"I got you. You're going to be okay. You're going to be okay."
His words echoed in his brain as he held his partner in his arms. Danny was drifting in and out of consciousness. Blood was everywhere, staining Steve's shirt as he tried to stem the bleeding. He could feel the blood, Danny's blood on his hand. Too much of it and he was uncertain that the bleeding would stop. Danny had lost a lot of blood already, and he was losing more. Steve's heart was thumping so hard that when they arrived at the hospital, he was sure that he was going to lose Danny. No one who had lost that amount of blood survived. No one
He felt his chest tighten, teas swell in his eyes when he felt Danny tapping him on his arm. A kind of reassurance on his part indicating he wasn't going anywhere, which Steve took as a sign that he didn't want him to leave his side. Which is why Steve responded with 'Don't worry, buddy. I'm not going anywhere'.
But, his fear and uncertainty soon returned when he was stopped at the double doors. All he could was watch his best friend get rolled straight into surgery as the doors closed in front of him. He leaned against the wall, shutting his eyes and breathing deeply. He hoped Danny would pull through.
He needed to get cleaned up, get rid of his partner's blood off his skin, his clothes. But, he didn't, he couldn't. Blood stains. And it was Danny's blood. A reminder of close Steve came to losing him. Worse still, could lose him. The next few hours were critical. Anything could happen between then and Danny's surgery. He needed to get away from the hospital corridor.
Steve wasn't a religious kind of guy. He didn't believe in God or miracles. But, sitting there in the chapel, wit nothing but his own thoughts and silence, he needed to talk to someone. Someone who could hear him. someone who would listen to what he had to say. His hands gripped together in prayer as he pleaded with God to not take Danny's life. To not let Danny lose this battle of life and death. If he needed to take someone, then God had one choice. One choice only. To tale his life instead of Danny's.