DISCLAIMER: I own nothing, never will. All just for fun. I am also not a Officer of the Law, a doctor or a resident of New York. Please allow for a little poetic license :)
SUMMARY: An accident on the job leaves Jamie badly injured. Will he recover? Will the Reagans?
A/N: Thanks again for adding/reviewing! I'm going to try and have more Frank in this, but Danny just seems easier to write. Maybe it's cos he usually has more focus in the show I dunno, anyway... lets continue.
I've based Jamie, Erin and Danny's ages on that of the actors as they never seem to really say in the show.
Please note: For the purpose of this story, there has been no second Jamko kiss, and no confessions of 'feelings' (season 7 isn't in the UK yet, anyway).
10-13: Chapter Three
The Recovery Room waiting area appeared to be a carbon copy of the ER waiting room, just a few floors up with a broken vending machine. It had been a further hour and a half, and they had no more information than they had received from Doctor Alvin.
"I'm gonna get a coffee." Danny said, stretching slightly as he stood. "Anyone want anything?"
"A soda, please." Nikki said, barely loud enough to be heard. She hadn't spoken since she'd arrived, except to ask how Jamie was. She was sat with her feet on the edge of the seat, knees drawn up under her chin, arms wrapped around her legs.
Jack and Sean had sat together in the corner, talking quietly amongst themselves. "Same please." Jack said, Sean nodded.
Danny got the rest of the order and left the waiting room heading towards the cafeteria which was located on the same floor. He was half way down the corridor when he heard his fathers voice.
"Danny, wait up." Frank called, quickly catching up with his eldest son. "You're gonna need a hand to carry all those drinks." He said, settling into a pace that matched Danny's. The two walked in silence for a while before Frank spoke again. "It's not your fault, you know." He stated simply.
Danny sighed. "I know." He said, "I do, it's just..."
"You were there." Frank finished. "And now you're questioning yourself. If you'd been faster, if you'd been more aware."
Danny scoffed. "Yea, something like that."
"Danny." Frank said, placing his arm out to stop Danny from walking. He turned to face his son. "You were there, that is true." He said, removing his hand. "You were there for him after he was hit, you were there for him when the paramedics were treating him. You were there for him in the ambulance. And you're gonna be there for him when he comes out of surgery. And you'll be there to help him get better. Because that's what brother do," He smiled. "And you are one hell of a brother, Daniel."
"When you brought him home, from the hospital," Danny began, sighing and closing his eyes briefly. "I remember when I first held him. I mean I was too young to remember Erin and with Joe it was different, I was younger and Mom didn't trust me to hold him alone. But with Jamie she just smiled and let me hold him. He was so little and I remember he looked right at me, and at that moment I made him a promise that I'd always look after him, that he'd never get hurt." He sniffed a little, feeling his eyes threaten to water. "I let him down, Dad. I was right there, I was twenty feet away and I couldn't help him."
"He was hit by a car, Danny." Frank said, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "There was nothing you could have done. Even if you'd seen, called out, Jamie would have still been in the middle of the road. If you'd been closer, pushed him out the way, then you'd have been hit, and instead of you worrying, he would be. And so would Linda, and Jack, and Sean." Danny went to speak but Frank stopped him. "I know, they're worried. But not compared with facing the possibility of loosing their father."
Danny nodded. "You think we might loose him?" Danny asked, finding a new spot on the floor to gaze at, his eyes still stinging.
Frank sighed. "I hope to God that we don't, Danny." he answered, pulling his son in to a hug. "I hope to God that we don't." He repeated.
After a few moments the two relinquished their grasp on one another. "I also remember when he was a baby he kept tryin' to pull my hair." Danny said, raising his eyebrow a little.
"Well, that's because you had that stupid long hair cut." Frank said as the two resumed walking.
"It was the end of the seventies, Dad!" Danny exclaimed. "Every boy my age had that stupid long hair cut."
(((((())))))
A further half an hour had passed with no news. They'd had a brief conversation when Frank and Danny had returned, but settled back into silence. It was Janko who spoke first. "What happened to our RMP?" She asked, looking from Danny to Frank.
"Why do..." Danny began to question, but was cut off.
"Our car?" Janko asked, "Where is it?" she added, sounding more frantic
"It will have been taken back to the precinct." Frank answered, "As per procedure." he frowned when Janko stood, picking up her jacket from the seat next to her. "Why does it..."
"His hat." Janko answered before Frank had even finished his question. "I...I need to get him his hat back." She said, exiting the room.
"Eddie, wait!" Erin called, following her out of the room. She caught up with her near the lifts. "Eddie, what? Why are you..."
"Jamie's never not got his hat." Janko said, staring at the lifts as if willing them to open. "He always takes it on duty, even if he leaves it in the RMP. I've gotta get it back for him."
Erin nodded, not quite understanding Eddies sudden need to retrieve Jamie's hat, but understanding her need to do something. Sitting around, waiting for news was driving her mad. "It can wait, can't it?" She asked, gently.
Eddie shook her head, looking at Erin. "He keeps a picture of Joe, y'know." she said, smiling sadly. "In his hat, a picture of your brother. Say's it reminds him of why he does what he does everyday. I just," She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I just don't want him to loose it."
Erin smiled. Learning that Jamie had carried a picture of Joe with him every day since he'd become a cop himself warmed her heart a little, offering relief, albeit temporary, from the worry she'd been feeling for the last few hours. "That's really sweet of you." She said.
Janko nodded. "I can't imagine how bad this is for you and your family." She said. "I don't have any siblings, but Reagan," She glanced at Erin. "Jamie," she corrected herself. "He's the closest thing I've ever had to one. And if this is making me feel the way I do, then I can't even begin to understand how you must feel."
The lift doors opening with a 'ding'. Janko gave Erin one last brief smile before wordlessly entering.
(((((())))))
Frank had lost track of the hours by the time a tired looking surgeon entered the waiting room. "Jameson Reagan?" He asked redundantly as they were the only people in the waiting room.
"Is Jamie outta surgery yet?" Danny asked, looking up at the doctor.
"I'm afraid not." The doctor said, walking into the room and sitting down opposite Frank and Henry. "Jamie's injuries were extremely severe." He began, looking around the family. "The internal bleeding was caused partially from a pulmonary laceration from one of his broken ribs, which in turn filled his chest cavity with air and blood, causing the lung to collapse. His pelvis sustained an unstable lateral compression fracture. That's when the pelvis is broken from top to bottom on one side and pushed inwards, in Jamie's case it was his left hand side. It caused a degree of damage to the surrounding tissue and blood vessels that needed to be repaired." He gave the family a few seconds to absorb the information before continuing. "The most severe cause of the bleeding however was from his spleen, which had ruptured due to the impact of the vehicle. I'm afraid we had to remove it."
Frank nodded solemnly, as did Henry. Erin just sat staring at the floor. It was Danny who spoke. "You can live without a spleen though, right Doc?" He asked.
"You can," The Doctor replied, "However, the spleen helps to fight infection, and with the risk of contamination from Jamie's open leg fracture there is a chance it could become infected. The wound was thoroughly irrigated in the ER and he's been given broad spectrum antibiotics via an IV, but due to the scene of the accident and the loss of his spleen the likely hood of contamination is significantly higher."
"And if it does get infected?" Frank asked, trying to hang on to the fact that, despite all of the injuries, Jamie was alive. "What will happen then?"
"That's still an 'if' at this stage, Mr Reagan." The doctor replied. "There is a very strong chance that the wound and bone will heal just fine. He was treated quickly and he's young and healthy, despite the splenectomy."
"What about the fractures?" Linda asked, "He in with Ortho now?" She added.
The doctor nodded. "An Orthopaedic surgeon is with him now, yes." He answered. "He's going to stabilise the fractures, but he will require another surgery at a later date."
"Why can't he just fix him now?" Jack asked, still sitting in the corner with Sean.
The doctor sighed. "Jamie's body has been through a lot, and, to put it simply, he's just too weak to go through the surgery now. Orthopaedics are placing screws into the fractures to keep them stable, but ultimately he'll need more surgery to replace the screws with permanent rods to reinforce the bone and prevent it from shifting."
"But he's alive?" Nikki asked, speaking for the first time since thanking her uncle for her soda.
The surgeon nodded. "He is. And despite the injuries, his prognosis looks fairly good." He smiled, trying to relax the family a little.
"Fairly?" Henry asked before Danny had a chance to.
"Look, I'll be candid," the Doctor said, looking towards Henry and Frank. "Jamie is very badly injured. But there's nothing that he can't recover from. The degree of recovery however will vary depending on what Orthopaedics find, physio therapy, and help and support from you guys. It'll be a long road, and it's going to be difficult for him." He looked around the room. "And he's going to need all of you to help him through it."
"We'll be there." Frank said, looking towards his own father, who nodded. "We'll be there."
((((())))))
"He can't still be in there." Danny said, looking at his watch as he paced up and down the waiting room. They had arrived at the ER over seven hours ago, and Jamie was still not out of surgery.
"Honey, if they're resetting and stabilising fractures, it's gonna take time." Linda said. "Especially if there's tissue damage." She was still sat in the same seat, but Jack and Sean had moved to sit beside her and had both fallen asleep. She'd tried to convince them to let her take them home but they'd refused.
"At least we know he's ok." Erin said, stroking Nikki's hair. He daughter had fallen asleep resting against her.
"Ok." Danny repeated, nodding as he paced. "Yea, nothing major. Just, y'know, a broken bone here and there, a little organ removal, busted skull, months of pain..." He reeled off. "But apart from all that, Erin, yea he's peachy!"
"Daniel." Frank said, calmly. But the authority in his voice caused Danny to stop. "He's alive." He stated. "Jamie's alive." his own relief evident in his voice.
Danny nodded, but before he could speak or move, the door opened once more.
A tall middle aged man wearing scrubs walked in. "Hi, I'm Doctor Norton. I believe my college Doctor Noakes has already given you some details about Jamie's condition?"
"How is he?" Erin asked.
"He's out of surgery and in recovery." Norton said, sitting down in the same seat as the previous doctor, Noakes, had. "But I should inform you that, due to the injuries to his chest and lung, Jamie's been placed on a ventilator. He's also under heavy sedation to allow his body to heal without too much disturbance. We've stabilized all of his fractures, but he will need another surgery when his body haa recuperated enough to withstand the procedure. His arm fracture was fairly simple for a compound fracture and with a little physio, I foresee no real future problems with is. His leg is in pretty bad shape. A lot of muscle was damaged by the bone movement, and although it'll take time, he should recover well enough. His pelvic fracture though has caused quite a bit of damage to the femoral nerve."
Linda let out a sigh, but said nothing.
"What does that mean?" Henry asked, already knowing from his Granddaughter-in-laws reaction that it was bad.
"The femoral nerve controls the muscles that help extend the knee. It's also responsible for sensation over the front and inner sides of the thigh, shin, and arch of the foot. The damage Jamie has is very likely to cause problems with is knee, as well as a degree of pain throughout his whole leg."
"But you can fix that, right?" Danny asked. "When you do the next surgery you can fix that too?"
Norton shook his head. "I'm afraid the damage is irreparable. But with physiotherapy and pain management, we can look to improve the condition of the leg."
"So he'll just be in pain for the rest of his life?" Danny asked, scrubbing his face with is hands and swearing.
"Danny," Linda said, trying to calm her husband down.
"No, Linda! I..." Danny shouted before stopping. He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry," he said, more calmly. "Sorry, it's just..." He shrugged, offering an apologetic look to the doctor.
"It's ok" The doctor said, "I understand your frustration." He stood. "A nurse will take you into see him shortly when he's settled."
"Thank you, Doctor." Frank said as the man left the room. His brain was still trying to make sense of all the information he'd received. It was bad, he knew that. But his youngest son was alive. Frank closed his eyes and let the feeling of relief wash over him. He wouldn't have to bury another child.
(((((())))))
A/N2: That seemed like a natural place to leave that chapter. Jamie will be back soon! (although it seems not in very good condition – my bad). I know he's pretty messed up, but to be fair he was hit by a car. And like I said, I plan on focusing on how the recovery effects the whole family.
Might not update til after the weekends as I have work and actual real world commitments to sort out :)
Hope you enjoyed! ATGPNWT85xx