"Don't leave me this way."

[privateinvestigations]

Who: Clint Chevalier with Lincoln Cole
What: Too late
Where: Operating Room
When: Early Friday morning

Clint hadn't slept the last two nights. The night before last had just been a matter of not being able to fall asleep. Last night, he stayed at the hospital with Lincoln, and just sat with him, watching him while he slept. It felt like time was running out, and far too quickly. If he slept, it would be a waste. Lincoln's doctors had decided yesterday morning that he had to go to surgery the following day. His blood tests weren't showing any improvement and Lincoln's pain levels were just too high to let him suffer any further.

Mark, being the incredible attorney he was with countless useful connections in the business had managed to push through Clint's divorce from Emily rapidly. Before the ink was even dry on the final divorce notices, a marriage licence was applied for. Yesterday, with just a small handful of witnesses, Clint and Lincoln got married by a celebrant at Lincoln's bedside in the ICU. It wasn't the wedding anyone would have hoped for. Clint wasn't even sure if Lincoln's heart was completely in it, and he knew Lincoln had to be wondering if his was in it. Clint had never come close to being the sort to marry for all the right reasons. It had just become harder and harder to hold valuable conversations with Lincoln. The pain was too great. Nothing felt right because of it. But it had happened, and now they were married, in the worst circumstances as possible.

"Five minutes," a Surgical nurse came up to Clint and Lincoln to warn them.

( Lincoln was in the waiting bay, all kitted out ready to be wheeled into the OR for the anesthetic... )

NARRATIVE, COMPLETE

"Don't worry, I'm not telling lies."

[surgeonshands]

Who: David Tynan and Clint Chevalier
What: Aftermath
Where: Surgical ICU, Mount Sinai
When: Friday night

It had been an extremely difficult and extremely lengthy surgery on Lincoln. Dave had been the head of the surgical team, having performed the last two emergency surgeries on Lincoln, so he was still classified as his patient. Lincoln actually had a team of doctors managing his case because it had been such a complex string of injuries he had initially been rushed in with. You didn't get stabbed in the abdomen as deeply and viciously as he had and just bounce back after a week or two recuperating in hospital. Lincoln had suffered a vast amount of internal damage, and although with both previous surgeries, Dave and his team had worked tirelessly to repair, that wasn't always going to confirm a perfect recovery.

Which is exactly what had happened with Lincoln. He had many complications. Doctors weren't miracle workers, they didn't have convenient super powers. Lincoln hadn't bounced back as everyone desperately hoped he could. He had another large bleed following the initial surgery, which is what led to the decision to put a supportive - hopefully temporary - ileostomy on him to rest the bowel and encourage healing. During that surgery, Dave had removed another portion of the bowel. But in doing that, they knew Lincoln would need more surgeries to resection the bowel to remove the stoma.

It had just been impossible to know if that would be able to be successful. There was a very real chance Lincoln's organs were too damaged and had too much scar tissue to be able to function on their own again. His pain levels had continued to hover in the high levels, despite attempts at many different pain management regimes. Even though the had a couple of smaller surgeries on the books to try to get his gut functioning with a level of normalcy again, the pain was a sign that something still wasn't right. The decision to put him under a lot sooner and for a more complex and longer surgery was made. There was clearly something wrong, and they had to do whatever they could to fix him.

Now the surgery was over. It had continued on for many hours and Dave knew Clint had to be feeling near-insane levels of fear, stress and worry. He was finally able to come out to find his friend. Clint was sitting in one of the waiting room chairs, leant over and nursing his head in his hands. "Clint?" he said quietly, coming up to take the chair beside him and put a companionable hand on his back.

"You can't always get what you want."

[americanskin]

Who: Angela Ashwood with Clint Chevalier and Lincoln Cole
What: Love hurts
Where: ICU, Mount Sinai
When: Later, after THIS

It had been a horrible, very long day for everyone. They were all there at the hospital to wait through Lincoln's surgery - Angela, Lorenzo, Lewis, Emily, Jude - but they had also respected Clint's need to be alone for the duration. They waited down in the ICU waiting room where Lincoln would be transferred to if he made it through the surgery. Clint was apparently up in the OR waiting area where family and friends were allowed to wait out the surgery of their loved ones.

Being as heavily pregnant as she was, it wasn't an easy time for Angela physically. It wasn't an easy time for anyone emotionally. They were all very aware of the fact Lincoln might not make it through the arduous third surgery to try to repair the damage he was left with after he was nearly stabbed to death. Angela was seven and a half months pregnant, and she felt it too. That didn't mean she would stay away from the hospital that day. Short of going into early labour and having to deliver a baby, she wouldn't move from that waiting room until new came.

( It was a long time before it did, but Dave eventually tracked them down to sit them all down and give them the same sort of information he had finished advising Clint of... )

NARRATIVE, COMPLETE