Chapter 5 Bad News

Cody nervously drummed his fingers against the arm of the chair he was sitting in. Carey looked up and smiled reassuringly at him. He halfheartedly returned the smile, and then focused his gaze on the empty hospital bed in front of him. Zack had just gotten out of yet another surgery, but he had not been brought back to the recovery room.

According to Ellen, they were able to fix Zack's nose without any lasting damage. While he was still under anesthesia, they went in and drained the excess fluid from his lips that was making them swell. He also got stitches put in his lips to prevent any bleeding that might occur.

Mark did everything he could to fix Zack's arm. He was able to set the major breaks, but he had to put in metal rods where the bone was shattered. There was also some nerve damage. It was unknown to him whether or not it would affect Zack's motor skills. Other than that, the operations went well. He told Ellen to get Zack's family and bring them into the recovery room and that he would bring Zack in there once he finished stitching him up.

Now Cody and Carey had moved out of the waiting room and into the recovery room, but they were still waiting on Zack.

Carey glanced at Cody and sighed. She could tell that he was extremely worried about Zack. She was worried too, but she did everything she could to keep a positive outlook so she did not scare Cody.

'He does not need to know that I'm worried about Zack,' she told herself for what seemed like the hundredth time, 'He's scared enough as it is. If he realizes that I'm scared too that will just freak him out even more.'

So she painted a fake smile on her face and pretended to read the magazine she had in her lap.

After a few minutes Mark and some of the orderlies wheeled Zack in on a gurney. Carey and Cody stood up immediately and let them transfer the sleeping boy from the gurney to the hospital bed. They were careful so that they did not disturb the IV that Zack was connected to.

Cody went to the hospital bed and Carey hung back to talk to the doctors. Cody was surprised at what he saw.

Zack's arm was in a cast and a sling. His nose was bandaged up and there was gauze taped between his lips. Blood was seeping through the bandage on his nose a little. His face was puffy and swollen. He had what looked like a shower cap covering his head, which was used to keep his longish hair out of the way when the doctors operated on his nose and his lips.

'He looks bad,' Cody realized, 'This really is a big deal.'

He kissed Zack's forehead, "Hey," he whispered, "I know you can't hear me, Zack, but I'm here. I'm not going anywhere." He paused and drew in a deep breath, "I'm so sorry that this is happening to you. I know it's all my fault."

Tears stung his eyes.

'Drew is so dead.'

Carey joined Cody at the hospital bed, "He got through the surgeries," she said brightly.

"You don't have to do that you know."

Carey frowned, "I don't have to do what?"

He looked at her, tears shined in his big eyes, "You don't have to pretend that everything is going to be fine. I'm not a baby; I can see how serious this is."

She raised her eyebrows, "Cody, I know that you're not a baby. You have been very mature through this whole ordeal. You've been great with Zack and I'm really proud of you for that," she sighed, "And I'm not 'pretending' that everything is going to be fine. I know that he's going to get through this. It might take awhile, but he's going to be okay."

"I hope so," he muttered.

The two of them sat down in the chairs by the bed and watched Zack sleep. Cody leaned against Carey's shoulder and soon he fell asleep too.

Carey stroked Zack's cheek.

"You've been so strong, Zack," she said softly, "I love you so much."

Zack blinked. His eyes darted around the bright room. They met with Carey's.

She smiled at him, "You're awake."

Zack nodded. He opened his mouth to say something but Carey put her finger up to her lips, "Shhh, don't talk, sweetie, they just operated on your lips."

He nodded again, remembering.

Carey kissed his cheek and then asked, "Do you feel okay?"

Frustrated, he nodded again. It seemed like that was the only thing he could do. If he was able to, he would have told her that he didn't feel anything at all. His face felt numb, and so did his arm. This scared him when he first woke up, but then he remembered Ellen telling him that it might happen after the surgery.

Zack glanced around the room. He saw Cody sleeping next to their mom. He was glad that they were there with him; it made the whole hospital experience seem a lot less scary.

He sighed, and wondered how much longer his content feeling would last.

While the Martins relaxed in Zack's room, Jake was called to a small room near the hospital lab. An x-ray technician was waiting for him. Seth Arens pushed his glasses off his nose as Jake walked in.

"You paged me?" asked Jake.

"Zack Martin's x-rays came in," said Seth. "When he got here he was given a full body scan as well as the x-rays on his arm and nose."

"I know. So is there a problem in other parts of his stomach?" asked Jake.

"Yeah. Seems when he was kicked in the stomach it damaged his stomach and his bladder. The bladder started leaking into the stomach and the stomach started leaking stomach acid. Organ failure is slowly starting to develop. His spleen and pancreas are going to go first. Then he'll develop an intestinal infection. Then his liver and kidneys will go. He'll start feeling pain soon. He needs all of those problems fixed at the same time. If we keep taking him in and out of surgery to fix these problems, we might hurt him once. He needs one major and complicated surgery. I would know. This happened to my son last year."

"We have no one here who can perform an operation like that," said Jake.

"No. But there is a brilliant and highly skilled surgeon staying in Boston right away. He was my son's surgeon last year and he saved his life. He's in town for a conference," said Seth.

"Where's he staying?" asked Jake.

"The Tipton," said Seth.

"His name?" asked Jake.

"Jack Cole," said Seth.

"Oh God," said Jake. Jack Cole was infamous among his fellow doctors. He was a loose cannon and a playboy. He had worked at some of the best hospitals in the world. Jake had attended med school with him. Jack was considered to be one of the top surgeons in the world. His main problem was he got too close to patients and would often clash with hospital staff over the care of the patient. Jake hated to call him in. The man was a powder keg waiting to go off, especially if he got close to the Martin. But after hearing what Zack would have to go through, Jake knew that Jack Cole was the only one who could save his life.

Jack Cole yawned as he walked through the deserted hallways of the hospital. He had been woken up thirty minutes ago by a call from Jake Conroy. He needed Jack's help. Jack had almost said no. He wasn't in Boston to perform a high risk operation on a thirteen-year-old boy. But Jake had explained the seriousness of the matter and that no other doctor at the hospital could do it. Jack had agreed finally after a seven minute discussion. And now at eleven-thirty at night, he was going to meet with Jake. They couldn't waste time in preparing for the operation. Although they would have to wait until the boy recovered from his most recent surgery, they still needed to use every possible minute to prepare for the operation and start getting the boy ready.

Jake had no choice but to wake the Martin family up. Jack would need to examine Zack right away. Jake explained to Carey and Cody what was going on. The color drained from Carey's face as Jake explained Zack's situation to her. She had a near impossible time not having a nervous breakdown during Zack's most recent operation. How could she keep her cool if Zack's stomach was going to be cut open? Cody nearly burst into tears. He couldn't believe it. Zack was dying. Cody's hatred for Drew grew more and more. He couldn't imagine what he would do if Zack died. Before Cody could start thinking about nasty things he wanted to do to Drew, Jake mentioned that Zack needed a donor kidney. Cody didn't hesitate.

"I'll do it," said Cody. "I'll do anything to save Zack."

Next chapter is going to feature a flashback right at the start and then pick up where this chapter left off. Please review. My partner and I would greatly appreciate it.