See Chapter 1 for disclaimer
A/N: Well I'm back from my trip and finally have Chapter 5 ready. Enjoy.
Chapter 5
The paramedic working on Charlie immediately started CPR. "I need help tell my partner to pull over and come back here fast."
Don managed to drag his eyes away from Charlie and relayed the message to the paramedic driving the ambulance.
After pulling over the paramedic grabbed the defibrillator as he moved to Charlie. "Okay let me in there."
Don watched anxiously as it took two attempts to restart Charlie's heart. As a steady beep sounded from the monitor Don released the breath he hadn't been aware he was holding. The two paramedics worked together to stabilize Charlie. Once they were satisfied he was stable, they resumed the interrupted drive to the hospital.
Don moved back to sit beside Charlie gently take hold of his hand. Even though he knew Charlie couldn't hear him, he said, "Charlie, don't scare me like that again. I can't lose you, so hold on 'til we reach the hospital, okay Buddy?"
Suddenly Don's cell phone rang. Granger was displayed in the window. "Eppes," he answered.
"Don. We passed you. Is everything okay with Charlie?" Colby was concerned about his friend. He knew a stopped ambulance could only mean both paramedics were needed in the back.
"Charlie's heart stopped Colby. They managed to restart it, but for a while I thought I'd lost him. We're back underway now and should be arriving at the hospital shortly."
"Alright Don, see you there." Colby closed his phone, and seeing Amita's questioning look said, "There was a little problem with Charlie that required both paramedics that's all. Everything is okay now. They'll be arriving shortly after we do."
Both ambulances arrived at the hospital minutes apart and all three patients were rushed into the emergency room.
Alan was waiting at the doors and seeing Charlie so pale and still, brought him close to collapse. Colby had been standing next to him and managed to support him so he didn't fall. Don rushed to his father to comfort him. "Dad, I'm sure Charlie is going to be fine, and it looks worse that it really is. Come on let's go fill out the paperwork."
Don and Colby helped Alan to the waiting room and found him a chair. Don went to the nurse's station and was given the required paperwork for all three patients. Taking the three clipboards back to Alan he hoped it would keep him occupied until there was news about Charlie.
Amita was the first one the doctor came out to report on. She introduced herself as Dr Weston. Looking at Alan she said, "I was told that Amita's family is in India. She asked me to talk to you Mr Eppes. Amita has a cracked sternum and a couple of her ribs are also cracked. These injuries were caused by the seatbelt, but it could've been a lot worse. Amita also has a slight concussion from hitting her head on the window during the crash. I'll be releasing her in about an hour."
"Thank you Dr Weston." Said Alan. "We'll take her home and look after her. Is there any news on my son Charlie Eppes or Larry Fleinhardt?"
"No, I'm sorry Mr Eppes we're still working on them. I can tell you that your son is now in surgery to repair the bullet wound to his shoulder." Just then Dr Weston's pager went off. On seeing the message displayed, she glanced at Alan then said, "Excuse me, I have the go."
Alan, Don and Colby looked on as she left, each one sure that the call was about Charlie. Alan fell back into his chair. Don sat down and put his head in his hands remembering the terror he'd felt when Charlie's heart had stopped in the ambulance. Colby looked at both Alan and Don. He'd never seen either man look so beaten.
A few minutes later Dr Weston walked slowly back out of the ER. Don held his breath fearing the worst as he watched her approach. Alan stood and spoke first before the doctor could say anything. "That page was about Charlie, wasn't it?"
"Yes Mr Eppes it was. Charlie's heart stopped again during surgery. The surgical team managed to restart it and the surgery is continuing. If everything goes well they'll be finished in another half an hour."
With a surprised look, Alan asked, "His heart stopped again? When did it stop before?"
Dr Weston looked at Don. She'd been told he'd come in with his brother and assumed he'd told his father about the problem in the ambulance. Looking back at Alan she said, "During the ride here Charlie's heart also stopped. I'm sorry, I thought you knew."
Alan sank back down into his chair. "No Dr Weston, I didn't know."
Sitting next to Alan, Dr Weston gently put her hand on his arm. "Mr Eppes, does Larry Fleinhardt have any family here? There's pressure building up inside his skull and we need to drill a burr hole to release it."
"I can sign any paper work you need Dr. Weston." Alan said. "Larry gave me authority over medical decisions."
"Okay Mr Eppes, thank you. We'll start the procedure right away. I'll send the nurse out with the forms, and I'll be back in a little while with Amita." Turning Dr Weston hurried back into the E.R.
Alan turned and looked at Don. "You knew Charlie's heart had stopped in the ambulance! Why didn't you tell me?"
Sheepishly Don said, "Dad, I didn't want you to worry any more than you already were. The paramedics managed to restart his heart very quickly."
"You should've told me Don," Alan said sharply.
"Yeah Dad, I know. I'm sorry."
During the next few minutes none of the men spoke. Each busy with his own thoughts. When David came in, Colby got up and went to fill him in on the situation. Then they came and sat with Alan and Don to wait for more news.
It wasn't long before Dr Weston came back out of the ER with Amita. Don stood and allowed Amita to take his seat next to Alan.
Alan turned to Amita and asked, "How are you dear? Would you like one of us to take you home so you can rest?"
"No Alan. I want to stay here until we know how Charlie and Larry are." With a catch in her voice Amita said, "I'm so sorry I couldn't help Charlie. He was bleeding so much and I tried to stop it, but I don't think I did a very good job." Amita was very close to tears.
Don sat down and put his arm around her shoulder. "Amita, you did everything you could for Charlie. Even though you were hurt, you still managed to slow down the bleeding from his shoulder. If you hadn't done that I'm sure Charlie would've been much worse off. Here, lean against me and rest for a while 'til we can go see Charlie and Larry."
Leaning against Don, Amita relaxed and settled down to wait for news.
TBC
A/N: Not very up on medical stuff although I did do some research on seatbelt injuries and burr holes. Hopefully I got it right. Read and review please.