Enough (Book 2 of Unbearable)

Chapter 23

At the hospital, a handful of nurses and a couple of doctors await our arrival. Prepare to take over and relieve the EMS. The ambulance pulls in, doors fly open and I'm pulled out of the vehicle. They roll me inside through the emergency room. Doctors start asking questions on stability and the incident. EMS quickly answers the questions. Johnny tries to utter a word, but is rudely interrupted by others. One of the doctors notices him and asks, "Who are you?"

"I'm the patient's husband. Johnny Burton," he answers. Everybody stops in their tracks after hearing his name.

"Mr. Burton, pleasure to meet you. I'm Doctor Banks. We'll take good care of your wife," he says and continues, "Get a move on guys! We need to get her into surgery!" Johnny's stomach drops when he hears the word "surgery".

"Surgery? Why does she need surgery?"

"Looks like parts of the bullet are still inside. Also explains why she's still bleeding. Mr. Burton, I must ask you to sit in the waiting room. We'll come to you when we have an update on your wife, okay?" Doctor Banks explains.

"No, I can't leave her..." he worries. Thomas rushes into the hospital and sees Johnny speaking to the doctor.

"I'm sorry sir, but I insist. I promise you on my word, I will come back with updates," Doctor Banks assures. Tears begin rolling down Johnny's face. Thomas joins Johnny's side and grabs him carefully on the shoulders.

"Mr. Burton, please come with me," Thomas says. Johnny complies and walks with Thomas to the waiting room.

They walk into the waiting room with a handful of other people. Johnny takes a seat while Thomas takes position to watch over Johnny.

"I have to call Tess's mom," Johnny said. Thomas doesn't respond. Johnny digs in his pocket, pulling out his cell phone and calls Mrs. Edmondson. The phone rings a couple of times and she picks up.

"Ms. Edmondson, this is Johnny. I have some news about Tess, and they're not very good news," he explains.

In the operating room, I'm lying on a cold table, naked and asleep. They begin to operate on me, cutting a hole into my chest area where the bullet was or is. It goes on for hours. But then, I flatline. Doctor Banks and the rest of his team react quickly by grabbing the paddles and using them on me.

"Clear?"

"Clear." Electric shock rushes through my lifeless body. Nothing changes.

"Try again," says Doctor Banks.

"Clear?"

"Clear." Another wave of electric shock goes through me. Nothing changes. Doctor Banks takes a deep breath and says to me, "Come on baby girl. You have to come back. You have a husband worrying half to death of you. You can't give up on me." Nurses look at him, waiting for his order. He looks at them and says, "Try again. Three times the charm guys!" They give him the nod, trying one more time.

"Charging." Paddles lay on top of my chest, avoiding the surgeral area.

"Clear?"

"Clear." Another wave goes through. They way patiently and suddenly I've come back. Relief comes out from the team, along with Doctor Banks. "Good job baby girl. Welcome back." Banks and his team resume on me.

Four hours later... slowly, Doctor Banks pulls fragments of the bullets out of my chest. Dumping them in a metal tray.

"Bleeding has stopped and I don't see any more bullet fragments inside. I think we're good. Sew her up and get her in the recovery room," Doctor Banks says and continues, "Good job guys! Great teamwork!" He takes his leave of the operating room, removing all of his cover-alls. He smiles, washing his hands up quickly so that he can relay the good news to Johnny.

He walks down the hallway, cutting the corner and entering into the waiting room. Johnny, his mother, Mrs. Edmondson, and Thomas were the only ones in the room. He stares at them, slowly walking closer to them. Mrs. Edmondson walks closer, standing inches away from Doctor Banks.

"How is she?" she asks. Doctor Banks sighs and replies, "She's in the clear. We almost lost her, but she fought to come back. She's in recovery at the moment. Give her a few minutes and we'll take you to her room. One of the best." The group sighs in relief. Johnny hugs everybody, while tears roll down his face.

The next morning, I slowly wake up. My eyes opening up and everything is blurry at the moment. I move around my bed. Mom sees that I'm waking up and joins me.

"Tess, sweetie?" hearing mom's voice.

"Mom?" I call. I blink my eyes a few times, trying to regain my vision. Slowly, it clears up and I see mom in front of me.

"Mom, what? What's going on?" I asks. She smiles, sniffing a little and wiping her tears from her face.

"You're at the hospital honey," she answers.

"What?" I ask surprise, and then quickly I remember what happen. I jolt up from the bed, but stop as a shooting pain runs through me. Mom quickly lays me back on the bed and says, "Take it seat Tess. You just got out of surgery."

"I was shot..." I said. Her eyes water up and a couple of tears roll down my face. She nods her head and says, "Yes, I know. Johnny explained everything." Johnny.

"Where is he? Where's Johnny?" I asks.

"He stepped away to grab some coffee. I'll send him a text, letting him know that you're awake," she said. Quickly, she pulls her phone out and sends a quick text to him.

"How are you feeling?" she asks.

"Alright, I guess. A little sore. What happen to Pamela?" I said.

"I talk to Johnny's uncle. He said that she's gone back to jail and is put on a tight-knit security. No way she's getting out this time, as he said. She's been sentenced for life, after she shot you," she explains. I sigh with relief. I hear fast pace footsteps getting louder from the hallway. Cutting around the corner, Johnny appears looking terrible. He looks like he hasn't showered in days.

"Tess," he whispers. I tear up immediately. He rushes to me, cupping my face, and bringing in me for a kiss. I return the kiss. He caresses my cheek softly as we kiss passionately. Mom and Thomas leave the room, so that we can have time for ourselves. We break out kisses. Our eyes meet.

"You okay?" he asks. I nod my head, tears continue to roll down my face.

"Are you okay?" I ask. He nods his head, still cupping my face.

"Fuck baby! You scared me. I thought I was going to lose you," he said. I smile and said, "It's going to take a lot more to end me." We laugh together.

"I love you," he said.

"And I love you," I said. We return to kiss each other, passionately. Outside of the room, mom and Thomas have a general conversation with each other. Looking past Thomas, she sees Johnny's uncle coming down the hallway with two beautiful bouquets of flowers. Thomas turns around and sees him. That's his queue to leave. Uncle Robert stands a few inches away.

"Beautiful. Are they for my daughter?" mom asks.

"One of them is. The other bouquet is for you," he confesses. Mom blushes, taking her bouquet and says, "Thank you." He watches her smell the flowers and admires them. She locks eyes with him, knowing he has more to say.

"Yes?" she asks.

"Can I have another chance?" he asks. She blinks her eyes with surprise at the question. He takes a deep breath and says, "I've never stopped caring about you, Ida. You've always been in my thoughts." Mom blushes even more and says, "I've never stopped thinking about you and never stopped caring about you." He sighs in relief and asks, "Is that a yes?" Mom tears up and says, "Yes." The two embrace, kiss and hold each other, while Johnny and myself enjoy a passionate makeout session.