Chapter 1

Ellie walked alongside the gurney as Emmett was wheeled into the ambulance.

"Sir, keep breathing. You're going to be ok."

She kept repeating this both for his sake and for hers.

"Does he have any next of kin we could notify?" the paramedic asked as they put an oxygen mask over Emmett's face.

"Yes, he has a daughter. I'll call her." Ellie replied.

Emmett shook his head and the paramedics tried to calm him down.

"Sir, calm down. You're going to be all right. Just breathe normally." the paramedic ordered.

"Sir, do you have Julianne's number?" Ellie asked.

Emmett nodded.

"Where's your phone?"

Emmett lifted his head and nodded towards his pocket.

Ellie retrieved the phone and searched through the contacts until she saw a contact name that read "Julianne Cell". A few buttons later, she was connected and the phone was dialing.

"Dad?" came Julianne's voice.

"Julianne? Julianne Carver?"

"Yes. Who's this?"

"This is Detective Miller. I work with your dad."

"What's going on? Did something happen to my dad?"

"I think he's having a heart attack."

"What? Is he ok?"

"I'm not sure. I'm in the ambulance with him and we're going to the hospital."

"I'm on my way. Detective Miller?"

"Yes?"

"Could you…could you stay with him until I get there?"

She could hear Julianne's voice starting to break as the news sunk in that she could lose her dad. Ellie didn't know what had happened between them that caused her to go back home so quickly, but it was clear that whatever it was, Julianne was willing to put it aside to make sure her dad was all right.

"Of course, honey."

"Thank you."

By this time, they'd arrived at the hospital and Ellie put Emmett's phone into her pocket as she followed the paramedics into the emergency room.

"What do we have?" a doctor called out as the doors opened.

"43 year old male, possible heart attack." the paramedic said to the approaching doctor and nurses.

"You'll have to wait out there, ma'am," the doctor said, pointing to a set of double doors. "We need to see what we're dealing with and we'll let you know when he's in a room."

Ellie nodded and reluctantly walked to the waiting area. After an hour of waiting, the double doors opened and a doctor walked out.

"Anyone here for Emmett Carver?" he asked.

Ellie quickly rose from her seat and walked over.

"Ellie Miller. I was with him when he collapsed."

"Mr. Carver suffered a major heart attack. He's lucky to be alive. We operated on him and put a pacemaker in him. He seems stable for now."

"Thank God. I called his daughter on the way in. She's on her way and should be here in a few hours."

"Good. I'll take you to him. He's in ICU."

The doctor led Ellie down a series of hallways and over to the ICU unit. As she walked in, she saw that Emmett was hooked up to multiple machines, oxygen prongs were in his nose and a red light emitted from a pulse monitor clipped to his index finger.

"We'll be in here fairly often to check on him." the doctor said as Ellie took a seat in the chair by Emmett's bed.

"Thank you." Ellie replied.

Once the doctor left the room, Elie pulled out her phone and called the house. When there was no answer, she left a voicemail.

"Hey, honey. Umm…I'm at the hospital. Emmett collapsed while we were chasing a suspect and he's in ICU. When you get this, give me a call. I'll be home as soon as I can. Bye."

/

Julianne Carver drove as fast as she safely could towards Gracepoint. There were no buses running this time of night, so her mom's car was her only option. Her mom had no idea that she was leaving, but Julianne had scribbled a note telling her where she was, so hopefully she wouldn't be in too much trouble. All she cared about right now was getting to her dad before it was too late. Traffic was light this time of night, so she arrived at the hospital in record time.

"I'm here to see Emmett Carver. Could you tell me what room he's in?"

"Name?" the receptionist asked.

"Julianne Carver. I'm his daughter."

"He's in ICU room four."

"ICU?"

"Yes. He was brought in after having a possible heart attack. A Ms. Miller is with him now and is expecting you. Go down the hall, take a left at the end and there's an elevator to ICU."

"Thank you."

Julianne walked as quickly as she could down the hall and followed the directions she'd been given. As she arrived at the door to room four, she saw Ellie sitting by the bed.

"Detective Miller?" she asked.

"Julianne, hi. Come on in. He's just resting right now." Ellie replied.

"Is he going to be ok?"

"It's too soon to tell. They did an operation and…"

"Operation?" Julianne asked, alarmed.

"They put a pacemaker in. It should help him and he seems stable for now."

"Thank God. I…I got here as fast as I could."

"I know, sweetheart. Do you want me to stay a little longer?"

"Please."

Ellie saw the tears in the girl's eyes and hugged her.

"I'm so sorry this happened."

"Why? Why didn't he tell me? He told me he was fine."

"At the time, I'm sure he was. He didn't want to worry you."

Ellie led Julianne to the chair and helped her sit down.

"Wait here. I'll be right back."

Julianne nodded and wiped the tears from her eyes. Looking at her dad lying there in a hospital bed, she didn't know who to be mad at: herself for leaving before they'd had the chance to really talk or him for not telling her how serious his condition was.

"Dad, I'm sorry I left. I'm sorry I didn't answer all those times you called. I love you."

She reached for his hand that didn't have the pulse monitor on it and held it-wishing she could somehow will him to wake up. She moved her chair a little closer to the bed. Tears lined her cheeks.

Ellie came back in with a chair and immediately moved over to hold the crying girl in an attempt to comfort her. Julianne gave her a quick hug, but refused to let go of her dad's hand.

"It's going to be all right, sweetheart. Your dad's a fighter. He's going to wake up."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

Ellie stayed about 20 minutes before Julianne said she'd be ok and Ellie could head home.

"Do you want to stay at my house?"

"I think I'm going to stay here awhile. I want to be here when he wakes up."

Ellie nodded.

"You're always welcome to stay with us. Here's my cell number and address. Just let me know if you're coming. I'll leave the light on for you."

"Thanks, Detective Miller."

"Call me Ellie."

"Thanks, Ellie."

Ellie left the room as Julianne turned her attention back to her dad. Before too long, she fell asleep with her head resting on the bed.