Chapter 279 - You had to be a hero, didn't you? (13)

12 April, Military Base Hospital, City K

Lexi shook her head; Dominic could be so cute when he wanted to be. Here he was getting to know what he wanted to do and trying to get away quickly when he could. Lexi looked at Monica and shrugged her shoulders slightly.

Seeing Lexi's movement Monica crouched down to look at Dominic in the eye before saying "Dominic, wait a minute so I can say goodbye to your mummy."

Seeing Dominic nod and let go of her hand Monica stood up, moved over and hugged Lexi quietly saying "Take care and let us know if you need anything tonight. I only brought him over as he had threatened to come on his own, and that was a worry you did not need."

Lexi responded, "Thank you so much." More loudly she added "Dominic, you need behave, as if I hear about you doing something like you did to Miss Monica and Miss Sarah again you will be in serious trouble."

"Yes Mummy," Dominic said, and he moved out of the room ahead of Monica.

Lexi turned to Dr Yu and said "Thank you for talking to my son. His father died when he was three weeks old in a traffic accident, and he sees my husband as his father. I could see that you were reassuring him. But please be honest with me, how is my husband?"

"Madam Rong, your husband is something. Looking at his medical records, this is the third time that I have operated on him, when he has been shot in the course of his service, and there has been at least two other times where someone else has operated on him for the same reason. As per normal he has been extremely lucky, and the bullets hit in non-critical areas. I seriously do not know how he can be as lucky as he has given, he is serving as a special forces solider."

"This time, he was lucky twice. Firstly, while not strictly bullet proof, the suit he was wearing that contained bullet proof elements, at critical joints. The first bullet hit this point on his right shoulder. That bullet did not penetrate his body, but like bullet proof materials, the pressure caused an initial shock like he had been hit. Unusually, the material shattered and shards of it penetrated his shoulder, causing the initial bleeding. The second shot, hit his arm, missing the artery but causing a mess. We extracted the shards and the second bullet and repaired the damage."

"We will keep him sedated overnight, as we do not want him moving too much presently. I want to avoid getting too technical, but do you understand what concussion is?"

"Something caused by a blow to a person's head?" came the unsure response from Lexi.

"Not strictly correct, as people can get concussions because of a car accident, or the more common cases we see here, from a bomb blast. Again, not being too technical, but it is a shock to a person's head that causes an immediate and temporary impairment of brain function. The first shot for want of a better way to explain it caused a concussion like effect in his right arm. When the shot shattered the bullet proof material, it caused an immediate trauma that impacted the function of his right arm. That conclusion, is backed up by the information I have in that as soon as he was shot he transferred the weapon he was using to his left hand."

"Keeping in sedated will ensure when that effect wears off during the night, he will not move, until we assess his condition in the morning…"

"Condition, that means it is serious?"

"Any injury like Colonel Rong has suffered is a serious injury simply by its nature. But we are not worried about it. Overnight, our plan is to keep him sedated, to allow the initial trauma shock to settle. Tomorrow, when the full team is available to assemble a full assessment will be undertaken, including determining his rehabilitation path and when he can return to duty. Keeping him calm as possible, at this moment, is key as too much movement until all the proper post-operative assessments are done risks delays to his recovery."

"So, he is alright?" came the worried question.

"He is Madam Rong. Once we are happy with his post-operative position, we will then transfer the Colonel from recovery to a ward. Having spoken to the medics who brought the Colonel in, we know you are a calming influence on the Colonel. Dr Yang, who was the doctor who reviewed you indicated that you are fine to leave the hospital, but like normal hospitals visitors have set hours so we would have you escorted to the Colonel's accommodation and you could return about 10am tomorrow. But, having discussed the situation with your doctor, he would, if you would like to remain with the Colonel overnight agree to admitting you for monitoring. I could then arrange for you to share the same ward as the Colonel."

Lexi sat shocked, thank goodness Matthew was safe. Who would want to target them? Thinking about being targeted, Lexi started to cry. Dr Yu said "Madam Rong, there is no need to cry. Everything will be alright."

Lexi could not help herself, and the tears started to come more freely. Dr Yu sitting there, realised that Dr Yang was right in her view. There were no physical injuries but psychologically, combined with what happened to Colonel and Madam Rong just before the western new year, she was a mess. She needed to be appropriately assessed by the head psychiatrist to determine her actual state, rather than their supposition based on their medical training. Hopefully, she would agree to be admitted so they could observe her overnight. They knew that on releasing her, because there was no physical reason for her to remain in hospital, a civilian psychiatric facility would not admit her simply because they were concerned about her well-being.

Dr Yu quietly said "Madam Rong, I think for tonight that both you and the Colonel need each other close by, simply so that you know that the other is alright. Will you let me admit you?"

Lexi looked at him and simply nodded. She was where she wanted to be tonight, close to Matthew.

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