HER BEASTLY BIKER

IX

Drake sat next to his girl's bed and just held her hand. When Vulcan walked in to the ICU and saw his Prez and friend looking so defeated, it damn near broke his heart. His friend had always been a strong guy. He had held up the entire club at times. He was responsible for the rescue of many battered women and children. He was also the man that held them together. He was the glue that made them a cohesive team. Standing in the door, he cleared his throat so Drake would know he was there.

Drake's head jerked up and he looked at his friend and VP. He got up and went to get the bag of clothes and toiletries. "I brought Sam a few things that she will want when she wakes up. I had Francesca get her some panties and a few of her gowns from her home."

Drake nodded, realizing that Vulcan was right. His girl would definitely want her panties. Vulcan also handed his friend a bag of food. When he did, Drake's stomach growled. It had been a while since breakfast. "Thanks. I appreciate it. The doctor hasn't been in yet. I don't want to leave until he does. I have questions."

"And I will have answers for you," a voice replied.

Drake's head snapped up to the door where the doctor, he supposed the surgeon, from earlier was standing in the doorway. 

"Eat your food. You probably haven't eaten all day. I'm sure you have questions. But, I want to examine the patient first." 

Dr. Harrington turned his back to Drake and walked over to the hospital bed and picked up Sam's chart, where it was hanging. Looking over the chart, the doctor made a few notes and then checked the ventilator and heart monitor. He then checked her IV and the insertion site. Next, he unsnapped her gown on the shoulder and removed her bandages to check her wound. It was the first time Drake had seen it. What he saw made him a little nauseous. Sam's shoulder was a solid massive bruise, dark purple and black swirling together. The wound was ragged, the stitching jagged and angry looking.

It wasn't that he was a wimp or anything. But this was his woman. And to see her hurt did something to him. He had never felt like this before. It scared him. These feelings were so intense. Is this how the others felt when they fell in love with their girls? Drake realized that the doctor was waiting on him to ask his questions.

"How long will she be out?"

"She's doing very well. All of her vital signs suggest that she is completely stable, so we will begin lower the medication that we use to induce the coma."

"How long will she be in here?"

"That's not an easy question to answer. Many factors will come into play. Opportunistic infections, secondary infections, rate of healing, how well her body seals with the trauma of a bullet wound. Nutrition will also play a heavy factor. Make sure she eats well when her food comes. If all of these factors play nice, she should be out in around 5-7 days." 

"You said something about her losing the use of her arm. Why?" This was not a question that Drake wanted to ask, but needed to. 

"When Samantha was shot, it pierced her shoulder and hit her clavicle and then it hit the top of her scapula, shattering it. We picked out a lot of small bone fragments during the surgery. That's what took so long. We then fused a metal plate to it. It's not the best solution. But, it was the only one available to us at the time. Her body doesn't seem to be rejecting the metal, so that's a good sign. Also, if it heals well, she will need a great deal of physical therapy just to be able to lift her arm. I'm sorry, I wish I had better news for you. She's a young, and apparently active, young woman. Again, I'm sorry it's not the best news possible. Now, if you will excuse, I'm leaving for the day." The doctor left the room and Drake to think over the things that he had been told.

Drake sat down, lost in thought when Lucy and Bill opened the door and walked in.