Author's note: Okay, I may just finish the story today. Total inspiration struck me.
Mark's phone vibrated just as the doctor walked out. He was grim faced. "Mr. Cohen?"
"Just a moment…actually, talk to Maureen. I need to get this." The caller ID said that it was Joanne, and panic gripped him.
Maureen stepped forward. "Dr. Clark, what is it?"
While the doctor and Maureen conversed in tense whispers, Mark answered the phone. "Yeah?"
"Mark, Firefly never made it to my apartment. It's been an hour. Should I call the cops?"
Mark felt the color drain from his face. "She…what? She's missing?"
"Yes. Should I call them or not?"
"Yes. Um…call if she shows up, I've got to see what the news is with Mimi."
Mark looked at Maureen, who instantly led him to a chair. "You're shaking. What happened?"
"I'll tell you in a minute. How's Meems?"
"She…um…" Maureen bit her lip. "Dr. Clark doesn't hold much hope for her survival, and if she does survive, she's going to go to jail for a long time. For possession, substance abuse, that kind of thing. It might be better for her if she dies. Now, what was that call about? You are paler than a ghost."
Mark forced a chuckle. "Don't ever let Roger hear you say that. Um, that was Jo. Firefly was supposed to be going to your place, to be with Joanne while we all waited. She didn't show up. Jo's calling the cops."
"Shit, Mark! That's horrible! Do you think she's okay?"
At that moment, paramedics rushed by, with a young woman on a stretcher. "Please move, sir. This girl has suffered a gunshot wound, we need to get her in ASAP to try and save her life."
Mark stopped one of the paramedics not rushing the girl into the ER. "Excuse me, can you tell me who she was?"
"Sir, I can only give that information to her family."
Mark's patience was worn thin. "Listen, buddy, I am extremely stressed out right now. My best friend's girlfriend OD'd on smack, my pregnant fiancée in nowhere to be found, and I am this close to having a fucking mental breakdown! So just answer my goddamn question, because believe me, you do NOT want to be around when I snap!"
There was a stunned silence, before the paramedic nodded. "Okay, you win. We found this wallet on her person. Her identification is inside."
Mark opened the pleather wallet –I gave Firefly a wallet just like this for Christmas, he noted- and looked inside. He gasped. "Oh, my god."
"What?" Maureen stood next to him. Mark handed her the ID card with shaking hands. Maureen read it. "Firefly Davis…oh, god!"
Mark looked at the paramedic, all annoyance replaced by fear. "Is she…going to be okay?"
"We really don't know, sir. We will probably be able to save her, but I don't know if we can save her baby."
Mark was pale. Suddenly, the world started to spin, and he clutched at Maureen's arm for support. She led him to a chair. "Maybe you should sit down, Mark. You look faint." She put an arm around him. He was cold and clammy, and breathing heavily. Maureen instinctively glanced at his hands. At the moment, they were separated. Maureen held him tightly, murmuring to him, until his breathing became deep and even. She glanced at Collins. "He's asleep, thank God. I don't know how he'll hold up if…" she trailed off.
Collins nodded. "I know what you mean."
They waited for hours, Maureen remembering to call Jo and tell her Firefly had been found at about nine pm. Finally, around midnight, the doctor reappeared. "Ms. Johnson?"
Maureen stood up, waking Mark. He stood with her. Dr. Clark looked grim. "We've done all we can for Ms. Davis. She'll pull through. However, there's been a complication."
Mark waited with baited breath. "What's wrong?"
"Mr. Cohen, you are aware that she was pregnant?"
"Yes."
"We tried everything we could, but we couldn't save her child. I'm very sorry."
Mark nodded, biting back tears. "Can I see her?"
"Mr. Cohen, she needs her rest. You can come back in the morning."
"But…"
Maureen put a hand on Mark's shoulder. "Mark, he's right. The worst is over, she's gonna be okay. But you need your rest, too. We'll come back in the morning. Right now, there's nothing we can do."