New Family (Onechicago) (RE-WRITE)

Chapter 20 - Waiting Game

Boden was sat at his desk, slowly completely the stack of paperwork that he had slung in his office. He was pulled from his work when Connie knocked on the door.
"Dr Haltstead on line 1 for you" She said. Boden nodded. He picked up the phone and connected the call.
"Chief Boden" He answered.
"Chief, it's Will..."
"What can I do for you?" Boden asked, removing his glasses.
"It's Riley. We've just taken her up to surgery. I can update you all when you get here but she wanted you guys here. I'm about to call Chase" Will explained.
"Okay. Thanks Will. We'll be up there soon" Boden said, before hanging up.

Will then had to make the even tougher phone call. It clicked on Chase's contact and waited as it rung.
"Hey Will, what's up?" Chase asked. There was music and shouting in the background.
"It's Riley..." Will said.
"Is she okay? I tried to call her back, but she didn't answer. I just presumed she got a call-out" Chase asked.
"Chase...we just took Riley up to surgery. I can explain more when you get here but she wanted you" Will said seriously.
"I'm leaving now...is she okay, what happened?" Chase asked concerned.
"Last I checked she's critical but stable. Rhodes took her up to surgery himself. It's complicated...we'll talk about it when you get here" Will assured, knowing this was not something Chase needed to hear over the phone.
"Okay. Thanks. I'll see you in a few hours...can you keep me updated? I'm driving back down" Chase said.
"I will do. Chase...drive safe." Will told his friend before the line went dead. Will sighed and went to check on Riley.
"How's she doing?" He asked over the intercom. Connor was working with the OBGYN.
"We've cleaned everything out and we're fixing the damage now...she's lost a lot of blood and is still critical" Connor explained.
"Okay. I called 51 and Chase. Chase is driving back to town...51-" Will said, before his pager went off.
"51 are here now. Riley said I can tell them so I'm gunna go talk to them...can you page me when she's out" Will asked.
"Yeah" Connor responded. Will stayed for another minute before making his way back down to the ED. 51 were sat in the waiting room. They all instantly looked up when Will walked in.
"How is she? What happened?" Gabby asked panicked.
"She's critical, but stable. She's in surgery with Rhodes now. I hate to tell you this, but Riley was pregnant. She only found out a few hours ago. She went home and collapsed. She's had a severe ectopic with major bleeding" Will explained to everyone.
"Is she going to be okay?" Cruz asked.
"Right now she's stable. I cant really say anything else but she's got the best working on her. I've called Chase...he's on his way back. I get off shift soon so I'll come back." Will explained, as he was called away. Everyone nodded and sat back waiting to hear news on their friend.

Will went back down to the ED to finish his shift. After nearly 2 hours he was finished so he went upstairs to join the others as the had moved to the comfier and larger surgical waiting room.
"Any news?" He asked. Everyone stayed quiet. Will sighed and sat back in his chair. Another hour went past before everyone heard someone running down the corridor.
"Where is she? Is she okay?" It was Chase. Will quickly got up and went over to his friend.
"She's still in surgery. Last I checked she was still critical but stable" Will explained, trying to calm Chase down.
"Will, what happened?" Chase asked seriously. Will sighed and pulled Chase away from everyone, so they were further down the corridor.
"Riley was checked out this morning after an incident at work. Everything was fine, but blood tests revealed she was pregnant. I did a scan and she was about 9 weeks along. She went home and within a few hours collapsed. Chase...she's had a sever ectopic with major haemorrhaging." Will explained. Chase looked at him shocked with watery eyes.
"I'm soo sorry" Will said, pulling his friend in for a hug.
"How did we not know?" Chase asked sadly.
"It was still early on....but that doesn't matter now. What matters is you're here for Riley. You be there for each other. Everyone else has your back and is there for you both. I know it's hard and it sucks but you will get through this" Will said seriously. Chase nodded and wiped his eyes. He took a minute before joining everyone else. They sat waiting for a while until 51's radios went off. Everyone sighed when both truck 81, squad 3 and ambulance 61 were called away.
"Go..." Chase said seriously. Everyone agreed and ran out, leaving just Chase and Will.
"Chase..." Someone called, making him look up. Cindy was standing there.
"Hermann told me what happened...so I thought I'd come down with some food and stuff" She said kindly.
"Thank You" Chase smiled weakly, taking the tub of food from her and giving her a hug. Chase put the things down on the table. Just then Connor walked through the door into the corridor.
"How is she?" Chase asked quickly.
"She had a massive haemorrhage. We cleared everything out and fixed the damage. It was touch and go for a while, but she's in recovery now. She's still in the danger zone and we're keeping her intubated for a few hours to let her rest, but you can go see her" Connor explained. Chase sighed with relief.
"Thank you" He said, shaking Rhodes hand.
"Will, she's in bay 4 of the ICU. I'm gunna stick around here tonight. I'm gunna grab a shower and fresh scrubs, you need me, page me" Connor explained. Will nodded as Connor walked off.
"Thanks again Cindy...for the food" Chase said hugging her again.
"It's not a problem. I'll tell the others to go home after shift to rest and that you'll call them with anything you hear. I'm sure they'll be up here again soon until she's out of the danger zone" Cindy explained. Chase nodded and thanked her again before following Will to the ICU.

Riley was sedated and intubated. She looked really pale. There was a bag of blood hanging next to a bag of saline amongst all the other machine and tubes she was hooked up to. Chase sat down next to her bed and took her hand in his.
"I'm here Riles...everything is gunna be okay. I just need you to wake up and we'll...we'll get through this together. I promise" Chase said with watery eyes. Will reassuringly squeezed Chase's shoulder.
"I'm gunna go change but I can stick around..." Will explained.
"No...it's okay. Go home and rest. I know you have a shift tomorrow and you've already stayed 3 hours past your shift. Go...I'll be fine" Chase insisted.
"Okay...call me if you need me." Will said. Chase nodded before Will left, closing the door behind him.
"We'll be okay..." Chase whispered, resting his head on Riley's hand. Now was the start of a whole new waiting game.

Chase had fallen asleep but woke up when he heard someone walking into the room. He looked up and saw Connor jotting down some notes in Riley's chart.
"How she doing?" He asked with a croaky voice.
"Her blood pressure is still lower than I'd like so I think I'm going to book her in for a CT to check everything out" Connor admitted. Chase sighed and nodded.
"Could she still be bleeding?" Chase asked running his hands over his face.
"It's a possibility. In cases like this tiny little things can go unnoticed because our main priority is to fix the major damage to control the haemorrhage. So we'll wait and see what the scan shows"
"And if it shows another bleed?"
"Then we'll take her back into surgery. I know this is tough Chase, but I know Riley. She's a fighter and she'll pull through this" Connor said honestly. Chase smiled slightly and nodded in agreement.
"Thanks"
"I'll get the scan arranged and I'll be back to take her down. You can stay until then" Connor said before leaving. Chase retook Riley's hand in his and sat waiting until Connor returned to take Riley for her scan.
"Why don't you go grab something to eat or a shower or something? She'll be gone for about an hour or so" Connor suggested to Chase. Chase nodded and kissed Riley's forehead.
"I love you" He whispered, before he watched them wheel Riley away. He sighed and ran his fingers over his face before going down to the cafeteria to grab some food. He sat on his own and quietly ate his sandwich and drink. When he finished he made his way back up to the waiting room.

Just like he said, an hour later, Connor came to the waiting room.
"What did the scan show?" Chase asked immediately.
"There's a small bleed. We're going to take her back into surgery to prevent it from getting worse." Connor explained. Chase nodded with tears in his eyes again.
"She's going to be fine. I promise...complications after cases like this are normal" Connor reassured Chase.
"I know...thanks" Chase said sincerely.
"It shouldn't be as long as the other surgery." Connor said, before walking off to theatre. Chase sighed and went outside to call the others. He knew that everyone would still be at the firehouse as they still had a few hours of their shift left. He called Chief Boden.
"Hey Chief" Chase answered once the line connected.
"Chase, how's our girl doing?"
"Ermm...she went for a scan that revealed she was still bleeding so they've taken her back into surgery" Chase said, fighting back the tears.
"We're on our way. Hang in there Chase...she's going to be fine" Chase didn't say anything, afraid that if he did he would start to cry. The line went dead, and Chase walked back inside. Will spotted him.

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In a serious note this is one if those topics that doesn't get spoken about enough hence why I wrote this storyline. Love you all guys!
Dharma xoxo