Disclaimer: I don't own anything or else this would be the actually ending! :-)
Alison cried, tears trickling down her cheeks as Anna whispered 'thank you' and curled up on the second gurney, promptly falling asleep. She looked over at the female paramedic sitting in between both gurneys.
The woman smiled, "you'll both be fine. You have some slight smoke inhalation and the little girl is suffering from dehydration and malnutrition. We're taking you to the hospital now, but I think they'll let you go in the morning."
Alison couldn't stop the flood of tears and shakily accepted the few tissues the woman handed her. She took a deep breath and managed to calm down.
"Did-did they get any of the bodies in the alley?" she asked quietly.
"I'm not sure, but as soon as we arrive I'll find out," offered the paramedic.
Anna woke up as they were rolling Alison's gurney out of the ambulance. She scrambled off her gurney and ran to trot next to Alison. Out of the corner of her eye, Alison saw another ambulance pull up. The two paramedics wheeling Alison's gurney paused, allowing the other stretcher to race past them. Alison caught a glimpse of red, tousled blond hair, and a profile that looked distinctly like Ed's. However there were so many people and various pieces of medical equipment that Alison couldn't be sure.
"Ed! Ed! ED!" she screamed, praying to God that it was him. The female paramedic pushed her back down.
"Easy, easy" she soothed.
"Please can you find out who that was?" begged Alison. Anna whimpered in fear and Alison looked over at her concernedly. The little girl had been kidnapped, then buried alive and now there was so much commotion that Alison wasn't surprised that Anna was scared
"Shhh…sweetie it's ok" Alison said, sitting up, ignoring the paramedics' protests and hugging Anna as best she could. The other paramedic wheeled Alison into a room with Anna following, while the female paramedic went to ask whom the person was that Alison thought was Ed.
The male paramedic started an IV with fluids for Alison and brought in a few extra blankets for Anna. By the time the female paramedic came back, there was a doctor with Alison and Anna.
"The young man was picked up in an alleyway in Inverness. Is he someone you know?"
"Yes, is he…still alive?" Alison asked, swallowing a lump in her throat. Ed could be a jerk but she really did love him.
"I believe so. They're taking him to surgery right now. He has a bullet wound in his left shoulder and a graze on his side, and a slight fracture in his leg. The bullets missed any vital organs or arteries."
Alison let out a sigh of relief, "when can I-we see him?" she asked, remembering Anna.
"Probably in a few hours, when he comes out of surgery and the anesthetic."
"I think you should get some sleep. I can come get you when he's out of surgery" offered the doctor.
Alison nodded as Anna scrambled up on the bed and snuggled up against her. Alison closed her eyes and allowed her aching body to sink back into the pillows.
~.~.~.~
The doctor came in faithfully when Ed was out of surgery. She quietly woke up Alison who blinked sleepily as Anna shifted against her and groggily woke up as well.
"Here, I brought you two a change of clothes" she said as she tossed a pile of clothes on the end of the bed. Alison smiled gratefully.
She helped Anna into the sweat pants, however, when it came to taking off Ed's fleece that Anna was still wearing, she wouldn't let Alison take it off.
"No!" Anna insisted, clutching the red, and slightly dirty fleece to her small body. Alison, surprised at the outburst, backed up slowly, "okay. It's okay, I just need-"
"No" Anna interrupted more quietly this time and shook her head. Alison nodded her consent, although she hadn't realized that Anna cared that much about Ed.
Alison quickly changed into the sweats and t-shirt the doctor had brought for her and then the two girls followed the doctor into Ed's room.
Alison had to bite back a gasp when she saw Ed. His normally tan face was pale and he had two IVs, oxygen and a thick layer of bandages on his shoulder and side. She turned to the doctor, for a moment ignoring Anna.
"How-" Alison started.
"He's lost quite a lot of blood, but I'm sure he'll pull through."
Alison nodded and turned back towards Ed, who was starting to wake up.
"I'll leave you three, but please don't wear him out" the doctor smiled.
Alison smiled to see Anna curled up on top of the blankets, tucked against Ed.
Ed let out an involuntary groan as he forced his eyelids open. His mouth was dry and his eyelids were gritty. Everything around him was white, except for Alison's face, but even her face held a pale, ghost-like quality to it. There was also a strange warmth against his side and a numbness in his shoulder and his other side.
He lifted his head far enough to see Anna's dark head tucked against his chest and then he shifted slightly to look over at Alison.
"She was really worried about you. She wouldn't take that jacket off" Alison said softly, an easy smile breaking out on her exhausted face.
"I thought she hated me" Ed said softly.
"I think she was scared of you, I mean you and-and-and Rob were the ones who scared her in the first place. You also weren't exactly the nicest person to her" Alison pointed out, instantly hating herself for being so blunt.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like…that. But she really warmed up to you, I mean after I forced her to go down that mountain, she hugged you" she apologized.
Ed smiled weakly, "I know. So what happens now?" he asked.
"I'm not sure. We can go anywhere" Alison admitted.
"I mean with her. Do we just leave her? Or…" Ed replied.
"We take her with us. You can't be serious about leaving her. You saw her, I mean…" Alison looked and sounded exasperated.
"Relax, Alison. I was joking. Sort of. Anyway, where do we go?" Ed struggled to push himself into a sitting position, momentarily forgetting Anna.
"Hey!" Anna said, sitting up and staring at Ed with puppy dog eyes.
"Sorry" Ed apologized and wriggled back down. Anna smiled and curled up again, her head tucked against Ed's shoulder.
"Anywhere. Just away from this miserable place" Alison said and standing up, "but for now, just get some sleep."
Ed grinned and wrapped his arm around Anna, who had already fallen asleep.
A/N: So I was digging around my computer today and I found this from about a year ago. The movie is A Lonely Place to Die. It's really good! Please feel free to leave a comment