Colby sank to his knees, his hand pressed into his side. The pain was spreading up his chest. He closed his eyes and concentrated, trying to shut out the sounds of gunfire and shouting that filled the air around him. He focussed on his breathing. It was coming in short, shallow gasps, each one sending pain across his rib cage. He took a slow breath in, tentatively filling his lungs bit by bit to assess the pain. His focus was abruptly broken by someone yelling his name in his ear, his eyes snapped open, but everything was blurry. It cleared slowly and he could see his partner kneeling next to him, feel his hand on his shoulder. "David" he gasped.
"you ok man?" Granger grimaced and lifted his hand away from his side. His hand, vest and shirt were soaked red.
"oh man, hold on." He turned away from the wounded agent for a moment. "Some help over here!" he roared.
Don allowed himself some quiet satisfaction as the meth dealers were dragged from the house in cuffs. He turned when he heard Sinclair's voice yell. He saw the agent kneeling next to someone who was obscured by a car. Don, glanced back at the crime scene, things seemed to be secure there. He ran towards Sinclair who was clearly in some distress, that could mean only one thing, one of the team was hurt. As he rounded the car he saw Granger on his knees, on hand on the road, the other clasped to his side. Sinclair was on the phone.
"Colby? Colb, lemme see, c'mon" Don gently pulled Granger's hand from his side, oh god, there was a lot of blood. "I'm gonna need to put some pressure on this" He pushed his hands onto the wound. Colby gasped and moved away.
"God, Don." Colby didn't get to finish his sentence, an ambulance pulled up next to them , directed by Sinclair's frantic waving. The paramedics were at the stricken agent's side in a moment, allowing Don to pull back.
"It's gone through his vest – armour piercing rounds." Don looked back at the house. "Jesus" his mind played out all the possible outcomes there could have been including most of the team lying in street in pools of their own blood.
"I'm gonna ride with him in the bus" Sinclair said, cutting through Don's nightmare.
"sure, sure, I'll round up the others and meet you there." He turned to Granger who was being loaded into the ambulance "you hang in there, We'll see you in a minute."
Colby felt himself being lifted into the air, and far, far away, he could hear David's voice. Why was David so far away? He needed him here now. He was fighting for breath. God, this was the freighter all over again, that sensation of drowning. Wjhy did everything come back to that damn boat? He could feel himself drifting downwards. Some sleep, everything would be better after some sleep.
By a bizarre twist of traffic, Don and Megan reached the hospital at the same time as the ambulance. A female doctor was already by the back doors listening to the paramedics report.
Colby was very pale and he was barely conscious as he was wheeled into resus. The doctor in a calm and measured voice directed the nurses to cut off his shirt. Don stood by the door, not wanting to get in the way, but not wanting to leave his man either. Sinclair was at the head of the gurney, talking in low, urgent tones to Colby. The doctor gently pushed David out the way as she shone a light into Colby's eyes. In a moment his was stripped to the waist and wired to all sorts of machines.
"Sats are dropping" announced one of the nurses. The doctor looked up at one of the monitors and issued some instructions to her staff. How could she remain so calm? Don wondered. "Pressure is…." Don didn't hear the rest as one of the other medics yelled across the room "stopped breathing!" The doctor glared at him as she moved back to Colby's head. She removed the mask and bent her head to his. After a second or two she lifted her head up.
"Let's intubate, phone the OR let them know to expect us. Lets also get another 5 units up just in case" She gently tilted Colby's head and slipped a tube down his throat in a fluid motion. "Bag him" she gestured with her head at the younger doctor.
"I can't get the air in" he said after a few moments. The doctor frowned and began to listen to Colby's chest. She pulled the stethoscope away from her ears and wound it back round her neck.
"Chest drain please" Don's stomach lurched, he knew enough to see that Colby's condition was deteriorating . He looked at the clock on the wall, they had been there for 5 minutes, god was that all? When he turned back, the doctor was making an incision in Colby's chest. She tossed a blood soaked gauze to the floor. Don's eyes followed it as it splatted gently on the floor. The floor around the trolley was covered in blood stained pads and gauzes. Granger was losing so much blood. Don, feeling his stomach flutter; he closed his eyes and rubbed a hand across them. When he opened them again, Colby was being wheeled out of resus with Sinclair close behind. He touched the arm of the doctor as she passed. She turned and smiled. "He is stable enough to go up to the OR. Just a second please" and gestured for him to leave the room. He closed the door and watched as she turned to the younger medic. She was smiling all the time that she spoke but she could see that he was getting a dressing down for something. She ended by patting his shoulder and then she came back out to meet Don. She saw that he had been watching the exchange.
"Interns always think they are on an episode of ER, with lots of shouting and panic." Megan and David walked over to join them, Charlie, Amita, Larry and Alan were not far behind, the call had clearly gone out. "They won't let me up there" said David, exasperated and frustrated that he could no more to help his partner.
"You'll be allowed up when he comes out of the ER"
"How is he doc?" Don asked
"GSW to the lower chest, From what I can tell it hit no major organs or blood vessels but it caused his chest to fill with fluid, making it hard for his lungs and heart to expand and contract. We have relieved the pressure by inserting a tube and draining off the fluid" It is straightforward enough to repair. My main concern is the amount of blood he has lost. This will make surgery risky at best"
David turned away and kicked a nearby gurney. The doctor looked at the worried faces round her. This was clearly a close knit team. "Look, my name is Dr Taylor, if you need anything, get them to page me. I'll see about getting one of you upstairs to be with him when he is moved to recovery"
Time crawled past. Don had stopped looking at the clock an hour ago. He had tried talking to David, but knew that the agent was locked in his own private hell. He looked at the faces of the people around him - his team, even if some weren't officially his – and saw the same look on all of them; fear and worry. He wondered if Colby appreciated how much he meant to the people sitting in those chairs. The number of times Colby had put his life on the line for each and every one of them. The man was brave, of that there was no doubt. Charlie's trust metric had proved to the team how much he meant but had they conveyed that to Colby? It was an unspoken thing surely, everyone, knew they were valued, loved even. Don's mind was racing; thoughts about Colby, Charlie, the whole team tumbling over each other. The loud click as the door to the OR opened brought his mind back to the present. A green gowned doctor was looking at them all, clearly looking for someone to speak to.
"How is he?" Don spoke first. It was his responsibility after all, he was team leader. His heart was in his mouth as he waited for the surgeon to reply.
"He is being moved to recovery. Things were difficult for a while, as he was so weak form the loss of blood but he expect him to make a full recovery" Don felt his knees sag slightly before he recovered his composure. He thanked the doctor and looked for David, but Colby's partner was already on his way to recovery.
David stared through the glass of Colby's room. The stricken agent lay surrounded by tubes and machines. Anger rose through his body as he looked at Colby's pale face. Sinclair wanted to punch, he wanted to get the people, the man who had done this to his friend and punch him until his face ran red. Make him bleed the way he had made Colby bleed. A gentle hand landed on his shoulder. Without even turning round, he knew it was Megan. She always knew what to say, when to be there and when to give people space. He turned to look at her. To his surprise, she had tears in her eyes.
"We're going to get something to eat. Join us" her hand pulled slightly at his shoulder as she withdrew it.
"He needs to rest and so do we" she added. David turned to look at his partner again. Megan was right. Colby was going to be in hospital for some time and he intended to be right there for him.
"Be right back" he said softly, and then he headed out of the door to join the others.