They headed back upstairs and the minute they pushed the door to the gallery, they heard the monitor alarms ringing.
Conrad rushed to the window and then looked at his father.
"What happened? You said she was stable."
"She was up until a couple of minutes ago," replied Marshall.
He knew he could have turned to any of the other doctors in the room, but he needed to hear it from inside the OR as to what was causing her BP to plummet and her heart to be above 150 bpm.
He went to the microphone and pushed on the button. "What's happening?"
"Suction and more lap pads," yelled Randolph to Mina and the nurse.
Inside the OR they could all hear the panic in his voice.
Randolph who was busy trying to control the hemorrhaging, shot Al a look.
Seeing they weren't answering, Conrad's shaking hand pushed again on the button. "Please."
His voice was broken and almost sounded like a plea, calling out to his friends.
AJ looked at Randolph. "I'll go tell him."
Randolph nodded before yelling at Mina and the nurse again. "More suction and give me more lap pads."
They handed them over to him and to Al.
"We need to pack her, if we can't stop this bleeding, we're going to lose her!"
AJ pointed the scrub room to Conrad and Conrad rushed out followed by Devon.
AJ had a sterile drape over his gloves to not contaminate them and he made sure to not touch anything. Conrad was shaking inside, and AJ noticed.
"The gallbladder was acting as a bandage and when it was removed it revealed the kidney. It's bleeding profusely and is massively damaged. It's unsalvageable."
He paused for a moment letting the information sink in. Devon put his hand on Conrad's shoulder. "Bell is trying to clamp the renal artery and veins, but there is so much blood, he's going in blind."
Conrad stared into the void. "How much blood has she received?"
"6 units," replied AJ.
Conrad's eyes shot up at him right away and he knew why.
"She won't be able to take much more AJ."
"I know. We're doing everything we can, I promise."
AJ walked back into the OR as Conrad stood at the scrub sink, his hands holding on to the edge of it. AJ walked over to the nurse. "Give me a central line kit."
Al looked at him.
"She needs more blood; her heart won't hold."
"We're close to controlling the bleed."
"She's lost more blood than her heart can handle."
"Do it," replied Randolph without removing his eyes from her kidney that he was palpating through the pool of blood.
AJ turned Julia's head to the side and disinfected the site, then took the syringe and attached it to the large needle and palpated her carotid artery. When the needle was in the vein, he inserted the wire at the end of the needle and advanced the wire. Holding the wire in place, he removed the needle and asked for the 12-blade. He nicked the skin where the wire entered the skin. He inserted the dilator over the wire and pushed it into the skin. He then removed the dilator. He inserted the central line over the wire and delicately removed the wire. He then attached the line with sutures and flushed out each port before switching the transfusion site.
Within a few minutes, Randolph and Al had clamped the artery and veins and she stabilized.
Conrad gave a sigh of relief and lowered his head, still holding on to the edge of the sink.
5 hours later, after having removed her kidney, where the second bullet had lodged itself, and having checked again everything, they closed her up.
Conrad, Marshall, Devon, and Kit waited outside of the OR for her to be wheeled out. The minute the doors opened, and the gurney was in the hallway, Conrad placed his hand on the handrail and followed them quietly as they brought her to the ICU.
When she was hooked up to all the monitors, and before he could even get close to her, the entire team walked in from the OR.
"The next 24 hours are critical, numerous post-op complications can arise after what she's been through," said Randolph as he looked at Conrad.
"I know," replied Conrad.
"We'll monitor her closely," added Randolph. "If there is anything let us know."
"Thanks."
AJ, Mina, and Randolph walked out of the room leaving Al behind.
"I'm on call tonight," said Al, "I'll stay with her."
Conrad eyed him then settled in the chair next to Julia's bed and took her hand in his. "That won't be necessary," replied Conrad without removing his eyes from Julia.
In his action and those few words, Conrad had staked out his claim, letting Al understand that they were together, and he was not in the picture.
Al swallowed uncomfortably and walked out of the room and headed for the nurse's station where Devon was standing. He stood and watched as Conrad clasped his free hand over Julia's hand, raised it to his lips and kissed it, then kept it next to his face.
He gave Devon a side-eye. "You knew they were dating?"
Devon shook his head. "Not until about two hours ago."
Al puffed. "He sits there as if it was serious between them."
"It is," replied Devon.
Al whipped his head and looked at him.
"They've been dating for a little over 6 months. Conrad hasn't been with anyone in a long time and he's not the kind of guy to fool around for the sake of doing so. If they are still together today, then it's serious. At least it is for him."
Al blinked as he looked inside the room. Over six months? Why hadn't she told him anything? Why had he not noticed? Then he thought back to how Julia had been happy and glowing ever since he had noticed that day in the hallway after her surgery with Bell. He'd had all the signs but hadn't interpreted them properly. He was jealous.
He turned to the nurse. "Page me if there is anything."
"Of course, Doctor Nolan," she replied.
He walked away troubled by everything that had happened that day. Her surgery, desperately trying to make sure she remained alive and discovering that she had put the past behind her for good, and he was that past.