Chapter 74- Blood of My Blood

Once Charlotte had finished her thank you to the community, the back door of the church opened, and Carson walked in. He made eye contact with Charlotte, but his thoughts were unreadable to her.

She, Allie, and Maise hurried to the back of the room to meet him.

"Carson?" Charlotte could hear her voice quake.

"He's out of surgery," Dr. Shepard answered.

"He's alive?" Allie's hand squeezed Charlotte's.

"Yes, but Charlotte…" Carson's head dipped. "He's lost a lot of blood. Thankfully the bullet somehow missed the main artery that runs through that area of his shoulder, but there was plenty of muscle damage as well as some bone and possibly nerve damage done on top of the blood loss."

"But he's going to be okay?" Maise's voice rose.

"It's too early to tell," Carson was honest. "When I was at my surgical fellowship at John Hopkins, there were a couple doctors doing research on blood transfusions. I was able to help them with a few procedures, and I think doing the procedure could save Nathan's life, but there is still so much unknown."

"Do the procedure, Carson," Charlotte directed. "If you think it would save his life. You have to!"

"It's not that simple, Charlotte. Even if we had a suitable donor, I don't have the equipment here to figure out both Nathan's blood type and the contributors. Without a match…"

"What do you mean a match?" Maise asked.

"Recent discoveries show that there are different types of blood. If you have the same blood type, the transfusion is usually a success. If you don't match, well it doesn't work."

Blood of my blood. Flesh of my flesh.

Charlotte closed her eyes, struggling to understand the words.

Blood of my blood. Flesh of my flesh.

"I'll do it," Charlotte's eyes shot open. "I'll do it. Let me be the donor, Carson."

"No, it's too risky. Even if you did happen to match blood types with Nathan, after everything you've been through, I think it would be too much."

"Carson," Charlotte reached out to touch his forearm. "You are just going to have to trust me on this. It will work. I promise."

"How do you know?"

A satisfied smile came to Charlotte. "I know."

Carson and Charlotte quickly returned to the hospital.

Maise and Allie stayed behind with the others to carry out the prayer vigil.

On the walk, Carson tried to detail what the procedure would be like. They would collect Charlotte's blood into a bottle and with the help of sodium citrate, which would work as an anticoagulant, they could then move her bottle of blood to Nathan and transfuse it into his vein. Hopefully, helping to replace some of the blood he had lost from the gunshot wound.

Faith and Carson worked quickly, disinfecting Charlotte's skin in preparation, and then tying a cloth tightly around her upper arm. Her eyes grew big, when Carson inserted the large needle into her arm and instantly blood flowed through the tubing and into the bottle.

Once the collection was complete, Carson removed the needle and tubing and rushed the blood, her blood, to Nathan.

"Can I see him?" Charlotte asked before Dr. Shepard left the room.

"It's no easy thing you just did here, Charlotte. You are going to feel dizzy and lightheaded. Just lie here for a while. Faith was going to see if she could find something for you to eat. I also want you to drink plenty of fluids. You need to build up your strength again too."

"Carson. Can. I. See. Him?" Charlotte's voice was stern.

Carson took a deep breath, trying to bide his time. "Once I get Nathan's transfusion started and if Faith feels as though you are stable enough, we can talk about it."

Charlotte nodded her head in agreement.

"I'm not making any promises though," Carson finished as he disappeared around the corner.

A little while later Faith returned to the clinic room with a sandwich and a tall glass of water.

"Here you go!" Faith friendly voice exclaimed. "One ham and cheese sandwich and plenty of water. Just as the doctors ordered."

"Thank you, Faith. For everything," Charlotte answered as the woman set the plate and glass on the table beside her.

"You are welcome. It was the least I could do for everything you've been through today. I know it's getting late, and you probably haven't had much sleep, but I have a couple people in the waiting room, who were wondering if they could come check on you. What do you say? Are you feeling up for visitors?"

Charlotte took a moment to glance around the room. While yes, everything Faith just said was true, she remembered her time alone earlier and how her thoughts wrecked her. She needed company right now. She couldn't be alone.

Charlotte nodded her head in agreement and soon enough Faith produced her two visitors at the door. Bill and Gabe walked into the clinic room, rain trailing off their jackets onto the wood floor where their boots were leaving mud tracks.

Faith noticed the mess, but didn't comment, instead she smiled in Charlotte's direction. "I'll give you three some time to talk."

There was an awkward silence. No one seemed to know what to say. Should they talk about Nathan? The search? Beck?

"Thank you," Charlotte mumbled finally. "Thank you both. For searching for me. For finding Nathan and I. For…"

"Charlotte," Bill reached his hand out and gently placed it on her tender shoulder. "Gabe and I are just happy you are safe. And that Nathan is getting the care he needs."

At the mention of Nathan's name, Charlotte's walls broke, and tears burst forth. "It's all my fault, Bill. Nathan could die and it would all be my fault!"

"Hey," Gabe stepped forward. "Nathan is not going to die! I was shot in the shoulder a few years ago during a bank robbery. And look at me. I'm still fine. I'm still here and I didn't have the luxury of a John Hopkins trained surgeon taking care of me."

"Charlotte, your past is just that. Your past," Bill continued. "The main reason Nathan wanted to go after McEntire in the first place, was to make sure he wouldn't continue to be a ghost in your life. Now that he is officially gone, don't keep letting him linger there in the shadows. He's not worth another moment of your time."

Bill was right. Didn't she herself tell Beck that earlier?

Bill's eyes moved from Charlotte to the window, seemingly staring off into some distant time and place. "Plus, I know how much Nathan was looking forward to what a life with you would look like once this was all said and done. Don't think for a moment, Nathan's not going to fight with everything he's got in him, to get a slice of that future he's dreamed of with you."

Tears streamed down Charlotte's face. Hadn't those visions of their future been what kept her from crumbling today with Beck? The family they could have together. It was everything Charlotte had ever wanted. Nathan was still alive. She had to hold out hope that their future was still a possibility.

"Thought I'd bring this to you," Gabe said, holding out Nathan's belongings.

"How's Newton?" Charlotte questioned.

Gabe smirked, "He's a heck of a horse. Rode half this country over the past day and seems to be still holding strong. Don't worry. Bill and I made sure he was taken care of before leaving the livery to come over here. I think he's already missing Nathan."

"I don't know if Nathan's going to be riding any time soon," Carson's voice carried into the room.

"But he will be riding?" Bill asked.

"It's still too early to say, but he doesn't seem to be having any adverse reaction to the transfusion."

"Is he awake?" Charlotte tried not to get her expectations too high.

"No, and I'm not sure when that may happen."

"Can I see him now?" Charlotte begged.

Carson looked to the table where Charlotte's uneaten sandwich still rested and then scowled back at her. "I thought I told you to eat something and drink plenty of fluids to help you recover."

"Why do I have to do that in here? Can't I eat and drink this in Nathan's room?"

Carson took a deep breath and squinted his eyes at Charlotte, "I guess so, but then I want you to get some rest. You're no good for Nathan's recovery, if you get sick yourself. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal," Charlotte beamed a smile at him.

Bill and Gabe helped Charlotte, who as Carson had predicted- was a little lightheaded, to the first-floor patient room with her dinner and Nathan's belongings.

The room felt completely different than it had just the night before when Charlotte had sought out its safety and reclusion. Instead of the empty patient bed, Nathan lay in the center. His mouth slightly open, his damp hair stuck up on one side and a quilt was tucked neatly around him. The bandages on his shoulder matched his pale, lifeless skin.

She shed Bill and Gabe's support and moved to Nathan's side, taking his hand into hers. Charlotte's eyes shifted to the heavy rise and fall of Nathan's chest. It was where he had held her countless times before. She wanted that comfort now. The kind that only came from being in his arms. The kind that only happened when she could feel his solid body under her touch. When she was able to understand exactly what he was feeling by the way his breath caught or his muscles moved or his heart beat.

Gabe shuffled the oversized cushioned chair Carson had brought in from the waiting room to Nathan's bedside.

"Here, sit down in this," Gabe directed.

"Don't forget to eat and drink. That was part of the deal, too," Bill coaxed.

Charlotte nodded her head in agreement, but just the thought of food made her stomach unsettled. Her gaze and attention never left Nathan's.

Bill and Gabe stayed for only a few minutes longer, before excusing themselves to finish up the business surrounding Beck, the kidnapping, and shooting. Charlotte was again left in the silence, but unlike earlier when she was alone upstairs, there was a strange peacefulness about this room.

Through the opening of the curtains, Charlotte could see the outside world. The view of the little, white church across the field casting light through its windows. Illuminating the space around it with a warm glow of faith and hope. The mist from earlier, was now a steady rain. Charlotte focused on the sound each drop made against the windowpane. The gentle patter combined with the crackle of the small fire Carson had built in the wood burning stove, made Charlotte's eyelids grow heavy and she was about to give over to the pull of sleep, when a gentle knock sounded on the door.

"Come in," Charlotte murmured.

The wooden door creaked slowly, producing Maise and Allie in its opening. Charlotte saw the reactions each gave in regard to seeing their normally strong Nathan, dilapidated to his current state. Tears instantly sprang to Allie's eyes at the sight.

"Oh, Allie," Charlotte cooed. "Come here."

Charlotte held open her arms as an invitation for Allie to join her on the oversized chair at Nathan's bedside. Even though Allie was almost the same size as Charlotte now, the girl took the opportunity to sit on Charlotte's lap and be curled into her embrace. Charlotte gently swayed her body back and forth, rocking Allie in her arms as the girl rested her head on Charlotte's shoulder and quietly cried into the curve of her neck.

Maise made her way to the other side of Nathan's bed, holding his hand, she spoke gentle words of encouragement and care.

Charlotte smiled softly to herself thinking of the sight the four of them made in this room. Two mothers, holding desperately on to their children in their time of need, when they were barely holding it together themselves.

It was one of the purest forms of love Charlotte had ever experienced. She knew then that if Nathan... didn't make it. She would always have the love of the Grant family to see her through. She would never be alone with them in her life.

"Ms. Thompson?" Allie's soft voice asked as her sobs began to subside.

"Mmmhmm."

"Will dad be okay?"

Charlotte paused her rocking motion and leaned back slightly to look Allie in the eyes. "I honestly don't know, Allie. He's made it this far and that is a miracle in itself. We have to have faith that he will pull through."

"He promised he would never leave me. What happens if he does? Will I have to go to an orphanage? Will I have to leave Hope Valley?" Allie's bottom lip trembled.

"Oh, sweetheart. No. You're not going anywhere," Charlotte comforted. "No matter what happens. We will always be together. This summer, Bill drew up some paperwork for your dad and I, saying that if anything would happen to him, I would be your legal guardian. I promised I would always be there for you if he couldn't."

"You did?"

"Yes. Becoming your guardian was a promise I made to Nathan, to ease his worries, but I would have done it even if he hadn't asked."

"Why?"

Charlotte reached down to Allie's hand to touch the Claddagh ring on her finger. "Because you're my daughter. I'm so thankful to Colleen for bringing you into this world and raising you. I know I can never replace your mom, Allie, because no one ever could. But the love I feel for you, it doesn't know the constraints of being related only by blood."

"What happens though, if you end up marrying someone else and starting a family of your own with him? Would you still want me?"

"Of course, I'd still want you," Charlotte pulled Allie into a tight hug.

"You say that now, but I've seen how Mrs. Bouchard's relationship with Little Jack changed when she got remarried."

"Allie, I'm not Elizabeth. I told your dad this, and I will tell you it as well. I couldn't imagine feeling the way I feel about Nathan with anyone else. And I don't want to. There will only ever be him for me. I mean that with every ounce of my being. Don't worry about all the what-ifs, okay? Know the what-is. What-is and will always be, is my everlasting love for you and this family."