The Choice

The Choice-Chapter Fourteen

"Lex. Lex. Sweetheart, wake up." 

Tony? It can't be. I opened my eyes slowly. My head was throbbing as was my leg. Tony was indeed kneeling over me. I still laid on the hard road. I could feel the heat from the burning truck. 

"You're going to be okay, Babe." He brushed the hair out of my eyes, "Help is on the way." 

"Mmm." I moaned. "How did you find me?" 

"I left Santa Fe as soon as you hung up on me. I expected to meet you somewhere halfway. Your dad had the bird in the air searching this side. He saw the explosion from the air." Tony touched my bandaged arm. "How bad are you hurt?" 

"I think my arm is broken." I tried to move, and cringed as pain shot through my wrist. "And there's a deep cut on my leg." 

"Where's your car?" 

I pointed to the side of the cliff. "Down there." 

He stood and crossed the road. "Holy shit. Did you jump out before it went over?" He asked coming back to me. 

"No. I was in it when it went over. I climbed back up." I answered. 

"Tony, come in." I hadn't realized his Jeep was parked a few feet away until the CB Radio crackled.

"That's your dad. He's looking for a place to land the chopper." 

I heard Tony answer Dad's transmission, and give the basics of my situation. Dad answered back, but the radio crackled and I couldn't hear what was going on. 

"I'm sorry." I whispered, when Tony dropped back to his knees next to me. "I know I shouldn't have done this." 

"I shouldn't have left you behind. I'm sorry, babe." He slid his arm under my knees, and the other behind my back. He carried me to his Jeep as though I weighed nothing more than a feather. He sat me in the passenger of the Jeep, and rounded to the driver side. "We're not going to wait for the paramedics to get here. I'm taking you myself." 

He pulled the Jeep slowly around the burning truck. 

"Shouldn't we wait for the police to secure the scene?" I asked. 

"If we do you could bleed to death." 

As the Jeep bounced over the road, I faded in and out of consciousness. 

"There's your Dad." Tony pulled the Jeep over to the side of the road. I could hear the rooters of the helicopter. "Come on, Babe." 

As Tony lifted me into his arms, I cradled my broken arm against my chest. "Don't leave me." I murmured. 

"Never, love." He pressed a kiss to the top of my head. 

The paramedics were waiting for us inside the chopper. Tony tossed my Dad the keys to his Jeep and climbed into the chopper with me. He held my good hand while the paramedics began working on my many wounds, and the chopper lifted off the ground. 

I don't remember the hour long ride to the hospital in Phoenix. Darkness took me to oblivion. I woke in a hospital room. Tony was sitting in a chair next to me, with his head laying on his arms on the bed. 

I looked down at myself. My left arm was in a cast from the middle of my hand, to my elbow. There were bandages around the forearm of my right arm. I reached over and tapped Tony's arm. 

He jerked awake. "Hey." He jumped to his feet, and pressed a kiss to my lips. "How are you feeling? Are you in pain?" 

"Yes." I answered a little too quickly. "I hurt from head to toe."