1Forgotten Love and Goodbyes - Ch. 11

"Don't walk away from me Akisha, you belong to me."

"I belong to no one, I've made my decision and that's final."

"Not if I take him out of the picture," Rico said as he pointed the gun at Leon and fired.

"Leon no!" said Akisha.

"No!" said Leon as he shot up sweating. Wiping the sweat from his face, he took in his surroundings. After a minute he remembered he was in Benny's house on the living room couch. He pulled the blanket off of him and swung his legs over. He put his face in his hands and began to sob.

"Hey man you okay?" said Benny coming in from the backyard.

"Yeah I'm fine, where's everyone else?" said Leon wiping the tears from his eyes.

"They're all in the back; we've been up for the past two hours just taking about last night."

"What time is it?"

"Close to 11AM," he said noticing Leon get up from the couch. "Hey man take it easy, you've been through a lot," he said as he walked over and forced Leon to sit back down.

"Have ya heard anything from the hospital?"

"No nothing yet, but don't worry I'm she's fine."

"Benny it's the hospital," said Mija walking in with the black cordless phone.

"Thanks chiqua," smiled Benny, taking the phone from her, "yeah go ahead...great doc, thanks."

"Who was it?" said Leon concerned.

"It was the doctor, he says that the blood tests are back and we can head over there."

"That's great Benny, I'll go let the other know," said Mija as she headed towards the backdoor.

"I'm gonna head upstairs and clean up," said Leon putting on his boots.

"Sure thing we'll see ya down here," said Benny as Leon headed upstairs. Once upstairs Leon took a quick shower and got dressed. When he got back downstairs everyone was waiting for him. He saw their faces of concern for him and knew they were worried that he wouldn't be able to hold it together should the tests come back negative.

"Hey guys don't worry I'll be fine," said Leon smiling.

"We know you are physically, it's mentally that we're afraid of," said Tai,

"Yeah Leon there a chance that none of us are positive donors and they may have to do a search, that could take days and the waiting can be murder for some people." said Mija.

"I understand that and I'm willing to wait as long as it takes," Leon replied with a positive look on his face.

"If you're okay with everything, then let's go," said Benny as everyone headed out the door.

"When they got to the hospital they went inside and looked for Dr. Livingston, who was there waiting for them. "Welcome everyone; I'm glad you could make it. I bet you're anxious to know the results of the blood tests, if you follow me we can discuss the results," he said as he led them to his office. Once everyone was inside he closed the door. "Well now after receiving the results and going over them extensively, I've come to the conclusion that you Mr. Turner are the closest we have to a match." Leon smiled with pride that he'd be the one to save her. "I can see your reaction Leon, but I must warn you that the transfusion may be unsuccessful."

"Unsuccessful, but you..."said a confused Leon.

"I said you're the perfect candidate, but I guess I didn't make myself clear. You aren't an exact match to Akisha's blood type, but the closest we have. In that case, her body like with a donated organ may reject your blood type as a source of curing her."

"Is there anyway we could do a test to see if it would be successful?"

"It's possible, but could take time, which is something we don't really have a lot of right now. I need to know now if you're willing to do this, otherwise I'm gonna have to make calls to see if any of the surrounding hospital have supplies."

"No," said Leon with confidence, "I'm ready I can do this."

"Wonderful why don't you follow me and we'll get ready, the rest of you can wait out in the lobby, don't worry I'll inform you of the proceedings." The group went their separate ways, each praying that the transfusion would be successful.

When they arrived at Akisha's room, Leon found her lying in a bed unconscious. There were machines supplying oxygen and keeping track of her heart rate. He also noticed there was an IV pumping blood inside her body, the bag almost done. There was also minor cuts on her face. Leon wanted to desperately run up to her and hug her but knew it wasn't a wise choice. Dr. Livingston led Leon to a bed that was set up beside hers. "All right Leon I want you to lie down here and we'll get ready fro the transfusion."

"How will I know if it's working?" asked Leon as he laid down.

"I will be monitoring everything while it's happening, so I will know immediately if something is going wrong."

"That's good, thanks again Doc for allowing me to do this."

"No problem," said Livingston as he tied a tourniquet onto Leon's arm. "Let's just hope we're successful. Now Leon I want to be perfectly still while I insert the needle into your arm." Leon nodded an approval, "good then let's get started." Livingston inserted the large thick needle into Leon's arm. He then attached the other end to Akisha's IV tube. He then turned the valve switch and blood began flowing from Leon's arm to hers. "Now Leon as this is happening you may feel drowsy and want to rest. It's okay for you to fall asleep; I will awake you when the process is over."

"Sure thing Doc."

"Now just relax, everything will be fine," Dr. Livingston then left the room. Leon at first stared up at the ceiling, periodically looking over at Akisha. He at first felt helpless that he couldn't hold her next to him, but then remembered that he was helping her by giving her an extra chance at life. As he stared out the window, he thought about how happy they'd be once she was out and safe from the Sanchez brothers. He also chuckled at the fact that no matter what anybody said, he would forever be a part of her, for it was his blood that flowed together with hers, keeping her alive. He knew that his may not be the only other blood in her system, but at least his was more special since it was from someone she cared about. After about an hour and a half Leon began to get drowsy. He fought to keep awake, but remembered that he doctor said it was okay for he would be watching the room. Leon closed his eyes and thought about what the future he and Akisha would have once she was awake and where they'd be.

When Leon finally awoke it was nighttime and the moonlight shone in his face. He shielded his eyes and reached over and closed the blinds. He turned on the lamp above his bed, rubbed his eyes, and noticed that he was still in Akisha's room. He looked down at his arm and noticed that the needle and tourniquet were gone and replaced by a cottonball and band-aid. He slowly got up and sat on the edge of the bed. He then got up and walked over to Akisha, her arm too had a cottonball and band-aid on it. He brushed his hand through her head and kissed her on the cheek. He decided to check up on the rest of the team and see how they were doing. He turned off his bed lamp and headed to the door. He opened the door, peeked out to see if anyone was outside. He exited the room and gently closed the door. He then headed down the hall to the lobby.

As he neared the lobby he heard the faint sound of an argument coming from the room. When he finally entered the room he saw Benny arguing with Nika Vasquez, Akisha's mother. "Where is she Benny, I need to see her?" said a pleading Nika, tears streaming down her face. Her smoky hair was frizzled in all directions and her flowered dress was wrinkled.

"I'm not sure where she is Ms. Vasquez, all we know is that she was getting a transfusion," replied Benny as he tried to calm down the shaken women.

"Do you know if she's alright, was it successful?"

"I don't know much; just that they found someone to do the transfusion and that she should be okay. That's everything the doctor told us.

"Leon thank God you're here," she said as she saw Leon in the room, she noticed the band-aid on his arm. She ran over and gave him a hug. "Thank you Leon for saving her, I knew you'd be the one to do it. I figured you'd do anything to save her, you love her so much."

Leon was a little taken in by all of this and hesitantly hugged her back. He finally pushed her away and said. "What are you doing her?"

"Didn't you here me, I can to see my daughter?"

"I know but why?"

"I heard that she got shot at Benny's and I wanted to know if she was okay."

"Why do you suddenly care so much about her now?"

"What are you talking about, I've always cared about her?" she began to tear, "I want to know if she's okay, please tell me Leon!"

"She's fine and you're right I was the one who gave blood to her. I don't think you deserve to see her, not after the way you've treated her," he said sternly.

"What I don't understand..."

"You walked out on her that's why; she told me what happened to your ex-husband and how at the funeral you never stood by her, but at a distance with your lover. Even after the burial you never went up once to give her a hug and to see how she was doing, you just got into your car and left." Leon could see the tears streaming down Nika's face, but continued on. "Now I admit I was never there to comfort her, but at least I've made it up by apologizing and being there for her now. What about you, you only decide to show up because her life is hanging by a thread.

"Hey Leon take it easy," said Benny calmly, "let Nika see her."

"No, if she can make sacrifices towards her daughter than so can I."

"Please Leon I'm sorry for what I've done to her, I just want to see her," she wiped the tears from her face.

"I'm not the one you need to say it to, it's her."

"Then let me see her."

Leon was about to say no but after seeing the looks on everyone's faces, he sighed. "Fine come with me." He turned around and headed back to the room, Nika followed close behind.

To Be Continued