DISCLAIMER: JQ belongs to HB I am only borrowing the characters for fun ARCHIVERS: I'd be honored AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is a Race Fic, dedicated to all ten or less of us who think there aren't enough fics with Race as the lead, because there AREN'T, this is one tiny step in correcting that HORRIBLE oversight. Hope you all enjoy. CATAGORY: Angst to start with, plenty of adventure later. BLOOD AND JADE:PART 1 BY SHENSA: swndc@sprintmail.com AMERICAN MILITARY HOSPITAL LIVORNO, ITALY JULY, 17 The four figures hurried down the long hallway. It seemed to take forever for them to reach their destination. They paused in front of a heavy glass door labeled ICU faces worried and anxious as they awaited admittance. A tall nurse met them as the door slid silently open and they stepped into the isolated world of the intensive care ward. "Dr. Quest?" the nurse questioned. Benten Quest nodded wearily. "We got here as soon as we could. How is he?" "Were's my father?!" the flame-haired girl demanded, stepping forward here eyes red-rimmed and frantic as she looked wildly about. "You must be Jessie" smiled the nurse warmly. "Your father has spoken of you. Don't worry honey, right now he's being well cared for in room five." She led them to a small waiting area. "Major Stephenson has been paged he should be here in a moment to discuss Mr. Bannon's condition." "I need to see my dad" whispered Jessie. Johnny moved closer tentatively reaching out to catch her trembling hand. "It'll be okay Jess' you know Race he can handle anything thrown his way, he'll pull through" assured the boy. Not knowing what else to say the four sat in strained silence staring at the dull beige walls with their pastel landscapes meant to calm and soothe. Benten Quest was about to break the silence, hoping he could bring some measure of comfort to the three teens when a white-gowned figure approached. "Jessie Bannon?" A small man with dark thinning hair and piercing gray eyes walked purposely toward the family his face a measure of tension. "My name is Dr. Stephenson, I'm the physician in charge of your father." He introduced himself recieving a grave handshake from Benten Quest and slight nods from the teenagers. "Where's my father? Why haven't I seen him yet?" questioned Jessie urgently. "I'll take you to your father soon Ms. Bannon, that's a promise." He took a deep breath before continuing. "I don't know how much you were told. The authorities still don't know all the details and we won't know much more until he regains consciousness. But Mr. Bannon arrived here sometime after 23:00 hours. An anonymous call came in that there had been a shooting in warehouse seventeen down at the docking yards. When the police arrived the place was empty accept for Mr. Bannon. The call had to come less then five minutes after the incident. Someone must have been watching over him, without such a quick response there would have been no chance of saving him; it's fortunate that we were so close." His gaze was intense and serious as he turned to Jessie. "Your father is in critical condidtion. He was hit twice, the weapon was high caliber the damage was quite severe. One struck in the upper left chest exiting his back. The other struck at an odd angle, striking a rib and lodging near his lung." The major ran his fingers through his thinning hair. "It was touch and go for awhile, at least until we managed to stop the bleeding. He was in the O.R. for over six hours. Before it was over he'd lost half his own blood supply. We've had him on continual transfusions since he arrived. If all goes well this should be his last unit, that's a solid step in the right direction." "Then he's going to be okay right?" questioned Johnny, not wanting to think of the alternative. "My staff and I will do our best to see to that" reassured the doctor. Jessie nodded, fighting back the tears. "Can I see now?" "Of course you can but he's still unconscious. We've had to keep him on some high dosages to block the pain. It's going to be a few days before he can fight his way back. You'll only be able to stay for a few minutes. I know it's going to be a shock seeing all those machines and needles but keep in mind that as he improves they will begin to disappear. I know that might not be much comfort now but your father was strong enough to survive the initial trauma and the ordeal of the surgery, his odds are quite good. Now if you will just follow me I'll take you to his room." They walked down a softly lit corridor passing a nurse's staion with its banks of monitors and attentive guardians. The tall nurse that greeted them at the door smiled comfortingly at Jessie before she walked to the doctor's side speaking to him in a low tone. The Quest's came to stand before the wide glass panel of room five. Jessie pressed against the glass feeling sick to her stomach. Nothing could have prepared her for this. Johnny was a pale statue beside her, on the otherside she heard Hadji whisper a quiet prayer in Hindi, his eyes closed against the scene before him. "Ms. Bannon, Dr. Quest" He turned to Johnny and Hadji. "I'm sorry gentlemen but I'm afraid you will have to wait out here. If his condition shows improvement tomorrow, you will be allowed to see him. Right now he's still to weak." The two nodded in mute understanding, watching as the door to Race's room closed silently. "Dad...?" The room was bathed in bright sterile light. It seemed to turn everything to an impossible white from the walls and the tiled floor to the sheet that covered her father from the waist down. Even his deep tan seemed to have faded under the onslaught turning his skin a strange pallor. His glacier-blue eyes were closed. Fine lines marred the edges telling of the pain that reached him even through the deep haze of the drugs. Several IV needles led into his arms. They looked like they hurt. She followed the crimson line that dripped slowly into his vein. The transfusion Dr. Stephenson had spoken of; the deep color seemed out of place in the stark room. She shivered despite the warmth of the place and suddenly felt Dr. Quest's reassuring hand on her shoulder. Jessie had told herself she would be strong, to prove to the other she really was her father's girl; tough like him. But now standing before the unconscious form of her dad she felt lost and afraid. Sure she had seen him hurt before. Broken bones, knife slashes, even seen him shot. But nothing like this, this was serious, too serious. This time he wouldn't come strolling out of the emergency room looking all disheveled and handsome, one arm in a sling the other wrapped around some giggling ER nurse. This time it would take all of his formidable strength just to keep him among those that loved him. He watched the rythmic rise and fall of his friend's chest accompanied by the soft hiss of the respirator. Took in the dizzying array of machines that monitored Race Bannon's every vital sign. The thick gauze pad taped over his heart and the other farther down on his side. Two visable reminders of the bullets that had nearly taken him from them and might yet still. He reached down to grip his friend's wrist. "Be strong old friend, we are here with you now." "I'm afraid we have to go" spoke Dr. Stephenson quietly. Jessie reached out to brush a few unruly strands of hair from her father's forehead where she kissed him softly. "I love you dad, please don't leave me." Johnny watched as Jessie angrily wiped the tears from her eyes and bent to kiss her father. He still couldn't believe it was really Race lying in there fighting for his life. That a little over sixteen hours ago thay had been back in Maine blissfully unaware of the storm coming their way. Johnny remebered the look on his dad's face when he had come to tell them the news; shock, disbelief and grief so deep it looked to be carved in stone. He still remembered Jessie's angry scream of denial when at last his father had been able to speak. "Oh my friend this is not good" whispered Hadji "not good at all." Johnny didn't answer. He was lost down a path of his own painful memories. A little boy standing unsure and afraid in a room not unlike the one before him, staring shyly up at the bed that held the form of one he loved. "Jess' I'm so sorry" he whispered brokenly. He would have done anything to spare her this pain. "Even tigers must one day close their bright eyes Johnny" spoke Hadji sadly. Johnny turned sharply, his face torn with anger and grief. "Not Race! Not this way!" Jessie refused to leave her father and Johnny and Hadji refused to leave her side. Finally Dr. Quest gave-up trying to reason with the exhausted teens and left them sitting sullenly outside the door to Race's room. Jessie in a chair brought to her by one of the many nurses, the two boys slumped on the floor backs pressed desolately against the wall. Benten slipped quietly into Major Stephenson's office, took a deep breath and picked-up the reciever. Slowly his fingers dialed the numbers to make the international call. His heart beat loudly in his ears as he spoke to the operator and waited for the connection. It had been ten hours since he had last tried to reach her. She was on a dig in the jungles of Guatemala and had been away from base camp at the time. He had been politely informed that she would be returning to camp later that day. He had decided not to leave a message. Benten knew that Estella Vasquez had lived in fear of this call her entire married life to Race Bannon and now he wondered if it would hurt any less years after the divorce. There was a click and some swiftly spoken words. He drew a deep breath. "This is Dr. Benten Quest, may I please speak to Estella Vasquez it is a matter of emergency." "I shouldn't have let him go" she whispered brokenly. "Jess' you couldn't have stopped him, it's not your fault" answered Johnny. "I told him not to go. She's nothing but trouble! 'You can't trust her' he's said that a million times. He just shrugged it off. He's always so damn sure of himself and now look at him! Laying in there surrounded by all those ugly machines and he doesn't even know we're here!" She sobbed angrily, her hands clenching tightly into fists. "Jess' he'll be all-right I promise, nothing ever gets the better of your dad for long." "You must not be angry with your father Jessie. The lion cannot be expected to be anything other then what he is, so too the serpent or the jackal; no matter how they might choose to diguise themselves" spoke Hadji. "You're father knew the risks of this venture even if he chose not to speak of them, we must all accept that and look to the future of seeing him well and among us again. The truth of this tragedy will have itself out my friends" he whispered confidently. "And my dad will have his revenge" answered jessie fiercely. END PART 1 BLOOD AND JADE (c) SHENSA 1998