Body and Soul

It was snowing so hard she nearly missed him, the boy teetering on the edge of the bridge. Slamming the brakes so suddenly sent her car careening across the black ice-slicked across blacker tar, screeching to a stop. Liz gasped harshly, heart thundering, but couldn't tear her eyes away from the shaking boy as he swayed almost drunkenly in the moonlight. Fortunately, the bridge was deserted so early in the morning, so she didn't bother to move her car as she fumbled for the handle and burst in the harsh night.

As the snow bit into uncovered cheeks she was thankful she'd offered to stay so late at work, even if her eyes burned from computer screens and she could still see the code behind her retinas because if she hadn't stayed so late, she wouldn't be here at this exact moment.

She forced herself into a gentle walk as she approached the railing, squinting to see in the blizzard. The boy was shaking, likely from the cold as he was dressed in tight black jeans and a light grey jacket. He must be freezing.

"You must be cold up there" she attempted gently, battling to be heard over the raging winds. "Why don't you come down from there and I'll buy you a hot chocolate?"

"That's ok" he replied so faintly she barely heard him. He hadn't turned around to look at her, his gaze focused downwards at the dark waters.

"Well then why don't you tell me what you're doing up there?" she asked shuffling a little closer.

"Thinking about my boyfriend," he said, his voice breaking off into a sob.

"What's he like?" Liz asked calmly, taking a few more cautious steps.

"He was lively" the boy gasped around tears. "I never could figure out where he got his energy from. The complete opposite of me".

"What was his name?"

"Jamie" the boy choked, the word catching in his throat.

"I'm sure Jamie wouldn't want you to be up there in this weather".

The boy laughed but it ended in broken sobs. "It was this day you know" he laughed as he cried. "One month ago. He told his parents about us. He was so nervous – his parents are kind of religious and stuff. They raised hell, called him all sorts of things. When he called me, he was crying – when the world tells you that you're a monster, sometimes you start to believe it".

Liz's heart ached.

"But I wasn't fast enough!" he screamed, and the wind ripped his words apart. "When I got to the bridge "- he looked below him at the railing he was staggering on – "he was already swinging".

He spun around so fast he nearly fell, and Liz darted forward, choking on her own heart, but he'd already regained his balance. Tears were frozen down his dark cheeks, black hair whipping in the wind and his eyes bore deeply into her with a pain that could set the world aflame.

"Just like him. To hang himself off a bridge. So dramatic" he yelled choking on his laughter. "He didn't understand. He didn't get rid of his pain, he just gave it to the rest of us carry".

"I don't think he was thinking very clearly" Liz gasped, her eyes burning with the effort of holding back tears.

"I just never understood" he sobbed, legs shaking.

"I never understood what was so wrong with loving a soul and not a body".

A heartbeat later he finally lost his balance and fell forwards. Liz couldn't quite catch him in time, and his body thudded painfully on the tar, somewhat muffled by the fallen mounds of snow. Liz fell to her knees and dragged him over, fingers flying to check his pulse. Slow, but there. His lips were blue, and his skin felt like ice, chest rising and falling sluggishly, shallowly.

Liz groped for her phone and with numb fingers called for an ambulance. Just as she pulled her phone from her ear headlights seared across her retinas. She clapped a hand over her face, think that was fast. The car screeched loudly to a stop, probably because her car was still blocking the road. Whoops.

A man hopped out, confused eyes taking in her huddled form and the unconscious boy, realization lighting his eyes. He hurried over as quickly as he could on the treacherous tarmac, crouching at the boy's other side. Up close he was breathtakingly handsome, with dark windswept hair and deep eyes. She mentally berated herself for being so selfish.

"What happened?" he asked, his eyes meeting hers and he tugged off black leather gloves by the fingertips. It took a moment for her exhausted and admiring brain to dredge up a response.

"I found him up there" she forced out through chattering teeth, jerking her head at the railing, and quickly filled him in on the rest. His fingers had found the boys neck and he was watching his watch – a very nice silver one – while she spoke.

"I called an ambulance" she added. "Should be here soon".

"St Peters hospital?"

She nodded. He groaned, then caught himself and smiled sheepishly. "I just got off work. Guess I'll have to go back".

"You're a doctor?" she stammered. Of course.

"I wish I could say we don't see a lot of this..." he trailed off. She smiled sadly.

"I'm Nick," he said, extending a hand.

"Liz".

•••

Liz spent most of the night in the hospital, somewhere between awake and asleep. By the morning she was informed that the boy – Jeremy – would recover fully. Physically, at least. She talked to him briefly – there was some crying and he promised not to let it happen again. When his parents arrived, there was more crying and an offer to have dinner someday.

When Liz finally left the hospital, the sun was up and blinding, and she could barely see for tiredness anyways. She decided that was the reason she walked face first into Nick's well-defined chest when he suddenly materialized out of nowhere.

"Sorry" he laughed and gently stabilized her sleep-deprived body. "I just wanted to let you know that I've made sure Jeremy is placed on the hospital's course for stuff like this. I'll keep an eye on him. And that what you did was admirable". He smiled more brightly than the sun and she could only find the energy for a weak smile in return. He must have noticed the general nightmare that was her face and asked, "Would you like to go for a coffee?"

Sleep seemed to have removed all her natural reactions – aka to utterly freak out – when hot men talked to her and she found herself replying.

"Coffee sound great".