nine-eleven ♡ h.s.

twelve

C H A P T E R         T W E L V E

10:23am — Valerie

Valerie stops dead in her tracks. Maybe she even stopped breathing for a second when she sees her husband sitting in the back of the ambulance with a thick blanket wrapped around his body. Harry has his head leaned against the opened door and he presses an ice pack against his forehead while a paramedic tries to wrap a bandage around his head.

 When the paramedic takes a step to the side and Harry looks up, he can finally see his wife. Valerie is close to breaking down again. Her whole body is shaking. She can't move. Valerie stands there and stares at her husband who is supposed to be dead.

 All of a sudden, Harry stands up and walks over to her on his wobbly legs. The blanket drops to the floor and Harry fastens his steps until he stands right in front of Valerie.

 Both of them don't know what to do. Harry still has not realized that he survived this hell, that he survived even though he was meant to die. He doesn't even know how he came out of there, alive. He lifts his hand and his thumb strokes over the soft skin of her cheek.

 And finally, Valerie can cry. She broke out of her state of shock and she lets out all the tears that she held in when John told her Harry might be dead.

 "Harry." She whispers in disbelief.

 "Hi." Harry replies and it feels so wrong to smile but he just can't help himself.

 "Why are...why are you not dead?" Valerie asks and tears her eyes from his injured face and looks down at his injured chest. His white button-up shirt is ripped and shows half of his upper body.

 "I don't know."

 "But you're supposed to be dead. John said he saw how you...stopped...and then it...collapsed. You should be dead," Valerie says confused, "How? How could you two survive? There were pieces falling down."

 "I don't know." Harry says again. His thumb traces over her quivering bottom lip and then he wipes away some tears from her cheeks.

 Carefully, Valerie puts her hands on his bare chest and feels the warm skin underneath her fingertips. She feels his strong heartbeat, "You're alive. You're actually alive."

 "I promised you."

 "I thought you were dead." Valerie just can't wrap her mind around the fact that Harry is alive and that he can talk and stand and walk and breathe.

 "You kept your promise." She whispers and Harry nods.

 Valerie fears that all this is just an illusion. What if she just zoned out and still sits on the same spot where she broke down when she heard that Harry is dead? What if Harry isn't even in front of her?

 But she is proven wrong when Harry kisses her because there has never been a feeling so real and vivid. After what felt like years he kisses her and she has never felt so happy before. Valerie is happy even though everything around her is under such terrible circumstances and no one is allowed to be happy today. But her little family is alive.

 And as long as the kiss lasts they are not here. They are somewhere else. A place which is far away from where terrible things happen that threaten to tear them apart.

 "Sir, you were not allowed to stand up. You need to sit down." A broad and stressed man interrupts the moment that Harry and Valerie just shared.

 Harry takes Valerie's hand as he turns around to face the man behind him. He holds the blanket in his hand, ready to give it back to Harry. Sighing, Harry walks back to the ambulance and sits down. The blanket is back around his body and a second paramedic takes care of him and his injuries.

 "What is going to happen now?" Valerie asks worried.

 "We're going to get him into the nearest hospital. We need to make a few tests on him and the other victims. Your husband has to be in agony due to the many and very bad injuries he's gotten," The broad man, who interrupted them, explains, "He was unconscious for more than ten minutes and he might have a smoke poisoning which is why he is a bit confused."

 "Could you leave us alone for a second?" Harry speaks up but the paramedic shakes his head.

 "I don't think—"

 "It won't take long," Harry breaks him off and the man sighs and then leaves to take care of someone else, "Valerie? Come here."

 Valerie crosses the distance between him and carefully hugs him. She is still not over the fact that Harry is alive. It's not fair to her that her family has a happy ending but she wouldn't want to trade with anybody.

 "I love you so much, Valerie," Harry whispers, "How's Amy?"

 "John took her to a paramedic so they can check on them," Valerie answers, "Thank you, Harry, for taking this risk to get out of there. You were so selfless when you stopped for this woman but—You're a hero, Harry, really. And I'm so glad Amy and you came out of there. I don't know what I would have—"

 "No need to think about this." Harry says and places a kiss on her cheek, "But I'm sorry it took this terrible experience to happen for me to realize that you, you and Amy, are my everything. I didn't know what I had until I was about to lose it and I'm so grateful I've got a second chance."

 Valerie smiles and lets go of Harry. The paramedic comes back and tells Valerie that she can't come along to the hospital in this car because there is no space anymore. She nods and takes a few steps away.

 Harry lies down on one of the stretchers and smiles at her, "See you in the hospital, Valerie."

 THE END

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I decided to go with a happy ending. You can love me now.

 No but please tell me what you thought of this story? :)