In The End

12

      Jon barely heard the electric beep of the heart monitor anymore. He had gotten used to every sharp click before air was delivered to Erika. Sometimes she would miss a breath and cause the alarm to go off but she always inhaled the next time so even that had stopped reaching Jon's ears.
      He could barely hold her hand because of the wires and tubes and needles and tape. Her right arm was in a cast anyway so he was on her left. Jon's wasn't even sure if his knees were there anymore. His head was resting on his arms so he at least knew those were still attached to him.
     Jon refused to look at her casted right leg. The only thing he could think was, even if she lived she would die. Jon knew that the most important thing to Erika was being a police officer. It was her dream. Her calling! And she was good at it. It'll crush her.
      He wished he could just pretend she was asleep but Erika wasn't smiling and she always smiled when she slept unless she was having a bad dream. When she had a bad dream he could always wake her up. Now... he couldn't. He wanted to so badly though. Just to reach out and save her from this nightmare.
      A hand touched his back and he looked up slowly. The woman from before, Molly, was there. She was just watching Erika... like he had been. His eyes were glued to her. She looked so much like Erika.
      "Who are you?" He asked quietly. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "I'm Molly Lasky... I'm Erika's mother..." she bit her lip. "You know what they told me... when my husband died?" Jon remained silent as he listened. "They told me... there was nothing they could do... they just told me the same thing about my baby-"
      She broke off into sobs and sunk to her knees beside the officer. He wrapped his arms around her as if he'd know her his while life.
      Erika very rarely talked about her mother but from what she had said, they didn't get along on the best of terms. When Erika had moved out at nineteen, her mother moved and sold the house without a word to her daughter.
       Jon wasn't sure why Molly did what she did but he knew one thing. Erika's mother still loved her very much.
       Molly sniffed as she continued. "They told me her chances are almost as low as ten percent... ten. I can't lose my baby again! I never got to tell her how much I loved her"
      Jon tried to smile. "Hey, there's still time, alright? Come on, Erika's still here. She's still here..." Molly pushed herself back to look at him. "But for how long... how long is she going to be here? Jon was taken aback by the question. "I... I don't know..." he admitted regretfully.
      She gripped his arms. "Please, you're an officer aren't you?" She asked. He nodded quickly as her panic rose. "Catch him. Catch who took away my husband and is trying to take my daughter. Finish this"
      Jon moved his mouth as he thought for a minute "I- I- I mean... I don't know what to do! I don't know where to start! How can I do this is the detectives-"
      "The detectives don't love Erika. Finish this... please" Molly let him go and turned back to Erika. Jon didn't know what to say so he didn't say anything. He just left. How can I help at all... this is a case that's been cold for thirteen years...