"You must give up the life you planned in order to have the life that is waiting for you." Joseph Campbell
Myka was certain she had never heard her daughter scream like this before. Helena hesitated only a moment to make sure Myka picked Cate up and held onto her before racing into the kitchen. Myka followed behind her, aware that she wasn't sure she wanted to bring the terrified child back into the kitchen. She stopped just outside the door.
"It's okay, honey. Aunt Gloria is there with Grandma," she said, even though she wasn't sure what was going on.
Helena walked in to see Irene's feet poking out from behind the island. She immediately heard Gloria giving their address to the 911 operator. "Female, sixty years old, passed out and labored breathing. Applied compression to the chest, still elevated heartbeat. Pale appearance and complained about chest pain before passing out."
Helena turned to see her friend on the floor, her eyes shut, her breathing difficult. "Get away from her!" she screamed at Gloria – the qualified nurse. She fell to her knees and put her face close to Irene.
"She's… she'll be okay," Gloria Brown lied because she wasn't sure yet.
Moments before, as they enjoyed a slice of the pound cake that Irene and Cate had baked, Irene suddenly stopped moving and looked directly at the nurse. She hadn't wanted to alarm her granddaughter, who didn't miss the exchange. "Gloria, would you get…," was all Irene got out before collapsing onto the floor, trying to hold onto the counter so as to not make a dramatic flop that would scare her charge. It didn't work.
As soon as she went down, Gloria jumped up and was kneeling next to her, assessing the situation. Cate, who watched her grandmother disappear behind the countertop of the island, went screaming for her mothers.
Now, while Helena rushed inside, Cate grabbed her mother's face with both little hands. "Mommy! Is Grandma okay? Is she okay?" the child insisted.
Myka would have assured her that Aunt Gloria was in there taking care of her, but at that moment, her wife had taken in the sight of their friend on the floor. Myka's mouth opened, but she was propelled against the wall with an invisible force that made her grabbed Cate even tighter in her arms.
Even Cate was surprised they were mobile.
"MOMMY?" Cate yelled, needing an answer immediately.
"It's okay, it's okay," her mother assured her, forcing a smile on her face to back up her claim. Myka had long grown accustomed to being literally jolted by Helena's emotions via their One connection. "Mummy… is in there."
"The ambulance is on the way, Helena," Gloria said, gently putting her arm on Helena's that was under Irene's head now. "She had some pain in her chest and trouble breathing," she explained.
"Get them here now!" Helena shouted and the nurse knew she wasn't listening.
"They're coming," she said quietly. "Helena, we must let them…," Gloria was trying to explain when she heard the commotion of the EMT's coming down the front entryway to the kitchen.
Gloria stood up and motioned them to the other side of the island. She reiterated what she witnessed and updated them on what she did.
"Ma'am, we need to get her…," the EMT said to Helena and Gloria knew where she was needed. She bent over and pulled as hard as she could to make Helena get out of the way.
"I will harm them if they hurt her," was the first thing the Brit announced and Gloria looked past the tall woman and smiled at the EMTs that were working on Irene.
"She's…very upset," is all she said. "Helena, we need to let them…," she said, tugging at the Brit.
"I am going with her," Helena said in a tone that made the two EMT's look at one another.
"Is she… going to be a problem?" one of the medics asked Gloria.
"Yes; yes, she is," Gloria said and really wished she had dressed that up.
Cate was watching the two men handle the stretcher on wheels that her grandmother lay on; large straps across her body to keep her steady. They were shouting Irene's name, to help her regain consciousness and didn't appear successful until the woman put her hand up to make the stop. She put her other hand out – in exactly the spot Myka was holding Cate. Cate took her grandmother's hand as she squeezed it. Irene's eyes never opened.
"Let's go," they said and pushed Irene down the hallway and out into the waiting ambulance.
"I'm going," Helena said and tears welled in her eyes.
"We'll follow," Gloria said, and nodded to Myka. "She'll be okay," she said and meant Cate because she knew Myka was caught between going and staying. "I can call Bridget…," the nurse was saying when woman appeared in the kitchen.
"What the hell happened?" Bridget yelled as she scrambled from the back door to the hallway. "Is she?" she asked aghast.
"Passed out, chest pains," Gloria said.
"I got your text," Bridget said but never said who it was from and neither of her friends had time to ask but… neither of them had done it.
"Thank God you're here," Myka said and Cate reached out to her aunt.
Now that someone could watch Cate, Myka would go to the hospital. She kissed her daughter and promised she would be back. Bridget stared into wet green eyes and felt her own emotions catch her in the throat.
"We'll be.. good. We'll be fine…," she tried to assure her friend.
Myka forcibly pulled herself away and faced Gloria now. "Helena," she said to the nurse. "Will they…?"
"Oh, they'll probably want to heavily sedate her. We better go," she whispered apprehensively.
As fast as Myka could drive their car, it wasn't quick enough to catch the chaos before it descended on the emergency room at the hospital.
"Ma'am, you can't open…. Jesus, she opened the rear doors!" the EMT yelled because Helena wasn't wasting any time upon arrival. He had already warned the woman that he was authorized to remove her from the vehicle; she had warned him she had hurt stronger men than he. He decided to concentrate on the patient while the uninvited guest stood so close to him, he could feel her breath on his neck.
"Female, sixty, chest pains, passed out," he repeated into his communication piece alerting the doctors. "Any history of heart problems that you know of?" he asked Helena.
"What?!" she asked, surprised at the question. "Yes, but we took care of it. She's fine now. She's been fine. Just fine!"
"Second female, agitated; might need assistance," he turned his head and whispered into the mic that adorned his shoulder.
Now, the ambulance was outside the ER, as Helena cleared a path for them. She pushed wheelchairs out of their way; whether or not there was someone sitting in them. She was asked to stay at the desk and answer some questions until she leaned over and pulled the man up by his shoulders and announced they were done.
By this time, Myka and Gloria arrived and it was the nurse's duty to plead with her fellow heath care professionals and security to stand down. "I'll get her…," she assured them.
"Under control?" asked the doctor on duty.
"As close as I can get," Gloria said, looking the other way so as not to admit a bold face lie.
She stepped in front of Helena as the medical team surrounded Irene behind the curtain in the emergency room. It was almost a comical sight; the short round woman blocking the taller one.
"Now, Helena; you have to let them do their jobs, for Irene's sake," Gloria said firmly. For a split second, the woman almost believed she was getting through to her friend. But Helena simply moved around her and burst through the curtain.
"You can't be here," the nurse announced and the Brit slapped her hand away. "I'm going to call security," she threatened and Gloria shook her head and went inside.
"I'll handle her," she announced and not one of her fellow nurses seemed to believe her. "Just give her a minute," she implored.
Helena went to Irene and put her hand on her forehead.
"I want a full cardio workup; hook up that IV; EKG results;" Helena ordered as the others raced to hook Irene up to tubes and wires.
"Do you mind…?" the doctor asked, taken aback that everyone was listening to the visitor's orders. He had to admit, it was exactly what he was about to say. "Do it," he confirmed.
"She ever have anything like this?" someone asked Helena.
"Years ago. Mild infarction. I handled it," the unnerved Brit snapped.
"You...? Look, you can help us; or you can sit outside," the doctor retorted.
"Fair enough," Helena said, realizing she was stepping – literally – on all their toes.
"I want a CT scan, too," Helena ordered and for a second, people started to move to make it happen.
The doctor was about to point out he was in charge, but realized he wanted the same thing. "Stay out of my way," he warned.
"You do the same," Helena retorted.
The staff pushed Irene down the hall for the scan.
"They'll come back as soon as they can," Gloria said, but Helena felt it necessary to announce that she was to be taken in immediately and if that didn't happen, she would buy the hospital and fire them all.
"You really know how to charm a crowd, don't you?" the nurse said and pulled Helena back outside.
Myka rushed to her wife, pulling her into an embrace. She could feel how stiff Helena was; not a muscle relaxed. "Gloria will make sure ….," she assured her.
As they transferred Irene onto the table for the CT scan to see what was going on with her heart, Irene drifted into an induced sleep. Even though the technician was telling her everything he was doing; Irene could hear, but didn't respond. His voice got farther and farther away.
"GRANDMA?" Irene heard someone call and looked to see Cate running at her. She was standing in Central Park; across from the townhouse where her granddaughter lived. "Hi Grandma," Cate said and took the woman by the hand. "Come with me, Grandma," Cate said, pulling now. "I want to show you something!" Irene smiled and accompanied the excited young girl. She was aware of the sun shining down on them, a light breeze in the air. "Where are your mothers?" Irene asked, not seeing anyone with Cate. "They're outside, Grandma," Cate answered and Irene thought that was odd, since they were all outside. Suddenly, Cate was pushing against a large door and Irene stood there surprised that the small child could open such a big door. Somehow, it opened with ease. "Look, Grandma," Cate said, pulling her hand again. Irene walked through the entryway into the interior. Suddenly, she was standing on a balcony, overlooking a very large interior filled with hundreds and hundreds of shelves. Irene knew this place! "No, Cate!" she said, and tried to pull her granddaughter back. "No, Grandma, it's okay," the young girl assured her. "No, Cate; I know this place. It's not okay, Cate. It's not," Irene was now frantically saying. Now Irene had pulled the child behind her and was standing there; facing the large room. "I am warning you!" she shouted in her dream state. "You touch one hair on her head and I will dismantle you!" she shouted in her loudest voice. There was nothing. "Let's go, Cate," she said, turning to leave. "But Grandma," Cate said slowly, "… she's here to help you."
The alarm went off outside the room where the CT scan was taking place alerting them that Irene's heart rate had just skyrocketed.
"Get the doctor!" the technician yelled as they raced in to the patient.
"What is it?" Helena asked, hearing the announcement calling the doctor to the room.
"Let them…," Gloria was saying when Helena pushed her way into the room.
"Give her ten cc's of the quinidine," the doctor ordered and Helena watched as she pushed the needle into Irene's arm.
The doctor and nurses were all taking to one another when Helena leaned down and looked at Irene. "Don't you dare die on me!" she shouted sternly into the woman's face. "I mean it, Irene! You come back right now!"
They were seconds away from ordering the catheter ablation procedure to regulate the heart when it seemed to settle down on its own. Having Helena in the room went against every protocol the hospital had in place; and yet her presence seemed to be the one thing that helped the patient the most.
"Let's get her to a room," the doctor ordered and they moved Irene back to the gurney to transport her back.
Helena had said what she wanted to say, but the mere thought of what she uttered, left her numb and immobile. Only Myka's touch seemed to bring her back.
"Is she okay?" she asked Helena because she believed she knew better than the doctors.
"I… don't know," Helena said, her voice cracking as she fell into Myka's strong embrace.
A/N: Forgive any and all medical inaccuracies ... especially in terminology and procedure.