Adrenaline fades and a few more tests

The adrenaline had faded fast and Vince was relieved to have me back with him. He was still concerned about the baby despite Matt’s thorough exam. As my “boys” were discussing my and the baby’s health, I raided my fridge in the room. I grabbed a gallon of 2 % milk and a container of Oreos.  I took a few steps over to the cabinet to grab a glass, I over reached and had to brace my hip against the countertop. I guess after the adrenaline fading fast, the glass slipped out of my hand and fell to the floor breaking into a shitload of pieces.
Vince ran to pick me up and put me on my bed, Matt called for a sonography cart. After he placed the call, he came over pulling a flashlight in the size of a pen to check my pupils. They were slightly uneven and he rushed me to get an emergency CT scan.

After the CT scan, I had another sonography done to double check the baby. The results came back for that quickly. Once I was able to return to my room, the glass was already cleaned up and Vince was pacing again.

Once he hugged and kissed me, he placed a tall glass of milk and a large stack of Oreos on the table next to my bed. I dunked the cookies as I explained to him that the symptoms I was suffering from could be from a concussion but still not sure until Matt came back with results from the CT scan. I told Vince that I was positive that I had a concussion since I’m suffering from the same symptoms as previous concussions.

Vince tried his hardest to keep me awake until Matt came back but I dozed off a few times. He let me sleep for a few minutes and then wake me up in case I needed to vomit. I always felt it was a myth to NOT let a person suffering from a concussion to sleep but I appreciated his efforts.
After being woken for the third time (or was the fourth?), Matt came back with the CT results. He said that I had a mild concussion and he would give me the children’s dose of Tylenol to help with the pain. He didn’t want to give me anything stronger due to the pregnancy. The nurse came in a few minutes later with two chewable children’s strength Tylenol and an ice pack for my head. I can’t stand the chalky taste of the chewable tablets so I took them with water and then placed the ice pack at the base of my skull.

Once the nurse had left, I had asked Matt about Paolo and Don Giuseppe.  I was informed that Paolo was slightly sedated due to his old age and my godfather had a broken leg; thankfully it was a clean break. He did have a few bumps and bruises but nothing more severe than the leg. I asked about the security around the Don and I was told that there’s 2 outside the door around the clock, one inside the room (also around the clock) and a few nurses who are doubling as security. I sighed with relief knowing that my godfather/Godfather is alright.

Matt gave me a hug and left me with my worried hubby. Vince gently sat on the bed and held my hand.

“Do you need a little music to help, my love?” Vince asked me.
“Yes, please,” I said. “Some Josh Groban would be nice!”

“Of course he would be, il mio amore. When I get you out of here, I’ll get us tickets to go see him in concert,” Vince said.

“No need to get tickets. I’ll give him a call to find out when his next concert is and we’ll go. If it’s in a few weeks and we need to take a plane, Matt needs to clear me before we go. If it’s in a month, it’ll be fine,” I said.

“Wait. You know him?” Vince asked incredulously.

“He knows that I can return a favor,” I replied. “He’s needed a favor from me, I returned it.”
“Amore…..are you planning on taking over the Don’s family, as Godmother, once his health fails or he retires?”
"No. Just as a counselor and yes, Al, my boss from the PD is aware of this," I said. "He's the one that actually suggested that I get Giuseppe on the straight path and Giuseppe is in agreement. He said that once he retires, I will step down and his children will decide what to do with the family."
Vince looked relieved that I'll be stepping down when the Don retires but it appears he wants to discuss this more but he lets it go for now.

An adventure to save my godfather

“Jordan….what the hell, man?” I asked.

“You got lucky, paisano! Breaking into the old man’s house and pretty much getting away.  I had to go to a reform school when I stole money from my neighbor!” my former partner said.

“Me being an officer was a calling and Don Giuseppe was the one who made it happen. There wasn’t any way my family could’ve paid for my education and the academy so Don Giuseppe started a college fund, okay? For every $20 I put in, he only put in $5!” I said.

“I had so much evidence against the old man and you asked me not to report it to the chief. I did and two weeks later in court, the old man was dubbed as ‘Second Teflon Don’. Nothing stuck to him!!!” Jordan said as he gently scraped my neck with the very sharp tip of the blade.

“Take me and let my godfather go. Please. He’ll return the favor!” I begged. “You hate me because of his being my father figure. Don’t take this out on him, Jordy!”

“Deppgrl,” Don Giuseppe whispered.

My poor godfather! He was severely beaten and was trying to get up to come to me. I yanked free from Jordan’s grip.

“Godfather!! I’m here. Go downstairs and you’ll see my husband there. Have him call Cardinal Paolo and then my husband will bring you to see Matt, my personal physician!” I said.

“My daughter. Come with me. There’s no saving this maniac!” Don Giuseppe said.

“Go, Don Giuseppe! Please go!! Tell my husband I love him,” I said.

My godfather nodded his head and struggled with the door. I heard him struggling with the stairs as well; I think one of his legs was broken.

“Deppgrl,” Jordan said as I spun to face him. He had his gun raised to my head. “I’m sorry but I have to do this. You were always in the way. Payback’s a bitch!”

“DROP!” Cardinal Paolo said and I fell; hearing a gun go off before I hit the floor. I heard a thump and I looked up. Cardinal Paolo was shot in the shoulder. I spiraled around on the floor taking Jordan’s legs out from underneath him. We wrestled for the gun but if fell off of the scaffolding. He pulled out another knife.

“Do it, you bastard!” I challenged him. “Be a man and kill me. I know you always wanted to!”

Jordan grunted and pulled his arm up to stab me when I saw a knife flying in the air catching Jordan in the neck and him falling limp on top of me. I rolled him off.

“Nice aim, hombre! Are you sure you don’t want to switch careers, Paolo?” I asked.

“Thanks! I learned from the best; you, Deppgrl. I’m good. Let’s get Godfather to the hospital!” Paolo said.

 We ran down the stairs as fast as we could and hopped in the Hummer. I drove us there as fast as I could in rush hour traffic. Once we got there, I pulled into the private entrance and asked Vince and Paolo to unload Don Giuseppe as I alerted Matt and his colleagues.

“Matt!!! He’s here. Need a gurney!” I shouted as I ran to find a gurney.

“Got one! Thanks, hun! Your neck!!” Matt said.

“Don’t worry about it. Get working on my godfather and get someone to take care of the cardinal. I’ll take care of my neck!” I said.

Matt nodded as he requested for another gurney for Paolo. Matt and his colleagues rushed the men into the waiting operating rooms. Vince ran to get a wheelchair for me since I was a little unsteady. One of the nurses took over and suggested that Vince sat in the one waiting room as she silently took me to one of the ER rooms for an ultrasound to check on the baby.

As I was waiting for the doctors, the nurse helped me clean off the dried blood from my neck and cleaned the wound. It was deep enough to bleed but not enough for stitches. She applied ointment and a bandage. After she was finished, Matt walked in.

“Don Giuseppe and Paolo are in surgery. Thankfully neither one of them has internal injuries. The godfather has a broken leg and we need to remove the bullet from Paolo’s shoulder. Let’s get that ultra sound going to check on that baby of yours,” Matt said.

Everything with the baby was fine and he checked me for other cuts, scrapes, bumps and bruises and declared that I was fine. He wheeled me back into my private room where Vince was waiting for me.

A confession

Not too long after falling asleep, I wake with a start, sitting straight up; forgetting the pain.

“Vince,” I said. “Help me get out of bed and into the shower. Once I’m in there, get Matt. I need to be discharged right away. I have a family emergency!”

“Babe, your family is fine. You’re not going until Matt clears you” Vince mumbled.

“You have no idea what’s going on. Just help me. Once you have Matt, go to the garage and get my Hummer…get the armored one,” I said.

“Wait. You have an ARMORED Hummer?” Vince asked.
“I’ll explain as I drive,” I replied.

“You’re not driving,” he said.

“Yes, I am. I promised Il Padrino that I’d be the only one to drive it. Go! Please just do as I say!” I said.

Vince nodded and helped me into the shower and then ran to get Matt to process my discharge papers by the time I showered and dressed, Matt and Vince were back in the room. Matt had a bag of bandages, ointments and creams. He handed me a wad of papers.

“Ματ, λυπάμαι, αλλά πρέπει να φύγω. Ο Νονός είναι σε κίνδυνο. Παρακαλούμε να πάρετε ιδιωτική πτέρυγα του έτοιμο και να έχει μεγαλύτερη και διακριτική τους συναδέλφους σας, έτοιμο να σώσει τη ζωή του νονού του. Αν δεν κάνω πίσω, ξέρετε τι να κάνετε (Matt, I am sorry but I have to go. The Godfather is in danger. Please get his private wing ready and have your most trusted and discreet colleagues ready to save the godfather's  life. If I'm not back, you know what to do.),” I told Matt hugging him tight. “I love you forever. Remember that.”

“Do what you do best,” Matt said as I nodded.

I grabbed my stuff and booked it to the Hummer. Vince was outside of it waiting for me.

“Open the back hatch for me. I need to make a phone call. You don’t happen to speak French do you?” I asked.

“Nope,” Vince said.

“Perfect. Thanks!” I said.

“Paolo, où est mon parrain en ce moment? J'ai besoin de lui tout de suite. Sa vie est en danger et j'ai besoin d'être là. Très bien. Je serai là en trente minutes. Oui, je suis dans le Hummer blindé. Et oui, j'ai mon médecin personnel en attente (Paolo, where is my godfather right now? I need to get to him right away. His life is at risk and I need to be there. Okay. I will be there in thirty minutes. Yes, I am in the armored Hummer. And yes, I have my personal physician on standby),” I said to Paolo.

I ran to the back hatch leading to the back of the Hummer. I grabbed  a stab proof and bullet proof vest and put it on. I grabbed one and tossed it to Vince.

“Put this on and hop in. We need to go rescue my godfather,  Don Giuseppe,” I said.

“Wait. Do you mean the mobster is your Godfather? As in your baptism Godfather or your mobster Godfather?” Vince asked in confusion.

“Both,” I said.

“Whaddya mean by ‘both’?”

“Growing up, I was always getting into trouble with the law. A friend dared me to break into Don Giuseppe’s house one afternoon after school. I did since he never had an alarm. I grabbed one of his expired passports and was climbing down a lattice from his room. I lost my grip and I started to fall. He ended up catching me.  He said that he had two options. The first one was to report me to the police and the second option was that he’d pay for my college education as long as I studied criminal justice and became an officer. Of course you know the outcome.  What I had to return was protect him whenever he needs it. I woke up because I sensed he’s in trouble,” I said.

“So he pretty much paid you off and you have to risk your life for that mobster?” Vince asked in disgust.

“I’m a police officer, Vince. It’s my job to protect and serve. My life’s always at risk for those who live in the state. He stood by as my godfather when I was baptized in the Catholic Church. That makes him family. He’s family; I have to go see if he’s ok!!” I said.

“Honey, you’re about 2 months pregnant and you just had an emergency appendectomy and you’re going to see if a felon is ok?”

“He’s not a felon exactly but he’s family. I don’t expect you to understand,” I said. “I’d take another bullet for Don Giuseppe.”
“Wait. You’d take a bullet for him? Or have you already? Is that the reason why you have that big scar on your collarbone?”

“Yes. He was getting attacked and I jumped in. I took a bullet for him as well as a knife stab; both were at the clavicle.”

“Wow,” Vince said.

I continued driving to the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn to find my godfather. I sent him a ‘ping’ to his homing bracelet to let him know that I found what area he is in. He sent a ‘ping’ back to me so I could get his actual location.

“Vince,” I said as I strapped a gun to my holster. “I need you to stay here with the Hummer. The blue dot is the Don and the orange dot is me. If it blinks, it means that the person is ok. If it moves, the person is on the move. If it stops, there’s a problem. If it’s no longer there, then that person is dead. Let’s just hope it doesn’t get to that, ok? If it does, here’s my contacts name. They’ll get the person and bring them to Matt.”
“Is that what you were talking to Matt about? In some crazy language?” he asked.

“Kinda. And it was Greek,” I said. “If I die tonight, he knows what to do.”
“Um, ok,” Vince said as he kissed me.

I ran into the building full force. I was now in a shitload of pain due to the appendectomy and running but I had to get through it to get to Don Giuseppe.  As I got to the second floor, I slowed it down and was walking on the balls of my feet to minimize the sound. I felt a cold tip of a knife blade on my neck.
“We meet again,” I heard my former partner say. “Do you have anything to say before I kill you and your precious don?”