Stronger than the storm

Who are you?

Alex

I love helping others, and now I can get the chance.

We pass Trafalgar Square, making slalom among the numerous passers-by.

"Excuse me, Excuse me.", Piper yells very agitated.

"It will be okay, don't be alarmed now.", I reassure her.

Shortly after we finally reach Samantha's house, not even the shadow of the ambulance.

"Here's your car.", Exclaims Piper pointing with her finger at a gray Ford Fiesta.

The bell rings and we wait a few moments.

The door opens and we rush to the second floor.

Jack opens the door and hugs Piper.

"Luckily you're here, I ... I don't know what to do.", He says.

Then he looks at me.

Piper introduces me.

"Ah, this is Dr. Vause, she was around when you called me, so she decided to come."

"Nice to meet you, doctor." Jack exclaims trying to smile.

"What happened?" Asks Piper.

"Come this way, quick.", He continues.

We enter what must be Samantha's bedroom.

She is lying on the bed, towels completely drenched in blood around her.

"What the fuck is going on?" Exclaims Piper.

She approaches Samantha and I do the same.

She touches her to feel her pulse.

"His heart rate is fast." she says.

"When does the ambulance arrive?", I exclaim.

Jack starts to cry, and Piper slaps the girl in the face to wake her up.

I decide to put into practice what I have learned thanks to my father.

"I need a basin filled with water and vinegar.", "And some bandages", I continue.

They both look at me hesitantly, but do as I said.

Shortly after, Jack returns with the supplies.

I tear off a sleeve of my shirt and bathe it with water and vinegar.

Piper continues to check her pulse as I place the soaked cloth on her head, rub her face, neck and stop for a moment.

They both look at me confidently, and I decide to do what I can.

I tear off Samantha's dress and I find myself in front of just what I imagined.

"I need more towels, cloths, everything you have available!", I exclaimed in alarm.

She's losing a lot of blood, I need to be able to stop the bleeding.

Piper and Jack disappear only to return two minutes later. They hand me a stack of cotton towels and I take as many as possible.

I twist two of them into a fairly thick knot and begin to plug the bleeding.

The blood flow appears to have stopped, but it won't last long.

The heartbeat is slowing down, and I can breathe a sigh of relief.

I put my ear on the girl's belly: the heartbeat is there.

"What does the belly have to do with it?", Piper suddenly asks me.

"Samantha is pregnant," Jack exclaims, resuming sobbing.

Piper is dumbfounded, and endless minutes go by without anyone saying a word.

A little later everything happens so quickly.

The ambulance arrives, loads Samantha on the stretcher and begins a mad dash to the nearest hospital in the area.

I know that the odds of losing the baby have now decreased, but not entirely cleared.

I drag Piper and Jack out of that house and we head to the hospital.

"I'm driving.", I say just before asking Jack's permission to drive.

He nods his head, so I start the car.

I drive as fast as I can, but the roads are congested, and it takes me a good half hour to reach my destination.

Once we get to the hospital Jack asks where Samantha has been taken, and the receptionist girl replies that it will take a long time to get news. She was rushed to the operating room.

Piper and I sit down as Jack paces back and forth across the waiting room.

"Thanks, Alex.", Piper tells me shortly after.

"I didn't do anything.", I reply.

"Without you we couldn't be here.", she continues.

I say nothing.

"You know ... I didn't think I could find all these qualities in a single person.", she begins.

"Maybe because all these qualities don't belong to me.", I tell her.

"Yes. You helped me with the cooking, now I realize that you have just saved the life of my best friend and her baby, whose existence I didn't know at all. "

"You do what you can to help others," I say looking at her.

"Who are you, Alex?" she suddenly asks me

"Who do you think I am?", I ask her back.

"I have to think about it.", she replies.

Endless hours go by without anyone letting us know anything.

"Go home, I'll stay here.," Piper says touching my hand.

"I'm not going anywhere, I want to know how it is", I answer confidently.

Meanwhile, Jack brings us two long coffees.

"Girls, why are they taking so long?" He asks nervously.

"I don't know.", We exclaim in unison.

Another hour passes, I get up to stretch my legs, I look at the white walls of that hospital, I look outside: it is raining.

Finally a doctor approaches Jack.

"Are you the baby's father?" Asks the doctor.

Jack is silent for a few moments.

"Yes.", He exclaims.

Piper opens her mouth wide, shocked.

"The baby is fine, he is in his twenty-seventh week and he has really risked a lot this evening.", He continues, "by chance your partner is working?"

"Well... yes. She works with me at the restaurant. ", He tries to justify himself.

"Well, consider finding another helper. The girl must stay in bed until the end of the pregnancy. Too much effort could compromise the baby's vital functions. ", He raises his glasses to look at the medical records.

"Okay doctor, but are you okay now?" Asks Piper.

"Yes, the values are back to normal. From the emergency room they told me that the lady here intervened promptly. Probably without her precious intervention to stop the bleeding we would not be here talking about normal values now. ", Looks at Alex thanking her.

"Thank you, doctor.", We say in unison as he leaves.

"Thanks Alex.", Piper whispers shortly after approaching me and hugging me.