I cried writing this fic... hoping that emotions could be felt while reading it too. Thanks xx
"We are gathered here today to join Sahira and Greg in marriage…" the registrar began. "If someone here objects to this union, speak now or forever hold your peace…" Sahira and Greg looked at each other, hoping for this moment to be over, to get this over with.
But just as the registrar was about to proceed, the main door flew open and a familiar voice was heard saying, "I object!"
Everyone turned around, gasping at who was standing at the door.
"Oh my God…" Sahira whispered, looking at Greg wondering what was going to happen next.
…
Everyone gasped at his presence at the door, and even more as he started walking up the aisle towards Sahira and Greg, swaying from side to side, drunk as he could be from drowning himself in alcohol the whole morning.
"What's he doing here?" Sahira whispered to Greg. Rafi finally approached them, looking at Sahira.
"Uh perfect timing…" he said as he chuckled. He held out his finger and pointed at Sahira, "you… and him…" then at Greg, "how could you Sahi?"
"Rafi, we're not gonna have this conversation here…" she told him, lowering her voice, approaching him. "I think it's better if you leave…" she told him, keeping an eye on the kids who luckily, stayed seated, then Jac and Jonny soon got hold of them, just in case Rafi got tempted to take them away.
"Not until I have what's mine…" he said approaching Sahira. But to eveyone's astonishment, he slid his right hand into his pocket and took out something, leading everyone to gasp. He held the gun at arms' length, pointing it towards Sahira.
Fearing he might do something outrageous, in his drunken state, and hurt his wife-to-be, Greg held out his hand in front of Sahira, implying to Rafi to stand back. "Look, just drop it yeah?" Greg told him, quietly, to keep things calm.
"You shut up!" he yelled out, pointing the pistol this time at Greg, then, again towards Sahira. In the meantime, Sahira signalled her mother with her eyes, to take the boys out of the room as soon as possible.
But Greg knew he wasn't thinking straight, "Rafi… you don't want to do this… put the gun down…" he said slowly, making one small step further, trying to reach out to him.
"You don't tell me what to do! Stay out of this!" he yelled again at Greg. Rafi looked at Sahira.
"And you… did you really think, you could do something like this to me, and think you'd get away with it? " he gave a little chuckle. "Ha!... you're so wrong! You manipulative bitch!"
Greg suspected something bad was going to happen, but just as Rafi held his gun, high and straight, positioned ready to pull the trigger, he didn't give him the chance. He leaped in front of Sahira, protecting her, risking his life for her. It was only a matter of seconds, that a gunshot sound filled the room and everyone burst screaming. With the huge bang, it seemed like Rafi came to his senses and dropped the gun from his hands. The crowd, hurriedly left the hall and security guards burst in, taking hold of Rafi to turn him in to the police.
"What have you done?!" Sahira yelled out at him, in tears, as she kneeled down at Greg, lying on the floor, with his white shirt now turned red.
"Ambulance please…. Gunshot wound…" Jonny didn't hesitate to contact the nearest hospital to get an ambulance as soon as possible.
"Greg….look at me…" she told him, softly as she held his face in her hands, seeing him fighting for breath. She was a good cardiothoracic registrar who saved lives even in the back of an ambulance, but this time, she was still under shock. In a sudden rage, she ripped out a piece of her white dress and pressed it hard against his chest, trying to stop the bleed. But the piece of white sheer was soon soaked red, he was losing a lot of blood. She completely blanked out, she didn't know what to do.
"Sahira… move..." Jac approached her, and knelt down, trying to help.
"Jac we need something, to put pressure on the bleed," she cried out in tears.
"Sahira come here, we will help him…" Ollie reassured her, as he pulled her away from Greg's body and let her fall crying into his arms, as he gave more space for Jac to work. Sahira's white dress was covered in patches of blood, everything was ruined.
Jac knelt down beside Greg, putting pressure on the bleed, but still she couldn't control the bleeding. Luckily enough, it occurred to Jonny to bring along a small kit containing a few first aid essentials, including a stethoscope. He handed it over to Jac, while they taped a piece of gauze on the wound. Jac's hands were covered in blood and so was her dress, lying in the mess of blood on the floor.
"Great… no sign of pneumothorax…" Jac commented, as she had a listen to his chest, but all of a sudden, she noticed he stopped breathing.
"Greg…can you hear me?" she checked his pulse. "Damn it, his pulse is weak… he lost too much blood!" She started CPR immediately. "Come on…" she muttered, as she pushed her fists against his chest, but still no sign of consciousness. Sahira, still cuddled in Ollie's arms, sobbed heavily, she could not stand the scene. Luckily enough, at that moment, the paramedics and the ambulance arrived. As they put him on the stretcher and got him straight in the ambulance, Jac stopped compressions and shocked him. After several attempts, they got him back in sinus. She sat beside him in the ambulance, while travelling to the nearest hospital in London. She didn't let Sahira in the ambulance. Jonny would drive both her and Oliver to the hospital.
As soon they arrived, they rushed Greg immediately to theatre. Jac offered to scrub in, and given that her reputation preceded her, she was recognised by a few staff members and was allowed to assist during surgery.
Sahira, Oliver, and Jonny waited impatiently outside theatre, for about an hour. But Jac soon appeared at the door, with Greg following. Sahira immediately stood up and walked up to Jac.
"Is everything okay?" Sahira asked her.
"Yes, surgery went well, he should be fine… it was one hell of a wound though… he needs to rest…he's going to be in HDU" Jac explained to her colleague and friend.
"Thanks Jac…" Sahira said slowly, while she hugged her, and walked off to make sure she was by Greg's side when he woke up.
…
Sahira sat down beside her husband-to-be, looking over him. She was getting tired herself, but just as soon as her eyes were about to close, she heard the soft words, "hey…" She thought was dreaming, but she wasn't. Greg opened his eyes just a bit and looked at her, sitting beside him.
"Hey…how are you feeling?" she asked him softly, as she squeezed his hands in hers, looking at him in the eye.
"Bit sleepy… are you alright?" he spoke slowly.
"Aww… shhh… just rest yeah? Don't worry about me, I'm fine, all thanks to you…" she said to calm things down.
"We're still getting married right? Sahira I love you, I really do…" she added.
"Of course we are… you don't need to tell me, I know you do… now rest, everything will be just fine…and I love you too.." she told him as she leaned in and gave a small soft kiss on the lips.
But just as she sat down again, she saw him close his eyes again, but not because he was falling asleep…the machine started beeping, and Sahira knew something was wrong. She was a doctor after all.
"Oh my God he's in VF… Can I get a crash trolley in here? Need some help in here please!" she shouted.
A doctor and two nurses rushed to the room with a crash trolley and the doctor charged him. Jac also noticed the chaos and rushed into the room.
"His BP has hit the floor…charge again…" the doctor uttered, as he pressed the defibrillators against his chest once again. Sahira couldn't believe what was happening before her eyes.
The doctor kept charging the defibrillators…" still no response… come on.." the sound of the beeping machine still didn't come to a halt.
"Keep going..." Sahira sobbed as Jac got hold of her as Sahira was about to approach the bed.
But it was all in vain, the doctor glanced at the nurse…"Time of death…14.05"
"Nooo!" Sahira cried as she rushed over to Greg's body. In a range, she took the defibrillators in her hands and was willing to try herself.
"I'm not giving up on him...he's a fighter…charge to 360!" crying she tried twice more. The doctor and nurses all stood there, quietly staring at her with no hope when Jac grabbed her from behind.
"Sahira stop…" Jac told her. Sahira dropped the defibrillators from both her hands and lied on Greg's dead body, as her loud cries filled the room.
…
Still in her white dress, covered in blood, she entered the cold room to see only Greg's dead body lying on the table, in the middle of the room, covered only in a white sheet up to his neck. She approached him calmly, and looked down at him. His face looked as if he was sleeping peacefully. She couldn't help it, a tear rolled down her face.
"I love you…" she whispered as she gave him a soft kiss on his forehead. She felt his skin touch hers for the last time. He was still warm, just as she knew him, as if he wasn't really dead. She wiped away the tears she left on his face, and now crying really hard, she covered it completely with the sheet and slowly left the room.
…
Jac, Elliot, Mo, Jonny, Oliver, Tara, Michael, Chrissie, Sacha and even Hanssen all surrounded Sahira, all wearing black, as they watched the coffin descend in the depths of the earth and buried underneath the huge heap of soil. They all flew out to London to pay their final respects to their colleague and friend. They all worked with him at one time or another during his time at Holby. Sahira didn't want to send him out to Ireland. Even though she didn't become his wife, she still had the right to decide. Greg had no family left, and besides, she wanted his grave to be as close to her as possible.
After the prayers, the vicar and everyone else left slowly to give her some space. She didn't break down emotionally just yet. But as soon as everyone left her side, she knelt down and placed a bouquet of flowers on his grave, and traced the soil with her fingers.
…
She entered their house, with her three kids. She picked them up from her mum's house. She convinced everyone she was fine, she didn't want anyone over. She just wanted to be alone. She put them to bed and walked into her bedroom. She observed the bed, neatly made. She opened the wardrobe, observing his clothes on their hangers. She took out her favourite piece… his black leather jacket and held it in her hands and smelt it. That's how she remembered him, the first time she arrived to Holby seeing him, wearing it, almost every day. He did look attractive in it. He wore it, when they kissed for the first time in the locker room. She loved its scent; she could still feel his presence around her.
She was lost in these thoughts and her happy memories of them together, when Maya's loud cries made her come to her senses. That's right… she still got Maya. A part of him will always be alive. She rushed out of the room and headed to the nursery. She lifted her up from her cot.
"Shhh…mummy's here… " she told her, as she hugged her tight, "mummy's always gonna be here for you," she added as, finally after trying to keep it all in, she cried and let tears roll down her face, realising she was willing to do everything in her power to be both Maya's mother and father.
