Chapter 10: Ash

One minute I was talking to Lexa, and the next minute, she was gone. I yelled for Abby to do something. Everything was a blur. Abby said that she has lost too much blood and needs surgery right away, but she can't do it here; it has to be back on the base.

She tells the guards to call for an ambulance and ask them to get the trauma team ready to operate as soon as we get there. All I can think is that I can't lose her, not now, not like this. Abby hooks her up to an IV and gives her a blood bag before the ambulance gets there. The paramedics start to take her away, but I yell at Abby that I need to stay with her. She instructs them to load me in the ambulance as well.

It only takes minutes to get from the clinic to the hospital on base, but it seems like forever. They take Lexa straight into surgery. Abby tells the orderly to take me for x-rays of my ankle and then to room number one. I grab Abby's hand and tell her she has to fix her; I need her. Abby looks at me surprised and says she's got her now. All I can do is wait and get myself patched up. All I can do is watch as they wheel Lexa away to surgery.

The orderly takes me down to the x-ray room for my x-rays. It only takes about fifteen minutes, and then he takes me to my room. The doctor comes in a few minutes later and tells me everything looks good. There aren't any broken bones and whoever put it back in place did a good job. He then put me in a walking boot and told me to take it easy for the next few weeks. Before he could leave, I asked him if there was any news on the trauma patient brought in with me, but he said he didn't know but would send someone in that did.

I sat there watching the minutes tick off the clock one by one. It had been over an hour, and I still hadn't heard anything. I was getting antsy. As I was getting up to go find someone, the door slammed open, and in ran Bellamy Blake. He looked as surprised to see me as I was to see him.

He said, "Where's Lexa, and why are you here?"

I replied, "I was just about to ask you the same thing. Why are you here?"

"I'm looking for Lexa, I was on patrol when Abby sent word she had been brought in, and it didn't look good."

"What do you mean it didn't look? I'm the one who brought her here. She wouldn't let anybody but Abby touch her. I should have made her let the other doctor treat her last night…She saved my life, Bellamy, not once but twice. I can't lose her." Suddenly, I lost it. I started crying and couldn't stop.

Bellamy came over and wrapped his arms around me, and said, "I'm sure she is going to be fine. You know, if anyone can save her, it's Abby. Don't blame yourself. From what little I know about Lexa, there is no way you could have made her do anything she didn't want to."

The door opened, and Abby rolled Lexa into the room. She looked horrible but alive. I ran to her bedside and grabbed her hand and kissed it, then her forehead and lips. I turn to Abby and ask, "Will she live?"

She replied, "The fact that she made it here alive is a miracle, so I would give her better odds than most. But, unfortunately, her spleen had ruptured and had to be removed. I cleaned it out, closed the bullet wound, and removed the shrapnel, including human bone fragments, Fletch. Would you care to tell me what the hell happened to her? I stitched up about ten places on the backs of her legs, arms, and neck. She has two broken ribs and a concussion."

I replayed the last two days to them while I waited for her to wake up. "Abby, I promise she was fine this morning before the fight with Omar. When he punched her in the side, it must have ruptured her spleen, but even after that, she carried me and put me in the car like it was no big deal. She didn't even want me to stop and put the pressure bandage on. She said she was fine. I just don't understand."

Abby said, "That bandage is the only reason she made it to the clinic!"

Just then, Lexa squeezes my hand and opens her eyes. I can't help myself. I lean over and kiss her lips, then lay my head on her chest just so I can hear her heartbeat, and once again, the tears begin to fall. I feel her stroke my back and say, "Hey, hey, why are you crying? Are you okay? Is it your ankle or leg?"

I can't help but laugh at how she is worried about me after being in surgery for what felt like forever. "I'm fine. My ankle isn't broken, and my leg is still good. I'm just worried about you, you idiot. You just had major surgery. I'm crying because I thought I was going to lose you."

Abby speaks up, "Bellamy, let's give them a few minutes alone. Fletch, are you hungry? Lexa can't have anything but ice chips for a few hours, but we will go get you some food. Come on, Bellamy."

As soon as they leave, I grab Lexa's face with both hands and look straight into her beautiful eyes, "Babe, don't ever do that to me again. I was losing my mind, not knowing what was going on, and if you ever tell me you are fine again when you clearly aren't, I will kill you myself. Do you understand me?" I then kiss her lips tentatively at first, then I run my tongue across her bottom lip, asking for permission to enter, and as soon as she opens up for me, the kiss quickly becomes intense. I want her to be able to feel in this kiss how I feel about her. Unfortunately, the kiss comes to an end too quickly as I pull away so that I can look at her.

I sit back down in the chair as she asks, "What happened? I feel like I am missing something because you are so upset with me. I don't understand what I did, and you are giving me mixed signals. One minute you are threatening to kill me the next…well, I prefer the kissing."

I can't believe this girl. She thinks I am mad at her when I am just worried. "Babe, you almost died on me. That's what happened. You carried me in and then passed out from internal bleeding. Abby had to remove your spleen. Apparently, Omar's punch did more than just bust your stitches. It ruptured your spleen, so the whole drive here, you were basically bleeding to death, but you said, 'I'm fine.' Clearly, we have different definitions of fine."