Shaw stayed in the bathroom for several minutes composing herself. Then, once she felt in control, she waited outside the examination room until the doctors wheeled Root out to head to surgery. She put one of the biggest fake smiles on her face and approached the gurney. Leaning down she once again kissed Root on the forehead and brushed a lock of hair from her face.
"I'm calling Harold and John to let them know, but I'm going down to talk to Gen in person. We'll be up in the observation deck watching."
Root shook her head.
"I'd rather you weren't, and I want to ask you to specifically keep Gen out of there."
"Why, babe?"
Roots face twisted slightly. Tears shone in her eyes.
"I love you Sam and if something happens, I don't want you to have to see it. It's one thing to watch someone you love riddled with bullets saving your life, it's another to watch something like this. I died some that day at the Stock Exchange, and wasn't able to recover from it until you were back safe with me.
"If something happens on that table, I don't want you to have to look on helplessly- I know what that feels like and it sucks. And Gen's just a kid. I really think I'll be fine, but just in case."
Shaw's shoulders were shaking and she was right at the point of losing control. As tears cascaded down her cheeks, she hugged her love and whispered.
"You have to come back to me."
Then standing, she smiled through her tears.
"I love you, Root. I'll be waiting."
She followed the gurney down the hall with her eyes and waited until they disappeared around a corner. She then called John and Harold, spoke to each briefly and headed down to where she knew Gen was working with the kids again.
Despite Shaw not being the praying type, she couldn't help her eyes as the went toward the ceiling.
Please let her be OK!
….
Shaw found Gen coding with some of the Native American kids. She watched for several minutes trying to enjoy the fact that more and more Gen appeared to truly relish her role as tutor to these kids. Her mind kept drifting to Root and what was going on up in the O.R. When Gen finally looked over and noticed Shaw, she came over and instantly knew something was wrong.
"What's going on Shaw? You look… well if it was anyone else, I'd say you look scared. What's got you so shook up?"
"When they ran the tests on Root they found an aortic aneurism. It's pretty serious and they took her right up for surgery to fix it. I'm just worried that she's scared."
Gen looked at Shaw skeptically.
"I don't know, Shaw, how serious is it? You look like you're not telling me something."
"Gen, I can't lie to you. It's serious and yes, I'm concerned. But the best guys in the world are working on her so I have to be confident that they can fix her. We just have to wait and let the doctors do their thing."
"Where are we waiting? Are they doing it in that room we watched?"
"I'm not sure, I promised we'd all wait down the hall until Dr. Tillman had something to tell us."
The two walked toward the waiting area lost in thought. When they arrived, John and Finch were already there. John stood when Gen and Shaw entered and looked Sameen over, his concern obvious.
"How are you doing?"
Shaw took a deep breath and let it out.
"I'm scared, OK? But she's in the best hands possible. I just have to believe she's going to be fine."
They all stood around silently for several minutes. Shaw suddenly looked at John.
"I have to call Elizabeth."
She walked out of the waiting area and pulled her phone out. Elizabeth answered on the first ring.
"Talk to me, how is she?"
"She's in surgery… she's got an aneurism… it's serious but they're hopeful they can fix it and…"
Shaw's voice failed and for the next few minutes Elizabeth could hear Shaw crying uncontrollably.
"I'm coming back."
"No, Elizabeth, you can't do anything here."
"I can be there with you. I was going to come back anyway and bring my mom soon- Megan said she'd have the best neurologist in the country take a look at her, then bring in any other specialists needed to get her back to normal. This is just a little sooner than I planned.
"No arguments, we'll leave this afternoon and be there by nine at the latest."
"Thanks Elizabeth."
"Hell, Shaw, if this thing with Megan works out, I'll owe you big time. This is nothing."
Shaw smiled into the phone and felt a little of the fog lift.
"See you tonight" the two said almost simultaneously.
Shaw walked back to the group smiling.
"Elizabeth's coming back and she's bringing her mom."
John looked surprised.
"I didn't know they were at that stage."
Shaw looked at him, confusion written on her face. "What?"
"She's bringing her mom to meet Dr. Tillman, that implies they must be serious."
Shaw's laughter filled the area- she was genuinely delighted.
"Oh John, thank you, I needed a little humor."
Reese looked offended.
"I'm glad I can amuse you, Shaw."
"No, John, I'm not laughing at you, I'm just laughing at the thought that Elizabeth and Dr. Tillman thought they were being subtle. Besides, she's bringing her mom because Dr. Tillman is going to have Dr. West take a look at her.
"Although, now that you've mentioned it, maybe there's more to it than just a medical consult. And she's coming tonight instead of later to be here with us and for Root. It's really sweet."
….
The time crawled by. Root had disappeared into the elevator around 10:30. By noon, Shaw was beginning to get stir crazy. She was familiar enough with what was being performed that she knew it could take as long as eight hours depending on what they ran into in Root's chest.
Gen had wandered back to work with the kids, probably to take her mind off Root, while Harold sat alone working on his laptop doing preliminary workups on the Machine's possible lobotomy.
John had headed down to the Health Complex to continue his physical rehab, which was progressing nicely. He was starting to grumble about being kept "in jail" and was campaigning to be released.
Shaw was left to her thoughts and she watched the clock on the wall crawl through the hours. Breathe Shaw- she's in the best place for what's gone on. She'll be fine…. what am I going to do if something goes wrong? Breathe Shaw- Dr. Tillman brought in the two best possible docs to work on…. what am I going to do if something goes wrong? Breathe Shaw- this facility is the best in…. what am I going to do if something goes wrong?
Shaw started as she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up into Dr. Tillman's face. Over her shoulder the clock showed it was just after 3:00. She knew she'd never forget the moment.
Dr. Tillman took Sameen's hand in hers. The doctor's eyes danced as she squeezed it.
"The surgery went fine, Root's going to be OK."
Shaw held onto the doctor's hand and wept.
….
Gen came rushing into the waiting area grinning from ear to ear.
"Ha! I told you before Shaw, you guys are indestructible!"
Shaw rolled her eyes and hugged Gen. Harold and John were standing around smiling. Shaw's eyes were red from crying but her smile showed both joy and relief. She had told Dr. Tillman that Elizabeth was on her way with her mom and the doctor blushed and smiled. ("I look forward to meeting her.") Then she left the room to check on Root.
Shaw pulled out her phone and called Elizabeth. After shouting "Yes!" she assured Shaw she was still coming and was on track to arrive a little early.
"You better, Elizabeth. I told Dr. Tillman you were coming- and she was pleased to say the least."
"Be careful Shaw, I may be walking a tightrope here. Mom's sleeping but I have to be careful and get her used to this slowly. She's not a prude, but she is from a different generation."
"You'll be fine. Your mom will be cool. I've seen her offspring, there's a lot of substance there and I know she'll be happy if you're happy."
"You're sweet Shaw, I'll see you in a few hours."
….
By 6:30 the anesthetic was beginning to wear off. Shaw, who had planted herself next to Root's bed and announced she wasn't moving until Root woke up and talked to her, was holding her love's hand and carrying on a one way conversation.
"So I called Elizabeth went you went in and she's on her way. She's bringing her mom so they can check her out here. The timing is odd but she wanted to be here to support you, me and Gen. She also, I think, wants her mom to meet Dr. Tillman, which I think is cute. It also tells me Elizabeth sees our doctor as more than just a fling…"
"They'd be good for each other…" the words came out whispered, but shocked Shaw as if they'd been shouted. She stood and kissed Root lightly on the forehead. She reached for the call button.
"I want the doctors here right away… she's awake.… I will call Dr. Tillman." Shaw had met the nurse at the door to Root's room. As the nurse went to summon them, Shaw pulled her phone and called Dr. Tillman.
"She's awake, I sent the nurse to notify the other doctors."
"On my way."
…..
The doctors spent the next forty-five minutes examining Root and going over the operation and her prognosis. Hospital for a week during which time they would run several tests and procedures to ensure the aneurism was the only issue. Then bed rest at home for a week or two followed by routine exams every week until three months post-op.
Both doctors would be returning to Albuquerque at the three month mark to examine Root and hopefully give her the green light to resume all normal activities. To say Root was unhappy about the restrictions was an understatement.
"This sucks. I just got out of here a few weeks ago and now this? Why here a week? Why bed rest? Why three months? Why?"
Dr. Ryan answered.
"Ms. Groves… Root, you've just been through a procedure that literally saved your life. I've seen people who went through an aneurism repair spend a year getting back to their pre-op condition. Believe me, you're in the express lane on this.
"I still don't like the lack of medication re your transplant, but I've also seen the DNA matching data on your organ and to say this situation is unique is an understatement. I should be reporting this to the state ethics board, however my services here came with a non-disclosure agreement I signed before coming here.
"Now I'm beginning to see why."
Dr. Brady nodded and added, "I had the same requirement or I'd have already filed a report."
Dr. Tillman jumped in.
"Dr. Ryan, Dr. Brady, there are very good reasons for the agreements you signed. I would like you to understand why we put them in place- mostly so you understand that this facility and everyone you've encountered are not engaged in any unethical practices.
"Of course, this will all be covered under both the agreement and doctor-patient privilege. Let's go back to my office."
Turning to Root and Shaw, she smiled and winked.
"My turn to blow some minds."
Shaw reached into her pocket and removed the earwig. She offered it to the doctor.
"You know how to use it, if you need to provide them with any 'proof'.
Dr. Tillman smiled and nodded. She turned and left the room.
Root grabbed Sameen's hand.
"I think she's enjoying herself."
Shaw smiled but knew in the back of her mind, Root would be returning to the issue of her recovery soon.
I hope she understands how serious this all was and is. I may have to remind her… again.
