"Can we see him?" Harry asked moments later breaking the silence.
"He hasn't woken up yet, but I think it best if you are there when he does... He's going to need all of you."
"Of course." Fuller swollowed knowing that everyone was looking at him to say something, to take the lead like he always had... He was after all the captain. "Doctor...Is this, I mean is this permanent?"
"It's to early to tell to be honest Captain Fuller." The doctor's eyes we're full of regret, "I mean... We won't know anything until time tells us, Nerve regrowth is very possible depending upon the severity of the situation, but even if it is to come it could take months, or years before-"
"Stop." Booker mumbled,
"what?" Fuller turned around not even to sure that he had heard words come from the young man's mouth.
"STOP!" He snapped his eyes shooting up from where they had been once more studying the blood... Hanson's blood on his shirt.
"Dennis, man..." Harry reached over placing a hand on his shoulder only t have it shrugged off.
"Which room is his?" Booker questioned looking the doctor in the eyes, "You said we need to be with him, so why stand here waisting our time with your doctor babble bullshit when we could be in there?"
"Booker." The captain warned.
"No it's alright..." The doctor nodded, "Anger is a perfectly normal emotion." He turned and began back down the hallway, "Follow me."
The five figures nodded and followed the man in the white coat down the quiet halls of the hosptal, none of them letting their eyes stray from the tiles of the floor they were walking on, each one lost in their own thoughts.
Tom's Hospital room was almost completely dark, the only light coming from a single sun ray that was leaking through a small crack in the blinds on the far wall. On the bed Hanson lay hooked to two Iv's one with a clear liquid and the other with a liquid more the color of lemonade. Their was an oxygen tank with a tube that lead up into his nose, a heart and pulse monitor and a few other small machines as well. He looked so peacful, resting there, the blanket covering his body his paled face turned slightly to the side his lips parted and hair messy.
"I don't know if I can do this..." Judy whispered into Harry's ear as they were the last one's to enter her eyes falling upon the bed.
"We have to be strong now Jude, for Hanson."
Penhall growled low in his throat taking in the sight before him, how could someone do this to another human being, how could someone do this to his friend? His blood boiled and he wanted to kill. He wanted the man responsible for this and he wanted to shoot him right in the back. A few small drops of sweat worked their way down his forehead as he whiped them away.
Booker stood on the far end of the room next to the window his arms crossed over his chest as he avoided looking at the bed, the memory of what happened, the memory of the parking lot stuck on repeat over and over in his mind. His hands felt wet again, saturated with his friends blood. His stomach twisted in a knot as he shook of the urge to go wash them again for about the 25th time in the last 3 and a half hours swollowng back the vomit rising in his throat.
Captain Fuller was silent as he walked over and took the chair closest to the bed, leaning back against its cushions he brought his hand up resting it shakily on Tom's leg studying the sleeping figure. How could this have happened? How could any of this have happened? A question he knew would not have and easy answer.
A sense of dread had now shadowed the room full of cops as the vision before them brought true and final reality to their minds and hearts, it was as though when they couldn't see him some part of them could still pretend that Tommy was going to be alright that he wasn't the one in the bed fighting for his life with a hole in his back.
But now. Now they had to face it, they had to face him, and there was no level left for them to play pretend on.
"He looks so peacful doesn't he?" Harry's voice was soft and his question spoken to no one imparticular,
"Yeah, well... let him rest...this is probibly going to be the last good rest he's going to see in a while."
"You don't mean to tell me you believe what that quack was saying do you?" Booker snorted sarcastically, denile thick in his voice even though the look in his eyes showed he knew the truth. "There is no way Tommy is paralized, I bet any one of you your entire next paycheck that when he leaves this hospital he's going to be walking out of here."
"Dennis, son." Fuller cleared his throat for about the 10th time that afternoon while searching for the right thing to say, noting everyones fragile state of mind at the moment. "Asmuch as well all wish that... You know as well as I do that the doctor is right..."
"BULLSHIT!" Bookers head shook back and forth as he ran his fingers over his jacket sleeves his arms still crossed.
"Booker lower your voice!" Hoffs scolded trying to remain calm herself her eyes red and tear stained.
Penhall's eyes widened as he saw Tommy's head move back and forth lightly, "All of you shut up." He spat closing the gap between where he stood by the bathroom and the bed taking his friends hand lightly in his own. "He's waking up."
"Hanson... Hanson it's Hoffs, we're all here Honey."
"Tommy open your eyes man..." Fuller whispered as thy all now stood around the bed hovering over the waking figure.
Tom grunted lightly in response, their voices were so loud even though he could tell they were whispering everything sounded as though he were standing in a tunnel... "Fuller...?" He mumbled groggily. Why the hell was Fuller in his bedroom? His mind began to whirl... Come to think of it when did he even go into his bedroom? He didn't even remember going home...
"That's right Tommy. I'm here..."
"We're all here man." Penhall gave his hand another squeeze.
Penhall? Penhall was here too? What the hell was going on? and why in the world was he so damn tired. With a defiant moan he forced his eyelids open, a lot harder of a task then he remembered it being all the previous times he had opened them before. Like a flood light the room came into view everything was blurred and bright even though the blinds were closed.
He could see the figures above him and blinked a few times to bring them into focus, sure enough there they all were Penhall, Fuller, Hoffs Ioki and even Booker... But they weren't in his room... He let his eyes shift around a few times before letting them fall back on the sad looking faces taking note of the oxygen being forced into his nose and feeling the IV's in his hand even in his dettached and out of it state he put two and two together. "Hospital?" He licked his dry lips...
"Yeah man, your in the hospital..." Penhall took a seat on the bed without saying another word.
Tom's brows furrowed deeply as slowly his clarity came back to him, and like a mack truck smacking him in the gut the wind was robbed from him... the world spinning as he clutched tight to the object in his grasp which happened to be Penhall's hand...
His features contorted as he closed his eyes tightly and took in a deep breath holding it and trying to calm himself.
"Hanson relax." Judy cooed running a hand through his hair...
"Who...Who found me?" He cleared his throat again looking up at all of them, "Who found mne who saved me?"
"Booker did." Fuller explained softly.
Tom nodded looking at Booker and opening his mouth to thank him, but quickly his expression changed, a confused look running across his features as he let his eyes fall down his torso to the lower half of his body. Drawing in a breath he exhaled biting on his lip. "Doug..."
Judging by the look on Hanon's face Penhall already knew what was coming. "Tom it's ok... just relax..."
"Wh-why is... why is everything numb?" A state of shock had entered the man on the bed as his eyes continued to stare his voice calm and collected almost as though it wasn't even him, but just some other person he was talking about, looking at...
"Tom It's alright." Harry removed his hand from his pocket patting his friends shoulder not to sure what to do.
"I can't feel anything." Hanson's dark brown eyes tore from Penhall to Fuller, and then around the rest of the circle and back to penhall worry edged deep inside of them... "They're numb."
"Tommy... listen to me," His partner placed his free hand on top of the hand he was already holding locking Tom's in the middle, "When... when the bullet hit your spine, it severed your spinal cord... and.. and uh..." Doug's lips quivere as he swollowed hard and a few stray tears dripped down his face. Finding it very hard to continue on, wanting nothing more than to break his gaze from his best friends, but at the same time unable to do so... "And... It... the-the bullet was lodged in your intestine..."
The look on Doug's face said it all, he didn't need words now, he had known this man for 4 years now, and that single look the saddness in his eyes the tremble in his flesh... "Doug?" Tom's voice came out in a small shakey squeal as he closed his eyes. "A-am I..."
"I'm sorry..." A single whisper was the end of all noise in the room before silence came again... silence that was as deadly as it was welcomed.