2 Months Later…
Mark Ceraso pulled out of his driveway. He backed up, cut the wheel, and then sped off down the street towards his destination. He hardly ever drove, but his baby (a '76 T-Bird) needed some love. It had been sitting in the garage for 2 whole weeks now- Ceraso's wife had insisted that Mark try to loose a few of those vanity pounds by walking to the subway station and work.
But now, it was his time to play (or rather, 'be sick in bed' as he had told his wife and boss). It was a fairly empty street. It was that blissful time between rush hour and lunch when you could actually move around the city in a car.
He sped down the deserted residential street, cut left at the corner, and BAM! hit the drivers side door of a large blue SUV. He hit his head on the steering wheel and passed out.
When he awoke about 5 minutes later he looked up to see paramedics everywhere. His car was totaled. "My car, my car," he mumbled. He would have been in total distress had he not bee too preoccupied with the paramedics who were rolling him- he couldn't move, his head was bound to whatever it was he way lying on- into the ambulance. He could just make 2 other stretchers and a large tall man standing beside one of them.
"The other car, shit this is all my fault…" he mumbled again. When he realized that his attempts to start a conversation and get some answers were in vain he finally asked, "What the hell is going on?"
"Mr. Ceraso, you were in an accident, we're taking you to the hospital. Do you have any immediate family members we can contact?"
"My wife, at work…" he said, gently reaching up to touch the bandage on his forehead. "What about the other car- the driver? Is she ok?"
The paramedic turned and shouted to the driver, "What's the stat on the other car?"
"One male, 2 females. The 2 females are on buses, the male wasn't injured severely."
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Natasha opened her eyes and tried to move her head to see more than the ceiling of some room, but couldn't. Just as she was getting ready to speak a man's head appeared in front of her eyes. "Ma'am, you were in an accident. We're taking you to the hospital."
"I can't," she said breathing heavily. "I have to interview…"
"Ma'am, you have to. Please try not to move."
"Eames, Goren- how are they?"
"Ma'am, please relax. Do you have any immediate family members we can contact?"
"My mother. Her number's in my purse… what about… Alex…" Natasha passed out again.
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Goren quickly jumped into the ambulance. "Eames," he said loudly. "Eames, can you hear me?"
Suddenly the beeping increased and got very loud. "She's crashing," one of the paramedics said. "Sir, please back away." The paramedic pulled out a defibrillator.
"Wait- she's pregnant!" Bobby shouted.
"Sir, it's ok. Please back up." The paramedics managed to get her pulse back after a couple of tries. They put an oxygen mask over her face and hooked up some fluids through an IV.
Bobby grabbed her hand again. "Eames… Eames… Alex!" He shook her hand.
Her eyes slowly opened and she looked up at her partner, who was shaking her hand profusely. She winced, but not at her hand. There was a pain in her abdomen. Alex began to moan and thrash around. The pain was unbearable.
"What's happening?" Bobby asked. "Why is she in pain?"
"The baby is in distress, we're going to have to deliver the it-"
"She's only 5 months in!" he shouted.
Just then the ambulance screeched to a halt and they quickly pulled the gurney out of the back and rolled her into the hospital. Bobby jumped out of the ambulance and ran after Alex, but was stopped as she went through the doors towards emergency surgery.
"Sir, you can't go in there."
"That's my partner- you have to-"
"Sir, only family is allowed to-"
"That's my wife!" he shouted in desperation, though he knew he was lying.
"I can only allow you in to see her after she's through," the doctor said, managing to get Bobby to calm down.
"How long will that be?"
"I'm not sure."
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Fifteen minutes later Bobby was allowed through the doors and into a room where he saw a bunch of nurses and staff hurriedly working around the smallest infant he had ever seen.
"Is that-" he started, but he couldn't finish. He was speechless. "Where's Alex?" he asked finally.
"She's still in surgery. She had several broken ribs and a punctured lung. She went into distress, which is why we had to perform a c-section to deliver the baby. It's a little girl."
Bobby nodded, tears leaking down his cheeks
"Sir, the chances of an infant that small surviving are slim-"
"I want to see her," he said.
The doctor nodded and stepped inside the room. He talked to one of the nurses for a minute. The doctor nodded and then came back out to where Bobby was standing, watching through the glass.
"Mr. Goren, the baby is just too small, and her heart is underdeveloped. If you'd like to hold her before-"
Bobby walked into the room without a word. The nurse turned and Bobby saw his daughter. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was slow. She was asleep. The breathing tube in her nose had been removed and any evidence of medical intervention had been stripped away. She was so small… The nurse handed her to him. She weighed barely anything in his arms.
"Hello, Alexandra," he said softly, tears swelling in his eyes. "Your mommy can't be here right now, she's…" he trailed off. A tear dropped onto the infant's face and Bobby kissed the spot where it landed. "I'll tell her how beautiful you are…" he barely spoke above a whisper.
Robert Goren stood there and looked at his tiny daughter… and watched as her breathing stopped and she died in his arms.