Into the Grey
The sirens had started. A faint ringing at first but as they raced to the accident scene they became louder and louder, drawing Erin back into the land of consciousness.
"Erin." she could hear a male voice, but she couldn't place it. Strong hands were pulling at her. "It's me, David. Can you hear me?"
"David." she groaned. "What happened?"
"You've been in a car accident." he told her. "Are you hurt?" he was throughly looking her over. There were small cuts from flying glass on her face and arms but nothing that looked severe. "Does anything hurt?"
Her eyes were quickly drawn to Grant. He had received the bulk of the injury. And there was blood. Not too much, but enough to cause panic. "Grant." she immediately reached out for him. Fear filled her voice when he didn't respond to her. "Grant!"
"Help is coming." David assured her. She was squirming out of his grasp, trying desperately to trying to get to her husband. "No, we shouldn't move him." he told her. "We need to wait for the EMT's. Let's get you out of here." he told her. "Do you think you can stand?"
Erin nodded, tears silently running down her face as David helped her out of the car and onto the street. "I don't want to leave him."
"We're going to be right here. We're not going to leave him." he assured her. "We need to focus on you for a minute, okay? Does anything hurt?"
"Not really." she replied. "I hit my head a little on the door, but it's okay."
He slid her fallen dress strap back up on her shoulder. His hand moved to her lower abdomen. "And the baby?"
Erin's hand came to rest overtop of his. "I think the baby's okay."
"How far along are you?"
"Fifteen weeks." she replied. "I haven't felt much movement yet." she leaned into him, feeling lightheaded from all the chaos.
"It's okay, Erin, I've got you."
"I need you to call Aaron." she said, softly. "Tell him what happened. Have him meet us at the hospital."
"Yeah, of course, whatever you need."
/
Aaron rushed into the emergency department. "I'm looking for Erin Collins." he told the first staff member he came to. "The congressman's wife from the car accident." he was quickly led back into the room where he found David standing guard. "How is she?" he asked.
"She's physically okay." he replied. "She's pregnant and worried about the baby."
He nodded. "Doctor with her?"
"Yes."
Aaron let himself into the room without as much as a knock. She immediately reached out for him. "Oh, thank God." he breathed out, taking her hand tightly in his. "Are you okay?" he looked over the cuts on her face, the blood on her dress.
"Yes." she replied. "They're going to do an ultrasound to make sure everything looks okay."
They watched in silence as the doctor got the ultrasound machine prepped. The nurse bunched the flowing fabric on Erin's dress, exposing her slightly rounded stomach, covering her lower body with the sheet. Everything seemed to be going so incredibly slow. And then finally a loud, strong heartbeat echoed throughout the room. They both immediately relaxed, Erin letting out the breath she had been holding since she was alert enough to realize what was going on.
"Everything looks perfect." the doctor told them. "We're going to do some blood work as a precaution and the nurse is going to get you cleaned up."
"Thank you." Erin said through tears. She leaned back on the bed and took a few deep breathes. "I'm so glad the baby's okay."
"I'm glad you're both okay. Can I get you anything?" he asked. "Anything at all?"
"Can you check on Grant?" she asked. "They were taking him for a CT scan. The doctors had me sign some forms of consent incase they had to operate right away."
Aaron brought her hand up to his lips and lightly kissed the back. "Do you want me to send David in so you don't have to be alone?"
"Please." those were words she never thought she would say when it came to David Rossi. "I don't know what I would have done if he wasn't there."
"Let's not think about that, okay. Positive thoughts." he told her. "Where are your children?"
"They're with Mary, Grant's mother." she told him. "David called my brother in law. I was concerned about the news coverage."
"I'll go see if I can find something out about Grant and I'll be back soon, okay?"
Erin nodded. "Thank you, Aaron."
/
The nurse had finished cleaning up Erin's wounds. Luckily she only extracted three pieces of glass. The burn of the antiseptic only paling in comparison to what could have been. David sat quietly in a blue plastic chair on the opposite wall. He wasn't sure what exactly his role was but she wanted him there and he was happy to oblige her.
"What do you need, Erin?" he asked her. "Anything at all. Just say the words and I'll do my best to make it happen."
"Time travel." she replied softly. "God, this is such a nightmare."
He pulled his chair closer to the side of the bed. "You know that I would if I could."
She smiled briefly. "I know." she told him. "This is just too much. Rehab, the pregnancy, now this."
"You and Grant will get through this." he tried to assure her. "Together."
Aaron knocked on the slightly open door and then pushed it open to enter. Erin's eyes immediately searched his. "What is it?" she asked. "How's Grant?"
"He's in surgery." he closed the door behind him and made his way over to her bed."The doctors are trying to reduce the swelling on his brain."
"Oh, God." she gasped, tears immediately flooding her eyes. "His brain?"
He sat down facing her on the bed. He could feel himself swallowing hard. "He's suffered a head injury that caused increased fluid into his brain." he wanted to give her the facts as straight forward as he could. "The doctors are very hopeful. It was caught very quickly and he's receiving the best possible care."
Erin collapsed into tears. Traumatic brain injury almost never had a good outcome. Events of the Gala flooded her. They were dancing together not even an hour before and in the blink of an eye everything was altered.
tbc...