A Walk Down the Aisle

I'm Here

Three years later...

Danny looked at his phone again. It was now 9:05 pm. Lara got off her shift at the medical center at eight. He asked her to join him for a dinner out that morning before she left for work. The place they agreed on was only twenty minutes from her work. And she said that she was join him right after her shift.

Danny hoped that she would not think it was weird that he was a bit dressed up. A nice white buttoned down with a pair of black slacks. He even broke out his fitted black vest. Dann fidgeted with his hair. Every time he heard footsteps, he would jump a bit, hoping it was her.

Lara was not answering her phone. He set his phone down, his leg bouncing under the table. This was not like her. She always answered his calls or message him back to let him that she could not talk at the time. This is totally out of character for Lara. It was scaring Danny.

"Still want to wait?" The waiter asked, seeing that Danny was still alone in the booth. Danny took a breath and handed them a twenty for the drink and a tip. His anxiety was hitting the roof. He needed to find Lara. Danny started to make his way to the exit when a conversation at the podium stopped him.

"Horrible accident up the road at the intersection of Warren and 2nd. Looks like that huge truck sped through the red light. I never seen a car so crushed before." A voice said. "I think the helicopter was being called to the scene.

"If the person driving the red civic is still alive, it would be a miracle." Another voice said. Lara drove a red civic. Danny swallowed and forced himself to stay upright. He got out of the restaurant and raced to his car. Getting in, he called Lara again. No answer.

"Please, baby. Please." Danny pleaded, driving up the road towards the intersection. He had to pull into a parking lot for there was a blockage of car and emergency vehicles. His heart was pounding out of his chest as he ran to the scene.

The EMTs were assisting the victim in the red civic. The fire department had to use the jaws of life to open the door. She was bleeding from the head. An EMT checking for a pulse.

"LARA!" Danny screamed, seeing that it was her car. The sunflower vanity plate on the front of her car, he gave it to her. Police officer stopped Danny from getting closer. "That is my girlfriend!" He shouted, calling her name again. Danny was struggling to break free.

"You can't help her right now." The officer held him tight, knowing that his reaction was out of fear. "You have to stay out of the away."

"WE HAVE A PULSE!" One of the EMT called on. Danny went to his knees that the words. The officer stayed with Danny as the EMTs placed the neck brace around her neck. The helicopter was setting down as they loaded her in the gurney. The police officer left Danny and retrieved her bag from the damage car.

"Go with her." The officer handed Danny the bag and ran him over to the awaiting helicopter. Danny tucked himself in a corner as the flight crew worked on stabilizing her. He watched as they hooked wired pads to her skin and a blood pressure cuff to her arm.

"Does she have any allergies? Do you know her blood type?" One the crew members asked Danny.

It took Danny a moment to registered what they asked. "Pine nuts. O positive. She is a universal donator." He replied. Lara was so still. Her eyes were closed. Blood stained her light blue smock with little rainbows. He choked back a sob when he heard the heart monitor kick on, sounding out her heartbeat.

"It is slow, but steady. May have internal bleeding from her injuries." One of the crew members said. He looked at Danny. "Hold her hand, tell her you are here."

Danny moved closer, taking her free hand. "Lara, baby. It's me, Danny. I am here, baby. I'm here." Tears started to flow from his eyes. "It's my fault. I asked her to meet me at the restaurant."

"The truck sped through the red light. No one could predict this." A crew member calmly said to Danny.

Danny felt the weight of the world crashing to his shoulders. He squeezed her hand, hoping she could feel it. "I was going to propose to her tonight." Danny told the crew when the soft edge of the ring box jabbed him the thigh, reminding her why he asked her out to dinner.

At the hospital...

Monitors beeped and booped, letting the staff know the status of Lara's condition. Her parents had come, getting a call from Danny after they landed at the air pad. He was taken to the emergency surgery waiting room while Lara was taken immediately to the OR. A nurse at the counter helped Danny filled out the necessary paperwork.

He waited for news. When her parents, Dale and Rhea got there, they hugged Danny who kept blaming himself.

"This was not your fault, Daniel." Dale firmly told him, holding the young man by the shoulders. "We cannot change the past. Only the present and future." Danny nodded. Sitting together, they waited together. It was a few hours later when the doctor came out. Lara was placed in the recovery area, and she would be placed in the room when it was time.

"He is her fiancé' and he needs to know what is happening." Rhea told the doctor when they asked to only speak to family. The doctor apologized, not knowing who he was to Lara.

"All of Lara's brain functions are good. Her ribs on her left side are broken but there was not puncture of her lung or heart. Lara's neck was broken in the accident. Her spinal cord is damage, but it is an incomplete injury. This means that her body will be able to transmit some messages to and from the brain. She can retain some sensory function and may have some control of muscle activity below the neck." The doctor explained.

Danny stood there in a daze as the doctor talked about physical therapy and other plans to help Lara to live a life with her injury. He did not realize how tight he was gripped Lara's bag until her mother placed her hand on his.

"I never got to ask her." Danny whispered as the doctor left. Danny had asked for Lara's hand in marriage a week ago and her parents gave him their blessing.

"You still have the chance." Rhea said. Danny looked at her, realizing that she was staying strong for not just Lara, but for Danny and her husband. Danny hugged her tight. "Oh, my baby girl!" Rhea finally broke down, sobbing on Danny's shoulder. Dale wrapped his arms the both of them, softly crying himself.