Niles to sign a few papers. Blair saw one of them was the written notice of the patient's critical condition. Seeing that Blair was almost on the brink of a meltdown, Niles tried to tell a few jokes to cheer her up. He told her that every member of the Leonard family had signed a “critical condition notice" for Wesley in the past, but each time, Wesley would pull through.

Later, Adalson got a call and he had to exit the hospital, leaving

Blair and Niles there.

The soldiers with minor injuries all came to the operating room after they had their wounds treated. Blair saw Talbot, Bowman, and a few others she didn't know. They all Looked a mess, and their clothes were stained with blood.

Talbot's arm was bandaged, his face bruised and torn. He looked pretty bad, but he was still not as bad off as Carlos or Wesley.

Some soldiers who had leg injuries limped all the way to the operating room. They all stood in front of the doors and waited for Wesley.

Blair had adjusted her emotions. Now she was calm, and it was her turn to comfort Niles. He'd become agitated and paced back and forth.

"Don't worry, Niles. They said they already patched them up as best as they could."

Niles stamped his foot and plopped back in the seat.

It was dark outside before the light above the operating room finally shut off.

A few doctors came out, all looking exhausted. The soldiers immediately rushed over and surrounded the doctors, asking anxiously, "How's the chief?"

“Is it serious? When will he wake up?"

One of the doctors gestured for the soldiers to pipe down. Then he said, "We removed five bullets from Wesley's body. The good news is that most of the bullets didn't cause much damage on their own. The bad news is that a couple of them tumbled, and tore through several vital organs. We got to him in time, but he's in a coma. We don't know if he'll regain consciousness. It all depends on his will to live. We're taking him to the ICU."

Everyone fell silent after the doctor was finished talking. ‘It all depends on Wesley's will to live...’

Wesley was wheeled to the ICU. Blair silently followed the group of nurses and doctors.

She saw him lying motionless in the bed with an oxygen mask on, face drained of all color, as if he were already dead.

The heartbreaking scene stirred up her emotions again. She tried her hardest to fight down her sadness and managed to collect herself. She trusted Wesley; he promised to come back and protect her. He never lied. He was going to make it.

Since Wesley's condition was severe, the soldiers had no choice but to let his parents know. Baldwin and Cecelia hurried there, but Wesley was still unconscious.

Cecelia had seen her son wounded many times. The bandages, casts, slings and so forth were just part of the job. But seeing him lying in the ICU, covered in tubes and wires made her sob uncontrollably.

Blair held back her tears all this time. However, Cecelia's cries opened her floodgates as well. She covered her mouth and ran to the ladies' room, crying at the top of her lungs, tears streaming down her face.

She remembered how energetic and healthy he usually looked. This was the first time she saw him hurt, and it was a serious injury to boot.

His Life hung in the balance.

A dozen soldiers were wounded in varying degrees; Wesley Lay in the

ICU, motionless, covered in tubes and wires; Cecelia cried hysterically in Baldwin's arms. As these scenes replayed in her mind, Blair suddenly understood the reason why Wesley didn't want to get married.

If she were Wesley, she might do the same. No one wanted to make their loved ones worry every day and suffer sleepless nights.