Chapter Six
Ana was in a bad way. How bad however no one knew. Jason Taylor had put her in the back of a squad car and brought her to a block of flats that the Police Protection had on the outskirts of Islington as a safe house in case of emergency events like this one. It hadn't been a long journey thankfully because Ana had spent it all muttering to herself and on edge as though she was about to try and escape from the vehicle at any moment.
He'd brought her inside, explained to her why they were there, the concern that she had possibly been a target to which she'd scoffed at, and then she had started pacing, up and down the linoleum floor. She was still muttering as she walked, her hands fumbling in front of her. Jason knew she was close to a breakdown and had no idea how to handle it if she did.
She was a mess though, her hair was completely matted with blood, he'd figured that was from a possible head wound but it couldn't be that bad as she was still standing. She had a cut on her forehead too, again one that wasn't too bad but there was dried blood that had run down her dirty face. She'd put a tourniquet on her own arm, that was possibly a bad wound and it was obvious that her shoulder was in a bad way too. The bloody, dirty, footprints she was leaving all over the floor showed how bad her feet were, but he wasn't surprised, she'd been seen without shoes after the blast and had walked miles since then too.
A knock on the door had Ana absolutely jumping from her skin and covering her head again with her arms. Jason had to take a deep breath and grit his teeth to stop himself from screaming at the person on the other side. He opened the door slowly and was shown some ID. He let the officer in.
"We're needing her clothes for forensics." He said as he stood just inside the door, not letting Jason close it.
"You want to try and get them off her?" Jason asked signalling Ana who had gone back to pacing, muttering, and rubbing her hands together. "She might lash out if you get too close."
"We'll have to sedate her. She needs to be checked over too, she's hurt."
"You're not sedating her." Jason growled, immediately thinking of Ana's wellbeing here and sedating her wouldn't help.
"She needs to be seen too, I've got a medic downstairs." The officer replied.
"Get her boyfriend here, Christian Grey, he'll know how to handle this." Jason said. "Now." He growled making it clear that he wasn't to be argued with.
"I'll see what I can do." The officer replied before leaving them again and letting Jason close the door as softly as he could.
He turned back to Ana who had gone back to pacing. He could see the tears on her cheeks now, washing the dirt and the blood down her neck. It broke his heart, he'd fallen in love with this young woman when he had been her guard. Like a father loved a child. She was spunky, young, and full of life, the way she could open up to him when she wanted to and how she could give him the slip when she wanted to be rid of him. A bit like a teenager. She'd been one that had kept him on his toes that was for sure but he also knew she trusted him. Now he was seeing her after what she'd been through tonight, seeing the worst of the worst. Much of what she had seen tonight wouldn't have been out of place on the battlefields of Gaza. A girl who had a heart of gold had seen what those without a heart could do.
"Why did it take so long for help to come?" Ana asked, her voice was so hoarse and there was no volume there. Jason had been completely surprised by her actually talking to him. She was stopped now, just a few feet away from him, her eyes glassy but staring at him, waiting for an answer.
"Police and paramedics have been cut bad over the last ten years." He explained quietly. "As the numbers dwindled they had to make some tough decisions about what to do in an emergency. They figured there would be more victims at the Emirates so everyone went there first. There just weren't enough people to come and help you until they had cleared the seriously wounded from the Emirates."
"Cuts?" Ana choked. This was down to fucking cuts! She couldn't believe it! Her mind started to race once again, and she started to pace… no, she needed to get the fuck out of there. She turned on her heels to face Jason once more and he saw the expression on her face, a determination, and anguish. She marched towards him and he knew exactly what she was going to do, she wanted to get out of there.
"No." He said firmly his hand going up to stop her, he couldn't let her leave. She took a deep breath and Taylor for a moment thought she might storm at him, but then she turned on her heels and started to pace again. Jason was relieved, he knew that Ana, in the state she was in would likely lash out if anyone got in her personal space without her consent. He'd seen this behaviour enough times to know this was sheer panic and anxiety bubbling away inside her. Fight and flight were in a vicious argument inside her head.
Every now and again Ana would stop still and press her fists into her head like she was trying to quell the distress she was feeling. Moans and whimpers would pass her lips as she tried to stop herself from breaking down. At this point Jason would have preferred if she did breakdown, he could handle that better than he was standing here watching her pace, he felt as useful as a chocolate teapot.
Then she would turn and make her way for him, well the door which he was standing in front of. She would look like a woman possessed when she'd go for him, but he would just take a deep breath to expand his chest and hold his hand up and she would stop, that alone was enough for her to stop and go back to pacing. God, he hoped Christian would get there soon, she was in a bad way and needed proper emergency medical care before she collapsed from blood loss. She was in pretty bad shape.
"I need to go… get out of here…help people… go…" Her mutterings were sometimes clear enough for him to catch the odd word and it was obvious she was still feeling like she should have been out there helping but she had done all she could, helped all those who needed her.
"Ana people are alive because of you." Jason said making her stop pacing and look at him with that glazed expression again. "You've done so much more than anyone could have expected, more than anyone else. People are alive because of you. You have helped." He was rambling but he was hoping to calm her down.
"So many dead." Ana choked. "Need to help." She muttered before starting to pace again, he knew he just had to wait. Christian would be with them soon and then he could possibly calm Ana down so they wouldn't have to sedate her because that was the only other option, forensics wanted her clothes and she needed to be treated.
A knock on the door and Ana dove to the floor covering her head, it was obvious that she was in the beginning stages of PTSD and this was likely to get worse before it got better. He opened the door and the relief washed over him when he saw Christian.
"Slowly does it." He muttered as Christian came into the room followed by the officer. He gave a tense nod, the hours of stress he'd been under was all over his face.
Ana was back on her feet, pacing and muttering once again. Taylor wasn't sure if she was aware of Christian's arrival but even when he cleared his throat, she didn't seem to pay any attention.
"Ana." Christian called, nothing, she continued to pace and mutter and roll her hands around each other nervously.
Christian glanced at Taylor, he didn't know what to do. He was so out of his depth having in his head imagined Ana falling into his arms upon seeing him. Instead, he could see the anxiety and the terror written all over her face, it disturbed him.
"Maybe you can come back in a little while?" Taylor suggested to the officer who huffed but went to leave anyway. Christian gulped, dropped the bag he was carrying and took a tentative step towards Ana, he didn't know what to do.
"Ana." He tried again, she glanced at him, her eyes glassy, she looked wild like an animal who was caged. It killed him seeing her, she was clearly hurt and he wanted to take all the physical and mental pain away.
He took another step forward, his instinct driving him. It was his responsibility to take control of this situation now, for Ana's sake he needed to calm her down and get her help before she made one of those injuries permanent. He glanced nervously at Taylor, this would be something quite strange for the bodyguard but Christian knew he only cared about Ana, her safety, and wellbeing.
Christian walked forward so he was in Ana's pacing path. She was walking towards him as though she couldn't see him and it was frightening. He took a deep breath and prayed that what he had in mind would work as he was drawing a blank otherwise.
"Kneel." He commanded. Ana stopped dead in her tracks, her blue and near lifeless eyes meeting his. She didn't drop though, not like he'd hoped she would have because he desperately needed her to calm down. "Kneel, now." He growled, his voice low and threatening, his finger pointing to the floor space between them. Ana gulped, closed her eyes tight, and dropped heavily to her knees. This wasn't what he wanted to do, but he had no choice but to get Ana to submit right now. Without it she was continually harming herself, she'd been in such control out there, now being cooped up in here she probably felt so incredibly out of control that was why she had been pacing. He did it for her own good and her response was just what he'd hoped for to get her to stop and realise she no longer needed to be in control, he was there to take care of her.
Christian glanced at Taylor who gave him a polite nod, Taylor worked for police protection who oversaw protecting the politicians of the country, he was probably fully aware of what some of them got up to. He took a nervous step towards Ana who was on her knees, legs apart, hands on her thighs facing upwards, and Christian couldn't help but notice that unlike the rest of her which was covered in blood and dirt, her hands were relatively clean. Her head was bowed, her chest heaving with every breath she was taking. He was scared to touch her, unsure where she was hurt because he could see the blood matter in her hair and the laceration on her forehead. He took a small step towards her until he was able to reach her and unable to stand watching her any longer he put his hand to her head. As soon as he made contact with her, her shoulders began to shake and loud cries began echoing from her lips. The anguish she'd been suppressing finally being released. He'd made her stop, his command had forced her to give up control, she was safe now and she could let it all go.
Heavily, Christian dropped to his knees in front of her and pulled her into his arms so he could finally hold her. For hours he'd had to watch the same footage of her helping people and being called an angel and a hero by complete strangers but until now, when he'd seen her for himself, he had a fear that she may have perished in the bombs. His own tears fell with her, as he kissed her over and over glad to know she was alive and while injured, relatively ok.
Taylor decided he would wait a while before going to get the medic, both Ana and Christian needed to have this time to reunite and cry about everything that had happened. He couldn't take his eyes off the scene though, he'd known this breakdown was coming for Ana and he was glad it was Christian here to deal with it. His comfort would have been so much more than what Taylor could have offered.
Minutes went by while the two cried and eventually, Ana's sobs began subsiding and Taylor knew it was time to get her seen to. He went downstairs, fetched the medic, and the officer who would be taking her clothes away. She likely wouldn't care as she wouldn't want to see them again anyway.
Back in the living space of the apartment, Christian and Ana were still on the floor. Christian was whispering sweet nothings into her ear but it was clear to Taylor that Ana had become nearly catatonic, this was no surprise to him either, this was shock. To him, this was a completely normal reaction after what she had been through, because she wasn't a trained soldier on the battlefield, yet she'd dealt with battlefield injuries in a warzone today.
"Sir we need to take her clothes." The officer said, interrupting the couple on the floor.
"I'll need help." He said shakily, looking at the medic who was thankfully female.
"Leave the forensic bags. I'll put everything inside." The medic said firmly, not letting the officer mess with her because she could see that Ana was injured and needing treatment. He placed the bags on the side of the couch gave them a small nod and went to stand outside the door, knowing Ana needed privacy for a moment. "Is there a change of clothes for her?" The medic asked nervously.
"In the bag." Christian said signalling the holdall he'd dropped on his arrival. Thankfully, Grace and Gail had put a bag together for him to bring because he'd been so focused on seeing her again he hadn't thought anything about what she might need when he did see her.
The medic went to the bag and found the clothes for Ana, she was fearing the worst that Ana would need hospital treatment especially as she had been running around with her injuries untreated and so she wanted to be prepared to have to move her. She took the clothes over to the couch and placed them on the edge along with her own medical bag which she opened and pulled everything she thought she needed out.
"Right hello, Ana my name is Marie, I'm a medic and I just want to check you over and treat your injuries ok?" Marie spoke nice and soft, her voice low so not to startle Ana. She had been a medic in the army, she knew war injuries and she knew PTSD and shock, so she was more than qualified to know what she was dealing with when it came to Ana. "If we can just take your clothes off first, that will let me see any injuries and then we can start patching you up?" Ana looked at the older brunette, with kind and reassuring dark eyes, she was safe now.
Ana gave a very timid nod, she was almost catatonic but Marie was relieved that she seemed to be willing to co-operate. Marie pulled some gloves on and then Christian and Marie helped peel Ana out of what was once a white chiffon blouse. Ana groaned and winced in pain, her eyes scrunching close with every small movement, her breath hitching in her throat. Marie was making a mental note of what she could see, a hole in her shoulder, small cuts all over her arms though her chest and back appeared to have been unscathed other than a small graze on her hip.
Marie popped the top into the forensic bag and then turned back to Ana. This time with some saline in her hand to clean some of the wounds. She unravelled the improvised bandage tourniquet that Ana had done and nodded her head as she tried not to show how bad this injury was on her face.
"Ana it looks like you may have saved yourself from needing a skin graft." Marie said softly. "When you wrapped your arm up you made sure the skin was up against the tissue. Hopefully, this will mean you won't need a graft if we can continue to keep the skin alive." Marie explained as she took a pair of tweezers and peeled back the skin to have a look. It was remarkably clean, a couple of pieces of stone but no sign of any other debris. Ana groaned and winced as the wound was cleaned and then Marie popped the skin back to where it should have been. It was going to need stitching but that could be done at the hospital. She bandaged it up with some clean gauze.
Marie cleaned the wound on Ana's shoulder, it appeared to be a through and through from something in the bomb, a nail or a bolt of some kind. Ana would need some blood, god only knows how much she'd lost in all of this. A through and through would bleed heavily without any other injuries, it was basically a gunshot wound but with a nail or bolt which wouldn't be as kind as a bullet. She cleaned the graze on Ana's hip, satisfied that it was just a graze, and then put her tools down so she could help put Ana into the baggy t-shirt she'd found in the bag Christian had brought.
"Ok Ana, we need to take your trousers off now." Marie said and Ana nodded and helped Christian and Marie remove her trousers so that her legs could be inspected. There were dozens of cuts and grazes all over both legs, the backs of the thighs seem to have taken the worst of it which suggested to Marie that Ana's back had been to the explosion and the bomb had been relatively low to the ground. She cleaned the wounds gently but figured Ana would need x-rays to make sure there was no debris left in her legs as was possible with the nail bombs.
Then she took care of Ana's feet, they were in a bad way too even though they had been cleaned once already. Marie having been given the information about why Ana had been left untreated for so long knew this had everything to do with the fact she'd been walking around for hours without any shoes on. She had to use the tweezers to remove gravel and small fragments of glass from the wound and knew Ana would need to be off her feet for a few days to allow her feet to heal and it was highly likely they would be permanently scarred after this.
Christian helped Marie put the clean tracksuit bottoms on Ana and then lifted Ana to the couch so that Marie could inspect her head wound and the graze on her face. Ana was being co-operative enough even though she seemed to be in a world of her own.
"They're surface wounds." Marie said as she cleaned the wound on the back of Ana's head. "The head always bleeds a lot but I'm happy they're just surface wounds. We do need to get to the hospital though, that arm and shoulder needs stitching and I need to have some x-rays done of her legs to ensure there isn't any debris in the wounds. Plus, I think a unit of blood would do her some good too."
"Doug…" Ana whimpered.
Marie looked at Christian and then at Taylor not knowing what Ana meant by Doug. Of course, Ana was wanting to know how Doug was doing and if he was alive as he had been in a bad way when Ana had last seen him.
"He's been taken to St Mary's." Taylor said, that was all he knew about the Leader of the Opposition because his job had been to find and protect Ana.
"Ok, can you call ahead and let them know we're bringing Ana in?" Marie asked and Taylor gave a nod before opening the door so that the officer could get his forensic bags.
"We need to take Miss Steele to the hospital, we're going to St Mary's, lights and sirens." Taylor told him and the officer nodded as he grabbed the bags and began writing on them so that they could be catalogued correctly. Then they would get Ana to hospital.