Once again I'm horrible with updating. I've been going back and forth on this ending, but finally decided to just go with it. Thanks to all of you who have reviewed this. I'm working on 3 or 4 projects right now, so hopefully I will have something new for you soon ;)
Chapter 4
Lilly gritted her teeth, "I'm never leaving you, Miley."
Her words were followed by a loud crash and shouting. Lilly lifted the tarp off her head and was greeted with the wonderful sight of firefighters climbing through the enlarged hole in the rubble barrier. They brought large halogen lamps and the bright light immediately blinded her as she sat up. The firefighters that came through wasted no time in assessing the concrete beam trapping Miley, while Caleb the paramedic followed them in as promised. He was accompanied by another medic and they set their bags by Miley's side, their calm faces immediately making Lilly feel better.
"Hey, I'm Caleb and this is Paul, we're paramedics with the LAFD. What's your name?" They immediately focused on Miley, asking her a few questions as if trying to put her at ease.
"Please, help her, she's been getting more and more out of it," said Lilly to the medics, watching as Caleb took Miley's blood pressure and the other medic started an IV on the other arm. Lilly moved out of the way slightly, but was loathe to leave Miley's side.
"I'm not out of it," said Miley, her voice suddenly sounding a lot stronger.
"Yes, you are."
"How?"
"For one, you told me you loved me without throwing things," said Lilly, happy to oblige this conversation to keep Miley awake and focused.
Miley grimaced, as if realizing Lilly had a point. She turned her head to look at the paramedics by her side. "How bad is it?"
"Your blood pressure's a little low right now, we're giving you some fluids to help with that. Our main concern is something called 'Crush Syndrome', which happens when toxins that have built up in a crushed body part are released when the body part is freed."
"I take it that's bad?" asked Miley and Lilly was surprised at the steadiness of her voice. She hardly sounded scared to someone who didn't know her, but Lilly could tell by the slight twitch in her hand and the way her eyes wandered around she was terrified, too.
"It can be fatal, but we're gonna do our best to prevent it from getting anywhere near that far, okay? We'll be giving you lots of fluids through the IV and some other medications, before they pull you out. Now, are you feeling pain anywhere else? Your abdomen, head?"
Miley shook her head and the second paramedic felt along her neck and abdomen, "You didn't hit your head during the quake?"
"No, I don't think so."
Caleb nodded and suddenly turned to Lilly, who had been sitting silently, watching. "Are you hurt?"
Lilly shook her head then remembered her foot, "My ankle, I think it's sprained or something."
Caleb motioned for her to show him and he unwrapped her haphazard bandage. Lilly grimaced as she saw her ankle for the first time in days. It had swollen despite the bandage and turned a nasty shade of black and blue. Just seeing it as it was sent renewed waves of pain through her, but she gritted her teeth to prevent it from showing.
"Lilly, your ankle looks like crap."
Lilly turned her head and glanced at her wife, "Thank you, Miley."
"Can you move it at all?" asked Caleb as he examined it more closely. Even his light touch was painful enough for Lilly to have to clench her jaw.
"I've sorta been walking on it, carefully. There's just been too much going on to worry about it."
He nodded and pulled a splint out of one of the bags, "I think it might be broken. I'm gonna splint it and we'll take you to the hospital, alright? We'll get a stretcher to carry you out."
Lilly watched him mold the splint around her misshapen ankle then stopped when she realized the implications of his words, "You're not gonna take me now, are you?"
"Yes, ideally every patient who can be moved should be, especially considering we're in a dangerous situation here."
Lilly shook her head vehemently, "No way, I'm not leaving her here."
"I understand you want to stay with your wife, but for safety reasons it's best you come with us. Miley is in very capable hands and as soon as they've freed her, we'll be rushing her to the hospital, too," Caleb tried to reason with Lilly, but she knew there was no way he could convince her otherwise.
Miley put her hand on Lilly's arm to get her wife to look at her, "It's okay, Lilly, I'll be fine."
Lilly narrowed her eyes and took Miley's hand in hers, "I told you I would never leave you, Miles, I am not leaving now. You understand?"
Miley bit her lip as tears filled her eyes, but she nodded, knowing there was no way she could talk Lilly out of this. So they sat, holding hands as they were focused only on each other, while the firefighters and paramedics bustled around them. Lilly was nervous, but she did not remove her gaze from Miley's eyes. Just staring in each other's eyes like that, maybe they could pretend they weren't down there surrounded by all these people or that they'd ever doubted in their love.
"We're gonna use the air bladder under the beam; as soon as there's enough clearance you pull her out, alright?"
The firefighter's words reached Lilly's ears as he talked to the paramedics, but she still didn't turn. She could tell by the look in Miley's eyes and the tight grip she had on Lilly's hand she was scared. Lilly didn't know what to say or do other than sit there and hold Miley's hand like her life depended on it. Maybe it did.
The ground rumbled to life, again. Shouts could be heard from the firefighters, but even as the shaking and falling debris threatened to knock her over, Lilly's eyes remained locked on her wife's, until the paramedic covered Miley's body with his own. The shaking seemed to continue forever, heavier and more forceful than the last few. Lilly hardly registered the body covering her own, because the hand she held was squeezing hers painfully now. Once the shaking stopped, the shouts finally registered with her and Lilly turned her head to look at the firefighters. They suddenly sounded a lot more frantic and their panic sent her own into resurgence.
When she turned back the paramedics looked a lot more worried, too. Miley's eyes were squeezed shut and she was breathing rapidly now, though her fingers were still squeezing Lilly's tightly.
"We're gonna get you out, hun, but I need you to calm down. Take slow, deep breaths," said Paul to Miley then turned to the firefighters working on the beam, "Come on guys, we need to get her out."
The earth shook again, though this time only for a few seconds. More debris rained down and a groaning sounded from the support beams still holding up the roof. The firefighters began shouting again.
"Everyone out now! This place is completely unstable."
Some of the firefighters immediately made it back to the hole and Lilly watched in terror as Paul grabbed his bag, as well. "You can't leave her!"
"They're gonna get her out; my partner will stay, but I need you to come with me."
Lilly shook her head vehemently, "No, I'm not leaving her."
"Look, they can't concentrate on her if they have to worry about you, too. You need to come with me."
"We will forcefully have to remove you if you don't go now," said Rick the firefighter from her side and the urgency in his voice made her stop.
Lilly clenched her jaw, because she didn't want them to see her crying and leaned forward to kiss Miley's dusty forehead lightly. Miley was still breathing rapidly, but the look in her eyes told Lilly it was okay. With one last squeeze of her hand Lilly let go and Paul and a firefighter carried her towards the hole and out to freedom.
xxx
Lilly hadn't realized how dusty and stuffy the air had been down in their prison until the fresh morning air hit her face. She inhaled deeply, but just that simple act sent renewed tears pricking the back of her eyes. She was surprised to see the destruction wasn't as widespread as she had assumed. Some buildings appeared damaged, as well as parts of the roads, but the parking garage seemed to have taken the brunt of it. Paul and the firefighter carried her straight to a waiting ambulance and sat her on the stretcher. They moved as if to close the doors and Lilly stopped them.
"Whoa, we can't leave!"
Another paramedic gave her an odd look, but Paul waved him off, "We can wait for your wife, if you want. How's your ankle?"
"I'm fine," said Lilly, trying not to focus on the sudden throbbing she felt in her ankle after being reminded of it. "Do you think I could borrow someone's phone? I should…call my father-in-law."
Paul looked at her from where he sat on the bench beside the stretcher and then handed her his cell phone. Lilly thanked him and punched in the number with shaking fingers. Part of her was hoping the cell towers were still overtaxed and the call wouldn't go through, but she knew how much Miley loved her father and would want him to be there at the hospital. The call went through easily to her surprise and the tight ball of anxiety in her only grew. Maybe he wasn't home, she hoped. Miley's father picked up on the second ring, his voice anxious and harried as if he knew something horrible had happened to his daughter.
"Hello?"
Lilly had to swallow the lump in her throat and overcome her sudden panic to even be able to form a half coherent sentence, "Mr. S…it's…it's Lilly."
Lilly and Miley had been best friends since middle school and throughout the entirety of their friendship and later their romantic relationship in High School, Lilly had called him Mr. S – familiar, yet still respectful. Lilly's own father, though not a deadbeat, had not always been around enough and when Mr. Stewart had almost tearfully instructed Lilly to call him 'Dad' on their wedding day, it had meant more to her than she could have expressed. Of course, now, she had ruined that, too and though she had hardly seen or spoken to Mr. Stewart in the past few months of her and Miley's downward spiral, she knew he was mad at her. What father wouldn't be? Lilly understood, but she no longer felt right calling him 'Dad'.
"Lilly! Are you alright? Where is Miley?" His unexpected concern for her finally made the tears spill over and choked back a sob.
"I am, but…Miley…she's…it's bad."
He seemed to take a second to compose himself, as if realizing by her quivering voice he needed to be calm. "Lilly, what happened?"
"We were trapped…I…they're still…trying to get her out."
Lilly could hear movement in the background, as if he were already moving out the door. "Do you know which hospital you're going to?"
"What hospital? I…" Lilly could hardly think straight with the anxiety, panic and immense fatigue she was feeling. Someone touched her shoulder and she turned to look at Paul, who gave her the answer.
Lilly sighed, "UCLA."
"I will try my best to meet you there," said Mr. Stewart and Lilly could hear him already getting into his car. "You take care of my little girl, Lilly Truscott."
"I will." Lilly's voice was a mere whisper as she hung up and handed the phone back to Paul.
Lilly only briefly glanced up as she heard the helicopter. Her whole life was in a state of disarray, though she knew part of it was certainly her own fault. She just wanted Miley, alive and healthy, so she could beg on her knees for forgiveness. Blinking the inevitable tears away Lilly made a pact with whoever would listen if Miley survived she would be the best damn wife anyone had ever seen.
Paul's radio crackled to life and Lilly turned, hopeful, "Medic 371, this is LifeFlight, we're at the middle school. What's your status?"
"We're still waiting. Please standby," said Paul into the radio, noticing Lilly's concerned look.
"What's going on?"
"Lilly, we'll have to take Miley to UCLA by helicopter."
Lilly's eyes filled with tears again. She couldn't remember ever crying this much in her life. "She's gonna die, isn't she?"
Paul put a comforting hand on her shoulder, his face calm, "We're gonna do our best to make sure that doesn't happen. UCLA is a long way by ambulance and we'd rather not risk it, especially with the road damage."
"Can I…can I go with her?" asked Lilly, wondering briefly if Miley would even want her to. Regardless, Lilly would overrule her and force her way along.
Paul nodded and Lilly felt relieved that at least she wouldn't have to assault anyone to let her stay with her wife. The tight ball of anxiety in her stomach, however, had not loosened one bit and it was only growing larger with each passing minute. What could possibly take so long to pull someone as small as Miley out from under some rubble? Her eyes were transfixed on the broken parking structure, every part of her begging silently to see them carrying Miley out. The ground began shaking again and overwhelming panic seized Lilly's heart.
The firefighters mingling about began shouting again, but everyone's eyes were transfixed on the parking garage as it trembled and shook from the aftershock. It had only collapsed entirely on the left side, likely saving Lilly's and Miley's life, but the renewed shaking sent first the top pillars crumbling, before the entire right side of the structure crumbled. Lilly's scream stuck in her throat and she jumped up, forgetting all about her ankle until the searing pain shot through her. She shifted her weight, unwilling to sit while her heart was shattering. A sob tore through her and the tears spilled over, running down her dusty cheeks. Her life was over; there was nothing but a gaping, black hole in her chest that she could never hope to fix. Miley was her everything and Lilly knew it was all her fault. If she hadn't been such a horrible wife, they never would've been at this garage in the first place. Miley wouldn't be…Lilly couldn't even finish the thought. Another sob shook her body and she thought she might just pass out and never wake up. The firefighters were frantically yelling and running to the collapsed structure, but she paid them little mind.
She didn't see them at first, not until Paul grabbed her arm to get her to focus. A sudden dizziness swept over her as the firefighters struggled to pull a backboard up past the rubble. Paul gently, but forcefully, pushed her to sit on the bench beside the stretcher, making space. Once they had cleared the treacherous terrain, the firefighters, Caleb in tow, were rushing towards the ambulance with the backboard. They set it on top of the stretcher once they reached the ambulance, slammed the doors shut and they were moving all in such rapid succession, Lilly hardly knew what was going on. It wasn't until she saw the hand reaching for hers that she focused.
Lilly slid over slightly and took Miley's hand, a rush of emotions passing through her at the contact. She still couldn't stop the tears, but tried to control her sobs for Miley's sake. Miley was covered in even more dirt than Lilly remembered and they'd covered her legs so she couldn't tell how bad it was. Paul had put an oxygen mask on Miley's face, but she was awake, if looking a bit out of it. Lilly, as if suddenly realizing where they were, looked at Paul.
"Why are we in an ambulance? What happened to the helicopter?"
Despite what was going on, he still seemed calm and collected as he checked Miley's vitals and hung another bag on her IV, "They had to land at the middle school, we're going there right now."
Lilly turned her attention back to Miley, who was watching her intently. Her lips were moving, but Lilly had to lean closer to hear her wife over the sirens. "You…did this on purpose."
"Did what?" asked Lilly frowning.
"Earthquake…to get out of marriage counseling," said Miley, a weak grin on her face. Lilly blinked more tears away, but smiled.
"If I'd only known it'd be that easy, I would've done it a long time ago." Miley's gaze moved to their joined hands, where, despite the dirt, her silver wedding band and engagement ring stood out starkly.
Lilly swallowed hard as she followed Miley's gaze and waited for their eyes to meet again, "Miley, I know I was stupid, horrible, the worst wife ever and I hate myself for hurting you when I'd sworn I would always protect you. But I love you, with everything I have. I will spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to you, regardless of what you decide. I just want us to be okay again."
Lilly was crying freely again, but tears pooled in Miley's eyes as well. Miley kept their eyes locked for a long time, before she squeezed Lilly's hand, "I think we'll be okay."
Lilly felt like sobbing again, but this time for different reasons. Miley weakly pulled the mask from her face, eyes still locked on Lilly's. Lilly had known her wife long enough to know what she wanted and leaned over carefully, planting a feather-light kiss on Miley's lips. It was the first honest, real kiss they'd shared in a long time, but as much as Lilly wanted it to continue, she took the oxygen mask from Miley's hand and put it back in place. She leaned closer again.
"And I was totally right about that survival bag," said Lilly with a slight grin. Miley gave her a weak smile, but the painful squeeze she was exercising on Lilly's hand said she wasn't amused. Lilly swiped the tears blurring her vision away and reached out her free hand. She brushed her fingertips lightly across Miley's cheek, all the love and devotion she felt for her wife mixing with the panic and uncertainty of their current situation. Miley's eyes drifted shut, the sirens wailing on in the background.
The End
