Chapter 44
Bravo all but ran down the hall towards Clay's room, fighting for the first foot in the door. But ultimately, the team backed off right at the entryway and pushed Liz and Jason in first, followed by a disgruntled Sonny. He was muttering under his breath that they were not cattle to be herded into the room. As the team gathered around the bed with a sleeping mop of blonde hair, they all were able to settle and scan his machines scoping out his vitals. Trent went as far as grabbing Clay's chart, checking for all the information he would need to do his review when Clay woke up. They all know he does not do "sick" or injured well. He is on some strong pain killers, antibiotics, and nausea meds so even when he wakes up, he will not be very coherent for an actual conversation. And Trent was going to use this as an advantage as he won't get any protests from the grumpy blonde laying in a bed helpless.
Jason and Sonny settled into the chairs along the window side of the bed and rested their hands alongside some part of Clay; Trent stayed by the foot of the bed alongside Blackburn and Davis, scanning through the chart and watching the monitors. Liz and Brock stood along the other side of the bed across from Jason and Liz grabbed Clays good hand and rested her other arm on Clay's chest, feeling his breath and heartbeat through her fingers. She needed to feel that he was ok and not just see him and the numbers on his monitor screens. Tactile was always her way of reassurance.
"Liz!"
Brock launched towards Liz just as her knees gave out, stopping her from hitting her head on the side of the bed as her eyes rolled into the back of her skull.
"Someone go get a doctor."
"Grab that bed from the other side of the room; bring it over here."
"Get a pillow for her head."
"If she, ok? What happened?"
"Did she pass out?"
"Did someone grab a doctor or a nurse? Where are they?"
Organized chaos erupted as Bravo leapt to their feet's and catered to Liz, as the mop of blonde hair slept clueless in the bed. Unaware of anything going on around him.
Clay's doctor barged in, looking around at the team as they settled Liz onto the spare bed, helping themselves to the extra equipment along the wall and hooking Liz up to a heart monitor and blood pressure cuff. "Ok, everyone, back away. You." He pointed at Trent, "What happened?"
The doctor knew what kind of team Bravo was through reputation, and this was not the first time he treated a SEAL, so he knew the family drill. He knew the gruff medic would be all over the status of these now two down teammates. He was also aware of their Medics antics as he was the main surgeon on Clays case and allowed all of Bravo to come in and say their hellos even outside of visiting hours.
"I am not sure; she looked pale a little while ago but seemed to be ok for the most part based on the situation. BP is normal, and her vitals are a little low for my liking, but ok." Trent reported as he scanned over all the monitors, he hooked up and put one hand on Liz's temple and the other along her wrist, checking her temperature and pulse. "She has no clear injuries reported."
"She likes to hide things." Sonny pipped up as he leaned in, taking in Liz's body, trying to find any clue of blood staining her clothes but coming up with nothing definitive as they all had smears of their fallen teammate's blood on their skin and clothing.
"Ok, everyone, let me look at her." The doctor motioned for everyone to head out into the hall as he went to the other side of the bed, drawing the curtain separating Liz and Clay and motioning with his head for a nurse to join him for the exam.
Bravo all looked around at each other, assessing their responses and gathering their thoughts. No one seemed to want to object to leaving the room, but at the same time, no one moved.
"Out, please. The sooner I examine her, the sooner you will have your answers."
With that, the team hustled out single file into the hall and closed the door after the nurse.
About thirty minutes passed, and the door slowly creaked open as the nurse made her way out of the room, giving the crowd a small smile and nod. She was not rushing, so that was a good sign.
"What's the verdict?" Trent ordered out as the team filed back into the room, peeking in on Clay to see if he was awake and gathering around Liz's bed as she laid their eyes wide, blinking at them, embarrassed.
"She is fine. She is dehydrated and exhausted. I believe she fainted from low BP and sugar levels. The nurse went to get some sandwiches for you all and juice. I will keep her hooked to the IV until the bag is empty and then overnight to confirm nothing else on the blood work."
"I'm fine. Can I please change my clothes and get off this bed?" Liz begged as she eyed the doctor and then scanned Trent's scowl.
"No." Trent, Jason and the doctor said in unison.
As the doctor chuckled under his breath, knowing this was not a conversation he wanted to be involved in, he gathered up her chart and headed for the door, "I'm going to get some better chairs and a cot or two brought in alongside the food. If you all plan to stay the night, as I'm sure you will, and I don't have that fight in me, you all better sit down and get some sleep before you all make it into one of the gowns and beds in the next room."
With that threat, the team huffed but did not open their mouths as the nurse came in with their food, followed by a few porters with the chairs and cots. They all settled into their places as Jason and Trent hovered by Liz's bed, eyeing her, not saying a word as she scarfed down her food.
"When was the last time you ate and slept?" Trent asked Liz, knowing he would not get a proper answer, but it was worth a try.
With a huff, Liz eyed him and rolled her eyes, "Probably the last time you did."
With that challenge, Trent knew he was at a loss, and he glanced at Jason with a smirk and threw his hands up as he made his way to the chair by Brock.
As everyone settled in their places, ate their food, and joined into their small conversations, Jason pulled up a chair to sit between Clay and Liz to keep an eye on them.
"You need to eat and sleep too." Liz got out between bites with a quiet voice only for Jason. She knew he was in poppa bear mode and would not settle until he knew everyone was safe. "If you don't, you will join us in these super stylish hospital gowns."
"No way am I getting into one of those!" Jason scoffed as he rolled his eyes and opened his sandwich packaging.
As time passed, everyone finished their food and settled into a comfortable silence as they fought off sleep for as long as they could, hoping for Clay to wake up before falling asleep. But ultimately, their bodies won, and each eye of the team fell closed as they slumped lower into their places, finally allowing their bodies to get the rest they craved after a few unrested days.
During the night, the nurse must have cleaned up their garbage, removed Liz IV, and brought in extra pillows and blankets, making the team members more comfortable. No one stirred or moved the whole night until Davis and Blackburn woke each other up and headed out to grab some coffee and breakfast for the team before they headed back to the base to take care of the debriefing and equipment as much as possible until they had to pull in the rest of Bravo.
The rest of the team seemed restless as they returned and started to stir in their sleep. Davis quietly walked in and put the tray of food and drink alongside Clay's side table, and as she turned to leave, she glanced again as she thought she saw blue orbs tracking her movement. But when she looked back, she saw the kid still sound asleep, not moving in his bed wrapped up in wires and tubes.
"Clay?" She whispered as she peeked at him and watched his hands to see if he made any movements. But her question was unanswered until Jason bolted up from his chair and peered sleepy eyes at his kids' faces.
"He awake?" He groaned out.
"No, I thought he was, but I think I'm just seeing things. We got you guys' coffee and food. I left it on his table. Blackburn and I are heading back to base to start the debriefing, but eventually, we will have to pull you guys' in. We will try and delay as long as possible and then get you guys some much-needed time off when you're ready."
"Thanks, Davis."
