#sam10

Samantha

Sam was more anxious than worried. Despite not having known Lee for that long, he was her husband's father, one of the few remaining members of his family, so yes, she was looking forward to admitting Lee to the hospital the previous day, so that he would go through all the needed pre-op procedures. Above anything else, she needed to be there people's rock. She needed be the shoulder to lean on, especially her husband, who had already lost a parent due to the same disease. No matter what they were going through in their marriage, no matter what physical distance between them, she was his Alpha. She needed to be there for him. So, when they left the house earlier that morning, Sam made sure to keep her spirits up, so that Logan would feel as confident, too. The latest test results had been really great and promising, showing a great shrinking of the tumor, according to her husband and Sawyer, someone that Sam had personally asked to keep a close eye on the case, despite not being her area of expertise, but as a matter of Sam trusting Sawyer more than anyone else, which made it operable. And now, the big day had arrived.

When they got to the hospital, they went straight to Lee's room, to check in on the man and he found him there, having a laugh with the man who was going to perform his surgery. It stole a smile from Sam's lips as she stepped into the room first, pulling Logan with her and approaching the bed, planting a kiss on Lee's fore head, before stepping closer to Jon, offering her hand. "Doctor Richmond, hi." She smiled. "How's everything? Is it a good day for this surgery or what?"

Logan

The process was familiar. It felt as though they had been in this same situation not that long ago and, the fact that it hadn't really enjoyed positive outcomes that time, really took a toll on Logan. Medicine had advanced greatly since, however. In the decade that had passed between his mother's death and the treatment his father was undergoing now, much had changed. He tried to remain optimistic, to believe this time things would be different. He tried to share the same attitude his father had when facing this new challenge. The man was strong, even if the cancer had weakened him physically. Sometimes it felt as though Lee was a bigger support to his son than the other way around when it came to all that was happening. His good sense of humor was enviable and Logan witnessed it taking place as they reached his room, seeing his father engaging with the doctor, that smile never leaving his face.

Logan reached to shake hands with Jon, recognizing him from their previous conversations before, a respectful nod acknowledging him in the room. It did put him at ease to know he was the one doing this, already holding the vampire in high esteem from his past endeavors. Still he kept close to his wife, as though she was the pilar that kept him standing through it all. Lee was quick to interject the brunette's question before the doctor could answer, saying how any day would be just as good. "How long would it take?" He asked then, walking to stand beside his father on the bed. "Granted, if everything goes according to plan, of course."

Jon

With the treatment Lee had underwent prior to his admittance to the hospital, his reference into Jonathan’s care regarding the surgery he was to undergo combined with his latest ECG and chest x-ray scans everything regarding his operation was looking positive. There were never too many assurances he liked to make ahead of practices, after all every procedure held its own risks but overall the outcome was looking to be a good one especially with Lee’s positive attitude, he’d found that a positive frame of mind certainly aided in recovery regarding such cases.

He’d just been discussing the last few details regarding the operation with Lee when Sam and Logan had arrived, looking up from his conversation with a smile of greeting he took Sam’s hand and shook it proceeding to do the same with Logan. He was always happy to see relatives coming to visit patients ahead of surgeries and with the recent encounter he'd had with Logan to be helping him out in any way was a welcome surprise. “Sam, Logan, I’m glad to see you” he looked to Lee with his interjection at Sam’s question nodding in mute agreement “everything is scheduled and is going ahead as planned. Overall outcome is optimistic, and as for a rough estimation for a time… I’d say it’ll be between three or four hours work in the theatre.”

Samantha smiled, cradling Jon's hand in between hers when she shook it, gently squeezing it, as a sign of both encouragement and as a silent thank you note for doing this. Even though she didn't know much about medicine, but she had been reading a lot about Lee's type of cancer, the possible treatments and the surgery that he would go under, to know that someone who had been personally appointed to her by both Sawyer ​and​ Lee's oncologist, so, she was positive that the man was in good hands. "Alright, we'll make sure to keep sending you both good vibes. And when this is all over, we'll definitely invite you over to the Manor for dinner." Lee smiled, too, looking over at his doctor. ​"She's promised to make my favorite meal, doc. So you're in it for a treat!"​ With a nod, Sam slid her hand back into Logan's, drawing circles in his skin with her thumb to keep him calm. "Here's to hoping I don't disappoint." She then looked over at her husband, when Jon answered his question. "That's not too bad. I thought it'd be longer..." And then, she glanced over at Jon again. "We'll leave this one in your hands, then, doc. Make sure you take good care of him, then. Will we be able to wait upstairs? Do they even have waiting rooms by the ORs? I can't say I've spent that much time around hospitals to know..."

Logan

Even if he was standing next to his father, Logan was skipping his old man's eyes. He focused on the doctor, on what he was saying, on the monitor that measured Lee's heartbeat and breathing speed. Samantha's calming circles on his hand were helping but he still felt a tight pressure on his chest in anticipation to what was coming. His mother had undergone surgery and though everything was alright then, the tumor reappeared soon after. She was a fighter. So was his father. He needed to take a page out of their book and hold his chin up high now. The mention of food made him laugh, shaking his head at how easy it came to his father to lighten the mood even when it was so heavy on his behalf. It was only after Jon had answered Sam's questions, Logan finding it harder than his wife to find the words, that he turned to look at his that. The grip on his wife's hand tightened involuntarily as it did.

"General." He was suddenly standing a little straighter, his voice still. ​"Sergeant."​ Between the two, it was an intimate exchange. Logan fought the burning feeling in his throat. Lee gave him an encouraging nod and salute. He had been raised to remain strong, especially when others were around him. "Doctor." Pulling his wife closer, Logan just nodded in the vampire's direction. "We'll be right outside.

Jon: “I’m sure it will be a grand affair, and you’ll have that to look forward to then won’t you Lee?” ​Jon​ prompted knowing that incentive would likely lead to adherence after his work was completed. But the sooner they were in the OR the happier Jon would be. “We’re doing as minimal invasion as possible for the best possible recovery results but Lee here is in the hands of the most capable team this hospital has to offer. We'll be doing everything we can to make sure everything goes to plan.” With a nod he tucked Lee’s charts under his arm directing his next statement to Sam whilst the other men in the room had their exchange, “a nurse will be along shortly to take you to the OR waiting room and I should head over there to make sure everything is prepped.” With that said he looked to the man in bed, “I’ll be seeing you shortly Lee.” With a final smile of parting to Lee and offering a nod to Logan and Sam he made his way out the door to the OR.

Samantha nodded, pressing her lips together as she offered him yet another smile. She was very appreciate of everything that Jon had done so far, and if he managed to bring Lee back to them, safe and sound, then she'd be even more appreciative. "Thank you, Dr. Richmond." She watched as the doctor left, before turning around to face Lee. "You make sure you come back to us, okay? Behave." She joked, pointing at her father in law, before letting go of Logan's hand for a moment, so that she could wrap her arms around Lee, in a tight embrace. "We'll be waiting for you, so come back to us." She whispered in his ear. "He needs you. I need you. So don't you go anywhere." Cradling his face as she pulled away, Sam looked into the older man's eyes, nodding once at him and watching as he nodded back, before planting a kiss on his forehead and then, moving her hand back to Logan's. Her head turned to see the three nurses who entered the room. One began prepping Lee's bed, while the other guided Logan and her out, to take them to the waiting room. "See you in a minute, Lee." Sam said, from over her shoulder, before finally leaving the room. With one hand already in Logan's, she used her free hand to cover his, rubbing her palm gently against the back of his hand, not minding the tight grip. "Hey..." She nuzzled his chin to catch his attention. "He'll be okay." Sam told him, as they rode the elevator up to the OR's waiting room and offered him a smile. "Do you want me to get you anything?" Three to four hours wasn't so bad... As soon as they noticed, Jon would be back. Hopefully, with good news.

Logan remained mostly quiet, not finding the strength in him to carry on much of a conversation once he left the room. He couldn't even get himself to say goodbye, or even a 'see you in a minute ' like Sam had, but their military exchange carried some weight. It was respect and pride, and the utmost love a son can have for his father. He trusted Jon even if he barely knew the man; he trusted Sawyer's care and his father's medical team back in the states. With a light shake to his head, Logan just sat on the couch, elbows resting on his knees as his hands clasped together, pressing his forehead on them. He wasn't too religious, he didn't practice religion, but he still prayed. A man needed something to hold onto when all hope escaped him, and for those who had gone through hell, seen it with his own two eyes and survived to tell the tale, a prayer was the least he could do. "Will you just talk to me? About anything." He finally asked his wife. Three, four hours wait, they wouldn't just sit there in silence even. Her voice was soothing. Slowly, he relaxed on his seat falling into the conversation. Sometimes silence fell between them but it wasn't uncomfortable. Before he realized, the doctor would be out with the news.

Jon

Everything for the operation was in order, the team he was working with all briefed and prepped for the surgery to remove a section of the lower lobe in the left lung and its infected calls via a VATS Segmentectomy. As the anaesthetist set the correct dosage for the general anaesthetic he took the mask lowering it over Lee’s mouth and nose “alright Lee, I want you to count backwards from ten” as Lee began to count ​Jon​ watched as the man’s expression relaxed, his breathing and speech slowing allowing for the procedure to begin. Allowing another to remove the mask and insert the double-lumen endotracheal tube to control inflation of the lungs during the procedure he picked up the scalpel moving to make the incisions in front of the anterior axillary line necessary for the camera and his own personal access to the target lung.

The time passed slowly, various acts being necessary - a couple of lymph nodes being sent to pathology to make sure there was no metastasis of the tumour but luckily results came back negative for spread. From there it had been a relatively simple procedure, collapsing the lung and meticulous cutting away of the infected tissue. Being sure to remove every infected part it was then down to sealing off the retracted area to avoid any possible air leaks. Overall the procedure had gone as well as he could have hoped for it to go, and after completing an inspection of the inflated lung finding no leaks it was time to close up the incisions and inform Sam and Logan of the positive outcome. Now it was over to Lee to do the post-op healing.

Leaving the others to take Lee back to the recovery room to wake and keep a close eye on his stability he left the OR, removing his surgical gear in the hazardous waste bin and made his way to the waiting room to find Logan and Sam.

Samantha wished that she knew how to pray. She knew the words but she didn't share the faith that made this words have any meaning, so they would be empty and she didn't want that. If she was going to keep doing something that went beyond what she could do as a woman, then she would simply keep a positive attitude, hoping for the best in the OR. She knew that Sawyer would be assisting Jon in the surgery, which eased her mind a little bit, because it wasn't like her best friend to be giving Sam any false hopes. Not after losing her parents like the Alpha did and not after seeing just how much Lee had began to mean to her. If everyone, including Jon, Lee's oncologist and Saywer had told them to go on with this surgery, then she should trust their word, trust their decision and go on with it, too. But when it came to Logan was that she blanked out. She didn't know what to do, how to comfort him or anything, but she was there... Which is why, when he asked her to talk about something, she started going on about this one time where Sawyer and her decided to do a road trip around Nova Pangaea. It was going to be their summer adventure before college... Because they knew their lives wouldn't be the same after that. Her fingers found their way to the back of his neck, where she kept caressing as the words would just flow out of her mouth, talking to him about the skinny dipping lake baths, the drunken nights, how they had decided to do matching tattoos as a sign of their unbreakable bound, about how their backs were destroyed because they made the back of their van as their bed, and how much of a horrible decision that had been. For the first time in what--a month, Sam just talked to him. With no fear of him knowing too much and not being scared of letting him in. Sometimes, her hands would leave the back of his neck to help her illustrate the stories that she was telling but it would always return to him, to that spot on the back of his neck where she would keep caressing. And it wasn't until Jon came into the waiting room, that Sam realized just how much this family had began to affect her, because she jumped at the sight of the doctor, praying for good news as if it was her own father laying in the bed. "Jon--I mean... Nevermind. How--how is he? How were things?"

Logan just listened. Some of the stories making him laugh as she painted the pictures for him, so vividly that he found himself feeling as if he had been there himself. It did more than calming his nerves. It gave him a better insight of who she was, who she had been, before all of this—the pack, the shotgun marriage. It let him see a different side, one she kept guarded so fiercely. It took his mind off all the things that could go wrong in the operation room. It made time go past so much quicker. Sam saw Jon approach them before he did, though the scent called his attention almost as instantly, his father's, on the surgeon's hands. "Doctor?" Joining his wife as they met the man halfway, he tried reading the vampire's features. It didn't seem like he was bearing bad news, but he didn't want to celebrate before its time. "How'd it go?"

Jon waited until they had approached before he began the explanation, "everything went according to plan, there were no complications during the surgery and I can definitely say that the treatment prior helped make my job considerably easier." He was nodding as he spoke, voice calm and collected by with a note of optimism in its tone. "That's not to say we're out of the woods quite yet, we've done everything that we can do to give him the best possible shot at recovery but surgery always takes a toll and it's down to your father to get better now" thinking on Lee's positive attitude however there wasn't much doubt he would battle through to recovery. "Considering his overall health though I'd say that you shouldn't worry too much, we're going to keep him in until he's in a more stable condition as well as monitoring his recovery. He's going to be asleep for a while but later, barring anything occurring he should be well enough to see you."

Samantha could breathe easier now. It was safe to say that if it hadn't been for Logan's need to keep her talking, she would probably be holding her breath, going out of her mind, dying for news--anything. So, the second she caught on to Jon's scent, the brunette shot up from her seat, her hand involuntarily reaching for Ryder's when her husband approached her, hoping for good news. Sam nodded, listening to him, her heart beating fast and only calming down when Jon said that everything pointed out to a positive outcome. Hopefully, Lee would want to come back to them as much as Samantha and Logan wanted him to. Her grip, she noticed after a while, was probably hurting Logan's hand, so she let go of it, in order to take Jon's hands in an appreciative motion. "Thank you so much, Jon. For everything." She nodded, before wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. "I'll make sure to send a dinner invitation your way." Letting out a chuckle, she stepped back, letting Logan interact with the doctor while she sent a text to Adelina, who had been in charge of letting everyone else at the Manor know how the surgery would go. "We'll head downstairs in a minute, but thank you again..."

Logan took a breath in relief, a breath he had been holding for hours now and he was finally able to let himself believe that things would work this time, that, this time, maybe it would work on their favor. He nodded as he understood the post surgery recovery implications, but he knew his father. He knew he was a strong man who wouldn't go down without a fight if he could help it. Maybe this was all part of the plan. Fate, he didn't really want to admit, had a funny way of making things work. Maybe, if he had never come to Astoria, his father wouldn't have been granted this second chance; maybe, if he hadn't married Samantha, none of this would've happened either. Shaking the doctor's hand, he held the man's grip tightly. "Thank you." ​So much.​ "I guess you'll be feasting like a Blackwell-Hayes, Dr. Richmond." Feeling his voice come easier to him now, he nodded while Samantha went to make the call. "If there's anything we can do to help in the process, anything that can help us with the treatment, let us know. I want him to stay here in the country to see it through but we still have some convincing to do." After all, his brother had been trying to get the man back to Seattle.

Jon: He was always happy to deliver positive news to relatives, and in this case knowing them made it all the better. Improving lives was the reason why he'd entered into this profession all that time ago and he was still managing to do it today even after all that time had gone passed. As ​Jon's​ hands were taken he offered Sam a smile in answer to her thanks, "I'm simply doing my job-" They all had been doing what was required of them, and as he found himself being wrapped in a hug he ended up gently patting her back before breaking away to speak with Ryder. The relief in the room was palpable as he shook the other man's hand "you're welcome," at the offer he offered a humble shake of his head never entirely comfortable taking the full thanks when he was only really the face of a team of experts "really it isn't necessary." As Ryder spoke of trying to keep Lee here in the country Jonathan's expression became thoughtful, "there's not much more you can do other than offer your support to him... But considering that I personally wish to oversee his recovery I'll see if I can pull some strings myself and offer my own support to the request of his stay being extended." He hadn't lived in this country for a fair while without managing to establish some rather influential links and if he could help he was happy to offer that assistance.