Hello? Ty heard a male voice answer but couldn't immediately place whose voice it was.
"Who is this?"
Ty, it's Bodie. Where are you?
"At the office. Why are you answering Billy's phone?"
You need to get down here… now.
"Shit Bodie, what happened? What's wrong? Where are you?"
Just get down to St. Mary's ER as soon as possible. Ty's phone went dead and she stared at it for a moment before switching into overdrive. She ran out the front doors to her car and jumped in. She threw the manual transmission into reverse and once she reached the road, she jammed the stick into first, gunning the engine and squealing her tires. She slammed on the gas and quickly shifted to second, third, fourth then finally fifth gear. By the time she reached fifth gear she was flying at 90 miles per hour down a street with a 30mph speed limit. If she noticed at all it was only to realize that she wasn't at St. Mary's yet and press harder on the gas to try to get there faster. She pulled her Mustang into a spot behind the hospital and ran at full tilt through the Emergency Room doors. Scanning briefly over the faces in the waiting room her gaze landed almost immediately on Spink. She walked over to him and was surprised when he reached out to her, pulling her into a hug and holding her to him.
"Spink, what the fuck is going on?" she demanded, pulling back from the hug just enough to look him in the eyes.
"It's Billy and Joe…they…they got shot."
"Shit. Are they going to be alright? Where are they?" She sat down hard on the chair next to her as her legs gave out from the shock.
"They're both in surgery right now. They took them back about a half-hour ago but we haven't heard anything since." Spink said, sitting down next to her and wrapping an arm protectively around her shoulders. She leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder. She gulped several times to swallow the lump in her throat that threatened to choke her. He CAN'T leave me. He hasn't even met Will yet, not really. He has to be alright! Shit. Joe can't leave Liz. Does Liz know? Fuck. "Spink, did anybody call Liz?"
He stared blankly at her for a moment before shrugging his shoulders. "I didn't even think about it. You only know because you called Billy's phone. We were…are all too shocked to think straight. Wait till we know something, then call her. No need for her to worry for no reason."
Ty nodded on agreement. "Where are the rest of the guys?"
"In the ICU waiting room. I'm just here to take you up there. Let's go." Spink said, standing up and walking towards the elevator. Ty followed numbly, still in too much shock to process what Spink had said. They rode the elevator up to the 8th floor and once it opened she saw all of the rest of the gang members milling around outside the waiting room. The other families in the room kept shooting wary glances at the heavily tattooed, obviously pissed off men in the hallway.
"Ty, you're here. Thank god." Baggy said, walking up to her and wrapping her in a hug.
"What happened and who am I going after?" Ty growled by way of greeting.
"Danny's boys drove past the Four Roses just as Joe and Billy pulled up to distribute tonight's product. We heard shots and we all ran out of the bar to see what had happened. I saw Billy crouched over Joe. He…he was just layin' so still." Baggy paused, sniffing hard to keep from crying and took a moment to pull himself together before continuing. "I finally got Billy to sit down and let Jamie take care of Joe while the rest of us got off as many shots at those assholes as we could. Shit. They've just got to be okay." Baggy said, pounding his fist against the wall to emphasize his words.
Before Ty could respond, a doctor came walking out of the big double doors at the end of the hallway. He was brought up short when Ty walked up to him.
"Ty Mills?"
"Yes."
"Joe is awake and asking for you." The doctor said.
"Is he okay? What about Billy?" Ty asked worriedly.
"Billy is still in surgery and I can't tell you more than that right now. I operated on Joe. He was shot once in the stomach. The bullet lacerated his spleen and part of one kidney. I removed the spleen and patched up the kidney as much as I could but we'll have to keep him here for observation to make sure that it doesn't start bleeding. I expect a full recovery for Joe, provided he takes care of himself until he's healed. Sorry I can't tell you more about Billy." The doctor looked up at Ty who smiled slightly in relief about Joe, her eyebrows then folding in worry about Billy.
"I think I can manage Joe. Thanks doc. Can I see him now?"
"Sure. I'll take you to him." The doctor turned and walked down a hallway to the right of the double doors. Reaching room 812, the doctor stopped and ushered Ty inside. She looked at the pale figure of Joe, propped up against the slightly raised headboard. Joe smiled weakly and patted the bed next to him. Ty smiled back and walked over to the bed.
"Hey Joey, how you doin'?" she asked, cupping his cheek gently, making sure not to hurt him.
"Ty, I've been better." He coughed slightly and grimaced. "Does Liz know yet?"
"Not yet. Do you want me to call her?" Ty asked, pulling out her cell phone.
"You don't have to…" Joe trailed off hopefully.
Ty grinned at him. "Don't worry. I won't tell her you wanted me to call. Heaven forbid she know that you need her here." She walked out into the hallway. Flipping the phone open she pressed the number 3 speed dial. The phone rang only once before Liz answered.
"Ty, what the fuck is going on? I've called everyone's phones like a thousand times and nobody's answering." Ty could hear the panic building in Liz's voice.
"Liz, calm down. It's okay. Joe's fine…"
"Wait…what? What happened to Joe? Ty, what is going on?" Liz demanded.
"If you would let me talk for a minute I could tell you. Billy and Joe were shot. Joe is fine, or will be as soon as he heals. He wanted me to call you and have you come down to see him. He's in the ICU, room 812, okay?"
"Alright. I'll be there in a little bit. Wait, what about Billy?"
"He's still in surgery and I…the doctor's haven't told me much…" Ty trailed off, leaning against the wall and sliding into a sitting position, her chin resting on her knees.
"Don't worry. Billy's tough. I'm sure he'll be fine." Liz said. Ty could hear the sound of Liz's rusty old chevy truck rumbling to life in the background.
"I'll let you go. See you in a few." Ty said, closing her phone and resting her forehead against her knees. She flinched when she noticed that a pair of shiny black shoes stopped next to her.
"Ty Mills?" She slowly turned her head, looking up at the doctor towering over her.
"Yes?" She whispered, suddenly terrified of what he would say next.
"My name is Dr. Brenner. I was the one who operated on William Darley."
Xxxxx
Sorry this update took longer than expected. Thanks for all of the reviews. I really appreciate them I'm already typing up the next chapter so it should be up in the next couple of days!