Chapter 12
Sully begged his heart to beat again so that he could finally move. He needed to get to his family yet his legs simply didn't obey his command. It was as if he saw a movie playing on a large screen before him and he was the onlooker who was condemned to inactivity. His paralyzed state seemed to last an eternity yet in fact it only took a split second till he started to run.
The police car had just come to a halt. One of the cops already called the ambulance and the other one had begun taking stock of things at the scene of accident. A van had sneaked between the BMW and the chased Saturn because it intended to drive straight ahead whilst Michaela wanted to turn right. Thus this third car had taken most of the impact.
Later Michaela would wonder how her instincts could have worked so precisely. As if she possessed the gift of foresight, she had forcefully turned the steering wheel right as soon as she sensed that the chased car would change its direction. The rest had been sheer fortune for her and the children. Michaela knew that without the van, they wouldn't have had the tiniest chance. Yet of course she didn't waste any thought on that now; her first concern was for the little girls. Getting out of the car and instantly walking around to the passenger's side, she realized she wouldn't be able to open the door on Katie's side for the van's fender blocked it. As she pulled open the other door, Katie looked at her with large, startled eyes whilst Hannah hung limply in her seatbelt. Michaela instantly started talking to Katie whilst she carefully examined her other daughter. Feeling for Hannah's pulse and finding it softly thumping against her fingertips, she asked her blonde little girl, "Are you in pain, Sweetheart?"
Yet Katie only continued staring. Recognizing that she was in shock, Michaela kept speaking to her soothingly, "Don't worry, everything will be alright, Sweetheart. I'll take Hannah out first and then I will help you, alright?"
At that moment, Hannah opened her eyes, groaning softly. Immediately, Michaela took the opportunity to ask the most important questions so she could be sure she wouldn't do further damage to the little body.
"Hannah, can you move your feet for me?" When the child did so, the doctor added, "And your fingers, can you move them, too?" Hannah could and Michaela sent a silent thanks to whoever had watched over them that it seemed she needn't fear a spinal injury.
Sully reached them when Michaela had, with the help of a kindly passer by who had stopped to offer assistance, carefully transferred Hannah onto her suit jacket which she had spread over the stones of the sidewalk. Seeing his daughter lying there listlessly and white as a sheet, eyes closed, Sully fell on his knees next to her. The outside world ceased to exist as he was overcome by fear of losing his only child. He didn't dare to touch her, not knowing if he would make things worse. "Hey, sweet girl," he finally managed in a hoarse voice, "Can ya hear me? It's me, Daddy."
A small sound escaped Hannah's mouth that encouraged Sully to bend closer to her. Carefully, so as not to hurt her, stroking the dark locks, he reassured again, "I'm here, sweet girl. It's Daddy."
Again, the little girl tried to speak and Sully brought his ear close to her mouth to be able to hear the mumbled words.
"Want… my… Mommy," he at last discerned and froze in place. For Sully, the world only consisted of two people at that moment, him and this child, his own flesh and blood whose posture reminded him so much of Abigail shortly before she had died. That was why he thought their daughter was calling for her.
"But Hannah, your Mommy is…"
A soft but determined pressure on his shoulder cut him off. Looking up to see who was disturbing possibly his last conversation with his little girl, he met Michaela's gaze. Immediately feeling ashamed that he had not only forgotten to look after her but Katie as well, words failed him. Michaela, however, didn't seem to notice his inner turmoil, simply saying, "She's asking for me."
Disregarding his presence, she crouched down, only caring for the welfare of the small child. "I'm here, Sweetheart. Soon the ambulance will arrive and take us to the hospital, alright?"
Wearily, Hannah nodded, while tears started running down her cheeks, "Ya stay with me?"
"I promise. I will take you to my ward and…"
"Hey lady, what do ya think you are doin'?" One of the cops had made his way over to them and grabbed Michaela's arm in order to hinder her from further actions. "Ya can't move a victim…"
"Take your hands off of her," Sully growled, his temper instantly rising, "She's a doctor!"
"Oh," the young man immediately loosened his grip and took a step back, "Sorry, I couldn't know that. Maybe ya can take a look at the other victims too, although I don't think they'll be needin' a doc anymore."
"I'm coming," Michaela said but before she left, she squatted down again, "Sweetheart, I'll be right back." Seeing fear returning to Hannah's eyes, she explained, "I'm not leaving, I only have to see whether the people in the other cars need my help. I'll be back before you know, I promise." Looking over at Katie who sat leaning against the rear wheel, awkwardly holding her left arm, she reiterated, "I'll be right back, Sweetheart."
Both the other cars were write-offs and as the cop had assumed, both drivers were beyond help: the Saturn's front had crashed into the van's driver side at full speed which hadn't left much hope of survival for the passengers. Fortunately no more people had been involved in the accident and thus Michaela hurried back to her family, already hearing the wailing of the ambulance's sirens.
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The paramedics had been willing to follow Michaela instructions as soon as one of the men recognized her as Dr. Quinn from previous encounters. They had even made room at her request so that Sully didn't have to leave his daughter's side and could sit next to Michaela opposite of the stretchers with the little girls. Whilst the ambulance roared away to the hospital, Michaela felt a sudden fit of white, hot ire at him though. If he hadn't run away like a sulking child… Glancing at his face however she instantly caught herself. She had often seen parents in shock after an accident, especially when only the child was injured. Self-reproach and feelings of guilt hindered them from thinking clearly and thus they couldn't provide the support the child needed. Realizing that her being in shock as a mother too had caused her thinking of only moments ago, she lightly touched his hand so as to gain his attention.
Although he felt her fingers on his skin, Sully didn't look up. All he could think was it was his fault that the little girls were in pain, and he didn't even dare to think about what Michaela might be hiding from him and everyone else. The only thing he had been able to do while the paramedics carefully prepared the children for the transport was just stand there and watch. Thus he had seen how Michaela had sometimes had to steady herself, and he had noticed her pale complexion. She never met his gaze though, fixated on her task as the doctor. What if she was injured, too and was making things worse for herself by acting as if nothing had happened?
He didn't know yet that he could feel even much worse than he already did, that to his feeling of guilt would be added the one of deep shame. "Sully," he heard her soft, reassuring voice, "As far as I can judge it, Hannah will be alright very soon. She might have a concussion; we will check that as soon as we are at the hospital. I couldn't detect any fractures but we will of course give her a thorough examination. She will be fine."
No word about Katie's or her condition which meant she had realized that he had forgotten them when he saw Hannah lying on the ground. Now she obviously thought they didn't matter to him. "Michaela," he raised his head to capture her gaze yet at that moment the ambulance came to a halt. As soon as the doors of the car were opened, a well-coordinated procedure started which didn't give him the opportunity to talk to her again before both girls began to be treated.
They had reached the hospital at the time when her shift started and Michaela was thankful that it was Dr. Burke and not Dr. Cassidy she had had to take over from. For her younger colleague, it went without saying that he would stay to help with the emergency. However, although William knew that Dr. Quinn was engaged, he still had a soft spot for her. Watching her more keenly than a normal colleague would do, he realized that she wasn't as alright as she claimed to be. They had a heated discussion about her needing an examination as well until he mentioned that she couldn't work if she was injured. Since Michaela wasn't able to refute this last argument, she finally gave in. However, she didn't leave her daughter's side until they could be taken to the room which they would occupy for that night. Both children had been examined and X-rayed to make sure that they didn't have more injuries apart from some bruises and small cuts caused by the glass of the windowpane that had burst when the van crashed into the BMW.
It turned out that Michaela had been right about Hannah who suffered from a light concussion and the aftermaths of shock. Katie's wrist had been put in a plaster for it was broken, but fortunately it was a simple fracture. However, Katie's emotions were still raw as well and when Michaela announced that she needed to go down to the emergency room again, both little girls begged her to stay. This was the point when Sully felt he could finally be useful again. The only thing he had done so far was to call Maude to tell her what had happened and reassure her that things were not so bad that she had to come down to the hospital, especially now that bedtime was approaching.
He was sitting on a chair between the children's beds, quietly following the conversation between mother and daughters. It still disturbed him that it had been the other physician who managed to make Michaela agree that she would see a doctor herself. For him, the man's motivation was as clear as if it was written in huge letters across his brow: Dr. Burke was sweet on Michaela. However, this was something he could deal later with; now he had to make sure that his family was united once again.
Clearing his throat, he gained the three women's attention. Bending forward on his chair, he let his gaze wander between the little girls as he talked to them, "Kates, Hannah, your Mommy will come right back. But she was in that car, too and someone has to make sure that she is alright. So how 'bout we let her see a doc and I'll tell ya a story till she gets back?"
Instantly, the girl's demeanor changed. Forgetting their own pains and troubled thoughts, they sat up simultaneously and looked at their mother. "We'll be good, Mommy," Hannah assured.
"Uhuh," Katie affirmed, nodding.
"Ya see?" Sully searched for Michaela's gaze, trying to hold it, "Everythin's under control here. Our daughters and I'll have a good time."
For a moment he succeeded in locking eyes with her. The smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth, however, didn't reach her own yet.
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Her colleague on the first floor only allowed her to work under the condition that she wore a neck brace all night. Of course Michaela agreed, not wanting to stay away from her job again. No matter how a good doctor she was, the hospital couldn't afford to pay a medical assistant director that was more at home than on the ward.
When she entered her daughters' room again, she found the little girls still awake, waiting for her. Before they could ask, she quickly explained, "I'm fine. This strange neck decoration," she lightly tapped her fingers against the stiff material, "is only a precaution, no need to worry."
While the children were satisfied hearing this news, Sully kept looking at Michaela and thus she added, "Only a touch of whiplash, really. I wouldn't stay here if I weren't sure I could carry on working."
Knowing how serious she was about her job, Sully slowly nodded. Not taking his eyes from her he asked, "Can ya stay with us for a bit? If ya have to go back to work, we understand though."
Seeing the sleepy expression on the little faces and knowing that she wasn't needed outside of this room at the moment, Michaela agreed. "Just sitting down for a few minutes would be nice."
Satisfied, Hannah and Katie snuggled deeper into their beds, already closing their eyes. For now, the world was alright. Mommy and Daddy were with them and Mommy had promised they would soon feel better. It didn't take longer than a few minutes and the children were sound asleep.
As far as Sully was concerned, he felt a little piece of hope return to his heart when Michaela didn't pull her hand away from his grasp. As soon as possible he would explain his reaction to her; that he had simply been in a panic, not able to think. She and Katie were his family as much as Hannah and he would make sure that she never doubted that again.
Feeling Sully's touch, his thumb tenderly stroking the back of her hand as she sat on the chair next to him, appeared to become too much for Michaela. This was the first time since the accident that she had been left alone with her thoughts. Only now did she have time to think about what had almost happened. The plain truth was that if the van hadn't appeared at the exact moment that it had, she and the children wouldn't have survived. This thought made her shudder and she felt the urge to get to her feet and run.
She hadn't been aware that she had actually straightened from her seat; only when Sully pulled her in a comforting embrace did she struggle back to reality. He had risen as well, holding her close to reassure her of his presence. Michaela understood his intention, knowing she could tell him what devastated her at this moment. "We could have been killed out there," she whispered, choking back an involuntary sob.
"I know," he responded, framing her face with his hands and tenderly kissing her eyelids, "That would have killed me, too."
Of course Michaela knew they still had a lot to talk about, but in comparison to what had almost happened tonight, their problems didn't seem to matter so much at the moment. All that she wanted was to feel the promise of safety which the arms of the man she loved offered her. The rest could wait.