Chapter Fourteen:

Bo slammed on the brakes and jumped out of the SUV. He ran over to the van that was lying on its roof, and kneeled down on the ground beside the passenger door, calling his name, “Matthew, hey champ, can you hear me?”

“Daddy?” he whimpered, “Daddy my stomach hurts.”

“Just lay still okay, champ. We’re going to get you out of there.” Yelling towards the other men, “Someone get some help out here now. They’re both trapped.” Antonio came around from the other side of the van. Bo looked up from where he was lying on the ground; holding Matthew’s hand. “Is the driver still alive?”

“Yeah, he’s still alive. How’s Matthew?”

“He’s hanging in there.” He looked up at Agent Ramirez, “Where’s the ambulance?”

“It’s too remote for an ambulance. A helicopter should be here any minute.”

Bo squeezed Matthew’s hand, “You hear that sport, we’re going to get you out of here soon.” Bo’s heart broke as he heard his son’s cries from inside the van.

Minutes later the helicopter arrived and a team of rescue workers converged on the site. Bo moved out of their way; giving them the room they needed to work. Ten minutes after they arrived, Matthew was being loaded onto a stretcher. They continued to work on freeing the driver. Amazingly he only had a few scrapes and cuts. He was loaded into the back of one of the SUV’s to be taken in for questioning.

The helicopter landed at the hospital in Buenos Aires. Matthew was wheeled into the emergency room. They pushed Bo to the side not allowing him entrance into the room. He looked through the window as they worked on him. He walked over and sat down in one of the chairs in the corner of the room. He pulled out his cell phone and called the pilot, “I need for you to return to Llanview. You’ll be bringing Ms. Buchanan here to Argentina…That’s fine she’ll be there.” Bo hit end and dialed the next number his hands shaking as he tried to keep his emotions under control, “Nora…its Bo.”

She stood up off the couch and walked over to the corner of the room, Vicki and Renee watched from the couch, “Did you find him? Did you find our little boy?”

“Yeah, honey. I found him. He was at the house in Argentina just like we thought he would be…Nora…”

“I knew it. I knew you’d find him,” rambling not listening to Bo calling her name, “So where is he? Can I talk to him…”

“Nora….”

“Come on, Bo let me talk to him.”

“Nora…you can’t talk to him right now. You have to listen to me, honey. Matthew…he’s in the hospital.”

“Why…what’s wrong with him, what happened in Argentina, Bo,” his cell phone began to cut out, “Bo…Bo I can’t hear you. What happened to Matthew?”

“Nora,” he shouts into the phone, “I can hardly hear you. Honey, you have to listen to me because I don’t know how much time I have left before my phone dies. You need to get ready to come here to Argentina. A car will be coming for you in the morning. Did you hear me?”

“Yeah I heard you. Bo?...Bo?” She looked down at the phone and then over at Vicki and Renee. “I have to pack…” she said as she ran up the stairs.

Bo shoved his cell phone into his pocket and walked back over to the room where Matthew was being examined. He looked through the small window; Matthew’s form looked so small on the huge bed. There were so many people working on him and Bo’s panic began to rise with each passing minute. He looked at the clock; an hour was all that had passed since they had rushed through those front doors. Nora wouldn’t be there for another 20 hours or so and he missed the feel of his arms wrapped around her, he needed her. He ran his hands through his hair in frustration and walked over to sit down across from the room once again. Another ten minutes passed before the door swung open and a gray haired man walked towards him, “Senor Buchanan?”

Bo stood up and met the man halfway, “Yes, I’m Bo Buchanan.”

“I am Dr. Ortega”, extending his hand which Bo shook, “I am the physician in charge of your son’s care.”

“How’s Matthew? How’s my son?”

“We’ve stabilized his condition and he’s resting comfortably right now.” Motioning over to the chairs, they both sit down, “Matthew has some extensive internal bruising but luckily no bleeding. That is the good news.”

“What…what’s the bad news?”

“Your son’s liver was damaged in the accident and he’s experiencing liver failure. Like I said we’ve stabilized his condition and he’s been given IV medication to try and combat the liver failure, but ultimately he will need a partial liver transplant.”

“How”…Bo shook his head trying to gain control over his emotions, “How much time do we have before he’ll need the transplant?”

“It will all depend on how he responds to the medication, hopefully that will buy us the time we need to find a donor. His current condition is listed as critical but stable, but we will have to monitor him for the next few hours to make sure he’s responding properly to the medication.”

“You said he would just need a partial liver transplant. How does that work? Will he be placed on a donor list or will the donor be a live donor?”

“We would prefer a live donor but he’s already been placed on the donor list, but his position on the list is not priority at this time, therefore a live donor is our best option.”

“I’ll call anyone and everyone who could be a possible donor.”

“That’s exactly what we need. Does Matthew have any siblings?”

“He has a half sister in Chicago.”

“No full blood siblings?”

“Not yet. His mother and I are due to have a baby in May.”

“Well an infant would not be a viable candidate and obviously his mother can not be tested. We will need to contact his sister and any other blood relatives that would be willing to be tested. Sometimes in rare occasions a non family member is a match. We will scan the registries and see if there is anyone that matches his blood type and have them tested also. We do have the facilities here in this hospital to handle such a procedure and to do the testing needed to determine a donor’s compatibility so he won’t need to be moved. The sooner we gather all possible donors the better off we will be.”

“I have already sent my plane back to the states to bring his mother here. I can call and have them come with her.”

“That would be great,” he stands up and Bo does the same, “I’m going to go back in there and check on Matthew while you make your phone calls. You may use my office phone, the nurse will show you where.”

Bo nodded and followed the nurse down a long hallway. She opened the office door for him and left him to make his phone calls. Bo walked over and sat down behind the desk. He picked up the phone and dialed Asa’s number. Twenty minutes later he was hanging up the phone and leaving the rest in Asa’s hands. He picked up the phone again and called her, “Nora…”

“Bo, my God, I’ve been trying to get a hold of you for over an hour.”

“I’m sorry, honey. My cell phone died and I’ve been speaking with the doctor.”

“What did the doctor say? You were trying to tell me something before the phone died. How is Matthew? Why is he in the hospital?”

“There was an accident when the suspect was trying to escape. The vehicle he and Matthew were in rolled after he had lost control. Matthew’s liver was damaged and he’s in what they call acute liver failure. He’s going to need a transplant,” she was silent on the other end of the phone, “Nora, honey are you still there?”

She was standing in front of the fireplace; staring at a picture of Matthew. She ran her fingers over his face before answering Bo’s question, “Yeah…I’m here.”

“Nora honey, listen to me, I’ve called Asa and he’s going to be contacting Rachel and everyone else who will be willing to be tested as a donor.”

“Bo…”

“Yeah?”

She looks back down at the picture on the mantle and wipes a tear away with her free hand, “Never mind, I’ll see you soon. I love you, Bo and tell Matthew that I love him.”

“I will, and I love you too”, Bo suddenly had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. There was something different, something distant in her tone, “Nora honey, are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I’ll see you soon,” she pushed the off button and threw the phone down on the chair. She walked over to the hall closet and pulled down the metal box. She slowly lifted the lid and picked it up. She put it in her purse and climbed into her car; making her way towards her destination.

She parks her car and walks into the lobby. She enters the elevator; her grip on her purse tightens as she watches the buttons light up indicating another floor reached. The elevator stopped and she took a steadying breath as she walked down the hallway towards room 1126. She stood outside the door for a moment, finally she knocked. The door swung open and she stared at the one person who had been determined to take it all away from them. She walked past her and into the suite, “Nora, what are you doing here?”

Nora reached into her purse and laid her hand on the gun, her fingers gripping it as it lies hidden in her purse, “I’m here to warn you. My son dies and so do you.” She turns to walk away, “Oh, by the way” turning back to look at Gabrielle as she opens the door, “Revenge only gets you so far, and for you it’s gotten you a one way ticket to Statesville,” motioning to the officers waiting outside, “You can come in now, she’s all yours.”

Nora stood off to the side and watched as Gabrielle was read her rights and placed under arrest. She watched as the elevator door closed. She slowly slid down the wall and sat on the floor; laying her face in her hands as she gave into the tears. Her body was shaking as she thought about what she had actually came there to do that day. She had come close to losing it completely and seeking her own revenge. She laid her hand on her stomach, knowing that it was her baby girl’s kicks that had brought her back from the edge.

TBC….