Airwolf Legacy

Chapter Seventeen

Doctor Parsons had spent over six hours stopping the bleeding from Kristien, sewing up various lacerations both externally and internally in the operating theatre. The brutal beating that Kristien had somehow lived through had caused extensive damage and the main loss of blood. Then Doctor Parsons discovered Kristien was 14 weeks pregnant. Suddenly despair flooded over Doctor Parsons and she looked up at the viewing gallery where Hawke and Carsten sat, glued to the lifeless body on the operating table. This was not a decision she could make. Doctor Parsons looked directly at Hawke and walked over to the door de-robing all her scrubs. Hawke knowing that he was needed walked from the gallery and downstairs to the operating theatre door.

There was no time for pleasantries at the door. “Hawke, Kristien is pregnant. Around 14 weeks.” Doctor Parsons told him.

“I know she is.” Hawke replied deadpan

Doctor Parsons tried to keep detached. “The foetus is on the left so has a good chance that it will develop into a normal pregnancy, but Kristien is gravely ill, she is going to have a long recovery period. What do you want me to do?” The doctor used the term foetus rather than baby as she didn’t want Hawke’s judgement clouded anymore that it was already. She could not believe that now Hawke was keeping Kristien’s medical secrets too.

Being on the left side meant away from all the deep scarring from the terrible, barbaric caesarean Kristien had endured 7 years previous, that Kristien probably would not miscarry. Hawke’s swollen eyes full of tears and deep brooding closed at the wonderful and yet devastating news. He staggered as his legs threatened to buckle under him. How the hell could he choose one life over another? Dominic came up behind the younger man and put his arm around him.

“Is Kristien okay?” Dominic asked not knowing what had just been said.

“Kristien is pregnant. I need to know whether to terminate the foetus.” Doctor Parsons continued her professional detachment at the fact that Kristien was at last pregnant and had a very good chance of carrying, not to full term but certainly to around 7 months.

Dominic saw the state of Hawke. “You save them both, you hear.”

“Mr Santini please, it’s not as simple as that…..” Doctor Parsons started and was just about to launch into the long recovery period and how it would take it’s toll on Kristien’s weakened state.

“We can’t make that decision. Only God can.” Dominic told her bluntly. “Come on String, you let the Doctor finish up and we will see Kristien soon.”

Hawke in total shock was dumbstruck. He could hear the words but could not respond. He wanted to shout ‘Save Kristie at all costs’ but he couldn’t, not at the cost of their baby. The baby he promised her she would have. Hawke and Kristien had spoken in depth about a baby after the tragic miscarriage 16 weeks previous.

Normally, doctors advised a break after a miscarriage, but Kristien, laying in Hawke’s arms that night after the miscarriage, told him how they would just buck the medical advice and do their own thing. Hawke fondly remembered that conversation and how afterwards he had married her. Hawke worked out that despite Sayid turning up, Kristien had carried on with Hawke as passionate as ever, making love at least six times a day, whenever the mood took them, often consoling each other especially when Sayid annulled their marriage and had tried to force a separation between Hawke and Kristien. This just drove them together even more. Before this time of turmoil, she had fallen pregnant and now despite the brutal rape and beating, she had somehow remained pregnant. If the baby could live through all of that how the hell could he terminate it’s fragile life growing inside of the woman that he loved. After all it was him that put the life force inside of her to make the baby in the first place.

Dominic had sat Hawke down in the large house kitchen with Alfred. A cup of coffee had been put in front of Hawke who was remembering about Kristien in his arms, back at the cabin when she was pregnant with their first son. Despite only being twenty, Kristien was ecstatic about being pregnant and proudly showed off her bump to Hawke at any moment. Indeed Hawke too often undressed Kristien just to look at her amazing pregnant body.

“They're going to find him, String, he’s not going to get away with this.” Dominic said as he laid a hand on Hawke's shoulder.

“You are damn right about that.” Stringfellow returned and looked up at Dominic with sad swollen eyes. “I am going to introduce the bastard to the Lady.” Hawke had been turning this over in his mind through the night when he was flying Kristien back to the Estate for medical help. “I will be his judge, jury and executioner.”

As much as Dominic hated to admit it, he was sickened by what Hawke had said but there was no way any court in the world could touch these sort of animals. Dominic remembered back to when Moffet had been terminated by all of Airwolf’s devastating fourteen firepower options.
Doctor Parsons stood, exhausted at the kitchen door. “Kristien’s in recovery now. I am going to let her awaken just for a few minutes then I will induce a medical coma as her head injury still hasn’t finished swelling.”

Despite not having sleep for over three days Hawke briskly marched through the huge house towards the infirmary. The dimly lit room had the hum of all the medical machines wired up to Kristien. Hawke’s eyes filled with sorrowful tears, his throat dried up and he froze as he saw all the machines all wired up to a very fragile body.

Doctor Parsons watched Hawke. “It’s okay. This is normal.” She pointed to all the machines. “See this one monitors her heart and blood pressure. You know about IVs, we have glucose, saline, blood, morphine, well this one is helping her breathe and this one is monitoring the baby, don’t worry about the colour of the urine.” Doctor Parsons pointed to the urine collection bag which was blood coloured. “Kristien’s kidneys took a heavy beating, it will be a few days before that clears, but we are replacing her own blood.”

“She…….can’t breathe?” Hawke whispered not being able to take everything in.

“No she can, Hawke, but I want Kristien to heal and having to breathe for herself will take it out of her, so this will do it for her. Remember I am going to put her into a coma.” Doctor Parsons explained. “She will have a doctor with her at all times as it will be a high dependency bed for the moment.”

Another doctor walked in and Doctor Parsons spoke to her. “Don’t leave the room and five minute obs. And call me when she awakens.”

Doctor Parsons left Hawke.

It took Hawke some time to actually move near Kristien, to sit down beside her to hold her hand. Kristien was warm to the touch, not like when he had scooped her up from inside the palace, cold and clammy and sticky with her own congealed blood. Kristien had been cleaned up, all her wounds had been stitched and the bruising was still black and purple and hadn’t completed colouring her body. The swelling though was starting.

Every few hours during the night after the operation, Dominic stopped outside the infirmary door where Stringfellow was holding vigil over her, he had wanted to knock, to go in and offer whatever comfort he could but Dominic had refrained from doing so. Instead he listened at the door and waited and hoped and prayed that he hear Stringfellow’s elated voice at seeing Kristien awake. That did not happen and with every hour that passed the likelihood that it would became more and more diminished.

Doctor Sarah Parsons also kept vigil along with two doctors. As the estate doctor it was her responsibility to look after all the residents on Kristien’s Estate. Sarah hardly saw Kristien herself as a patient. Sarah would often call upon Kristien for her ability as a medical Doctor. Kristien, often would self diagnose and dispense from the infirmary pharmacy herself for whatever she needed personally. Apart from Kristien coming into the infirmary every two months to give one pint of her own rare blood group for her own stock, Sarah barely saw her.

It was several hours before Kristien stirred. Too weak to fight the tube in her throat all she could do was to move her swollen hand which Hawke was fondly holding. Hawke woke immediately and looked at Kristien.

“Kristie?” Hawke gently spoke to her

“I will get Doctor Parsons.” The other doctor said running out of the room.

Kristien weakly opened her swollen eyes. One was still full of blood and she really couldn’t focus now. She felt blinded and started to panic. The ecg machine started to show Kristien’s dramatic heart rate rise.

Hawke gently kissed her on her forehead. “Kristie, I am here. It’s okay you are home now.” He spoke quietly to her. Kristien calmed down hearing Hawke’s gentle deep voice. She couldn’t reply due to the incubated tube but she moved her hand in his.

Doctor Parsons entered the room slightly out of breath. She looked over all the monitors then down at Kristien. “Thank God you are still with us.” She told her. “The head injury you have hasn’t even started to swell yet but when it does you know what that means. I need to put you under for a few days just to let you heal.”

Kristien found the strength to nod her head once.

“Hawke I need to put Kristien under now.” Doctor Parsons told him.

“Give us a minute please? Hawke asked.

Doctor Parsons looked down at her watch. “Just one then.” And she backed away from the bed, taking the other doctor out of the room waiting in the hallway, allowing the couple some privacy. Hawke leant over Kristien and spoke into her ear.
After one minute Doctor Parsons walked back in with a syringe and went to the catheter on Kristien’s hand which Kristien had managed to put in when she was in Airwolf. She placed the syringe into the catheter and depressed the plunger down. Kristien gently went off to sleep and as she did so, Hawke kissed her on her forehead and before she slipped into unconsciousness he said. “I love you.”

These were the last words that she heard before she slipped deep into the gloom of the darkness.

Doctor Parsons looked at Hawke. “I will keep her under for a few days so you will need to rest as we will have our hands full when she comes around. Doctors always make the worst patients.” Doctor Parsons left the room and then turned to Hawke. “I can give you something to sleep also if you like.” She offered already knowing the answer.

Hawke looked back at the doorway to Doctor Parsons. “No thanks.” He replied. “And Doc.” He said. “Thanks for everything.”

Doctor Parsons smiled and looked back at Hawke. “Don’t thank me yet. We have a long road ahead and I have never seen such a severe beating and seen someone survive. Her physical wounds, well they can heal, she’ have more scars but.” She paused not wanting to say what she had to say. “You Stringfellow, have got some deep mental wounds to help heal with her, if they can be ever healed.” The Doctor paused. “I don’t know how to say this so I will just come out with it. Kristien was raped. I am so sorry.” Doctor Parsons sometimes hated her job. “I will finish up writing my reports and then you can read them. At least you will know what you are dealing with.”

Hawke’s throat narrowed and his vocal chords tightened. His whole body tensed with the doctors words. Hawke remembered the night he discovered that Kristien had been altered inside and how he had managed to control the situation of panic and pain from Kristien. Granted, this would be more difficult. He looked down at Kristien. He knew exactly what had happened to her, he could feel her panic and pain throughout the brutal beating and rape. Once he had connected to her he had watched helplessly throughout her ordeal. He did not need to see it in black and white, not when he witnessed in full horrific graphic colour.

Some men are such sick bastards.]

Several hours later Dominic peered around the door and saw how helpless Kristien looked on the high dependency bed, wallowing in deep unconsciousness and then into Hawke's swollen brooding eyes, Dominic just couldn't see how any God would allow such a brutal beating to happen. Dominic was not one for religion, but he felt himself saying a little prayer again.

“Okay String you let me know when you want to nail these bastards.” Dominic said in a tight tone as gazed down at Kristien once again. Before drifting off into unconsciousness Kristien had curled her hand around Hawke’s, even now when she was caught in the gloom of unconsciousness and she didn't really know he was there, her hand remained clasped in his. Dominic did wish he had someone like that in his life.

He walked out of the infirmary and left Hawke and Kristien together. If he got a few hours sleep then he would be ready for when Hawke needed him.