This Is The Moment (9-1-1: Lone Star)

Chapter Twenty-Six

T.K., Owen and Jason rush to Avery's room and see doctors and nurses surrounding her. A nurse is holding pressure on Avery's abdomen which is bleeding.

'What happened?' Owen asks frantically. A doctor looks up at them.

'Her blood pressure spiked quite high and she blew some stitches.' The doctor informs her. 'We need to take her back into surgery.'

'Do what you gotta do.' Owen nods. They move aside and ket the doctors and nurses take Avery back into surgery.

.

It's been a few hours, Avery is out of surgery. Whilst she was in surgery, T.K. sat with Megan and explained what happened whilst Owen went for a walk. Jason sat in Avery's room the entire time waiting for her to return. When T.K. and Owen return to Avery's room, they see Jason standing behind the head of Avery bed, braiding her hair.

'What are you doing?' T.K. asks confused.

'Braiding her hair. I had to do this a couple of times when Ave was sedated to have a feeding tube in when she was in a psychiatric unit.' Jason explains. 'It stops her hair from matting or becoming super tangled.' He finishes the braid, secures it with a hair tie and leaves it lying on the pillow. He strokes her head before moving to a chair and sitting down. T.K. and Owen also sit down.

'That's thoughtful of you.' T.K. says softly.

'Yeah, well, I don't think she'd like it if her hair is all tangled when she wakes up.' Jason laughs slightly. 'The doctor told me the surgery went well. They'll be in later to give a proper update since you two weren't here when they brought her back.' He tells them. 'How's Megan?'

'Worried.' T.K. replies. 'I'll go and update her again once we've heard more from the docs.'

A week an a half has passed. The doctors have deemed it safe to extubate Avery and wake her up. They had also removed the feeding tube when they extubated her. Owen, T.K. and Jason are all sitting around Avery's bed waiting for her to wake up. Avery starts to stir and they all lean forwards in their seats.

'Ave?' Owen states. Avery starts to open her eyes. It takes a few tries to get them to stay open, but she eventually gets there. Owen takes her hand and squeezes it. 'Ave, talk to me.'

'Ow.' Avery says weakly, earning a chuckle from Jason, Owen and T.K.

'You're okay.' Jason holds her other hand and squeezes it. 'You gave us a scare.'

'Nothing's changed then.' Avery laughs quietly before groaning in pain.

'She's still Avery.' Jason nods, a smile on his face.

'Do you remember what happened?' T.K. asks.

'I remember being at the concert and feeling something hit me. I remember hearing gunshots so I assume I was shot?' Avery replies, her voice breaking.

'Yeah, you were.' Owen nods. He grabs a cup of water he'd poured for her, ready for when she wakes up, and puts a straw in it. 'Drink this.' He hands the cup to her. Avery stares at the cup for a moment before taking the straw out and gulping down the water. She groans in pain once more. 'Still as stubborn as ever.' Owen shakes his head, taking the cup back.

'You make it sound like I was out for a long time.' Avery starts. 'How long was I out?' She adds, looking at Jason.

'A week and a half.' Jason tells her.

'How bad?' She questions. 'Don't sugar coat it, just tell me straight.' T.K. clears his throat.

'You were shot a few times in the abdomen. Your aorta was damaged and so was your right kidney. They managed to repair your aorta but they couldn't save the kidney so they took it out.' T.K. informs her.