Forrest was now looking at his attacker who was in a ski mask. And he was pinning down Forrest with all his body weight. It has proven harder than he thought to subdue his attacker. "Reva are you alright?" Forrest asked trying to put the blade away from his body.
"Just a small scratch, I will live" He can tell she was lying. "Alright, hold on for a few minutes baby, I will be just done in few minutes" He assured her. "Alright, no rush takes your time playing dartboard with human targets."
Even in this dangerous life-threatening situation, she is joking. And he just knows now how brave she is. His beautiful brave girl. He managed to knock the knife out of his attackers' hand render him unconscious. He stood up quickly looking at Reva. She was bleeding from her calf and that was too much blood. "You have more than a scratch Honey" She smiled at him. "Nonsense, I am not going to leave you this easily silly, you are my fiancé remember?"
Then suddenly she pulled him away and received another deadly blow on her abdomen. "Reva" Forrest shouted. And the attacker heard the sirens. He ran leaving a very injured Reva who was now bleeding so much more than he can take.
"Foolish girl. Why you did that?" He asked. "Sorry, My Prince our journey might cut shorter than I intend to. I am sorry." He looked at her kissing her forehead and picked her up running down the stairs again towards his car.
Luckily a policeman spotted him. "My fiancée was attacked, and in need of immediate medical attention, can you please help me, please officer," Forrest begged. "Ok, I will drive you to the hospital." As the officer drove them to the hospital, Forrest tried his best to keep her from bleeding out.
His t-shirt was getting soaked in her blood. He was failing to protect her. "Baby, don't close your eyes. Please, don't close your eyes, we are close to the hospital." He saw the Woodlands close in.
And even before the car came to halt fully, he ran inside with her. Not caring about the officer shouting at him. "Get me the OT prepped stat" He shouted. Everyone stopped at his disheveled appearance. And his blood-soaked clothes.
Everyone turned silent, rooted at the place looking at their beloved Heart specialist with his own heart in turmoil. "Move it, she is losing blood." The staff moved finally and he put her on to a stature. The doctors rushed in. And begin prepping her, for the surgery.
She looked at Forrest who was holding her hand. "Forrest..." "Don't talk I know you are in pain little birdie. I am going to save you." She smiled at him "even if you cannot... I won't blame you. I just wanted to say that I... I love..." her eyes closed.
"Reva, Reva honey wake up. Wake up." He looked at the heart monitor. "She is convulsing her body is going into shock," The doctor said. "Quick stabilize her and prep her for surgery. I am going to do it myself" Forrest said.
Everyone looked at him surprised. "Doctor Lyte you cannot operate in these conditions, you are too much vulnerable and can commit a mistake easily. I think you should keep out of this one." One of them said.
"So, you suggest that in absence of Christopher and Pia I let you operate on my fiancée? And leave it to you, armatures? It is a high-risk surgery how many have you performed such high-risk surgery? How many of you have any experience regarding such conditions. You are still an intern, that means gaining experience." They turned silent again.
"Prep her now, without wasting my time more than this and I may let you assist me." With that said he left for his own cabin.
He cannot believe how one of them can even think about trying to operate on her. Telling him to stay out of it, like he can do that. No one is responsible for this but him. No one but him, he should have been there. He should have. He failed her again. He failed her once more.
Someone placed his hand over Forrest's shoulder. He looked up to see Valentino, Christopher's brother. "You need to stay out of this Forrest and trust me. You are way too emotional to continue and if you cannot make yourself come to terms with the situation you cannot operate on her without thinking every second of it. Let me and my team handle this, we have been through many high-risk operations. Go and change and let us save her." Forrest about to protest again knowing there was a secret she had entrusted him and only him with, he cannot just give it away but he has to.
"She has a heart condition and has a pacemaker inside her. Please let me be inside, please." Forrest begged. Valentino thought about it hard. "Alright fifteen minutes, get yourself together and meet me in the OT, if you are not there, we are beginning without you," Valentino said and Forrest ran towards his cabin.
He needed to save her, if not he may never ever forgive himself. The second time is the second time he had been in such a situation and this time he wants to make it different. She is going to live if he has to cut his own heart out and give it to her, her will.
"Prepped and ready Sir" Valentino looked at the time fifteen minutes were over, he cannot wait for more, it might be fatal for Reva. He nodded and walked towards the OT. He cannot wait anymore for Forrest and he knows it. "Let's begin..." "Wait I am here, prepped and ready," Forrest said looking at them. "Alright let's begin"
Forrest looked at her deep wounds and cleaned them for any metal pieces, then be inspected for any other internal damage. But thankfully there were none. "she has no internal organ damage. The blade didn't damage any vital organs so there is no internal bleeding." Valentino confirmed his findings and then they look her calf there was some artery damage.
"We need to repair the damage but there is a chance that she can lose the mobility temporarily" They are looking at Forrest to make the decision. "Nothing is more important than saving her life. We need more blood stat" Forrest said to the nurse assisting them.
Then they both begin the process of repairing her damaged Artery. She has gone into shock again, her body begins to convulse and her heart begins to give up and Forrest rushed for the injection he had prepped for this.
"You are not dying on me baby; I am not letting you go," He said pressing it directly inside her heart muscles to jump-start it. They got a stable heart rhythm, it worked. Valentino and Forrest both looked at each other in satisfaction. But no one said a word to each other the feeling was mutual they both are relieved.
Forrest put the final dressing in place, the operation was over. But she was not out of danger yet. She needs to be in forty- eight hours of observation. Without that, they cannot say if everything was going alright with her. Forrest can do nothing but pray. As he sat into his cabin and wait to forget everything about his friends coming back.
His mind was only on one person, her. Reva, he kept thinking about last night, how she held him to sleep, how peaceful he felt having her close to him, but now he sits here with uncertainty, thinking whether he can ever see her again, hold her in his arms. There is nothing more that he wants to have than to power to hold her to his arms again.
"Fiancée Huh? How I never saw that coming?" Forrest looked at Valentino who had come to his aid at the exact moment that he needed a miracle. "Before you are a dumb playboy who is not serious about anything," Forrest said. "Are you sure I am not? I was pretty serious about saving her back there Mr. Lyte and besides, I have a reputation to keep up. Girls love playboys." Forrest chuckled.
"Mine doesn't, she loves stable once who can understand her heart, and then she stumbled upon me." Valentino smiled "She has a crush on you since she heard about you, she didn't even know how you looked, but the name of the heart specialist had done it for her. She was just a goner in one mention of that name. She is a romantic at heart" This time Forrest laughed at the irony of the situation "Yes, a romantic at heart with such a weak heart that given up on her when she tried to save the one she loves"
Forrest realized that was what she was trying to say. She loved him. How could he let her die hearing that? It was a privilege in his life to have someone who can love him. "Let me ask you a question real quick Dr. Forrest Arthur Lyte, if she is your fiancée why you haven't gotten her a ring?" he thought so too.
"I am going to when she gets out of here." His eyes landed on the watch. Then he realized he was supposed to pick up Christopher and Pia from the airport and doing all this he had forgotten it all. But it was not what was bothering him.
If Christopher knew about this and he already landed why didn't he came to his rescue? Why send Valentino instead? Where was he? It is late. He can never ever abandon him on purpose, they were not just friends they were brothers. And she is someone whom he considered to be a sister.
There is no way he cannot be here. Something must have been very wrong for him to act this way. Now it had become very concerning to Forrest as to why he was acting as he was. He was concerned about Christopher so, he decided to call him.
"Whom you are calling now?" Valentino asked. "Your brother, I am calling him. He was supposed to be the one I was going to pick up before everything that had happened to Reva. It was mine and Reva's schedule for today." Forrest told Valentino.
"He called me, he was still an hour or so away from the airport. He told me you needed help with Reva. So, I came here in haste." Valentino informed him. "Afterwards I haven't gotten time to call him. But it is quite unusual for him not to come to the hospital after hearing about Reva" Exactly what Forrest was thinking.
And then he called Christopher's number. It went on to the voice mail. One thing he knew about Christopher that he never puts his phone on voice mail never ever. He never switches off his phone because he knew how much emergency it can be. Even when he has gone to hiding, he didn't switch off his phone. They remained in contact. A sinking feeling was beginning to take its place inside him. He fears something was wrong with his friend.
And then his eyes landed on Valentino, his eyes tell the same tale. He was also afraid for his brother. "I cannot find him; he has nothing on radar or GPS. This never had happened before. Never Forrest, that I failed to track his whereabouts, not until he was wearing his watch. Now it is too silent. Where is he, Forrest? Where is my brother?" Valentino asked.
"I have no idea I cannot call him either. Even his SAT phone is unreachable." Forrest said slumping onto his place. He cannot believe he is about to lose his best friend, who had always had his back.
"If he is MIA, there must be some reason behind it isn't it?" Forrest said more to himself trying to think of different scenarios as to why he was not there with him. Trying to assure himself and Valentino about the same.
He is alright Forrest, no need to raise the alarms yet, Forrest repeated it in his mind.
Valentino's phone rang and he picked it up. "Woodland, the hotter one" He joked as he always. "Yes, we do have television Miss D'Silva. And yes, we can turn it on. Channel Seven you say?" He talked to her some more. But the sinking feeling only grew into Forrest's stomach. He knew if Mia was calling them when they were en route to the airport after they heard about Reva, there must be something very wrong to distract them from their path. Very, very wrong.
"Put on the news," Valentino said. Forrest's hand shook as he picked up the remote to turn on the television. He was so afraid of what might have happened that Valentino sounded so serious, so urgent. He never did sound that way ever and it only made him so afraid of finding out what was on the news. "For the love of God Forrest would you turn on the freaking television?" Valentino said in frustration.
And he took the remote from Forrest and turned on the television. They saw the reporter was talking about a plane crash and its emergency landing over the Hudson River. "Some plane crashes? Was this Miss D'Silva was concerned about? I don't see how this could be concerning to any of us." Valentino said. "We should be out there looking for my brother and his family. They could be in danger, could be lost or worse, they could be in..."
"plane crash?" Forrest asked. "No, of course not, why you can even say this Forrest?" Valentino asked and followed the vision of his friend looking over to the television with concern lined on his face. And then he saw why It was a very familiar jet kind of one Christopher have. Not just kind, it was engraved with the letter Woodlands. It was the same one that was taking them home Him, Pia, and their daughter.
If Valentino wasn't holding on to the table he would have been fallen onto the floor. Both of them looked at each other and then at the television
World Renown Woodlands Heir and his family presumed dead in the deadly air crash over the Hudson Bay
"They are not dead," Forrest said. "Christopher and Pia are not gone. They are not gone" Forrest stood up and walked out of his cabin. He knew in his heart that his brother and best friend were not dead. He doesn't know how but he knows. And that is one belief he wanted to hold on to.
Word Count: 2468 Words