Choosing Happiness (14 page)

“Ask if anyone here has any painkillers. I’ve got ibuprofen in my purse, but that’s not gonna touch this.”

She closed her eyes and concentrated on letting the pain wash over her. Fighting it would do her no good, but if she just let it go, let it flow over her, she might make it through.

“This is what I found,” Maryanne’s voice called her back to the present.

Andrea opened her eyes to see what she had. There were several prescription bottles in Maryanne’s hand. “Read me the drug names.”

“Tylenol 3, Percocet, oxycodone-“

“Wait. That one. What’s the dosage on it?”

“Take one every six hours as needed for pain.”

“Not that. After the word oxycodone, there should be numbers and maybe letters.”

“5mg.”

“Okay. I can take that. I’m gonna need something to drink to take it though.” She spoke quickly, in short bursts in between gasps of air as she tried to think past the pain.

Maryanne turned to the nearest gunman. “Can we get some water?” She motioned to a bottled water dispenser near one wall.

He looked around then pointed at a little boy, he looked maybe seven. “You, go get a cup of water from over there, bring it right back here.”

The boy’s short legs pumped fast as he went to the dispenser, but they were much slower as he came back, trying not to spill the small paper cup he’d filled. He handed it to Maryanne, who set it on the floor beside her.

“How many pills?” she asked Andrea.

Andrea blinked a minute trying to make her mind function for a moment. “Two. I could probably handle three but I don’t want to push it.”

Maryanne opened the bottle and dumped a bunch of pills in her hand “Here.” She dropped two in Andrea’s right hand, watched as she put the pills in her mouth then handed her the cup of water. She put the rest of the pills back in the bottle and closed the top. “I’ll hang on to these in case we need more.”

“Good. I want to know whose pills I’ve taken so I can replace them, if I can.”

“I’m not worried about that right now.” A deep voice came from a few feet away.

“Thank you.” Andrea looked at the man who’d spoken. He was maybe thirty-five. He looked healthy and uninjured, but sitting still on the floor could hide a lot of ills. “I need something other than the pain to think about until the meds have a chance to kick in.”

“You’ve got a lot more need of them than I do right now.”

Andrea thanked him again and closed her eyes to wait. After a while the meds started to take effect and time started to blur. She was aware of movement and the phone ringing. There was talking but she couldn’t make herself care as she let the medication carry her away until the paramedics appeared beside her.

They eased her onto a gurney, lifted it and wheeled her outside. Then Jake was there. She didn’t know where he’d come from but she was glad to see him.

The jostling of loading her gurney into the ambulance made her cringe. Without hesitation Jake climbed into the back of the ambulance with her. He took her hand and held on tight, Andrea wanted to squeeze back but she needed to gather her thoughts enough to tell the EMT what they’d done and the medication she’d taken.

A
ndrea lost consciousness before they reached the hospital. The ambulance backed up to the Emergency door and the rear doors opened. Jake was first to climb from the vehicle. He stepped back, trying not to get in the way as doctors and nurses rushed forward. The EMT's pulled the gurney out and dropped the wheels to the ground and one of the nurses got a look at who was in the bed.

"Shit," she said. Turning to the rest of the ER she shouted, "It's Andy!" Jake saw heads turn all over the room as anyone not currently busy with a patient stepped in to do whatever was necessary. Jake listened with half an ear as the EMT's gave their report to the on-duty doctor. They listed what they knew of the extent of the wound and Andrea's condition, most of it was what Andrea had told them. Jake watched as they transferred her from the ambulance gurney to an emergency room bed and let the EMT's go.

The medical staff moved quickly, establishing vitals and checking the wound.

"Can you tell me what happened?" The doctor working on her asked Jake without taking his eyes off her.

"Hostage situation at the bank, she was inside. Perps shot her, it’s been a couple hours since then"

"And are you here to take her statement as soon as she's able?"

"No.” Jake couldn’t take his eyes off her.

"No?" the doctor asked.

"No. She's my girlfriend."

"Ahh." The doctor fell silent as they cut the makeshift bandage away to get a look at the wound. "It looks like she wasn't unconscious for all of it."

"No, she was awake when we got in the ambulance. She passed out on the way over. She said she gave directions on how to bandage her wound and how much pain-killer to give her, the meds came from another captive in the bank."

"Hmm." The doctor probed the wound. "That makes sense, it's not all that much damage, except it looks like it broke the scapula. Once the bleeding was stopped, which she sped with the clotting powder, she would have been all right for a while, as long as she didn't go into shock. But movement would have been excruciating, much worse than the initial shooting. It’s no wonder she passed out on the ride. Our roads are horrible. How much medication did they say she had again?"

He looked at a nurse, who told him. “That’s part of it, too.” He looked down her body once. “It’s not too much for her, but it is very strong.”

Jake felt a little better, hoping this meant she wasn’t as badly hurt as he feared. "So she's going to be all right?"

"I'll do my best." The doctor continued to look at the wound. "But she's going to need surgery to repair the bone and make sure there’s not more damage. I can't tell you that once they're in there they won't find something more serious." He looked up, meeting Jake's eyes. "Has her family been contacted yet?"

"Not yet. I wanted to know as much as I could before I called."

"Go ahead and call them. Tell them that, barring complications, she should be fine. We'll get her into surgery as soon as we can. We paged the surgeon when we got the call of a gunshot wound. Unless her family’s nearby, they probably won't make it before she goes in."

"How long until she goes in?" Jake looked at his watch.

"Five, maybe ten minutes."

"All right. I'll call her folks, then if there's time I'd like some time with her."

"We're not going to let her wake up first. She won't be able to talk, or likely even hear you."

"That's all right, I just need some time."

The doctor nodded, and Jake stepped out of the room, walking through the waiting room and stepping outside onto the empty sidewalk. He pulled his cell phone from the holster on his belt and dialed Ben's number.

"Hey, thought you were working?" His friend’s voice over the line.

"I am." He looked at the ground, not wanting to have to do this. "Where are you?"

"In my office, why? You gonna tell me you've gotten my sister pregnant and now you're skipping town?" Ben’s voice had a light teasing tone.

"I wish it were that easy.” He took a deep breath. “Ben, Andy's been shot."

"WHAT?!?"

"There was a hostage situation at the bank. She was inside and we don't have details yet, but she was shot before the situation ended. I'm at the hospital with her. The ER doc says, barring any complications she should be fine." He could hear Ben breathing on the other end of the line. "Ben, you still with me buddy?"

"What? Yeah, I'm here. It just sent me for a loop. You said Andrea was shot and the world went kind of gray for a minute."

"The doctor says she's headed to surgery, something about a broken scapula, but he said barring complications she'll be fine." He repeated, reassuring him.

"I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Wait, Ben, hang on a second."

"What?"

"Someone needs to tell your folks. I was on scene and rode in the ambulance with her or I'd go myself."

"Go?"

"Go, tell them in person. Assure them that the doctor says she should be fine."

"That ‘should’ is what's getting me."

"I know, but we can't focus on that." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I don't want your parents finding out over the phone, someone needs to tell them in person."

"Oh, you're right. I'll go by, tell them, and bring them with me."

"Good, that works. Take your time, she's getting ready to go into surgery. You won't be able to make it before she goes in anyway"

"Ok, what has she said?"

"Not much. She was talking to the EMT when they brought her out of the bank, telling them what she’d taken and the first aid done. She passed out in the ambulance and hasn't woken up yet, the doctor says they won't let her wake until after the surgery."

"All right, I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Don't hurry so much you get in an accident. The last thing I need is to have to deal with two or more of you in here."

"I'll be careful." Jake was about to say goodbye and go check on Andrea when Ben spoke again. "Bro? I'm glad you're with her."

"Thanks," Jake said. "I'm gonna go back inside. Ask at the front desk but I'll probably be in the surgery waiting area."

"All right, I'll see you when we get there,"

"Bye."

Jake disconnected the call and stuck the phone back in its holster before going back inside. He stepped through the doors into the emergency area without being challenged, possibly because of his uniform, and headed back to Andrea's bed. As he stepped up beside her the nurse monitoring her vitals looked up.

"You're Jake, aren't you?" she asked.

Startled, he looked back at her. "Um, yeah." He wasn’t sure what else to say.

"I've worked several shifts with Andy in the last few weeks. She's talked about you a lot."

He blinked a couple times. "I don't know what to say," he admitted.

"You don't have to say anything. You looked confused when I knew who you were, I was explaining."

"Ahh." He looked back down at Andrea, lying so pale in the bed. "Have you known her long?"

"About a year. Shifts rotate some so I don't always work with her, but I have a few times. She seems really gone on you."

Jake smiled sadly. "I've hoped so for a while." He smoothed Andrea’s hair back out of her face, his eyes never leaving her.

"Did something change?"

"I'm hoping it's just a rough spot." He dismissed it as he continued to watch Andrea.

"They'll be in to get her for surgery anytime now," she said. "I'll leave you alone until then, shout if anything changes.”

"Thanks." Jake’s attention was still on Andrea.

After the nurse left and pulled the curtain closed behind her, Jake picked up Andrea's right hand. He held it in his, as he spoke quietly, just for her. "Dee, please make it through this. It's all right if you don't want to be with me, but you have to live. Think of Ben and your parents. They’ll be devastated if you don't make it. And so would I," he admitted. "You're strong, you can do this. Don't make me tell your mom and dad that I let you die in there."

Another nurse pulled the curtain back. "Time to go," she said cheerily, as she moved around the bed making sure the IV tree was already secured to the bed before she unlocked the wheels and pushed the bed into motion. "I assume you'll be wanting the waiting room, officer?" She looked at Jake.

"Yes, ma'am"

"If you'll follow me, I'll show you where it is." She maneuvered the bed out the door and down the wide corridor.

Jake followed as she pushed the large bed through the wide hallways until they reached an elevator. She pushed the call button and they waited for the car to arrive. When the doors opened they checked to make sure there was no one inside before she pushed the bed inside, Jake followed close behind.

"Third floor," she said to Jake.

He pressed the button, lighting it up. They rode in silence and once the doors opened started again down the maze of hallways. The nurse slowed as they approached an intersection and looked at Jake.

"Straight down this hallway about fifty feet there's a waiting area on the right side." She pointed him down the hallway they'd been traveling down, then turned the large bed and pushed it down the intersecting hallway.

Jake watched the nurse as she went a little farther, then turned again and disappeared into the operating room with Andrea. Once he couldn’t see her anymore, he continued down the hallway as the nurse had instructed and found the sitting area right where she'd said it would be.

The furniture was slightly worn and made him think of the many families who had sat there and waited for news about their loved ones. He glanced around. The room was empty and he had his choice of seats. He chose one at random and sat, finding the chairs surprisingly comfortable.

A few minutes later an orderly was passing by, Jake stopped him. "Are we allowed to use cell phones in the hospital?"

"As long as you don't disturb people, yes, officer. If you're interested there's also a garden area off the first floor where you can step outside and make a call."

"Thank you, I'd rather stay here."

"As long as you're not too loud, you should be fine." The man assured him.

"Thank you."

"No problem." The orderly continued on his way.

Jake soon realized he couldn't just sit and wait, instead he paced the hallways. He was careful not to go too far or leave the waiting area for long, in case Ben showed up with Sophia and Charles, or one of the doctors or nurses came to talk to someone. He didn’t want either to find no one there.

He didn't know how long he'd been walking when he spotted Ben charging down the corridor toward him. Jeanie was beside him and Sophia and Charles close behind. He abandoned the route he'd been pacing and met them half way.

"Hey." Jake clasped Ben's hand and pulled him into a one armed hug, before giving Jeanie a hug too. He nodded to Charles and Sophia before facing the whole family, his eyes moving from one face to another as he filled them in. "The ER doc said she should be fine." He started off with. "Apparently the bullet broke her scapula and they had to go in and do some kind of repair and make sure there wasn’t more damage, that's why she's in surgery."