Part 16
Nurses and doctors surrounded Chelsea working to assess her injuries while Kevin stood off to the side as he’d been instructed. He wanted to go to her but he had to wait for Dr. Morgan’s ‘okay’. Instead, he stood listening to what was being said, the extent of her injuries.
At the same time, Dr. Morgan was determining Chelsea’s capability of making a competent decision. "Can you tell me your name?"
"Chelsea Whitlock. Where is my daughter?"
"Do you know where you are and how you got here?"
"What I want to know is where my daughter is," demanded Chelsea.
Kevin could tell she was beginning to get agitated and he made a step towards her but was stopped by Dr. Morgan’s glance.
"You need to answer my questions first, Chelsea."
Struggling against everyone and everything holding her, Chelsea began to cry, "Damnit! I want to know where my daughter is and where my best friend is."
The nurses worked quickly to restrain Chelsea and Kevin saw the doctor getting ready to give her an injection.
"NO! Don’t give her that," insisted Kevin making his presence known to her.
"Kevin?" called Chelsea as she struggled more to get to him.
Dr. Morgan stepped away to allow Kevin to get beside her. Taking her hand, he said, "Baby, you need to settle down so Dr. Morgan can be sure there’s no damage to that beautiful head of yours."
"Annie…where is she? Is she okay?"
Reassuringly, Kevin said, "She’s fine, Chels, just a few bumps and bruises. Thanks to you, she’s perfectly okay. You saved her life strapping her in the booster seat."
"She’s my life, Kevin. I’d do anything to protect her," whispered Chelsea as her tears began to fall.
Wiping her cheeks with his thumb, Kevin said, "I know you would but you don’t have to do it all now. I’m here and I’m going to protect her too."
"Kevin, I need to know about Monique. She wouldn’t talk to me. I kept trying to reach for her hand but I couldn’t reach her. Please, Kevin….I need to know if she’s okay," she begged as she clutched his hand, tears still streaming.
Kevin knew that telling Chelsea the truth right now about Monique wouldn’t do her any good so he said, "I don’t know what’s going on with Monique, baby. As soon as I’m sure you’re okay, I’ll find out."
"Promise me, Kevin…promise me you’ll make sure Monique is okay and take care of Annie."
"I promise. Now, Dr. Morgan has some more questions he needs to ask you."
The last thing Chelsea wanted was to answer questions. Kevin being there meant AJ was most likely somewhere close by and she started searching for him. "Where’s Alex? I need to tell him that…."
"Chelsea, stop for a minute. Dr. Morgan has GOT to ask you these questions."
"Why?"
"He needs to be sure you can make a competent decision."
"Why? What’s wrong with Annie? You told me she was fine."
"Shhh…..I didn’t lie to you. She IS fine. The only way AJ can come back here is if you are clear enough to tell Dr. Morgan that you want him…and not your parents."
"My parents? Why would they come back here?"
"Chels, your parents were called…by the state troopers. Howie said its standard procedure to call the next of kin in an accident like this. You were unconscious at the scene."
"I do NOT want my parents anywhere NEAR me," stated Chelsea firmly.
"Then answer the questions," insisted Kevin with a smile.
Dr. Morgan put his hand on Kevin’s shoulder, "Go on and get your friend while I finish examining her."
Kevin leaned to her and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead. Against her skin, he whispered, "I saw a shooting star on the way over here. Close your eyes and make a wish, baby."
Doing as Kevin instructed, she closed her eyes and whispered, "I wish Alex were here."
Kevin looked at the doctor, "I’ll be right back."
Kevin once more rushed out to where the guys were waiting to find AJ. "She’s asking for you."
"How is she?"
"Scared, worried about Annie, and she’s asking about Monique. Injuries…they haven’t said exactly what’s wrong but I did hear them mention surgery."
"What did you tell her about Monique?"
"Nothing yet. She was already upset enough but its only a matter of time before she’s going to realize I’m holding back. I’ll tell her myself, if you don’t want to."
"I’ll tell her. I’ll let you guys know how she’s doing as soon as I can," answered AJ solemnly. "Kevin, I know you still have feelings for her but thanks for what you’re doing for us."
"It’s over between us, Alex, and yeah, I do still have feelings for her but I’m not going to stand in the way of her happiness. She didn’t do it to me and I’m not going to do it to her. All I ask is that you treat her right."
"I have every intention of treating her right."
AJ started down the hall but Kevin stopped him. "When you get to her, she’s gonna have her eyes closed but she’s not asleep. Just give her a kiss and tell her she can open her eyes."
"What’s up with that?"
"She’ll explain later. Go on, she’s waiting for you."
Alex made his way down the hall. The closer he got, the faster his heart beat and his hands began to shake. Somehow, in the short time he’d spent with her, she had managed to steal his heart. He’d never fallen for someone this fast but there was something about her that was different….special.
Reaching the trauma room, he was met by Dr. Morgan and taken to a seat beside her. Looking at her, he smiled as he realized Kevin was right, her eyes were shut. He leaned over and gave her a tender kiss on the lips, then whispered, "You can open your eyes now, beautiful."
Her eyes fluttered open and when she could focus, a tear escaped down her cheek. "Alex! You’re here?"
"Of course, I am. You called me and I can’t resist when a beautiful woman tells me she needs my help," answered AJ as he wiped her tears. "Now, stop all these tears and focus on me."
"I hurt, Alex, really bad….my stomach and my legs."
AJ looked up at a nurse who whispered, "She’s been given pain medicine."
"I know, beautiful, but it’ll stop soon. They’ve already given you something for it. It’s just going to take time to work."
Another nurse put her hand on AJ’s shoulder. "Sir, we need to take her to surgery."
"Surgery? Why?"
"The force of the impact threw her forward and because she had her seatbelt on, it ruptured her spleen. The doctors are going to remove it."
"What about her legs?"
"The doctors will talk to you after surgery about all of her injuries but she’s an extremely lucky lady. Her seat belt saved her life."
AJ looked back down at Chelsea and caressed her cheek with his hand using his thumb to wipe her tears away. "Chels, I’ve got to go for now but we’ll all be waiting for you when you get to your own room."
"Promise?"
"Cross my heart."
She whispered, "I’m so sorry, Alex…I ruined our evening together."
"This was NOT your fault, beautiful. Just let the doctors get you well and we’ll have plenty of time together."
The medicine was beginning to take effect on her; her eyes were growing heavy and her speech was slurred. "Alex," she managed to get out.
Touching his lips to hers, he whispered, "Shhh, I’ll be here when you wake up."
Alex stood up and watched as she was wheeled out. The road ahead was going to be tough and not knowing the full extent of her injuries was bothering AJ. Were they life threatening? And what was Monique’s death going to do to her? She was going to need someone to lean on and he hoped it would be him she needed.
