Sweet Summer Sunsets- A Robert Irwin FanFic

Robert

On the way to the hospital, I called mum who was in a meeting, thankfully just with Wes, Bindi, Chandler, Laurie, and Dr Sam. She put me on speaker, where I explained the whole situation to them. They said they would all, except Dr Sam, meet us at the hospital. I looked at Ashley laying on the gurney, they had tossed the surfboard with the rest of her stuff since I was there to identify it as hers and I told them I would come back to get it. A tear slipped from my eye and down my face. She has to be okay, I don't know what I would do without her.

We finally got there, and Ashley was immediately taken back to be given some blood and to be stitched up. I sat in the waiting room, bouncing my leg out of nervousness. Her mum, mine, Bindi, Chandler, Wes, and baby Grace were all waiting with me. Mum had her hand on my shoulder but it did nothing to calm me. I'm so glad I was there and saw what happened. And where had Jackson gone? Obviously, they argued about something and she wanted to not be around him for a minute, and he just left. If I hadn't been there, who knows what would've happened. 

"Ashley's family?" A doctor called as he walked into the waiting area. 

"That would be us," Laurie replied, motioning to our little group of people. 

"Well, she is stable now and should be waking up soon. She had 37 stitches in her leg and will need to change the gauze twice a day, as well as wear a boot for a while. Unfortunately, she will need to stay overnight at least to keep an eye on her stitches and make sure she gets enough blood and fluids," He explained. You could feel the tension lift off of everyone's shoulders. 

"You guys can go back and see her now if you'd like, she's in room 24," he said. We all gathered our things, got up and quickly made our way down the hall to her room. 

Ashley laid in a hospital bed, her left leg elevated on some pillows, and an IV hooked into her arm. She wasn't quite awake yet, but we dragged the chairs closer to her bed, and Bindi, mum, and Laurie took the chairs while the rest of us stood. My heart broke to see her like this, and maybe if I had told her how I felt about her she wouldn't have gone out with Jackson and wouldn't be here in this hospital bed right now. 

"Hey sweetheart, we're all here okay?" Her mum said, pushing some hair out of her face. I stood on her left side with Wes and Chandler, while the girls were on the other side of her. 

Ashley's eyelids flickered and she opened her eyes. 

"What happened?" She asked, looking around at everyone. 

"You got a nasty bite from a shark," Bindi explained. 

"I was at the beach too and I saw you get pulled under and I paddled towards you on my surfboard. The lifeguard had already called the paramedics by the time I got you to shore. I road with you in the ambulance and told everyone what happened on the way," I explained. 

"What were you doing at the beach?" She asked. 

"Well...I knew you were going there with Jackson and I just had the feeling that I should come too just in case anything happened," I said, my face burning from the embarrassment of having to come clean with my plan. 

"Wait, where's Jackson?" She asked, looking around the room to try and find him. 

"I have no idea. I saw you guys arguing and he went back to shore and left." 

I could see the disappointment in her eyes. She turned and looked at my mum. 

"Oh you guys didn't have to leave the zoo, the animals need you. I need human doctors," She said, laughing slightly. 

"Oh, don't be ridiculous, we had to! You're like family!" Bindi said, rubbing Ashley's uninjured leg. 

We sat and kept Ashley company for a bit, Wes left first, then Bindi, Chandler, and my mum. I didn't feel okay about leaving Ashley's side.