A/N: To the guest that reviewed the last chapter: in answer to your question, Marissa may have been a little calmer than other people, but I think she would still be pretty afraid. Also, I did not know she worked for Homeland Security, so I did not know she chased terrorists before joining Bull and the TAC. Thank you for the review!
Bull was laying on the bed of the x-ray machine, his leg sitting on top of a board. He sighed as he waited for the technician to finish his x-rays.
"Dr Bull, I need you to relax for me," said the technician.
"How much longer will this take?"
"Just a couple more minutes. Dr Sanders will be here in a moment to take you back to the trauma bay while I do Miss Morgan's x-rays."
Bull sighed again. He loosened his leg muscles and relaxed, glad when the x-rays were finally done. He spotted Marissa being wheeled into the x-ray room, so he called the doctor over.
"Yes, Jason?" Dr Sanders asked as she helped him back onto his bed.
"Is Marissa okay?"
"Surprisingly, yes, she is. Her left kidney is bruised, but that's the extent of her back injuries. Her head is only slightly worse. She has a severe concussion, and we'll need to stitch up the gash on the side of her head, but that's all."
Bull sighed in relief. "Thank god. Thank you for that."
"It wasn't my doing. Marissa would have had to be buried beneath steel originally for her to be protected enough to be that lucky."
"Can she go home?"
"Not yet. Her concussion is enough to keep her here a couple of days, but I still need to finish checking her and cleaning up the wounds. She'll need to be in here for a few days, at the least."
"Can I talk to her before I go?"
"You can have two minutes. I want to get her x-rays done so I can get her stitched and cleaned up. She needs some rest."
"Thank you."
Bull rested against the pillow on his bed and waited for Marissa to be transferred to the x-ray bed. Then he gave her a smile and picked up her hand.
"Hey, Rissa." It was a nickname that only Bull used for Marissa. "How are you feeling?"
"I want to go home, Jason."
"In a few days. I'll stay here with you as much as I can."
"Are you okay?"
"My leg is fractured, but it'll heal in four weeks. Dr Sanders is going to put plaster on it and give me some crutches."
"Okay."
"Hey, look at me for a moment. You don't need to be scared, Rissa. I won't let anything happen to you."
Marissa turned her head, glad that the doctor had removed her neck brace. "I'm still scared."
"Why? Dr Sanders said that the only injury to your back was some bruising on your left kidney. Rissa, you are going to be just fine in a few days."
She shook her head. "Doesn't matter. I could have died in there, and I didn't know where anyone had gone. I couldn't see anything."
Bull nodded, finally understanding his friend's worry. "You are alive, Marissa. You are safe and alive. Chunk was there with you the entire time, even if you couldn't see him. He refused to leave your side, and, as soon as Benny knew where you were, he refused to leave you as well. All of us were there, I promise." Bull smiled again. "Just relax and let yourself be looked after, Rissa."
Bull was relieved that his friend was going to be okay. Dr Sanders had just told him that Marissa's x-rays were great, and showed no broken or fractured bones. It was amazing that she had so little injuries, but it was a huge relief for everyone.
"Hey, Bull, how's everything going?" asked Benny as he and the team entered the waiting room on the second floor of the hospital.
"Amazingly, everything is good. My leg is fractured, but that's the extent of it. Marissa's going to be fine in a couple of days," said Bull.
"Where is she?"
"Having her head stitched up at the moment. She's a lot calmer now."
"How bad are the injuries?"
"She's got bruising on her left kidney, and the couple of cuts on her head. She has a severe concussion."
"Is that it?"
"That's it."
"See? I told her that it was going to be okay," said Danny with a smile.
"You're telling the wrong person, Danny. Marissa is the one that needs your reassurance."
"Can I go in there?"
"Not yet. Dr Sanders will come and let me know when we can go in."
"Well, Dr Bull, I think that you'll like what I'm going to say then," said Dr Sanders as she entered the waiting room.
"How's Marissa?"
"Much happier now that I've finished the stitches. She's asking for you."
"Can we all go in?"
"Of course. Just don't overwhelm or upset Marissa, please."
"We won't." Bull smiled and pulled himself to his feet, using his new crutches as support. "Marissa is probably everyone's favourite person anyway."
"Okay. She's in room 205, just down the hall. Dr Bull, take it easy on that leg, please."
"I will." Bull smiled at the doctor before leading his team down the hall to Marissa's room.