Steve stood in the lounge and listened to the silence. Neither Roman nor Abe had said a word since Steve had told them what happened.
They know it's my fault, too.
"Steve, man. . . ." Roman's eyes fixed on Steve's. "What happened in there. . . . It sounds like you did what you had to do."
Abe nodded. "We know why it took Shane so long to get inside. Winters had the back door and windows wired with explosives. Shane had to cut the wire on a window."
"So you're saying I jumped the gun?" Steve asked. "That I should have waited?"
Roman shook his head. "We don't know that. You said yourself that Winters was heading for the back; Shane could have already been inside."
"I'm sure he was," Abe added. "It looked like Winters was keeping them in a locked room, and they obviously got out before we got there. So someone picked that lock."
Steve was beginning to mull that over when he heard a shout from outside the lounge. With Roman and Abe right behind him, Steve rushed through the door to see Kim hugging Marcus.
"Thank you," she cried. "Oh, thank you."
It was clear that Marcus was uncomfortable. "Kim. . . ." He hesitated, pulling out of her embrace. "I'm not going to lie to you. He survived the surgery, but his condition is still very critical. There are no guarantees."
Steve doubted Kim even heard that. "He's alive, Marcus," she insisted. "That's all that matters. He's alive and he can't die now." Steve saw that she was clutching the piece of jewelry Kayla had retrieved from Shane's house. She was holding it in both hands, close to her chest, and repeated, "He can't die."
His chest feeling hollow, Steve glanced at Roman, who was watching Kim with a somber look on his face. Steve suspected Roman shared the fear that Kim was getting her hopes up. They had both heard the uncertainty in Marcus' voice. Like he had said, there were no guarantees.
"I want to see him," Kim said.
Marcus looked down at the floor. "That won't be possible for awhile, Kim. His condition . . . He can't have visitors right now."
"How soon?" Kim asked.
"I don't know." Marcus looked nervous again.
Kayla stepped in before Kim could press the issue. "Kimmie, I'm sure Marcus will tell us when you can see Shane." Taking Kim's arm, Kayla led her back over to the seating area, Marlena close behind them.
Stepping close to his friend, Steve asked in a low voice, "Marcus. . . . What else can you tell us?" Roman was right beside them and waited also for a response.
"There's not much to tell." Marcus shrugged. "We managed to remove the bullet and stop the bleeding, but the blood loss was severe. And we had to resection the lung-"
Steve interrupted. "What does that mean?".
"We had to remove part of a lobe from the left lung," Marcus explained in a low voice. "And we had to do a lot after his heart stopped. . . . It's just too early to tell. He hasn't woken up yet and who knows . . . when that will happen. And even if he gets through the short-term, he's got a long road to recovery."
"Well . . . you did your job for the short-term." Steve sighed. "The rest will come when it comes."
"I just hope Kim understands," Marcus said quietly.
Roman spoke before Steve could. "Let her hope. It's not like it would be any worse if. . . ."
If Shane still dies. Steve silently finished Roman's unspoken sentence. There was some truth to that. Losing Shane would be just as devastating for her no matter if it came after a brief period of hope. It would make no difference.
And no matter what Roman said, Steve could not help but feel it was his fault.
It could be me in there, he thought silently.
While Steve was thinking, Neil and Mickey walked over to them.
"The press are requesting a statement," Neil said.
"Tell 'em to take a hike," Steve muttered.
Neil sighed. "I wish we could, but we have a crowd outside the front of the hospital and they're not going anywhere. The problem is that we don't really know who should be making decisions about Shane. Eve's his next of kin. . . ."
"I've got people tracking her down in Africa through Frankie's organization," Roman said. "But the last time it took a few days for her to get word. Hopefully, it will go faster this time."
"Eve?" Marcus rolled his eyes. "That's just what we need."
"She's Shane's daughter," Mickey said. "As his eldest child and an adult, she should be making the call. In her absence, Andrew's-"
"Andrew's five years old," Steve said. "How can he make decisions?"
Mickey shook his head. "He can't. But Kim is Andrew's legal guardian so, until we make contact with Eve, she probably has the most legal authority to act on Shane's behalf."
"I don't know," Roman said. "She's barely hanging on right now, Mickey. The press is the last thing she wants to think about." He thought for a minute. "What if it's just something simple from Mickey? 'Shane's out of surgery' and that's all? Would that be enough for the hospital?"
Neil pursed his lips. "That's about all we know, so I guess it's probably okay. I'm not sure if that will mollify the press though. They're going to want to know a lot more."
"Mainly, they're going to want to know what happened, and that's the Salem PD's job," Roman said. "Abe and I'll deal with that."
Steve flinched at that. Of course the press would want to know what happened, which meant that, sooner or later, they would find out that Shane was shot because Steve had walked into a trap.
"Roman, would you talk to Kim?" Neil asked.
Roman hesitated, but then said, "Yeah, I guess I should. Mickey, why don't we get this over with?"
As they walked over to Kim, with Neil trailing behind, Steve was left alone with Marcus. He glanced around the waiting room and saw that Bo was talking in hushed tones with Carly in the far corner of the room. Steve looked sidelong at Marcus, who was watching Kim.
"There anything else, Homey?" Steve asked. "Anything you didn't tell us already?"
Marcus glanced at him and then looked back at the room as if to make sure he could not be overheard. Then, in a voice that only Steve could hear, Marcus said, "It's a miracle he's still alive, Steve." He took a deep breath, then added, "I'm just glad it's not you in there."