First Love Chapter 9: Close Call, a london's burning fanfic

LONDON'S BURNING
First Love

CHAPTER EIGHT
Close Call

Kirsty

"So when's your wedding then?" I asked joking.

Naz wasn't seeing the funny side of things this morning.

"Don't you start."

He wasn't happy with his parents Asian traditions about arranged marriage, he reckoned he wanted to make his own decisions. I couldn't really blame him, but I knew very little about the situation.

"Are you going through with it or not?" I pressed.

"Dunno" he didn't really want to talk about it, I decided to let the subject drop before I put my foot in it somewhere.

We stopped to get in a quick cuppa from a roadside café and sat on the plastic chairs under the warm sun as it faded slowly towards evening.

"When am I going to meet your new man then?" Naz turned the conversation around.

I shrugged. "Dunno."

"And will there be more wedding bells then?"

I knew I'd asked for that one. "Not at the moment."

He grinned.

A shout interrupted our break.

Hi-Ho

How do I know that I am in love? When I can't wait to see her, to hold her, be with her? Be together on our own desert island under a hot sun on a white sandy beach, palm trees swaying in a light breeze…. We shared a dream.

We hadn't spoken since she stormed off. Should I apologise?

"Hi-Ho! Watch what you're doing will you?!" Hyper wasn't happy about something.

I looked down and realised I'd dropped the hose on his foot, Geoff Pearce wasn't to happy either and tumbled out a lecture about damaging equipment. Adam also put in his two pence worth with a jibe about being in love. Not that he knew anything about it. The only person he'd ever really loved was himself.

Would it be love if I confessed to worrying about her while she's out zooming round in that ambulance? I guess that's just the same as me zooming round in a fire engine! Does she worry about me?

Maggie reckons she does, she said I shouldn't waste time worrying about what might happen. I can't help it though, you read about things……

I tried to apologise. I have to live with it, like she does. I promised I'd try. We made it up.

Kirsty

It began to get dark and the street lights tried to light up the dark path where a teenager was lying curled up, it looked like he had been attacked. Naz went immediately to his aid. I saw the gang standing across the road, drinking and shouting.

I wondered if I should call the police, Naz reckoned we should ignore the gang and concentrate on the casualty. He was right, as usual! I told him he'd make a paramedic one day, he grinned. He tried to check the lad over, but the guy seemed frightened and tried to push his helper away.

I went to get something from the back of the ambulance as the gang of drunken guys approached. They started a torrent of racial abuse aimed at Naz, he looked up as he found himself suddenly surrounded by a gang of about 10 rough looking men. I couldn't see him, but heard him cry out above the chants of "Paki go home" for the want of anything original.

I got to the radio to call the police. I felt I had to go in to rescue Naz, it would take a moment, in a drag him out. Would they notice me?

I took the chance, forced my way though the gang, I felt something hit me. I carried on, it was like trying to fight my way though a jungle. I reached the clearing and dragged Naz away. The young lad took the opportunity to crawl away.

Ignoring the label of "Paki Lover" I pulled Naz to the safety of the back of the vehicle and managed to fight off the attackers and close the doors.

They took to rocking the ambulance as I tried to save Naz. He'd been stabbed. I knew what to do, but had to take a moment to compose myself.

There was a moment I thought the gang outside would have tipped us over, but the thankful sound of police sirens wailed in the distance. The ambulance stopped rocking as the gang dispersed.

I paid very little attention to my own injuries in my fight to save Naz. I was his only hope.

Hi-Ho

I felt angry when I heard what happened. I was worried sick but still angry. I wanted to know why. The police were waiting at the hospital when I arrived. I knew something would happen. I tried to tell her….

She seemed fine at first, she'd taken a couple of knocks when saving her colleague. She told me about the baby, I didn't know what to say. I sat with her, she fell asleep but didn't wake up. They rushed her off somewhere and wouldn't tell me what was happening.

I had to wait in a room. They wanted me out of the way. She loved her job, who was I to make her give it up? I had been selfish for thinking that. She'd put her own life at risk to save a colleague, our argument seemed so futile.

She would be having a baby, we would be having a baby. A young life, part of her, part of me. A bundle of responsibility. Scary stuff.

After what seemed like hours, a doctor entered the room and wanted to talk. He told me that Kirsty's knock to the head had been much worse than they'd thought. She'd suffered a brain hemorrhage and was now in a coma. They'd had to perform an emergency operation to relieve the pressure.

She could die.

The baby had gone. She should have said earlier. Perhaps she'd been scared. I was scared. She could have told me, I would have understood. I think I would have understood.

I sat with her for the rest of the night. I called in sick to sit with her. I couldn't leave in case something happened. In case she woke up. I wanted her to know that I was here for her.

Why didn't she tell me? Why did this happen? Why now?

Adam popped in and reckoned I needed a break, the nurse said she thought that was a fantastic idea and more or less shoed me off the Insensitive Care Unit!

I went home. Mum and Dad were waiting anxiously. Mum said Kirsty was such a lovely girl. She reckoned she needed to feed me, I couldn't eat anything. At least Dad had stopped asking about a possible wedding.

There may never be one now, even if any of us had even thought about it.

No wedding, no baby, no Kirsty. And I was worried about not being ready for all that…

I had really found the girl I wanted to spend the rest of my life with and now she was going to be taken away. It didn't seem fair somehow.

All I could do was wait.