With Arms Wide Open
"Call it." Dr. David Hugins said, pulling off his face mask and throwing it on the floor. "What do you mean call it? We revived her once, we can do it again!" said a frantic Dr. Julie Welty, who still pumped the chest of the limp body on the Emergency room table. David calmly pulled her hands away and gave them a gentle squeeze. "There's nothing we can do for her now Julie, we've tried." Julie's clear blue eyes looked into his, then to the waiting room where the girls family was. "But...but we can't just tell them that she's dead, we have to keep trying." Even as she said this the nurses had pulled the white sheet stained with blood over the body and tyed a tag to the big toe. "Do you want me to do it?" David asked, knowing to well how the first time you lose a life feels, and this was Julie's first. She nodded, pulling off her mask and setting it aside. "Please, I can't do it." He nodded and removed the bloody gloves off his hands, leaving to the waiting room. Julie sighed heavily, sitting down and staring at the body. "I'm sorry." She looked at the name on the tag, "I'm sorry Carrie."
"We did everything we could Mr. and Mrs. Suthers, but her body just gave out." David bit his lip as the elderly couple cried in an embrace. "What about Justin?" Mr. Suthers asked shakley. "The child is fine, all but a broken leg, but he came threw the crash well. They're setting him in a cast now, you should be able to see him in about thirty minutes." He paused and looked towards the deputy standing at the doorway. "Deputy Black will be handling this case, he'll be needing to get some information from you about Carrie. We have the man who hit your niece, you can charge Vechicular Manslaughter if you wish. Also, we need to get in touch with the boys father." Mrs. Suthers sunk into the plush sofa, tears still spilling from her eyes. Mr. Suthers finally calmed himself, though his vision stilled blurred with tears. "Yes, we wish to press charges. As for Justin's father, we'll contact him immediantly."
Vince McMachon watched as Matt Hardy came into his office. "Please, take a seat." "Thank you sir." Matt said and sat down, wondering why his and Jeff's match with Edge and Christian had been cancelled. Vince sighed heavily and removed his glasses. "I recieved a call from a Mr. Suthers at from Mecklenburg County Hospital, he said that he needs to speak to you right away." Matt's heart started to race as fear filled every inch of his body. "Wha...what did he need to talk to me about?" "He didn't say, I have a number for you to call immediantly though." Vince said and handed him a piece of paper and slid him the phone. "I'll leave you alone." he added and left the room. Matt's hands trembled as he dailed the number, waiting for an answer. "Mecklenburg County Hospital, how may I help you?" said a female voice. "I received a message from a Mr. Don Suthers, is he there?" "Yes, he's been waiting for your call, I'll put him on the line right away." Matt's stomached ached as he waited, then, Don came on the line. "Matt?" "Yeah." "There's um, there's been an accident." The world stopped for Matt Hardy, he could hardly breath. "What?" he managed to choke out. He heard Don's attempted to keep from crying, but it helped little. "Carrie and Justin...they were hit by a drunk, Carrie is dead..." His hands dropped the phone as the words Carrie is dead hit him like a kick in the stomach. "Matt? Matt you there?" Don's desperate voice said over the phone. "No, she can't be dead. This isn't real, this isn't happening. Oh my God, what about Justin, is he dead too?" The thought of his son made Matt grab the phone quickly. "Justin..." he said softly and Don sighed. "He's fine Matt, has a broken leg, but is fine. Matt, he needs you here, we all do, please come." Matt nodded. "I'll be there tomorrow morning." "Thank you." Don said as the phone went dead. Matt hung up the reciever and sat there for a little while, not moving. Vince came back in and put his hand on Matt's shoulder. "If you need some time off, I'll let you and Jeff have a leave until everything is ok." Matt nodded. Dear God, how was he going to break this to Jeff?
The plane ride had been mainly in silence all except Jeff's spontanious outburst of tears. The woman they both loved was dead and they would never again see her smile or hear her voice. They hailed a taxi and went straight to Mecklenburg County Hospital, glad to see Don and Clare Suthers waiting for them. They all embraced, Clare and Jeff cried. Don explained to Matt about the accident. How Carrie was bringing Justin home from the sitter when the drunk driver T-boned them from her side. "They said she took most of the force of the hit, they said it had saved Justin's life." Don said softly while Matt nodded slowly. "Can we see Justin?" Jeff asked, standing next to Matt. "Sure, he's um, he's in room 132, down the hall." The brothers nodded and went that way.
Julie sat the book aside and smiled softly at the little child who had finally fallen asleep. She pulled the sheets up and tucked them in, making sure though not to wake him. Justin Suthers was his name, the son of the woman she couldn't save. A tear started to welm in her eye but she forced it back. With a sigh, she put her hand on his forehead, smoothing his hair back. "I'm sorry, because of me you don't have a mother." Of course David had told her a million times that these things happen, that people die all the time. But the woman wasn't that much younger then Julie and to have so much ahead of ones life...and a family, God what she would have done to have a family. She checked her chart, of course Justin wasn't on it, but for some reason Julie felt obligated to him, until he was better and could walk. They said he would have to have therapy, well, Julie would be there for him. She started for the door, looking over her chart as she did, not noticing the two men coming in until her face smacked into one of them. Hands grabbed her arms to keep her from falling over in shock. She looked up and seen the most intense pair of green eyes ever and a handsome face to go with it. "Oops, sorry." the soft Southern accent said and helped her to steady herself. "Pardon me." she said quickly and rushed past him.
Matt looked at Jeff and shrugged. "He's asleep." "Yeah, maybe we should come back later." Both nodded and turned to leave, but Matt stopped. He walked to the bed side and slid his hand over Justin's face, then lent and kissed his forhead. "Love you buddy."
Julie slid out of her white coat and hung it in her locker. She changed her clothes and locked her locker, then walked to the main hall. Her shift was over for the next nine hours, enough time to get some sleep and maybe abite to eat at Burger King. She bumpedinto David in the hall who gently smiled at her. "Ready for that power nap?" "God yes!" she laughed. "And hows my buddy?" "Oh he's much better now, his father came in today." Julie's smile faded. Was that man who she had ran into, literally, Justin's father? Husband of the girl she couldn't save, the mother of his child? "Figures I'd run into a total hunk who is married." she thought, then sighed. "Or was." "Well I need to get back on my shift, see you in nine hours." She nodded and waved, leaving the hospital for her car. On the way to her apartment she thought about the man she had seen and her tummy flipped. "Oh great, I'm gaga over a complete stranger who...who probably hates me for not saving his wife." She sighed.
TBC
