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Calamity

(Well can’t put it off any longer.  Let’s check on our girl.)

Chapter 4

(First, let’s take a look at what happened as the paramedics prepared Evangeline for transport to the hospital.)

Both Todd and John stand as the paramedics wheel Evangeline out of the courtroom.  She has a pulse but she has not regained consciousness and she has lost a lot of blood.

“Why are my hands so wet and sticky?”  Todd says to himself.  Then he looks down and sees that his hands are covered with her blood.  Even though his jacket was between her body and his hands this just shows how extensive her blood loss was and that thought makes Todd shiver.  “How could this happen?” he says to no one in particular.  Not even stopping to remove the blood from his hands Todd moves to follow the paramedics to the hospital.  He doesn’t want Evangeline to be alone.  His friend needs him.  She has always been there for him and he will be there for her.

Meanwhile someone else is trying to come to grips with what just occurred.  “This has to be some kind of nightmare that I’m in and I’ll wake up soon and it will be over,” John thinks as he stands there in the aisle.  Then someone tugs at his sleeve and he realizes that this is real.  “John, are you alright?”  John turns and Natalie pulls him to her.  “I’m not the one shot.”  John replies.  Natalie starts to respond but Bo steps up to speak with John.  “John, I’ll handle things here.  You go to the hospital and keep me posted on Evangeline’s condition.  Nora will be frantic and I know she’ll have to stay here to finish up this case.”

“But Uncle Bo, why can’t someone else go.  I need John here with me?”  Natalie whines.

John looks at both of them as if they have two heads and one eye in the middle of the forehead.  He was going to the hospital anyway with or without consent from either of them.  Removing Natalie’s hand from his arm John moves toward the exit door just as Todd does.

Standing there in the hallway is Cristian Vega who has come to meet Evangeline.  The look on his face tells Todd and John that Cristian already knows about the shooting but it doesn’t appear that he knows about Evangeline’s injury.

“I heard about the shooting.” Cristian says and then asks, “Have either of you seen Evangeline?”

John answers, “She was shot and is on the way to the hospital.”  

Cristian responds, “Oh my goodness!  I’m going to her!”  He turns and rushes out of the courthouse.

xXxXxXxXx

(At the hospital)

“Female, early 30s, GSW (gun shot wound) in the abdomen, CPR administered, excessive blood loss, BP …”the paramedic reports to the emergency room doctor as they wheel in Evangeline.  The doctors quickly examine her and assess the situation and have her transported immediately to surgery.

“Doctor, will she be all right!” Todd asks.

“We don’t know yet.  Let’s get her into surgery and we will know better then,” the doctor responds.

“Whatever she needs doctor make sure that she gets its. Have your best surgeon in that operating room.  I can’t lose her!”  Todd defiantly says as the doctor walks away following the gurney that holds Todd’s one dear friend.

Cristian is noticeably absent.

As Todd enters the waiting room, he finds John McBain pacing back and forth.

“John, what are you doing here?  Shouldn’t you be back at the courthouse?”

“I’m where I need to be Todd.  I want to know how Evangeline is doing.  I see that you made your way in the back there so what did the doctors say?”

Todd wants to tell John to ‘buzz off’ but he can see how ‘frazzled’ John looks so he replies,

“They’re taking her into surgery.  We’ll have to wait for any updates.  Why the concern John?  You haven’t shown much interest in Evangeline in quite some time.  What has changed?”

John glares at Todd but then realizes that Todd is right.  John has been distant from Evangeline since their breakup so he can’t really blame Todd for being ‘protective’ of Evangeline or suspicious of John’s actions today.  Todd and Evangeline are friends after all.  John’s not been distant by choice though.  He and Natalie have been off and on with their relationship and John knows that it would be so easy for him to gravitate back to Evangeline and he doesn’t want to do that to her or to himself. ‘I won’t put her through any more of not giving her what she needs stuff’.  Anyway he’s not a cheater and until he can resolve this situation with Natalie and make their relationship work or end it permanently then he needs to keep his distance from Evangeline.  

But Todd should know how John feels since he’s gone through a similar situation with Blair.  But John has noticed that Todd’s relationship with Evangeline is beginning to morph into something more than friendship and John is a bit anxious about that.  John has first hand knowledge of the kindness, trustworthiness and love of one Evangeline Williamson.  He had that once but lost it and he misses that.  He knows that Evangeline is with Cristian Vega now but if Todd continues to be around Cristian will have a battle on his hands.  Todd is a ‘take no prisoners’ kind of guy.  He goes after what he wants.  That’s not to say that Evangeline will be a ‘pushover’ but Todd already has something in his favor.  Evangeline holds dear her friendship with Todd and will not give it up for anyone.

John is taking so long to respond to Todd’s question about why he is now interested in Evangeline that Todd dismisses it and moves to sit down.  He calls Vicki to let her know that he’s at the hospital and will stay until he gets word on Evangeline’s condition.

John finally comes out his daze and starts to respond to Todd but notices that Todd is no longer standing in front of him but is instead sitting in a chair talking on his cell phone.  Taking that as a cue John moves to the window and calls Bo, who is probably still at the courthouse.

(Back at the courthouse)

Medical personnel collect the two bodies and police officers catalog all of the evidence found at the scene.  Bo spearheads the investigation since John is not here.  Bo knows that his brooding, closed off detective has ‘unfinished business’ with the intrepid legal eagle and no matter who enters either of their lives there are still some ‘unresolved’ matters between these two.  Unfortunately neither of them realizes that but Bo knows it. He’s all too aware how things like that can happen because he too has ‘unfinished business’ with his ex-wife but he doesn’t know how to address it either.  That’s not to say that either couple will ever resolve these matters but nevertheless they do exist.

Bo’s phone rings.  Bo thanks John for calling and lets him know that he can stay at the hospital as long as he needs to stay.  Bo will handle things at the courthouse.  Knowing that Nora is still here and the info from John will give Bo an excuse to talk with Nora because she definitely will want to know about Evangeline.

Bo checks the evidence gathered from the assailant’s belongings and finds identification.  The man’s name is Carl Stevens.  There’s a recent front-page newspaper clipping about the Truman trial and a faded article about defective surgical devices.  Who was Carl Stevens and what did he have against Dr. Truman or was this just a random shooting?

Mr. Carl Stevens had his reasons for what he did.  Many years ago in another city in another state Spencer Truman performed surgery on the wife of Mr. Carl Stevens using a new innovative surgical device.  Several years after that surgery it was discovered that the manufacturer knew that the device was defective.  Even more revealing was the knowledge that some of the doctors who used it also knew of the defect but kept quiet since they were being paid by the manufacturer to promote their product.  By the time that Mr. Stevens found out about all of this the doctor no longer worked at the hospital and seemed to have ‘disappeared’.  Mr. Stevens lost his wife as a result of the device disintegrating in her body and causing all manner of havoc on her body.  It was a most painful death. 

Carl and Patricia Stevens was a loving couple and meant the world to each other.  As they had no children their worlds centered on each other.  When Patricia died something died in Carl.  He fell into depression and lost his company and if not for his friends he would have lost his life.

From that time on he made his mission in life to find the doctor.  After searching for so long he was about to give up.  He didn’t have long to live anyway, terminal brain cancer.  But while on a final visit to one of his friends he reads a newspaper in a train terminal.  He had never been to this town.  It was just a stop on his way to Philadelphia.  Imagine his surprise when he sees the picture accompanying the headline, ‘Prominent doctor on trial!’  He knows that face.  The name was different but the face he will never forget.  Although older, that sinister smile, those eyes, no he will never forget that face.  He remembers how reassuring the doctor was while talking to convince him of the surgery for his wife.  How this doctor stressed that the new device would work and his wife would have many more years to live.  

‘I’ve found him!’ was all that Mr. Stevens could think.  He didn’t need to plan for long.  He knew what he would do.  He wants to inflict as much pain on this so-called doctor as he can.  ‘Aren’t doctors supposed ‘to do no harm’?  Well he did harm my wife and he took everything from me because my wife was everything.’

A/N: We know what happened after that.  So it seems that Dr. Spencer Truman was not new to manipulating people and doing only what served his best interests.