Haha, wow, it's been awhile hasn' t it? Okay, okay, no hiding it, I'm sorry. I just haven't been able to update because I haven't been able to straighten out the sequence of events in my head until now. Sorry. Thank you all for being to patient! Also, I just realized how close I am to getting 100 reviews, so PLEASE REVIEW! Wouldn't it be awesome if I get 100 reviews from this chapter... hint hint. Thanks for reading!

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Chapter 12

Dr. Morris looked at the young man lying on the operating table before him and shook his head sadly.

"It's a shame what happened to him," he said to the nurse right beside him.

"Yes, it is," the nurse said, shaking her head as well. "At least we got the bullet out," she said holding up a small bag with the bullet that was in Ryan's stomach less than five minutes ago.

"Yes," the doctor said.

"Can you bring Mr. Wolfe to a room in ICU while I go tell his boss and colleagues how he is?"

"Of course, doctor," the nurse smiled pleasantly and got a small team around the operating table so they could get Ryan out of the ER.

Dr. Morris walked out of the operating room after Ryan had been pushed out and after he had washed the blood off of his hands. Even though he wore gloves while operating on someone, blood always managed to make its way through to his hands, but even if the blood didn't seep through, he always washed his hands to keep sanitary.

As he walked down the long hallway to where Lt. Caine and his team sat, he thought about the young man he had just operated on.

The bullet had hit his appendix, so they had to remove that. Other than that unpleasant surprise (nobody knew the bullet had hit Ryan's appendix so when the doctor went to get the bullet out, he also had to take the appendix out, something nobody knew had to be done), the operation had been successful, but Dr. Morris sensed something was going to happen.

However, he didn't say anything because he often got this feeling after doing a major operation.

"Lt. Caine?" the doctor asked the small crowd of people in the waiting room; unsure which one was Mr. Wolfe's boss.

"Yes, doctor?" a red-haired man asked as he walked over to where Dr. Morris was standing.

"I am here to report the condition of Mr. Ryan Wolfe. He is right now in a room in ICU, but his condition is stable. We removed the bullet, but the bullet hit the appendix so we had to remove that as well. However, he is fine, but we want to keep him here for a few days for observation."

"Okay," Horatio said, happy that Ryan was going to be okay.

"Do you still have the bullet? We may need it for court when it comes around."

"Ahh, yes," Dr. Morris said. "One of the nurses is sterilizing it right now, but after she's done, I'll tell her to give it right to you."

"Alright, thank you," Horatio said calmly.

However, what he wanted to do right now was see Ryan to make sure he was okay. After all, it was because of him George took him in the first place.

However, before he could ask the doctor if the team and he could see Ryan, Calleigh broke into the conversation.

"Are we allowed to see him?" she asked, worry coating every word she said.

Horatio looked at her intently, realizing that she was still feeling guilty about leaving him alone at the crime scene, something she wouldn't have done to anyone else.

"Yes, you may see Mr. Wolfe, but only one at a time because although he is stable, he is still in critical condition. Also," the doctor continued before the CSI team could decide who would see him first, "I just wanted to warn you he doesn't look too good right now. It seems as if he was beaten before he was shot and he broke two of his ribs and cracked four. Also, his face is badly bruised."

After the doctor said this, the team frowned, unaware that he had been physically beaten as well as shot.

"He is unconscious right now because, well, we didn't want him to wake up in the middle of the operation!" the doctor said, trying to lighten the mood.

However, it didn't work on the small team and he left.

"Who is going in to see him first?" Eric asked.

Nobody said anything, so Horatio said, "I think I should since I am his boss."

However, the entire team knew that Horatio wanted to see Ryan as soon as the rest of them, not just because he was his boss.

The other CSIs nodded.

Just as he was about to leave, Horatio stopped and turned around, addressing the team, "Eric, can you get two patrol officers to guard Ryan's room and George O'Connell's room?"

Eric nodded, knowing that it wasn't a question, but an order.

Horatio knew that George was in the same hospital as Ryan and he just wanted to make sure that George didn't try anything on the unsuspecting and weak CSI.

"Calleigh," Horatio said, now addressing Calleigh, "can you ask the doctor what room George is staying in and what his 'story' is?"

"Of course, H," Calleigh told her boss and left so she could get back to the waiting room as soon as possible. She wanted to be the next person to see Ryan and she wasn't going to let someone see him before her just because she took her time with her "assignment."

"And Alexx," Horatio said, addressing the last member of the team. "Can you call Ryan's parents and let them know what happened?"

Horatio usually would have done this himself, but he thought it should be done as soon as possible and he was too worried about the youngest member of the team earlier that he forgot to inform his family.

He would have done it then, but he was too intent on seeing how Ryan was to be able to hold it off so he could inform the Wolfe family.

"Of course, Horatio," Alexx said in her kind, motherly way. "I'll break it to them easily."

"Thank you, Alexx," Horatio said before setting the world record for speed walking getting to Ryan's room.

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Hope you liked it! It's a lot longer than my usual chapters...i am just trying to make my chapters longer. Thanks for reading!