International Rescue: The Next Phase


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Re: The Call Goes Out [message #554 is a reply to message #541] Mon, 23 July 2012 21:38 Go to previous messageGo to previous message
Tikatu is currently offline  Tikatu
Messages: 813
Registered: April 2012
Location: South Carolina
Karma:
Field Commander
Ubiquitous one
Scott stepped out of the room, and spoke to the nurse on duty at the desk.

"Can we get some security for Ms. Collins during her stay here? I'm afraid that the news media will be all over her very soon."

"You can call the security head in the morning. We nurses will take care to see she's not disturbed tonight."

"Okay. Thank you," Scott said gratefully. Then he hurried down the hall to the VIP lounge. Gordon got up and moved to speak with him.

"Everything okay with Elise?" he asked. Scott nodded.

A cry from Dianne drew their attention. Her face had drained of color.

"What's wrong, dearie?" Emily asked, concerned. Dianne shook her head.

"When the surgeon went through what they were doin' in the OR, did he mention the puncture?" she asked Gordon.

"Puncture?" he responded, shaking his head. "No, he didn't."

"They've missed it! I know they've missed it! You father has a small puncture of the lung. It's on the backside of his left lung. It's not big but I know, I know, that I found it and put it on the treatment list!" Dianne lifted her bleak face to her stepsons. "They've missed it!"

Gordon made to leave. "Well, we can just tell them about it and they'll fix it."

"No, we can't, Gords," Scott said, his own face paling. "They'll want to know how we know about it. And we can't exactly tell them, now can we?"

"No," Gordon whispered.

Emily took a deep breath, and pulled Dianne closer. "Well, we can pray. And we'll just have to pray that they find it before the surgery is over, won't we?"

****************

Gordon couldn't stand it any longer. He hated feeling helpless, so announced he was going to call John and Alan and give them an update.

"Tell them to pray for their father, Gordon."

"I will, Grandma," he said, and giving Emily a hug, he left the room.

"Never could sit still, that one, always gotta be doin' sumthin'!" Emily said to no one in particular.

"How much longer do you think they'll be, Mom?" Scott wanted to know.

"Ah don't know, Scott. Ah just wish Ah could be in there."

Gordon had found an empty, quiet room and called his brothers on his comm-watch.

"Well, how bad is it Gordon?" demanded John.

"It's bad. Dad's still going to critical even after this surgery," replied Gordon. He continued to explain to both of them about the brain swelling and possibly more surgeries.

"I'm coming down there! John, how soon can you get up here and get me outta this tin can!" Alan Tracy was ranting and raving at this point. He didn't want to be in TB5; he wanted to be with his father.

"Hold on, Al! Relax, will ya? John can't come to get you, he's in charge of base."

The disgruntled noises and various cuss words indicated that Alan was not pleased.

"Alan, look, we'll organize something and get you and John here ASAP, but until then. bro, you got to sit tight."

Yeah, preferably sooner than later, if you don't mind," John chimed in, just as unhappy, but fully understanding the situation.

"John, please let everyone know what's going on will ya? I'll call back soon."

"Sure thing Gordon, give my love to everyone and FAB." John signed off.

"Yeah, whatever, and I love them all, too," came Alan's reply and he too signed off. Rolling his eyes at his younger brother's attitude, Gordon made his way back to the waiting room, just in time to see a very tired looking surgeon enter before him.

"Mr. Tracy has been taken to recovery, then he'll be moved to ICU as soon as the anesthesia wears off. He has several broken bones, including a fractured vertebra and scapula. We'll be setting the long bones and fusing the vertebra and the scapula. The foot has multiple fractures and will require a separate surgery." The surgeon shook his head. "He is still in delicate and critical condition. But at the moment, our biggest worry is the swelling of the brain."

"When can we see him, Doctor?" Emily asked.

"You may visit briefly when he is moved to ICU," the doctor said wearily.

Dianne looked up at him. "Ah'm stayin' with him."

"Dr. Tracy..." the surgeon began.

"Don' argue with me. Ah have practicin' privileges through Doctors Without Borders and Ah'm staying."

"I'm too tired right now to argue with anyone," the surgeon replied. "We'll let the administration decide whether or not you stay, Doctor."

"Was there anything else you found durin' the surgery that we should know about?" she asked tensely."

"No, there wasn't."

The sound of pin dropping on shag pile carpet could have been heard. Scott, Gordon and Emily exchanged glances. Dianne held back the voice that was screaming inside of her.

"Ah see. Now who do Ah see about stayin' with mah husband?" She glared at the surgeon, daring him to confront her again.

"Follow me, Dr. Tracy." He led the way and Dianne followed him out of the room.

The second the door closed, Gordon all but came unhinged. Scott reassured him over and over that Dianne would be able to watch for the first sign of trouble with Dad and alert the staff. It took a lot of reassurance from Emily, also. When her red-haired grandchild came unglued, he took a lot of persuading to come around to everyone else's way of reasoning.

Dianne spoke with the necessary personnel and after dropping the Tracy name and the words "donation of a substantial size" in the right ears, she was allowed to stay on a cot in Jeff's private ICU room. She all but flew down the corridor to where he had been lodged. He was currently breathing on his own... A good sign... but his face was looking more swollen due to the cranial bleeding. She looked over the monitors, silently checking off everything In her head. Gently she lifted her hand to his forehead and brushed her fingers across it.

"Ah'm here darlin'. And Ah'm not leaving you. Ah love you, Jeff Tracy." She wiped away the tears that had started to fall. She didn't plan on using the cot that had been set up for her; she was going to watch Jeff for the first inkling of a problem. She'd be damned if she was going to lose him now.

Scott came in on quiet feet, gasping as he saw his father's injuries. "Oh, damn. I had no idea it was this bad; that he'd look this bad." He shook his head. "Any sign of that puncture?" he asked quietly.

Dianne shook her head. "Ah'm sure Ah saw it, but Ah'd rather that th' monitors and Ah were wrong than he's got one that the surgeons didn't catch."

"I understand." Scott paused. "Gordon's really worked up about it."

Dianne sighed. "Ah'm sorry. I jes' hope...." She suddenly stood as her ears caught the change in Jeff's breathing, a hitch had developed and his blood oxygen levels were dropping as he struggled to breathe. Dianne pushed the panic button, and an alarm rang out. Nurses, and the doctor on duty came running in, pushing Dianne and Scott aside.

"What...?" Scott asked his stepmother. Her gaze was fixed on Jeff as the surgeon came in, holding the doctor's note pad from Thunderbird Seven. He was scrolling through the problems listed and then the color drained from his face.

"Damn! We missed something! Get him back to the OR, stat!" The surgeon's gaze met Dianne's look of fear and knowing, then he hurried out, following the bed that held Jeff as it rolled out into the hall. Scott grabbed Dianne as she nearly collapsed, her knees suddenly giving way.

"You were right, Mom," he murmured in her ear as he guided her to the chair. "You were right when you examined him and you were right to insist on being here."

"Yes, Ah know, Scott. The question is: can they repair it without killin' him!"

Raising his left arm, Scott called Gordon on the comm-watch. "Gordon! It's Dad, they've rushed him back into the OR. Mom was right; they'd missed the lung puncture! I'm with Mom, she's not doing good, tell Grandma for me will you?"

"FAB" was the only reply Scott received and he knew it was because Gordon was too shocked to say anything else.

Scott then made a command decision. "Mom, I'm not going to call base just yet. There's no point in them worrying twice as much as we already are. I want to wait until we hear something positive."

Dianne nodded in agreement. She was too numb to say anything else. She couldn't believe this was happening. Finally finding the words, all she could say was "Scott, what if this kills him?"

Scott didn't have an answer so he just embraced Dianne as she collapsed against him.

Post by FrankieCTB2 and Tikatu on 03/07/2004

Jeff heartbeat Dianne plain My IR:TNP OTP!

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