Chapter Nine
Christian entered the garden room where Grace, Carrick, and Taylor were having breakfast. It was a much more relaxing space than the formal dining room with huge windows that overlooked the garden and pool and conservatory furniture for dining on. All three sitting around the table turned from their newspapers to look at Christian when he walked in.
"Good morning." He said going over to join them at the table.
"Good morning." They all replied.
"How is she?" Grace asked, she couldn't even let Christian sit down and pour himself some coffee before asking how Ana was doing because as a mother she was worried sick.
"She's ok." Christian nodded then it turned into a shake, he couldn't find the words really to describe how Ana was doing. "I think she's putting on a brave front, she didn't sleep well, tossing and turning mostly and lots of nightmares not that she'd tell me what they were about."
"She won't want you to have the images in her head if she was to share them with you." Taylor replied gruffly.
"I can understand that, plus it's Ana, she doesn't show weakness." Christian sighed, for once he wished Ana wouldn't fight to be so strong in front of him, he didn't know how to cope with her putting on such a strong front.
"It won't last." Carrick said folding the newspaper he'd been reading. "She'll crack soon, it's exactly what happened last time."
"Yes, that's true, Ana doesn't know how to let go so she becomes like a champagne bottle being shaken." Grace explained and Christian sighed, he didn't know how to cope with that either. "She'll need lots of therapy, might be worth starting to look for a PTSD specialist now in preparation of her being ready to start facing it."
"I think that's a good idea Grace." Christian replied as he picked up one of the newspapers. He had a shock seeing the front page. "The Angel of Islington." The headline screamed with a picture of Ana smiling away.
"She's a light in the darkness, everyone has hooked onto her as being something positive to talk about in the midst of all this." Carrick sighed, it was similar to what had happened last time except last time Ana had just been thrust into the media, this time she was able to keep away from the media while they were reporting on her heroism.
"She's going to hate this." Christian explained. "I think she feels guilty that she's still alive."
"Survivors guilt." Taylor replied. "That doesn't surprise me either, she saw the worst of the worst in Chapel Market. She got lucky in terms of her injuries, minimal scaring but the scars in her head, they'll be permanent." Everyone around the table agreed, Ana's emotional state would never fully recover from this even with therapy and support.
The group fell silent as Gail bought some fresh coffee through and some more toast, they all turned to the newspapers again, each one detailing the horrors of the bombings in Islington. It was crazy to think this had happened, that six explosions had gone off in one London borough, the death toll was now being quoted at ninety and again Christian knew it was still rising. This was the worst terror event to have ever hit the UK, the death toll was already the highest of any terror event too.
The gate bell rang and Christian looked at Gail, she gave a nod knowing she would need to find out who was there and decide if they were allowed onto the property. They were weary of the media turning up, knowing how much of an interest they had taken in Ana.
"Christian it's a couple of officers to take Ana's statement." Gail said as she returned into the garden room.
"Show them into the living room, I'll get Ana up and see if she is able to talk to them." Christian replied as he poured a cup of coffee to take up with him, he would allow her to take her time, it had been a rough night for her, and it was likely that she would be unhappy with having to talk to the police.
He found Ana lying in bed awake, she was picking at non-existent lint on their floral duvet cover. She jumped slightly when he opened the door but relaxed a little seeing Christian come in.
"Is that for me?" She asked seeing the coffee in his hand, for the first time he saw some light in Ana's eyes. He nodded and quickly handed it over.
"Police are here to take your statement." He explained to her why he'd come up to her.
"I need to dress." Ana said, she had slept in a vest top and short pyjama set but she couldn't meet them like that.
"I'll get you some clothes." Christian said.
"I need a shower." Ana said feeling the back of her head which was still matted with blood. She'd had a pretty good wash before getting into bed last night but she needed to scrub her hair.
"We can speak to the nurse about that when she comes." Christian replied as he chose a pair of leggings and a hoody jacket for Ana. She wasn't going anywhere and the police obviously weren't going to care how she looked.
Christian helped Ana dress and then carried her downstairs to the living room. They had a warm living room with two red couches that faced each other over a coffee table, with the TV on the inside wall and a fireplace opposite it. Beside the fireplace the French doors opened out to the garden on one side and Ana's favourite little spot on the other side, a little reading nook with a cushioned bench.
The police stood as Christian carried Ana in and he placed her on the couch opposite the one the officers were sitting on. She curled herself up in a little ball, not wanting to have to talk about what had happened but knowing the officers needed her statement as a part of their investigation into what had happened.
"Hello Miss Steele, I'm sorry to call on you like this while you're recovering." One of the officers said as Christian took a seat beside Ana, keeping her hand in his own.
"It's ok I understand." Ana said quietly, she was staring at the coffee table, her eyes glassy and cold. Christian hated this, he didn't know how to help her.
"I'm Detective John Owen and this is Officer Mark Roberts, we're from the Counter-Terrorism unit." The Detective explained gently, he didn't seem to mind that Ana wasn't looking at him, it was obvious he was more than used to dealing with victims of terror. "We just want to know what you were doing in Chapel Market to start." He said as the officer started scribbling on his notebook.
"I was meeting with John Flynn MP and Douglas Hall the leader of the Labour Party, we were having a meeting about my shadow cabinet position and what I wanted in our manifesto for the next election." Ana explained calmly, this was easy to talk about, she didn't have to think about blood and gore at this point. "We had just finished our meeting, Douglas was going to the Arsenal game and as we exited the office they smelled the fish and chips from the shop two doors up. They asked if I wanted to grab some with them but I said no and started walking away. I don't know how many steps I'd taken, my eye had caught on one of the market stalls and I was about to go and have a look when the first explosion went off." Ana wiped her hand across her face, she was frowning as she remembered step by step what had happened in the moments leading up to the explosion. "It sent me flying." Ana recalled sadly. "I remember hitting a wall and then the pavement and I brought my arms over my head, there was a lot of debris. Before I even got the chance to think about anything else the next explosion went and then the next and then the next. A large piece of metal landed on top of me, trapping me between it and a building." Christian closed his eyes, he could hear the fear in Ana's voice as she recalled what happened when the bombs went off, he wished he could take it all away from her but he couldn't.
"Ok, how long did you stay lying on the pavement?"
"Not long." Ana replied. "It went really quiet, like deathly quiet and for a moment I thought maybe everyone was dead. Just as I started to move the metal sheet off me the screams started. I stood up and looked around and then thought of John and Doug so I ran over to them. John was dead but Doug was alive so I got him into the constituency office before I started to help other people." Ana explained as best she could.
"Did you identify where the bombs may have gone off?" The detective asked.
"One of them was a few feet from the office I think, then there was one…" Ana closed her eyes as she remembered that moment she'd seen where most of the people were dead, she'd known they had been close to one of the explosions because none of them had survived. "I think one of them was by the old Sports Direct." Ana recalled. "Everyone there was dead."
"Do you have any idea who did this?" Christian asked as Ana wiped away her tears, there was nothing more she could tell them.
"We have reason to believe that they're right-wing extremists, we believe they targeted Chapel Market because it is frequented by Muslims and Europeans, we think Emirates was a ploy to reduce the number of emergency services that were available at Chapel Market."
"It took three hours for help to come." Ana said quietly. "Why did it take so long?"
"Well between the cuts to services and the fact we didn't know how bad Chapel Market was for several hours because the emergency line was clogged up by people at Emirates. There was also concern that there may have been other bombs. We know the response wasn't what it should have been and we hope there will be a full investigation into it. I can only apologise Miss Steele, I know you did all you could to help."
"I shouldn't have had to." Ana shouted angrily. "I was just trying to help while waiting for the paramedics but no one was coming and I couldn't stop." She burst into tears and Christian pulled her into his arms, this was enough now, he couldn't have the police here upsetting her, she'd been through enough.
"I think you should leave now." Christian explained as he held onto a sobbing Ana, her cries echoed her pain and he knew nothing he could do would take it away.
"We'll be in touch if we have any more questions." The detective said rising to his feet. "I know it may not feel like it to her at the moment, but she did amazing Mr Grey, if there were more people like her in this world we'd have a much safer and happier society." He said kindly before making his way for the exit, the officer leaving a business card on the coffee table before following.
As Christian comforted Ana he was grateful when Grace came in with the nurse who was there to change Ana's dressings.
"Hello Ana, Christian, my name is Lucy and I'm going to be coming by for the next few days to change your dressings and keep an eye on your injuries." The nurse explained softly, her voice was gentle, Christian already liked her. It was clear the nurse had been given his name by Grace at some point, and he felt comfortable just knowing she could listen and take that kind of relevant information in when needed.
"It's nice to meet you." Christian replied politely. "Is she able to have a shower?" Christian asked not wasting any time because he knew it was something Ana wanted and whatever Ana wanted, he was going to make sure she could get.
"Not for a couple of days." The nurse replied. "I wouldn't want her getting any soap into those cuts on her feet."
"She wants to wash her hair." Christian explained as Ana tried to calm down, she didn't want people to see her so upset. Christian was the only one she allowed to see her breakdown like this.
"Maybe we could do it over the bath?" Grace suggested and the nurse nodded, that wouldn't be a problem, it was keeping her feet clean and dry that was the priority.
"Ana, can I change your dressings?" The nurse asked softly, as though she was speaking to a child. Ana gave a timid nod and allowed Christian to prop her back against the cushions. She watched him move out of the nurse's way and take the couch opposite with Grace, this would be the first time her mother would see her injuries.
Ana said nothing except whimper and moan as the bandages on her feet were removed. They were washed with more saline and antiseptic was rubbed into them. Damn, they stung badly, and Ana knew it would be a few more days before she'd be able to walk again. After her feet were done then came the arm, Grace gasped seeing the stitched-up skin flap wound but the nurse was very happy with how it was starting to heal and reiterated the importance of keeping it nice and clean and have lots of hope that the skin would survive. Then came the shoulder wound. Christian thought Grace might faint when she saw it. She became very pale and quiet as Ana groaned as the dressings on both sides were changed. Grace may have been a doctor, but this was her daughter, and these were war wounds.
"Thank you." Ana said quietly as the nurse put her back gently against the pillows.
"No problem, it's a privilege to be able to come and take care of one of the heroes of the day." Lucy smiled brightly at Ana.
"I'm not a hero." Ana replied shaking her head. "Please, I'm not."
"Oh hush, I believe many people are alive because of your quick thinking and actions. You are a hero to so many people even if you don't see it yourself. Have you seen the papers today? Your face splashed all over them." Lucy said making Ana groan, she didn't need to see them, and she didn't want to know that her face was splashed all over them either.
"Would you like a coffee?" Christian asked seeing Ana was getting uncomfortable with the attention she was getting from Lucy.
"No, I best be off got a dozen more people to see to." She said, Ana liked her, she was very jolly considering what she had to do right now and deal with people like her who had been involved in a terrorist incident, it was nice to see someone happy.
"Thank you." Ana said again as Christian took Lucy to the door. "Now about washing my hair." She said turning to her mother, Grace smiled, she was glad to be able to take care of her daughter in some way.
A couple of hours later a refreshed Ana sat with her family in the Garden room having lunch, Gail and Taylor was with them too and for the first time since the bombing Ana felt relatively normal. Ana was surprised when Kate walked in and rushed over to give her friend a hug.
"I'm so glad you're ok." Kate said squeezing Ana till she groaned, not realising Ana's shoulders and bicep was injured. "Oh, I'm sorry." She said as Christian gave up his seat for Kate to take.
"I'll get you a coffee." He told her.
Kate had the codes and a front door key for Ana's house, it made sense that she did because she was still Ana's special advisor and as Ana had said, she trusted Kate with her life and so it wasn't a problem for Kate to have easy access to their home.
"I've been trying to call you like crazy." Kate said.
"I lost my phone in the explosion." Ana replied, that was something she'd need to sort soon, she was lost without a mobile phone just as anyone would be in this day and age.
"The media are going crazy for you, have you seen?"
"I've heard." Ana replied dryly, she didn't need the constant reminder of what a hero the media thought she was, it was disgusting in her mind that they'd fixated upon her when so many people had died.
"I went to the memorial, lots of family members there talking about you and things. Lots of them say you saved their family members or looked after their loved one. That footage of you and that little boy has gone viral too." Ana rolled her eyes, it sickened her. "Anyway, how's Doug doing?"
"He's ok." Ana replied, she couldn't say much more than that because they hadn't talked very long. "He should recover anyway."
"And you?" Kate asked softly, she could see the strain of the event on her friend, Ana looked like she'd aged a lot in the last couple of days.
"I'll live." Ana shrugged. "Injuries are superficial."
"I'm glad to hear that." Kate smiled, she couldn't appreciate the effect the bombings had on Ana's mental health like everyone else around the table. "Oh, and there's a bit of a public outcry that Elena Lincoln hasn't made a statement yet."
"Still?" Ana questioned, she'd have thought the Prime Minister would have said something by now.
"Nope, not a word from anyone in Government. No one is able to get hold of anyone for comment either. Some speculated that maybe the PM had gone into hiding but that isn't the case, she's in number ten but she's keeping her mouth shut."
"That's disgusting." Ana spat, she couldn't believe the Government was ignoring this.
"That is exactly what everyone else is saying, especially considering you, Doug and John were caught up in it all." Kate replied as Christian put a coffee in front of her and she gave him a grateful smile. "I'm sorry to hear about John."
"He died straight away, there was nothing I could do." Ana said sadly, she had spent all night wishing she could have helped John, but he'd died as soon as the explosion had happened and there was nothing she could have done for him.
"Oh, Ana you couldn't save everyone sweetie." Grace said from the other side of the table, she could see the guilt on Ana's face even though she had nothing to feel guilty about.
"I need to go and see Rhian and the boys." Ana announced, she owed it to John to go and see his family.
"We'll go in the morning." Christian replied, knowing it was important to Ana and knowing it would be a bad idea to try and prevent her from going. "But you've got to keep weight off your feet. So, wheelchair." Christian was giving her an ultimatum and she nodded in agreement, she wouldn't argue against it or he'd prevent her going and she needed to go and see Rhian.
"It's true you were running around with no shoes?" Kate asked horrified to hear that Ana's feet were injured.
"My heels were hurting me, and they were getting in the way, so I took them off." Ana replied shrugging, it wasn't that much of a big deal.
"Jesus, I thought the press was making that up. Ana, Jesus what were you thinking?"
"Kate, in the midst of it I really wasn't." Ana said as tears sprung into her eyes. "My priority was helping those who were going to die if they weren't helped. That's who I was thinking of. Now if you all don't mind I want to go to bed."
Christian jumped to his feet and helped Ana into his arms before she tried to march out of the room. He gave Kate a scathing look for upsetting Ana, she had gone too far and she knew it. She swallowed hard and watched as Christian carried Ana away so she could get some rest.
"I just want everyone to stop." Ana whispered as Christian carried her up the stairs. "I don't need everyone to go on and on about it."
"I know." He whispered, he only spoke to her about what had happened when she started the conversation, there was no need for him to instigate it, she'd talk when she was ready.
He placed her in bed and gave her a gentle kiss which he was relieved that she returned before he went downstairs and re-joined the family allowing her to turn over and close her eyes and try and get some kind of sleep.
"You need to get her support Christian." Grace said before his bum had even hit the bottom of the chair.
"I know." Christian sighed, it wasn't that straightforward though, he couldn't just click his fingers and get her help.
"She had severe PTSD after the Parliament Square attack." Carrick explained. "She's showing signs again."
"No one goes through what she did and not get PTSD." Christian replied, he knew Ana would have severe PTSD and that he needed to get her help and he would.
"Took her months to recover." Grace said quietly. "It was hard on everyone at that time, it will probably be harder this time."
"I'll make some calls." Christian said quietly though he wasn't sure where to start.
"I think I've still got the number for the lady she saw last time, maybe seeing the same person would help." Grace suggested and Christian nodded, whoever it was she would need to see someone as soon as she could so she could start on the road to recovery.