The trolley rushed through the corridors; paramedics walking full speed and Gill almost having to run to keep up; her short legs struggling to match the strides of those around her. Paramedics shouted to doctors and doctors shouted to nurses; all of which Gill had no idea what any of it meant, but it didn't sound good. As Lily was taken into resuscitation room Gill was told to wait outside to give the professionals room to work. Her hand pressed against the door as if she could touch the girl on the other side. She felt completely helpless; there was nothing she could for the Lily at that precise moment; but falling apart was not going to help. She decided to take a moment to ring Janet to ask her to start pulling the case papers together, so that she could stay at the hospital and the next morning Janet could brief the team first thing in the morning and start investigating.
As machines began to sound Gill dropped her arm back down to her side, still holding her phone. Janet kept calling Gill's name, but there was no response. Doctors ran to the girl's side, pushing Gill out of the way. She stared at Lily, her heart beginning to break a little more with each second that went by. Why was she feeling like this? What was it she was feeling? It was strange; a cold, aching sensation through her chest and her ribs. Could it be her cold exterior beginning to melt? The 'Godzilla bitch of a chief inspector' that Rachel had once described her as was only a front, but it was fading, leaving a sensitive, emotional, frightened woman in her place. This frightened her even more. Gill had only known the girl no longer than half an hour and already she couldn't stand the thought of losing her.
Gill's world of thoughts that she began to drown in were interrupted when a doctor left the room and walked towards her.
"DCI Murray?" he asked.
"Yes, how is she?" Gill asked impatiently, formalities just wasting precious time.
"She's stable for now; she's lost a lot of blood we think she may be haemorrhaging internally, she will need surgery as soon as a slot becomes available" The doctor was calm and reassuring, but Gill wasn't buying it.
"Can I see her?" she asked, deciding not to argue and waste further time.
"Of course"
Gill pushed the door in front of her and rushed to the girl's side. She looked pale and old. Gill smiled lovingly at Lily who only opened her fingers enough for Gill's hand to slide in and take hold of the girl's cold weak hand. Lily's limp arm reached up to her face to pull the oxygen mask from her mouth to be able to talk to Gill.
"Gill"
"Don't try and talk kid, you just rest"
"But there's" Gill cut her off before she could finish.
"It's ok now Lily, you're safe" Gill smiled again. "Where are your parents love, they really should be here?"
"My mum's dead, she died a year ago" Lily began tearfully.
"I'm sorry" Gill's eyes filled up effortlessly. "What about your dad?"
"I've never met my dad, and I don't want to either"
"Alright, so who do you live with, who looks after you?" Gill grew even more concerned.
"No one" she replied shyly.
Gill breathed a painful sigh wondering how her heart could possibly break when it wasn't even whole to start with.
"It will be okay now, you don't have to do this on your own anymore, I promise" Gill let a tear escape and instantly got annoyed with herself for showing such emotion to a virtual stranger.
"I love you Gill"
"You don't even know me" she replied unsure of what to say now as this wasn't a usual occurrence, but she was flattered by the comment all the same.
"I know you enough to know that I love you"
"I don't do this, the whole emotional, lovey-dovey stuff" Gill confessed "But I love you too kid"
At that moment, as Gill's hand stroked the hair away from Lily's face the machines once again sounded. Her eyes didn't move, her breathing stopped and she did not answer when Gill shouted her name.
"LILY" Gill screamed. "HELP" she shouted to the doctors. The whole 'crash team' came running into the room. Gill thought it was a stupid name 'crash team' and repeated it again and again in her head, each time it sounding even more daft. 'Crash team, crash team, crash' her mind lingered on the word 'crash' Doctors kneeling on the edge of the bed pushed Lily's chest with interlocked fingers. One tried to put a tube down her throat, with little success and the nurse syringed something into a line in the back of the girl's hand.
The room once again rushed around Gill. It felt as though she was in one of those movies where people look like they have been speeded up in a whirlwind, whilst the main character was in slow motion. Time dragged for Gill, each moment growing harder and harder for her to deal with. In actual fact, half an hour passed.
"Are we all agreed?" one doctor addressed his team. Each one nodded in turn. "Time of death, 02.02"
