Draft version - Russian Roulette - Family secrets

Ch. 152: Oh, by the way

Mackenzie?

"Mackenzie!" Vittorio yelled in panic, when he saw Mackenzie's closed eyes and the relaxed features of her face. He pushed the call button so hard he could have broken it, stepping aside to let Patricia shake Mackenzie's shoulders for a reaction.

Jace had come over and noticed the blood. Without care, he just grabbed the covers and pressed it against the bandages. "Rami, can you see the doctors?"

"They're running here. Seconds, mate!" Rami yelled from outside the room, where he kept Vasili and Zariyah back and made room for the swarm of doctors and nurses who came running to the room.

There were no gentle bedside manners and absolutely no room for protection of Mackenzie's modesty. The doctors pushed Vittorio and Patricia away and ripped Mackenzie's hospital gown open. The nurses grabbed on to the covers and relieved Jace, who stepped back ash-grey in the face, waiting for that machine to stop acting hysterical.

A nurse crawled up on the bed and did heart compressions, a doctor worked under her leaning body to check under the covers and remove the bandages to see what they were up against. He barked orders at people and was handed gauze pads and whatnot to hold against Mackenzie's stomach as they rolled her bed out of the room followed by a crying Patricia and a desperately worried Vittorio, who clung to his wife for support.

The doctor yelled something at a nurse who stayed behind.

Rami had to hold back Vittorio, he had loosened himself from Patricia and tried to follow the bed with his daughter in it.

"They need to operate, give them time," the nurse said as calmly as possible to keep people informed but still acknowledge how they felt. She understood their need to follow, and though they did not need to panic more about the idea of another operation, they needed to know what was happening.

They had a right to know for them to prepare for the worst, if needed.

Half-heartedly, Vittorio fought with Rami. Inside he knew he could do nothing by running after them, but he had just gotten both his girls back, he could not lose one of them. When he finally stopped fighting, he huffed a little and gave Rami a clear nod of respect.

It took guts to do what he had done.

Too many emotions had a hold of him, and he needed to take action, that was what he did when he needed to control something overwhelming.

"Please borrow my wife a shirt," he said to Zariyah, who instantly went into Gareth's room and came back with a big, fluffy sweater she handed to Patricia.

She and Patricia were not exactly the same size, but the big sweater would do fine.

"Please, sit with my wife until there's news?" The question was for Vasili and Zariyah, though it sounded more like an order. They just nodded, seeing Vittorio had something planned. "Make sure she eats and drinks something, ok?"

Again, they nodded.

Patricia had no idea what Vittorio was up to, but from the way he was acting, she knew he was not staying. She had missed his take-charge personality. Missed so many years with him. Whatever he had planned to do, she knew it was needed for him to stay sane.

He would come back to her.

Hearing him say 'my wife' was more than enough for her.

"You..." Vittorio pointed at Rami. "Stay with my girls. Look after them. I trust them with you, you've proven your worth every day."