by Maya Banks
looked over at A.J. and Matt. “Look, I know this is tough for you guys, but back off.”
Simon moved a foot back, unwilling to get too far away from Toni. The paramedic slipped a C-collar around her neck then checked her lungs. He cast a cursory glance over her broken arm then began prepping the other one for an IV as another paramedic rushed up with an oxygen bottle.
“I’ll hold it,” Simon offered, when the paramedic couldn’t get the mask to stay.
He nodded, and Simon stepped forward, holding the rebreather over her mouth and nose.
The Jeep shook and the loud noise of the jaws rent the night air as Mike and the chief began cutting into the dash to free her legs.
In a few minutes, the dash was peeled away, and the paramedic shouted for the stretcher. After a few minutes of securing her spine, they began the slow process of lifting her from the jeep and laying her on the stretcher.
Several hands helped lug the stretcher up the steep drop off, and once they reached the road, the paramedic picked up the pace, racing over to the ambulance.
“You can ride if you stay out of my way,” he said bluntly, as Simon arrived at the back of the ambulance.
Simon nodded and climbed in.
“We’ll meet you at the hospital,” Matt called.
The doors slammed shut, and the ambulance started forward, as fast as conditions would allow.
Simon glanced down at Toni’s bloodied face. His heart constricted. There was so much blood. And the baby. How was the baby?
“Here,” the paramedic said, handing him a bottle of saline and a wad of bandages. “Get her face cleaned off so I can assess the damage.
Simon took the bottle and gently began wiping at her face. He could see no sign of trauma to her forehead or nose. Which meant she had sustained an injury to her scalp somewhere. He steadied his hand, not allowing his fear to overwhelm him. He couldn’t see a head injury for her hair, but the blood was coming from somewhere.
The paramedic’s fingers probed through her hair, pulling it away and shining a light on her scalp.
Simon winced when they came across a large gash in the top of her head. He lost view of it when the paramedic bent over it to examine it further. How deep had it gone?
“What’s your assessment?” he asked, no longer able to wait.
“Her vitals are okay. A bit weak, but it’s probably from the blood loss. Her pressure is stable right now, but depending on the extent of the head injury, that could change any time.”
“And the baby?” he asked fearfully.
The paramedic looked up at him, sympathy bright in his eyes. “I don’t know, man. I don’t have the equipment needed to make that assessment. Her legs are good considering the dash was crushed around them. I didn’t detect any breaks. Just some bruising. Her arm’s broken, but her breath sounds are good, so hopefully that means there’s no broken ribs or lung involvement.”
Simon allowed himself a small breath of relief. It could have been a lot worse, although all it took was one head injury and she could be taken from him.
The ride to the hospital was the longest of his life. He stroked Toni’s face, willing her to wake up. He spent the rest of the time beating himself up. She wouldn’t be in this situation if he hadn’t been such an ass.
She’d be home with him, in bed, in his arms. She’d have his ring on her finger, and they’d be planning a wedding. Picking out baby names.
God. He couldn’t bear to imagine that scenario not taking place. More than anything he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. Even at his angriest, he’d never contemplated being without her. He’d wanted to punish her. Make her feel all the hurt he’d felt. Only now, she was fighting for her life because of his stupidity.
When they finally pulled up at the hospital, she was quickly wheeled into the exam room. Two doctors and a host of nurses immediately went to work. Orders for x-rays were shouted. Cat scan, blood work, O2 sat. Monitors were hooked up. Another IV was started.
He watched from the door as the flurry of activity increased. No one tried to make him leave. Perhaps they saw the futility in it. He wasn’t moving.
Finally, the most blessed sound he’d ever heard in his life filtered over the noise of the room. Toni moaned softly. But he heard it. He pushed a nurse aside and ran to the head of the bed.
The nurse started to protest, but the doctor shook his head.
“Toni? Toni? Can you hear me?” he demanded.
A doctor peeled her eyelids back and checked her pupils. She winced and blinked rapidly as her eyes fluttered open. She immediately shut her eyes again, her face going white with pain.
“What’s wrong?” Simon demanded, looking frantically at the doctor.
“She’s fine,” the doctor soothed. “Our main concerns right now are the extent of her head injury and the baby.”
The baby. He’d forgotten all about their child.
“We’re going to hook up a monitor. I’ve paged the OB on call, and he’s on his way in. Right now, we’ve got to get her to CT so we can rule out any subcranial bleeding.”
Simon allowed himself to breathe.
“Why don’t you wait outside?” the nurse gently prompted. “We’re sending her to CT, but as soon as she’s back, I’ll call you.”
Reluctantly, he backed from the room, his eyes never leaving her beautiful face. As he walked into the waiting room, A.J. and Matt leaped from their chairs. “How is she?” Matt asked, his voice strained. A.J.’s face was a mask of worry, his eyes tense as he waited for Simon to speak.
“I don’t really know,” he admitted. “They’re still doing tests. I mean, the doctor thought she would be fine, but they still have to do a CT scan because of her head injury, and they have to check out the baby…our baby,” he added softly.
He felt A.J.’s hand on his shoulder. It was the last straw. Harsh, guttural sobs spilled forth, shocking himself with the agonized sound that ripped from his throat. He sank down in a chair, his body shaking, as tears ran freely down his face.
Matt and A.J. took a seat on either side of him, but remained quiet as he buried his face in his hands. As they sat there waiting, more firemen filtered in as the men who had been on duty for the accident got off work. The ambulance personnel from the night before along with members of dispatch, first responders and sheriff’s deputies stood in the now crowded waiting room, all waiting for word of Toni.
She was loved by a lot of people, but none more than Simon. She had taken hold of his heart. Firmly entrenched herself into his life, and he couldn’t imagine being without her.
If it took the rest of his life, he was going to make it up to her for the careless words he’d thrown at her. We have nothing to talk about.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Simon was about to go out of his mind when a nurse opened the door and motioned for him to follow her back. Matt rose as well, and the nurse smiled at him. “I’m sorry, but for now, I can only allow one person back.”
Matt looked as though he would argue for a moment, and Simon felt a brief moment of fear. Technically Matt was more entitled than he was to be with Toni. Matt was her brother, while he was, well, not much. But being the baby’s father counted for something.
He looked over at Matt, and Matt nodded before taking his seat again. “Thanks man,” Simon said quietly.
He followed the nurse back to the exam room, shocked to see the amount of lines, wires and bandages that surrounded Toni. Her head was wrapped in gauze, and her arm still had the ladder splint the paramedic had used to stabilize the break.
They had removed the oxygen mask, which to Simon meant serious cause for relief. Her head injury must not be severe. As he walked over, she blinked and unfocused eyes swept past him and around the room. Her lips worked up and down as if she were trying desperately to speak.
He rushed to her side and put his fingers to her cheek. “Toni, sweetheart, it’s Simon.”
Her brown eyes settled on him a split second before utter hurt
swamped their depths. She looked away, tears brimming around her eyelids.
He started to ask if she was in pain, but he knew the anguish he saw had nothing to do with physical discomfort. He wanted to pour out his heart, beg her forgiveness, but the nurse had been very explicit in her instructions not to upset or overtire her.
Instead he curled his fingers around her uninjured hand and hoped he could speak volumes with his touch.
