Slow and Easy

Chapter 16

Scott felt his breath leave him as his body slammed into the concrete. He shook the dizziness away as he heard people around him yelling.

He glanced over to see the officers rounding up Thomas and his men and forcing them into the back of squad cars.

He went to sit up when a weight on his chest stopped him. He looked down and gasped.

"Mitch? Oh my god."

He sat up quickly and laid Mitch down in front of him, kneeling by his head, and removed his jacket to press against the wound on Mitch's chest that was free flowing blood.

"Get an ambulance!" Scott yelled towards the officers, and he saw Kirstie grab her phone as Kevin ran over.

"Mitch, look at me." Scott said.

Mitch moaned lightly and opened his eyes.

"S....Scotty...Had..to...make sure..you..were...okay."

"Mitch, you're going to be fine. I need you to keep your eyes open sweetheart. Help is on the way."

"So...cold....tired." Mitch whispered.

"I know baby. Where the hell is the ambulance?"

"ETA 6 minutes." Kirstie said from behind Scott.

"Scott, I'm...sorry...for...everything..."

"Sshhh Mitch, that's all over with. You don't need to worry about that. I love you."

Scott could hear the sirens in the distance and Kevin ran to meet them.

"Love...you...Scott...so..tired.." Mitch said closing his eyes.

"No Mitch! Open your eyes. Let me see your beautiful browns. Please Mitch, don't leave me again! I love you, I want to marry you. I was being stupid, I...You are the love of my life Mitch. Please hang on."

Mitch reached his blood -stained hand up to Scott's face and rested it on the older man's cheek.

"Love...you....much..." He whispered before his hand went limp.

Scott immediately felt for a pulse and when he found none he started CPR as Kirstie began rescue breathing.

"12345 Breathe. Mitch please breathe. 12345 Come on Mitch!" Scott yelled frantically as he continued CPR as the ambulance pulled up and the EMT's ran over.

"How long has he been down?" One asked as Scott moved out of the way.

"Just under a minute." Scott said as he watched the EMT's quickly load Mitch onto a stretcher and rushed him towards the ambulance.

"Go Scott." Kirstie said, ushering Scott towards the ambulance.

Scott nodded and jumped in and the ambulance sped off.

He grabbed Mitch's limp hand as CPR was performed. Scott had tears running down his face as he willed his lover to hold on.

"We have pulse. It's weak but it's there!." One EMT said.

Scott was ushered to the waiting area as Mitch was rushed through the ER doors.

He sat down and not long after Kirstie and Kevin ran in.

"How is he? Is he..." She asked.

"They got a weak pulse as we got here."

"Oh Thank the lord." Kevin said.

"What the hell happened? How did he get there? Where did he come from?" Scott asked angrily.

"Thomas had a guy hidden in the back that we didn't see. Not sure where he came from. He had a gun pointed at you. Before we could react to it, he fired. Mitch must have seen it and knew you couldn't react in time. I didn't see Mitch, Scott. I don't know where he came from." Kirstie said.

"How did he know where we were? Who the hell told him?"

"From what I understood from one of the other officers, Mitch had gotten some information from Kathleen, and she sent him to Jenkins for the rest of it. He told him everything." Kevin answered.

Scott sighed and shook his head.

"I should've known he would find a way. I should've handcuffed him to my desk. It should be me in there. He's too little, too fragile. I'm stronger."

"Mitch is strong too Scott. He's overcome so much, he will pull through this. You'll see." Kirstie said hopeful.

As the hours passed, more and more officers came to the hospital to keep vigil with Scott. They had all gotten to know Mitch and all of them had taken an extreme liking to the younger man.

"Scott, I got here as soon as I heard. It's my fault. I shouldn't have told him...I had no idea." Jenkins said as he walked up to Scott.

Over the last few hours, Scott had managed to let go of his anger towards Jenkins and nodded his understanding.

Finally after hours of waiting, an exhausted looking doctor made his way to the waiting area.

"Detective Hoying?" He asked looking around.

Scott immediately stood up.

"Right here." He said shakily.

"I'm Dr. Lopez. I was on call when Mitch was brought in. Please sit down. The bullet entered his chest and tore though his left lung and knicked his heart. He had lost a significant amount of blood and we lost him twice during surgery. He is in recovery but in grave condition. We managed to repair the damage to his lung and heart, but it took an extreme toll on his body. He is on a ventilator to breathe for him and he is in a medically induced coma."

Scott felt himself pale.

"Is he...How long...I mean..." Scott couldn't finish, afraid of what the answer to his question would be.

"I know what you're asking, and I can't give you a definite answer. As I said he is in grave condition. If his heart was to stop right now, I doubt we would be able to get him back. He is currently being moved to ICU."

"When...when can I....we...see him?"

"Give it about 30 minutes and head up to ICU, they will be able to give you his room number. Only two visitors allowed at a time."

"Okay, uh...thanks Doc...for everything."

"I'll check on him in the morning."

Scott nodded and watched as the doctor walked off.

Scott stayed silent as the officers that had accumulated at the hospital shook his hand and said their goodbye's, Kirstie promising to update them as soon as she knew anything.

"He made it through the surgery Scott. That's a good sign." Kirstie said trying to bring comfort.

"I need to see him." He said in return.

"It's been almost 30 minutes, lets head up to ICU." Kevin said.

Scott nodded and led the way upstairs.

"I'm looking for Mitch Grassi's room? He was recently brought up." Scott said, his voice shaking.

"They just finished with hi. He's in room 2202. Only two at a time please." The woman said, eyeing the group.

"We'll wait here, Scott. You should see him. Spend time with him. No rush." Kirstie said.

Scott managed a ghost of a smile and headed through the ICU doors.

He knew right there and then that he hated the ICU. It was so much busier than anywhere else. Nurses and aides were weaving in and out of rooms as alarms blared and patients moaned.

He found Mitch's room and went inside.