Part 4/5 Disclaimers in part 1 ------------------------------- Georgetown University Medical Center 8:22pm The next thing I'm aware of is the busy noise of an emergency room. I don't want to open my eyes, knowing that the first thing I'll see is a bright light shining directly over my head. But when I feel the gentle squeeze of a familiar hand holding mine, curiosity wins. Kate smiles at me as I look over at her, sitting in a chair next to me. I see that I'm in a curtained area of the ER, and with a glance I'm relieved to see I'm still in my own clothes. "Ree? Sweetie, look at me," Kate says gently, her hand coming up to brush a few stray hairs away from my forehead. I focus back on her, trying to remember how I got here. A few connections are made, and I struggle to sit up, making myself dizzy again in the process. "Where's Angie?" I ask her, looking around frantically. She pushes me back down with a soothing "Shhh...take it easy. She's okay; your friend, Agent Scully, is watching her upstairs with everyone else." "Upstairs...what?" "They're waiting for word on John; he's in surgery now." "John...oh, shit. How long have I been down here? What happened?" "Right after the ambulance left you passed out in the street; scared the crap out of us. The two agents, Scully and, um...Mulder, I think; they got there just as it happened; Mel called them right after he called for help. We drove you here...that was about an hour ago. You kind of had a delayed reaction to that hit on your face; a mild concussion, nothing too serious." I reach up, feeling a Band-Aid over the cut on my cheek. Pushing away the light-headed feeling, I sit up and swing my legs over the side of the bed. "Where are they?" She puts her arm around my waist to help me balance as I stand. "Easy, honey. Wait a minute; I'll get a nurse to clear you to leave." As the elevator hits the fourth floor, I realize my hold on Kate's hand is becoming a death grip. Forcing myself to relax, I take a deep breath. Amazingly, my friends are the only ones in this particular waiting room. Frohike is the first to spot me, jumping to his feet and rushing over to me. He wraps his arms around me in a fierce hug. I can't help but smile at his relieved exuberance. "Easy, man..." "Jesus, Langly; you scared the shit out of me! Are you okay?" he asks, eyeing the bandage on my cheek. "Yeah, I'm fine," I reply absently, seeing that Angie has escaped from Scully's lap and is headed my way. I kneel down and pick her up, holding her close to me. I take a moment to just hold her tight, kissing the top of her head. Peering over her head, I focus back on Frohike. "Any word on John yet?" He shakes his head, sobering. "Not yet; all we know now is what the ER staff told us; the bullet nicked the artery, that's why he was losing so much blood. He was in shock by the time they got him here and it took a while to stabilize him before taking him to surgery. They said there's a good possibility that the bullet broke the femur, too." He moves to sit back down in the chair next to Mulder. Kate sits on the couch and I sit next to her, still holding my daughter. I catch Scully's eye across from us, a little smile on her lips as we sit in silence, waiting. 9:13pm No matter how hard I try, I just can't make this nauseous feeling go away. My head still hurts, but that doesn't bother me as much as the feeling that I'm going to throw up. Taking a shaky breath, I plop the half-asleep Angie onto Kate's lap and stand up. My knees are really weak, which is always a sign that I'm about to be sick. "Ree? What's wrong?" Kate asks. I want to answer her, but I'm afraid to open my mouth. I have to find a bathroom, now. I walk fast down the hall; as soon as I spot a men's room I break into a run. There's no one else in here, for which I'm very grateful. I barely make it into the stall and close the door before I start to get sick. When I feel like I'm about to pass out again, I know I'm done. I rest my head in my hands, forcing myself to take long, deep breaths. "Langly? You okay, man?" They sent Frohike after me. "Yeah," I call back, somehow finding a semi-controlled voice. "Just had to take a leak, you know." "Bullshit, dude. I know you were puking in there." Shit. "I'm fine, just give me a minute." "I'm not leaving without you." Shit shit shit. I climb unsteadily to my feet and open the door, making my way to the sinks. Frohike is standing there, watching me closely. I don't have to look in the mirror to know I look like hell, because Frohike looks like he's about two minutes away from dragging my sorry ass back down to the ER. I take my glasses off, setting them next to the sink. I run my hands under the cold water, then swipe my hands over my face, avoiding the Band-Aid on my cheek. When I open my eyes again I see Frohike holding a couple of paper towels toward me. I take them, drying my face. Neither of us says anything. When we get back to the waiting room, I sit back down next to Kate on her left side. I catch Scully studying me with a worried eye, and I try to give her a smile. It doesn't work. She walks over to me, looking me over. "Did you get sick?" I nod reluctantly. "Do you still have a headache?" I nod again. Why can't she just leave me alone? "You should lay down. Here, I'll take Angie," she tells Kate, who obediently hands off the sleepy little girl. Normally, I would argue, but I still feel like shit. I let Kate put her arm around me and pull me down, resting my head on her lap. I pull my legs up next to me on the couch. I close my eyes as Kate quietly strokes my hair. Just that little gesture makes me feel so much better. 11:42pm I don't remember falling asleep, but the next thing I know Kate is gently shaking my shoulder, rousing me. I open my eyes, seeing the others moving to stand up. When I sit up I notice that at some point Frohike had draped his jacket over me. I hand it back to him with an appreciative smile and stand up with everyone else to meet the surgeon headed toward us. I feel Kate's hand take mine and I can feel that she is just as tense as the rest of us. "Mr. Byers is doing very well," he tells us, and we all release our collectively held breaths. He continues, "The surgery took longer than expected because the bullet hit the femur at an angle, breaking the bone but also chipping off several fragments. We put a pin on the bone to set the fracture, and he'll need to wear a cast for a while. He's been transferred to the ICU; if one of you would like to stay with him, I'm sure he would appreciate a familiar face when he wakes up." We look at each other, making a silent agreement. "I'll stay with him," Frohike tells the surgeon. "What room?" "He's in 408," the doctor answers, smiling at all of us as he heads back down the hall. Frohike turns to Mulder and Scully first. "Thank you guys for all your help. I'll call you tomorrow when John comes around enough to tell us what happened." "Anytime, Frohike," Mulder replies. "Tell him 'hi' for us." "Will do, G-man," Frohike smiles as the agents leave. He turns to us. "You guys should go get some sleep. It would be a good idea to stay at our place." "Yeah," Kate agrees. She has Angie in her arms again, the little girl awake and curious. "I'm just gonna go look in on John, then we can go," I tell her as I squeeze her hand. She nods, understanding. I follow Frohike down the hall to Byers' room. I go into the dimly lit room alone, not sure what to expect. As I approach his bed I feel my stomach tighten, hating having to see him like this. A maze of IV lines taped to his right arm, the heart monitor announcing a slow, unsteady rhythm. His injured leg is wrapped in a soft cast, propped up on a couple of pillows. I look at his face as I take his right hand in both of mine, gently squeezing it. Despite the pale white of his skin, the ruffled hair, the oxygen line...he still looks peaceful, like always. As much as I want to stay here with him, to hold his hand and make him wake up, tell me he's okay, I know I can't. There are two other people who need me tonight, and who I need to be with more than anything. ----------------------------- end part 4/5 To be continued....