Note: Thanks for the feedback! I appreciate it. I'm going to do my best to continue to crank out chapters of this just so I can get back to The Battle – because let's face it: that's the most important thing here, after all. :P
Heat 02
"Absolutely not."
Jason and Elizabeth stared at Alexis as the District Attorney crossed her arms and stood protectively next to Sam's bedside. The brunette could sense Jason's shock and outrage, and moved quickly to help Kelly contain the situation.
"Alexis, the surgery is Sam's best chance. Yes, it's risky, but-"
"Elizabeth, I know you're well-intentioned," the older woman replied softly but firmly as her husband shifted his weight behind her. "But the last time I checked, you were a nurse."
"And I'm a doctor," Kelly pointed out, "and I'm the one telling you that the surgery could save your daughter's life."
"It's too risky," Noah Drake growled, slipping his hands into the pockets of his surgical coat. "Sam will die on the operating table long before I can get at the root of the problem."
"Dr. Drake, thank you for your opinion," the Vietnamese doctor replied testily, "but with all due respect, you're not the one performing the surgery."
"I'm the senior-most neurosurgeon in this hospital," he reminded her gruffly. "As long as my son's off larking about on an island, I'm the one who's going to be doing this."
"I got in touch with Patrick," Elizabeth cut in, glaring at the surly older doctor when he frowned at her. She knew what this was about – it was a pissing contest between father and son. Noah had fallen into the bottle while Patrick worked his way to the top to become the brilliant surgeon he was, and now the older Drake had to protect his wounded ego and win back some pride by asserting his medical prowess over his son. "He said he was on his way back, and that was a few hours ago. He'll be arriving on the helicopter dock any minute now, and he will be able to do the surgery."
"It's too dangerous!" Noah shot back, fed up with the rookie nurse's impertinence. "My son may not realize it, but he's not God, nor is he a miracle-worker. Your daughter could very well die on the operating table. If we wait for the meds to take effect, there's a possibility that this will resolve itself and she'll recover."
"The odds of that happening are unfavorable," Kelly interrupted gently, knowing that this was a terrible ordeal for Alexis but having a hard time reining in her temper all the same. "But the decision is yours, Ms. Davis."
Alexis pursed her lips, closing her eyes briefly when she felt her husband's arm encircle her waist. "I'm not going to allow the surgery."
"Patrick!"
Elizabeth Webber shot out of the nurse's station as soon as she spotted her friend tearing down the hallway toward her. They met each other halfway, both out of breath.
"Okay, the reception was terrible – so tell me again what happened."
She took a deep breath, already grabbing his arm and taking him to see the charts and X-rays. "There was a shooting at Carly's charity auction – Jason was on the balcony with Sam and someone got her from behind. She had emergency surgery and they had to perform a hysterectomy, but now she's facing spinal compression and cranial edema. Kelly thinks you can perform another surgery to save her life, and your father wants to wait it out and hope that the meds take effect. So far, Alexis agrees with him."
"What do I care what the D.A. thinks?"
Elizabeth pushed through the door to where Sam's X-rays hung against an illuminated screen and looked at her friend over her shoulder. "Because Alexis Davis is Sam's mother."
Patrick stared at her for a moment as if convinced that she was joking, then shook his head. "Unbelievable. People are always dying, coming back from the dead, or sprouting new family ties in this town. There's got to be something in the water." He studied the X-rays carefully, paying attention to the notes that his interns had jotted down on the side.
Elizabeth watched him carefully, nibbling her bottom lip. "Do you think you can do it?"
After a long moment, the young doctor nodded. "I think I can."
"…But you're not sure?"
He sighed and swung down to look at her. "…I'm not sure. But it's the best chance Sam has – the statistics for the meds actually working in a case like this aren't favorable. She has to undergo surgery if she's going to live."
"Great," Elizabeth sighed, following him out of the dark room. "Now all we have to do is convince Alexis of that."
Patrick Drake had always been a model citizen. He never drove after drinking, he always kept his insurance up-to-date, he was never arrested for indecent conduct, he kept his music at reasonable volume levels, he routinely paid his taxes one full week before the deadline, and he always went for jury duty when summoned to do so. He had never seen the inside of a jail cell, and until tonight, he always thought that he'd never have to.
However, standing in front of Alexis Davis and his father as they told him that there was no way in Hell that he was going to do this surgery and that they had already taken out a pre-emptive injunction should he decide to be a renegade, he had a feeling his straight-arrow days were over. After all, it was difficult to be a straight arrow if one's butt was hauled off to prison for wringing the DA's pretty yet distinguished little neck.
"My father is just trying to scare you," he tried to reason with Alexis, not giving in to the urge to glare at the older man. "The chances of the drugs working are not good, and her best chance is to undergo surgery."
"But she could die on the table, right?"
Patrick closed his eyes, feeling the anger radiate off of the enforcer standing next to him. "Yes. But," he added quickly to lessen the impact of the concession, "she could die if the meds fail, too, as they do more often than not. She's in a dangerous place either way and as the top neurosurgeon in this hospital-" This time, he glared in his father's direction. "-I would advise you to consider the surgery that just may save your daughter's life."
Alexis glanced at Jason and rubbed her temples. A mask of granite had long since descended over the enforcer's features, but he didn't intimidate her anymore. Her first priority was her daughter, and she would do what she thought was in Sam's best interest. She knew Jason wanted the surgery, but all things considered, it was too risky. She was aware that Patrick had lost a patient last week and according to Noah, that made him dangerous because he now had something to prove. But she wasn't about to let her daughter be his guinea pig.
"I'm sorry, but I can't allow you to do it."
Pursing his lips, Patrick glared daggers at his father who had the good sense not to appear too smug, and stormed out of the room. Elizabeth and Kelly exchanged weary glances before the brunette turned and followed her friend out. Jason, too, sent Alexis a chilling look that let her know exactly what he thought of her, and then retreated from the small hospital room in pursuit of the one man that could save his fiancé's life.
"I will pay you whatever you want to make this happen," Jason informed the tall dark-haired man in scrubs, keeping his tone low in the bustling corridor of the hospital. "Name your price."
Patrick Drake studied the enforcer, tilting his head to the side. "You mean that?" Jason blinked, turning his palms to face upward to convey his sincerity. "I don't want your money, Morgan. I want to do this as much as you want it done. I just want you to know that you will be paying a price. We all will." Movement in his peripheral vision caught his attention, and the young doctor turned to see Elizabeth Webber flipping quickly through a medical binder before setting it on the countertop for Epiphany.
"Elizabeth."
She looked up, her eyes guarded and serious when she saw the two men. Folding her arms across her chest in a defensive gesture, Elizabeth quickly approached the doctor.
"Do you think this surgery should be done?"
His question surprised her, and Jason watched as the brunette quirked a brow at Patrick. "Of course – I'm the one that called you."
Patrick glanced at Jason briefly before turning back to her. "How would you feel about doing it with the injunction?"
Elizabeth's gaze instinctively swung to meet Jason's, and the desperation and cautious hope in his eyes only solidified her initial resolve. "I took an oath to save lives," she informed her friend quietly. "If this can save Sam's life, then I'm ready to do it."
Relief flooded through him, and Jason's soft eyes met Elizabeth's when she looked back at him. He ducked his head once, his hands clasped in front of him. "Thank you."
She understood the depth of his gratitude and offered a half-smile in return. Jason would be destroyed if anything else happened to Sam, and she would do everything in her power to help Patrick make sure that the other woman would pull through.
Patrick nodded to himself, not noticing the heavy looks exchanged between the young nurse and the mobster. "Good. Scrub in – I'm going to need you."
He turned on his heel and left to find Epiphany to see if she'd be willing to create the necessary distraction, and Elizabeth reached out and squeezed Jason's arm in a gesture of support. She was about to pull away when his rough hand closed over hers, squeezing it back.
"Thank you, Elizabeth."
Dressed in the pale blue janitor's jumpsuit that he had peeled off the old man currently locked in a storage closet, Manny Ruiz watched as Jason Morgan reluctantly let go of Elizabeth's hand and let the young nurse head to the locker room to change from her scrub bottoms and sweater into her surgical scrubs.
His obsidian eyes remained trained on Jason as the enforcer watched until the brunette disappeared from sight, then reluctantly headed toward the surgical wing to await Dr. Drake. He knew it was risky, but he just couldn't help himself – he wanted to come to the hospital to hear first-hand how much damage he had done.
So far, the reports were far from discouraging. The lovely Miss McCall was barren and barely clinging to life. If she died on her own, he wouldn't have to finish her off and could focus on his other targets, instead. But if sweet Elizabeth and that shifty Dr. Drake succeeded in saving her life…well, he'd have his fun with Ms. McCall again. And this time, he'd do it right.
Whistling as he sloshed the dirty mop back into the rolling cart, Manny abandoned his post near the nurses' station and adjusted his lowered cap, making sure the bill still concealed his features. Leaving the cart in the corner by the storage closet where an old man's weak, muffled yells couldn't be heard over the hum of the cooling system, he followed his favorite nurse down the hallway to the private locker room.