Complexity

Chapter Twelve.

The ambulance doors slammed open as the EMS workers quickly took the stretcher out. They quickly hurried inside.

Dominic and Corrick were in a car close behind the ambulance, parking as fast as they could and rushing in as well. The two pushed past everyone, trying to follow the stretcher carrying Jean. Corrick felt someone tap his shoulder, that being a nurse, directing them elsewhere to which he complied. Dominic on the other hand, wouldn't budge. He kept on striding in the direction of Jean. He couldn't leave her now, not when she could possibly die.

It'd been a few hours by this point. Dominic had been forcefully put into the waiting room where Corrick had already been sitting. The two of them sat impatiently, worried about what news would eventually be brought their way. Dominic sat hunched forward, head in his hands whilst Corrick sat bouncing his leg, unable to sit still. It was nerve wracking and they hated it.

"Do you want uh...coffee or anything? I could go get us some..?" Corrick stood up, cracking his knuckles, some attempt at relaxing his nerves.

"Yeah." Dominic packed words at this time, unable to put them together if he tried. His mind was racing of the worst possibilities imaginable.

Corrick wandered off to go find coffee...don't know where but somewhere.

Dominic stayed with his head in his hands, unsure of what events could possibly unfold within the coming hours.

What if she dies?

No, No. Dominic stop. Don't be stupid, she won't die. She's...she's fine.

Well, maybe things will go wrong and she'll end up losing a lot more blood than she was before.

Maybe the doctor's don't know what they're doing and aren't equipped to handle this.

Stop.

Well maybe-

SHUT UP!

STOP!

"Ay uh, Nguyen?"

Dominic snapped into reality, awaking from his tormented thoughts filling his head.

"Huh?"

Corrick stood in front of Dominic, his face bearing a look of concern for the man. He held out a blank coffee cup, nothing unusual for hospital coffee.

"You good man? You were kinda just muttering and yelling to yourself." He moved his arm forward, gesturing for Dominic to take the hot cup of bitterness.

Dominic took the coffee, setting it down on a small table beside him.

He didn't realise that maybe his thoughts weren't just thoughts and that maybe he had been talking to himself, out loud. People probably were thinking he was crazy. Maybe the doctor's would do surgery on him instead of Jean, pick at his brain and such.

"Yeah just..." He paused, sighing. "I'm really worried, y'know? About her."

Corrick nodded, understanding the worry that Dominic was feeling for Jean, after all, it's not everyday your friend gets stabbed and ends up in the hospital.

"I feel ya. But, you know she'll be alright. She always is." He gave a faint but comforting smile, "Fish always makes it out alright, that's her whole thing. Go through hell and come out with only a few cuts and scrapes. She's one hell of a fighter, I'll tell ya that much."

Corrick sat down in the chair beside Dominic. The two sat silently for a bit, the only sounds being of Dominic's foot tapping at the floor and Corrick's occasionally coffee sipping.

"Y'know," Corrick spoke up, dragging Dom's attention to him, causing his head to turn to face him. "Back when I first started at PRSD, I met Jean and for a while I just didn't like her. I thought she was a careless detective with a lack of common sense."

Dominic raised his brow at this, looking as if he was confused on why Corrick would think that. He listened as he continued to speak.

"I was paired up with another detective, Scallion, on my first day. We were parked at some gas station fueling up our tank. Fish was in her S10 at the joint too, tagging along with us since they wanted her to, couldn't tell you why. Some guy who was at the payphone took out a gun, maybe a glock or something? Can't remember. Anyways, he began shooting at us, mainly Scallion before blazing off. I remember Jean got out of her truck and crouched over to us and said 'Well ain't that unfortunate.' I remember thinking, how could someone say that in a time like this?" Corrick chuckled, reminiscing on the past memory.

Dominic smiled, it did sound like something Jean would say after all.

"Over time I began to talk with Fish a lot more, I mean, we sit beside each other and we're both CID, we're gonna have to one way or another. And something I've learned from her the past bit I've been there is that she doesn't go down easily. Once she sets her sights on something, she'll chase it until there's nothing left to chase. She's...She's a good woman and a hell of a detective. If it weren't for her, I think the station would've been disbanded years ago." Corrick's talking came to a close after this, deciding to take the time in the waiting room to relax to the best of his abilities.