Casey was ready to make a polite exit into the restaurant and allow the Richardses a moment to themselves, but he was only a step behind Olivia as they crossed the street. He had quickly become accoustomed to being Olivia's shadow. In a way it was comforting to be so close to someone who was close to his mother. Not that she was much like Alex, except for the moments when she smiled or teased him. He wondered if he should say something, thank her for being so nice to him.
As he wondered his glance went across Gregory's face and Casey stopped walking when he saw the terror there. What was Gregory looking at? He whirled, trying to catch whatever it was behind him that had Gregory so frightened. There was nothing in the parking lot. Casey's head turned back painfully slowly as he heard the scream.
"Olivia get down!"
In the half-second Casey had to react he finally found what was ripping Gregory's heart out. A tiny red dot of light hung on Olivia's forehead, painting her as a target.
She didn't move. She didn't understand what was going on. She couldn't see the laser. Olivia heard Gregory's scream of terror but she couldn't move. She couldn't do anything. Casey dove, putting his body between her and the line of light as he knocked her to the pavement. As the gun went off, the sound pounding through their ears, she hit the ground hard and everything exploded to black.
The gunshot rang across the parking lot, echoing through the restaurant and cutting off conversations. Sean and Caitlin had just sat down, he was about to ask Caitlin if she wanted the wine list when the question died on his tongue.
Throughout Grenadines, everyone looked at each other, asking each other the same question. Was that actually a shot?
"That sounded like outside." Caitlin looked calm but Sean's heart began to race immediately.
"Our parents are outside." He knocked over his chair as he stood up. Waiting for a second shot, a scream of horror- but there was silence. Too much silence. He ran for the door, crashing into bodies and furniture as he went. Sean tearing through the crowd startled a ripple of excitement. The maitre'd was calling the police on phone at the front. Everyone was standing up, heading out of the restaurant fueled by that morbid curiousity that made it necessary to find out what had happened.
Cole didn't get a chance to examine his target. He would have liked the luxury of a second shot, making sure he had connected before he disappeared. But he could already hear the sirens approaching on the horizon. Failure to kill her could be rectifiied if he was free, but he couldn't be captured. He dropped to his knees, taking the rifle apart and tucking the pieces into his violin case. He pulled off his black mask as he entered the stairs of the building. By the time he reached the ground floor, he looked like a musician on his way to a party.
He couldn't risk entering the crowd. Cole would have to content himself with the vision of Olivia lying still on the pavement, blood pooling around her as Gregory watched, helpless to keep her life from bleeding away. Cole smiled, he would love to have seen the look on his face as the laser caressed her body. It would have been priceless.
Gregory dropped to his knees next to the bodies on the pavement. Casey lay over Olivia, covering her with his body. He could see the entry wound in Casey's shoulder through the gray of his suit coat. He didn't hear himself speaking. Didn't recall the prayers that tumbled from his lips in a desperate whisper as he rolled Casey off of his wife. Casey had a pulse, strong when he touched his neck.
He had to look at her. He had to see her face, but at the same instant he knew if she was dead his life would be over. Casey landed on the pavement next to her, blood soaking the right half of his chest. Olivia was completely saturated with blood. The white shirt under her jacket was plastered to her skin with red.
Her eyes were closed, her head tilted slightly to the side. Except for the blood she could have been asleep. Gregory touched her neck, praying she was still alive. He could keep breathing if she had a pulse. Her neck throbbed under his fingers and he started to sob. She was alive.
Where was the bullet? He had to stop the bleeding. He tore open her jacket, laying bare the white linen, sticking to her skin with blood. His hands slipped in it, fingers sticking together. Gregory ripped her shirt open. Fingers ran desperately over her skin, searching for the source of the blood. The white satin of her bra resisted the stain, glistening against the blood on her chest.
He couldn't find the imperfection. The gaping wound from the bullet. Gregory checked again as the crowd started to grow around him. As he started to realize Olivia was all right, his senses started to return. Strangers were tending to Casey, pressing a towel from the restaurant against his chest. People were starting to come towards him but he pushed them off. No one was allowed to touch her. Not until he knew she was all right. Not until he knew.
Her body was fine. Gregory lowered his hands to her head, hair sticking to the blood on his hands and he examined her skull. Nothing.
Everything about her was intact. He took off his jacket, covering her bare chest with it revently as he pulled her head into his lap. Gregory didn't care who was watching as the tears landed on her face, mxing with blood and running pink down her skin to the street. "Thank you." He whispered to the God he rarely believed in. "Oh thank you, thank you."
Someone touched his shoulder and he was too relieved to push him back again. Sean started speaking and he heard him for the first time. "Dad? Dad is she okay?"
"She's okay Sean. God, she's all right." The sirens were here now, flashing red and blue lights added to the surrealism of the moment. The paramedics came towards Gregory but he pushed them off. "Casey. Get to Casey."
He watched her face, waiting for her eyes to open. Waiting for her to look up at him. Sean was still talking, but he couldn't make himself hear him. Olivia's eyelids twitched and he held his breath. They fluttered, giving him a glimpse of the soft blue beneath. "Come on sweetheart. Open your eyes."
Gregory's face was blurry, as if she were coming up from the bottom of the swimming pool. Her face was wet. Her body was wet, she was cold because she was lying on the ground. How did she get on the ground? She moved her hand, trying to figure out what was over her. She freed her hand from his jacket, and wondered if something was wrong with it because it was covered in blood. Was something wrong with her? Nothing hurt but she wasn't sure if that was because her head was so foggy. What if something was hurt and she just couldn't feel it?
Trying to move her head was a mistake as her vision exploded with a thousand points of light. Something had happened, but she couldn't remember. Had someone yelled at her? Someone else was with her. Had she fallen- no, no someone had knocked her down. Why had they knocked her down?
Gregory took her hand and held it. She could tell he was smiling now and as her eyes got better she realized he was crying. If he was smiling she had to be all right. Her head was starting to ache, but she must be all right. If she was all right he shouldn't be crying. He didn't need to be frightened. "Don't cry darling." Olivia ordered weakly as she tried to swallow. "Don't cry."
"I'll try." He whispered, kissing her fingers as the one of the paramedics came over to them. "It's hard not to when you scare me like that."
"How did I scare you?" She couldn't remember. The nice looking young woman in the blue uniform was talking to Gregory, shining a light in her eyes. They wanted her to get up. The hands around her wanted her to stand up. Someone held her hands as Gregory and the woman, the paramedic helped her to her feet.
Sean, the someone was Sean. He looked worried too. "I already told your father not to cry." She explained to him as he walked with her to the curb. They put a blanket around her shoulders and Olivia looked down at herself. "What happened to my clothes?"
"Dad was making sure you were okay." Sean explained softly as Gregory and the paramedic talked in whispers.
"Why am I all bloody?" Olivia touched her skin, looking at her son with deep confusion. "It's not mine Sean."
He turned and looked at the ambulance. Someone was being shut inside, the sirens coming on again as it speed away towards the hospital. "Casey got between you and the sniper."
Gregory was trying to get her to drink something. Olivia obliged, it was hot and felt good as it warmed her throat. "Is he all right?"
"He's going to the hospital Liv." Phebe Ryan, the paramedic with them nodded to Gregory and they made her stand up again. "So are we."
Olivia wanted to argue that she didn't need to go to the hospital, but her head hurt. Sean talked to Gregory and their voices were hard to concentrate on. She couldn't make out any of the words.
The nice young woman smiled at her as she sat her down on the bench inside the ambulance. "You have a slight concussion. That's why you're having trouble focusing."
Gregory came back, sitting down next to her as they closed the doors on the ambulance. "This is Phebe, Liv. She's going to take care of you."
Olivia pulled her blanket in tighter, if she didn't move her head she could make features on people's faces come in clear. "Are we going to see Casey?"
Phebe nodded, sliding the blood pressure cuff up her arm. "Yes, you'll see him as soon as he gets out of surgery. He looks good, all his vitals were strong. I think he'll pull through surgery beautifully."
Gregory held her head still on his shoulder which helped some with the feeling of being trapped underwater. "He's a very brave young man."
"That he is." Phebe agreed as she took some notes on a clipboard. "I remember him from EMT training. You're lucky he was there." She shone the light in Olivia's eyes again, and she turned her head, trying to get away.
"That's really bright." Olivia complained as Gregory rubbed her forehead.
"Your pupils are reacting slowly because your brain is a little shook up." Phebe explained calmly as she took her pulse at her wrist. "When you fell your head hit the street a little harder then we'd like."
"Oh." Olivia answered as they continued fussing over her. Phebe opened the blanket and started rubbing something over her chest that was rather cold. She dropped it in a red plastic bag and took another cloth to her neck. "Now what are you doing?"
Phebe held up a package of alcohol wipes. "I'm getting the blood off before it dries. It's kind of hard to get off after that. I know they're a little cold, but you'll feel better when you're clean. Gregory can help me if he wants." They pulled the blanket from her shoulders, Gregory took off her jacket and dropped it to the floor of the ambulance. Her white oxford shirt was harder to peel off, the blood had already started to dry and stick to her skin. Olivia winced as they pulled it free.
"It'll be over soon." Gregory promised as he started on her face. "I think you'll feel better with clean clothes on."
Olivia tried to keep her eyes focused on their faces, thinking about the amount of blood they were trying to get off her body was unpleasant. Phebe seemed to realize this, and she kept up a running dialogue with Gregory. Talking about things as mundane as where they went on their last vacation. Both of their voices continued around her, becoming a gentle background as their hands ran all over her skin. The friction of their touch kept her from being cold, but she was deeply grateful when Phebe pulled the blue scrub shirt over her head.
"We'll get you something better to wear after your examination." She promised as they helped her out of the ambulance. Gregory was solid at her side, and she knew without him she wouldn't be able to stay standing.
As they started into the hospital, Olivia caught Phebe's wrist. She didn't want to be examined, they'd need to know about the baby. "Did you get Roger?" She demanded.
"Roger?"
Gregory stepped in quickly, realizing what Olivia was worried about. "Dr. Roger Baxter is Olivia's physician and a personal friend. We'd both appreciate it if you could get him."
Phebe paused, she did want to help them, but she didn't want Olivia's examination to wait in case there was a real problem that hadn't manifested yet. "I'll have the nurse call him, but it would be better if you got examined right away."
Gregory was pulled away to fill out Olivia's admissions paperwork, leaving Phebe to lead her to her examination room. Olivia let Phebe sit her on the table but as the medic started to leave she pleaded. "Please don't go. I don't want to sit here by myself."
Phebe turned around, shutting the door and standing in front of it with a gentle smile. "Okay. I can stay with you until the doctor comes."
Olivia bit her lip, she didn't want a doctor she didn't know. She couldn't trust anyone. "Can't you just examine me?"
Phebe Ryan walked over to the table and put her hand on Olivia's shoulder thoughtfully. "What's wrong with a doctor?"
"I've just been shot at by a man who's trying to kill me." Olivia shivered slightly as she admitted it to herself for the first time. "I can't risk the man responsible knowing my secret"
Phebe looked at her with sympathy. Most gunshot victims she treated were gang members, not society women. Certainly not women from Olivia's part of town. Very few of her patients were as genuinely afraid. "Would you like to tell me and see if I can help you?"
The door opened behind her and Gregory returned from the paperwork at the front desk. He went immediately to her side, taking her hands in his and resting them in her lap. Olivia looked at him for a moment for assurance. She liked the paramedic. She didn't want to deal with anyone else. "I'm pregnant and I don't- we don't want anyone to know."
Phebe turned her surprise into a smile. She couldn't tell anyone about this conversation, not that they'd believe her. It was the first time she'd had people from the front page of the Sentinel ask her for help. "I'll talk to the Margaret, she's ER supervisor. I'm sure she'll let me work something out. Just stay here, I'll be right back."
When she was gone, Gregory looked into her eyes. "You trust her?"
Olivia started to nod, but that made her head feel disconnected. "Yes. She's been kind to me."
Gregory saw the hesitation in her movements, and stepped forward to hold her, letting her rest her head on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry this happened to you Liv."
He was warm and Olivia was suddenly very tired. "I'm okay darling. I want you to go check on Casey as soon as Phebe gets back."
Gregory pulled back from her, immediately hating the idea. "I'm not leaving you Liv."
Her chin was trembling and he knew he wasn't going to be able to say no when she asked again. "I can't check on him. They won't let me leave. He saved my life Gregory. He put himself between me and a bullet. I need to know he's all right."
His fingers held her face steady. "Now who shouldn't be crying?"
Olivia took a shuddering breath and started to sob. "Oh darling...why is this happening? What does he want? Why is he hurting so many people?"
Gregory didn't have any answers, he didn't have an answer for any of this terrible mess. Cole was disrupting every part of their lives, and the more he thought about it, the more Gregory knew there would only be one solution.