"Jayden's...alive...he's alive...isn't it?" Tricia's voice was shaky. She desperately needed a yes.
"Mr Ortega was the last one to see Jayden..." Det Torres wished he could give Tricia a definite answer. Without a word, Tricia ran back into the ER.
"Tricia!" Nurse Rose chased after Tricia worriedly.
"1, 2, 3, 4..." The doctor was still trying to resuscitate Mr Ortega.
"I'm taking over." Tricia hopped onto the bed and took over CPR, pushing as hard as she could. Mr Ortega was the only one with an answer.
"Doc Tricia, it's been 10 minutes..." Nurse Rose and the rest watched as sweat dripped down Tricia's forehead. She'd been administering CPR for an extended period of time yet Mr Ortega still showed no signs of life.
"Come on...come on..." Tricia ignored the advice of her colleagues and continued pushing. She'd lost sensation in her arms long ago.
"He's back! The patient's back!" The miraculous beeping of the heartrate monitor was finally heard.
"Doc Tricia!" Nurse Rose held Tricia as she lost her balance for a split second.
"Mr Ortega, can you hear me?" Tricia called out desperately.
"Jay...Jayden..." Mr Ortega pulled down his oxygen mask.
"Jayden, he's alive, isn't he?" Tricia leaned in to hear Mr Ortega.
"Save...him...please...He...sacrificed...for...me..." Mr Ortega's breaths were short and heavy. He needed the oxygen mask.
"Oxygen saturation is falling!" The intern cried as the machine started beeping. For a split second, Tricia felt herself standing at crossroads but immediately pulled up the oxygen mask and willed herself back into treating Mr Ortega.
"Will Doc Tricia be okay?" Sabrina looked at her seniors. All of them knew Doc Tricia was taking it the hardest.
"The only thing we can do is bring Jayden back safe and sound. ASAP." Det Torres' heart was heavy with worry too but he knew there was no time to waste. Every second could determine Jayden's return.
"Sir, there's no signal on Jayden's phone." Alex had gotten the forensics team to trace Jayden's phone to no avail.
"Let's go back to the scene." Det Torres decided to head back in hopes of finding clues.
"I'll take care of Tricia, don't worry. You guys take care as well." Nurse Rose watched as the team hurried off. Turning her gaze to the ER, Nurse Rose sighed as she watched Tricia purposely distracting herself by being busy.
"Doc Tricia, I need you need a break..." A young intern doctor handed Tricia a bottle of water.
"I'm okay." Tricia shook her head as she ran towards another patient.
"Nurse Rose, why is Doc Tricia suddenly like this? Is it because of the burn victim? Does she know him?" The intern whispered. In the 3 months he'd been here, he'd never seen Tricia like this, even on the busiest days.
"Doc Justin, do me a favour and make sure Doc Tricia doesn't go overboard? I can't afford her fainting as well." Nurse Rose didn't answer Justin's question.
"Yes ma'am." Despite the slight disappointment, Justin nodded at the request and immediately ran towards Tricia.
~
"Any evidence?" Det Torres and the team were back at the scene of the explosion.
"No Sir. The blast was very well designed, blew up everything that may have left a clue." The forensics team had been working hard without much progress.
"Keep digging, I'm sure we'll find something." Det Torres ordered.
"Sir, our informants have been tasked to keep a lookout for Jayden and Diablo." Alex updated Det Torres.
"We've got our eyes on the borders as well, just in case he tries to escape." Sabrina had liaised with immigrations as well.
"Good, I'll get in touch with Intelligence to see what they have." Det Torres took one last look before leaving, Alex and Sabrina trailing behind.
"Sir, the Communications team is asking if they can release a statement about the explosion?" Sabrina received a text.
"Tell them to exclude Jayden from the statement. Focus on Diablo." Det Torres contemplated for a while before answering.
~
"Doc Tricia...you really need to sit down and take a break." Justin had been following Tricia around for the last 2 hours, wondering how she managed to not stop for even a minute.
"Go for your break, Doc Justin. I'll will be fine." Tricia ignored Justin's pleas for the umpteenth time.
"But I promised Nurse Rose to watch out for you..." Doc Justin didn't want to get into trouble with the senior nurse.
"Justin's right, go take a break. This is an order as the Chief of the ER." The Chief gave Justin a nod.
"Doc Tricia, let's go to the lounge..." Justin helped Tricia to the air-conditioned room down the hallway. The moment Tricia entered the room, she crashed onto the couch.
"I'm sorry, Doc Justin. I didn't mean to tire you out as well." Tricia apologised for dragging the poor intern into her emotional spiral.
"Are you okay, Doc Tricia?" Justin stared at his senior worriedly. Tricia replied with silence. No, she wasn't.
"You don't have to follow me around. I'll be fine. After your break, go do what you need to." Tricia didn't want to bother Justin anymore. She'd been enough trouble for the last 2 hours.
"You're my favourite mentor. What mentee abandons their mentor like this?" Justin insisted on staying.
"I won't blame you if you change your favourite mentor after today." Tricia let out a resigned sigh. Justin was about to reply when both their phones rang, signaling the end of their break.
"Multi-car crash occurred on the highway, all 10 patients are heading over. Arriving in 2 minutes!" One of the ER nurses called out to no one in particular.
"Don't push yourself too hard..." Justin reminded Tricia as they started preparing.
"I'll be fine." Tricia squeezed out a smile before running of. It was for the better, she figured.
"Why is the ER so crowded today..." For the last 4 hours, the collision had occupied the entire ER's attention.
"At least our shift is going to be over soon..." One of the nurses crashed onto the chairs at the station.
"Good work today everyone. I'll see you next shift." The Chief dismissed everyone.
"Doc Justin, where's Doc Tricia?" Nurse Rose scanned the ER but Tricia was nowhere to be seen.
"The last time I saw her, she was heading to the ICU." Justin wanted to follow Tricia but Tricia refused.
"Thank you. Go home and get some rest." Nurse Rose smiled before heading to the ICU to find Tricia.
"Any improvements, Doctor?" Nurse Rose spotted Tricia talking to Mr Ortega's attending.
"His vitals are stable for now and the initial surgery went well...but I can't tell you when he'll regain consciousness. Sorry, Tricia." The senior doctor gave Tricia an empathetic smile before leaving.
"Tricia?" Nurse Rose dropped the title since their shift was over.
"Did Det Torres call you?" Tricia hadn't been able to check her phone.
"No..." Nurse Rose shook her head.
"But I'm sure they're working hard." Nurse Rose assured Tricia.
"I know...it's just..." Tricia closed her eyes for a second, containing her emotions.
"Come on, I'll send you home." Nurse Rose held Tricia.
~
"Patty!" Atty Leni, Aika and Jill were waiting anxiously for Tricia at the carpark.
"She overdid it at the hospital today..." Nurse Rose whispered to Atty Leni as Aika and Jill held Tricia.
"Thank you for sending her home. We'll watch over her." Atty Leni gave Nurse Rose grateful nod.
"Come on Patty..." Aika and Jill could sense the listlessness and exhaustion from Tricia.
"Anak..." Atty Leni pulled her middle child into a hug. It pained her to see Tricia like this. Especially on her birthday.
"Mama..." Tricia had been holding back her tears.
"I know it hurts, anak..." Atty Leni stroked Tricia's hair.
"Ate..." Jill and Aika sat next to their sister, not knowing what to do.
"Delivery for Ms Tricia Robredo." Aika was surprised to see the deliveryman at the door. None of them had ordered anything.
"Trish...it's for you." Aika handed the bag carefully to Tricia.
"It's Jayden's handwriting..." Tricia recognised the words on the bag immediately. Taking out the contents carefully, Tricia's tears started flowing uncontrollably. In the bag was a container of pandesals. 29 of them, just like Tricia had asked for.
Hey Trish,
Happy 29th my love. If you're reading this, it means that I couldn't keep my promise of celebrating your birthday with you. I hope the pandesals are enough as an I'm sorry gift. Don't worry about me and enjoy your birthday. I promise to come as soon as I'm done, with your real present. Mahal kita sinta.
Love, Jayden
"He remembered..." Tricia gripped the birthday card until it creased. It broke Tricia's last hold of self-control.
"It's okay, anak...it'll be okay..." Atty Leni hated making empty promises but there was nothing she could do but to tell Tricia everything would be fine. Aika and Jill looked at the container of pandesals, realising how much Jayden treasured their sister. It amounted to the pain that Tricia was now in.
"What now, Ate Aiks..." Jill sighed. Tricia had eventually cried herself to sleep.
"I don't know, bunso." Aika sat next to Tricia on the bed.
"What's that in Ate's hand?" Jill spotted the metal necklace that Tricia was holding onto.
"It's Jayden's ID tag..." Aika peeked through Tricia's grasp.
"Ate...look..." Jill pointed at the smaller tag that fell out of Tricia's grip. The one with Tricia's initials engraved on it.
"Oh god...Patty must be going through hell right now." Aika and Jill sighed as a stray tear rolled down Tricia's cheek.
A/N:
I'm sorry for this chapter :'/