Notes:
Thank you everyone for your encouraging reviews and for following my story! Apologies for the delay in the update – I was a bit unwell. Better now!
This chapter contains a lot of waiting around! If you've been to a hospital and have waited to know more about someone's condition, maybe this chapter will hit home. Waiting for any kind of news is the hardest part. This chapter explores just that.
Kindly review!
Chapter 6: The Wait
As I walk out of the washroom with Van Pelt, there are so many thoughts hitting at me once – how is the surgery proceeding? , who shot at Jane and why? , what about Jane's safety?
I have to have a plan. Cho and Rigsby are sitting in the waiting lounge drinking their coffee. They stand up as they see us walking towards them – their faces showing worry and anticipation.
"You okay boss?"
"Yes, I'm fine Cho. What have we got? Any leads yet?"
"We might have one, two in fact." My heart beats a little faster on hearing this information.
I throw a glance around the waiting lounge to find us a slightly private area to sit down and talk about this. There's no need to attract attention towards ourselves yet. I find a cozy spot and we head over there with coffee cups in our hands. As we take a seat I feel relieved to find the patient status monitors directly in my line of sight.
Before we can start discussing the details, I take a quick look at those monitors on the wall to find out the status of the surgery. The information displayed on those monitors almost makes me feel like I am at an airport, except, I am not. I find what I am looking for –
Patient No: 14
OR No: 3
Operating Status : In – progress
It's soon going to be almost an hour and a half since the surgery began and even though I have seen the information electronically, I want to know it from a real person and I hope that I can ask for more details. A few moments later, the nurse who had met me in the lounge comes looking for me. As I see her approach, I realize I am a bit tensed. As I stand up, the others stand up too. I am sure they are equally anxious to know about Jane's condition. The nurse senses our apprehension and gives us a courteous smile.
"Good evening. I am Sandra Rogers. Sorry that I didn't introduce myself before. I am here with the first update with regards to Mr. Jane's surgery. It began at 6:30 pm and he is still in surgery. His doctor – Dr. Sean Evans will speak with you after the surgery."
"How much longer will the surgery take?"
"As mentioned before, it could take about 4 hours, so it could be over by 10:30, but it depends as the surgery progresses. Try not to worry. Mr. Jane is in good hands." She gives my shoulder a slight squeeze in an attempt to show her support.
"Thank you so much for the update Sandra. Just a quick piece of information for you – these are my colleagues – Rigsby, Cho and Van Pelt. One of us will always be here in the waiting room, so just in case I am not around, please don't hesitate to pass on the updates to them."
"Sure, that won't be a problem at all." With this, nurse Sandra heads back to the OR.
We all sit down and I hope that this nightmare comes to an end soon. Jane is our consultant; he doesn't even carry a weapon. It's just not fair that he got shot. I wasn't able to protect him. The guilt is now eating me up from within – and suddenly my vision turns blurry due to excessive water.
Van Pelt is right next to me and quickly puts her arm around me in an attempt to comfort me, but I am in such a state of distress that her touch isn't helping me calm down.
My tears are showing no signs of stopping. Cho and Rigsby looked shocked while Van Pelt has tears streaming down her face too. In between my sobs my deepest emotions for my consultant come out.
"He wasn't doing anything wrong today and he was sick. I doubted him today morning. How could I? He just needed a little help and company, but I just screwed up!"
Looking at the faces of my team members I add, "You know what's the last thing he said to me? He said he's sorry for everything. That idiot apologized for no fault of his! The fault is mine. I couldn't protect him, couldn't save him and now he's in there and I don't know what to do. He can't die, he just can't." My sobs continue…
Rigsby is the first one to speak up. "It's not your fault boss. Please don't even think about it. How could you have known this was going to happen? None of us had any inkling about this."
"It's true." Cho adds to what Rigsby has just said. "Besides we might have two possible suspects and we have released a BOLO too. Hightower approved it."
"Hightower knows?
"Yes boss, we knew time was of essence, so we directly went to her once we had some bits of information."
"Thank you guys. Did she say anything about this?"
"Yes, she has asked us to keep updating her about Jane's condition as well as the progress on finding the shooters" says Cho.
"Right Cho, so you were going to tell me about the possible suspects?"
"Yes boss. We have two people by the names of – Pete Sanchez and Luke Terence. Jane had solved a case about 3 years ago and they had been sentenced to life without parole, but as of yesterday both of them have somehow escaped prison.
"How did that happen?"
"We don't know yet, but we are going to start looking into all possible aspects of this case. Rigsby and I will leave for the High Desert State Prison tomorrow to investigate this further. The local PD is on high alert and will be extending its full support to the CBI with regards to this. Van Pelt will be scrutinizing the CCTV footage from the day of the incident as well as a day or two prior to it."
"Yes boss, I will also be going through the case files. As of now we know that this pair has been responsible for the deaths of almost 14 women in California." adds Van Pelt.
I simply nod wearily as I feel my strength ebbing away and say nothing further. It's almost 9:30 pm and when I look at the patient monitor hopefully, it greets me with the same status: In – Progress.
Waiting is frustrating. I send up a silent prayer for Jane and will him to keep fighting. I figure that the next verbal update isn't due until 10:00 pm so this would be a good time to eat something. My stomach is rumbling and I'm actually feeling a bit dizzy. I order my team to grab some dinner while I wait here. They protest but relent when I assure them I'll grab something from the vending machine in the lounge. In reality, I just wanted to be left alone. Bringing the perpetrators to justice is my priority, but my mind simply can't take it anymore. I need to know that Jane has pulled through and I need to know he is going to be alright; else I won't be able to forgive myself.
Walking towards the vending machine I realize how much I miss Jane in this moment. Jane and food are like best friends – the man loves to eat; both – food and my brain. I chuckle internally as I grab a sandwich and a bottle of water from the machine. I eat it with great difficulty as I remember all the times Jane has shared his food with me…tears almost threaten to spill once again.
By the time I have finished eating and stretching my muscles a bit, I see my team heading towards me. I had hoped for some more time alone, but I am incredibly grateful for their presence too.
"Any news boss?" asks Rigsby.
I glance at the status monitor and see no change in the status. "Nope, still waiting, though I hope someone gives us an update soon." As if my prayers were just answered, Nurse Sandra is walking towards us. Her expression is no different than before so it is a little difficult to guess what the news might be.
"Good evening everyone. My apologies for this slightly delayed update. Mr. Jane is still in surgery and it looks like the surgery might take a while longer."
"A while longer? Why? What's wrong?" I ask the nurse.
"A delay doesn't necessarily mean something is wrong. As mentioned before, the duration of the surgery mentioned initially may change over time. After the surgery the doctor will be able to answer all your questions. I will keep you updated in the meanwhile."
This piece of information does not ease my worry at all and I brace myself for a long night ahead. I keep my attention focused on the patient monitor
10:45 p.m. - Status of the surgery: Finishing up
11:20 p.m. – Surgery complete
We heave a sigh of relief and wait for further information from the nurse….