Chapter Nine: Police Line- Do Not Cross

"Bye Manny," her boss said as she left work. She looked at her watch. It was 2 pm. She pulled her cell phone out of her purse and dialed her house number. The phone rang a bunch of times and the answering machine picked up. He should have been home from work two hours ago, she thought to herself. And if he wasn't home, Jimmy would have picked up. She got in her truck and drove home as fast as she could. For some reason, she knew something was wrong. When she got to the end of her street she could see the flashing lights. There was a group of people standing outside the house. She pulled into the driveway and jumped out of the truck, pushing past all the people.

"Ma'am, you can't go into the house," an officer said, putting his arm out to block her.

"I live here!" she yelled, pushing past him. She could hear the babies crying from the basement. She ran into the house and when she got to the basement door, it was wide open, with yellow 'Police Line Do Not Cross' tape stretched across it. She ducked under the tape and ran down the stairs. There were detectives and crime scene investigators swarming her room. "I need to get to my children!" she yelled and they let her by. When she was almost to the cribs, she stopped. "Whose blood is that?" she cried, pointing to the two pools of blood staining the carpet.

"Christopher Hawkins," a detective answered her.

"Is he d-dead?" she asking, choking back tears.

"We're not sure yet. About a half hour ago, he was rushed to the hospital. He lost a lot of blood." Upon hearing the man's answer, Manny leaned forward and threw up on the carpet.

"Somebody get her out of here!" the detective yelled. Another man came up to Manny and put his arms on her shoulders, steering her away from the blood.

"Wait!" she yelled at him. "Let me get my children!" He let go of her and she walked over to the cribs and picked Lucas up. He was screaming at the top of his lungs. "Can you get her?" she asked the man, motioning towards Lily. He picked the baby up and followed Manny over to the baby room. She got their car seats out of it, strapped them both in, and made her way back upstairs. She put the babies in the truck and climbed in once again.

Outside, an officer offered to escort her to the hospital. He drove in front of her with his sirens on, and she didn't have to stop at any red lights. She ran into the hospital, a car seat in each hand, and took the elevator to the third floor.

"I'm looking for Christopher Hawkins," she said frantically to the person sitting behind the desk.

"Let me check," the woman said, typing the name into the computer. "I have no record of him," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "Sorry." Manny sat down on a nearby chair and placed the twins (in their car seats) on the floor. Her head hung down and she began to cry.

"Where else could he be? They said he came to the hospital a half hour ago," she said out loud to herself.

"He's in surgery Manny," a voice above her right shoulder said. She looked up and wiped her eyes.

"Jimmy? What are you doing here?" she asked him, confused. Her eyes suddenly widened. "You didn't…" Before she could finish he cut her off.

"Of course not, how can you think that?" he said angrily.

"I'm sorry; I just didn't know why you'd be here…"

"Your neighbor who called 911 also called me. She said she didn't know your work number, but she had my number because I'm the babysitter. So I came," he explained.

"I'm so glad you're here," Manny said, throwing her arms around him. "Have you seen him? Is he going to be okay?" she asked.

"I don't know Manny," he told her, pulling away and looking into her eyes. "We have to wait for the doctor." After about an hour and a half of waiting, Manny saw Chris on a gurney. She ran up to him, leaving Jimmy with the twins. She was about to say something to him when she realized that he wasn't awake.

"How is he?" she immediately asked Dr. Anis. It was the same doctor that took care of Paige.

"Chris came to us in critical condition. He had a gunshot wound to his left knee. The bullet went into his kneecap and shattered it. A second bullet went into his chest, and luckily missed his heart by only about two centimeters. He lost a lot of blood and needed a transfusion as soon as he got here. The bullet near his heart was removed and did not cause any severe damage. However, we were unable to repair his kneecap…" he trailed off.

"What does that mean?" Manny asked.

"At his age, Chris is too young to have an artificial kneecap. Those only last a number of years, and could eventually cause infection. With the consent of both of his parents, we chose to amputate." Manny let the doctor's words soak in for a minute.

"H-how much of his leg did you take?" she asked, stuttering.

"We had to start one inch above his knee," the doctor informed her.

"So he just has one leg now?" she asked, starting to cry again. She was sad for her boyfriend. She knew he loved sports and wanted to be able to play with his children. With only one leg, that would be next to impossible.

"Fortunately for him, his parents have excellent insurance. As soon as he is ready, he will be fitted for a prosthetic leg. The leg is robotic, and bends naturally at the knee. It is very expensive, but the insurance will cover it. It cannot get wet, so he will have to remove it in the shower."

"When can I see him?" Manny asked.

"You can go in whenever you are ready," Dr. Anis told her. "You may want to check with his parents first, they're in the waiting room."

"Thank you so much Doctor," Manny said and walked away. Jimmy followed her with the twins to the waiting room where Mr. and Mrs. Hawkins were. She filled him in on the doctor's explanation on the way. When she got to the waiting room, she told his parents that he was out of surgery. They went into his room for ten minutes, and then allowed Manny to be alone with him. He still wasn't awake when she went in. Jimmy stayed in the waiting room with the twins so she could have some privacy. He knew that she really needed it.

A/N: All the stuff about the artificial kneecap is true…a friend of our family had one and it got infected (he's about 85 though, and they had to replace it). It's too risky for a teenager. And a guy with a robotic leg like that spoke in one of my classes…it cost $50,000! That's why I had the insurance cover it (I don't think they normally would). Review!