All Roads Lead Home

Chapter 8

Mike knew he had made a huge mistake. Christine had deserved better and he had raised her hopes. It wasn't that he didn't want to be with her and he certainly didn't regret having sex with her. With her, he felt adequate. With Breanna, he felt too old. He wasn't up for nightclubs and dancing. He wanted quiet nights at home and family dinners, not expensive dinners. Breanna, at twenty-nine was not close to settling down. Mike had already called his attorney to stall the divorce. Now, he just had to figure out how to break it off with Breanna. He was just glad his box of Lucas's things were safe. He had also packed some important papers and pictures in the box so Breanna couldn't do anything to his belongings. Clothes could be replaced, but priceless pictures and mementos couldn't be.

The Friday before Hannah's birthday, Mike had settled down in front of the TV to watch some stupid movie. He had thought about spending the evening with his daughters, but he was afraid it would be uncomfortable with Christine due to their last encounter. He still hadn't really talked to her, other than confirming that he would be at her house the next day and was planning on taking Hannah out for lunch and that had all been done by text. He was looking forward to the day spent with his daughters and even Christine, but suddenly he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head and everything went black. Breanna had already left to go skiing.

When he woke up again, it was daylight and there was blood everywhere. His blood, but he couldn't find his phone. Mike was in complete confusion as to what happened. Someone had broken in and come up behind him, taking him by surprise. He tried to crawl to the hallway to alert his neighbor, but halfway there, fell unconscious again. Throughout the day, he was in and out of consciousness. He would crawl a few feet and would pass out. He could only hope his neighbor would hear him.

A few blocks away, Christine was beyond livid and Hannah was in tears. Mike had missed his lunch with her, and had missed dinner, without so much as a call. To try and calm her, Christine showed her the new room, but Hannah sunk onto the new bed and began crying. Katie tried to help, but finally; handed Christine a key.

"What's this?" Christine asked.

"A key to Dad's apartment. He gave it to me last week. I tried calling him but he didn't answer…Mom, I think something is wrong. I know Dad has broken a lot of promises lately, but he was really looking forward to spending the day with Hannah and to her dinner. He wouldn't miss this without a good reason. I would go but I am scared of what I might find." Katie admitted.

"What do you mean?" Christine questioned.

"I…don't trust Breanna and I don't know why. But could you go check on Dad? I would feel better. I'll stay with Hannah." Katie begged.

"Sure." Christine answered. She grabbed her own purse, keys and cellphone. In a way, she hoped Mike wasn't at his apartment, but as soon as she pulled into the parking lot, she knew his truck was there. She was feeling nervous and knew something was off, especially when she started to unlock his apartment door and found it unlocked. That wasn't like Mike at all, and as soon as she inched the door open, she could smell the strong, metallic smell of blood. Something was blocking the door from opening completely and she quickly realized it was a body. She was finally able to move the body enough to get inside the apartment, and quickly realized it was Mike.

He was barely breathing and his pulse was extremely faint. Christine ran to a bathroom and grabbed two designer towels to try and control the bleeding. Judging by the blood stains in the living room and on the tile leading to the door, Mike had been trying to get help, but passed out before he could. She called 9-1-1 and explained the injuries, while cutting Mike's shirt off. She counted at least five stab wounds and a gunshot wound all across his chest and stomach, and the back of his head had been bashed in. She could hear sirens in the distance and knew the place had been ransacked, but she was concentrating on Mike.

"C'mon; Mike. You are not going to die on Hannah's birthday. What would that do to her? C'mon." Christine begged. She opened Mike's airway but knew without help, Mike didn't have long. He was choking on his own blood. His eyes fluttered open and he looked disoriented.

"You're here…" Mike muttered all while choking up blood.

"I am. Katie wanted me to check on you. What happened?" Christine asked.

"Not…sure. I think…Breanna gave them her key though…they got in somehow but I heard her voice." Mike explained just as a police officer appeared. He nodded at Christine.

"I'm Sergeant Brian Jones. Who is Breanna?" The officer asked. Mike had lapsed into unconsciousness again.

"Sir, I am Christine Slattery and this is my husband…Mike…we are actually in the process of getting a divorce, and Breanna is Mike's live-in girlfriend. When Mike didn't show up for our daughter's birthday dinner…we got worried and my older daughter was nervous about what she would find, so she sent me and I found Mike like this." Christine explained.

"That sounds rather suspicious to me." Sergeant Jones remarked.

"It…wasn't her…or my daughters…it was Breanna…and two men…don't know who." Mike said.

"Okay. What's her last name?" Sergeant Jones asked.

"Snow…Snow." Mike answered. Christine had somehow gotten his head onto her lap.

"Snow is her last name?" Sergeant Jones asked and Christine nodded in response. Mike was fading fast and thankfully the paramedics walked through the door just then. Christine gave them a report and they quickly had Mike loaded and ready to go. Thankfully, when Christine called Katie; she stayed calm and agreed to meet at the hospital. Christine knew that she was a prime suspect, but she didn't care. All she cared about was Mike. Sergeant Jones allowed her to follow the ambulance to the hospital and as soon as the girls got there, they waited. Mike had been rushed into emergency surgery.

Hannah was particularly upset, and cried most of the entire time. Christine was glad that she had taken the time to change into one of Mike's t-shirts before going to the hospital so neither of the girls saw the blood or brain matter on her. Christine hung onto Hannah for dear life and prayed that Mike survived, and if he had to die; would live long enough to not die on Hannah's birthday. Finally, an exhausted looking surgeon appeared at the door and gestured at Christine. Katie took a hold of Hannah and Christine followed the surgeon into a conference room.

"My name is Tamara Alexander, and I am a cardio-thorasic surgeon. I operated on your husband today. First of all, he somehow survived the surgery. I am not even certain how. He lost a massive amount of blood. His descending aorta was knicked, spleen ruptured, lungs are both punctured and had to be re-inflated. He was also beaten and there are multiple broken ribs. Bruised kidney, broken wrist. The bullet did a fair amount of damage on his shoulder and collarbone. The orthopedic surgeon worked on those but there might be further issues later." Dr. Alexander listed off.

"His head…there was brain matter?" Christine asked.

"Skull fracture. It looked like he had been hit in the back of the head by some sort of heavy implement. There was brain matter but he is already doing well. We will watch for swelling where that is concerned. Neurosurgeon will be keeping an eye. All in all…he is unbelievable lucky. The reason I asked for you and not your daughters is I needed to give you fair warning, we left his chest and stomach open in case we have to go back in. The likelihood is pretty great. The next twenty-four hours is absolutely critical, however he is tough and has been awake already. He keeps talking about Hannah's birthday. One of his daughter's?" Dr. Alexander asked.

"Yes, it is her fourteenth birthday. We were only recently reunited and Mike was really looking forward to it. I wish I had gone to the apartment sooner. I would have found him and gotten him help." Christine answered.

"You still saved his life. You and your daughters can visit but he has to remain calm." Dr. Alexander warned.

"Thank you." Christine said before they both stood up.

"Your welcome. He's in Room 424. He looks rough, but he's a tough guy. If you need me to explain anything to your daughters, have the nurse page me." Dr. Alexander offered.

"I appreciate it." Christine said. She and Dr. Alexander shook hands, and separated ways. Christine explained to the girls the extent of Mike's injuries and that he was in pretty rough shape, but as soon as they walked into his hospital room, he gave them a bright smile. Hannah ran to the hospital bed, and started to give him a hug, but hesitated.

"Its okay. I was looking forward to that hug." Mike said. Christine helped her lower the rail and Hannah climbed in next to Mike, gently hugging him from the side. Katie went around to the other side and kissed his cheek.

"So glad you are okay." Christine told Mike. She squeezed his good hand and smiled down at him.

"Hannah, I'm so sorry for missing your birthday. I had plans on spending all day with you." Mike told their youngest daughter.

"Its okay, Daddy. We'll have other birthdays." Hannah said.

"I will make it up to you…Christine…the gift you helped me with it…I think it was stolen." Mike said. Christine could tell it bothered him, but she patted his knee and nodded.

"We will figure something else out if so. She loves her new room, by the way." Christine said with a smile. She leaned over the hospital rail and gave Mike a kiss on the lips, not even caring what he might say. She had nearly lost him and she didn't care. He only smiled in response, but Katie gave her a shocked look. Christine gave her a wink and smiled down at Hannah who just looked confused. She would just leave them both wondering.

Mike fell asleep soon after, and Katie and Hannah went home. As for Christine, she wanted to stay with Mike. Sure the chair was uncomfortable and her bed would have been better, but he would do the same for her, despite their circumstances. The entire night, the only time she let go of Mike's hand was when the nurse came in needing to check something. Mike's vitals improved throughout the night and when he did wake up about six am, he complained of being hungry and thirsty. It was all good signs.