Chapter 2 – Snap Decisions

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Fifteen minutes.

That was how long it took to stabilize Ravit, Doctor Scott actually climbing on top of Ravit's jerking body in order to force the breathing tube down her throat while Carlton just stood there. Helpless. Wondering which breath would be her last.

Fifteen minutes of agony worse than anything he had ever experienced before.

Carlton leaned forward, elbows digging into his knees as he smoothed his thumb across Ravit's limp palm. Not wanting to see her this way – eyes shut, face covered by wires and tubes, a large chunk of hair chopped off when it got in Doctor Scott's way – Carlton dropped his gaze to his feet.

Green shoelaces, really?

He could still hear her voice as she mocked him, getting in his head, knocking him off his game, challenging him in a way that no one had before. Only days ago he had pushed her off, there in the showers, assuring her that there would be plenty of time to explore the … something … that was growing between them once they arrived in New Orleans. The amorphous, unlabeled emotion that Carlton somehow knew could be the real deal. Could be what cemented people together for ten, twenty, fifty years, never so much as glancing at another person.

Now, instead of waiting for her to grace him with a date and maybe just another kiss, instead of playing poker and waiting for the next unexpected jest, he was sitting here waiting for her to die.

Carlton glanced around the helicopter bay, still half bewildered by what had happened and half amazed that anyone at all made it off that rig. Wolf sat across from Carlton clutching Ravit's left hand, tears leaking from the corner of his eyes as he watched her still form. Danny leaned against a wall, covered in thick black soot from the burning oil, Kara using a towel to clean his face so she could bandage up a cut across his cheek, her lips pursed in a way that Carlton recognized. One that meant she was holding back tears. Tex lay on his stomach with a thick bandage across his backside. In classic Tex fashion, he'd managed to catch a bullet to his ass on the way out of New Orleans, something Ravit would have certainly lampooned him for mercilessly. Next to Tex was Alisha, her hand gripping Tex's tightly as Doc Rios stitched up the gaping wound in her leg. Miller, who seemed to be in the best shape of all of them, stood next to their guest – Valkyrie, the Ramsey brothers' mouthpiece, the cause of all of this destruction and mayhem – arms crossed and jaw set.

And in the corner of the helo bay-turned-triage center, Commander Garnett leaned down to zip the bags over Chung and Lynn's faces. Walker's body, crushed as it was under the wreckage of the rig, was already at the bottom of the ocean.

Chung, Lynn, and Walker.

The only question left was whether anyone else would be joining them.

"She's stabilized for now but her condition is critical," Doctor Scott was explaining to Captain Chandler and Commander Slattery. The Captain staggered slightly, causing Doctor Scott to frown. "Are you sure that you aren't injured, Captain?"

"I'm fine," Captain Chandler retorted without hesitation, although it was clearly a lie. His posture, the way his tired eyes kept straying to the bags sitting in the corner of the space, the streaks of blood on his uniform. After a day like today, not a single person on the Nathan James was fine. "Can you remove the shard?"

"Without killing her?"

"That is the general idea," Captain Chandler snapped, his tone sharp.

"Maybe." Doctor Scott paused, her arms crossing her chest. "The immediate problem is blood loss. Right now the metal is having a cauterizing effect on the wound. Once I remove it, there is no way to predict how much blood she will begin losing and whether I can staunch it in time."

"I'll donate…"

Before Captain Chandler could finish his sentence Commander Slattery interrupted, already rolling up his sleeve. "Not today, Tom. The crew needs you here, not tied up in surgery. I've got this."

"Even if I am able to successfully remove the shard, however, her injuries may be too extreme to repair," Doctor Scott continued. "Without more advanced equipment I can't tell if the metal has actually sliced into her spinal column or any essential organs. Given the position of the injury, nerve damage and some paralysis is likely, as is kidney damage, but without more testing I can't tell the extent. We have no way of treating someone with that level of medical need on this ship - especially if all kidney function is lost, which would require dialysis and ideally a transplant."

The chamber fell silent as Doctor Scott's words, and the seriousness of Ravit's condition, sunk in. Commander Slattery was the first to speak. "But you can live with one kidney, right?"

"Yes," Doctor Scott confirmed briskly. "It will be a guessing game until I am able to remove the shard and assess the damage. But even in the best of circumstances, Lieutenant Bivas will require significant care during her recovery. A recovery that will take months, not days or weeks. You need to be prepared for that."

"I'll take care of her." Carlton didn't realize that he had spoken out-loud until three sets of eyes swung towards him. "I can take care of her if, well, if she needs help getting around. My grandma was in a wheelchair and had a catheter. She lived with us when I was a kid. I can do that stuff."

Not that the idea wasn't horrifying. The thought that Ravit, who was worse than Halsey when it came to sitting still, might be bound to a wheelchair for the remainder of her life was devastating. But at least she would be alive. And as long as she was alive, there was hope.

"Me too." Wolf met Carlton's eyes across Ravit's too-still body, a solemn pact. "Whatever needs to be done. I'm there."

The XO was the first to speak. "When do you want that blood, Doc?"

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"Any word?" Kara asked as she settled next to Carlton, her hand slipping over to cover his as it gripped the arm of the chair. The door to the pathway was open and every few minutes Carlton would catch a glimpse of Wolf as he paced back and forth, Miller keeping him company.

Carlton shook his head, throat tight. "It's been four hours."

Kara tipped her head to the side, eyes skating over him from top to bottom. She stood, retrieving an emergency medical kit from the far wall. "Let me clean those hands for you."

He turned his hands over, examining the palms. He had almost forgotten about the cuts and burns, the pain having been numbed both by the events that followed, as well as the pills that Doc Rios had thrust upon him once he realized that Carlton was not going to allow the man to treat him properly.

Kara set to work cleaning out the areas where the metal sliced through his skin. "Longer isn't necessarily bad, Carlton. It means that Doctor Scott is taking her time and doing things right."

If only he could believe her.

"How are repairs going?" Carlton asked, desperate for something else to focus on.

"Slowly," Kara replied without lifting her eyes. She lifted a bottle of antiseptic from the bag. "This will sting."

Carlton hissed as the bubbly brown fluid made contact with open flesh. "Shit, Foster, you trying to kill me?"

"Don't be such a baby." Kara set down the bottle before beginning to wrap up his hands. "Come find me after you take a shower so I can rewrap them. And, no, there is nothing new on the sub."

At least the burning pain was fading. "I'm surprised the Captain let you out of CIC."

"He has us on shifts, four hours on, four hours off. I'm off right now," Kara explained, stowing the supplies in the cabinet before rolling one of Doc Rios' tables across the room, pulling out a pack of cards. "It's going to be hard for you to play poker with those hands. Want to watch me play solitaire?"

Carlton snorted. "Seriously?"

Kara grinned as she shuffled the cards. "Or we could play Go Fish. You should be able to manage that, right?"

"Thank you," Carlton murmured, four games and twenty minutes later.

"For what? Do you have a seven?"

"Go fish. For keeping me company." Carlton watched as Kara picked up one card and then another, reminding Carlton of another day, another game of cards. "I didn't get it."

"Didn't get what?" Kara replied absently.

"Why you came to the crew lounge that day after Green collapsed," Carlton explained. "I thought that there might be something going on between you two up in the Arctic, but you both played it cool. Then he collapsed and you came tearing into the room. I thought you were being stupid. Taking the chance of getting sick like that."

Kara lifted an eyebrow. "Your point, Carlton?"

"I did the same thing on that rig. She was all that I could think about." He looked down at his hands. How long had he spent searching for Ravit before Danny and Tex arrived? How much did his fixation on Ravit cost the team? Lynn's life? Chung's life? "You have a king?"

"I was there when Danny gave his report. That entire section collapsed first. If you hadn't found her so quickly, she wouldn't be here," Kara replied, her voice soft, although her eyes remained on her cards as she flipped through them until she found the one she was looking for, sliding it into his bandaged hand. "And Doc Rios said Lynn was probably killed in the explosion. Apparently there was no smoke in his lungs. Nothing you could have done for him or Walker."

Whether or not Kara's second-hand report was accurate, Carlton felt some of his guilt ease. "Green's lucky to have you."

That drew a smirk. "I know. You have a nine?"

"Damn you suck at this game. Go fish."

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Two more hours passed before Doctor Scott finally exited the small cabin off sick bay where Ravit's marathon surgery took place, pulling off her blood-stained gloves. She narrowed her eyes at the group, which had grown to include Captain Chandler, Commander Slattery, Carlton, Wolf, Rick, and Danny (Kara having been sent off to get some sleep by a disapproving XO). "I suppose none of you have heard of patient confidentiality."

Danny snorted. "As if anything stays a secret on this ship."

Either conceding the point or simply too tired to argue, Doctor Scott didn't respond. "I was able to remove the shard but there was extensive damage to one of her kidneys and I had to remove it. That's the reason for the extra blood request and the length of the surgery."

"Lucky for her she has two," Commander Slattery piped up, obviously trying to add some levity to the conversation.

"What about her spine?" Captain Chandler asked, jumping to the issue that was on the front of everyone's mind. Carlton noticed that, if anything, the man looked even worse than he had earlier.

"Nothing was severed, thankfully, but the spine was impacted. Only time will tell how much nerve damage was done and whether the paralysis that Lieutenant Bivas was experiencing earlier is temporary or permanent." Doctor Scott gestured to Doctor Milowsky, who remained next to Ravit's make-shift hospital bed. "Dennis and I were able to repair the damage to her bowels, but she'll need to remain on a clear liquid diet until they heal sufficiently. I assume that you can alert the galley, Timothy?"

Doc Rios nodded. "Of course. I'll also make sure her IV remains running and medication is given on a regular schedule."

"I'll be here to monitor her condition," Doctor Scott began, only to be cut off.

"Actually you won't." Every eye swung to Captain Chandler, who stood with his arms crossed, the look on his face boded no argument. "You, along with President Michener, Doctor Milowky, Bertrise, the kids, and a team of guards, will be leaving the ship at dawn."

Carlton's heart began racing as Captain Chandler's words sunk in. Given their chilly welcome from the locals, sending all the civilians off the ship was a risky move, one that could mean only one thing – the James was doing something even riskier.

They must be going after the sub.

Doctor Scott stared at Captain Chandler, her sharp eyes taking in his pale face and the burn marks on his uniform. "I suggest that we discuss this matter in private. Perhaps while I treat the injuries you are so clearly hiding?"

"After you." Captain Chandler didn't bother arguing, probably not wanting to have the looming argument in public, simply waving Doctor Scott out of the cabin. As the door closed behind them, Carlton and Danny exchanged glances. Neither had any doubt about who would win this fight. Come hell or high water, Doctor Scott would be getting off the ship in the morning, and there was simply no way to move Ravit in her condition.

Which meant that Ravit would remain here.

Alone.