The Darkest of Days

part four

It was just after eleven when the next round of people joined Amy and Charles in the waiting room. The sergeant and detective had called everyone else on the squad, had left a message for Karen, and had tried to but were just unable to reach Gina, twenty-minutes beforehand.

Rosa burst in first, bringing Amy up to her feet and wrapping her arms around her friend tightly, bringing fresh tears to Amy's eyes because Rosa never hugs anyone.

"I'm so sorry, Amy, I came the moment you called me. How are you, how are you doing?" The detective asks, refusing to lessen her grip against Amy's shoulders.

Amy shrugs slightly, shaking her head a little too. "I'm doing okay, just waiting to hear news on him."

Rosa then pushes her friend away, looking her dead in the eyes. "Jake's gonna be fine, trust me. He's one of the most stubborn people I know, he'll pull through just fine."

With tears still in her eyes, Amy nods, bringing her hand up to wipe away the ones that had fallen down her cheek already. "I hope you're right. I really hope you're right."

Holt arrives shortly after. The captain still looks a little tired, he had just gotten to sleep when they had phoned, but at the same time, he looked more alert than ever. His usual straight, emotionless face is replaced by worry, his eyes keep drifting down to the large OR doors down the long stretch of corridor. He doesn't say much when he arrives, he just gives a saddened look toward Amy before taking a seat in the circle of chairs.

There's barely a word spoken between the now four members of the nine-nine until nearing midnight. By then, Charles's eyes were starting to drop in his seat as the exhaustion begins to set in, replacing the fear and adrenaline from earlier on that night, Rosa was reading through something on her phone, Holt was walking in circles around the waiting room and Amy was watching Mac sleeping intently.

As midnight nears, however, Mac wakes up again, letting out angry grunts and screwing his fists up. Amy knows that he's woken up to eat and grabs him from the car seat. He had last eaten at seven just before she had put him down in his bassinet, so it was about now he would be hungry again. As she fed the infant, she was much warier of her surroundings. In the hurry of leaving the apartment, she hadn't grabbed anything that would be useful to cover up, she had only taken a half-empty diaper bag too so that would only be good until first thing in the morning.

Her gaze keeps moving to look down that corridor, much like everyone else's. According to Charles, Jake had gone through into surgery at almost nine-thirty, which meant he had already been in the OR for two and a half hours. There hadn't been a word through from anyone on Jake's condition, his state, or if he was coming out of surgery soon.

The wait was killing her, the fear of what the doctor might say about Jake, what damage the bullets might have done, or if he was alive or not, actually hurt. Her leg couldn't stop bouncing no matter what she tried to do to stop it, and her mind kept wandering to what if Jake didn't make it? What would she do then? How would she cope with going back to work full-time in two weeks whilst also taking care of a, then, three-month-old baby?

What if Mac is the only part of Jake she might have left?

That thought brought a flood of tears back to her eyes. Every time her mind wandered there it brought more tears back with it. She swears she hasn't cried this much since the day Mac was born and she hates it, she hates the fact she doesn't know and she needs to. She has to know, otherwise the uncertainty will drive her crazy.

So once Mac had finished eating, she raised his head to rest on her shoulder to burp him (without a cloth which can only go so well) and stands from the seat, walking over to the receptionist's desk again with intention.

Grabbing the woman behind the counter's attention, Amy sighs. "Look, is there any update on my husband? I'm starting to go crazy not knowing anything."

The woman and her monotone voice shake their head. "Sorry, no information has been given to me. The surgeon or one of his residents might be out in a while to talk to you and explain what's going on, but as of right now I am even less informed of the situation as you are."

Just as Amy opens her mouth to speak back to the receptionist, Rosa comes around the corner and pulls her away from the desk, as if knowing that Amy would flip.

The detective keeps her hands against her friend's shoulders, making sure that Amy's attention was on her rather than the desk. "Santiago, don't. I know you're stressed out, so am I, every rational person would be. It doesn't mean you can lose it though."

The situation that could have happened runs through Amy's mind, making her nod her head and focus back on the present. "Yeah, of course, I know."

A brief pause sits between them as Rosa lets go of Amy and takes a small step back. With a furrow of eyebrows, the silence disappears very soon after it had started. "Why don't you take Mac home, Amy, get some rest yourself. We'll call you if we hear any news, I promise."

Amy shakes her head fast, placing her hand against the back of Mac's head so he doesn't injure himself. "No, I'm not leaving. Not now, not ever, and definitely not when Jake is still on the table." She says, her voice changed in a sudden anger spit but her words remained nothing louder than a whisper.

The sergeant then takes off again, going back toward the waiting room leaving Rosa stood by the desk alone.