Once in a Lifetime

The Hospital

"She's not breathing!" Alex yelled, sending him and Chase into an orderly panic mode. I watched in horror as Chase started an airway on Karen, attaching a bag onto the tube that was currently in her throat.

Chase turned toward me, handing me the bag. "Could you help? Just squeeze the bag once every five seconds." I nodded, taking over breathing for my girlfriend.

I have to say, I was scared. More scared than I had ever been before in my life. Here I found a woman that I truly loved, and that deserved to be loved back, and she could die. Tears started falling again as I watched Alex and Chase preparing Karen to be moved to the gurney.

"Okay, Higgins? Could you help us move Karen?"

Higgins nodded as the three men lifted my unconscious girlfriend up and onto the gurney. I continued breathing for her as Alex strapped her down and Chase packed their equipment.

"Okay, we're ready to go. Miles, I'll help you down to the ambulance," Alex said, offering a hand to my good friend.

Miles took it, Alex pulling him to his feet, helping to support his weight. As we headed out the doors, I turned back, "Can you guys meet us there?"

"Yeah we'll be right behind you!" Higgins yelled as we left the studio.

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It didn't take long for us to arrive at the hospital. Miles and I were lead to separate rooms in the emergency room and were examined fairly quickly. Karen had been whisked away to another part of the ER as soon as we arrived.

I was sitting in the little exam room, the adrenaline finally starting to leave my body. My head was throbbing from where I had been gun butted, and I was emotionally drained.

My head was back against the pillow, my eyes closed, when I heard the door open. I looked up to see Higgins enter the room, then shut the door back behind him. "Hey Jimmy, how are you feeling?" He asked, pulling a chair up next to the table I was currently laying on.

"My head hurts and the rest of me is aching some, but I'll be okay. How's Miles?"

"He's doing okay. They're going to keep him for a night or two, just so they can keep an eye on him so no infection forms. Thankfully, the bullet missed his bones and they were able to stitch him up. I guess he's going to be on crutches for at least a week or two, until it heals," Higgins replied as the door opened again, this time revealing the doctor.

"Hello Mr. Fallon. It looks like you have a slight concussion. Because of that, we are going to keep you for the night to observe you. I'm going to stitch your forehead up and then send you upstairs to a room. Since your friend is staying too, we are going to put the two of you together for the night," the doctor said, pulling supplies from a cabinet.

"Can you tell me anything about Karen Summers? She's my girlfriend and I haven't seen or heard anything since I was brought in here?" I asked as Higgins moved out of the doctor's way.

He was cleaning my forehead off as he replied, "I did check on her at Mr. Higgins request. She's still in surgery. The bullet nicked her liver and small intestine, so those had to be repaired quickly. They were also going to repair her arm. She suffered considerable damage to the two bones. They are going to use plates and screws to fix the damage. But that is the last I heard," he answered, beginning to put the stitches in.

Higgins stood on the opposite side, watching the doctor. "We appreciate you checking for us. It really means a lot."

"Not a problem. As soon as I finish here and get you sent upstairs Mr. Fallon, I'll check on her again for you guys. I'll be up to check on you and Mr. Miles anyway."

I gave the doctor a small smile. "Thank you so much. She means so much to me."

" I can tell," he replied, patting my shoulder, standing and putting his supplies away. "Okay, I'm going to get some orderlies to get you moved upstairs. I'll be up in about an hour or so."

"Thanks again doc," Higgins said, shaking his hand.

"No problem," he replied, leaving the room.

Higgins turned back to look at me. "You really care about her, don't you?"

I smiled, blushing a little as a looked down to my hands. "Yeah, I really do Higgins. She's so beautiful, inside and out. I can tell she's had some bad experiences in her life and she closed her heart to love. But she opened it just enough for me to jump in."

Higgins patted my leg, smiling. "I'm so glad Jimmy. You deserve all the happiness and love in the world."

I started tearing up, grinning in his direction. "Who knew Steve Higgins could be such a mush?"

"Shhh! Don't let my secret out," he said, heading toward the door. "But I really do mean what I said. Never forget that. I'm going to go ahead and go on up to Miles' room, since your okay. I'll see you when you get upstairs."

"Thanks Higgins. I really mean that."

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I was moved upstairs within twenty minutes. Miles was sitting up in bed, Higgins sitting in a chair near the window, Patrick and Mike standing nearby.

"Hey guys!" I exclaimed cheerfully as the two orderlies moved me to bed.

"Hey Jimmy! You doing okay?" Mike asked, coming over and sitting by my bed.

"Yeah, I'll be okay. Is everyone else ok? No one else got hurt right?" I asked, trying to get comfortable in bed.

"No, just you two and Karen. I can't believe she stood up against him like that! I've never seen a woman be that brave before," Patrick said looking at me. The others nodded in agreement.

I looked down, playing with a corner of the blanket. "I was impressed too. I knew she was stronger than she knew. I just hope she'll be okay."

Mike put an encouraging hand on my shoulder, causing me to look up. "She'll be okay Jimmy. I can't wait to get to know her."

"Thanks Mike. I appreciate it."

The others began talking amongst themselves as I leaned back and closed my eyes. I was so proud of Karen for pulling the gunman's attention off of everyone else. I was like Patrick; I had never met another woman like Karen either. I knew she said she had a lot of baggage, but I was proud to be able to help her with it.

She was letting me into her heart and by god I wasn't going to do anything to break that heart.