Chapter 19
They boarded the charter and immediately Eliot insisted on looking Nate over despite his protests. Sophie kissed him lightly and told him to let Eliot do what Eliot did and that they would have time to talk and catch up afterwards, that none of them were going anywhere. He smiled at her and then nodded.
Both him and Eliot moved off to the back of the plane where he had set up the medical equipment he needed and pulled the curtains giving them some privacy.
"Tell me." Eliot said as he sat down beside the Mastermind.
"I took a bullet in the shoulder, graze on the arm and one to the side. Novich roughed me up a bit and I took a tumble from a speeding car." Nate stated smiling weakly at the man. "Georgi did what he could, the one in the side was not a through and through, he had to dig the bullet out and I think it may be a little infected."
Eliot nodded and then told him to remove his shirt so that he could have a look. Nate did as he was told and Eliot checked out the injuries, the shoulder wound was healing well and then he peeled the bandage away from his side revealing the bullet wound that still wept some blood and the skin around it was red and inflamed. Eliot worked and Nate grimaced as he did, the whole area was sensitive. Eliot pressed on Nate's stomach causing a sharp intake of breath from the man and brought a frown to Eliot's face. This was more than a little infected he thought to himself and that was not good at all.
"Its infected and I think there may be some internal damage." Eliot said as he set about cleaning up the wound and redressing it. There was nothing else he could do Nate would need to go and see a doctor when they got back to Portland.
"Yeah I thought so." Nate affirmed as Eliot spoke. He knew Georgi had done what he could, but the wound had been serious.
"Ok well that's it for now." Eliot said as he finished dressing the wound, he could do no more.
"Thanks Eliot." Nate said looking at the Hitter. "For everything."
"Nate…"
"Eliot I know that this was…hard and that it must have been hell thinking I was dead, especially for Sophie, so thank you."
Eliot looked at the man and nodded. It had been hell and not only for Sophie. When he had thought Nate had been killed he had been devastated. He had never thought that a man could mean so much to him, but Nate did. He had saved him, helped him, and had become more than just a friend more than family. Back on that first job they had worked together he had felt a need not to let Nate go, after all the years he had spent making sure he had no ties, ensuring he never go attached to anyone or anything, Nate had engendered something in him during that short time that made him want to work with him, to be in a team with him and the other three and he knew they all felt the same way, somehow Nate had made them want to be more than just loners doing what they did, he did not understand it even to this day. Then, even though he hated that Nate was drunk most of the time, that he took risks, some of them bordering on suicidal, he stayed. When they had split up at the end of that first year, he felt almost lost without them. He could not go back to being what he was before and he missed them all, but especially Nate. This man had given him something he had never thought he would ever have, family, friends, a life outside of being a Hitter and a chance to find his way back out of what he had become when he worked with Damien Moreau. When he had thought he was gone he had felt bereft as if he had lost a father.
"Well I am going to go back to my wife and son now, we can deal with this when we land ok?" He said softly breaking into Eliot's thoughts. Eliot smiled at him and nodded.
"So what is the verdict?" Sophie asked not quite able to keep the concern out of her voice as the two men emerged from behind the curtain.
"He needs to see a doctor." Eliot said his eyes meeting hers. "The wound is infected."
"It's ok Sophie, it's just a little infected is all and we can go see to it as soon as we land." Nate said quickly moving to her side and setting her mind at ease. "Ok?"
"Ok." Sophie said softly putting her hand in his as he sat beside her. She looked at Eliot and saw the concern on his face and her stomach tightened.
The rest of the flight was spent with Nate telling them exactly what had happened from the time he had been taken to when they had met up at the airport.
"That was a big risk you took Nate." Eliot said when it came to the actual plan.
"Yes I know but there was nothing else to do. I knew that Juan was there just not where, and I also knew there was no getting him out except going at it head on." Nate agreed. "Anyway it all worked out in the end." He smiled.
Sophie and the others told him about their trip to Moscow and everything that had happened there and Nate could feel the angst when she told him about seeing the car and then what Bronovich had done, which he knew nothing of. Then about Juan's visit when he delivered the letter that Nate had left for her.
"Again guys I am so sorry."
"Again Nate not your fault." She smiled at him squeezing his hand gently.
"I think you should go to the ER at Portland General." Eliot said and he could see rebellion in Nate's eyes.
"I don't think that is necessary Eliot, we can go to the doctor…"
"No Nate I will feel better if we go to the ER." Eliot insisted. The wound was not only infected, but he also had a feeling that there were some internal injuries that a normal doctor was not going to be able to take care of.
"Nate for me." Sophie said softly looking at Eliot and seeing the concern on his face, this might be more serious than the man had let on and that Nate was showing she thought, and her heart cringed.
"Ok." Nate acquest to her smiling.
"Good." Sophie said. "Once they have checked you out we can go home ok?"
Nate nodded and then planted a kiss on her as Hardison started up the van and headed for the hospital. He was worried because he knew Eliot would not insist on a hospital, especially considering Nate's aversion to them unless he thought it was serious. His face darkened at that thought and he looking over at Parker he saw the same look on her face. Was this more serious than they thought he wondered, and if so how serious. It took him only twenty minutes to get to the Hospital and they all piled out of the car and headed into the ER. Nate was immediately taken to one of the trauma rooms and the four of them were left to sit in the waiting room.
An hour later a doctor came out to see them and Sophie could see that this was a little more serious than what they had thought.
"Mrs Ford?" The doctor asked as he approached the group.
"Yes how is my husband?"
"The wound in his side is badly infected, we have done an x-ray and it appears that there is still a part of the bullet that is lodged in his side, we are going to have to operate to remove it and clean out the wound." The doctor told her. "He has asked to see you all before we take him into surgery."
Sophie did not say anything just nodded and then followed the doctor into the ER and to Nate's bed.
"Nate…"
"It's ok Sophie." He said taking her hand and squeezing it. "Really nothing to worry about ok."
"Ok." Sophie smiled at him.
"So I will see you in a bit ok?" Nate said softly pulling her into a kiss and then kissing Michael's head.
"I love you Nate." She whispered.
"I know." He smiled back at her.
"We are going to take you down now Mr Ford." The doctor said as he approached the bed. "Don't worry Mrs Ford it is a simple procedure and he should be back in his room in an hour or so, I will have my nurse take you to the room we will be moving him too afterwards, he will have to stay in the hospital for a day or two." The doctor told her, and Sophie nodded as she listened.
Nate looked up at Eliot and their eyes met. Eliot read the message in it, Nate was trusting him to take care of his wife and son once again. Then he smiled at all of them and told them he would see them in a little while and then they could all go home. Parker walked up to his bed and looked down at him and he could see the pout that told him she was worried, he smiled at her and squeezed her hand that she had put in his. Hardison smiled weakly at him and nodded and then he was wheeled away through the doors to the operating rooms.
A nurse came up to them and told them to follow her to the room that had been allocated to Nate and to where he would be taken after the operation. Sophie took a seat and Hardison and Parker offered to go and get them some coffee then disappeared leaving Eliot and her alone in the room.
"It's going to be fine right Eliot." Sophie asked looking at the Hitter.
"All operations are a risk Sophie, but I don't think there is any real danger in this one, it should be simple, go in, clean it out and that is it." He said softly.
"Ok." Sophie said smiling at him. "Well Michael needs his bottle."
"I'll get it." Eliot said and took the bottle out of the bag before walking out the room to get the bottle heated for her.
Two hours later and Nate had still not made and appearance and nor had the doctor and Sophie was starting to get worried. Eliot paced, Hardison played on his computer though not really concentrating and Parker sat with Sophie playing with the baby, Sophie could see the growing concern on all their faces which she was sure mirrored hers.
"I'm going to find out what is going on." Parker said as they approached three hours of waiting.
She returned a few minutes later and shook her head at Sophie's questioning look. Nobody could tell her anything except that Nate was still in surgery and the doctor would be out to let them know what was happening as soon as he could.
"It should not be taking this long Eliot." Sophie said.
"Sophie I don't think anything is wrong, maybe…"
"Maybe what Eliot? It's been three hours." Sophie said interrupting him.
"I know." Eliot said and she could hear the frustration as well as the concern in his voice.
Finally another hour later the doctor made his appearance walking into the room and being met with four very anxious people.
"Mrs Ford. I am afraid we encountered a problem during the operation." He said softly. "Perhaps you should take a seat."
"Just tell me where my husband is and what happened." Sophie told him.
"Very well. We cleaned and excised the wound, however Mr Ford started to bleed excessively which led us to discover another secondary wound, a second bullet that had entered at almost the same site and due to the inflammation and infection went undetected, the x-ray had not picked up shrapnel from the first wound but the splintered bullet from the second one. Now we removed the bullet which had segmented and cleaned out the wound tract however Mr Ford went into cardiac arrest..."
"Oh my God." Sophie said thinking the doctor was going to tell her Nate was dead. Eliot moved to her side and placed his hands on her shoulders.
"Mrs Ford we did manage to bring him back, but he is in ICU now and we have not been able to wake him from the anaesthetic. Unfortunately he was without proper treatment for a while and he had a large amount of blood loss at the time of the injuries along with the undetected bullet which remained in his body and caused a serious infection, this along with the lack of treatment has caused his body to go into septic shock."
"What is the bottom line here doctor?" Sophie asked her voice devoid of emotion, she was at her limit now and the only way to deal with all of it was to switch off her emotions and to become the Grifter she was not allowing emotions to overwhelm her.
"Mrs Ford, your husband is currently in a precarious position, but we are doing everything we can to ensure he makes it through. It is now largely up to him though. His body needs to fight the infection that has set in and there is not much more we can do except to monitor him closely and keep up the regime of antibiotics. He will remain in ICU for at least the next 48 hours and then we can reassess the situation."
"Can I see him?"
"Yes, my nurse will show you."
"Thank you." Sophie said softly, at least she could see him, be with him.
The nurse led them down to the ICU that Nate was being kept in and Sophie handed her son to Parker before entering the room leaving the other three to stand and watch through the glass window into the room.
Sophie entered and walked up to Nate's bed. She looked down and him and then took his hand in hers.
"Dammit Nate I can't take any more you hear me." She said. "Nor can they." She continued then leaned in and kissed him gently. She stood there for another couple of minutes before the nurse told her she would have to leave. She nodded and then leaned in and kissed him again. "We are just outside Nate and we all need you, so please just wake up and come back to us ok. Fight Nate, the doctor said you need to fight this infection and I know you can…I trust you Nate to keep your promise and come back to me you hear." She whispered. "Your son needs you I need you and they need you. I love you Nate and I…I can't do this please Nate." She said.
"Mrs Ford."
"Yes…yes sorry." Sophie said as the nurse called her name again.
She walked out the room and joined the rest of her family taking her son back from Parker. Then she walked over to the comfortable chairs situated in a corner where families could wait and took a seat.