Broken Wings
"The monsters turned out to be just trees."
-Taylor Swift, "Out of the Woods"
Disclaimer: Sadly I own neither Saving Hope nor Daniel Gillies
Pairing: Joel & Alex (or if you prefer Alex & Joel)
Rating: T
Summary: Alex calls Joel during an emergency.
Joel Goran smiled as he picked up his ringing cell phone, "Hey, love I'm leaving the hospital now."
"No, Joel please don't leave. I'm on my way there with Charlotte."
His wife's voice sounded breathless and panicked and he could hear their four-year old daughter crying on the other end of the line.
"I know it hurts, baby girl. I'm sorry. I'm talking to Daddy right now. He'll make it feel better soon I promise."
"Alex what happened?" Joel asked, trying to keep his own fear and panic in check.
"Luke is still at school. I took Theo and Charlotte to the park to play. I took my eyes off her for one second to get Theo out of the stroller. He's sound asleep. She climbed a tree, and she fell. I think her arm is broken. She's scared and crying. And I'm scared and crying…"
Alex's voice finally trailed off as she tried to catch her breath.
"Joel, you're on speaker. Talk to her. Maybe you can calm her down."
If it weren't an emergency, Joel would've laughed.
But who's going to calm you down, Reid?
Seconds later he heard Charlotte's voice on the phone, "Hi Daddy. My arm hurts. Mommy says you can make it feel better."
"Hello, angel. Mommy's right. I can fix your arm." Joel said, softly.
"Will I have to wear a cast?" She asked, her small voice dropping even lower to just above a whisper, "Like the time Luke broke his leg at soccer?"
"Maybe. I have to look at your arm first to find out."
"Okay. Can I have a pink cast, Daddy?" Charlotte asked a hint of hope in her tiny voice.
"You can have any color you want, Charlotte. I'll see you soon okay?"
"Okay, Daddy. I love you." Charlotte whispered, her voice rising slightly.
"I love you too, angel." Joel replied. "Can you put Mommy back on the phone for me?"
He's so great with our kids.
He heard Alex sigh into the phone, "Poor sweet pickle. She finally stopped crying. All she needed was her Daddy."
"And what do you need Reid?" Joel asked, trying to distract her so that her breathing would slow down to a normal rhythm.
"In no particular order, I need a talented orthopedic surgeon to fix our daughter's broken arm; I need my husband to hold me, and I need a glass of red wine."
"I can take care of two of those things when you get here. The last one will have to wait until we get home."
"Thank you, Joel. Thank you for always being there when we need you. I love you."
He could hear her voice shaking and he knew that she was crying again.
Her hands are probably shaking.
Her whole body is probably shaking.
"I love you, too. And I'll always be here whenever you need me."
"We're turning into the E.R. parking lot now. I'll see you in less than five minutes."
"Yes, ma'am." Joel said just before he hung up.
Three and a half minutes later, Joel kissed his daughter's forehead just before she was wheeled off to X-Ray.
"I love you, angel." Joel whispered, brushing her soft dark hair away from her face, "I'll see you in a few minutes.
Beautiful blue eyes.
Soft dark hair.
She looks just like Alex.
Alex.
As soon as he knew that Zack had taken Charlotte to X-Ray, Joel practically ran across the E.R. waiting room where Alex was standing looking lost.
Theo's baby seat was next to her feet and their son was sleeping soundly.
He could tell she'd been crying.
A few strands of her long raven hair had come loose from her ponytail.
She ran into his arms, and he wrapped himself around her, feeling her body shaking and radiating tension.
I'm here now.
I've got you.
Every thing's going to be okay.
"She's going to be fine, Alex. It's probably a hairline fracture of her forearm. I'll know for sure after the X-Rays are back."
"She was so happy up in that stupid tree. She was waving at me. And then all of a sudden she was falling. I couldn't even catch her. Our daughter fell out of a tree and I couldn't even catch her. And then she was screaming and crying and it broke my heart because there was nothing I could do. I was so scared, Joel…"
He stopped the flow of her words with a kiss, "Everything is going to be okay. Kids fall down. She's going to be fine. Do you hear me Alex Reid?"
He held her for a moment longer until she nodded. Then he gave her one of his trademark Joel Goran grins.
"Sit tight. I'm going to go put a pink cast on our daughter's arm and then we'll go home and get you that glass of wine.
It was Alex's turn to smile, "I love you, Doctor Goran."
"And I love you, Doctor Reid. I'll be right back."
Joel walked into the trauma bay in the E.R. where Zack was hanging up Charlotte's X-Ray's and looking at them carefully.
"It's a hairline fracture." Zack said without looking up from the films.
Joel glanced at the X-Rays and nodded, "Yeah. Thanks mate. That's what I thought too."
"Charlotte Louise you never told me you were a monkey." Joel said, running towards her and hugging her close to his chest, careful to avoid her broken arm.
Charlotte laughed, "I'm not a monkey, Daddy."
Joel smiled, "No you're an angel with a broken wing. Let's fix that, shall we?"
Charlotte nodded, drowsy from the pain meds that Zack had given her.
"Charlotte, why did you climb that tree?" Joel asked grabbing a roll of pink fiberglass cast from the supply cabinet.
His daughter shrugged her small shoulders her dark hair bouncy a little as she did so, in a tiny mirror image of a gesture he'd seen Alex make a thousand times.
She looks just like her mother.
"I just wanted to see if I could do it, Daddy." She answered kicking her small feet as she waited impatiently for her pink cast.
Zack looked from Joel to his daughter and back again, "You know you're going to have your hands full in about twelve years right?"
"I already do, mate." Joel said, smiling as Zack left the room.
Joel sat down on the stool next to the exam table where Charlotte was sitting and dipped the roll of fiberglass into a bucket of warm water before wrapping it perfectly around his daughter's arm.
As he waited for it to set he glanced at Charlotte, her eyes were closed, "You can do anything you set your mind to, angel. Just be more careful. You really scared us today."
"Okay. Daddy. I'm sorry." Charlotte said softly.
Joel kissed her forehead, and pressed his hand against the cast to help it set.
"Let's go get Mommy and your brother and go home."
Joel had to carry her out of the hospital. She was asleep by the time the cast had set.
Alex slept in the passenger seat while Joel drove, all the adrenaline from the day's events had finally left her system.
She woke when the car stopped. Joel took the baby inside, while Alex carried Charlotte.
"Luke should be home from school any minute. I'm going to take her upstairs so that she can rest."
Joel nodded, "Your wine and I will be waiting when you come down."
As Joel watched Alex go upstairs, he opened the fridge to check for bottles and then poured a glass of his wife's favorite pinot noir and left it on the counter.
Alex came downstairs, saw the wine on the counter and smiled, "Thank you, Joel baby," She said softly, leaning toward him for a kiss before she took a sip.
Joel smiled, "No problem, love. Is she resting?"
Alex nodded, "She's out like a light. Thanks for taking such good care of her today."
Joel shrugged, letting Alex lean back against his shoulder, "My pleasure, Doctor Reid."
I have to take care of my angels.
Both of them.