Tomorrow Never Dies

Chapter 38 - "What if he doesn't make it?"

I was sat in the waiting room with Michael, Ash and Grace, hoping for good news about the others. They'd been taking into the emergency room an hour ago, and all we'd heard was Calum was going into surgery. We were sat in silence, praying that they'd pull through, not even knowing what was going on. We'd seen the people from the other car - two men - taken into the ER as well but we hadn't heard about them either, not that we really wanted to. They'd put our friends in danger. A moment later, a doctor emerged and came to speak to us.

"Calum is out of theatre, we had to perform a surgery to ensure there were no clots in his bloodstream which could have caused a heart attack or a stroke. He's still under anaesthetic. We still have to X-ray his arm as it's definitely broken, we're just not sure of the scale yet. Luke is still yet to wake up, we think there's been a serious head trauma and he'll be taken for an MRI and CT as soon as possible. Phoebe and Kiri are being treated for shock, but they're both awake and asking for just the girls at the moment." He left us, giving his lab coat a little flick as he spun round, and I sighed deeply.

"I'll go and see them, then," I said, getting up and giving Michael a quick kiss on the forehead before reaching for Grace's hand for support as we walked into the ICU. The girls were in two separate beds but the curtain between the cubicles had been pulled back. The next two cubicles were entirely sealed off, and I assumed they belonged to Calum and Luke. As I saw the girls, I had to fight the urge to burst into tears. Phoebe had blood on her hands and face, presumably Calum's, and both of them had mascara stains down their cheeks. Kiri was still shaking, and I instinctively grabbed her hand as I pulled up a hard plastic chair between them.

"What's happening to Calum?" Phoebe looked at me, panic clouding her eyes.

"He's been in theatre to remove some blood clots, he's still under and he's going to be taken for an X-ray to see how badly his arm is broken," I told her, giving her a small smile. Grace had her hand and I could see Phoebe hanging onto Grace as if she was keeping her stable.

"And Luke?"

"Still hasn't woken up, they're going to MRI and CT him to see if there's any head trauma." She nodded and her head dropped slowly. I squeezed her hand and I saw her mouth turn up slightly in a smile, but it dropped again almost instantly.

"Ladies?" a doctor cleared his throat from the bottom of Kiri's bed. "Both of the boys are awake, you can go and see them if you'd like." Phoebe leapt out of her bed and ran to Calum's side, taking his unbroken hand gently and kissing it, tears rolling down her face. Kiri made her way more slowly to Luke, talking to a doctor before speaking to her boyfriend. Though I couldn't hear what they were saying to each other, it looked as if Kiri was unaware as to whether he remembered her or not. Then, after he spoke, her face lit up and she threw herself onto his chest, sobbing, while he rubbed her back slowly.

Ash and Michael appeared in the doorway to the ICU and made their way over to Grace and I. We'd hung back to let the others have their emotional reunion, and as Michael took my hand, we wandered over to join them. I perched on the end of Calum's bed, since Phoebe was at his head, holding his hand, and the eight of us sat in silence while we waited for the results of Luke's MRI and Calum's X-ray to come back.

***
Luke's head trauma turned out not to be serious, but Kiri was under strict instruction that even after he was discharged she had to watch him to make sure he was still functioning. Calum's arm was broken in three places and he had to be in a cast for three months. His main worry was, of course, how long it would be before he could play bass again, and if he'd get kicked out of the band if he forgot how to play while he was in the cast.

We were all sat, chatting quietly, when I noticed something off about Calum. His mouth seemed to droop slightly in one corner, and his speech was a little slurred.

"Calum, can you hold up your arms for me?" I asked, and he brought them up slightly before letting them fall back onto the bed. I swore as I realised what was going on. "Someone help!" I yelled. "He's having a stroke!" Phoebe looked terrified as the doctors swarmed the bed, pushing more meds into his IV and trying to stabilise him. I took her into my arms as she cried, looking at him in horror, and Grace held me too.

"How did you know he was having a stroke?" Grace asked me quietly, and I laughed a little at the answer I was about to give.

"House, M.D.," I smiled, then shook my head. I shouldn't be smiling as one of my boyfriend's best friends was having a stroke. "They can't have removed all the clots," I said to Phoebe, trying to explain how the stroke had happened. "One cut off blood flow to his brain." She nodded, hiding her face in my chest as the doctors agreed to take him back into surgery.

"What if he doesn't make it?" her voice was small, terrified.

"He will, I promise." But I wasn't sure.

*****
Again, short but dramatic
Sorry that ive not been updating recently, i only have 7 exams left then ill try to update as often as i can

Song of the chapter: blood like gasoline by against the current (one of my fave bands. Chrissy is everything goals and i saw them live when they supported atl)