It was two weeks until she was discharged into the care of Greg, Alex and Stu. Another two months until she started physio and a further three months until she went back to work.
Slowly, things were going back to normal- Greg was eating normally again, he'd cut his hair and was now showering and shaving regularly. The happiness and joy usually so engraved in his face were returning. Kyle and Deborah were locked away after a successful trial, their infant son adopted by a pair of accountants.
"Date night!" Greg whispered excitedly under his breath as he rung the doorbell to her flat. He had an evening planed of romance and laughter. First the cinema to see the new rom-com Michelle had begged him to see then to a small restaurant off the beaten track renowned for its pasta and patisserie. He rang the doorbell again, this time adding a knock- maybe the bell wasn't working or she was in the shower or still getting ready. Greg checked his watch- 7:45. They had agreed to meet at 7:30, dinner reservations were at 10:00 following the showing of the movie at 8:00. She was only 15 minutes late- not a problem. He rang the doorbell yet again and knocked, harder this time. Still nothing. He dialled her mobile instead.
"Hey. You've reached Michelle."
"Hi Michelle its Greg."
"Hello?!"
"Michelle. It's Greg."
"Hello?!"
"Michelle. It's GREG." He was nearly shouting down the phone now.
"Just kidding. I'm not here. Leave me a message and I'll get back to you." Greg silently cursed. He completely forgot that Michelle had changed her message to mess with Alex. He left a quick message before ramming his phone in his pocket and heading back down stairs to where he had parked his car. He dropped the chocolate bouquet of flowers onto the passenger seat and dialled Alex's number- he always knew where she was.
"Hi Greg. What's up?"
"Sorry to interrupt your date Alex but do you know where Michelle is?"
"I thought she was with you..." A silence settled on the phone line.
"I'm going to the ambulance station. Her shift should have finished 2 and a half hours ago." It was nearly 8:30
"I'll meet you there."
"No, Alex. Stay with Stu. I'll keep you updated."
The line went dead before Alex got a chance to argue. Greg redialled his phone as he set off to find Michelle.
"Russell- I need a favour..."
Russell soon called him back with the information he needed. Greg thanked his colleague and punched in the address into the cars SatNav. In just under an hour he arrived at an abandoned barn house, parking his car next to Michelle's. A wave of deja-vu washed over him. He had definitely been here before. He followed a mud path round to the entrance of the barn. Michelle was stood in the centre of the barn, her back facing the entrance, her shoulders shaking as she sobbed. Silently Greg slipped his arm around her, letting her sink into his chest and sob in the safety of his compassion. He said nothing, waiting for her to be the first to speak.
"It was here. I nearly died. I nearly lost everything and everyone." He suddenly understood why this place felt so familiar. It was where he had been taken and where Michelle had been shot.
"I had a pair of gunshot victims today. Only one of them made it. It could have been a murder suicide. The murder failed, the suicide succeeded. He was shot in the shoulder; she shot herself in the head while sat in a chair. What if that was us? What if you were shot too? What I didn't make it? What if your team didn't get them?"
"But they did get to us. We did make it. We are here, together."
She stopped crying and stared Greg square in the face.
"It shook me Greg. It scared me. I've been trying to get it out of my head but I just can't do it. How do you get over it?"
"You don't." The answer echoed in the emptiness of the barn. "You take each day as a new chance to prove how grateful you are for the second or the third or the fourth chance you got at life. When it happens, it happens. Until then enjoy your life. Take each day as it comes. Hope. That's what you need Michelle. Hope."
His phone started vibrating in his jacket pocket. At first he ignored it but Michelle reached in and grabbed it. A look of confusion spread across her face as she read the caller ID.
"Why's my flatmate calling you?"
"Because I called you multiple times and you didn't answer, I was banging on the door like a lunatic." He grabbed his phone off her and answered Alex's questions calmly while keeping a close eye on Michelle."
"Date night." She muttered. "I forgot all about date night."
Greg covered the mouthpiece of his phone.
"Yes you did. Dinner?" He whispered.
He handed the phone over to Michelle as he guided her back to the car. They pulled up at Greg's apartment block the same time that the pizza delivery guy did. He paid the delivery man before carrying the pizza into the flat. Michelle lay herself across the sofa, claiming it as her own as Greg sorted napkins, forks, plates and drinks. He slipped himself at the top of the sofa, under Michelle's head and stroked her hair as they talked the night away, she sat up and leant against his shoulder while they ate before returning to her lying position. Michelle fell asleep on his sofa. Carefully he picked her up and took her into his bedroom. He tucked her under the covers while leaving a glass of water, spare toothbrush and a change of clothes next to her in case she woke up and wanted to change.
"Goodnight Michelle." Gently he kissed her forehead and turned off the lights, closing the door behind him. Greg made a make shift bed on the sofa out of spare pillows and blankets after changing into his own pyjamas.
That night Michelle slept the best she had done for what seemed like an eternity. No hooded or masked demons haunted her, no gunshots echoed through her mind, no funeral possession for Greg.
