Doctor POV
I looked nervously at the monitors; her heart beat was getting fainter and fainter. The operating table, a few hours ago pristine and sterile, not bloody; I turned towards the tray the nurses had brought in, the tools were in just about the same condition.
"Come on," I whispered quietly, "nurse, give her a shock, see if we can get that heart beat going strong again."
She looked apprehensive and I didn't blame her. There was too much blood lose, too much damage . . .
After a few seconds, she shrugged and gave it a shot. I had already sewn up the wound, she would probably have those scars forever if she lived through this. I watched as her body jerked up from the electric shock, her lips parted slightly.
She was beautiful, I didn't doubt that. Her blonde hair, though covered with the surgical cap, still shone through slightly. I waited, hoping that she would respond, but when her monitor's showed no signs of change, I signaled for the nurse to try a higher voltage.
I had made a promise, I would do everything in my power to make sure that this woman lived; she didn't deserve to die . . . sure, I had no idea who she was other than the information that the two men had provided the nurses in a hurry, but from what I could figure out, this woman didn't deserve to die. Then again, that was the funny thing about being a doctor; you don't really get to decide who gets to live and who dies, it's almost by pure chance.
Her body jerked up again, the air was so thick with anticipation and hope that you could practically cut it with a knife and serve it on a platter. The nurses and doctors around me all wore expressions of slight hope, some of the rookie nurses had clasped their hands together in a silent prayer.
Finally, after what seemed like a day, the monitor began to hum into a steady rhythm. The sigh of relief was so subtle yet so loud in the otherwise silent room. I smiled behind my mask, maybe I could make a difference after all.
"Get her to the room next to Mr. Anderson's," I whispered hoarsely, the smile still present.
Jai POV
I paced the halls of the hospital right outside of the surgical center, my wind whirling and humming from the lack of sleep and the need to know what happened; the need was so strong that it was like a war was going on in my head.
She'll be fine. She said that we would finish this together. I am not leaving here without her.
A snarky voice in the back of my head replied, When did you start to care this much about a girl, Wilcox? Annie worm her way into your heart?
I quickly shoved that part of me away; in a way, she had really changed me for the better, I learned something from this little op, something I never realized I could learn. I actually needed someone. I was so used to stepping on all of my "friends" to get to where I am today, living in my father's tainted shadow, I had been pushing forward so fast that I hadn't stopped and looked around and realized . . . I was damn lucky.
I had a pretty good job, paid well, not much work in the field unless I specifically requested it . . . maybe this was my way out of that bastard's shadow, just to enjoy what I have now and do my job.
The doors sprung open, causing me to jerk out of my brief realization, the nurse walking out looked exhausted, but there was a smile on her face.
"How is she?" My voice sounded cracked.
"Ms. Walker should be fine once she passes the 24 hour mark. Sir, can I get you a cot or something? You look exhausted."
A refusal was on the tip of my tongue, but I thought about it for a second as the waves of relief crashed over me. I knew she wouldn't just give up, she fought for her life . . . she kept her promise.
"Can you put it in Anderson's room? I need to talk to him anyways. Thank you, so much," I whispered, the war in my head coming to a stand still.
Annie was ok, she wasn't going to die, I realized, and felt exhaustion suddenly begin to take over. But I had a few more things to do before I packed it in.
"Can I see her?"
Hesitation crossed her face, "We just moved her, I don't think it would be such a good idea. You can see her in a few hours."
I was about to protest but suddenly the room began to sway slightly, making me stumble.
"Sir? Have you been checked out yet?"
Her voice was extremely faint, fading in and out.
I half nodded and half shook my head as I collapsed into a chair.
"Sir, let's get you into a room," I felt her arms wrap around my waste and hall me up.
"Auggie's room," I whispered, "bring me to his room."
Light headed, slight nausea and of course, exhaustion, was taking it's toll . . . a little too soon I might add.
To my relief she didn't protest and we began a painfully long walk back to Auggie's room. He's going to get a kick out of seeing you like this, I thought as we entered his room. Thankfully, there was another bed already placed in his room.
"Jai?"
I swallowed and dragged my eyes from the floor up to his face, watching as his eyes darted around.
"Yeah. I'm on your left," I whispered as the nurse let me climb onto the bed myself.
The room began to blur, black spots filtering into my vision, my body sighing contentedly as the mattress cushioned it. I wanted to sleep for a day, a week, hell a month. But I couldn't, not yet.
"Annie?"
"Out of surgery, see her in a few," I whispered, feeling a dull pain in my arm, I turned to see the nurse fixing up an IV.
"Wilcox, you alright?"
Fine, I thought, as the black spots got bigger and bigger and finally, I was dragged under into a dreamless, blissful sleep.
Annie POV
The sounds of monitors humming reached my ears first, the beeping slowly becoming unbearable.
I breathed in deeply, my eyes still closed; the smell of bleach and hospital mixed with a slight tang of desert sand reached my senses. I was in a hospital . . . probably still in Eritrea.
"She'll be waking up soon. Any of her friends up to seeing her?"
A voice I didn't recognize, male, mid thirties probably.
Rustle of papers on a clipboard, scratching of a pen on paper.
"Mr. Wilcox may have a concussion, but Mr. Anderson seems to be perfectly fine."
"Where is he?"
"He's actually waiting outside, has been for a few minutes now."
A sigh, "Send him in."
My heart began to beat wildly and the monitors responded, the sound of footsteps retreating suddenly stopped, and they came back.
"Is she alright?"
"She's fine, I'm guessing she can hear us. Can you hear us, Ms. Walker?"
I nodded, cracking my eyes open. Immediately, bright white light filtered through, making me immediately wish for the darkness again, but forced my eyes all the way open. The faces next to my bedside were blurry, after a few blinks, I saw a nurse and a doctor looking curiously down at me.
"Auggie?"
The nurse nodded, "I'll send him in."
I looked at the doctor as the nurse retreated, "How badly am I banged up, Doc?"
"You're a very lucky woman, Ms. Walker, the first bullet slid cleaning through your side, but the second one was tricky; it managed to get lodged in between two ribs, we cleaned up the splinters but since you stopped breathing for about seven minutes during surgery, I'm not sure you'll make a full recovery until you hit the 24 hour mark."
I swallowed, my throat dry and strained. Everything hurt, I realized that now after waking up a little bit more. There were thick bandages around my torso and I would bet my life that there were at least five bruises going up my body.
I heard a gentle tap of a cane at my door and thought it was just about the sweetest sound in the world. I looked up, my eyes wide with hope as a certain slightly battered brown eyed blind man walked into my room.
"Well, I'll leave you two alone," the doctor stepped out of the room, tossing over his shoulder, "no strenuous activities, Ms. Walker."
I chuckled softly, and watched as Auggie's ears immediately perked up. The heart monitor began to rapidly beat again, speeding up to a Presto.
"Annie?"
"Over here," I called out softly, and watched as he found the chair beside my bed and folded himself into it.
He pulled the chair up closer, sliding his hand up to catch mine. Almost as if on cue, the monitor gave a loud beep, startling us both.
"Did I just make your heart skip a beat, Ms. Walker?" Auggie asked, trying his best to sound playful and care free.
I laughed, "I believe you did, Mr. Anderson."
He gave me a small smile, one I felt like I hadn't seen in a decade.
Then, the mood shifted, things becoming serious once more.
"Annie, I'm sorry," he whispered, barely audible.
I looked up, startled at the quick change in emotion, his voice sounded small, unsure, childlike, almost.
"Why are you sorry?" I asked incredulously.
He looked up, his eyes meeting mine for a brief second before they focused on the wall behind me; how did he do that?
"If I had anticipated something like this happening sooner, maybe you wouldn't be -
I cut him off, "No, Auggie. Don't even go there; no one could've suspected this from happening, it was a freakish thing. It wasn't your fault that what happened . . . happened. You didn't shoot me." I reminded him, my voice hard, leaving no room for argument, but of course, he did.
"Annie, that bullet wasn't meant for you. You weren't even suppose to be here; you were suppose to be home safe," he insisted, giving my hand a squeeze.
"Safe?" I squeaked, he had no idea, "Auggie, when you left me I was far from safe. I was running from op to op, flight to flight, hell car to freaking car. I was a lot of things in those four months, but I was never safe. When you left i-
I stopped myself, feeling tears spring into my eyes. Those last four months were a blur of bullets, screams, and commercial airlines and back ally roads.
"You what, Annie," he prompted, leaning his head closer towards me, making my heart beat wildly.
"I missed you," I choked out.
I lifted my chin up to meet his eyes, a warm brown, and was that a tear I saw?
"I missed you too."
I wanted to laugh at how stable his voice sounded.
"But not enough to call or even email me," I finished for him, turning away slightly. We were back to where we started. Me looking for answers, and him dodging them.
He didn't have a reply for that one. Instead, he leaned away again, at a loss for words. I had finally rendered Augest Anderson speechless. That was a huge accomplishment; only, it didn't feel like one.
"Do you want to know the real reason I left for Eritrea?"
"Parker, right?"
He shook his head slowly.
"The news you got from the doctor?"
"That's part of it. But I'll admit, I probably could've gotten over that in a few days."
"So why did you just pick up and leave for four months? Would you have even come back if I hadn't come to get you?'
As soon as I said those words, I wanted to shove them back in my mouth.
I watched as his train of thought stopped.
"You came back here to get me? I thought you and Jai were here on a op."
I hesitated, cat's out of the bag, damn morphine.
"We were, I jumped on this one because I knew that no matter how slim the chance, there was still a slight chance that I would see you . . . make sure that you were OK, happy . . . and ask if you . . . if you wanted to come back. To Langley."