Mistakes
Chapter 19
Maddie's car broke down, so Mike volunteered to take her to and from work. He thought about suggesting to go out for dinner on Friday, but when she didn't come out of her office when he texted, he got worried, so he got out of the truck and began the walk to the office. He thought he heard someone walking behind him but wasn't paying attention. Maddie came to the office door just as he felt a sharp pain in his back. He fell forward and heard Maddie scream and then everything went black.
"Josh…stop! No!" Maddie yelled as she rushed to Mike's side. Mike had been stabbed several times on his torso. Josh had ran off, but Maddie had called 9-1-1 as she ran for Mike, and she had already given the direction of travel and Josh's identity. All she needed to do was stay by Mike's side. She began putting pressure on the various wounds, but there were too many and Mike was choking on blood.
"What…happened?" Mike asked.
"Its…a coworker stabbed you. He's been kind of obsessed in me and I finally went to HR about it, but you gotta hang on. You got to. Molly and Hannah need you. They both love you so, so much." Maddie said. She could tell it confused Mike but he nodded in response.
"Take…care of Hannah for me…please…I'm all she has. I don't want her to be…alone." Mike choked out.
"I will, but you need to stick around. Mike, please…" Maddie begged. His eyelids were fluttering and he was losing consciousness. "Mike…I love you. I love you and if I lose you, I'll never be okay again. Stay with me." Maddie continued begging. Just then a police officer approached and radioed the status to a nearby ambulance.
"I'm Officer Lynn. My partner has the suspect in custody and the ambulance will be here in less than thirty seconds. What's your relationship to him? What's his name?" The young, female police officer asked.
"We share a daughter and live together. We're…just friends now. His name is Mike Slattery. The guy that stabbed him was a coworker. He got mad because I refused to date him. Turned him in for sexual harassment today and he had a hearing with HR before close today. I don't know what happened. Mike was just picking me up from work because my car is broke down. He was only doing me a favor so I wouldn't have to get a taxi." Maddie explained between sobs. Officer Lynn helped her up and pulled her away so the paramedics could begin working on Mike.
"Does he have any family?" Officer Lynn asked.
"Just his daughters. The one we share and an older one…Hannah, but she's young too." Maddie said.
"So, no one to make his medical decisions?" The paramedic asked.
"I don't guess so. I never asked." Maddie said, feeling stupid.
"Its okay. There's a thing called implied consent until we can figure things out, but we do need to get him transported. He's losing a lot of blood too quickly." The paramedic answered.
"Here, he dropped his keys. Can you drive yourself to the hospital, or do you need me to take you?" Officer Lynn asked as she handed Maddie the truck keys. A stretcher had appeared and the paramedics were able to get Mike lifted up.
"What's with all these scars? They look recent." The paramedic asked.
"He…was on the Mitchener when it was attacked by the Russians. He took three fifty cal's to the chest and stomach. That was only a few months ago. I know they had to do some sort of resection or something on his bowels. He's also been shot and stabbed before that." Maddie explained.
"On life number nine apparently." The paramedic remarked before rushing Mike away from them.
"Do you need a ride?" Officer Lynn asked again.
"No…I'll be okay. I may pick his daughter up before getting to the hospital and I'll make a call to see if anyone knows of a next-of-kin." Maddie said.
"Good. Just take a deep breath too. You don't want to frighten his daughters." Officer Lynn warned.
"No, no. I don't." Maddie said.
"Here, write your information down? I'll be at the hospital when you get there." Officer Lynn said as she handed her a small pad of paper. Maddie wrote her name and phone number down before parting ways. She walked to Mike's truck and called her mom to let her know to have Hannah ready. Maddie couldn't imagine how traumatizing it would be for the young girl, but she needed to be at the hospital. Maddie's next call was to Russ Jeter; who would meet her at the hospital. As luck would have it, he was Mike's next of kin.
Maddie could tell it bothered Hannah to be out of the house, and as much as she was scared of Mike, she did love him. Teresa had opted to stay home with Molly, thinking it wasn't the proper place for a teething and fussy baby. Russ met her as soon as she and Hannah walked in and led them to the surgical waiting room.
"From what I can find out, he made it to the hospital and is currently in surgery. I don't know a lot else though." Russ admitted. Maddie kept her arm around Hannah and rubbed her arm, knowing it was particularly stressful for her. And having her there gave Maddie something to focus on.
Hours and hours went by. Russ was a complete rock for them, reassuring Hannah that she was safe and keeping Maddie calm. Getting them food and things to drink. Driving the front nurse's station crazy asking for updates. Maddie called her boss to let her know what had happened, and she would begin working with the police to get surveillance footage and the records as to what happened during the human resources meeting. Finally, the surgeon came out to talk to them. Maddie had to wake Hannah up and calm her a bit before he began talking.
"First of all, my name is Dr. Alex Davis, and Admiral Slattery did survive. It was a bit touch and go, and he's already had to have a transfusion, but he is okay. Of course, recovery from this is going to be fairly rough due to how soon it was after his last incidence. His left lung did collapse and one of the wounds was dangerously close to his heart, but he has woken up and is in good spirits. He might have already fallen back to sleep and will probably be sleeping a lot, but I am hopeful." The surgeon explained.
"Can we see him?" Russ asked.
"Yes, but I don't want him to get too upset or excited. Someone can stay with him tonight too, but he has a long road ahead of him so rest up while you can." Dr. Davis answered. He stood up and led them to a hospital room, across from the nurse's station. Mike came into view, looking very pale and asleep on the hospital bed.
"Thank you." Russ said simply. He gestured for Maddie and Hannah to go in, all while standing back, giving them some time with Mike. His eyes opened, but Maddie could tell he was exhausted. He focused on Hannah and smiled.
"You're here." Mike said. Maddie nodded at Hannah to let her know it was okay. Hannah grasped Mike's hand and smiled back at him. It was the first time she had touched any of them but Molly.
"I am." Hannah said simply.
"Hannah; why don't you and I step out for a second so Maddie and your dad can have a moment?" Russ suggested.
"You'll be okay with Russ. I trust him." Mike told her. Hannah shocked them all by leaning forward and kissing Mike's cheek. She followed Russ out before any of them could say anything else.
"I am so sorry. This should have never happened." Maddie said.
"It isn't your fault. When…I'm not so tired, I want to know what led to this, but this isn't your fault. Another thing…I remember what you said before I passed out. I…am not good at loving anyone, but I do love you too." Mike said. Maddie was surprised but bent forward and gave him a kiss on the lips. "Now, go home. Get some rest. I'll be okay; I promise." Mike said.
"You sure?" Maddie asked, knowing not to argue.
"I am. You and the girls can come by tomorrow. Your mom too. We all need rest." Mike said.
"Okay." Maddie agreed. It was not what she wanted, but maybe he was right. She was exhausted.
"And to make you feel better; Russ can stay. I just don't want to overwhelm Hannah by making her stay." Mike told her.
"Understood." Maddie answered before giving Mike another kiss. She really hated leaving him.
"I'll be alright." Mike said. He was getting sleepy again.
"I love you." Maddie told him.
"I love you too." Mike said. Maddie squeezed his hand and smiled at him before leaving him alone. Hannah went back in for a moment and then rejoined Maddie and Russ. He promised to call if anything happened but ordered Maddie to get some rest. Leaving the hospital was unbelievably hard for both Maddie and Hannah.
