Part Two:
Bo never drove so fast in all his life. He ran through the red lights, honking and swerving, making it to Llanview hospital in record time. He ran through the doors of the ER, running passed the nurses’ station, noticing John Sykes and one of his other cops standing outside ER 115.
John noticed Bo and walked over to him, meeting him halfway across the room, “John, what happened?”
John looked into the eyes of his friend, “There was an accident out on Riverside Drive. From the way things look she never saw him coming.”
“How is she? Have they told you anything at all?”
“No…the paramedics rushed her here and Dr. Conklin has been with her since she was brought in and Larry’s been in there since he called you.”
He walks over to the window and looks at them as they work on her. He shakes his head, turning around and looking up at his friend, “I can’t lose them John.”
John walked over and lays a hand on Bo’s shoulder, “We’re all pulling for them, Bo.”
Bo just nods, and turns and looks back through the window, “The other driver, do we have him?” He turns around when it takes John a moment to answer, “John…”
John diverted his eyes for a moment, looking back up at Bo, “I’m sorry Bo, looks like it’s a hit and run. The accident was called in by a neighbor who heard the impact.”
“Son of a bitch,” Bo mumbled. Before he could say anything else the door opened and Larry walked over to where Bo and John stood, “Larry how’s Nora and the baby?”
Larry motioned to the chairs and both of them sat down, “Bo…”
“Larry, just tell me. How are my wife and daughter?”
“Nora has a large laceration above her right eye and her left leg appears to be broken.”
“And the baby?,” Larry looks into the eyes of one of his dearest friends, and Bo can see the tears beginning to well up in them. Bo begins to shake his head, not wanting to hear what he knows he’s about to hear, “No…”
“I’m sorry, Bo. We did every thing we could. The impact was just too great. Her lifeline was severed, Bo…she won’t live long past delivery.”
Bo stood up and walked over to the door, stopping a few feet in front of it, “Does she know?”
Larry stands up and walks over to Bo, stopping behind him, “No…she hasn’t regained consciousness yet.”
“I want to be the one to tell her, okay. Make sure they know that.”
Larry nods. He walks over the rest of the way, and lays his hand on Bo’s arm, “Have the two of you settled on a name yet?”
“Sarah,” he choked out, “Sarah Victoria.”
Larry smiles through his tears, “It’s a beautiful name, Bo.” Larry takes a deep breath, trying to chose his next words carefully, “Bo…there’s nothing we can do now to save Sarah, but there’s a way she can live on.”
Bo looks up at Larry, the tears still flowing freely onto his cheeks, “I…I don’t understand.”
“I’m talking about organ donation, Bo. There’s a newborn in our neonatal ICU that‘s in desperate need of a heart. She has a rare blood type…your blood type Bo. Sarah could be a match, if she has the same blood type. Sarah would live on in the life of that little girl.”
Bo stands in front of the window, looking in as they continue to work on Nora, “What…what would you have to do?”
“Sarah would be taken to the neonatal ICU right after delivery. She would be put on a ventilator, to keep all her vital organs alive, basically she would be on life support. We would run the appropriate tests, cross matching her with the infant I told you about as well as all the other infants on the various donor lists, to see if there are any other matches.”
“How much time do I have to make this decision?”
“The newborn is in critical condition, Bo. I’m not sure we can wait until Nora wakes up.”
Bo nods, “Do it. If Sarah can help this little girl or some other little boy or girl, I know Nora would want that, she wouldn’t want another parent to go through this, if it could be avoided.”
The door swings open and they wheel Nora out. Dr. Conklin walks over to him as the team of nurses and residents wheel her towards the elevator, “Where…Where are you taking her?”
“We’re taking her up to the OR…for a cesarean.” The tears that had been welling up in his eyes finally fall onto his cheeks, as he just nods his head, “She’ll be in OR 2, when you’re ready to come up and wait.”
Bo just nods once again and turns back to John, “Find him, John. Find the son of a bitch that killed my daughter.”
“I will Bo…I won’t rest until he’s found.”
Bo shook his head and walked over to Larry, as John pulled out his cell phone to check on the progress at the scene. Bo looked up at Larry, the expression in his eyes, was one of anger, the same anger he saw 7 years ago, “I’m so sorry, Bo…if there’s anything I can do.”
Bo silently shakes Larry’s hand and turns and walks to the elevator. He steps onto the elevator; he pushes the button for the third floor, and watches the doors close in front of him. A moment later he pushes the stop button. The elevator jolts to a stop as he slowly slides to the floor, dropping his head in his hands as his body is overcome with sobs. Ten minutes later, he pulls himself up off the elevator floor and pushes the button once again. He steps off the elevator and asks the nurse behind the desk where he could wait for her. He slowly made his way down the hallway and sat in the bank of chairs across from where she will be brought after surgery. He leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes, his mind drifting back to what seemed like just moments before…
She walks over to the door and turns back around, blowing him a kiss, “Loving you.”
“Love you too, Red.”
Their whole world had changed in a matter of seconds. Just that week they had sat together in their bedroom discussing their final choices for names….
”How about Myrtle,” he said with a wink.
“Maybe if this was 1949 instead of 1999.” She says with a kiss, “How about Sarah.”
Bo looked up at her, “You would want to name your daughter after Sarah?”
“She’s your daughter too, Bo and Sarah was a huge part of your life. She’s what brought you to me.”
He reaches out and takes her hand, bringing it up to his lips, “You’re amazing; you know that?”
“No, I’m not, I’m just lucky.” She leans in and kisses him, “So how does Sarah Victoria sound?”
“Perfect…just perfect.”
He was brought out of his thoughts by the elevator doors opening at the opposite end of the hallway. He stood up and walked towards them, stepping to the side while they settle her into the room. His eyes take in the cuts and bruises on her face, her leg in a cast, slowly making his way to her abdomen, where just hours before their daughter was growing and thriving.
He felt the tears welling up in his eyes once again as he watches through the window. A few minutes later Dr. Conklin walked out into the hallway, “She’ll probably sleep for the rest of the night. You should try and get some rest.”
Ignoring her request he turns and looks at her, “Where’s our daughter?”
“She’s in the neo-natal ICU. They’re running the various tests and we should know soon if she’s a suitable donor. You can go see her if you’d like.”
Bo shakes his head, “No, we’ll see her together.”
Dr. Conklin nods her head and walks away, letting him know that she will be by to check on Nora later. Bo walks into her room and sits down beside her. A half hour later she began to stir, her eyes slowly fluttering open. She slowly turns her head and looks over at him. She sees the tears welling up in his eyes. She shakes her head, the tears beginning to fall. She lays her hand on her stomach, her sobs catching in her throat, as she tries to find her breath.
“No…”, she struggles to say through her sobs, “No…”
“There’s nothing they could do…”
“Where…where is she?”
“She’s in the NICU, they have her on a ventilator.”
“Why…I don’t understand, why would she be on a ventilator?”
He sits up in the bed so that he can look down at her, “They’re keeping her vital organs alive so they can see if she’s a match for organ donation.” She looks up at him, brushing a few tears off her face, only to have them replaced moments later, “I…I didn’t want to make the decision without you, but they needed one right away.”
She nods her head, “Its okay…its okay, Bo.” They sat together for a few minutes in silence, “I want to see her.”
Bo nods and climbs off the bed. He returned a few minutes later with a wheelchair. After settling her in the chair, securing her IV on the stand, they were on their way down the hallway towards the NICU. Bo knocked on the door, both waiting patiently for the nurse to let them in. He slowly wheels her over to the far bassinet, the tears that had momentarily subsided began to fall again as they looked down at their little girl.
She looked up at the nurse who stood on the other side of the bassinet, “I want to hold her.” The nurse nods and places her in Nora’s arms, carefully adjusting the various tubes and wires. Bo kneels down beside her wheelchair and looks at his baby girl, “She looks just like her mama,” Bo said through his tears, “Red hair and everything.”
The NICU doctor arrived a few minutes later, “Mr. & Mrs. Buchanan?”
Bo stands up, “Yes.”
“I’m Dr. Anderson. I’m the one that conducted the various tests on your daughter.”
Nora looks down at Sarah and back up at the doctor, “Is she a match, Dr. Anderson? Will she be able to help that little girl?”
“Yes, Mrs. Buchanan she was a perfect match for the little girl who needs the heart. Her liver and kidneys also matched a little boy and little girl that were on the national registry. She’s going to save the lives of three newborns.”
Nora nods, and then looks down at their little girl, “Hear that Angel? You’re going to live on, my sweet.” She begins to cry once again. She looks over at Bo who carefully takes Sarah from her and lays her back in the bassinet.
They leave the NICU a few minutes after saying their final goodbyes. Bo wheels her back down to her room, helping her back into bed. Bo climbs into the bed beside her, pulling her against him. She turns in his embrace, burying her head against his chest, both of their bodies shaking uncontrollably as they grieve for their little girl, the little girl that was dreamt of for so long, who they loved from the moment they found out Nora was pregnant.
She fell asleep in his arms, her quick intakes of breath an aftereffect of her grief. He had no answers for her ‘whys’; he could not tell her what he did not understand himself. Even in her sleep she clung to him, so he held her, held her as though both of their lives depended on it, and in a way it did.
They had lost so much in the past year. Her oldest daughter had been taken away from her; his son had been taken before they had a chance to fully rebuild the burned bridges between them, and now their daughter, their precious baby girl had been taken before they had a chance to even know her.
TBC…