DISCLAIMER: Nope not mine yet. But I can dream can't I?
SUMMARY: Tommy and Tara are engaged. What comes next?
The morning after Christmas Marissa went to work early in the morning. Shaun went out to the garage to work on an old car when he got up. Tommy went to the backyard to work out while letting Tara sleep a little longer.
When Tara woke up, she lay in bed looking at her ring, twinkling on her left hand for almost ten minutes before she decided to get out of bed. As she washed her face, a coughing fit started. She hit her knees and covered her mouth. A flash of fear went through her as she saw the blood on her hand.
'Oh no! Not again! Not now!' She knew that she needed to see a doctor quickly. She got dressed and headed for the stairs to find Tommy.
At the top of the stairs, she felt the tickle in her throat only seconds before the coughing started. The next thing she knew she was falling down the stairs. She felt her head contact one of the stairs. She didn't see anything after that.
She came to a stop in a heap at the bottom of the stairs.
"It's 10:30. I guess I should start getting cleaned up to make lunch," Shaun chuckled. "After all, Marissa will be home in about an hour and a half."
He smiled as he thought about how happy Marissa had looked as Tommy had proposed to Tara the day before. He was still smiling as he walked into the house, drying his hands. Only to have that smile die a harsh death when he found his future daughter-in-law unconscious at the foot of the stairs.
"Tara?" Shaun knelt beside the young woman and checked her pulse. He loosed a sigh of relief as he felt the steady beat against his fingers. He stood up and headed for the kitchen.
Seeing Tommy in the backyard as he grabbed the cordless phone, he paused just long enough to call him in.
"Tommy! Come quick! It's Tara!" Tommy ran for the house.
"What happened?"
"She must have fallen down the stairs. I haven't moved her." As Tommy ran to Tara's side, Sam dialed 911.
"911. What is your emergency?"
"Mike. It's Shaun. Tommy's girlfriend fell down the stairs. She's got blood on her shirt and her hand. We need an ambulance."
"Tara? Tara honey. Come on, babe, wake up." He reached out a hand and gently lifted the hair across her eyes. Bending over, he pressed a gentle kiss to her bruised forehead.
"Ambulance is on the way, son," Shaun said, kneeling beside Tommy to watch over this young woman.
As soon as the medics had loaded Tara onto a gurney in order to take her, Tommy turned to his dad. "Maybe you'd better call Mom. Let her know what happened."
"I will. Then I'll meet you at the hospital." Tommy nodded and climbed into the ambulance.
Meanwhile, Shaun dialed the phone. "Marissa Oliver, please." After a moment, he spoke again. "Hi, honey. You might want to head to the ER. There's been an accident."