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Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from White Collar. None what so ever, no likeness, nothing.. Sadly.. That right belongs to the shows amazing creator Jeff Eastin! But I do own my OC's.
Authors Note: Okay, So 1st off… I don't know any doctor terminology, so If I'm wrong I'm sorry! And I finished writing this last night, so I'm going to be posting the rest of the chapters this week. I'll probably be mean, and only do one a day, or ever other day, especially since this week is going to be a little hectic. There is 15 chapters total so 5 more after this! Enjoy everyone!
Chapter 10: There is no IF
Peter sat in the passengers seat of Diana's car as it raced to the hospital. He sighed, every time he closed his eyes, he saw Neal flat-lining. He rubbed his eyes, trying to get the image out of his head. "He's going to be fine, he's Neal." He kept telling himself. "Of course, he's not fine now." He thought, glancing upward. He heard the sirens in the distance. "At least he's still alive, they wouldn't be using sirens if he wasn't."
"He'll be okay Boss." Diana said, glancing over at Peter. Peter looked at her and nodded. Diana knew how worried Peter was for the ex-con, she was worried too. She hadn't really known Neal all that well, until the night that they stayed at the hotel. They had bonded, definitely not in the way Neal had wanted them to, but bonded nonetheless.
They quickly pulled into the hospital's parking lot, not seeing the ambulance Neal was in. They found a parking spot and got out, heading into the hospital. Once they were inside they went up to the reception desk, the receptionist being on the phone. She glanced up at them.
"One second please." She said, and continued talking on the phone. Peter looked at her, wanting to tell her to get the hell off of the phone, but decided against it. After about three minutes she hung up and looked at them.
" Hi, I'm Amy. What can I do for you?" She asked, smiling up at them.
"I'm Special Agent Peter Burke, and we're here to see Neal Caffrey. He was just brought in." Peter said, holding out his badge to her. Amy looked at his badge and began typing on her computer.
"Mr. Caffrey is in surgery right now Agent Burke. You and-" She cut off looking at Diana.
"Agent Diana Barragian." Diana said, holding out her badge.
"Agent Barragian can wait over there," She said pointing towards the waiting area. "And once Mr. Caffrey's doctor comes out, I'll send him over to you." They nodded, and headed towards the uncomfortable looking white chairs. Peter turned around, walking back over to Amy.
"Is there anything you can tell me about his condition?" Amy sighed.
"All I know is that Mr. Caffrey had lost a lot of blood and had a gunshot wound to the abdomen. His doctor will be able to tell you more, I'm sorry." Peter took a deep breath and nodded.
"Thanks." He said and walked over to Diana, who was already sitting down.
"Anything?" She asked as Peter sat down next to her. He shook his head.
"No. Nothing that we didn't already know." Peter sighed, running his hand through his hair.
"You should call El and Mozzie, let them know what's going on. I'm sure they're worried sick." Peter nodded and grabbed his cell out of his pocket. He took a deep breath and dialed home.
"Peter? Did you get him?" Elizabeth asked, immediately answering the phone.
"We got him El." He answered and heard her let out a breath.
"Good. How's he doing?"
"Not good El. We're at the hospital right now, he's in surgery."
"I'll be right there." She said, and Peter could hear her moving.
"El-"
"No Peter, I'm coming and you can't change my mind. You and Neal need me." Peter smiled, knowing that he did need her, and how much he loved her stubbornness.
"Okay, see you in a few." He said, and hung up.
Four hours later….
Elizabeth showed up, not even a half an hour after Peter called. She quickly ran into her husband's arms and hugged him, knowing that he really need comforting, they both did. They sat and waited, and waited. Every time a doctor came out of the ER, they all looked at them, watching as they went to different people.
They were all sitting down, quietly talking, when a tall male doctor dressed in scrubs came over to them.
"Neal Caffrey?" He asked, and they all quickly stood.
"How is he?" Elizabeth asked, beating Peter to the question.
"Mr. Caffrey is stable," Elizabeth let out a breath of relief. "but, he isn't out of the woods yet. He's suffered a lot of physical trauma. It looked as if he was beaten in the face and the chest area, and tased quite a few times. He has a mildly severe concussion, four broken ribs, three on the right side, one on the left. There are a few lacerations on his face from the beatings as well." He explained, trying to not look at everyone as they listened to his words. " The bullet nicked his right lung, which caused him to lose a lot of blood. We also noticed that the area around the bullet wound was heavily beaten as well, which caused his lung to collapse. He, as I'm sure you're aware of, flat-lined in the ambulance, luckily we got him back, and didn't have it happen again, so there is little chance of brain damage." Elizabeth gasped.
"Brain damage?" Peter asked, not being able to comprehend Neal having brain damage.
"Yes. The oxygen to his brain was cut off, but it wasn't for too long, so he shouldn't have any, but it is possible." The doctor replied.
"Now, we've done surgery to repair Mr. Caffrey's lung, and we got it quick enough that it should be fine. We put him on a respirator to help him breathe, until it heals more. We've taped up his ribs and put a few stitches in the laceration on the back of his head. Right now, he's Critical Care. We will know more about his condition when he wakes up, if he wakes up." He said, warily.
"What do you mean, if?" Peter asked, anger in his voice. There was no way Neal wasn't waking up, no way in hell.
"Well, with all the trauma Mr. Caffrey has suffered, he might not want to wake up."
"Oh he'll wake up Doc, trust me, my husband won't give him any other option." Elizabeth said, looking at Peter. The doctor looked at Peter, seeing the fire blazing in his eyes, and nodded.
"Well you can go and see him if you'd like, but if for any reason we need you out, you have to leave, no protesting." They all nodded. "All right, he's in Room 215. I'll be in later on to check on him." He said, and walked away.
Peter looked at Diana and Elizabeth. "Let's go see our boy." Diana said, smiling.