Chapter XIV.
''3,2,1...clear! Anything?'' the paramedic asked, looking at the screen.
''Nothing,'' John said.
''Charge to 260. Clear!'' and they waited. The line was still flat.
''Come on, Gwen!'' John said through his teeth.
''I think she's gone.''
''Don't say that! Give me the paddles.'' He pulled them from the paramedic's hands. ''Charge it to 300. Come on, what are you waiting for? Do it!'' he yelled.
''Clear!''
Gwen's body jumped into the air, but still nothing - the line on the screen didn't rise an inch.
''Sir, she's gone. We did everything we could. She'd lost a lot of blood and…'' and then they heard it.
A beep...and then another one. The line on the screen moved...and then again and again.
''That's right, Gwen!'' John exclaimed, putting down the paddles and checking her pulse. It was weak, but still there. ''HURRY UP!'' he yelled at the driver.
The ambulance was speeding through London's busy streets and John just hoped they would make it to the hospital in time. He had seen many gun shot wounds in his lifetime and he knew that this one was bad. Every second counted, and she didn't have much time to spare. The ambulance finally stopped at the emergency room doors, and John didn't waste a second. He opened the ambulance door and started to pull the trolley out.
''COME ON, HELP ME!'' he shouted to the paramedic, and started to push the trolley into the hospital.
''Sir, we got it.'' Finally a doctor arrived and took John's place.
''Female, 32, gun shot in her abdomen…'' The report of Gwen's status filled John's ears. He could feel the adrenalin around him and it took him back to his old days as an army doctor. He was running down the corridor alongside the trolley, still holding the infusion apparatus, when a nurse stopped him.
''Sir, you can't go any further. We'll do our best.'' And with that John was left all alone in the middle of the hallway. His shirt was covered in blood, but he didn't care. He had to call Anna - she had to know what was going on.
He leaned against the wall and dialed her number. It kept ringing, but there was no answer. He was afraid she'd turn it off if she saw it was him, so he immediately texted her a message.
''I know I'm the last human on this earth you want to hear from, but can you please call. It's about Gwen…she was shot. ''
Within a minute his phone rang. It was her.
''Anna?'' he answered.
''John, what's going on? What happened?'' He could hear the panic in her voice. ''Gwen was shot. I'm at the Royal London Hospital. You need to come now!''
''I'm coming,'' was the only thing he heard before the phone went dead.
She was sitting in the taxi, praying and hoping that Gwen was all right. She had been lying on her bed still, listening to music and sobbing, when she'd seen his call come through, but she hadn't answered - the hell with him. But then his message had come right after, and for a second she had thought she'd pass out. Gwen was shot?!
''Here we are. 10 pounds, please,'' the taxi driver said.
She tossed 50 pounds onto the front seat and ran toward the hospital entrance. She knew exactly where to find John. She knew her way around this hospital - she had spent a lot of time here, waiting for her mother's shift to end when she was a child. Anna ran though the corridors and up the stairs; the elevators were too slow for her. First floor, second floor, third floor...and then she finally reached the waiting room and saw him. He was sitting on a chair, his head resting against the wall and his eyes closed. His white shirt was covered in blood...Gwen's blood.
''John?!'' she called, and he opened his eyes. He stood up quickly. ''Anna!''
They ran toward each other and he gladly opened his arms for her. She really didn't think twice about it; the argument they'd had was the furthest thing from her mind. The only thing she was thinking about was Gwen.
''What happened? Is she all right? Tell me she's still alive! Please! I can't lose her, not Gwen!'' Anna was openly sobbing, her face buried in his chest.
''She is still alive, but she lost a lot of blood. Did you hear the shooting on the street?''
''No, I had my headphones on. Who would want to hurt Gwen? She is one of the sweetest human beings in the world. Was it one of her patients?'' She looked up at him, heartbroken.
''It happened so fast. She'd gotten your message and was yelling at me, and then when she was making her way toward the building, someone shot her. I didn't see where it came from. I tried to look, but someone knocked me down.''
''Tell me she is going to be all right.''
''Anna, her heart stopped while we were in the ambulance. She was clinically dead for almost 4 minutes.'' He didn't want to lie to her - the situation was bad. Gwen had lost a lot of blood and the fact that they had lost her for some minutes really didn't work in her favour.
''No, no! Don't say that!'' She started to punch him in the chest. The thought of losing Gwen was too much for her. John quietly let her tiny fist hit against his chest over and over again and, when she had tired herself out, he helped her to sit down on the couch. And then the wait began.
The operation seemed to drag on and on. One hour, two hours…and the only thing John could do for Anna was to hold her. They didn't say a word - just sat quietly, silently praying for Gwen. And after three and a half hours, the doors finally opened.
Anna was on her feet in a second, John quickly following. ''Is she all right?'' she asked the doctor walking toward them. His expression was blank.
''Are you here for Miss Dawson?'' replied the doctor, pulling off his blue surgical hat.
They both nodded. ''Is she all right?"
''She is stable, but not quite out of the woods. We had to remove some of her small intestine and she has experienced acute blood loss. If she makes it through the night, she will probably be fine.''
''Can I see her?''
''I'm afraid not, Miss. I suggest you go home and get some rest. You can come back tomorrow morning.''
''But…what if something happens during the night?'' The thought of leaving Gwen all alone in the hospital didn't sit well with Anna.
''You can leave your home number with the nurse. We'll call you if anything changes.'' With that, he turned around and left.
They were left standing in the hallway. John turned to face her, and he could see the fear still in her eyes. Somehow their hands found each other's, but Anna quickly let go as soon as she realised, memories of their earlier argument surfacing again.
She looked at John nervously. ''Can you take me home?'' She hated him for not having told her the truth, but she had to admit to herself that she really needed some company to survive the night.
''Let's go.'' He tentatively took her hand in his and they slowly made their way to the street. He didn't have a problem getting them a taxi and, after a 10 minute drive, they were standing in front of her building. The police had finished their work and the only evidence of what had happened earlier was a dark red stain on the spot where Gwen had been lying only hours before.
''Can I call you tomorrow?'' John asked.
''You're not staying with me?'' she almost pleaded.
''You want me to stay?'' He was a little surprised.
''Yeah, please, John. I know that everything is not OK between us and I know I yelled at you, but I'm going to be selfish and ask you to stay. Please...I can't survive the night by myself.'' Tears were once again running down her face. It felt like she had cried the entire day away.
''Hey, hey. It's going to be OK - she'll be fine. And you are not selfish, you are one of the bravest and the strongest women I have ever met. Come here.'' He hugged her and slowly they started to walk into her building.
''I need to call Gwen's parents. They have no clue what's happened,'' Anna said, unlocking the door to her flat. ''What time is it?''
''Almost 9 p.m. Why?'' John replied, looking at his watch.
''I will wake them up,'' whispered Anna, picking up her phone.
''What are you talking about?''
''Umm...Gwen's parents live in Slovenia. It's 10 p.m. there,'' she explained.
''They live where?''
''Slovenia, you know - formerly Yugoslavia.'' She saw he was still clueless. ''Forget it. Can you give me some privacy? I need to be alone for this.''
''Yeah, sure. I'll wait in the kitchen. If you need anything, just shout, OK?'' He smiled weakly and left the room.
Anna took a deep breath, swallowed her tears, and dialed. This was going to be hard. The phone rang and rang, and, just when she was about to give up, a cheerful voice greeted her from the other side of Europe.
''Anna, dear, what a nice surprise. Gwen told us you were back from Iraq. How is it going? I hope you are coming to visit us really soon…''
''Hi Marija. I'm not so good.'' Anna couldn't help herself - her best friend had been shot and was lying in a hospital bed fighting for her life, without anyone by her side. Her voice cracked.
''Anna, did something happen?''
"Yes…Marija you need to come to London…Gwen was shot.''
John had started to pace around the kitchen and finally decided to make tea. It wasn't much, but he couldn't just wait there, doing nothing. At the hospital, a kind nurse had offered him a clean surgical shirt, so he could change out of his bloody one while they were waiting. He really hoped that Anna would let him take a shower. He was still surprised that she had asked him to stay. After the afternoon he had experienced, he'd thought he would already be home, fighting his desire to drink, with his mother by his side. It wouldn't be the first time. But Anna had asked him to stay, and he was going to be there for her. He would do whatever she asked of him. The sound of the kettle pulled him from his thoughts. He carefully poured the water into two mugs and, after some trouble finding the tea, he added the teabags.
He didn't know what to do next. Had she finished her call or not? He didn't know, so he tried listening by the door. It was quiet. He slowly opened the door and saw that she was still sitting in the same spot he'd left her, clutching her legs to her body. ''Anna?'' he called softly, but she didn't respond.
John cautiously stepped in to the living room and called her name again, but again nothing. He sat down next to her and he could see she was shaking. ''Did you reach them?''
She nodded. ''Yes, they are coming to London on the first flight they can get. But what if she doesn't make it?'' She couldn't cry any more; she didn't have any more tears left.
''Don't say that! She is going to be all right, you hear me?'' He put his arm around her and pulled her closer. ''She will be OK.''
''But what if she isn't? I can't lose her John! I can't!'' she cried, and squeezed herself closer to him.
''She is a strong woman - she'll survive. And if you don't believe me, I can show you my shoulders. I'm sure they're already covered in black and blue bruises. That woman can hit.'' He chuckled.
''What are you talking about?''
''Well, she beat me…with her purse.''
''What? When?'' She looked up.
''She confronted me in the lobby earlier. She had gotten your message. For a second I thought she was going to kill me! What the hell is she carrying in her purse?''
Anna started to giggle; she couldn't help herself. The image of Gwen hitting John with her purse was too much for her. ''She beat you?''
''She did, and I deserved every blow,'' he said seriously. ''Anna, I'm sorry I didn't tell you.'' He tried to apologize again, but she stopped him.
''John, I don't want to talk about it…please. Not tonight,'' she warned him, and moved from his embrace. ''I need a shower.'' And with that, she left him sitting in the middle of the couch.
John was drinking his tea, waiting for her to come out of the bathroom, and brooding about what had happened that day, when it hit him. He realized who had shot Gwen. It was so clear; why hadn't he thought of it before? They hadn't shot the right girl - it was supposed to be Anna they shot, not Gwen. They had thought Gwen was his new girl. The thought that Anna was meant to have been the one lying in that hospital bed instead of Gwen made his stomach turn. Somehow he had done it again...he was once again the reason that good people got hurt.
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