Chapter 4- Please

Donovan had been right about needing the bucket, but Amberleigh wasn’t the only one in need of it by the looks of things. Not to mention without him, Grayson and Amber would’ve never made it down those fucking stairs without breaking their necks. He helped her cart him down the steep stone stairs safely and tried to warn them about the sight they were likely to see down there. The metallic scent of blood hit them before they even made it to the last step.

                When they rounded the corner, it was a gruesome sight indeed which got Amber’s guts to churning. Leo lay pale and unmoving upon a stretcher in the middle of a large room surrounded by an impressive array of medical equipment. His clothes had been cut away, a discarded bloody pile in the floor, his waist covered with a sheet that was quickly becoming stained in crimson. Blood dripped off the edge of the stretcher and hit the floor.

Leo had wires on his chest which displayed his vital signs on a screen mounted on a wall. Amber took comfort by the blips of his heartbeat running across the screen, though was troubled by his blood pressure which was 68/32 and dropping fast as it was automatically retaking every few minutes. A man who looked like an older and slimmer version of Donovan was stuffing gauze into the wound in and attempt to slow the bleeding. And when he turned to look at the newcomers, Amber saw those same grey eyes like Donovan’s though with lines and far more troubled.

Standing near a lighted medicine cabinet, a woman around Amber’s age with a curly blonde ponytail, and a fuzzy red Christmas sweater, was drawling something up into a syringe from a vial. Grayson seemed to sag between them and Amber noticed how all the color had drained from his face. Donovan noticed too, but he was also looking like he was about to vomit himself. That made three of them, the blind leading the fucking blind.

“Donovan, get our guests chairs to sit. And Cori as soon as you push those meds, get the blood ready,” those grey eyes turned in their direction, “we’re going to do all we can for your friend. He’s lost a lot of blood. We need to open him up to remove the bullet and see what damage it’s caused.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll get the bucket too.”

“Can you fix the damage?” asked Amber.

“I can’t answer that question until I have a look inside. See what path the bullet took and where it ended up. But I’m sure as hell going to try.”

“Please do everything you can for Leo Doc. He’s a good guy and he doesn’t deserve this. Caught in the crossfire. Please,” Grayson pleaded.

And just like Amber felt her heart breaking all over again. Grayson wasn’t the type of man to plead or beg. His moist gaze went back to his best friend, lying so still and helpless on that table. There was no doubt in Amber’s mind that Grayson loved Leo and that the billionaire was far from a stone cold bastard. Grayson would have traded places with Leo if he could in a heartbeat.

“We will Mr. Godwin. We’ll take good care of your friend,” reassured the Doc.

Donovan helped prop Grayson up against the concrete wall before he ran off to grant his father’s request. She struggled to keep him upright as he swayed. She feared he was about to hit the floor. It wouldn’t be the first time Amber had watched the billionaire pass out, but it hadn’t been a pleasant experience, and she certainly didn’t want to go through it again.

“Just stay with me here Grayson. Please don’t make me try to catch your ass. Don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re heavy as hell.”

She gave him a half-hearted smile. The billionaire seemed to have nothing left, running on fumes. She could see it in his eyes, the struggle just to keep himself upright. God only knew all he had been through in the warehouse or when he’d last slept. Or had a proper meal.

“I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me. Just focus on Leo.”

“Grayson has been without his meds for days. He especially needs his Ativan,” said Amber, ignoring his request.

“Cori will take care of it after we get your friend’s blood started.”

“Thank you,” said Amber.

Cori sprinted over to Leo with two syringes in hand. Amber noticed an IV in Leo’s left arm. Even though Grayson looked five seconds away from passing out, he still questioned what she was about to do to his best friend.

“What are you giving him?” he demanded.

“Fentanyl for the pain and Versed as a sedative before we try to remove the bullet,” she explained, “we would rather avoid putting him under a general anesthetic and intubating him, but we will if it proves necessary.”

Amber rubbed Grayson’s arm to try and calm him. The Doc continued to apply pressure to Leo’s wound. After his daughter pushed the meds through the IV, she grabbed a bag of Saline and hooked it up to Leo. By then Donovan had returned dragging two chairs and with a bucket hanging off his arm. Once Grayson had been deposited safely in one of them, and handed the bucket, the teen looked at his father with a pleading look in his eye. Amber could see the boy was gagging.

“If I’m no longer needed, I would like to get back to stocking. Just holler if you need me.”

“Go on then Donny. But keep the door opened in case we need anything,” said Cori.

He looked relieved and nodded. And he couldn’t get out of there quick enough. Not that Amber could blame the boy. She really didn’t want to witness this either, the sounds, the smells, watching poor Leo so fragile and lifeless.  But even as Amber’s eyes clouded over, she knew she couldn’t fall apart, because beside her, Grayson began to retch violently into the bucket.  Needless to say, it didn’t help Amber’s own nausea. But she rubbed his back while his head was in the bucket and tried to focus her eyes and sense of smell other places. That also proved to be a bit of a mistake, as she looked away just in time to see Cori remove a bag of blood from the fridge, and the Doc was pulling a tray of scalpels and clamps and stuff near the stretcher. 

Amber placed a hand to her mouth, trying to contain the bile rising up her own throat. There was only one fucking bucket and it was currently in use. She eyed a garbage can nearby and pulled it close just in case. Cori spiked the bag of blood with some tubing and connected it to the line of saline already rapidly pumping to Leo’s vein.  Then she ran back over to the medicine cabinet and looked through the vials quickly. Amber was able to swallow that burning mouthful of acid back down for now at least, but it wasn’t fucking easy.

“We have two bags of O neg on hand Dad. Do you happen to know his blood type for certain?” asked Cori.

“B positive,” answered Amber without hesitation.

It had come up in a weird random late night conversation once after Amber explained to Leo the required tests during pregnancy. Amber’s blood type was A positive which meant she wasn’t at risk of her body attacking her unborn child. Mothers who had negative blood types needed a shot called RhoGam to prevent them from making antibodies to attack the blood of their babies in case the child had RH positive blood.

“Okay, we’ll run a bag of B pos next if we need to. O neg is a universal donor,” explained Cori.

The father and daughter worked well as a team. He was shedding his bloody gloves and scrubbing his hands in a sink, while his daughter came over to Grayson with a medical drape and shot in hand. Grayson looked at her bleary eyed, as he removed his head from the bucket, she handed him the drape to wipe his mouth.

“Thank you,” he said, his voice hoarse.

“I have some Ativan and I also added you some nausea medication called Zofran,” she looked over at Amber, “I can get you some nausea med too while my dad finishes scrubbing in.”

Amber shook her head, “I’m just pregnant. I would rather avoid medications if possible.”

“I understand. Now I need you to roll up your sleeve sir. I need to get this in your bicep up top.”

Grayson found it easier to unbutton his filthy dress shirt enough to slip his arm out his sleeve entirely. Amber bit her lip when she noticed bruises on his arm. Those fucking bastards! Rage filled her all over again. At least those fuckers got what they deserved. Cori wiped his bicep with an alcohol wipe before she pinched the skin on his arm and gave him the injection into his muscle. She slapped on a bandage and Grayson quickly put his arm back into his sleeve. It was clear he didn’t want Amber looking at his bruises nor did he want to talk about it. That was a conversation for a later time.

“Amber has had some trauma today too. She and the baby need to be checked over,” said Grayson.

Cori nodded, “As soon as we get Leo stabilized, we’ll examine you. We have an ultrasound machine in the other room. We’re well equipped here.”

“Grayson needs to be looked over too,” volunteered Amber.

The billionaire gave her a sharp look, but Amber matched it with one that said it wasn’t open for discussion. Grayson sighed but didn’t have the energy to fight that battle and resigned to it.  He glanced around the basement again.

“Where the fuck did all this stuff come from? Who funds this place?”

But Amber lay a hand on his arm, “You don’t really need to ask that question Grayson. I’m sure you can guess. It’s pretty fuckin’ brilliant too.”

The Psychos funded a delicensed doctor and in turn had him in their back pocket. No need for a hospital or getting the marshals involved. Under the radar. But it also came at a great fucking risk, especially to Cori. If she was discovered, she would be imprisoned, and lose any chance of ever becoming a licensed doctor. What the psychos paid them must have made it worthwhile.

“I have to get scrubbed in myself and help my dad get gowned up for Leo’s surgery. You are both welcome to stay, but if you find it’s too much, feel free to go into the other room and wait. It may be distressing to watch.”

Cori gave them a sympathetic look. Grayson gave her a hell-bent one.

“Thanks, but I’m staying right here.”

“As you wish.”

Cori walked over to join her father at the sink. She helped him into his gown and a sterile pair of gloves before she began to wash her own skin. Grayson’s eyes went back to the monitor on the wall. He watched Leo’s life on that screen. His breathing was tense. His back rigid. His icy eyes glued to the screen as if he was willing his best friend’s heart to keep beating, his lungs to keep breathing. Amber could feel her own heart beating quickly inside her chest. She slipped a hand into his and held it tightly. Neither of them said anything about it as they watched that monitor.

That beeping was the soundtrack to the worst day of Amber’s life. She wondered how a day could be the best and worst of your life. She was glad to be touching Grayson, further confirmation that getting him back had been real. But watching Cori and the Doc prepare to operate on Leo helped to confirm it was unfortunately real.  The parts that hurt and the parts that brought joy.  A crazy mixed bag of emotions.

Grayson’s hand was still entwined in hers, but his eyes were attached to the screen. It seemed looking at Leo directly was too painful for him. Looking at the screen helped him detach himself to a certain degree. It sure hurt Amber’s heart every glance she took at the still man she loved with all her heart. She longed to be over there with Leo, to hold his hand and talk to him, but she didn’t want to get in the way. And she honestly didn’t know if her legs would hold her up right now either. She laid her weary head upon Grayson’s shoulder and fought back the newest wave of tears.

Grayson was still watching that monitor when it began to alarm loudly. The lines of Leo’s heart beat seemed to space out more and his heart rate started to fall quicker than the ball in Times Square on New Year’s Eve. But this was far from a fucking celebration as the rate went 58 to 46 to 32. Cori and the Doc sprang into action quickly as he pushed his fingers into Leo’s neck to feel for a pulse and Cori ran over to a cart with a machine on the top.

“Atropine stat.  Hook him up and prepare to pace. Have Epi on standby. I have a faint pulse, for now,” ordered the Doc.

“On it!”

This wasn’t fucking real life! This wasn’t happening. Leo would be fucking fine. He had to be.  Grayson jumped to his feet quickly and nearly threw Amber to the floor. When she righted herself, her fingers clamped onto his arm hard enough to add more bruises to his collection. The billionaire ran his fingers through his hair and his body stiffened.

“What’s happening?” he screamed.

“His heart rate is dropping. His blood pressure is tanking. We need to get his heart rate up quickly,” yelled Cori as she fumbled with the bulky cart.

Grayson stumbled towards the stretcher forcing Amber to follow as she didn’t want to let him go. The Doc grabbed an oxygen mask and put it over Leo’s face. The alarm continued to wail loudly and Amber’s heart was in her toes. The lines across the screen turned into squiggles. Amber and Grayson watched helplessly as the number of Leo’s heartbeats dropped 24, 18,11,8,3,0….