Older || Sequel To SOS

Seventeen

⚠️TW//high⚠️

25 weeks..?

"You were a witness, right?" Luke can hear the officer speaking to someone, but everything seems to be muted as if he is underwater. His eyes stuck watching the lights flashing off into the distance, his entire world inside that ambulance.

"Come on, Luke. I'll take you to the hospital." Crystal's voice would have startled him if he didn't feel so numb. Her hand on the small of his back becomes almost a tether to reality for him. Michael is talking somewhere nearby, he can hear the almost comforting tone of his brother's voice, but the words are lost in the haze of confusion and fear.

"Luke." Crystal tugs on his arm softly, finally getting his eyes to leave the point where the ambulance disappeared from view. "Let's go to the hospital, let's get you some answers, and be there with her. Michael's going to talk to the police and see what he can find out about security footage, let me get you to her, to Elodie."

Almost in autopilot Luke pulls his keys from his pocket, dropping them into Crystal's hands. He can see the relief in her face as he does, but everything still feels disconnected. Her hand on his back guides him across the street, his eyes glancing, despite his protest, towards the dark spot on the road to his left.

"Don't look at it, Luke." Crystal tugs at his arm as he slows, keeping him moving until the darkness of the evening swallows up the stain. He should be crying, at least he thinks he should be, that would make sense right? He just watched his fiancée get hit by a car, his fiancée who's carrying his daughter. He should definitely be crying, but his body seems to have forgotten how.

"Luke, I need you to talk to me." Crystal stops him again before unlocking the car. "You are scaring me, I need you to acknowledge that you know what's happening. I need to know you're not going to pass out from shock on me. I can't handle that right now, not while my best friend is headed to the hospital in an ambulance. She needs you to be there for her, Luke, be strong for her right now."

Luke swallows hard, trying to pull any part of himself back to reality. Closing his eyes his hand lifts, pinching the bridge of his nose as things start to hit full force. The sound coming back first, a loud squeal and his own voice screaming in fear. Then it's El's eyes, wide with surprise and terror, that can't be the last memory he has of her beautiful green eyes, it just can't.

"I'm gonna throw up." He suddenly blurts, stepping around Crystal and practically sprinting to the nearest trash can. His dinner reappears quickly and violently, his body going flush and cold as he catches his breath again after the heaving ends, a sob bubbling out next.

"Hey, hey." Crystal is at his side fairly quickly, handing him a small pack of tissues and rubbing a hand up and down his back.

"Get me to them. Please. I need to know if my girls are okay." He breathes out hard, trying to get back in control of his body and mind at least somewhat.

"Come on, they've probably made it to the hospital by now, the sooner we get there the better." Crystal nods, guiding him back to his own car and helping him into the passenger seat.

Luke busies himself with finding the gum he keeps in the console, trying to cover the foul flavor in his mouth with mint. Also trying to ignore the scent of Elodie's perfume that still lingers in the warm car.

"Don't start crying if you can help it, I'm barely holding it together over here." Crystal mumbles as she climbs behind the wheel.

"This is so fucked up." Luke sighs, running a hand through his curls, "My fiancée and child could be dying and I have no idea who hurt them. I have no idea what I'm about to walk into at the hospital. And I have no way to help right now. I can't lose them, Crystal, either of them."

"We won't know anything until we get to the hospital, Luke. But you're not going to lose them. Don't think like that's an option, don't dwell on the idea."

"But it is an option, Crys. A very real and possible option. I don't know what I'd do if I lost El, or the baby. Our baby doesn't even have a name yet, I can't lose her before she has a name." A sob bubbles from his throat.

"Hey," He turns as Crystal grips his hand across the console, "she's not going to die, she will be safe, and she will be born in a few months, just like she should be. El and baby Hemmo are both going to be just fine. They have to be fine." Crystal's voice cracks slightly, her hand tightening around Luke's.

"I'm scared." Luke whispers, his voice cracking sharply.

"Me too."

The rest of the drive is silent, except for a few frustrated sighs as traffic slows them down. The tension and fear in the car is palpable, so much so that the Porsche quite literally feels like a bomb ready to detonate by the time Crystal parks outside UCLA medical. Luke's body flies from the car like shrapnel as he runs towards the doors. Crystal follows quickly and yet slowly in comparison, only getting the car locked as she watches Luke's blonde curls bounce through the emergency room entrance.

"My fiancée," Luke hurriedly starts as he reaches the desk, hands splayed across the top of the counter as he catches himself. "She was hit by a car, they said they were bringing her here. She's pregnant too, I need to know if she's okay."

"Take a deep breath, sir. Your fiancée's name?"

"Elodie Stewart, her birthday is July 12th, 1999."

"Hey, anything yet?" Crystal asks as she catches up to him.

"What is your name, sir?" The lady asks calmly.

"Luke Hemmings. I know I'm on her file."

"Okay, it looks like they moved her from the trauma bay to scans about five minutes ago. She's been admitted too, head up to the third floor, the waiting area you'll want is down the hall to the left, I'll let her doctor know you're here."

"That's all you know?" Luke's shoulders deflate.

"I'm sorry, sir. That's all that is in her chart so far beyond vital counts."

"Nothing about the baby?"

"No, when a pregnant patient comes in through a trauma bay the focus is first and foremost on the mother and saving her life. You may not know about the fetus for a while."

"Isn't it dangerous to do scans on someone who's pregnant?" Crystal asks suddenly, her voice full of concern as well.

"It's not advised but the doctors will take the necessary precautions to protect the fetus as much as possible. The stairs and elevators are just down that way, I'm sorry I don't have anything else for you. The staff upstairs may have some forms for you to fill out also."

"Thank you." Luke swallows hard as he nods, trying not to let himself full on breakdown.

"Come on." Crystal loops her arm through his, leaning into his side as they head the direction they'd been shown.

"They're both going to be okay, Luke. They have to be okay." Crystal has sounded less and less convinced each time she tries to reassure him. This time though, there's no confidence left in her voice, her fears clearly now as loud as his own.

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Thoughts? How is Elodie? The baby? What information is Michael getting?

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~M =)