The surgeon scratched his head thoughtfully before looking at Ash. "It looks like something ricocheted in here. Kicked a rib into a lung. Amazing." The surgeon then looked at Terra, who was checking on Justice's vitals. "You will be assisting?"
Terra removed Justices' gloves and shoes, and then looked up at the surgeon. "Yes, I would like that very much" Her eyes flitted to the gold band on Justice's left hand. The sight of it caused her heart to squeeze. Several orderlies shattered Terra's reverie as they came in to transport Justice to the OR.
The surgeon glanced at her. "Get ready." His voice was clipped as he turned to begin his pre-surgical prep. She nodded slowly at him, the urgency of the situation upon her as she turned to follow his example.
In the lobby, Bliss looked up at Shad. Her dark eyes were filled with tears. "I'm not so sure," she said.
Shad looked at her, and then turned his face a bit. "I gotta go. Gonna check up on some things. Bye." He turned completely then and walked away from her, releasing one sad sigh.
Ash finished cleaning up after Justice and walked to lobby, just in time to see Shad's retreating back. She scrubbed her fingers through her bottle-brush haircut as she slowly walked up to Bliss. Ed Archer, still lounging on the couch smoking, grinned at Ash as she passed him. She spared him only a nod. She shoved her hands in her pockets and looked at Bliss. "He's been taken to the OR. They're working on him now. Don't worry … the doc is a good one."
Bliss remained quiet for a minute. She knew Shad was upset and Justice was hardly out of danger. Her face cracked a small smile. "Worrying is my job. I'm praying Terra helps keep him safe." She looked up at Ash. "Thanks for the update."
In the OR, Terra finished cleaning up then joined the surgeon. She looked at Justice's still form as she hooked him up to various monitors and made some notes on the chart about his blood. Another nurse took off his glasses while yet another doctor began the anesthesia IV. Terra bit her lip at the quiet ripping of the scissor blades as his clothes were cut from him.
The surgeon curled up his lip a bit under his mask. "Let's get this done before he bleeds to death." He slowly raised his scalpel and cut into Justice's body, the flesh laying bare the damaged innards. He took clamps from Terra to snap over veins as he quickly vocalized for her the damage he saw. He quickly located the bullet and removed it. The metallic ring of it hitting the instrument tray was a deafening noise in the quiet OR. He swiftly sutured the wound and began to suction the excess blood. He looked up at Terra for a moment. "Now the fun begins."
Tessa's eyes widened a bit as she held the suction tube, watching Justice's blood pour through it. She looked at the monitor and saw his heartbeat beginning to slow. Out of the doctor's way, she took a small sample and ran his vitals. She showed him the results, and then to his order of two more units fast, she simply nodded her head and began the IV.
In the lobby, Ash gave Bliss a small smile before turning to where Ed sat. Bliss sighed and curled herself up in one of the beaten, plastic chairs to wait. A nurse approached her for a moment with a clipboard, the necessary forms to fill out falling into Bliss' hands. She sighed again as she began to wander through the paperwork.
Ed threw his feet off the couch to make room for Ash. "Hey, Mirandahh," he said, calling her by her real name.
She sat next to him and just looked at him for a moment. "You're not bleeding. Amazing."
Ed grinned. "The key to not bleeding is not fighting. You probably can understand that logic."
Ash tilted her head back against the cushions, her weary body hoping for sleep tonight. "So you don't fight?"
Ed shrugged. "What do I have to fight for? An ever-growing nemesis? To enthrall another? Poor reasons both to fight for anything."
Ash silently agreed with him, but just rolled her shoulders. "Seems that is all anyone does these days, Ed." She then turned her head a bit to look at him. "So, what do you do?"
He smiled at her. "I do what I do. That is about all I can do." He seemingly arrogant response was punctuated by his own leaning back, his hands lacing behind his head. "So is the murderer going to live?"
Ash smirked at him, then shrugged. "Dunno. They are working on him now."
In the OR, the surgeon finally finished his repair work. He looked up at Terra as he slowly rose from being bent over Justice. "Close him up." His voice was crisp as he ticked off several medications Justice would require. Terra moved quickly under his instruction, her stitches small and close. The near silent clacking of the gurney filled the OR as Terra and the surgeon moved Justice to an ICU bed. "He's going to need around the clock monitoring," the surgeon said. He filled out some forms, and then looked at Terra. "You going to stay with him?"
She nodded, adjusting his monitors. "I will monitor him." She took his chart and sat down, her face solemn. "Is he going to live?" she said quietly, looking up at her colleague.
The surgeon shrugged. "You know the answer to that as well as I do. The next 24 hours are critical. We will just have to wait and see." He finished his after-prep, then turned on his heel, leaving Terra alone in the room.
Terra sighed. "What the hell were you thinking? When you wake up, your in loads of trouble." Justice continued to lay silent, the beeps from the monitor Terra's only response. She wiped his head with a cool cloth and silently begged him to hang on.
In the lobby, Justice's fate and other matters of the heart continued to be a source of conversation for Ash and Ed. She folded her hands in her lap at Ed's wondering of Justice's life. "He's not dead yet."
"Yet. That is good," Ed said.
"Yeah?" Ash looked at a spot on the wall, her voice lacking real emotion.
"Yeah. We are a dying breed," Ed replied, his own voice dropping a tone.
Ash glanced at him. "We? Are you a murderer?"
"No, I'm huumunn."
"Ahh…" She nodded slowly, catching to his train of thought. She twisted around a bit to look at him, tucking a leg under her.
"You must at least understand that that connects us. And that is why we must never give up hope," Ed said quietly.
"Hope for what, Ed?" Ash propped her elbows on the top of the couch and leaned back a bit more.
"When a freeman beds down with a church member, then it is a sign that life can get better."
Ash's laugh was harsh. "That'll be the day"
"Who knows...it might. Until then, it's best not to stick one's nose where it does not belong," Ed said pointedly.
"Is that what you think I do?" Ash raised an eyebrow at him.
Ed looked at her "Did I say you did?"
"No," she muttered, then looked down a bit.
"You are a wise woman."