According to his memory

Chapter 31

Vincent Bishop

Once Lottie is out of the room Cheyenne bursts through the door. She stops dead in her tracks and collapses as she sees what would always be her baby nephew. Scott runs in on her heels with scratches on his neck and a dark red hand mark on his cheek. I can only assume Cheyenne wasn't happy with him at the moment but that must seem like a lifetime ago. A tiny lifetime. Scott squats next to Cheyenne and encases her body as if he is a shield against all the bad in the world. He is like a turtle shell that she leans into, hands grasping his shirt at the pain. I can't help but feel out of place yet I can't move. A phone rings and Rose jumps before wiping her nose with a sniffle and answering.

"Hello?" She questions with a broken voice. "Yes this is..... I am already here..... Yes I will be right there." She hangs up the phone. She stands with the tiny body in her arms walking over to me like she is presenting me a gift. "Can you take him for a moment?" My body reacts before my mind does and before I know it the itty bitty boy is in my hands. Rose goes to Cheyenne who is on the floor and rubs back her hair. "They need me to go see Michael, will you come with me?" Rose's voice is one of a true mother as she gets Cheyenne up to her feet again with the help of Scott.

Cheyenne looks back at the towel in my hands that serves as a blanket in this case and turns away quickly. Scott stays behind with me as the two women walk out of the room leaning on each other for support. I finally look more closely at the child in my hands. He is tiny in all of his features and a skin color that is almost white. He isn't old enough to have any hair but his features are there. He has Lottie's mouth and cheeks.

"We should take pictures for them." I say as my voice is a bit shaky. I didn't realize I was getting emotional until I spoke. Scott nods before taking out his phone. "Mine's dead. How about yours?" He puts his phone back in his pocket and I pull out my phone from my pocket. It's got enough battery to take a few good pictures before it's dead. "I have enough." Scott takes the phone from my hand and starts taking pictures of the tiny features. The little face that I couldn't help but imagine as a young boy riding his bike on a sunny day. I now hold back tears that have arrived. How did something so innocent have to die? Why did I care? He isn't mine and has no connection to me at all but I feel like I am losing something huge. My entire life has been and still is dedicated to saving and helping people.

And then it hit me. If I had been there faster then this tiny child in my hands now would still be happily in his mother's womb. He would still be safe and warm and growing. He would have gotten the chance to live if I had gotten there sooner. Lottie was never going to forgive me.

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Cheyenne Flint

Rose and I walk down the cold, bright hallway. I am still crying but I am trying to stop. Right now she needs me just as much as I need her. What I really need is a hug from my sister. The tears start again. Rose pulls my head under her chin as she stops us in the hallway. This reminds me of what CJ used to do when I was hurt. "Everything is going to be okay." She pulls my face up to look her in the eyes. "This is not your fault and everything is going to be fine, you hear me?" I can only nod as she pulls me into another hug.

After a long minute she spoke to me again. "Now let's go check on my baby before we go back and hold that nephew of yours." I took a deep breath to stabilize myself before walking with her to the Intensive Care Unit. Once we arrive we are told to wash our hands and put on masks so we don't contaminate the area. A female doctor and male intern are waiting for us by Mike's bedside. He looks bad. Rose took in a sharp inhale before stepping into the room. His head is wrapped in white gauze but it is clear that they need to be changed soon because they were already red again. A tube was down his throat so he could breath and there were wires on him as well.

The doctor interrupts politely, "I am Doctor Rumi and this is my intern."

"I'm Jeremy, it's nice to meet you. I was there at the shooting because I have a job at the jewelry store that he was at when it occurred so I was able to call ahead and get him in right away." He spoke quickly and with a purpose. It took me a minute to get everything that he said.

"They were at a jewelry store?" I am confused.

Doctor Rumi clears her throat, "I'm sorry to interrupt but we are here to talk about his condition. We have placed him in a medically induced coma because he has inflamed brain tissue because of where the bullet hit him. He is lucky to be alive."

Rose sighs happily, "So when will he wake up?"

Doctor Rumi returned with her own sigh. One of regret. " That's the problem, when we put Michael under for surgery his brain activity went off the grid. We have been trying to get his brain waves to respond but he is under a lot of stress because of it." SHe pauses so we can process before continuing with the last bit of information.

"If he doesn't show activity in the next twenty-four hours he will slip into a vegetative state. He may never wake up."