SHELTER | DIXON

|15|

As Madison headed down the stairs, the sound of Lori's voice reached her ears. "Okay... and you've done this procedure before?"

There was a pause. "Well, yes, in a sense," Hershel responded honestly.

"In a sense?"

"Honey, we don't have the luxury of shopping for a surgeon," Rick reminded his wife gently as Madison entered the room.

"No, I understand that, but―" Lori turned back to Hershel with wide eyes. "I mean, you're a doctor, right?"

"Yes ma'am, of course. A vet."

"A veteran?" Lori asked hopefully. "A combat medic?"

"A veterinarian," Hershel clarified as Madison walked up to stand at his side.

There was a long moment of silence while Lori and Rick processed this. "And you've done this surgery before on what? Cows? Pigs?" Rick stumbled into a seat, nearly falling out of it, but Lori grabbed him and steadied him. Once she was sure he was alright, she shot Hershel a look. "Completely in over your head, aren't you?"

"Hey," Madison cut in, not appreciating the way Lori was speaking to her father. "You watch your tone when you speak to him, Lori." The woman was taken aback at the venom in Madison's voice, never having had it directed at her before. Madison sighed, understanding that Lori was just worked up and worried about her son. "Look, I get that you're worried about Carl. He's your little boy. And yes, my father's only a vet, and yes, he's only done surgery on animals before. But his knowledge is better than none." She reached over and grabbed Lori's hand, squeezing it comfortingly. "Besides, I've seen trauma like this before, and I've helped in more than my fair share of emergency surgeries. Carl's in good hands, Lori. I promise you that."

As time wore on, tensions grew thicker and everyone worried whether or not Shane and Otis would make it back in time so Madison and Hershel could start the surgery. Madison stayed with Carl as much as she could, along with Lori and Rick, checking his vitals every so often to monitor any drastic changes. His blood pressure was dropping steadily, and his pulse grew more rapid and weak. If there was any doubt about whether or not the boy had internal bleeding, there wasn't anymore. 

If Shane and Otis didn't make it back soon, Carl wasn't going to make it.

× × × × × ×

"He's still losing blood faster than we can replace it," Hershel said when Madison finished checking Carl's blood pressure and shook her head silently. 

"He's right," Madison told Rick and Lori softly. "And with the swelling in his abdomen, we can't wait any longer or... or..."

"Or he's just going to slip away," Hershel finished for his daughter when it became clear that she couldn't say the words. 

It was different for Madison back when she was working, when the patients weren't really anyone she knew personally and she could remain calm and professional. But she knew Carl. She'd spent the past few months around this boy, seen him laugh, smile, grow up right in front of her. The thought of the boy dying was something Madison didn't want to think about. She told herself she could save him. But that wasn't true, not if they didn't get the proper supplies in time.

"Now, I need to know right now if you want us to do this," Hershel told the husband and wife calmly. "Because I think your boy's out of time."

"Madi?" Rick asked, looking to the brunette who sat at his son's bedside. "Is that true?"

"Yes," Madison admitted with a small nod. She couldn't lie to them. No matter how much she wished it wasn't true.

"You have to make a choice," Hershel told them.