Ashton's POV:
I had spent my day with the guys just like Carter had encouraged me to. I'd be lying if I said she wasn't right about me needing to spend time with them, but I still missed her.
Michael, Luke, Calum and I had gone surfing and then hung out at the house they were staying in, drinking a few beers and messing around on our guitars.
Around 8:00 at night after we were done eating and I was making my way to the fridge to grab another beer, my phone rang from my pocket.
I took it out and when I saw Carters contact name I smiled, answering the call.
"Hey baby-" I began but was cut off by someone shouting.
"Something's wrong with Carter!"
"Ender?" I asked, my eyebrows raising up.
"Something's wrong with Carter! She won't wake up!" He shouted.
"What?"
"She won't wake up!" He yelled again.
Immediately my blood ran cold.
"Okay, I'm on my way. Stay on the phone with me okay?" I told him, my heart racing. I wasn't drunk but I had sobered up quick.
"What's wrong?" Calum asked me as I ran to the counter, snatching my wallet and keys.
"Somethings wrong with Carter, she's not waking up." I said frantically and ran out the front door to my jeep.
I jumped in the front seat, Calum running behind me and jumping in as well, his flip flops in his hands.
I sped out of the lot and onto the main road, heading towards her house.
"Okay Ender, tell me what happened." I pressed the button to put the call on speaker phone.
"I don't know, she was fine one minute and then I heard a noise and she was lying on the floor not moving." He cried.
"Is she breathing?" I asked him, struggling for breath myself.
"Yes." He said and I sighed in relief.
I heard crying in the background.
"She's going to be okay Gracie." I heard Ender say and I slammed my foot on the gas, getting to the lot in record time.
"I'm here End." I said and hung up, Calum and I running at top speed down the docks.
I slammed myself into the front door as I flung it open, my eyes widening at the scene before me.
There she was, my everything, laying on the floor. Her eyes were closed and her head lolled to the side. Her legs were bent at an awkward angle and her body was rigid.
Ender was on the floor next to her, his eyes panicked and his face contorted into one of fear.
Gracie was standing with her back pressed to the back of the couch, her thumb in her mouth as her eyes watered.
I moved forward and got on my knees, my eyes scanning the room to see a laundry basket halfway up the stairs, its contents spilled across the floor.
She had fallen.
"Carter, can you hear me?" I said clearly, my fingers going to her throat to feel her pulse, it was there but it was distant.
And that's when her body began to shake. At first I thought she was waking up but then I noticed her eyes still closed and her body jerking harshly. She was having a seizure.
"Ender call an ambulance!" I practically shouted and he scrambled to Carters phone.
Gracie began to cry harder next to me and Calum swooped in to pick her up.
"Hey it's okay." He said in a soothing voice.
"Mommy." She cried and I wanted nothing more than to comfort my baby girl but I couldn't.
Carter convulsed beneath me and my heart broke because I didn't know what to do.
"They want to talk to you." Ender shoved the phone in my hand.
"Yes." I said.
"Sir can you tell me what's happening, we have an ambulance in route to your location." A woman's voice asked me.
"My fiancé's having a seizure. I think she fell down the stairs, I don't know."
"Is she breathing?"
"Barely."
"Okay can you tell me her name?"
"Halle Chase." I said.
"And your name sir?"
"Ashton Irwin."
"Okay Mr. Irwin, the ambulance should be there any minute, I'll stay with you on the line until they arrive." The woman said.
"Daddy!" Gracie's voice called out to me and I turned to look at her. She ran from Calum's arms and to mine where I took her in.
"It's gonna be okay Gracie. It's gonna be okay." I said, my free hand petting her hair while my eyes went back to Carter.
The front door opened behind me and I turned to see EMT's walking in.
"Can you take her?" I asked Calum and he picked up Gracie, her crying out for me.
Three men with a stretcher came forward surrounding us.
"What happened?" One of them asked me.
"I don't know. I think she fell down the stairs. She wasn't moving and then all of the sudden she started seizing." I said and they moved me out of their way so they could tend to Carter.
I stood up and Ender came over to me, wrapping his arms around my waist as he pressed his face into my side.
I placed my hand on his shoulder and watched as Carter stopped convulsing, her body going limp.
They moved her onto her side, one of the EMT's opening her mouth and swiping a gloved finger inside before moving her onto the stretcher, another one of them lifting her eyelids to shine a light in her eyes.
"Sir come with me." One man said and I did as such, following him as they carried Carter out the door.
"Calum, bring them to the hospital." I said and he nodded.
I turned to catch up with them, getting inside the back of the ambulance with her and seeing Calum putting the kids in my jeep and backing out to follow us.
When the doors closed and the ambulance sped off, the men began to check her vitals.
Carter still hadn't woken up and fear flowed through my system like blood.
The ambulances siren swirled in my ears and I remained there, watching the love of my life not responding to anything.
They had a machine on her monitoring her heart rate and suddenly it began to slow down the beeping noise it was making, my skin crawling.
"We're losing her!" One of them shouted and I watched in horror as he started to preform CPR on her.
This couldn't be how it ended. She couldn't die on me. We were supposed to get married and have babies, not this.
Suddenly the machine began to beep wildly and Carters body jerked upwards, only to be thrust into another set of convulsions.
The ambulance stopped moving and the back doors were flung open. I moved as they pulled her stretcher out of the vehicle, jogging behind them as they ran her inside.
They pushed her through a set of double doors and I tried to follow but a nurse pushed me back.
"Sir you can't go back there." He said to me.
"I'm her fiancé!" I exclaimed, trying to catch a glimpse of Carter through the doors.
"Only hospital personnel is allowed back there. I'll have someone take you to the waiting room and a doctor will be out shortly to update you." He said and my shoulders fell.
The guy gave me an apologetic smile and then slipped into the hallway.
"Is she okay?" I heard Calum's voice behind me and I turned around to see him there with Ender and Gracie.
"Uh, I don't know." I managed to get out, my voice barely audible.
My world had suddenly been turned sideways and I couldn't think straight. For all I knew Carter was dying, and I had spent my last day not being with her.
A different female nurse came towards me and introduced herself as Alyssa, taking me, Calum and the kids over to a waiting room with chairs and nothing else.
"You're the fiancé correct?" She asked me and I nodded.
"Okay, they took your fiancé back and once we have information on her state we will let you know. I know it's difficult, but for now just sit tight." She gave me a slight smile.
"Is my sister going to be okay?" Ender asked from his seat next to me.
"We have the best doctors doing everything they can to make your sister feel better." She assured him and then smiled at us solemnly before leaving.
I leaned forward in my seat and dropped my head into my hands.
I couldn't believe any of this was happening.
I had felt these feelings before when Carter had hit her head and was in the hospital, but I had been thousands of miles away before I could get to her and when I had returned she was okay.
But now, after seeing her like that first hand...it terrified me to the core. I couldn't lose her.
I felt a pair of small hands tug lightly at mine that covered my face.
"Daddy?" Gracie's small voice said and I removed my hands to look at her.
I didn't know what to say to her or how to tell her that I didn't know what was happening but she didn't ask me any other questions, just wrapped her arms around my neck.
She had already lost one mother, was she going to lose another one?
I pulled her into my lap, hugging her.
I held onto her tightly, trying to comfort myself and her.
I wanted to cry, scream, and sob all at the same time but I couldn't. I had to be strong for these kids, my kids.
I wondered if this was what Carter felt like all the time; always having to be strong for everyone else.
I felt Calum place a hand on my back and I glanced up to see Luke and Michael walking into the waiting room.
I didn't say anything and instead returned my attention to Gracie, tucking a couple baby hairs behind her ear and swiping my thumb under her eyes from where she had been crying.
Ender was silently crying next to me and I used my free arm to pull him over to me where he placed his head on my side.
We waited for what seemed like forever.
Michael had finally left to get us coffee and an apple juice for Gracie and Ender.
Ender leaned into me and Gracie stayed curled up on my lap, her head against my collar bone.
Luke had called my mom for me and she said she was on her way which I was extremely thankful for.
As time ticked on I became increasingly more anxious by the second, the not knowing was killing me.
If she was dead they would've told me by now, I kept telling myself.
Finally a man in a white coat stepped out into the waiting room along with the nurse Alyssa from earlier and she pointed in our direction before he came over to us.
I couldn't read his expression and my heart rate picked up and I sat up straighter along with everyone else.
"Are you with Ms. Chase?" He asked us and we nodded. "I'm Dr. Thomas and I'm who's in charge of her care."
"We've gotten her in a stable condition. She had seven more seizures and has a concussion, but she seems to have calmed down for now and we have someone closely monitoring her." He told us.
"So she's okay?" I asked.
"Right now yes." He said.
"Do you know what caused it or why she's having the seizures?"
"Not at the moment. She doesn't have epilepsy or any other condition that we know of that would cause this, but she did hit her head pretty hard so we are seeing if there is any connection there." He answered.
"When can I see her?" I asked him.
"Well she is currently resting and we are keeping her on a constant monitoring system for a few more hours until we can make sure she doesn't have any more seizures and we figure out what was causing them. We don't typically let anyone back that is not family but I'm assuming you're the fiancé?"
"Yes." I nodded.
"Follow me." He said and I stood up, setting Gracie down in Calum's lap.
"Can I go?" Ender asked.
"I'm sorry but only him at this time." Dr. Thomas said and Ender immediately frowned.
"Hey, I'm going to check on her and I will tell you every thing, okay? It's going to be okay End." I hugged him and he nodded against my stomach.
I followed Dr. Thomas to the hallway and he led me to the very end of the hall and into a room where Carter was laying on a hospital bed.
A nurse was sitting on a chair next to her bed and my heart plunged all the way into my stomach.
Carter looked dreadful. Beautiful as always, but dreadful.
Her skin looked paler than normal and the skin around her closed eyes seemed to be darker. She had been changed into a hospital gown and was covered by several blankets. Both of her arms were on the outside of the blankets, an IV in one and a heart monitor clipped to her finger on her other hand.
Her breaths were even and slow and her face was void of expression.
"Car." I breathed, not knowing what else to say.
"Has she ever had a seizure before?" Dr. Thomas asked me.
"No. Not that I know of. She's never mentioned anything about that and she would've if she had."
"Do you know how she hit her head?"
"I think she fell down the stairs. I wasn't there but her brother called me to say she wasn't waking up, and when I got there she was lying on the floor and just started convulsing." I said.
He nodded.
"Once she's been deemed as stable I want to do an MRI to see what's going on in her head and hopefully we can get a few more answers."
I bit my lip and nodded, looking back at her.
I took a few steps closer to the bed, my eyes raking over her face.
A girl as beautiful and as perfect as her shouldn't have to go through something like this.
Stepping even closer I reached to tuck her wavy, messy hair behind her ear. I bent down and pressed a kiss to her forehead as well, breathing in her scent.
"I love you." I whispered against her skin and then stood back up.
Two nurses came into her room to replace the saline bag of her IV and Dr. Thomas motioned for me to follow him in the hall.
"I will let you know when she's been cleared and put into a recovery room." He said.
I nodded my head. "Please figure out why this is happening."
"I'm going to do my very best." He gave me a slight smile and walked away.
I looked at Carter through the open doorway before I went back out to the waiting room.
Everyone in our group snapped their head up to look at me and I noticed my mother was here now.
"How is she?" She asked me as I approached them.
"She's resting. She had seven more seizures and they are waiting for a few hours to make sure she doesn't have any more before they take her in for a MRI." I said.
"Oh my God." Her hand went up to cover her heart.
She pulled me in for a hug and it honestly took everything in me not to break down.
I was so worried about Carter and all I wanted to do was be with her and make sure she was okay.
Once she let me go I crouched down in front of Ender.
"She's asleep right now. The doctor is going to let us know if anything changes but for now all we can do is wait." I told him.
He sighed before nodding and I gave him a hug as well.
My mom took Gracie to the bathroom and I sat back down in my seat, taking a few deep breaths to calm my nerves.
When the two girls came back, Gracie climbed up in my lap again. I wrapped my arms around her as she snuggled into my chest. She was tired and I knew she would be asleep in a few minutes.
A nurse walked by and saw this and brought us two pillows, one for Ender and one for Gracie, and two blankets as well.
Ender just set the pillow in his lap and I knew he was resisting sleep.
Gracie, however, used it, the pillow in my lap where she laid her head and her legs rested on Calum's. I tucked in the blanket around her and pressed a kiss to her face.
"Get some sleep End." I looked over at the little boy who was fighting off slumber.
"But what if something happens? I want to be awake." He said.
"I'll wake you up if the doctor comes back out, but that might not be for a while and you need to sleep." I promised him.
"Okay." He said and curled up beside me as well.
My hand went to Gracie's two little French braids and I lightly touched the end of one as she dozed off on my lap.
"So how did she look?" My mom asked me after Gracie and Ender had both fallen asleep.
"Not good." I shook my head. "God I'm so scared." I breathed and dropped my head into my one free hand.
"I know, but you know Carter's a fighter, she'll make it through this." She smiled softly at me.
We waited into the early hours of the morning.
Luke and Michael had fallen asleep and Calum was in and out of sleep as well.
I kept myself awake with coffee and pure worry.
At around three in the morning, Gracie shifted on my lap in her sleep, her thumb moving to her mouth.
"Do you think they're going to be okay?" I asked my mum quietly, my hand grazing Gracie's arm.
"I'm sure they'll be fine." She said but it got me thinking.
What if something happened to Carter? Would Gracie and Ender become my responsibility or would they be taken somewhere else?
I wanted them to be under my care. I was apart of their family now and they were apart of mine, and I didn't intend on losing either of them.
3:30 am rolled around and Dr. Thomas came out into the waiting room.
"End wake up." I shook his shoulder and he shot up like a bullet, his eyes wide.
The doctor came up to us and stood in front of our half awake group.
"We just took her back for her MRI. She's still asleep and once her test is done we will move her into a private room so you can go see her." He informed us.
"Thank you." I told him and he smiled before going back into the hall.
I let out a harsh breath.
"So what does that mean?" Ender asked.
"It means she didn't have another seizure so they went to figure out what was causing them." I said and he nodded.
"Go back to sleep, I'll let you know when he comes back."
He laid back down and I breathed a little sigh of relief.
"Ash you should get some sleep too." My mom said and I shook my head.
"No, I wanna be awake."
"Ash the MRI will take a few hours at least, get an hour or two in, it will help I promise." She said and I took out my phone, setting a timer for two hours and closing my eyes.
I was awoken at around six in the morning by Gracie sliding off my lap so my mom could take her to the bathroom.
I stood up and stretched, walking to the bathroom myself and coming back to the waiting room where Gracie had me hold her.
I carried her with me to get myself some coffee and got her a juice bottle, taking her back to the waiting room.
At 7:00 Dr. Thomas came out and told us that Carter was out of her MRI and had been moved to a new room.
Everyone stood and he took us to a different hall and through a maze of white tile until we reached a room with her name on a board and her chart in the holder on the door.
Inside the room Carter was still asleep, looking exactly like she had when I first saw her. Her engagement and promise ring were in a clear plastic bag along with the sea shell charm necklace I had gotten her on the little table next to her bed.
Gracie who was in my arms was staring at Carter.
"Is Mommy okay?" She asked me.
"Yeah baby, she's just sleeping." I petted her cheek.
Ender ran up to the bed and looked at her, his eyes widening.
I pulled a chair up to her bed and took a seat, Gracie sitting in my lap.
My mom, Calum, Luke, and Michael sat on the sofa while Ender sat in the other chair.
"When is she gonna wake up?" Ender asked.
"Whenever her body is ready to." I told him.
We sat there and waited for her to wake up, my heart heavy and my mind foggy.
All I wanted was for my fiancé to be safe and in my arms again.
--
annnnd commence the drama lol
I'll have the next part up soon!
as always vote and comment if you'd like!
much love xx -M