When the ambulance arrives at the E.R., Jack is rushed to a trauma room. Danny is brought in to the room beside Jack's. He can hear the doctors as they work on his friend.
"There's decreased breath sounds on the right side. His lung's collapsed. We'll need to insert a chest tube," the doctor tells his staff.
He orders a number of tests and treatments to reduce Jack's temperature. Danny lies there, watching what's happening, almost oblivious to the treatment he's receiving himself. Suddenly, Jack starts to shake and shudder violently.
"He's seizing," he hears the medics say.
Someone holds his head and a nurse injects a relaxant to try and counteract the seizure. After about a minute, the seizure stops.
"I think we should intubate to protect the airway," the doctor suggests.
They continue treating Jack as Danny watches protectively.
After a short while, Sam and Martin arrive at the E.R. They find Danny on the treatment table.
"How is he?" Martin asks the nurse nearby.
"He was lucky. The bullet went straight through and caused no major damage. He'll be sore for a while and we'll keep him in for observation for a night but he'll be fine," she tells him.
Danny hardly notices his two friends enter the room. His eyes are still fixed on what's going on in the room next door.
"Danny?" Sam says to him.
"He's not doing too good, Sam," Danny tells her.
"Who?" Sam asks, not realising who is in the next room. "Is that Jack?"
"Yea. They're still working on him," he tells them.
Sam walks to the window and stares at the figure, so still on the treatment table.
"Oh my God, he look terrible," she says to no one in particular.
All of a sudden, there's a lot of activity in the treatment room, then she realises that they're moving him. She runs out of Danny's room to talk to the doctor treating Jack.
"Excuse me, where are you taking him?" she asks the doctor, as she simultaneously produces her credentials.
"He's going up to I.C.U.," the doctor tells her.
"How is he?" she asks him.
"His condition is serious but we've managed to stabilise him. He suffered a collapsed lung, which resulted in respiratory distress. This wasn't helped by the fact the he has contracted pneumonia. The collapsed lung could have been caused by his rib injuries or the pneumonia. He suffered a seizure, as a result of his high temperature. We're treating that with medication and it should start to come down fairly quickly. He'll be closely monitored in the I.C.U. He'll need surgery on that arm, but they won't attempt to carry that out until he has stabilised," he informs her.
"O.K. Thank you Doctor," Sam says gratefully.
She returns to Danny and Martin and tells them what she heard. Vivienne and Lewis arrive a few minutes later. They are glad to see that Danny is okay and to hear that Jack is stable. Lewis tells Martin to go and get his ribs checked on while they're here. He does as he's told.
Vivienne decides to call Maria and tell her what has happened. Needless to say she is very relieved that they have found him. Even though they've split up, she still loves Jack. He is the father of her kids, after all. They would always have a special bond. She tells Viv that she will get a flight to New York as soon as she can.
A nurse comes in and tells Danny that they have a bed for him on the third floor. He sits into a wheelchair and she takes him to it. Sam and Viv follow him. They tell Martin where they are going first. Doctors inform Martin that he'll be sore and bruised for a while but that he's okay to be discharged. They give him painkillers to take. Once treated, he follows the others up to Danny's room.
"I'm going to check in on Jack," Sam says as she excuses herself.
She asks for directions to the I.C.U. She is shown into Jack's room. He's lying there, so still and so silent. She watches his bruised chest rise and fall in rhythm with the ventilator. His face is swollen and cut, and yet so pale.
"Hey, Jack. You probably can't hear me, but I just want you to know that we're all here. You've got to be strong and get better, okay? Maria and the girls are coming for a visit, and you can't miss that. Be strong, Jack, please," she pleads, as she takes hold of his hand.
She sits with him for a while. Martin comes in a little later and stands and places his hand on Sam's shoulder. He couldn't help but feel jealous of how close Jack and Sam were. He wished she's look at him the way she looks at Jack.
"He'll be okay," he says, trying to comfort her.
Just then, Martin notices a familiar figure through the window. It's his father, Deputy Director Victor Fitzgerald. He walks out to him, none too pleased to see him.
"What are you doing here?" he asks gruffly.
"I heard what happened. I came to see how Malone was," Victor tells him.
"Like you care," Martin mumbles, unable to look him in the eye.
"That's not fair, Martin. Jack and I don't always see eye to eye, but it doesn't mean that I'd wish him any harm," his father tells him.
"I'm sorry," Martin apologises, holding his head. "It's been a long day."
"Are you okay, son?" Victor asks. "Lewis told me you were injured."
"I'm fine. My vest saved me. I'm sore, that's all," Martin admits. "Jack's pretty sick though. They said the next 24 hours are critical."
"You want to get some coffee?" Victor asks his son.
"Sure. Sam will sit with Jack," he tells him, as they make their way to the cafeteria.
The rest of the night passes peacefully. Vivienne is the first to return to the hospital. She sees Sam dozing in a chair in Jack's room.
"Have you been here all night?" she asks her.
"Yea, I guess so. I didn't want him to wake and for there to be no one here," she admits.
"How is he?" Viv asks.
"Seems better. His fever is down at least," Sam tells her. " The doctor will be around later."
"Why don't you go and get some breakfast," Viv suggests to Sam. "I'll sit with him for a while."
"Yeah. O.K. Call me if he wakes up," she asks, before straightening her hair up and leaving the room.
Viv sits quietly with Jack, thinking of all that had happened the previous day. She was imagining what might have happened if they hadn't found him. She couldn't help it. It played on her mind just how close they came to losing him. He was a good friend to her. They had been through a lot together in their years on the job.
Later that morning, there's a knock at the window to Jack's room. There's a dark haired lady standing outside looking in. Sam recognises her as Maria Malone, Jack's ex-wife. Sam signals her to come in.
"Oh my God, I tried to prepare myself for this, but he looks so ill," she says emotionally. "This is what I always feared while we were married, getting a call one night, to tell me he was dead or injured. He spends so much time on the job, it was only a matter of time."
"He's going to be okay, Maria. He's already doing better, according to the nurses this morning," Viv reassures her. "His fever's down and they're talking about removing his breathing tube today."
Sam stays awkwardly silent. She's not sure if Maria knows about her and Jack's little fling. She stays in the background as Maria pulls a seat in, close to Jack's bed. She gently caresses his face.
"We'll go and give you some time with him. We should go and check on Danny," Vivienne suggests.
Sam is relieved at the suggestion and is the first to make for the door.
Maria holds Jack's hand and talks to him about their daughters. As she looks at him, she can see the man she loved and wonders 'if only'. If only he had devoted as much time to her as he did to his job, if only she hadn't chosen her career ahead of her marriage, if only life had been kinder. She sat and wondered what might have been.
She stayed with Jack for a few hours and, eventually, his doctors joined her in his room.
"Mrs. Malone, I'm Doctor Baxter. I'm treating your husband," the doctor begins.
"Ex-husband," Maria corrects her.
"Oh, right. We're happy with his progress. He had a good night. His temperature is down and is oxygen levels are almost back to normal. I'm going to extubate and I expect him to start coming around in the next few hours."
"Thank you, Doctor," Maria smiles, relieved with the positive news.
"He will be very weak and probably confused when he comes round. Try to keep him calm. We don't want him injuring himself any further by trying to get out of bed or anything. In the next day or two, he should be strong enough to undergo surgery on his arm," she warns as she approaches Jack's bed and begins the process of removing the breathing tube. She replaces the tube with a nasal cannula.
"He should be more comfortable with the tube out," Dr. Baxter explains. "His lungs are still quite congested but when he wakes we'll sit him up and that should improve. If you have any questions or are worried about anything, just ask the nurse to contact me and I'll be able to answer them for you."
"Thanks, Doctor," Maria says, as the doctor takes her leave.
Another couple of hours pass. Maria sits vigilantly by Jack's side. Martin brings her coffee and a sandwich. He keeps her company for a while and then excuses himself, saying that he has to go back to the office.
Just as Maria is about to leave, she notices Jack's eyelids begin to flutter.
"Jack? Can you hear me, Jack?" she asks, as she takes his hand and leans over him.
His eyes open, and he stares vaguely into space for a moment before he manages to focus. He looks around the room.
"Jack, you're in hospital. Can you remember what happened?" Maria asks.
"Maria? What are you doing here?" he croaks. He winces, as his throat is tender from the breathing tube.
"They called me. They said you were hurt. I had to come," she admits.
"I don't remember," Jack tells her.
"It's okay. It'll come back. You've been quite sick. You had us worried there for a while. The doctor says you're going to be fine though," Maria tells him.
"Are the girls with you?" he asks her.
"They're with my Mom. I'll bring them in to see you tomorrow, if you feel up to it," she promises.
"Yeah. That'd be great," he replies, before starting to cough. The coughing gets worse, until Maria presses the call button at his bedside. The nurse rushes in. She raises the bed so that Jack is in a sitting position. Eventually, he coughs up a large amount of phlegm and the coughing subsides. Maria can see from Jack's face, the pain that the coughing caused him. The nurse explains to him, why he's experiencing such pain.
"I'll get you some analgesia for the pain, Mr. Malone. You have a number of fractured ribs, which is painful at the best of times. Coughing like that isn't going to help. You may also experience pain from your arm. We haven't set it yet because you need surgery on it and you were too ill to risk the surgery. I'm sure the doctor will explain everything when she comes around later," the young nurse tells him, as she fixes his pillow and tries to make him as comfortable as possible.
"Thanks," Jack says to her, as he regains his breath.
She leaves the room and Maria comes over and sits beside Jack, on the bed.
"It's good to see you, Jack," she says sincerely.
"You, too," Jack admits. "I've really missed you. How are the girls?" he asks.
"They're great," she answers.
"That's good. And how's Alan?" Jack asks sarcastically, referring to her new boyfriend.
"He's good," she answers, not giving much away.
Jacks eyes are growing heavy and Maria notices this.
"You need to rest, Jack," she tells him. "I'll go and let you get some sleep. I'll bring the girls by tomorrow. I'm glad you're okay."
"Me too," Jack replies.
Maria takes her coat and bag and leaves the room. When she looks back in, Jack's eyes are closed and he's sound asleep.
The next morning Sam arrives to see Jack. She peeps into his room afraid she might wake him.
"Come on in," Jack says to her. "I'm not sleeping."
"Hi. How are you feeling?" she asks him, as she walks over toward his bed. She desperately wants to kiss him, but refrains.
"Better, thanks. Sore, but alive. Can't ask for must more than that," he tells her.
"Danny says 'Hi'," Sam tells him. "He's being released today."
"Danny's in here too?" Jack asks, with surprise.
"Didn't anyone tell you? Danny was shot while getting you out. It was a through and through to the side. He's fine, enjoying being waited on and harassing every nurse that enters the room," Sam smirks.
"That's Danny, alright. I'm glad he's okay. I don't remember being rescued. In fact I don't remember much of anything," Jack admits.
"Look, Jack, you can read the report when you get back to work. Don't go worrying about it now, alright?" Sam advises him.
Jack reaches out his uninjured arm. Sam puts her hand in his.
"I'm glad you're here," he tells her.
Sam smiles, placing a kiss on his forehead.
"Jack, I don't….," Sam begins, just before she's interrupted by a knock on the door. It's Maria and the girls. She pulls her hand from Jack's immediately. Maria hadn't noticed, she thinks. Hannah and Kate rush toward their Dad.
"Careful, girls," Maria warns. "Daddy's a bit sore, okay?"
They hug him. He winces, but is delighted to see them. They show him the cards that they made.
Sam and Maria exchange pleasantries. Sam makes an excuse that she was on her way to collect Danny and bring him home. She says goodbye to Jack and the girls and is gone.
Maria and the girls spend most of the morning with Jack. It's obvious that he's much better.
The doctor visits on her rounds and informs them that Jack's surgery has been scheduled for the following day.
One week laterJack's surgery had gone very well and he was being released from hospital. Arrangements had to be made regarding who would stay with him while he was recovering. His arm was in a sling and his ribs were still very sore. He was very weak, and only released from hospital under orders of complete bed rest. Maria and the children had to return to Chicago, so Jack would be on his own in his apartment. He was advised by his doctors that he would need someone to look after him for a while.
Samantha volunteered. Needless to say, this caused a few raised eyebrows. But as far as Samantha was concerned, she didn't care. She knew what she wanted. She would be there for Jack. He needed her, and if anything else happened between them, she wouldn't fight it. She always knew what her feelings were. Inwardly, she hoped that Jack would realise his feelings also. She cooked for him, cleaned his apartment and was relentless in her care for him. This was how it should be. It felt right. She hoped that he could see it too.
She just had to wait and see what developed.
THE END