Mark never could get used to waiting for Steve to get out of surgery, he just thanked his lucky stars it wasn't very often that he found himself in that predicament. But when he did, he was as anxious as a new father. Pacing the length of the waiting area, he wished he'd told Jesse to give him updates but then again, maybe it was best he didn't.
"Mark," Amanda said watching him pace slowly. "Look," she said pointing at the caption on the tv.
Mark looked up at the muted tv and read the headline. "Hero cop fights for his life," he said quietly as Chief Masters and Steve's partner Tanis Archer walked into the waiting room. They all stopped to watch the footage of the surveillance camera from the bank play back the moment the robbery occurred. Mark's breath caught in his throat as he watched Steve put himself right in the line of fire saving the pregnant woman beside him.
"We came as soon as we could," Tanis said with a grim look at Mark. "How's Steve?"
"He's in surgery," Mark said worriedly as he tore his eyes from the tv screen. "The bullet is in his spinal column, he has no feeling below the waist."
"My god," Tanis said softly as she moved to sit down.
Masters swallowed hard before he spoke. "I hope you'll be comforted to know we got the bank robber that shot your son," he said slowly. It was the only comfort he could offer Mark at the moment. "He'll be prosecuted to the full extent of the law."
"Thank you," Mark said sounding every bit his age. "I'll let Steve know when he comes out of surgery."
Masters nodded before moving over to the window. "I promised the reporters an update on Steve's condition," he said turning back to look at Mark. "Would you like to issue a statement?"
Mark looked at Amanda who nodded reassuringly. "Tell them the truth," he said keeping his voice even. "That my son may never be able to walk again," he said turning away as it cracked.
Amanda moved from the sofa and went to put her hands on Mark's shoulders. "You need to sit down, Mark," she said propelling him to an empty chair before getting him some hot coffee.
"Please let us know the moment anything changes," Masters said as he and Tanis headed out the door.
Mark could only nod as he sipped the cup of coffee.
Amanda sighed as she sat down in front of him and rested her hands on her knees. "He's so strong, Mark," she said quietly. "He's going to recover, I can feel it."
"I hope you're right," Mark whispered emotionally. "God I hope you're right."
Jesse stood next to Doctor Hamilton as his hands moved from Steve's back to the instrument tray. "Here you can see the exact path of the bullet," Hamilton said as he moved his finger along it. "That's easily repaired, what's not so easy to repair is this," he said moving further into Steve's back. "Here is the bullet," he said extracting the projectile. "Suction," he said dropping the intact bullet into a dish.
Jesse watched as Hamilton's hands returned to Steve's back. "Here you see the damage to the soft tissues of the lower back which contain a network of muscles and ligaments," Hamilton explained as his hands moved to repair what damage he could. "These tissues provide stability and strength to the lower back and facilitate spinal movements, such as bending and twisting."
"And the vertebra?" Jesse asked curiously as Hamilton pointed to Steve's spinal column.
"As you can see they look to be intact," Hamilton said as Jesse sighed in relief.
"However," Hamilton said grimly. "There does appear to be some damage to the spinal cord."
"How bad?" Jesse asked as Hamilton's hands stilled.
"Bad enough but not the worst I've seen," he said reassuringly. "Again, only time will tell, I've done all I can for now," he said looking across the surgical table. "Close and move him to recovery."
"Yes, Doctor," the nurse said as Hamilton stepped away from the table and took off his bloody gloves and gown. "Let's not keep Mark waiting."
Masters stepped up to the podium along with Tanis and looked out over the ocean of reporters that had gathered at Community General. Every news outlet wanted to cover the story of the hero cop that saved the life of a woman and her unborn baby.
"As you know," Masters said from the podium once the crowd became silent. "One of my detectives was injured in a bank robbery today while off duty," he said looking down at some notes. "Steve Sloan is an invaluable member of my department, the heroism he performed today has not gone unnoticed," Masters said drawing in a breath. "Unfortunately, it was not without consequences," he said blowing the breath out. "The bullet from the robbers gun has damaged Detective Sloans spinal column causing paralysis."
The mumblings from the crowd made Masters speak louder. "We ask the community to keep Detective Sloan and these doctors in your thoughts, that's the only update I have for now," Masters said stepping quickly away from the podium.
Amanda and Mark stood together in the waiting room watching the news coverage and Chief Masters statement. Both doctors turned around when they heard Jesse and Doctor Hamilton come in behind them.
"How'd it go?" Mark asked eagerly.
Jesse looked on grimly as Doctor Hamilton looked at Mark. "I removed the bullet and repaired what I could, the vertebra looks good but Mark," Hamilton said with a sigh. "There is damage to the spinal cord," he said putting a hand on Mark's shoulder. "I can't repair that, no one can, we just have to give Steve's body time to recover and after the swelling and inflammation goes down we can reassess the situation."
"I know you did all you could, Richard," Mark said quietly as his voice became a bit gruff. "I told Steve, I'd be there when he woke up."
"Of course," Hamilton said stepping aside to let Mark go to his injured son.
Amanda wrapped an arm around Mark's shoulders as they headed toward recovery together.
"Man," Jesse said with a sigh. "I've seen Mark in some pretty desperate situations but I've never seen him like this."
"It's not going to be easy for either of them Doctor Travis," Hamilton said looking at the clock. "It's almost morning," he said with a nod. "If you need me, I'm headed home to get some rest."
"Yeah," Jesse said with a nod. "Go on, I'll stick around for a bit."