Chapter 5

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Martin was frustrated. After the nurse came in, she looked at Martin with wide eyes and immediately buzzed for the on-call doctor. He had tried to ask her questions but she kept saying that he should wait to talk to the doctor. He couldn't understand why she couldn't even tell him how long ago his was admitted. Beyond that, he felt really uncomfortable with the way she was acting around him, with nervous smiles and covert glances.

A few minutes later, a short stocky man with balding hair came into the room. He smiled at Martin and began looking through what Martin could only assume was his chart.

"Hello, I'm Dr. McConnell. How are you feeling?" He reached out his hand to shake Martin's. Martin looked at his hand before finally extending his own.

"I feel fine. Just a bit confused about how I got here."

"I'm sure you are." He gave Martin a small smile. "Let's start with a few questions."

"Yeah, how did I get here? Was I in a car accident?" Martin was anxious to discover the details of how he ended up in the hospital.

Dr. McConnell chuckled and said, "How about you let me ask the questions. What's your full name?" He asked while checking Martin's pulse.

"Martin Keefe Fitzgerald. How's my partner, Danny Taylor?"

"Date of birth?" The doctor had progressed to checking Martin's heart and chest.

"June 26, 1969. Have you notified my supervisor, Jack Malone, in Missing Persons?" Martin was getting really annoyed that the doctor was ignoring his questions.

"Take a deep breath. Now exhale. What's the last thing you remember?" Dr. McConnell asked as the nurse walked to the window and drew open the blinds.

Martin offered up no response. He just sat there completely quiet, fuming internally.

"Mr. Fitzgerald? Can you answer my question?"

"Tell you what: you start answering some of my questions and I'll get back to answering yours." Martin had had enough. What was up with the twenty questions? He knew he was fine, he knew who he was, but he wanted to know how he got here.

The doctor smiled at Martin before replying. "I think I can take that as a good sign."

"Good sign of what?" His frustration was mounting.

"That you are going to be fine. One more question, what's today's date?"

"May 19, 2005." Martin glanced out the window to see the sunrise. "Actually, it's probably the twentieth. What about….?" He quickly turned back to look out the window once again. The view looked nothing like NYC. It looked like….but it couldn't be, could it? His eyes must be playing tricks on him. Before Martin could voice his concerns about what he was seeing outside his window, his parents arrived.

"Martin." Katherine rushed over to Martin and hugged him tightly. She pulled back and held his face in her hands, tears brimming in her eyes. She smiled at him, hugged him again before stepping back.

"Hi, mom," Martin replied. He looked over at his dad. "Hi, Dad."

And before Martin knew how it happened, his dad had moved in and hugged him. His dad was not necessarily a cold man but he did hand shakes and pats on the back. Hugging was not a common greeting. It took Martin a moment to register what his dad was doing when Victor pulled back and Martin saw tears in his eyes.

It was at this moment that Martin started to worry. He shifted his gaze between his parents and the doctor before asking, "What happened?"

His parents exchanged nervous glances and Martin's sense of panic rose. "What happened? How did I get here? Where is here?"

Katherine sat on the edge of Martin's bed, picked up his hand and held it to her. Victor took the seat on the chair next to Katherine as the doctor moved around to the other side.

"You're starting to make me nervous? What is it?" Martin couldn't imagine what could make his parents look so worried.

Victor cleared his throat and began, "Martin, what's the last thing you remember?"

"I was with Danny and we were driving a prisoner to INS." Martin had a frightening thought. "Is it Danny? Is he okay?"

"Danny's fine." Victor replied, clearly moved that Martin was so concerned about his friend.

"Then what is it? Just give it me to straight." Martin looked at his mom, who was gripping his hand like a lifeline.

"Martin, when you and Danny were driving Adisa Teno you were attacked." Victor said each word slowly and deliberately.

Martin swallowed. He opened his mouth to speak but no words came out.

"You were shot." Victor's voice cracked ever so slightly.

Martin looked away from his parents and out the window, not really seeing.

"Martin, do you understand?" This time it was Katherine speaking.

Martin took a moment before turning around to face his parents, their eyes focused directly on him. He looked down at his body and asked, "Where? Where was I shot?"

His parents didn't answer so Martin looked up at them and asked again. "Where was I shot?"

"Martin, you were shot three times: the shoulder, chest and the side of your head, the temporal lobe." This time it was Dr. McConnell who answered, his words spoken with the clinical detachment of a physician.

"I don't understand. I don't see any bandages." Martin commented while touching his chest and shoulder. "I don't feel any pain…"

Katherine quietly answered, "Martin, you were shot…… two months ago."