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“Sorry, Doc. I can’t yet. It’ll have to wait.” I pushed past him and headed straight to Katie’s gurney.
Dr. Cole followed me with the wheelchair and said, “At least sit.”
I sat down, and they took us back to the Emergency Department. Once there, they got us set up in the rooms and set up for X-rays. Dr. Cole and the two nurses, Ivy and Fiona, approached me.
“Jackson,” Dr. Cole began, “it’s time to step out. We are going to do your images first. Ivy will stay with Katie, and Fiona will go with us. Katie, are you okay with that?”
Katie looked up at me nervously and gripped my hand. Looking down at her, I said, “Can you see the bed behind me, darlin’ girl?” She glanced, then nodded. “That’s as far as I’m going. Then, I’ll be right back here. You good with that?”
She swallowed hard. “Yeah. You need to get checked out.”
“I love you, sugar.”
“I love you, too.”
I walked into the connecting room with Fiona and Dr. Cole so that the techs could start my x-rays. As I sat on the bed, Dr. Cole explained, “Jackson, I wish you would have completed the CT. I’m worried about that bullet wound and those surgical wounds. Since we don’t have the scans, I will have the techs do a full set of x-rays of your shoulders, lower chest, upper abdomen, pelvis, and legs.”
I sighed but didn’t protest. I knew it needed to be done, and as long as I could see Katie, I’d give them the time to do what was required.
“Sorry, Doc. Once we get Katie taken care of, I’ll think about it. I had surgery over a month ago in New York, and I was shot in the leg several days ago, so there can’t be that much wrong with me. The rest is just some cuts. They’re gruesome, but they don’t appear to be life-threatening.” I apologized. I knew he was trying to do his job, but I had my limits right now.
Dr. Cole sighed, “That doesn’t mean you don’t have bullet or bone fragments from that leg wound or, God forbid, issues with your still healing thoracotomy. So, let’s get the images done and go from there. While doing that, Ivy will get things prepped for Katie’s reductions and exam.”
I nodded and lay down on the exam table. They threw a blanket over my legs and pulled my gown up. Fiona started taking my vitals, and Dr. Cole gloved up. “Jackson, I’ll need to remove your gown to examine all the wounds. Are you okay with that?”
“Sure, Doc. Just so you know, I wasn’t assaulted like Katie was,” I said.
“But you were assaulted,” he said.
Rage filled me, and my vision turned crimson. I clenched my teeth together, trying to control all the shitty emotions that threatened to take over. I wanted to rip his throat out for saying those words. Just as I lost my grip, I caught sight of my beautiful girl, lying helpless on the gurney just behind the man I wanted to maim, and it all faded into nothing. Katie was the priority.
I pulled off the gown and laid back. The tech did so many fucking X-rays. The first time they moved my arms, pain lanced through me, and I yelled.
“JACKSON!” Katie yelled. I turned, and she was attempting to get off the gurney.
“I’m okay, darlin’. I wasn’t expecting it to hurt,” I called to her as I fought back the urge to puke.
When the tech was finished, Dr. Cole and Fiona came back in. They looked over the X-rays and then started checking the gunshot wound. He rolled me onto my side and then looked at the images. He moved on to the cuts. I sucked in a breath, letting it out in a low hiss.
He looked at Fiona, “Page Plastics. Tell them to send the chief.”
Fiona picked up the tablet and tapped away at it while Dr. Cole looked back at me. “You need surgery. You have bone fragmentsthat are dangerously close to some major blood vessels in your leg. You got really freaking lucky with that bullet wound in your chest. A few degrees difference in entrance angle, and you wouldn’t have made it. You had someone with some chops looking out for you. Same with this one. You’re lucky it went in at the angle it did; otherwise, you wouldn’t have made it a few minutes, much less a few days.”
I stared at him, then glanced over at Katie. He gripped my bicep and squeezed gently. “Jackson, the surgery needs to happen now.”
“And if it doesn’t?” I asked. I wouldn’t leave my girl. Not now when she was unprotected.
The doctor attempted to persuade me to have the surgery immediately, but I refused unless it became life-threatening. Once he realized I would not have the surgery, I asked him, “Can I return to Katie?”
He nodded and followed me into the room. “The plastics guy will be here soon. He has to come in from another hospital.”
Katie grabbed my hand as I sat down next to her. She didn’t say a word but looked concerned, so I lied. “I’m fine. Just some cuts and some bruises.”
The nurses turned to Dr. Cole and explained they were ready.
“Katie, Ivy gave you something to help with the pain now that we’ve drawn blood. I’m not going to sugarcoat it. This will hurt,” Dr. Cole said, then he relocated Katie’s shoulder and hip. The shoulder wasn’t so bad. She winced and grunted, but when he moved to Katie’s hip, the sound that came out of her when he popped her hip back into place made my hair stand on end.
Dr. Cole apologized, “I’m sorry, Katie. I know it’s painful, but it’s done, and we’ve gotten you situated so Ivy and Fiona can start the exam.
