2. Marcus #2
Dr. Ranlen lets out a sigh of relief as she inclines her head toward the surgeon. “Thank you. I knew you and the team would pull through. Can you break it down for us, Dr. Moore?”
He sits heavily in a chair, pulling it up to face us. Running a hand over his face, he lets the exhaustion show, as if he’s unable to push it away. “Let’s see… As the trauma surgeon, I worked on the GSW to his chest as quickly as possible, trying to staunch the bleeding and keep his heart beating.
“You called in the perfect cardiothoracic surgeon. Dr. Singh did not give up, even if I didn’t understand half of what she was muttering; it was so fast. I’m fairly certain she called on divine intervention, and your guy got it.
“He’s going to have a long road to recover, though. Don’t expect him to jump up from the bed anytime soon. He’ll need physical therapy—a lot of it.
“We’re also watching him for any signs of neurological disorder, especially after flatlining.
There does seem to be some swelling in his brain.
Dr. Demir doesn’t think we need to operate, at least not yet.
We have him in a medically-induced coma.
He’s in the ICU for now, but we’ve gone ahead and reserved him a private room. We thought it better than to have…”
I almost snort, knowing he wants to say, “To keep us thugs out of the main areas”, but he bites his tongue at Dr. Ranlen’s sharp glare.
Fucking two percent chance . I’m glad she didn’t tell us, but damn. Fucker got lucky. Too bad the alphabet boy didn’t live. He deserved payback for this shit.
“Alright. Thank you so much for this. We’ll be having someone stay with him. Precautionary, you understand. We’ll transfer him to private accommodations as soon as possible.”
“Be careful. I don’t want to risk moving him. We have him stabilized, but you know how this shit goes. And the other thing…” Dr. Moore hesitates as he cuts a glance toward us.
Dr. Ranlen cuts in immediately. “You can’t report this.”
“You know, legally, we have to do it. Not to mention, there are so many people who already know…”
“No. I’m the administrator, and I’ll take full blame if needed. This won’t be going through insurance, and all of you have earned a significant bonus for doing this.”
“Fuck. You know…I didn’t get into this profession to do anything except to help people.” Dr. Moore rubs his temples, and I almost feel guilty for putting him in this position.
“Well, that and because you’re a God in surgery.”
He rolls his eyes and gives a weak smile.
“I know you’re manipulating me, Dr. Ranlen.
You’re not that good at it.” I curl my fingers into fists, worried I’ll have to step in with this, but Keegan touches my leg lightly, forcing me to stand down.
“But, fine. You knew who to call for a reason. Get him out of the hospital as soon as he’s a bit more stable, and we’ll pretend this never happened.
We kept the supporting team small for a reason.
I didn’t list GSW on his inpatient records, so be careful what you say in the ICU. ”
“Thank you,” Dr. Ranlen breathes out, offering her hand. For a moment, I don’t think Dr. Moore will do anything, but he finally reaches out and shakes it, muttering under his breath.
“Alright, you know the procedure. Better than I do at this point. I’m going to go wrap everything up, and tell the team we’re done for the night. You owe us dinner and a week’s vacation.”
“Got it.” She waves him off, her shoulders tight as he studies her.
Whirling around, he marches out of the room, and I turn toward Dr. Ranlen, waiting for the next move.
Frowning, she stares at us. “You have two choices. You can either go home now and get some rest, or when he’s moved to the ICU, you can stop in and see him.
Either way, I know you’ll want to get guards here.
He won’t be coming out of the coma until they’re satisfied he’s on the road to recovery.
Right now, he needs rest. I’ll talk with…
Doc…about transferring, and the best time to do it.
For now, we have all the information possible. ”
“Sarah?” I interrupt her when she goes to leave the room, and she stands there, not looking at me. My heart hurts for what we put her through on this. Not only having to work on Lio, but putting her livelihood in danger—again. “Thank you.”
Giving a barely perceptible nod, she strides out, likely checking on everything from an administrator’s perspective. Exhaling, I slump down in the chair, turning my head toward Keegan. I’m wiped out, and not even sure what to do here. Fuck knows I don’t trust any guards right now.
Keegan kisses my forehead and opens my phone to the contact list. “Let me call and give updates to everyone, and then I’ll talk to the Amatos. We’ll figure out coverage, and I’m sure they’ll be willing to lend those who are already cleared from their guards.”
With a weak smile, I close my eyes and listen to him talk on the phone.
It doesn’t take long for tiredness to claim me.
Fuck knows my neck is going to hurt after this, but I’m done.
My mental status is offline. Let’s hope Keegan can make magic happen.
With that, I slip into sleep, content to know Lio will live. We’ll deal with the rest as it unfolds.