DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT OR ANY OF

S. MEYER'S CHARACTERS… UNFORTUNATELY.

I JUST PLAY WITH THEM.

A/N: Sorry I've taken so long to get this chapter up. Went to the FF writers meet up in Vegas and got my whole schedule screwed up. Think I'm back on track now! Had a great time and sure was hard to come back to real life.

Blood In The Snow Chapter 24

Previously:

"Officer down! I've been shot." I lay back and let the phone roll from my hand onto the concrete floor. I know the GPS in the phone will get them to me quickly.

CHPOV

I arrive at the warehouse just as the paramedics are loading James into the ambulance. Hurrying over to the truck, I step in to see how he is doing.

"How's he doing? He gonna be all right?" The paramedic was starting an IV and looked around at me briefly before answering. "He's shot in the leg. Luckily, it looks like the bullet missed the bone, but they'll have to x-ray it to be sure."

James lay on the gurney with his eyes shut. He is so pale. I reach out to touch his hand. It feels cold and clammy. "But… is he gonna be all right? Why does he feel so cold?"

"He's lost a lot of blood, the bullet tore his femoral artery and he's on the edge of shock." He turns to me as he finishes hanging a bag of some kind of medication attached to James's IV. "We're heading for the hospital now… do you want to ride along?"

"No. Thanks. I need to get inside and get the investigation rolling. I just needed to check on him first." I step out and reach over to close the door. Before I close it, I ask the paramedic a favor. "Son, if he wakes up… tell him I'll be in to see him as soon as I can."

"Sure thing."

I shut the door and bang on the back to let the driver know he can go. I watch as they pull out, the lights coming on and the siren wailing. I hope he will pull through. Mentally giving myself a shake, I stride into the warehouse and get to work.

JHPOV

Oh crap… I hurt. A lot. Opening my eyes, just a tiny bit, the light blinds me. I clamp them closed again. What is that noise? The incessant beeping is really annoying. I wish someone would shut that noise off. Where the hell am I? I lay still and rack my brain. What happened? Slowly, it all comes back to me. Okay. I'm in the hospital with a hole in my leg. Paul shot me. Yup. That's what happened.

Damn. Didn't think it'd hurt this much. Reaching down to touch the painful spot on my leg, I find bandages running from my groin almost to my knee. What the… ? I started searching for the button to call the nurse. Ah. There it is… tucked under my pillow. What a stupid place to put it. I press the button several times. I need someone in here now.

The door opens and an older woman in scrubs walks in. "Well, look who's awake."

She is way too chirpy. "Gee… ya think?" I can't help it. I hate these nurses who think they have to be all cheerful and chirpy. "Why the hell is my leg bandaged from dick to knee?" I demand. She frowns at me. Too fuckin' bad. "Well?"

"You'll have to talk to your doctor about that, sonny." She grabs my arm, taking my blood pressure and pulse… her mouth set in a disapproving straight line. Walking to the end of the bed, she adds her findings to my chart. "I'll let your doctor know you're finally awake. He'll be in to see you." She turns and stalks out of the room.

"Bitch", I mumble. Why do they keep the old hags? …Especially for male patients? Don't they know that a hot, young thing makes a man want to get better faster? It's just common sense.

Settling back, I try to get comfortable on this 'brick' they call a pillow. Wonder how long it will take the doc to get in here… wonder if Charlie is around. How long was I out? You'd think that 'cow' could have told me something. What a waste of space.

After what seemed like hours, my door slowly swung open. I struggle to sit up. Finally, I just use the button to raise the back of the bed. Charlie peeks around the door. I guess he's checking to see if I'm awake. "Charlie!" I call out to him with a big grin on my face. "Come in, come in."

He grins back at me and comes over, reaching out to shake my hand. "Son, you look a lot better now than the last time I saw you." He drags a chair closer to the bed and sits down. "How's the leg? Doc been in yet?"

"Well, I woke up about an hour ago… when I called the nurse, I got this chirpy, old hag." I shudder. "She said she'd have to doc come in, but I haven't seen him yet."

"He'll be in pretty soon, I'd guess." Charlie looked around at the door. As he did, it opened and some doctor walked in.

"Good to see you awake." He smiled at me as he glanced over my chart, then he hung it back at the end of my bed. "Looks like you're doing pretty well." He came closer, reaching out his hand to shake mine. "I'm Dr. Cullen. I did the surgery on your leg."

Charlie's eyes got big at the doc's name. Wonder why.

"I need to check your incision." He looked at Charlie and then back at me. "Sir, if you'll wait outside, it'll just be a minute." Charlie stands up and heads for the door.

"Charlie." He turns to see what I want. "Man, you can stay. You're my best friend." He looked at Dr. Cullen. "Doc, it's okay with me if Charlie stays."

Dr. Cullen shrugged. "It's fine with me as long as you're okay with it."

"I'd just have to tell him everything you said later…" I chuckle. "He may as well hear it first hand. Save me some time."

Dr. Cullen chuckles as he pulls the blanket down, exposing my leg. I was right… the bandage ran from my groin all the way to my knee. "Doc, why such a big bandage for a little hole?"

"The bullet tore your femoral artery. It did a lot of damage."

My head hit the pillow. Damn. I could have died. Holy shit.

"We had to do a lot of repair work in there." Dr. Cullen carefully removed the bandage, exposing a long line of stitches running down the inside of my thigh. It looked red… almost angry. "Looks good… no seepage." He examines it closely. Reaching for the call button, he summons a nurse. "I'll have the nurse replace the dressing."

He pulls the other chair in the room, closer to my bed and sits down. Studying his fingertips for a moment, he gathers his thoughts.

"Just spit it out, doc. I can take it."

Dr. Cullen was silent for a few minutes, then he looks up at me. "When they first brought you in, we weren't sure you would make it." My eyes got big. "The bullet tore up your femoral artery pretty badly. You lost a lot of blood. If the paramedics hadn't gotten to you when they did… well… you would have bled out."

"Shit. You mean I nearly bled to death before help got to me?" I could feel sweat beginning to collect on my forehead. Damn. I almost killed myself.

"Yes, that's exactly right. However, they did get to you in time." He reached over to gently pat my arm. "I know it's hard to hear this."

"No, I'm fine. Please, go on." I swiped my forearm across my forehead, wiping away the sweat before it could run down into my eyes.

"When you were wheeled in

to the ER, they had to give you five pints of blood just to get you stabilized enough for surgery. Once we got in there, I could see the damage that was done. We took a rather large section of vein from your thigh to repair the artery. That's the reason for the extensive dressing."

"But… it's all fixed now and I'm gonna be just fine. Right, doc?" Something about the serious expression on Dr. Cullen's face has me a little worried. "Doc?"

"James… there was extensive damage, severe loss of blood…"

"What are you trying to tell me?" I am really getting worried now.

"There's been some tissue damage. Just how bad and how permanent, we can't be sure of just yet." Compassion for me was rolling off the doc in almost visible waves.

"Doc? What aren't you telling me? Am I gonna lose the leg?" My voice came out a couple of octaves higher than normal and slightly panicky as I rose up in the bed.

"No! No, we don't expect you to lose your leg." I fell back against the pillow in relief. "But… you may have some permanent damage that will require a lengthy recovery and rehabilitation."

"But, I'll recover completely… right? Just have a really cool scar to show the women… right?" Crap. Please let him chuckle and say yes… don't start talking about a wheelchair or crutches or even a cane. "I will be able to walk… right?"

"I expect you'll be walking soon. But you may need a cane for a while."

I lay there just thinking about what he said. This was NOT part of the plan. It was supposed to look bad, but be a minor injury. What the hell happened?

Charlie shifted forward in his chair. "James. Son… don't worry. You'll get the best care available and when you're ready, your job will be waiting for you."

"Try to get as much rest as you can. I'll see you in the morning. If you need anything, just buzz the nurse." Dr. Cullen stood, put the chair back against the wall. He moved to the side of my bed and reached down to pat my arm once more. "I know it's a lot to take in, but you're alive, you still have your leg and you will walk. It's just going to take time to get back into the swing of things. Take it one day at a time and you'll do fine." I nodded at him. "If the pain gets too bad, I've left orders for some pain meds for you, just let your nurse know."

"Thanks, Dr. Cullen." He stopped at the door, turning back to look at me. "I have always hated to see one of our finest in my ER or OR, but it is an honor to be able to help and hopefully heal. Goodnight." He nodded to Charlie and left the room.

Charlie scoots his chair closer to me. "You all right, son?" I could see his concern in his eyes. I almost wish I were the person he believes I am.

Shaking my head and closing my eyes, I try to regain control of myself. After a few minutes of silence, I open them to see Charlie watching me. "I've just gotta get my head wrapped around this." I gestured to my leg. "It's a lot to take in all at once."

Charlie and I talked for hours before I began to hurt. After the nurse brought my meds, I got sleepy and Charlie told me he'd see me tomorrow. I drift off to sleep, visions of wheelchairs and canes haunting my dreams.

AN: Apparently, FF has been pulling a lot of stories off the site. If this one should disappear, you can find it over on The Writers Coffee Shop. .com (slash) library I am shewoolf over there, too.