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Left or Right?
Chapter 7 - Reconciliation
The paramedic stood up and began CPR on Mickey's exhausted body, Jack clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms. "Come on Mickey, don't give up now, not after everything you've been through. Come on." He muttered, he could see the hospital approaching through the darkened ambulance windows.
Jack felt Mickey's life inching away with every compression the paramedic performed. "Come on, Mick."
The ambulance pulled into the hospital and stopped outside the emergency department, the paramedic driving jumped out and opened the door to the back of the ambulance. A dozen or so doctors and nurses were already waiting outside the hospital for him.
"This is Mickey Webb, he's thirty two and received a stab wound to the upper right quadrant approximately fifteen minutes ago. He arrested about two minutes ago, GCS was six at scene, now three." They pulled the trolley out of the ambulance as the first paramedic continued performing CPR. Jack followed as the hurried Mickey's lifeless body down to resusc and stopped as they entered through the door. He stood outside, just staring as them as they worked.
After a moment, Smithy appeared at Jack's side. "How is he?" Smithy asked as they watched on in horror.
"His heart stopped in the ambulance." Jack said not taking his eyes off Mickey.
"Shit." Smithy replied.
They stood in silence, just watching, neither man able to voice his fears. Both had watched as countless colleagues had died through violence, though neither could comprehend the idea of Mickey dying.
A nurse came out of resusc.
"You're colleagues of Mr Webb?" She said looking from one to another.
"Yes." The replied simultaneously, nodding.
"We've stabilised him but he needs urgent surgery to repair the damage the knife caused. We need to contact Mr Webb's next of kin. Do either of you have any idea who it might be?"
"His brother. He lives about an hour away. I can get his contact details." Jack said and walked to the entrance of the hospital to contact Sam Nixon.
"Sam, it's Jack."
"How's Mickey?" She asked immediately.
"He's stable for the time being. Can you look in Mickey's file and find the number of his brother, he's listed as Mickey's next of kin, the hospital need to contact him." Jack said quickly.
"Ok. I'm doing it now." Jack could hear Sam clicking a mouse and hitting a few keys on the keyboard.
"I've got it, are you ready to write it down?"
"Just a sec," Jack said as he fished around in his pocket for a pen and piece of paper. "Go on."
"Christopher Webb. 07796343763."
Jack read it back to her and then hung up and went back into the hospital to give the number to the nurse.
"I contacted your colleague's brother." She said when she returned ten minutes later. "His given his permission for us to operate on Mr Webb and he's on his way to the hospital. Mr Webb will go to theatre in about fifteen minutes. Would you like to sit with him until then?"
Jack and Smithy both nodded and she led them into resusc and got chairs for them to sit on. They sat like that, both deep in thought, while nurses and doctors bustled around them for fifteen minutes when the nurse returned to take him to theatre.
A second nurse arrived. "I can take you to wait upstairs near the theatre if you'd like." She said softly. They nodded and followed.
They sat there until an hour later another man was ushered into the room.
"Mr Webb?" Jack said standing up.
"Yeah." The man replied, he looked remarkably like Mickey and was undoubtedly his brother.
"I'm DCI Jack Meadows, Mickey's boss. This is Sergeant Smith."
Chris shook both of their hands and sat down. He couldn't help but think he recognised Jack but couldn't think where from. He certainly recognised the name, Mickey had mentioned the man several times.
Time seemed to pass slowly until four hours later as tired looking man entered the room.
"My name's Mr Harding, I'm the consultant general surgeon and I've been operating on Mr Webb." He began shaking the three men's hands and sitting down.
"Mr Webb made it through surgery. He is still very weak but stable. We discovered massive internal bleeding and trauma to the right kidney and liver. We removed the kidney and but he should be able to live normally with just one, we also had to remove part of the liver and will be testing his liver function later to check that it is performing satisfactorily. He also lost a lot of blood which we have replaced and he arrested twice on the table and had to be resuscitated each time. The next few hours will be critical, he'll shortly be taken to intensive care where he will be kept in a drug induced coma until at least tomorrow before we start to reduce the sedatives."
"What are his chances?" Mickey's brother asked.
"It's too early to say but if he gets through the night then things start to look much more positive."
"Can I see him?" Chris asked.
"As soon as he's been settled in to ICU, I'll have a nurse come and take you to him. You must remember that your brother is seriously ill. He's on a ventilator which is currently breathing for him as he is not strong enough to do it for himself. He is also surrounded by many machine which are monitoring him. I'm sure it will seem very frightening for you but all the equipment is there to help your brother. A nurse will be in to collect you in about five minutes."
"Thank you."
A nurse turned up five minutes later and escorted Chris to Mickey's bedside. Chris was shocked to see the brother who he hadn't seen for so many years lying before him on the bed, looking small and fragile.
Jack watched on through the glass in the door, not wanting to impose but needing to know how Mickey was.
He stayed watching as Chris sat beside Mickey's bed. He could hear him talking to Mickey.
"You haven't half given me a scare, Mickey. When the nurse rang to say you'd been stabbed, I was terrified. As I drove down, I was trying to remember the last time we spoke and then I realised that it wasn't since Mum died. Five years is a long time not to speak to your brother. I don't really know how it happened, didn't notice the time pass and that's when I realised that I really missed you. I tried to ring you a couple of times after Mum died but I guess you were busy, working all hours like usual. I wanted you to come and stay at Christmas, didn't want you to be alone.
The kids are all nagging me about you all the time, Harry's decided he wants to be a policeman, always going on 'bout his uncle Mickey, how he's going to be just like you.
And Lillie's just started school, you should have seen her in her tiny uniform on the first day, confident as anything, didn't even look back. Her and Harry both love school, not like us ay? It was always any excuse for us to skive off, Mum used to do her nut at us. Dad didn't give a stuff though, did he?
You were right about him, that he didn't care 'bout us and Mum, I never saw it at the time but now I look at Harry and Lillie and I know I could never leave them, no matter what, nothin' on Earth would make me walk away from them. The day I leave them will be the day I die.
We were better off wivout him though, you could see that. We should've never had that argument the day you left to join the police, we should've shorted it out straight away. Like Mum used to say 'never go to bed on an argument'. Maybe if we'd sorted it out then we wouldn't've just gone five years wivout seeing each other. You were right of course, what you said.
It shouldn't take something like this to bring us back together. I promise that when you get through all of this, you're going to come and stay wiv me, Sarah and the kids. I'm never gonna let any time pass between us seeing each other again, I promise. If you'd died an' we'd never sorted it out, I'd never've forgiven myself."
Jack walked away not wanting to invade their privacy. He went back to the station but his mind remained on Mickey. He returned later that evening to find Chris still sat by his brothers bed, still talking.
Jack stuck his head round the door when the sound of talking had stopped. "How is he?" He asked.
"No change." Chris replied.
"You were at my Mum's funeral, weren't you?" Chris asked finally realising why Jack looked familiar.
"Yeah." Jack replied coming into the room.
"You were a big support to Mickey that day. I was no help, could hardly cope wiv my own grief let alone Mickey's. I should've been there for him, I had my wife but he had no one."
"You were grieving. Mickey got through it but it was tough for him."
"I tried to call him a few months later, could never get an answer."
"Things were very difficult for him around then."
"How did this happen?" Chris asked nodding at Mickey lying on the bed.
"He was investigating an abduction, a suspect had connections to a warehouse and Mickey and a couple of other officers went to watch the place. Mickey went in to have a look around and the suspect found him. Armed response were called because the suspects had knives and we raided the place but one suspect had him tied up and stabbed him. He was shot by armed response but it was a second too late."
Chris didn't say anything.
"If you want to get a coffee or some fresh air, I'll stay wiv him, I'll come and find you if anything changes."
"Cheers, I could really do wiv a coffee. Thanks."
Jack pulled up another chair and sat down. In the silence, interspersed only by the beep and hiss of the various machines, Jack couldn't stop images of the last few hours flashing through his mind. He could see Mickey lying on the floor, blood drenching his clothing and hear the paramedic saying 'he's arrested' over and over in his head. He shuddered at the memories of his best officer, his friend so desperately injured. And he couldn't stop the nasty voice in his head saying 'he could still die'.
Jack didn't move from his seat when Chris returned and joined him by the bed.
"Mickey really looks up to you." Chris said breaking the near silence. "I can tell from the way used to talk about you, before our Mum died. She always used to say it as well. That you've done more for Mickey than anyone else ever has."
"Mickey's a outstanding detective, and he's a good friend." Jack replied, his voice catching in his throat slightly.
Jack returned each day to find Chris in the same position by his brothers side and the sat together for many hours in companionable silence.
After a week there was still no change and Jack was filling Chris in on the case.
"...Found that the man shot dead did stab Mickey so the case has been closed."
"And the other guys involved?"
"All charged with abduction, false imprisonment and assault, everything has been handed over to the CPS."
Mickey could hear the two familiar voices echoing through the darkness, he recognised the voices but in his confused state couldn't give them names.
As the fog around his mind began to clear, Mickey tried to work out where he was and what had happened. He tried to open his eyes but was assaulted by the level of bright white light in the room and so shut them tightly again and allowed himself to drift back into the fog.
When he next ventured into the land of the light again, the room was silent and much darker. He looked around the room without moving his head and realised that he was in hospital but he had no idea why.
He thought it was dusk, but it could also have been dawn and there was a man sat by his bed, he was leaning on his hand and looking out of the window.
Mickey frowned trying to decide the identity of the man beside him. When he realised who it was, even he couldn't believe that it had taken him a moment to recognise his own brother.
He tried to speak but no sound came out, he swallowed, taking the edge of the pain from his raw throat and tried again. "Chris?" He whispered.
The man turned to look at Mickey with an astounded look on his face. "Hi." He replied. "About time to, lying around in bed for a week, that's just lazy!"
Mickey grinned, although it was difficult as he could now feel a oxygen mask on his face. "Shut up." He paused to take a breath. "What happened?"
"You were stabbed, a week ago at a warehouse."
"Oh yeah." Mickey said remembering the abduction case. "It's good to see you, Chris."
"You too, mate. I'd better tell a nurse that you've woken up."
A nurse and doctor entered a few moments later.
"Hello, Mickey. My names Mr. Harding. Can you tell me where you are?"
"St. Hughs."
"Can you remember what happened to you?"
"I was stabbed."
"When you were brought into us you had lost a lot of blood and your heart had stopped. We stabilised you and took you to theatre where we had to remove your right kidney and part of your liver. We've tested the function of your left kidney and your liver and they seem to be working fine. There could still be complications but we don't think you're going to have any long term effects. Now you just need to rest and we'll have you up and about in no time at all. Are you in any pain?"
"Yeah."
"Ok, we'll increase the dose of painkillers."
As the doctor left the room Mickey could already feel his eye lids getting heavy.
A happier ending this time I think. Don't want to be mean again! Please review.