That's a relief. I'm suprised he was that calm. Ethan and I only just managed to stop a mentally unstable patient, Terry Maine, from freaking out. It took us all afternoon, but we did it. I find myself smiling triumphantly as I travel across the hospital to get changed. It's the end of my shift, but, before I can start to think about my afternoon, a nurse comes rushing round the corner and almost runs straight into me.
"Woah, what's the rush?" I say, just dodging her.
"I'm so sorry. A patient has run off, he's got a hostage!" She explains quickly.
"What was the patient's name?" I run after her, my stomach flipping over.
"Terry Maine."
"What?!"
"We don't know what happened, he just started shouting about a little brother, then he took off." She says hurriedly. This pulls my train of thought to my own little brother, where is he? Is he ok?
Following the nurse I end up outside, where many other doctors and nurses are gathered, on the ground and up on a roof. I spot Rita and run over to her.
"Rita, what's going on?" I question, confused. She looks at me. She puts her hands on my arms. I look down at her, confused,
"Cal, don't freak out." She says, voice gentle and firm.
"What, what is it?" I ask impatiently.
"It's Ethan." She doesn't have to say anymore before I'm flying up the stairs to the roof. I stop when I reach the top, out of breath. One of the nurses edges towards me,
"Are you his doctor?" She whispers.
"Yes. How's Dr. Hardy?" Asking was stupid. I can see clearly that he isn't good. He isn't even conscious, Terry must have hit him in the head and he has a massive gash on his forehead. This scared me to no end. But this wasn't the thing that scared me the most. Oh no, definitely not. The thing that scared me the most was the fact that a gun is being held against his head. I push down the panic as I edge towards the doctor that is currently trying to keep Terry calm - and not doing a very good job, either.
"Let me try, mate." I whisper. He nods and backs off. I look at my little brother for a moment before addressing Terry,
"Terry, you know all we want to do is help you. So why don't you just put the gun down and come back over here?" I suggest, still trying to keep my panic at bay.
"Or I could just shoot this guy and all of you, then leave?" He counters. I swallow the lump in my throat, I was afraid he'd say something like that.
"I think I prefer my suggestion much more, and I reckon you'd prefer the outcome." I say, just managing to stop my voice from wobbling.
"I don't think I would." Terry retorts defiantly. I let out my breath, shakily. I try to think what I should do when suddenly, inspiration strikes me,
"Terry, you have a little brother. Don't you?" I ask, lightly. He seems to soften and nods.
"What's his name?" I ask, still careful. He blinks at me, then smiles fondly,
"Tom." He replies. I smile, apprehensively.
"Terry and Tom? Who's older then?"
"I am." Some of the staff seem confused and a wave of murmurs begins behind me.
"What a coincidence, I'm an older brother too." I say, glancing at Ethan, "I'd do anything for my baby brother, what about you?"
"I love my little brother, I'd do anything to protect him." Terry says, confident.
A door slams and we all glance back down at the ground, two police cars are parked near the hospital entrance. And four policemen are heading for the rooftop stairs. Terry becomes instantly wary again - pushing the gun back to Ethan's head and pulling his arm tighter round his neck.
"Why are they here?!" Terry shouts, back to being aggressive. All talk of little brothers forgotten. I shake my head quickly.
"It's OK, It's OK." I assure quickly," Remember you were saying you'd do anything to protect your little brother?"
He seems to forget the policemen at the mention of Tom.
"Well you might not believe it, but I'm trying to protect my little brother right now." I inform him, looking at Ethan," That is Dr. Ethan Hardy - as you know - and he's MY little brother. I love him with all my heart, and I would be forever grateful if you gave him back to me."
He looks down at Ethan and he suddenly looks like he can't believe what he's done. He looks back at me, tears in his eyes. Loosening his grip on Ethan's neck he gently puts the gun on the floor and kicks it towards me, I smile encouragingly. I'm about to head towards him to check Ethan's head injury when suddenly the police burst out of the stairwell door. Terry reacts badly, he re-tightens his grib on Ethan and suddenly he's holding Ethan's still form over the edge of the roof. It'd kill Ethan if he was dropped from that height. I can barely hold back my sobs as desperate tears start to fall down my face.
"Back off, I'm warning you!" Terry says and the police freeze. A rush of emotion flows through me, a small sob escapes and Terry's attention is brought back to me.
"Please don't," I beg, voice wobbling. He looks at me for a second and he seems to crumple. He lifts Ethan back over the edge and lays him down on the floor. My heart leaps and my arms ache to hold Ethan. Terry backs up and puts his arms up in surrender. The police run over to him and handcuff him, one of them going to pick up the gun. I dart over to my brother and kneel next to his head, I pull him up so his back is against my stomach. With the back of his head on my chest I wrap my arms round his torso and arms, sealing him in. Sobs wrack my body and I bury my face in his blonde hair, wetting it with my tears. I rock us backwards and forwards, thankful that I didn't lose him.
An hour later I'm sat next to a bed in a side room, a place chosen for Ethan to get some rest after an eventful day. My lips twitch upwards as I look at Ethan, remembering when we were younger and I always had to put Ethan to bed, otherwise he'd never get to sleep. I look up when Max comes in,
"There's some one here asking for 'the doctor that calmed Terry Maine down'. I think he's a relative of his."
I stand. Tom. His brother. I look at the stitches on Ethan's forehead, wondering if I should leave him. Max smiles,
"I'll wait here. I'll come and get you if he wakes up." He says, knowingly.
"Cheers mate." I leave and head for reception. When I get there I find what looks like a slightly younger version of Terry, short brown hair, blue eyes, slumping shoulders. He holds out a hand,
"So you must be Caleb, I'm Tom Maine." He introduces, he even sounds like his older brother.
"Yeah, I've heard of you." I say, jokingly.
"Yeah, I heard the story from one of the nurses. Listen, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. I know it can't have been easy, what with your brother's life in the balance, but you did really well. Thank you for helping my brother." He says, which is nice of him.
"I'm just doing my job, as a brother and as a doctor." I say through a smile. We both head back to our brother's rooms after a few more minutes of conversation. I smile when I find that Ethan is awake. He grins at me.
"I was wondering where you were." He says. I sit down next to the bed and Max leaves, but not before I thank him. I turn my attention back to my little brother after the door closes. His smile is still in place.
"What exactly happened?" He asks, I was waiting for that. So, I tell him the entire story and by the end of it he looks kind of strange, he opens his mouth, probably to ask for details but I stop him, standing up, I look him in the eyes for a minute. I wrap my arms around him, feeling his warmth wrap around my innards.
"I didn't lose you and I'm grateful for that." I say, knowing that whatever happens in the future I'll never grow out of the protective soft spot I have for my little brother. Simply because I'm his big brother, and protecting is what big brothers are supposed to do.