“Straight into the triage room on the left”, Jake ordered when they got home. James and Marc carried Jordan into the house and directly where he needed her to go.
Davina came running down the stairs. “Where is she?” she demanded.
“In the triage room, Davi. I have to look her over and assess her injuries to see if they can be treated here of if she’s going to have to go to the hospital. Take a few deep breaths and let me do my job then I’ll get back with you.”
“Take care of her, Jake.”
“You know I will, Davina. She’s my twin. Take a deep breath and calm the fuck down. I’ve actually got to get into the room and look her over. You’re going to have to chill out and let me actually get in there. We just got here.”
“You didn’t check her out on the way back?!” Davina shrieked.
“No, I was in the back of a moving Humvee with no fucking lights. What I do I look like? A mother fucking miracle worker?”
“Jacob!” he heard his mother say. “Go look after Jordan. See how badly she’s hurt and how best to treat her. Davina, sit your ass down on the couch and chill out. Yelling at Jake before he actually has a chance to look at her solves nothing. You need to let him go do what he needs to do.”
From there, they went their separate ways and Jake went into the triage room. The lights were bright as he looked Jordan over. He checked her vitals and palpated her ribs, watching her breathe. He hooked up a nasal O2 feed then pulled out his phone, dialing the non- emergency number for dispatch. He gave the address then told them the condition Jordan was in. “I have a 35 year old patient, female, who’s sustained fractures to her rib, femur and fibula on the left side.” He paused. “Yes, I’ve checked her vitals, I’m a fucking doctor. I’ll give her vitals to the paramedics when they get here. I’ve secured the fractures with a splint. She’s also sustained two black eyes, both of which have been cut open to relieve the pressure from the blood. Her ribs have been wrapped, I’ve started an IV with a saline drip and administered 25cc’s of morphine IV push. The patient has been unconscious for approximately 45 minutes and she’s on 25% O2.” He paused again and listened to the dispatcher berate him. “Excuse me? What do you do for a living? You dispatch emergency services. I’m a Nobel Prize winning doctor who graduated from Johns- Hopkins University and achieved the impossible- finishing medical school in five years from beginning to end. I have the medical training to do everything I’ve said I’ve done. I’m pretty sure you can’t say the same. Now that I seem to have you undivided attention you can believe that I’m going to have a nice long chat with your supervisor face to face once I know that my patient is stable and her injuries have been taken care of. Now, send me a fucking ambulance.” And he hung up.
“Jake”, he heard Jordan whisper softly.
He went over to his sister. “Hey sis. I’m going to get you to a hospital. You’re going to need X-rays done and casts put on that leg. They may even have to operate to stabilize your fibula. What I felt when I reset everything was not good at all. I think they shattered it.”
“Did you guys get them? All of them?”
“I don’t know, Jordan. Once I got you loose I got you the hell out of there. I’ll have to ask Skyler what happened after I got out of there.”
“Will you keep everyone updated on my condition?”
“Yes. Once I know you’re at the hospital, I’m going to have a chat with the ER doctor who’s going to treat you. I’ll have them keep me up to date with everything. And, I’m sure that Davina will want to go with you. Delilah and I will take care of the kids. Ok? Just relax and focus on getting back on your feet. You may need physical therapy. I’ll do everything I can to help out with that.”
“Thank you, Jake. I’m going back to sleep now. The morphine you gave me is kicking my ass.”
“Then go to sleep and I’ll talk to you when you’re not high on morphine and I know more about what happened after I got you out of that warehouse.”
Jordan drifted back off and Jake fussed over her just a bit before going out to wait on the paramedics. I heard you in the woods, Jordan. I heard what you were thinking, he thought. I wonder if we’ll be able to re-establish that link we had when we were kids. I’m not going to hold my breath though. We’re far too different now. From there, he forced himself to walk out of the room. He had paramedics to instruct when they arrived. His sister was safe for the time being and she was resting. For the moment, she wasn’t feeling anything let alone her injuries. Jordan was resting for now and he needed to let her do so and not fuss over her too much.
---------------
Once Jordan was on her way to the hospital David and Brie sat down with all of the men. “Ok, so what happened?” they asked in unison.
“In essence, snipers took out the at the entrance guards on either side of the building. I sent Jake and his small team in. They got Jordan out and we burnt the place to the ground.”
“Jake, what happened once you got inside?” David asked.
“Colton, Marc, Kylely and James all kept me covered while I picked the locks on the shackles that kept her chained to the wall. Simple, primitive locks and they were really easy to pick. Once I had her loose, I got her out of there, set her leg and cut her eyelids open so that I could release the pressure on her eyes.”
“Marc, what happened while Jake was releasing Jordan?” Brie asked.
“Kylely, Colt, Jay and I spread out and kept his ass covered. Some of the men from the back room rushed in and started shooting. None of them could hit the broad side of a barn because they were so wasted. And none of them were protected. They were just a bunch of morons with semi- automatic guns. We picked them off with no problems and if we didn’t get them, the snipers or the other ground team did.”
“How many survived?” David asked.
“One got away”, Morbus answered. “Other than that, no one. We eliminated everyone that presented themselves.”
David and Brie nodded. “How come one survived?” Brie asked.
“By the time we realized he was there, he was gone”, Jeremiah said. “It was Grissom. I’ll never forget his face; not after Marc’s presentation last month.”
“How come you didn’t end his ass?” David asked.
“I was loading a round into my rifle to do so and blinked. Like I said; there one minute gone the next.”
“He’ll get his, David”, Morbus said. “Don’t worry about that. One way or another he will get what’s coming to him and he’ll never see it coming.”
----------------
After the talk was finished, David and Brie sat up and talked for the remainder of the night. There was a new matter to discuss- whether or not to stick around and watch their daughter become a killer. They had no idea what Jordan was capable of in this state. All they knew was that she was hurt. They didn’t know, really, to what extent.
“So, what are your thought on the matter?” Brie asked David.
“The first priority should be the kids, plain and simple. Jordan’s a big girl, we both know that. Davina’s going to have a hard enough time dealing with Jordan. She shouldn’t have to worry about the kids too.”
“I totally agree. So, we’re going to take the kids off of their hands. I’m with you there. Levi and Jasmine should be first priority.”
“But, should we stay here with them or take them to Israel with us?”
“I think that the further away from this mess they are, the easier it will be for them. And it will give them a chance to see where Gramma and Grampa live.”
“How many of the grandkids have seen out house in Israel?”
“Jake and Delilah’s kids and Matt. That’s it I think.”
“Wow. Out of 25 grandchildren, only a handful have been to our house. Gramma and Grampa’s house is supposed to be a treat. Apparently, we turned it into a real treat by moving out of the country”, he chuckled. “When we do something, we do it right. That’s for damn sure.”
“I know, right? We don’t move out of state, or out of town. No, that’s too easy. We move out of the country.”
“When do you want to leave?” he asked after they finished laughing.
“Let’s give it a couple days. It will give us some time to see how Jordan’s doing and to pack for the kids. It will give me a chance to find those babies passports.”
“Levi and Jasmine aren’t babies, Brie.”
“Says you. They’re babies to me and will be until the day the graduate high school.”
“If we live that long”, he laughed.
“Then they’ll be babies to me until the day I die.”
“What about me?”
“You’re the one that said we might not live long enough to see them graduate.”
“Levi and Ira should graduate the same year, right?”
“I believe so, I’m not sure. I know Hunter, Miri, and Anthony will.”
“And we’ll be jumping all over the country for that.”
“Yeah. Here, Chicago, and Houston.”
“I find it crazy that I moved from Austin before we got together and we have a child that now lives in Texas.”
“What I think is crazy that said child has chosen to be a single parent. James had a choice, but he didn’t. Meagan chose to adopt even though she’s not married. Anthony is a wonderful boy and she’s doing an amazing job with him, but that she chose that amazes me still.”
“She’s a strong woman as an example. While you stayed here with the kids when I toured, you might as well have been a single mother. You were a single mother with Malachai for five years. You did an amazing job with them all.”
“I know all that, baby. But, while you were on the road, I could call you if I was having a problem and if it was bad enough you’d jump on a plane and come home after the show that night to take care of it. And there for awhile, you guys didn’t do a lot of recording or touring.”
“Because we were all becoming grandfathers.”
“David, when Jake graduated from medical school, it took you guys two years to finish a touring cycle. Right after that, I retired when Jessi and Marc finished high school. The record after that took two years to finish the cycle too because of weddings and babies being born.”
“Are you complaining?”
“No, just stating fact. The fact is that I wasn’t alone doing this for thirty years after the war that we had children at home.” She yawned. “So, let me make sure we’re on the same page. We’re taking Levi and Jasmine home with us for the duration, right?”
“Exactly. Now, why don’t we head to bed?”
“Sounds like a plan to me.”
---------------
The next morning when everyone awoke, they all awaited news on Jordan’s condition. Jacob was on the phone with her doctor when David and Brie came in for the morning. “Really? Why doesn’t the surprise? What about her jaw? That’s good news. How are her ribs? Ouch, no wonder she was having trouble breathing. And her eyes are healing? Well, I did have to cut them open last night. Dr. Thomas, believe me when I say you don’t want to know. Plausible deniability is your best friend right now. You don’t want to know what happened to her for her to receive those injuries. Just tell me how she’s doing so that I can tell my parents who just walked in about the condition of their oldest daughter.” He nodded a few times as he scribbled on a piece of paper how Jordan was doing. “Alright, thanks Rick. I’ll talk to you later. Call me as soon as she’s out of the OR and awake. Oh, real quick, how is her wife holding up? Really? I’m not surprised. Well, my wife and I have the kids until Davina’s able to take care of them. Thanks again, Rick. Talk to you later. Bye.” Jake looked up at his parents. “Good morning. I suppose you want an update on Jordan?”
“Yes”, David said as he grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.
“She’s currently in surgery having her fibula pieced back together and a titanium rod implanted to support it. X- Rays showed that it was a mess; fractured in several places. She’s going to be in a cast up to her hip when she comes home for a couple of months and she may have to do physical therapy. They’re not sure yet if that’s going to be the case. Davina is a mess, but doesn’t want anyone else up there; not even the kids. Jordan’s going to spend the first 48-72 hours sedated. Davina’s probably going to come back and get some things for the house for herself and Jordan after she’s out of surgery.”
“Do you know if they brought the kids’ passports?” Brie asked.
“Couldn’t tell you, Mom. I really don’t know. Why do you need their passports?”
“Because they’re going back to Israel with us in two days. We’re going to take the kids until this whole mess is over.”
“The only thing I can tell you is to check the room they’ve been staying in. I take it you’re going to use today and tomorrow to pack.”
“Yeah. It will give us time to pack, find their passports and explain to Davina why we’re taking them to Israel.”
“Why are you taking them to Israel?” Jeremiah asked.
“Simply put, to make dealing with Jordan easier on Davina. Jordan’s going to be a mess for a while. Davina’s going to have her hands full taking care of Jordan as it is. We’re taking the kids so that they’re not affected by the way Jordan’s going to behave once she’s healed and so that Davina can focus on taking care of Jordan and not have to worry about the kids as well”, David explained.
Both of the boys nodded. “Makes sense. Davina’s going to freak if she sees you guys packing the kids’ clothes”, Jeremiah said.
“Then she can freak out. Your mother and I will be taking them back to Israel with us and that’s final. I’m going to let your Mom do the packing for the kids because I’m sure that she’ll know what to say to a frantic freaking out Davina whereas I probably won’t be so kind. I’ll tell her to get the hell over it. Mom will kindly explain to her that it’s in everyone’s best interest.”
“But isn’t that the difference between a mother’s role and a father’s role?” Jake asked.
“Precisely. She’s the nurturer, I’m the disciplinarian. She’s the patient one. I’m the one that wants it done the moment it comes out of my mouth. And for us, that’s what worked.”
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