billie.
"Billie, I need to be with him." He struggled to free himself.
"Deaq, they need to work on him in the ambulance, you'd only be in the way."
Deaq shook her off and ran toward his car with Billie following. He needed to be as close to his partner as he could, if he died he wasn't going to die alone. Billie grabbed the keys from Deaq and jumped into the driver's seat.
"I'll drive." As agitated as he was she couldn't take the chance of him getting into an accident.
They followed the ambulance to the hospital where Van was immediately rushed to the ER, prepped, then hurried to the operating room.
Hospital
Deaq and Billie waited in the waiting room. Deaq sat on the sofa his elbows on his knees, his face in his hands. He was exhausted. Billie stood by the window staring out of it, seeing nothing. Van's life was out of their hands, and all they could do for him now was pray.
Later
When the doctor entered the room four hours later Deaq jumped off the sofa and he and Billie stood side by side, praying they weren't going to hear bad news.
"We got the bullet out." He said holding up a plastic bag containing the bullet and handed it to Deaq. "We're pumping blood into him right now and have him on an IV drip to keep him from getting dehydrated from the blood loss and to dilute the excess morphine in his system."
"How is he?" Billie asked.
"It's too soon to tell. Our main concern is whether the loss of that much blood might have damaged any of his internal organs. We have to wait till he's stronger before we can run any tests on him."
Deaq stood looking at the bullet in his hand for a few seconds and was about ready to throw it across the room in frustration when Billie took it from him.
"We need it for evidence Deaq." She knew he was angry that his partner was once more fighting for his life and there was nothing anyone could do but wait and pray he had the strength to pull through.
Two days later
Van had remained unconscious for the last two days due to weakness from the blood loss. Deaq had stayed in Van's room the entire time only leaving to go home to shower or eat. He had the nurse set up a cot next to Van's bed so he could spend the nights, he had to be there when his partner woke up. Billie had spent as much time as she could in the hospital room but she was needed at the Candy Store. She called in frequently to check on Van's condition.
Deaq was standing by the window when Van began to moan as he started to regain consciousness. He quickly hurried to his partner's bedside and looked down on his pale face darkened only by the bruise where he had been kicked. Van slowly opened his eyes.
"Hey." Deaq said smiling down at him.
Van turned his head toward the voice then squinted till Deaq's face came into focus.
"Hey." He said softly. Van had no idea where he was and tried to push himself up on the bed. He gasped in pain and grabbed his stomach moaning as he slid back into the bed. Deaq put his hands on Van's shoulders and gently held him down.
"You got to take it easy for a while. You don't want to be ripping those stitches out."
"Stitches?" Van glanced around the room, finally realizing where he was. "What am I doing here?"
"You don't remember?"
Van squeezed his eyes shut for a moment as a sharp pain shot through him, then opened them.
"I………I remember going to the bank and………I think it was being robbed, but………..." Van slowly shook his head confused.
"That's all you remember."
"Yeah………….what happened?"
"You were shot." Deaq was grateful Van didn't seem to remember the agony he was in during that time.
"So that's why I feel like I swallowed a bucketful of nails." He winced as he ran his hand over his gauzed covered stomach.
"Yeah well just be glad you're feeling something, think of the alternative."
Van gave a weak smile.
"That's true………..Man, I feel like I haven't slept for a week………..I'm just so……so damn tired."
"Doc said you would be, you lost a lot of blood and it's going to take sometime before you feel like doing much of anything."
Van looked into Deaq's eyes.
"No one else was hurt were they?"
"Just a few minor wounds."
"Oh, thank God." Van leaned back in the bed and breathed a sigh of relief.
Right then Billie walked in.
"Hey." She said breaking into a big smile when she saw that Van was awake. "It's about time you joined the party………How're you doing?"
"I'm fine." He lied, he felt lousy and everyone could see it. "When can you get me out of here?"
"Not so fast buddy. You're staying right where you are until the doctor gives his okay for you to leave." She knew Van hated hospitals and even in as much pain as he was in would jump at the chance to leave."
"Ahhhh Billie."
"Don't ahhhh Billie me Van, you're staying pal, end of discussion."
"Deaq……….."Van looked over at his partner for help in convincing her.
"Hey, don't look at me, she's the boss."
"Yeah, and it's nice if you two would remember that once in a while." Billie said smiling at them.
"Hey Billie, I'm always saying to Van, 'she's the boss', ain't that right Van?"
"Oh yeah Billie, I hear it all the time." Van gave a little laugh but then suddenly grimaced in pain as he squeezed his eyes shut, grabbed his stomach, and brought his knees up.
"Easy partner, easy partner." Deaq kept repeating trying to sooth Van while Billie ran out to find a doctor.
"Oh man………."Van kept moaning as the pain seared through his stomach.
The doctor, followed by Billie, hurried into the room. He quickly checked Van then gave him a shot and also added medication to his IV bag.
"This is to be expected. He should be fine once the pain medication takes effect." He explained.
The doctor waited till the pain began to ease up then left the room.
Deaq had walked over to the window; he stood with his back to the room. Billie walked over to him and put her hand on his shoulder.
"It's okay Deaq, he's feeling better." Billie could tell that seeing his partner once more in pain was getting to Deaq.
Deaq nodded as he swallowed hard and blinked back tears. Billie gently rubbed his back and gave him time to pull himself together.
"You don't understand Billie. Van shouldn't be lying there suffering like that. I should have been with him. Maybe, just maybe, this wouldn't have happened."
"Deaq, you can go around the rest of your life feeling guilty but it's not going to change anything. Talk to Van, tell him what you're feeling."
Deaq glanced over at Van who lay with his eyes shut breathing easier. When he didn't say anything Billie continued.
"Deaq, you didn't hurt Van, it just happened. Even if you had been with him it still could have happened."
"You don't know that Billie. Maybe if I had been there………."
"You being there might not have changed a thing. Van could have still been shot, maybe you too." She interrupted him.
Deaq looked down at the floor.
"I know Billie, but there's always the chance that if I had gone in with Van between the two of us we could have taken them down and maybe Van never would have been hurt. It was one against three, and it should have been two against three, much better odds." The guilt finally got to Deaq and he started out of the room.
Van opened his eyes just as he was leaving.
"Deaq…………hey, what's the hurry?"
Deaq didn't answer but kept walking.
"What did I say?" Van looked at Billie confused as to why his partner left.
"You didn't say anything wrong Van." Billie walked over and stood next to his bed. She then explained to Van about Deaq's feelings of guilt and what had happened at the bank.
"That's ridiculous Billie, none of this was his fault."
"You and I both know that Van, but he feels he should have been there, that maybe he could have prevented this."
Van shook his head and gave a little smile.
"Damn pigheaded……..Billie will you go get him"
"I'll be right back."
She left the room and returned a short time later with Deaq. She then left them alone so they could talk.
"Billie said you're feeling guilty about all this." The drugs helped his pain but he still winced a little as he pushed himself up on the bed.
"I should have been there." Deaq said flatly. "You even asked me why I left you."
"I did?" Van couldn't remember. "If I did, I don't remember saying it, I was probably out of it………. Listen Deaq, there's no way you could have known what was going to happen."
"I shouldn't have driven off and just left you there."
"I'm a big boy Deaq, I don't need a babysitter."
Deaq looked down at Van.
"Do you know how close you came to dying in there?"
"Yeah, Billie told me……….You know, she also told me you risked your life by going in that bank to be with me. Not every partner would have done that……….Thanks."
Van held up his hand. Deaq hesitated for a second then took it.
"Well I figured someone had to try and get your sorry ass out of there in one piece." He gave a little smile.
"Hey, I had everything under control." Van smiled back.
"Yeah, it looked that way…………."
"Hey, it was all part of my plan."
"What, bleed to death so the bad guys might slide on your blood and knock themselves out?"
"Might have worked." Van smiled then yawned. The medication was making him drowsy.
"Well don't try it again."
"Not planning to." Van looked up at Deaq. "You going to be okay?"
"I'll be fine." Now that my partner's looking better Deaq thought.
"Good, now go home……..and get some rest." Van said as his eyes slowly closed and he drifted off into a peaceful sleep.
Deaq pulled up a chair. Going home wasn't an option. Not until he was a hundred percent sure his partner was going to be okay.
Epilogue
Van was released from the hospital five days later and was back at work on light duty a month later. Gibson had died at the scene and his partners Clark and Winston were found guilty of armed robbery and attempted murder. They each received fifty years in prison. Deaq slowly got over his feelings of guilt but made up his mind that even if they were in the middle of a heated argument, next time he was going into the bank to cash his check with Van, or better yet use the drive through.
The End
