The water flooded into the old BMW and quickly filled the foot well. The cold and the wetness caused John to stir and he groaned and turned his head from side to side.
It took him a while to compute where he was and he started to panic, scrabbling around for the seat belt so that he could free himself.
The water was rapidly rising and the front of the car was starting to dip and get pulled to the left, getting taken by the current of the river. John didn't have much time left to get out of the car.
His mind went back to the accident, to the precise moment when he had struck Kate as she crossed the road. He needed to get out of the car and tell Caroline he was sorry. He needed to know that Kate would be alright. And at that precise moment, John knew that he wasn't going to let himself die.
John tried without success to open the car door. He twisted round so that his feet were touching the window and he kicked out with all the strength that he could muster. The door didn't move. He tried again, this time aiming his kick at the window. Still nothing and he was quickly running out of air.
He took a final deep breath before the water completely filled the inside of the car. Grabbing hold of the door handle, he pushed against it and it gave way, opening wide, allowing John to swim out. That was the last he remembered before everything went black.
Caroline was sitting on the sofa watching her mum feed Flora. She tilted her head and smiled at them. It was a lovely picture and there was such tenderness in Celia's face as she lifted the bottle allowing Flora to drink the last of the milk.
"It was never meant to be like this mum. Kate and me had planned it all out. The birth, our first night in the house together, our time while I was on maternity leave. And then all this happened. Kate injured in such a violent accident and Flora ripped from her to save both of their lives."
Celia looked over at her only daughter.
"I know love. But it is what it is and we just have to make the best of it. Have you thought about what you are going to do while Kate is still in hospital? You know, with the baby."
"I think of nothing else sometimes but haven't reached any decisions. To be honest, I am just living from one day to the next, going from one task to the next one and trying to keep my head above water. I don't know how much more of this I can take." Caroline rubbed her fingertips on her cheeks and sighed.
"You know that me and Alan will do all we can to help you don't you? Why don't you leave little flossy here and go the hospital to see Kate? That might take your mind off things a little bit."
"Are you sure? Only if you are sure. Yes I will. I think I will. I am not sure if it will take my mind off things though. But thank you."
Caroline had been sitting with Kate for almost half an hour, holding her hand and chatting to her. She found it hard to believe that she wasn't just sleeping and she was tempted to tickle her nose to wake her up. She had already told her about Gillian and Robbie and their plans to marry, Gary and his attempts to get accepted into the family, and William and Lawrence.
"And Flora slept almost 6 hours last night between sleeps. It was great. And when she "
Suddenly there was a slight pressure on her hand and she stopped mid-sentence.
"Kate? Kate? Can you do that again? Can you squeeze my hand again?"
Nothing. Caroline gently squeezed but got nothing back. She couldn't hide her disappointment.
"Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, when Flora eventually woke up for her bottle, she just lay there and gurgled and then"
This time, the pressure was greater and Caroline stood up, keeping hold of Kate's hand. She leaned over her and gently stroked her face.
"Kate? Can you hear me? Can you open your eyes? Can you squeeze my hand again?"
Caroline looked down at her hand for signs of any movement and when she looked back up at Kate's face, she was staring straight into her big brown eyes. The eyes she thought she would never see open again, the eyes she had prayed to look into just one more time.
"Oh my goodness! Kate!" Caroline started to smile and then the tears flowed unashamedly down her face.
"Hello." Her voice was husky, almost sexy, and Caroline laughed.
"Hello Mrs McKenzie-Dawson. Wherever you have been, I am so very glad you are back."
Gillian and Robbie were acceptably late when they arrived at Gary's house. He opened the door and warmly greeted them both.
He sounded disappointed when he realised that they were on their own.
"Dad is over in Harrogate helping out Caroline with the baby. Kate is still in hospital and everyone is rallying round and doing their bit. Even me! I was there yesterday and had her for the afternoon while Caroline went to the hospital. She is such a cute little baby."
"Don't worry, that's fine. Felicity always makes enough food to feed an army. We can put it in the freezer."
Robbie raised his eyebrow at Gillian and they followed Gary into the living room.
"Drink anyone? Gillian? Do you want a glass of red?"
"You know me Gary. Never one to say no. Robbie will just have a small glass."
"Gee thanks Gillian. Not even married and you are bossing me around." He dug her playfully in the ribs and sat down on the sofa."
Gary poured the drinks and came and sat with them, chatting easily about their wedding plans and Caroline and Kate.
"So, what's the price of sheep like nowadays Gillian? I bet you make a killing on that farm of yours."
Gillian did a double take at Gary.
"Are you kidding? I barely make enough money to scrape by most weeks. But I love what I do. If I can keep food on the table, and pay the bills, then I will keep doing it. At least I don't have to pay rent or a mortgage. That's something at least."
Gary pretended to be shocked.
"Do you own the land and the house then? Blimey, I'm not the only one in the family to have earned a bob or two. Is it worth anything, the land? You know, to develop and build on?"
"Oh, err, I don't know. I have no idea. I would never sell the land." Gillian sipped her wine and looked over at Robbie. He placed her hand on her knee and squeezed it.
"You know if you ever need a hand with anything on the farm, then I don't mind helping you out you know. We're family after all. Have you ever thought of getting a partner in to help you? I could be a sleeping partner. One that gives you money to develop the farm but doesn't make any decisions on how you spend it."
Gillian looked at him with an open mouth.
"That's a very nice offer Gary but I couldn't let you do that. Honestly, I can manage."
"But you just said you were struggling." Gary raised his voice. "I could help you out. Why don't you let me help you?" He was getting angry now and suddenly realised how he must have sounded.
"I'm sorry Gillian. Oh God. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get angry. It's just that you're my family and I hate to see you go without."
Gillian put her glass down on the table and stood up.
"I appreciate your offer Gary but I am not a charity case. And you might be family but I have only known you 5 minutes. I'm not going to take your money. I'm just going to the loo."
Robbie tutted and shook his head.
"Sorry mate. Women eh? She is very protective over that farm you know. She has put her heart and soul into it and she would never give it up. She'll be fine, honest. Give her 5 minutes and another glass of wine."
Gary smiled a very fake smile. He was getting nowhere with this. He would have to rethink his plan. There had to be something that he could say or do that would make Gillian change her mind about allowing him to become a sleeping partner. She was sitting on a goldmine and even if she didn't realise it, he certainly did.
The nurse called the doctor and within 5 minutes, he was checking Kate's statistics and looking at her charts. He took her blood pressure, checked her vision and looked at her pain relief.
All the while, Caroline was standing patiently to one side, looking intently at Kate, her hands clasped in front of her. She was anxious to be with Kate again, to speak to her and to hold her.
The doctor took a step back and smiled at Caroline.
"Your wife is doing very well. She still has a way to go yet but she is making excellent progress and her vital signs are encouraging. You need to remember that Kate will be very tired. Her body has taken a hell of a knock. And all she will want to do for a while is sleep. But I am confident that she will make a full recovery."
"Thank you so much. I really don't know what to say to you other than thank you." Caroline held out her hand and the doctor shook it.
"It's what we do Caroline. We take people who are broken and we fix them."
The corners of Caroline's mouth turned up.
"You have put back together the most precious thing in my life. Thank you for fixing her."
Caroline approached the bed again and stroked Kate's hair off her face. Her hand lingered on her cheek and Kate's eyelids fluttered. She slowly opened them and smiled as she saw Caroline looking at her.
"Hello again. Have I missed anything?"
"Well, it's funny that you should ask." Caroline struggled to fight back the tears and she silently sobbed.
"How is the, the baby?"
Kate's eyes grew wider and she moved her hand to her stomach. She was terrified when she didn't feel the baby. A loud sob escaped from her mouth.
"It's OK. Shhhh. It's OK. The baby is fine. Flora is absolutely fine. Very pretty just like her mummy and probably, at this very moment in time, screaming the house down and driving my mum and Alan up the wall."
"Oh my god! Is she really OK?"
Caroline nodded and through her tears she managed to say "Yep". She held Kate and the two women cried for their baby and for each other and the love that they both felt.