Chapter 262

Lindsey stared at the screen with tears running down her cheeks, clouding her vision. She had just watched the love of her life say goodbye and it felt as if somebody had ripped her insides out. She struggled to catch her breath as her diaphragm contracted with sobs. Cam sat down next to her.

"I'm sorry… I didn't know that was on there… I shouldn't have given…. It's okay… she'll be okay. Just breathe" said Cam uncertain of what to do.

"She must have been so scared… god… she looks terrible" Lindsey cried.

Cam put her arm around Lindsey.

"She'll be okay. Just keep believing"

"Looks as if she stopped believing there for a while"

"She was being realistic. She never gave up fighting, else she wouldn't be here right now"

Lindsey started sobbing again hysterically, her shoulders shaking up and down with emotion. All Cam could do was try and comfort her.

Half an hour later the door finally swung open and three doctors entered wearing surgical gowns and caps.

Lindsey wanted to jump up but she felt frozen.

"I'll give you some privacy" said Cam and got up.

"No… stay please" said Lindsey, thankful to have a friend with her, although she only knew this friend a couple of hours.

"Sure" Cam said softly and sat back down.

"Lindsey" Sax said and sat down next to her while untying her mask behind her neck.

Lindsey didn't say anything, she just breathed faster looking shaken up.

"She came through surgery fine" Sax said but she wasn't smiling.

"What's wrong?" said Lindsey fighting back tears.

"Nothing's wrong. She gave us a few grey hairs in there but she's okay. They managed to reduce the shoulder. They aligned the two breaks in the bones in the forearm and used screws to hold them together. The nerves seem to be in tact but she will require extensive physical therapy going forward. The plastic surgeon had a look at her hands and they seem to be holding up okay, we're hoping to avoid any tissue loss. Her knee had a nasty ligament tear which they fixed. Her ankle is just badly sprained. Her temperature is still below normal but it's exactly where we want it right now. We'll be keeping it there for the next 12 to 24 hours" said Sax.

"But… won't she be really cold… and uncomfortable?" said Lindsey.

"No Lindsey, she's under deep sedation. She's not feeling anything, I promise. Our main concern remains her heart and lungs. Her heart held up reasonably well during surgery. Had a couple of runs of arrhythmia but we got her back to normal pretty fast. Her lungs are bruised though on top of the issues she already has. We're ventilating her and removing fluid from the lungs often. We've got her on some mega antibiotics to avoid pneumonia and we're giving her diuretics to get rid of some of that fluid build-up. Part of that build-up is due to the fact that her heart is just not beating very strongly right now but we're supporting her with some inotropes and vasopressors"

"Slow down please… what's helping her heart?" said Lindsey looking confused.

"Some medicine that is helping her heart contract stronger. It's also keeping her blood pressure stable and her lungs open"

"I don't understand any of that…. Will she be okay?" is all Lindsey could ask, her voice restrained.

"Right now… it's still touch and go but we're positive" said Sax.

Lindsey just nodded and closed her eyes, Sax took her hand and squeezed it.

"That's one tough cookie you have there" she smiled.

"You can say that again" Lindsey laughed half-heartedly.

"She's in post op now but we'll be moving her to the ICU in the next twenty minutes or so. You can see her if you want"

"Yes, please" said Lindsey.

"Dr Rhames here will take you to her while I go speak to Sonia and Alex"

"Okay… thank you so much, all of you" said Lindsey.

Lindsey got up and turned to Cam.

"Thank you so much for being here with me. I don't think you realise how much I appreciate it" said Lindsey.

"Sure… I'm around if you need anything. Good luck" Cam smiled.

A few minutes later, Lindsey walked up to Tegan's bed and felt as if she wanted to feint, vomit, or both.

Tegan's entire arm was in a cast. She could finally see a bit more of her. She wasn't wearing a hospital gown but was simply covered up to her breasts with a sheet. Her shoulder was one massive, angry bruise. She had scratches on her arms and face. A central line went into her chest under her other collar bone. She was covered with electrodes and tubes.

"You can go closer" said a nurse and smiled.

"Hi sweetheart… Tegan… its Lindsey… I'm right here baby. I love you… I love you so much. You're going to be fine… they fixed you. You just focus on getting better now. I'm here…. I'm here… I'm here. You're going to be fine…. I love you" Lindsey just kept repeating over and over.

Five minutes later Sonia came into the room and walked up to Tegan.

"Hey my sweet girl… the docs said you did well in surgery. I'm so proud of you. You hang in there okay… You're going to get through this like you always do. You're so brave and strong. Mommy loves you to the moon and back" said Sonia through her tears. She looked up at Lindsey.

"How are you holding up Linds?"

"I'm freaking out… but I'm okay… as long as Tee's okay"

"She's going to get through this. I know she will" said Sonia trying to convince herself.

Sonia softly kissed Tegan on the forehead.

-0-

"Cam? What are you still doing here?" asked a nurse.

"I don't know" said Cam looking a bit bewildered.

"You need to get some rest. Go home"

"Yeah… I guess" said Cam but stayed put.

"Go Cam… I'll try and send you updates"

"Might as well go straight to the station and get a couple of hours sleep there. Next shift starts in 4 hours" said Cam and left the hospital reluctantly.

-0-

"She's stable so we're going to move her to the ICU now" said Sax half an hour later.

"Okay, thank you" said Lindsey looking pale.

"Why don't you go get something to eat" said Sax.

"I'm okay, I had something earlier. I'd prefer to stay with her right now" said Lindsey.

"Alright, I'll ask the nurse to set up a cot or recliner for you so you can get some sleep. You look exhausted"

"I'm okay"

"You need to take care of yourself Linds… Tegan needs you" said Sax.

Lindsey didn't answer, she simply stared out in front of her and tried to blink away tears.

A/N: I'm loving all these debates and opinions in the reviews page. Keep 'em coming. I'm not going to give away what's going to happen but I'll carefully consider all your opinions.