Big thanks to my lovely reviewers, Meg, Jo, Hollie and Aileen, you're the best :D On with the story!
Smithy ran over to where Nate and Sally were sat against one of the patrol cars. Sally was extremely pale and she had blood down her face. Nate had his arms wrapped round her and had placed his jacket over her to stop the shivering, but she was still cold.
"Sally? How're you doing?" Smithy asked, squatting down next to her.
"Apart from the broken leg and massive gash on my head, pretty good actually." Sally replied with a weak laugh.
"The ambulances are here now, and Jess wants them to take you first ok?" Smithy said.
"Yeah that's fine, I think I'm ready for some pain relief. How's Jess doing? Is the baby out yet?" Sally asked, leaning into Nate.
Smithy smiled and nodded, "We decided that we would deliver the baby as the paramedics wouldn't have got here in time. So at 11:43pm, Lexi Grace Stone was born."
Sally smiled widely at Smithy and then at Nate, "Did it all go alright? What does she look like?"
"Jess is fine, she did so well considering, and Callum was with her when Lexi was born. When Lexi came out she took a while to take her first breath, but she's fine now. She's a fighter, like her parents. She's got Callum's eyes and Jess' hair, and she's absolutely gorgeous." Smithy said proudly.
"Aw, I can't wait to see her and hold her. Who delivered her?" Sally asked curiously.
"Me and Will. We didn't have a choice really. But yeah, it went fine, and the paramedics can deal with the after birth. Right, I'll just get these paramedics to you. Take care, and I'll see you later at the hospital." Smithy patted Nates arm as he got up and ran to the four approaching paramedics.
"What have we got?" Josh asked, pulling on his gloves.
"Right, we have two casualties. Sally is over there by the squad car. She's got a broken leg and a big cut to the forehead. She said to Jess that her leg was starting to go numb, so maybe it would be best to take her first." Smithy said.
"Ok, Nina, Comfort, if you want to take that one then." Josh said to the two paramedics, who ran over to where Sally was with a board. "Who's the other casualty?"
"Jess. She has a broken arm and a cut on her head as well, but at the time of the crash she was eight and a half months pregnant. They were driving to the hospital as Jess had gone into labour, and the guy we were chasing hit them, so they were trapped for an hour. We got them out, but Jess was practically having the baby right there, so I delivered the baby. When she came out she had a bit of difficulty breathing, but after a few seconds she was fine. So Jess and Callum are in the back of that car over there. Jess still hasn't delivered the placenta, so you might have to deal with that." Smithy said, leading them over to the car where the family were.
"So the birth was ok then?" Luke asked, following Smithy.
"Yep, fine. Jess and the baby appears to be well." Smithy said, motioning them over to the car. "Here they are."
Jess was curled up next to Callum, who was cradling Lexi in his arms, holding her as if she was the most precious thing in the world.
"Smithy? How's Sally doing?" Jess asked, blinking sleepily.
"She's good, they're taking her to the hospital now. She said that she can't wait to meet her god daughter." Smithy said, smiling.
Jess nodded, smiling, and shut her eyes, her hand on the bundle that was Lexi.
"Congratulations to the both of you." Josh said, placing down his bags of equipment. "Have you had any more contractions yet?"
"I had a twinge a minute ago, which I guessed was the start of the after birth." Jess said, sitting up so that she wasn't as likely to fall asleep.
"Yeah, it probably is. So what we'll do is if your husband and the baby goes to the ambulance with Luke, who will check the baby over, and then I'll deliver the placenta and strap your arm up, then we'll get you in the ambulance as well and take you all to the hospital. Is that ok?" Josh asked.
"Yeah that's fine. I just want to get out this car really." Jess said, untangling herself from Callum. Jess rocked Lexi in her arms while Callum climbed out the car, and she gently kissed her newborn daughters forehead before she passed her to Callum. "I'll see you soon."
Callum kissed her slowly on the lips. "I'm so proud of you. Look what we made! I love you so much, I'll see you in a minute."
Smithy was standing at the side of the car, watching the new parents. He couldn't help but think that this would be what his life would be like if Kerry was still alive. But there wasn't any point brooding over that anymore, its not like he could change it anyway. He started to walk towards the ambulances but stopped when he heard Jess call him.
"Jess?" he asked, walking back towards her.
"Will you stay with me please? You don't have to, but I don't want to be on my own." Jess said in a small voice.
Smithy took her hand in his, "Of course I'll stay."
After five minutes the placenta was out. Jess couldn't believe how easy it was compared to giving birth to Lexi. After the placenta had been disposed of, Josh had placed an oxygen mask around Jess' head and was starting to tend to her broken arm. He placed some pads on it to soak up the blood and then strapped it up. Luke then came over with the trolley, and the helped Jess out of the cramped car and onto the trolley. Just before she was wheeled away, she pulled off her mask and said to Smithy, "Thanks so much. I don't know what we would have done without you. Me and Callum were wondering if you wanted to be Lexi's god father as well?"
Smithy's face broke into a wide grin, "I would be honoured. Now you just get better, and I'll be at the hospital later to see you, Sally and Lexi. Right now I have to sort out all down here, which will no doubt take a few hours. Anyway, congratulations again to you and Callum."
Smithy watched as Jess was placed in the ambulance next to Callum, and felt a pang of sadness as Callum passed her the baby. He couldn't help but think again of Kerry, of the baby she didn't have. He realised that her baby would be 4 and a half, and she would be 31. He couldn't quite believe that it had been 5 years since her death.
At the hospital, Sally was wheeled straight into resus, and was followed not long after by Jess. Callum and the others had to wait outside, and while they were waiting a paediatric nurse came from downstairs to check on the baby again. As Jess was wheeled in, she looked over to where doctors were already working on Sally.
"Sal? How're you doing?" Jess called over.
"Not the best I've ever been, but what do you expect after being in a car crash." Sally replied. Jess was shocked at how weak she sounded.
"Well just hang in there, you've got to meet your god daughter, and she is so beautiful even if I do say so myself." Jess said, smiling at the thought of her daughter, the thought that she was a mum now.
A doctor with black hair and handsome features walked over to Jess and started checking her over, while two nurses connected her up to various machines.
"Her BP is 100/60." one of the nurses said to the doctor who nodded.
"Ok, Mrs Stone, I'm Dr Trueman, Adam. How do you feel? I hear it was quite a nasty car accident." Adam asked.
"Call me Jess please. I feel ok, just a pretty bad headache and my arm is hurting a lot. I'm pretty sure its broken. Oh and also my stomach is really sore" Jess replied, moving the hair out of her face using her good arm.
"Right, we'll give you some painkillers for the headache, and we'll send you upstairs soon for x-rays. Now I understand that you gave birth at the scene of the crash, congratulations. Did everything go ok do you think?" he asked her, unstrapping her arm and taking a look at it.
"Thank you. I think it did. I didn't have any excess bleeding, I didn't pass out or anything, and I felt fine besides the blinding contractions." Jess replied with a laugh. Dr Trueman smiled at her as he strapped her arm back up. "Um, Doctor, how's Sally doing?"
"Are you family?" Adam asked her, looking over to where Sally was being treated by Harry Harper.
"No, but she's my best friend, and the godmother of my baby. Please, how is she?" Jess pleaded.
"Ok, wait a minute." Adam replied, walking over to where Sally was. Jess looked over and saw the doctors working quickly around her. Then the machines that Sally was hooked up to started to beep faster and faster. The doctors sprung into action, trying to figure out what was wrong with Sally.
"She's tachycardic!" one of the nurses shouted, as they checked the monitor that Sally was hooked up to.
"My shoulder hurts, why does my shoulder hurt? What's going on?" Sally asked, panicking.
"Sally? Sally!" Jess cried from her bed. Dr Trueman walked over to Jess and pulled a curtain round so that Jess couldn't see what was going on. "Please, move it, let me see her!"
"I'm sorry Jess." Adam smiled grimly before walking back round the curtain.
Behind the curtain, Dr Harper was trying to find why Sally was tachycardic. He gently pushed on her stomach, and she tried to move away.
"Does that hurt?" he asked her. She nodded, and one of the nurses put an oxygen mask back over her face. "Can I get an ultrasound please?"
The nurse who Jess recognised as Abs ran to the other side of the room and pulled over the ultrasound machine. He set it up and squirted some of the gel on Sally's stomach. Harry took the sensor and swept it just under Sally's diaphragm. He looked at the screen closely and pressed a few buttons.
"Can we keep pumping through the fluids, and call surgery." Harry called. He looked at Sally, "Now Sally, you're spleen has ruptured and is bleeding into your abdomen, that's why you're suffering the pain and you're feeling worse. We need to get you up to surgery straight away so they can stop the bleeding. Do you understand?"
Sally nodded, tears dripping down her face. "Am I going to die?"
Harry paused before saying slowly, "It's highly unlikely, but we need to get you up there straight away."
Sally's eyes blinked rapidly, trying to stem the tears. She couldn't die now, Nate had just told her that he loved her, and she still hadn't met Lexi. She had to hold on and be strong. But she felt funny, she didn't feel right. Her breathing was getting quicker and quicker, and she felt herself slipping into unconsciousness. She could hear the machines that she was hooked up to beeping faster and faster like before, but this time they didn't slow down. The last thing she saw was Harry's face above hers.
Jess quietly got out of her bed. She needed to see that Sally was ok, she heard the doctor say something about surgery. She unhooked herself from the machines and padded over to the curtain. She could hear the machine beeping again, but this time it didn't slow down. Eventually there was just one long sound: Sally's heart had stopped beating.
"Oh my god! Sally! Sal! Come on, wake up!" Jess screamed. "Help her! For god sake why are you all just standing there doing nothing? Help her right now!"
Adam came over to her and tried to move her back to her bed behind the curtain. "Come on Jess, you need to stay attached to the monitors and keep your arm still." Adam said gently. But Jess pushed against him, straining to get back to Sally.
"Get off me!" Jess cried, freeing herself from Adam's grip. She stood at the end of the bed, watching Abs performing compressions on Sally. Her mouth opened in shock and fear. This couldn't be happening, not to Sally, not to her best friend. Sally had been trying to get her to the hospital, that's why they crashed and that's why Sally was lying there not breathing.
"Ok, everyone move back, I'm going to shock her. Charging to 180. Clear!" Harry checked that everyone was away from Sally before shocking her. The shock cracked through the air, Sally's lifeless body rising with the charge. She fell back onto the bed with a thump. "Anything?"
One of the older nurses placed her fingers on Sally's neck, trying to find a pulse. She shook her head at Harry.
"Re-start compressions?" Abs questioned.
Harry nodded. "If we can get her heart starting again we can get her up to surgery and repair the tear. We need to keep trying. Make sure the fluids are going through quickly."
Jess had never been a religious person, but as Sally lay there motionless, she said a prayer, praying that Sally would pull through.
Ohhh, another cliffhanger, aren't I nice :D
