"I'm losing him, how much longer?" the medic was working at lightening pace trying to keep Antonio from dying, "we're three minutes out". Sylvie felt as if life was moving in slow motion, she could see him fading but was powerless to do anything, the medic was good at his job and she wouldn't have done a single thing different she thought as she watched him work expertly on Antonio. She held onto Antonio's hand fearing if she let go, he would too.
"This is taking too long, we needed there thirty seconds ago, I might have to crack his chest here if we're not there in the next fifteen seconds." Sylvie could tell the medic was starting panic and her tears turned to sobs, "you're not cracking his chest in the ambo." She choked out between sobs. "Ma'am, I'll do what's medically necessary." "I'm a paramedic, I know the chances of infection and death raise significantly if his chest is cracked in here, so no as his medical proxy you do not have permission." She gained her bearings and stood up to the medic as she saw the hospital come into sight.
The room was small and overcrowded and Sylvie wanted nothing more than to escape but she was needed, and this was Abigail's dad, it was Antonio and no matter her feelings towards the others in the room, she was staying. She could feel Gabby's eyes on her, she had arrived about an hour after the ambo had rolled in, Antonio has been rushed straight to surgery with a promise from Conner that there would be someone out to update them periodically but it had been five hours and no one had come. Tensions were running high and it was eventual that someone would snap, the question was who?
Sylvie watched as Gabby leaned over and whispered something to another paramedic, presumably Gabby's partner, and she laughed and glanced at Sylvie and smirked. Sylvie had had enough and was at her breaking point, she could feel all the anger from everything that had ever happened between the two of them boiling to the surface, "If you're going to act like a child at least have the balls to say whatever your saying to my face." She regretted the words as soon as she said them, but it was too late, Gabby was already on the defensive.
"Not everything is about you, you know some of us are here because we're his family, why are you even here? Let me guess you're playing with him again, you'll get whatever you want and then break his heart, well good going Brett this time you probably got him killed." Her words came off like venom stinging with every word as it slashed her open just a little more.
"I'm here because I'm Abbie's mom and his best friend, I love him as much as any of you do, so make your little jokes about me and trash me behind my back but nothing is ever going to make me hate you, you were my best friend once and your my daughters aunt, you're family no matter how you feel about me and I would rather have had been shot than have to explain to his child that she'll never see her dad again." Sylvie bowed her head not wanting Gabby to see the tears running down her face.
"Perfect Sylvie takes the highroad, imagine that." Gabby snickered. "Better than the bitch road." Sylvie snapped her head up completely flabbergasted at Eva's words. "Eva no." she tried to stop her but it was too late.
"Ohh, Eva, you really don't want to start something that really has nothing to do with you." Gabby warned as the corners of her mouth curled.
"Has nothing to do with me? She's my little sisters' mom, he's my dad, you're my aunt, this has everything to do with me! And you're making this unbearable, my dad is in an operating room with a bullet in his chest because he was trying to protect someone he loves which is something he would do for anyone of us in this room and we're out here fighting over a man you divorced ten years ago, you didn't want him anymore!" Eva threw her hands in the air and laughed incredulously; she was sick of the dancing around the subject.
"Well, I leave for a couple months and come back and my so-called best friend is married to my ex-husband and pregnant. That's not something you just get over and poof you accept because I can't escape it, I turn the corner and oh there's my niece who looks just like Sylvie or oops there's the whole damn perfect family at the grocery store and I have to leave because it's too uncomfortable, or how about she just randomly shows up to my mothers' house on a Saturday with the clone of Matt. And then I have her husband stalking me at my firehouse, trying to exclaim his love, I thought you guys were happily married or are you ready to move on, I mean that's what you did to Antonio when things got a little too complicated right?"
Sylvie shook her head and took a deep breath, "You don't know what happened between me and Antonio and frankly it's none of your business and I'm not going to put words in his mouth when he is lying on an operating table, he deserves better than that. And I'm sorry, for how me and Matt happened, I don't know how many more ways I can say that but I'm not going to apologize for either of my kids, not matter how much discomfort they may cause you." Sylvie crossed her arms and sat back in the chair and stared at Gabby, she was done crying.
"He cheated on her." Sylvie her Antonio's mom say, "He told me everything and he regrets it and spent all these years just trying to make up for hurting you, he still loves you, trust me a mother knows." Sylvie smiled at the woman who she had adored since the day they had met so many years before.
"Antonio wouldn't cheat on perfect Sylvie." Gabby rolled her eyes, refusing to believe that for even a second. "He did, I overheard him talking to Adam about it a couple years ago. It was while he was undercover, right?" Eva looked at Sylvie to confirm what she had heard, Sylvie nodded, "I found out I was pregnant three weeks after he told me." Sylvie sighed and gave Eva a small smile.
"Why didn't you ever tell me that?" Sylvie shrugged her shoulders, "I didn't want to ruin your perfect image of your big brother." Gabby eyed her debating whether she should accept the explanation but she was interrupted before she could process the situation any further.
"Family for Antonio Dawson" Conner had appeared, Gabby and Sylvie both stood, praying for him to give them good news. "Surgery was very touch and go, I thought I had lost him a couple times, but we were able to get the bleeding under control. He is being moved to CCU where he will remain on life support until he is able to breath on his own, we will monitor his brain activity and organ function over the next several days to check for improvement. He is nowhere out of the woods and this could go either way very easily." Connor looked around the room at all the somber faces, he knew Antonio only by reputation, he was a good guy and judging by the presence in the room, he was very well loved.
"Can we see him?" Eva asked as she grabbed Sylvie's hand for comfort. "A couple more hours and I'll start letting people up to see him in pairs but only for a few minutes and only one can stay with him overnight, preferably spouse or medical proxy who can make decisions." Conner explained as he made his way toward the door.
"Who's his medical proxy?" Gabby looked at her mom who shook her head and pointed at Sylvie. "She is." Gabby rolled her eyes, "Of course, who else would it be?" sarcasm rolling off her in waves.