I Have News, Brave Friends & Can I Visit?

Scott's and Laura's Home

Erik rose to go answer the knock on the door. He opened it to find William. Erik quietly said "I'm surprised to see you here. I thought for sure you would be diverted to Toronto with the storm. Come in. Quiet though, Laura and the babies are finally asleep."

William entered the house and went directly to Yvonne. He held her close and tight for several minutes. William leaned down and kissed her. He was finally here for her and she for him. It never got easier when Samuel was hurt.

Releasing his hold on Yvonne he turned to Erik, Ann, Connie and Kimberly.

Kimberly held out a steaming cup of coffee as she softly said "Looks like you could use a cup. I spiked it with a little Bailey's Irish Cream too."

William smiled. All the Braddock women were wonders. "Thanks Kimberly. Yes I could use it. I have news."

They sat down and William took a moment to savor a few sips of much needed coffee. He had news and not all of it was good. He was not looking forward to sharing some of it but he would. His call with Norm had been rough. He took one more sip and then set the coffee cup down on the table in front of him.

Laura slowly wandered into the room as the five of them took seats in her living room. She had only been resting. She could not actually sleep. Laura had heard the door and come to see who was out in this kind of weather.

The storm that had hit the Blue Mountains had finally hit Ottawa, but with much less force. She was surprised to see the General. They all thought he would get diverted to Toronto.

As General Braddock set down his coffee Laura asked "Any news?"

William turned and saw Laura. He patted the couch next to him and said "Yes. Come sit down Laura."

She took a seat next to him and William put an arm around her. William then started "The news is mixed. But let me say first off that all three are being tended to right now by competent medical staff."

"Three?" Ann asked.

William nodded "Yes three. Actually more than three but let me tell you Samuel's, Scott's and Spike's status first. Then I will tell you what transpired."

Ann took a deep breath and held onto Erik's hand. How did Yvonne stay so calm? Ann answered her own internal question with one word 'practice'. Yvonne had been through situations like this way too many times. This was her first and hopefully only time dealing with something of this nature with her sons.

Knowing that Ann and Laura were less versed in waiting William started with Scott "I spoke with Norm Holleran enroute. He has apprised me of the full situation. Scott pulled a 'Samuel' and he downplayed his injuries significantly. Apparently, Scott skied fifteen miles to get to a local store to get help for Samuel. He was close to the store when his ski pole snapped and impaled his thigh."

Laura gasped. Her next thought was Scott was so in trouble for not telling her.

William turned to Laura and added "Luckily the store owner's husband is a retired surgeon. He removed the pole and fixed him up. Scott then took their snowmobile to get to the ski lodge because they had a sno-cat that could get to Samuel and take him to the hospital."

"Apparently, Scott's leg wound became infected with a strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Never heard of that before and Norm said was probably in the soil or in the snow and grows in cold weather. The infection shows in a weird blue-green pus. But Norm said they have Scott on the right antibiotics for that now."

Taking a short breath William steeled himself to share the uncertainty "However, it seems that Scott has become rather ill from his hours out in the sub-zero temperatures. The Army doctors are caring for him. They are watching him very closely because unfortunately he is having trouble breathing. Norm said they were doing x-rays and that Scott was on oxygen to help him."

Ann looked at Laura and thought about the babies as she asked "Is he contagious?"

"I don't know. The only other information I know is that Scott is feverish, coughing and they are also running cultures to determine if it is something more than a common cold or bronchitis. They are worried that his system was compromised by the leg infection. They are taking measures to help keep his lungs clear and prevent whatever it is from moving into pneumonia" William shared.

Erik looked at Yvonne and could see her anxiety so he asked "And Sam? How is he?"

William turned to Yvonne, took her hand and said softly "Samuel is in a bad way sweetheart. Apparently a minor leg wound he got at SRU the day before they left on the ski trip became severely infected even though he was taking his antibiotics. It got so bad that Scott risked his life to get Samuel help."

He felt Yvonne squeeze his hand but that was the only outward sign of her worry. William continued "Samuel is still running a very high fever and he was hallucinating. The same surgeon, Landry Craig, operated on Samuel and was able to remove all the infected tissue. He does not believe Samuel will lose his leg."

Yvonne nodded trusting Dr. Craig's assessment and it reduced her worry a bit. From the way William was talking though he was not connecting Dr. Craig to when Sam was a teenager. That was probably because William had not been so involved with Sam at that time. But she and Bella spoke every few days regarding Sam when he lived with Bella. She did not want to interrupt the flow of information so she decided she would remind him later about Landry and Maisie Craig.

William continued to share what he knew "The Army medics were fully prepared and they were running labs on the tissue cultures that Dr. Craig took from Samuel's leg according Norm. He said Sergeant Parker informed him that they need to determine what is causing the infection so they can treat it properly. The antibiotics he was on were not the right ones or whatever organism is causing the infection is resistant to them. Luckily the cultures were not damaged in the explosion so they will be able to determine the right ones soon and begin treating him."

Laura and Ann gasped and Yvonne's brows arched up as she asked quietly "Explosion?"

"I'll get to that in a moment dear" William replied.

Yvonne nodded and just held onto William. If he was talking so calmly then Yvonne was sure things would be alright. If William had been raging she would be more worried.

William turned to Erik and said "Scott said that after they arrived and unpacked they drove to the ski lodge and skied most the afternoon. On their way back to the cabin their SUV ran off the road when Scott tried not to hit a stag. The front axle was damaged and they had to trek five miles in that storm to get to the cabin. Scott said Samuel's infection rapidly got worse and they had nothing to treat him with at the cabin."

"He was worried when Samuel's fever raged, they used snow to try and bring it down. But it was when he saw signs of sepsis that Scott said that he went into the storm. He feared for Samuel's life. Scott is blaming himself for wrecking the SUV and making them all trek in that storm and having no way to get help for Samuel. "

William sighed and shook his head "Scott is unfairly beating himself up over that. I'm sure when Samuel learns what Scott did to get him help we are gonna have two boys that are feeling intense guilt. We will have to work hard to get them to release that."

Erik nodded. Scott and Sam not only looked a lot alike, they tended to carry guilt for things out of their control. Hell, it was a family trait. But Scott and Sam were the worst at doing that.

But Erik asked "You indicated Spike was hurt. Was that when the SUV went off the road?"

Shaking his head William answered "No. Spike was injured at the hospital. We still don't know exactly what occurred in the surgery just before it exploded. At some point Spike was shot. According to Norm, Sergeant Parker and Scott believe it was by Noah Barton. Sam was found covering Spike when the SRU team got into the surgery. The Barton brothers are both dead and Sam, Spike and the two hostages that were in there with them are all still unconscious."

Yvonne asked "Is Spike okay?"

William answered "He is in stable but critical condition. The Army surgeon, Fiona Parker, Jasper's daughter-in-law, was able to operate. Spike lost a significant amount of blood. They had stores of blood with them thank goodness. But Spike is O negative and they did not have enough as he continued to bleed out as she operated. Luckily his teammate Lou is the same blood type and they tapped into him."

"Norm said that the bullet missed vital organs. But Spike lost so much blood because the bullet nicked a vein. Actually, Samuel lying on top of Spike put much needed pressure on Spike's wound. If Samuel had not been on top of him, Fiona indicated that Spike would have bled out before help arrived."

Erik blew out a breath "Christ, what a trip. Perhaps those three should not be allowed to vacation together."

William chuckled in spite of the seriousness. "Perhaps. But it sure sounds like each of them went the distance to protect each other and everyone in that hospital too. From what I gather all three are to be commended for how they handled the situation they found themselves in. All the hostages are singing their praises."

"A nurse by the name of Jasmin said that Spike saved her life by keeping Noah Barton calm. An orderly named Jeremy said that Scott saved him and several others by getting them out of the recovery room before it blew. A ski patrolman named Ron said that Sam is the one that recognized who the Barton's were and alerted Scott and Spike."

He stopped a moment and then shook his head as he said "Christ, what are the odds of the Barton brothers showing up in the same hospital?"

Ann sighed "With Scott and Sam the odds are pretty darned good. Those two have always attracted trouble. Doubly so, when they are together."

Everyone nodded.

Erik then said "Not sad to hear that the Bartons are dead. But this explosion, what do you know about it? What happened to the unit you sent? I thought they would get there before the SRU team."

William explained to them everything that Greg had learned and conveyed to Norm after speaking with Master Corporal Forbes and all the others at the hospital. William also shared that had spoken briefly with Corporal Hinder and had been informed that Sergeant Grey and Master Corporal Vinson were still unconscious and all but Hinder and Welch were suffering concussions from the blast.

They all sat quietly digesting the news when William finished. It seemed that anything that could go wrong had gone wrong. William was right, their actions were commendable given the situation they were in.

Yvonne softly asked "So when and where will they be evacuating the boys too?"

Taking a sip of his coffee William answered "I spoke with Zach. With the storm moving, he estimates it will be at least twenty four hours before it will be safe for him to take off. Zach said he barely landed safely and he does not want to risk anyone's life taking off in this weather."

"Additionally, Sam, Scott and Spike are in good hands at the hospital at the moment. Transporting them to him would be arduous for all three of them. Zach will determine if it is Ottawa or Toronto tomorrow based on updated weather reports."

He continued "But Zach is heading to the hospital with the local RCMP sno-cat convoy that is taking needed supplies to the small hospital. They were running low on food and medical supplies with the added people and patients. They also needed a better generator and a few relief staff to assist. The hospital nurses and orderly have been on for several days with no break. And one of the injured hostages was their doctor, a Vanessa Chardin."

Yvonne looked up at the name. It sounded familiar to her. But she could not place it at the moment. The thought went to the back of her mind as Connie spoke.

Connie's heart lurched a bit at hearing that Zach had flown into that weather. She was glad that he could help but her youngest boy was at risk flying in that kind of weather. She smiled slightly and said "I'm glad Zach is using his head and not willing to take undue risks trying to fly them out."

William nodded "Your boy is a smart one Connie. If he ever has a mind to it, when he reaches the age and service requirements, I'd love to have someone with his piloting skills in Special Forces. I swear I've never seen someone with quite his skills. He can fly almost anything in any weather."

The smile faded from Connie's face. Zach in Special Forces? She knew what Yvonne went through with Sam. Could she handle that? She knew partially what Sam endured too. Would Zach ever be subjected to something like that? Could she handle it if he was?

Connie took a deep breath and steadied herself. She was married to a Braddock. Her sons were Braddocks. She knew the military life and what it entailed when she married Ryan. If Zach chose to ever go for Special Forces she would be proud of him and fully support his choice. Regardless of what it might cost her.

Kimberly squeezed Connie's hand and said "Come help me make something for everyone to eat. It sounds like it will be a long night."

Connie smiled at Kim. They were always there to support one another. She could see that Kim had seen she was affected by Will's statement and was trying to distract her. She smiled and said "Sure." Then she stood and headed into the kitchen with Kimberly.

Yvonne looked at William and said "I know you meant well and I'm proud of Zach too. But you just scared the living daylights out of Connie with your comment about Zach and Special Forces Will."

William looked at Yvonne and then towards the kitchen. Crap. He didn't mean to worry Connie. He would keep his thoughts to himself in that regard from now on.

Hospital – Cafe

Wordy rose and went to get another apple juice for Lou. He was still looking a little wiped out from giving blood. As he walked to the cooler he was glad that Zach was on his way with reinforcements and supplies. The staff in this hospital surely could use a break.

He grabbed the apple juice and thought about everything that happened. The medical team the General sent was top notch and well supplied. Thank god. They would have lost Spike if not for Dr. Fiona Parker.

Not for the first time Wordy wondered if there might be a family connection with the Sarge but Greg did not indicate any when he spoke to the doctor. It must just be a coincidence that they shared the same surname.

Sitting down he opened the apple juice and then pushed it to Lou and said "Drink. You need to replenish your fluids after filling up Spike."

Lou chuckled despite the situation.

Jules smiled hearing Lou laugh a little. Lou had been so distraught at seeing Spike almost bled dry. They all had. She decided to help lighten the mood a bit more and said "Now you and Spike are truly blood brothers. You think that now that Spike has your blood in his veins he might just calm down a bit?"

Everyone chuckled at that.

Greg put his hand on Lou's back and asked "How did you know you and Spike were the same blood type?"

Lou grinned and explained "One movie night about four years ago, Spike picked some weird B comedy movie about vampires getting sick because they drank blood from certain people. It was really, really bad. Even Spike couldn't watch the whole thing and that is saying something. We ended up shutting it off and then got to talking about blood types and which ones were rarest and which ones could but used for blood donation."

"We found out we were both O negative. We are universal donors meaning that our blood can be used by any blood type and RH factor. But we can only receive O negative blood. O negative is one of the rarest blood types with only five percent of the population having it. The rarest is AB negative with only one percent of the population but they can receive blood from any negative blood type unlike O which can only get it from an O donor."

Lou shrugged and his grin got a little bigger as he said "That's why Spike and I always participate in the blood drives. We figure we help others with O negative. And with as dangerous as our jobs are we also figured that someday we might just be helping each other or ourselves too."

Conversation stopped when several people entered the room. Many of them carrying boxes of supplies.

Greg and Ed stood and went to Zach. Ed said "Good to see you. It looks like you brought reinforcements."

Zach was unzipping his jacket as he said "Yes, lots. Don't know where everyone is going to sleep."

Captain Tadman came in behind Zach. With the threat neutralized and as the senior military officer he had taken charge of the hospital and was coordinating all the relief efforts with the local RCMP Captain Lundgren who had just arrived with the needed supplies and personnel.

He overheard Zach and stated "We will convert part of the café to a bunking area so the hospital staff and others can get some much needed rest. Sergeant Parker, can I get your team to help us with arranging things and bringing in the supplies the RCMPs brought?"

Greg nodded and replied "Everyone except Lou. He needs to rest after giving blood."

Lou said "I can help."

Wordy looked at Lou, "You've already helped more than we can ever repay. Spike is alive because of you. Rest here."

Lou didn't like it but he complied. He wished he could be with Spike right now but the medical team was keeping him isolated not wanting to risk infection as they watched over him carefully. Sam and Scott were also in isolation. Scott was very ill and it was for his protection too. Sam on the other hand, he was isolated to protect others since they were not sure if he was infected with MRSA or something else yet.

The rest of the team and Zach headed out.

Maisie pushed Landry into the café and towards the table with the SRU officer at it. She sat down and said "Lou was your name and you are good friends with Spike, right?"

Lou looked at the kind older woman and nodded "Yes. He and Sam are my teammates and I'm friends with Scott too."

Maisie patted his hand and said "You have some very brave friends. They saved everyone here. My dear Vanessa woke up and told us what happened in the surgery."

Lou asked "What did she say? The Boss will want to know."

Greg and Jules came in carrying several cots and Greg said "What will I want to know?"

"Mrs. Craig said that one of the women, Vanessa, woke up and told them what happened in the surgery."

Putting down the cots Greg hurried over "Yes most definitely. I should go talk to her."

Landry said "You cannot. Vanessa was in a lot of pain due to the concussion so I order a strong pain reliever and she is now sleeping. But we can share with you what she told us."

Ed, Wordy and Zach entered carrying several more cots and Greg waved them over. When they arrived he said "Please tell us what Vanessa said."

Maisie and Landry shared with them how Spike had tried everything in his power to keep Noah calm and to get him to release the hostages. They shared things the team had already learned, like Scott got those in the recovery room out. How Sam realized he was too compromised to handle a gun. But then they started on things that happened once everyone but the Barton's, Vanessa, Minna, Sam and Spike were in the surgery.

Maisie's eyes teared up as Landry said "Vanessa said that Spike tried to get Noah Barton to let her and Minna leave to get meds. Noah wouldn't go for it. He had the gun to Minna's head. But then it was like he narrowed in on Sam. He looked at Sam with hatred. When he found out the Army was here because Sam's dad is a General Noah lost it."

"He raised the gun to shoot Sam. Spike tried to intervene and he ended up getting shot. Then Minna started screaming and Vanessa tried to calm her. Noah pointed the gun at Minna and threatened to kill her. That's when Sam threw himself off the table at Noah trying to knock the guns out of his hands."

Ed stopped him "Guns?"

Landry nodded "Barton had one in each hand. Said he was a good shot with both hands. Anyways Sam jumped on him. He was in no condition to fight. I had just operated on his leg and he his fever was extremely high. They struggled on the floor while the soldiers tried to get in. But the door was locked and it took them a long time."

Looking at Ed he said "Sam did his best but he couldn't keep ahold of Noah. Noah got the gun and then kicked Sam in the shin. Noah messed up all my beautiful work. I had to repack the wound."

Maisie patted Landry's hand and said "You set him to rights again Landry. My boy Sam will be just fine."

Blinking tiredly Landry got back to the point "Vanessa said that Noah pointed the gun at Sam's head. She said she could not watch Noah kill Sam and there was nothing she could do to stop him. So closed her eyes and held Minna close to her. Vanessa heard two gun shots just before everything went black."

"We know that Noah was shot in the shoulder. I assume by the soldier. Sam was not shot. So I think that Noah's bullet hit the nitrous oxide tank and it exploded. It was the valve from that tank that was embedded in Noah's forehead."

Maisie shivered at that thought. She was glad she had not actually seen it. Then she yawned feeling every year of her age. Today had been extremely taxing on both her and Landry.

Jules saw Maisie shiver and yawn. Softly Jules offered "You two look exhausted. How about I get a cot set up for both of you in a quiet corner?"

"That would be lovely Jules. Thank you" Maisie said wearily.

Maisie had observed Jules closely over the past hours and she could see what Sam saw in her. Jules was a capable and caring woman. She had seen how upset Jules was that she could not visit Sam. Spike and Scott for that matter too, but mostly Sam. There was something there between them.

She didn't know if Jules realized it or not but it was there. It was the way her eyes changed when anyone mentioned Sam. They either closed off or softened depending on who was around. When it was Greg or Ed they closed off and got hard. Like Jules was trying to hide something. When Wordy or Lou spoke about Sam her eyes would soften and show the concern.

Maisie figured it was not her place to say anything. Whatever it was that was between Jules and Sam was their business. She did not need to go meddling in others affairs. But she hoped for their sakes they figured out that they were both attracted to each other and they gave it a chance to grow into something more. Maisie had done that with Landry and they had had so many happy years together.

Jules and Wordy went to set up cots for Maisie and Landry. When they were done Wordy pulled Jules off to the side.

"Jules, you know Sam will be alright don't you?" Wordy stated.

She blinked at him wondering why he chose now to say that too her. She deflected "I know Sam and Spike will be alright."

Wordy almost rolled his eyes "Jules."

Jules put up her defenses "What?"

"It's Sam we are talking about" Wordy said.

"We are just colleagues now. Spike is just as important to me as Sam. As the rest of you are" Jules said with her hands on her hips.

Wordy decided to drop it. It was clear that Jules was not going to admit anything. He headed over to push Landry to the cot area. As he started over he noticed Dr. Fiona Parker standing at the entrance looking around. He wondered if she had news on Sam, Spike or Scott. But he needed to help Doc Landry to the cot before he could go ask.

As Zach set up cots he was reeling inside by what he heard. He could not believe that Spike saved Sam. Well he could but that took guts to move in front of a loaded gun to save a friend. Sam going after Noah, in the state he was in, was amazing too.

His hero worship of Sam went up a notch. So did his hero worship of Scott knowing what he did to get Sam help. Zach wondered if he would ever be capable of doing something like that. He'd like to think he was capable of doing that. But Zach really didn't know if he had it in him to be that self-sacrificing.

Zach knew he needed to call Uncle Will and give him an update soon. But he just hated to be the one to give him that kind of news. He decided to wait a bit and see if he could get a status on Scott and Sam before he called. Maybe if it was good news it might be easier to tell them what happened in the surgery.

Dr. Fiona Parker entered the café and looked around to find Sergeant Parker. She smiled thinking it was a nice name, seeing it was now her last name too. She had married Jason Parker only six months ago and she was still getting used to her married name.

She met Jason while working under Dr. Jasper Parker. Dr. Parker was one of the best doctors she had ever worked for. He truly cared about the soldiers in his care. His son Jason did too. Jason's specialty was reconstructive surgery. He worked wonders on men and women who had been disfigured by IEDs.

Fiona had met Jason when she was referring a patient to him. Things clicked between them and after a whirlwind romance they married. It was the best day of her life.

She dallied at the entrance with her own thoughts because Sergeant Parker seemed to be in a heated discussion with one of his teammates. Ed if she remembered correctly. Fiona hated to interrupt their discussion but started moving slowly to the table because she had news for them.

Ed glared at Greg "Both of them took unacceptable risks. Spike threw himself in front of a bullet for god's sake. And Sam, don't get me started on Sam. A minor wound? I should have ordered him not to go skiing. He should have been at home taking his antibiotics like the doctor ordered."

Greg understood Ed's anger was based in concern. He was surprised Ed had controlled his outburst for so long. But hearing the details of what happened in the surgery had been the last straw for Ed. He let Ed bluster for a bit but he knew he had to rein him in.

He said "Eddie, you need to calm down. You heard Scott. Sam was taking his antibiotics. It was just a combination of things that were no one's fault that led to this situation. Spike and Sam did what they do. They did what they could to protect others."

Greg rubbed his head then added "Don't tell me if you were in either of their places, Sam's or Spike's that you would not have done what they did. I know you too well. If the gun was pointed at Sam and you were in Spike's position you would have done exactly what he did. And as for Sam. You know him. If he had any chance of saving an innocent he would do everything he could. Just like you."

Ed was not ready to concede. This whole thing ate at him. Spike nearly died. His blood was all over the surgery floor. He would have died if not for Sam laying on him and Lou having the same blood type. And Sam. Christ, he almost lost his leg due to a damned infection. Sam was still not out of the woods yet either. He might still lose that leg if it turned out to be MRSA.

Fiona decided to step into the dead air and said "Sergeant Parker?"

Greg turned to Fiona and smiled "Doctor Parker."

"Please just call me Fiona" she said.

"Then it is Greg to you" Greg returned.

Fiona grinned "Okay, Greg. I have some news for you on Sam and Spike."

Wordy, Jules, Lou and Zach quickly joined Ed and Greg around Dr. Parker.

"Spike is doing better and stabilizing nicely. It was a very good thing the bullet missed all vital organs. It will help his recovery time. I'm confident that Spike will be strong enough for transport tomorrow" Fiona shared.

Lou was happy to hear Spike was doing better but he wanted to see him. So he asked "Can I visit Spike?"

Fiona responded "If you wear a mask I can let you all visit him one at a time for a few minutes."

Lou smiled and Greg patted his shoulder as Lou said "Thanks doctor." Lou could not wait to go see Spike and wanted to head out now. But he held off moving wanting to hear about Sam too.

Fiona continued "As for Sam I am happy to tell you it is not MRSA. It is a rather virulent strain of Staphylococcus aureus. It was a good thing that Dr. Chardin started Sam on Vancomycin when he arrived here. The antibiotic he was previously prescribed would have no effect on this strain of S aureus. If she had not started Sam on Vancomycin, it would have progressed very quickly from septicemia, which it was in the beginning stages of, to toxic shock. If allowed to go untreated longer it would have caused organ failure and death."

Jules said quietly "So Sam is going to be okay too?"

Turning to face Jules, Fiona responded "Yes, however Sam's therapy is a little trickier. His wound was very deep. The bone is porous and there is always the possibility the bone became infected. He will need to be retested in forty-eight hours and then again in four days."

"Those tests will tell us if the organism made it into the bone or if it develops resistance to the antibiotic. I understand from Dr. Craig that Sam has a severe phobia of needles. So I have inserted a PICC line since he may require long time therapy, up to six weeks, and Vancomycin can only be given in IV form.

"Can we see Sam too?" Jules asked emphasizing the we so it didn't sound like she cared more than she should about Sam.

Fiona smiled "Yes the MRSA protocols are lifted. But Sam will not be awake. I had to sedate Sam because his high fever was causing him hallucinations again and he became combative. He was calling out for someone named Matt to help him. Is that one of you?"

Everyone's face fell.

Ed said quietly "No. I'll go see Sam first."

Zach asked "What about Scott? Any word back on him?"

Fiona shook her head "Not yet. I'm sorry the cultures will take a little longer before we know what we are dealing with. But he is responding well to the Ceftazidime that Dr. Craig started him on. He was sleeping when I checked on him before coming down."

Jules didn't want Scott to be alone and she also thought it would cover her feelings about Sam so she asked "If I wear a mask, can I visit with Scott?"

Thinking a moment Fiona nodded "Yeah I think that would be okay. Mask and gloves just to be on the safe side Jules."

Jules realized that Zach might want to see Scott too since he just got here. She turned to him and asked "Zach do you want to visit Scott first?"

Zach shook his head "No you go first. I have to call Uncle Will and give him a status update. I'll come to Scott's room after I'm done."

Giving Zach a quick hug, Jules said "Thanks. Maybe he will be awake when you visit. I'm sure he will be happy to see you."

That being settled Fiona stated "If the three of you would follow me I'll take you to them and then you can rotate around for short visits. After that, I suggest you all get something to eat and some rest yourselves."

Ed, Lou and Jules followed Fiona out. Zach headed to a quiet corner to call Uncle Will.

Wordy looked to Greg and said "I should probably go help the RCMPs finish bringing in the supplies."

Greg nodded "I'll come find you when it is your turn to visit. I should probably go speak with Captain Lundgren. He is going to arrange to remove the Bartons' bodies tonight. Then he will need to speak with Ron to find out where the police cruiser was so they will know where to look for Officer Alex Roman's body."

Wordy shook his head sadly "Grim business. I'm just glad that Spike, Sam and Scott were able to prevent the Barton brothers from killing everyone here."

"Spike did good. Real good. I cannot wait to tell him how proud I am of how he handled this whole situation" Greg said with a small smile.

Wordy grinned "I'm just glad we have an opportunity to tell Spike that." Then with humor he added "And that he is a real blood brother to Lou now too."

Greg chuckled and patted Wordy's back as the two of them headed out of the café.