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Fighter

Cathy stared at the floor, unaware that Deano had joined them and was bickering with Rory. Silently she bargained with God as her mother folded her hands in her lap. Betty appeared to have gone into some sort of shock as Maria hugged Dermot. It all seemed unreal, a waking nightmare.

"Not my boy. Not again. Not my Mark." Agnes stated firmly before looking across at Betty who seemed visibly shaken. "Hey now." She took Betty's hand. "None of that. This is our Mark. Tough as old boots."

"Only, he's not." Betty looked at her mother in law. "Losing his brother nearly destroyed him. He blamed himself for not keeping Frankie in Dublin, for not making him get off the drugs."

"I never knew."

"And the twins. When Simon and Dermot went to prison, when Cathy got hurt. To him he'd failed as an older brother." Betty wiped her eyes. "I told him there was nothing to blame himself for."

"He didn't fail." Cathy sighed as Dermot sniffed. "He didn't."

"No." Agnes looked at her children. Rory, Trevor and Dermot looked as nervous as young children not grown men. Cathy was clearly angry. "I have. As a mother."

"No Mammy."

"Mark was 12 when your Da died. He remembers more of it all than you all, except maybe for you, Cathy. I should have fought to keep you all with me. Fought to get away from your old man and watched out for Mark more. I've been a terrible mother."

"He adores you and Grandad. So does Bono." Betty smiled sadly. "If we hadn't kept Bono home from school he'd have been in the van with Mark, on his way home from school." Cathy swore profusely as she got to her feet.

"None of this is Mark's fault. Neither is it yours, Mammy. It's mine for marrying that scumbag and not staying married to him. I got us into this and."

"You'll do what? Cathy?" Agnes shot her a look. Trevor stepped forward, resting a hand on his sister's shoulder.

"Something." Cathy finished lamely.

"Pray." Trevor spoke calmly. It was then Agnes realised that was exactly what the young priest had been doing the entire time Mark was fighting to live. While they had cried and bickered Trevor had silently been doing the only thing he knew could help.

Xxxxxxx

"Adrenaline." The doctor called. "Rhythm check!"

"Asystole." The nurse stated sadly.

"Anyone spoken to the family?" The doctor watched as a nurse carried on CPR. The resuscitation room looked a mess. A blood transfusion waited to be administered. IV lines snaked into Mark's arms a tube in his mouth made sure he could breathe. Various doctors, anaesthetics doctors and nurses worked on the patient in the bed, hoping for a miracle.

"He's Maria Brown's brother in law." A male nurse stated as he changed a fluid bag.

"Shit."

"Yeah. Got a young boy. Anyway, no allergies. No regular meds. Had a broken ankle as a teenager, appendix out at twenty no other medical history. Non smoker, no alcohol problem."

"Rhythm check." All hands left the body as all eyes fell on the monitor.

"Sinus rhythm." A nurse smiled slightly. She felt for Mark's carotid pulse. "Strong pulse."

"Arrange for transfer once stable. He's a tough bugger. How long was he down?"

"Thirty four minutes Dr Waters." The middle aged woman nodded.

"ITU when stable. I'll let Maria and her family know. And can we get that blood transfusion up? Cheers. Let's give him a tetanus and be prepared to give him some inotropes. I'll be wanting him to have a cast on that leg, above knee prior to him going upstairs." She threw latex gloves into a medical waste bin. It was good to give a family good news. She took a deep breath and headed towards the family room.

Xxxxxxxx

A/N more soon. Thanks for reviewing