Chapter 8

The team paced along the waiting room, unable to settle while waiting for any news. Blackburn, Davis and Mandy barged in through the doors and went straight towards the team, looking for answers, but the silent pacing was all the answers they needed. No tears, cursing or yelling or fists through any walls means they are both still in surgery, and they will not be bringing anyone home in a casket, but it also means there are no answers to settle them down.

Blackburn disappeared down the hall towards the nursing station to hopefully get some answers, but as he was waiting along the counter, a doctor came towards him as he was about to get someone's attention.

"Are you here for Petty Officers Spenser and Fox?" He questioned, guessing the uniform.

"Yes, I am, but the rest of the team is in the waiting room and would like to hear any updates," Blackburn confirmed as he led the doctor down the hall.

Each member turned to the sound of footsteps and froze as they waited for the news.

"What's the news, doc?" Sonny was the first to break the silence.

"First, ill start with the fact they both pulled through surgery and are in recovery. Petty Officer Spenser will be in room 403 once he wakes up, but Petty Officer Fox will remain in the ICU in room 587. Spenser sustained three gunshot wounds. We cleaned them all out and got the bullets from his torso; unfortunately, the wound to his lower back had nicked his kidney; we did repair it but will have to keep a close eye on its function for a few days. Otherwise, he was very fortunate as nothing vital was hit, and his leg will be painful to heal as a lot of muscle was torn up, but he will regain full function and muscle mass within his thigh. His head wound was a bit more concerning as we were afraid of a skill fracture or bleeding, but that has all been cleared, and he has a grade 2 concussion. He will be fine with rehab and time. Unfortunately, Fox is not as lucky. Her left ribs were badly injured; she has two bruised ribs and one is fractured, which ended up puncturing her lung. Her left shoulder was dislocated and set properly, and from what we can see through an MRI, there is no tendon damage. Still, a few muscles in her rotator cuff were partially torn and will heal on their own with time and immobility as they are not too thick of tears while she remains in the sling and rehab. She does not have a concussion, and we have left the temple wound in the steri strips. The two stab wounds she got on her right side did not hit anything vital, but the flesh was torn up pretty jaggedly as it must have occurred during movement, so we had to restitch them, and she will be left with a thick scar that may have some nerve damage along the surface. She may regain full feeling along the wound. Her throat was severely bruised and swollen from the excessive force used while she was choked. As you were not around to confirm if she lost consciousness at the time of the incident, and she was still unconscious when she came in, we do not fully know if she underwent any significant time without oxygen and if there are any other lasting damages until she wakes up. We will have her in the ICU on a ventilator and under sedation for a few days to help her lung heal from the puncture and let her throat bruising and swelling come down. We are worried there can be more swelling and do not want to risk windpipe closures. A nurse will be here shortly to let you know when they are in their rooms for you to see them, but please have only one at a time in Petty Officer Fox's room for now. The ICU has strict rules, but we will set up cots and chairs in Petty Officer Spenser's room for everyone." The doctor informed the team and hurried off as fast as he showed up.

….

Everyone made their rounds into Liz's room to see her and sit with her for a little while as they waited for Clay to wake up. Jason was the last in to see Liz as he was still torn up inside about what happened; if he had only waited and forced them to come down with them and leave the last charge, they would not be in this mess and would all be home at The Bulkhead enjoying a beer after a successful mission. Ray came up after Jason was gone for over 2 hrs to check in and make sure Jason was not in his head running into self-destruction.

"Brother, she will be ok; you must stop beating yourself up over what was out of our control. They both will be ok and back with us in no time." Ray soothed as he took a few steps inside to close the gap. He knew Jason was torn about who he needed to be with, and as Clay should be waking up soon and needing him, he decided he would take the choice away. "Jase, let me sit here with her for the night. You need to be with Clay and there for when he wakes up. As soon as morning hits, you can come up here after you head home to clean up and get some food, or if there are any changes, you will be my first call. I promise. I will be here for her and keep her safe."

With a tug in his chest and severe consideration, Jason gave a clipped nod, got up from the chair, and headed for the door. He cast one last look at Liz and Ray before he headed towards Clay's room.

As Jason walked to Clay's room, Clay chose that moment to wake up. Clay waking up from unconsciousness is a gamble; you will either get a gentle waking as he slowly takes in his bearings, or you get the mangy raccoon, as Sonny calls it. Sonny describes Clay as innocent and charming until provoked, and his coming out of the darkness is no different. All cute and cuddly and draws you in as the eyes flutter open, and then the trash panda starts throwing fists, feeling threatened. Clay decided today was the day to unleash his inner raccoon. As he began to stir and groan, Jason rushed in, and Sonny and Trent went to the other side of the bed, ready to meet eyes with Peter Pan. Clay finally opened his eyes and locked them with Sonny; he could see it was not his best friend behind the gaze.

"Trash panda alert." Sonny hollered as the team spun into action.

Jason grabbed Clay's arm, and Sonny grabbed the other but not before he got a right hook to the jaw, stumbling back a step. Trent and Brock went to a leg as they bucked up and tried to boot the air. Jason used his other arm to try and turn Clay's head towards him to get his attention.

"Hey, stand down, Bravo 6!" He said sternly. Unfortunately, anyone passing by listening to the tone would come across as harsh, but when Clay is in this state, Jason is the only one able to get his attention in a directing manner. When they get soft Clay, Sonny is the best to bring him back to reality as Clay responds best to his best friend's touch and tone.

Clay instantly froze as he took in the order and blinked his eyes into focus on Jason's face as he returned to the teammate, they all knew, and each member slowly let go of the once flailing limbs.

"Hospital?" He mumbled.

"Yes, we are back home in VA Beach, and you are in the hospital," Trent started before Clay cut him off.

"Is Liz…. I heard her scream; please tell me she is not dead. I could not save her." He started to panic, and Sonny grabbed his hand and squeezed, getting his attention.

"She's ok, Lil buddy. She is up in the premium suite taking in a nice beauty sleep waiting for Prince Charming to get there." Sonny soothingly informed him as he drew a small circle along the back of Clay's hand, trying to soothe him. Clay just looked at him, waiting for more answers as he knew that was not the end, and he was holding something back, something profound. He knew what Liz meant to him, and the whole team knew, even if the two were in the dark about their pull together.

"She is in the ICU under sedation as she is on a vent for a few days to give her lungs and throat some time to rest and heal. She has bruised, broken ribs, one punctured lung, a dislocated shoulder and was stabbed twice in the other side. Ray is sitting with her for the night." Trent started as he bit his lip about the last piece of information he left out as he knew being strangled was a different kind of assault; it was more personal and touchier to the team. And she was their little sister; what older brother does not get overly protective towards their baby sister? It was personal to have someone assault you by having their hands around your throat, watching your eyes dull as you fade away. Bullets, Knives, and bombs were not personal. They were war and the danger they signed up for.

"Throat?" Clay questioned.

"She was... um, she was strangled. With the excessive bruising and swelling, we had to intubate her, and the doctors decided it was safer to keep it up for a little bit longer." Trent continued as he bowed his head feeling a wash of guilt for leaving them behind. The whole team felt that guilt and let it weigh down on them as they were up high and cozy, waiting and unscathed as their two teammates fought for their lives.

Clay sat there with a tight face as he processed what he was told and clenched his fists. "What's the damage?"

"You were shot three times; one bullet slightly damaged your kidney, but they got it all fixed up and want to keep an eye but said it should be right as rain. The wound in your leg will heal fully but be the most painful. Something about location and muscle?" Sonny replied, knowing he was asking about himself.

Brock walked back into the room at this point as he bent down and let Cerb off his leash as he was pulling so hard to get to his boy.

Jason and Clay jumped as they were a bit startled by the hair missile launching himself onto his bed and slowly crawled up beside him and nudged his hand for a pet as he settled down and rested his head on his hip.

"Geeze, Brock, we need to get you a bell; with you not talking and slipping around, how can we keep track of you? When on earth did you leave?" Sonny squinted towards him, assessing him, wondering how he made it to and from his house for Cerb, not knowing when he slipped out of the room.

"Davis grabbed and snuck him up and dropped him off on her way to Liz's room." Brock shrugged like it was an everyday action, and they were overreacting. Cerb let out a little huff in agreement, like why someone was questioning when he got here and why he was here; of course he had to come and see that his boy was ok.

After some more small talk and settling down, the team slowly filtered out as they planned a schedule for the next few days for everyone to be here with them and texted Davis, Ray, Blackburn and Mandy their schedules. Being gone on an op, they were eager to go home and see their families before returning. Sonny and Jason were the first to leave as they were itching to go back up to the ICU and check on Liz, even though they knew Ray would usher them out to go home and eat and sleep. These two in the hospital were taxing for the team mentally and physically. The Bravo family was little more than the average team family. Trent was next to leave, but not before he insisted on checking Clay's injuries and mentally recording his chart and vitals. He emphasized to Clay and Brock that if anything changes, they better have him on the phone asap or else there was hell to pay. He had already passed the same information to Ray when he went up to sit with Liz. Ray had called Niama and informed her of the situation, and she told him she was on shift tonight, so the kids were with her parents and that she would pop in to see Clay and then make it up to Ray with some food and sit with Liz for a while. She needed to be there for her husband and her little sister. Having Niama on shift when they arrived made things easier for the team and reassured their fears that if they were not there, she was in the building and would pop in to visit them and update the team if needed.

Clay was not himself right now, and that worried the team. Yes, he had significant trauma and went through hell trying to get to them, and he has yet to give them a full AAR and explain what happened, but Brock could just read from his vibe there were more emotions Clay was trying to process. Brock volunteered for the first watch with Clay; he felt Cerb and needed more time together as Cerb soothed Clay and grounded him. And Cerb was his best medicine, and they were bonded and comforted each other like no other. There was a strong pull between them, and Liz was the other in that trio, and they were never apart once they were all in the same room or on deployment, enjoying downtime.

"You wanna talk about it?" Brock asked. He knew he and Clay had a different bond than Jason and Sonny, and they took comfort in each other differently. Being on the younger side of the team and having a love for running, they have developed a bond and silent comfort through taking Cerb for trips along the beach and trees. When they end up on the top of one particular hill for a break every run, they seem to have peace, open up to each other, and work through challenging moments together.

"Yes, but not today," Clay mumbled as his eyes shifted off Cerb to Brock. "When the team is all back, we will need to go through an AAR, but all I can think about is what if Liz is not ok and we will never know what happened as I blacked out most of the way back after getting shot. Those holes may never be filled, and I'm not ready for that."

All Brock could do was a sharp head nod, understanding where he was coming from as he itched to know what happened after they left. He watched Clay shift in his bed with a wince as he tried to get comfortable for the night as he was slowly fading.