They loaded Mackenzie into the back of the van and surrounded her by blankets to keep the ride as comfortable as possible. Jax jumped in the driver's seat as Chibs rode in the back with Mackenzie, taking her pulse and checking her breathing frequently.
Jax broke every speed limit from Teller Morrow to St. Thomas' emergency room. With every turn and bump that Jax took, he looked back at Mackenzie and Chibs.
"Jax she's gonna be okay." Juice said from the passenger seat. His eyes hadn't left Mackenzie unless he turned to look at Jax for a minute. Jax didn't respond. He yanked the van to the right and parked in the ambulance-unloading zone. After honking the horn several times, he jumped out and headed to the back of the van.
Chibs and Jax were already carrying Mackenzie in the double doors when a nurse came out yelling that they couldn't park the van there. Juice intercepted the nurse after seeing Jax's murderous glare. A doctor rushed over with a gurney and helped them lay her on it.
"What happened?" The doctor asked as he rushed the gurney back to an examination room. Chibs gave the doctor a run down of what they knew as the doctor cut Mackenzie's shirt off. The purple bruising had grown in size on the drive over. Two nurses rushed in and assisted the doctor intubate Mackenzie.
"We've got it from here. You two need to go to the waiting room. We may have questions later." A blonde doctor said as she pushed past Jax to assist with Mackenzie.
"I'm not leaving her." Jax said simply through clenched teeth. The blonde doctor looked at him as she pushed a needle into Mackenzie's hand to start an IV.
"You leave and go to the waiting room or we call the police and you can answer their questions as to why this poor girl has the shit beaten out of her." She spat at Jax. He lunged forward at her accusation, but Chibs was too fast and caught him by the arm.
"Jacky boy, ya aren't helpin her by fightin the good doctor. Tha's nothing else we can do." Chibs said, trying to calm Jax down. It seemed to work, because he turned on his heel and stormed out of the room. "Sorry." He said flatly as he turned to follow Jax.
Jax had made it to the waiting room and sat down in a chair at the back of the room. He looked calm, sitting with his elbows on his knees and resting his forehead in his hands. Chibs knew this was a sign that Jax was at his most dangerous level. Juice sat across from Jax, looking over at Chibs with a worried expression as he sat down next to Jax. Without looking up, Jax spoke quietly.
"I want that bastard found. I want him alive and bound at the warehouse." Jax's words sent Chibs into motion.
"Aye, I'll call Hap. Juice, call Clay and update him. Then call Unser and get eyes on tha' suv." Chibs said as he pulled out his phone and started making calls. Jax didn't move or speak. Juice pulled the phone away from his ear as Clay yelled on the other end. He answered a few short yeses and no's after explaining what was going on and then hung up.
"What?" Jax asked, still not looking up. Juice stopped dialing Unser and looked at Chibs.
"Uh, well Clay said that he'll send Hap and Opie back, but the others have got to go to the meet with the Irish." Juice said quietly, glancing around to make sure no one could overhear. Jax's only response was a short grunt.
"Teller?" called the blonde doctor that had kicked him out of the ER. Jax stood up quickly, followed closely by Chibs and Juice. She looked at them all and sighed. "Follow me to my office please."
"I'm not legally supposed to tell you anything." She said, looking straight at Jax. His expression was that of stone. "We're still going to have questions as to how this happened, but I don't feel safe keeping you in the dark." She took a deep breath and walked over to a set of x-rays on the wall and pointed at the right side.
"Mackenzie has what's called a flail chest, it means she's got multiple fractures on three of her ribs. That alone is bad enough, but she also has a pneumothorax and internal bleeding resulting from trauma." She looked back at Jax with a bleak expression. He stood up and raked a hand through his hair.
"Are you going to translate that?" Juice asked, staring at the x-rays. Jax looked back at the doctor.
"When her ribs broke further, because there were semi-healed fractures as well, due to the flail chest, her lungs and thorax can't expand normally, making it hard for her to breath. This is even worse because a piece broke off and punctured her lung, causing it to collapse." She took a breath and sat down at her desk. "If that wasn't enough, she's bleeding internally because of the force behind whatever she hit, or" she looked at Jax, "whatever hit her."
"Aye and when can he see her?" Chibs asked with a tinge or worry. The doctor looked down at her hands.
"She's still in surgery to stop the bleeding and set her ribs to fix the flailing. It will be an hour or so before she's out. Before you can see her, the police are going to ask you a few questions." She looked at Jax apologetically. "I'm sorry. It's standard for these types of injuries."
"I'll be in the chapel. They can ask whatever they want and then I'll be in to see her." Jax said as he walked out of the office. Chibs grabbed Juice by the arm as he started to follow him.
"He needs some time." Chibs said as he guided Juice out towards the waiting room.
Jax took a seat at the back of the chapel and stared at the cross. He had never really been religious, but the solitude of the chapel appealed to him. When Abel had been in the hospital as a baby, Jax had spent a lot of time in the chapel thinking and even trying out praying from time to time. He heard the door to the chapel open and then shut quietly as Sheriff Unser sat down beside Jax.
"Jax." He said with a short nod. Jax looked from the cross to the balding, cancer-riddled sheriff and shook his head. "Son, you've got to tell me how she ended up like that."
"We were out on a ride." He said vaguely. "I got a call from Jessie. She said we needed to get back to the club because some guy came in and started throwing Mackenzie around. We turned back and when we got there Mackenzie was cleaning the fucking clubhouse from where, uh, that psycho threw her against shit. I went to hug her and she cried. I raised her shirt up and saw that shit. She passed out and we brought her here." Jax's face hardened as he relived the ordeal. He could only imagine what it was like for Mackenzie. Unser finished making his notes and clapped a hand on Jax's leather covered back.
"Jax, who's the guy that did this?" Unser asked with a concerned expression. Jax simply looked at him and shrugged. Unser swallowed and spoke cautiously, "Where is he?"
"We're working on that." Jax said as he stood up. "Tell the doc I'm clear to see her." He adjusted his kutte and walked past Unser and out of the chapel.
A nurse met Jax in the waiting room and offered to take him back to see her. Chibs and Juice followed him back and waited outside the door as he went in to see Mackenzie.
Jax felt like someone stabbed him in the gut with his ka-bar. Mackenzie was lying unconscious in the hospital bed with a tube running down her throat. There were iv's and wires everywhere. He sat down next to her and gently took her hand. She seemed so fragile to him as she lay motionless.
"I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have left you there without any of us there. I should have stayed with you." He said sincerely. "We're gonna make sure this never happens to you again." He kissed her hand and stood up slowly. He grimaced again and walked out into the hall. Chibs looked up and frowned as he talked to Happy on the phone. He ended the call and pulled Jax into a hug.
"Jacky-boy she's gonna be alright." Chibs said in a whisper. Jax nodded and pulled away with a deep breath. He looked at Juice.
"Stay here. No one but nurses and doctors are to go in there. If it's someone new, you stop them until they're verified with hospital staff you know. If she wakes up, you call me." Jax said looking at Juice intently. Juice nodded.
"When she wakes up, I'll call you." Juice said with an emphasis on when. Jax smiled weakly before turning and walking down the hall. He and Chibs climbed in the van and rode back to Teller Morrow in silence.
Chibs pulled into the lot and Jax jumped out before the van was fully stopped. He stormed into the clubhouse and marched straight to their "chapel." Happy looked on as he pulled a set of brass knuckles and a baton. Chibs was right behind him, grabbing his custom Kevlar vest and putting it on under his leather jacket. He made sure that both knives were in the specialized holster and zipped up his jacket. Happy raised his eyebrows as both Chibs and Jax walked out and closed the door to the chapel behind them.
"Am I bringing guns to a knife fight?" He asked raising his shirt to expose two pistol grips protruding from underneath his waistband. Jax shrugged and smiled darkly.
"I'm sure we can find a non-lethal use for those, Hap." He clapped Happy on the shoulder as he walked out to his motorcycle.
"That sounds mildly fun." Happy muttered, following Chibs outside. "Hey, do we know where this guy is yet?" He asked, strapping on his helmet and cranking his bike. He and Chibs looked over at Jax who nodded and rode out of the lot. Chibs and Happy exchanged looks before following Jax, struggling to catch up.
Hold on tight because Jax is out for blood. Mackenzie is fighting her own battle in the hospital, so there's going to be a lot going on next chapter as well. REVIEWS are like candy to me so please keep them coming :)