Post OP
Team One headed to the surgical waiting room upon arrival at the hospital. You would think that the arrival of the six constables in all their gear would be a noisy one, but by unspoken mutual agreement, they entered in stealth mode. Shelley sat in an arm chair with Sergeant Larson from Guns and Gangs by her side. The room was empty otherwise. The sergeant leapt to his feet as they entered. "Did you get him?" he asked quietly. Ed looked at Greg and then nodded, "Yeah, we got him. Any word?" Shelley shook her head and then tremulously said, "Not a word. It's taking so long. I'm afraid to ask why." Greg hugged her wordlessly.
Ed motioned to the chairs and instructed the team to sit. The spacious waiting room seemed overcrowded with the now eight anxious people awaiting news of Kevin James Wordsworth. They waited for another full hour before the door swung open. Shelley jumped to her feet with the others not far behind her. The doctor looked weary, but had a small smile and that broke the tension a bit.
"Mrs. Wordsworth?" he started. Shelley nodded. Greg, Ed and Sergeant Larson stood directly behind her. She explained nervously, "This is Kevin's sergeant." gesturing toward Greg. Then began again gesturing toward Sgt. Larson. He smiled and said, "We're his sergeants and this is his family." He used his arms to encompass the room. Shelley nodded briskly. The surgeon went on as if he hadn't noticed the byplay.
"Officer Wordsworth is in recovery. We did have to remove his spleen but in the long run that shouldn't impede a full recovery. He lost a good bit of blood and with that had some trouble clotting so he's had quite a number of blood products. Things were a little rocky for a while. At this time he is stable and will be moved to the ICU within the next hour or so. He is going to remain on the ventilator, at the very least, through tomorrow. That will give his body time to mobilize the extra fluids and give us more options for pain control. Do you have any questions for me?"
Appropriately, Shelley's first question was "Can I see him?" The doctor gave a well practiced speech directed at the woman in front of him, but obviously meant for the entire room. "Yes, you may see him for a few minutes, but he won't be awake. His body needs rest to heal. I want to advise you that even with the easiest recoveries this isn't a sprint, but a marathon. You have children at home, right?" he continued without waiting for an answer. "You need to take care of yourself so that when the officer needs less nurses and more wife, you will be ready. My advice is to go see him, reassure yourself that he's in good hands and then go rest and eat. See your children. The nurses have your numbers and I'll call should anything concerning arise. Sound good?" the kind doctor expected his instructions to be followed.
"As for the rest of you, go home and sleep. You look like you've had a long day. If you feel the need to do something, please think about replenishing our blood supply. That's a great tangible way to help. The Wordsworths will need plenty of help in the coming weeks and it looks like they won't have to look far." he looked again at Shelley, "The nurses will come get you when they're ready. You can bring one or two comrades if you wish. Good night to you all." With those parting words, the doctor turned and left.
Shelley sank into the chair behind her and Greg sat next to her. "Shelley? Are you doing okay?" He searched her face with concern. The pale woman smiled and answered, "I am now. I was so worried. We all know Kevin has had his injuries over the years and of course, this past year hasn't been easy, but this was the worst. As sad as it was that he had to give up SRU, there was a small, probably selfish, part of me felt grateful that he wouldn't constantly be in the line of fire." Her voice trailed off and began again, "Then, in our own driveway…." Tears spilled from her eyes and Greg gave her a much needed hug. Shelley quickly pulled herself together with the practiced composure of a veteran police spouse and looked around the room. "Okay, so you all heard the good doctor who doesn't seem like he takes no for an answer. Go home, eat, and get some sleep. Ed or Greg will call with updates and in a day or two, Wordy will be ready for company. Thank you all for coming and for taking that man off the street." Her voice wobbled slightly as she finished, but Ed took over for her.
"You heard the lady. Don't argue. We'll meet up to debrief tomorrow. I'll call you with a time. Good job today, team." Sam and Jules were the first to move, crossing the room to offer Shelley a hug with the caveat to call if she needed anything. Spike and Raf were close behind. Spike offered to take the sergeant and team leader's vests back to the station and they gladly relinquished their gear. Greg gave them each a pat on the back as they left. Finally, Sergeant Larson stood in front of his new officer's wife. "Shelley, I know that you don't know us as well, but Kevin has earned a great deal of respect in the time he has been with our department. We may not be family quite yet. However, you need anything at all don't hesitate to call. I'll check back tomorrow. Greg, Ed, thanks for everything today. You have my numbers." Then he, too, left the waiting room. The three remaining sat quietly—each lost in his/her own thoughts. It felt like a brief respite from the frantic pace and worry of the day. Within fifteen minutes, the door opened again and a pretty nurse with very curly, blond hair entered. She smiled and introduced herself.
"Mrs. Wordsworth, I'm Kallan and I'm your husband's nurse tonight. I can take you to see him now, but I want to warn you about a few things first. He has a lot of wires and lines. Most of them are either medications or monitoring devices. He's not awake and that's a good thing. The tube in his throat to help him breath is uncomfortable and we try to keep patients sedated so they don't remember most of this time. Finally, he had a lot of fluid and blood products during surgery to replenish what he lost and keep his blood pressure up. He will look very puffy to you and that can be upsetting. However, he is a pretty healthy guy and within a day or two, his body with naturally get rid of that fluid on its own. It's temporary. Okay?" Greg and Ed watched as the competent nurse seemed to do a quick assessment on the mental state of the three visitors. Satisfied that they all looked steady, Kallan smiled again. "I'm going to let the three of you come in together. Shhh, don't tell anybody." Just as she hoped a small smile came to Shelley's face and the three followed her to the ICU.
The two SRU officers stood close enough to support Shelley, but were also trying to respect her wishes if she wanted privacy. However, she seemed to draw strength from them so they entered the room together. The ICU nurse was right on the money about everything she had shared with them. There seemed to be an overwhelming amount of equipment in the room. As tall and sturdy as Kevin Wordsworth was he looked swamped with wires and IV lines and fragile in the bed. He also looked like he'd gained ten pounds since they'd seen him last. It was daunting to say the least. All three visitors seemed to freeze in the doorway. Their eyes transfixed on the monitor and Wordy's vital signs. Kallan gave them a minute to adjust and then smiled reassuringly.
"See I told you, but he's doing okay. Here, Mrs. Wordsworth, come right over here and I'll pull up a chair." The nurse quickly got Shelley situated and helped her find Kevin's hand to hold as she sat at the bedside. Then she turned a practiced eye to the two men. "You two okay? There will be no fainting here tonight. You're both too big for me to lift and I hate the paperwork that comes with visitors who fall." She got the intended response and both men looked away from the monitor and smiled in her direction. They moved to stand near Shelley. The nurse managed the room easily. She talked quietly to help her patient's loved ones adjust to the sights in the room. Her speech was one often given, but her voice held a compassion that let them know she understood this wasn't routine for them. "The tube in his mouth goes to the ventilator. Right now, it's doing most of the breathing for him. As he recovers he will take over. The IV line in his neck is so they could give him fluid, blood and medication quickly during surgery. The one in his wrist lets us watch his blood pressure. All of those will come out in the next few days as he improves." The nurse grew quiet as she stopped to type in a reading of the patient's vital signs and then noted that the three visitors looked tired but steady. She retreated to the doorway to talk to a colleague.
Shelley looked back at the two men. "It's hard to see him like this." Greg agreed and reached to squeeze her shoulder. Ed took a deep breath and said, "I think Wordy's going to hold the record for most equipment. Jules never had this much after she was shot. He's tough though. He'll be okay." The room grew quiet as they watched the rise and fall of Kevin's chest and listened to the reassuring beep of the monitors.
After a few minutes, Kallan returned to the room. She noted that the visitors seemed weary and pale. As she stood at the bedside, she reinforced the surgeon's speech from earlier. "I understand that you may not want to hear this, but it's time to go get some rest. Right now, none of you can do anything for Kevin so it's time to take care of yourselves. I promise to call if there are any changes and I will be here with him all night."
Ed continued to stare at his long time friend. He quietly, but firmly spoke to the room, "Greg, why don't you take Shelley to my house. She can see the girls and bunk in the guest room. Sophie will make sure she eats. Then go home and sleep. I'm staying here, in the waiting room if I have to. I'm not leaving Wordy alone." Greg, Shelley and the nurse all turned to look at Ed. One look showed that any argument would be fruitless. Shelley kissed the hand that she held and stood. Greg patted Wordy's arm and turned to Ed. "You'll call if anything changes? I'll bring Shelley back in the morning and we'll relieve you. No arguments." The men hugged and then Shelley turned to Ed, "Thank you for everything, even making plans for me like I'm a potted plant in the corner." The last part was said with a smile. She knew the mentality of these brave men and understood that taking care of her helped them deal with their emotions. The two looked back at Wordy and then silently walked out of the room.
Ed and Kallan just looked at each other. Kallan sighed and grumbled under her breath a bit. She left the room and returned moments later with a reclining chair stacked with two pillows and a blanket. She parked it out of the way in the back corner of the room. Ed just stared at her. The tiny, curly haired nurse stood in front of him. "Okay, these are the parameters. They are non-negotiable. You will remain out of the way and get some shut-eye. You will not disturb my patient. If his status changes and I ask you to go to the waiting room, you will do so immediately and without question. Finally, you don't scare me. Do you understand?"
Ed grinned at her and replied, "You remind me of my wife and thank you." Kallan grinned back at him and said, "Yeah, my husband is a homicide detective in Scarborough. I get you. Now say good night to your friend and get some rest."
The constable walked up near Wordy's head and spoke softly, "I'm here, Buddy, right over in the chair. You're not alone, Bud. Rest easy." He glanced at the nurse who firmly pointed him toward the chair. Edward Tucker Lane sat in the recliner chair, adjusted the pillows and blanket, and made sure that he had his friend in his line of sight. Then he settled back and thought to himself, "The women in my life are definitely not afraid of me. I'll take that." He nodded once, smirked and closed his eyes.