Chapter Fifty-Six

Barely putting one foot in front of the other, Trapper pushed Leah's door open and stepped into her room carrying clean greens. "My dear, I just wanted to let you know that I didn't forget you last night," he explained as he walked to her bed and sat down on the side, hanging his head from exhaustion. "Well, I did, but only because I was in surgery all night."

"So I hear," she said. "Here; have some breakfast." She moved the over bed table around and in front of him.

"Doctors are not supposed to eat their patient's food."

"Eat before you fall over," she said, brushing her hand across his back.

Stanley pushed the door open. "Ernie told me I'd find you here, Trapper. I wanted to tell you not to go to your office. Reporters."

"Why my office?"

"Because Arnold told them you were leading the team working on the garbage truck people. I would just stay right here if I were you. The hospital is crawling with reporters."

"I can't stay in a patient's room. The hospital could be sued," he said with a weak chuckle.

Sitting up and rubbing his back, Leah said, "I promise I won't. You can take a shower, change into your clean scrubs and take a nap right here, and no one will ever find you."

"I need to talk to Arnold."

"I'll tell him where you are," said Stanley, turning to leave. "I'll bring another breakfast tray in as well."

"Woman, you have no idea how good that feels."

She smiled. "You're welcome. Now, eat something, please."

Sitting up, he pulled the over bed table in front of him.

"I saw the pictures on the news. Were you able to save them?"

After chewing a bite of eggs, he took a slow deep breath. "We lost the man. A bone had perforated his heart, and once we took it out, we couldn't stop the bleeding. We decided to give the woman a break before Applebaum, the orthopedist, started trying to put her arms and legs back together. He's already done her jaw. She's got a slow bleeder in her abdomen we'll have to repair first, but I think we got everything else." Setting the fork down, he pushed the table away. "I don't see how they survived," he said, looking at the far wall. "It was…" Running his hand over his head, he stood and picked up his greens, pointing to the bathroom. "I'm going to get cleaned up. I'll be out in a few minutes."

Tears had welled in his eyes. Leah had never seen him this close to breaking down. She had often wondered how he held himself together so well after seeing things no man should ever have to see, much less fix. Now, she supposed he had moments like this periodically. This just happened to be the one that was too much since she'd met him. "Take your time, Trapper. My doctor is too tired to release me anyway."

Closing his eyes, he gave her a slight smile and went into the bathroom. After twenty minutes, Leah was preparing to go in to check on him. The door opened at the same time she stood at the side of the bed.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked sternly.

"Ah. He can still bite," she said, sitting back down on the bed. "I was afraid you had fallen asleep in the shower."

He shook his head. "Just letting the heat soak into my muscles. Look, I don't want to kick you out of your bed. I'm going to sleep on the sofa in my office."

"Oh no you're not. Dr. Riverside said there are reporters waiting for you in your office. You won't get any sleep. And who said I was abandoning my bed. I didn't sleep very well last night either after watching the news. Put your dirty greens down and come over here."

A crooked smile appeared on Trapper's face as he dropped his old greens in a chair, and then sat on the side of the bed. Leah squeezed his shoulders and gently pulled him down on the pillow. "Just watch the foot," she said as he swung his legs up on the bed. She lay back as well with her arm under her head as he settled on his back. Moving her hand to rest on his chest, he covered it with his hand and was soon sound asleep.

Ernie and Gonzo slowly opened the door, and stood observing Trapper sleeping as Leah quietly read through the paperwork on her over bed table, occasionally writing a note. She looked up and smiled, moving a finger perpendicular to her lips.

"It's time to wake him up," said Gonzo quietly. "We have to go back into surgery. And before we go, I want to take a look at your cast before I release you."

"Fine, but let him sleep until you're finished."

"He's awake," said Trapper, opening his eyes.

Leaning over him, Leah said, "You were really tired. You didn't move at all." She gave him a quick kiss, and looked back into smiling eyes before she moved away, allowing him to sit up.

"What time is it?" he asked, yawning and moving from the bed to the chair to put his shoes on.

Ernie looked at her watch before she picked up his dirty greens. "It's one o'clock. Jane Doe has been stable all this time, so Dr. Applebaum and Dr. Fry wanted you to get that bleeder corrected before they start working on her again."

Nodding, Trapper went to the other side of the bed and watched Gonzo as he checked Leah's cast. "It's dry, and your blood work looks good, so I'm sending you home."

"I don't want to go home. I want to go to my office." Gonzo's dissatisfied glare prompted her to comment further. "I'm just catching up on paperwork. If I didn't need to reference the files in the computer, I would work at home. I don't see there's much difference."

"Do you have a way to prop your leg up in your office?"

"Yes, I can use a chair."

"All right, but remember, you are not to work longer than eight hours a day," said Gonzo with raised brows.

When she sighed, Trapper stepped forward, bending to give her a kiss, but before he did he said, "You keep your promises, remember." After giving her a loud smack on the lips, he took her hand. "Call down to the OR and find out where we are before you leave this afternoon. If we're done, I'll drive you home." She smiled and nodded, and the three headed for the door.

Once in the hallway, reporters seemed to come at them from all directions. "Dr. McIntyre, can you tell us the status of the two garbage truck people?"

"Garbage truck people," he whispered to Ernie with a frown. He stopped and turned, but was intercepted by Dr. Riverside.

"John, Arnold wants to speak to you before you go back in. He's getting ready to make a statement to the press."

"Where?"

"He'll meet you outside the surgery suite. Ladies and gentlemen," said Stanley as he stepped between Trapper and the reporters. "Mr. Slocum, the hospital administrator, will be making a statement momentarily."

Giving Stanley a pat on the shoulder, Trapper, Gonzo and Ernie made haste down the hall to the elevator. Arnold was waiting at the doors to the surgery suite as promised. "Trapper, do you have any more information?"

"Well, as you know, the man died from complications of his injuries. The woman is stable. We have a small bleeder in her abdomen to repair, but there are no other signs of internal bleeding. We seem to have fixed the rest. As soon as we're done, the orthopedists will get to work on her legs and arms."

"Do you know if there's a chance she'll use them again?"

"I wouldn't repeat this to the press, Arnold, but my gut tells me no. Every bone and joint in her arms and from her hips down are broken, some in multiple places. She might be able to walk with help, but I just don't see how she'll ever get normal mobility back. Have the police figured out who they are?"

"Both of them are scientists from Xanda National Laboratory."

"Xanda," said Trapper disgustedly. This isn't another one of their scandals, is it?"

"I don't know anything other than their names and where they worked. The police said the feds are involved now and aren't talking."

"Great. We fix her, and they try to kill her again."

"Why would you think this was a murder attempt?"

"They didn't crawl in that truck by themselves, Arnold. It might be plausible for a bum to be sleeping in a dumpster and get picked up by a garbage truck, but two scientists…highly unlikely." Trapper breathed deeply. "I have to scrub. I'll let you know if anything changes," he said, pushing through the double doors. He went directly to the sink next to Gonzo. "You and I need to talk."

"What about?"

"Our patient in there," he said, nodding toward the OR. He looked around before he continued and spoke quietly. "It seems our Jane Doe was a scientist at Xanda Labs. The man was, too. The chances of those two purposely or accidently getting into that garbage truck on their own is slim."

"More like non-existent."

"Keep your eyes open. I have a feeling things are about to get ugly." Both men pushed through the operating room doors with their hands up and were met by Ernie and another nurse with waiting gloves.

"Okay. Let's get this done," said Trapper. "How's her numbers?"

The anesthesiologist looked over his screens and bags. "Not bad for what she's been through. She's stable."

Looking over at the orthopedists who were testing electric surgical drills and saws, Trapper asked, "Marty, is your team ready?"

"We're all here," replied Dr. Applebaum. "When you're done, we'll watch her for a few minutes while we prepare the hardware trays. If she's still stable, we'll start work. Edwin will work on her right side. I'll work on her left. That way, she won't have to be under as long."

"Good idea. I want two people with her at all times when you move her to ICU, and I want a list of your people, Marty. I don't want any unauthorized personnel around her room, inside or out."

"Is there a problem?"

"The reporters are getting brave." Extending his open hand, he said, "Scalpel."