Fall in Love in a Coffee Shop

Seventeenth Cup

Firemen rushed in, Moments later two men in gear came out, coughing and choking. They removed their helmets. Not Chase...two more carrying someone, then firefighters holding two small children. The limp man had his helmet off, blood dripping. Serenity ran. "CHASE!" She cried, a cop blocking her yelling to move. "NO! That's my boyfriend!!" she pushed him. Luckily, he knew who she was. Otherwise, she would have been arrested. The paramedics were strapping him to a gurney. One of the other EOD guys pulled her along, telling them who she was. She wasn't sure what his name was, Mike or Matt. But he was familiar.

"This is his fiancée; she's going with him." Matt/Mike spoke up. The paramedics nodded and ushered her into the ambulance. Everything around her was a blur. She could barely answer the questions they were throwing at her. Or the panic she was feeling watching them tend to Chase. He was unresponsive and bleeding heavily.

Serenity sat in the waiting room near the OR with Lily, Amaya, Elliot, and Zane. It had been two hours since they arrived. They did their best to console her, but she was a mess. Finally, the surgeon came out with a sigh, "He's out of surgery and stable but under heavy sedation." he continued, "The shrapnel penetrated very deep even with the protective gear...I nearly severed his aorta." Shaking his head, but looked up with a soft smile, "You can go see him. But please try to keep noise level low." He reached into his pocket, "We also found this in his pocket." He handed the small box to Serenity, who was shaking, half scared, half relief. The surgeon went off and Serenity looked down at the small velvet box in her hands. Lily and Amaya crowded around to see.

"Is that?" Amaya gasped. But before they could say anything else, Serenity pushed her way past them. She needed to see Chase. That's all she cared about. She slipped the box into her purse.

Everyone made their way up to the ICU. Chase was hooked up to all sorts of machines. It was hard to see. Chase was asleep, bandages everywhere, his breathing deep but steady. Serenity sat down beside the bed, holding his hand, sobbing.

Elliot and Zane bit back their own tears. Chase was their best friend for a long time. He had never been hurt like this before. But knowing what today was supposed to be made this harder. They had planned a big party to celebrate Chase and Serenity's engagement. They knew she would say 'yes'.

Chase was supposed to mention it to the girls but decided to keep it a secret, knowing they would blab.

Zane and Amaya went to get everyone food after a while. Zane also called Chase's father to fill him in on what happened. He was on the next flight to Chicago.

Lily's boyfriend made an appearance, asking when they were leaving because he needed Lily home. Elliot took everything in himself not to beat the asshole. Lily didn't want to leave her friend, but he manipulated her into leaving. Elliot left shortly after, and Zane gave Amaya a ride home.

Alone Serenity sat with Chase, occasionally a nurse or doctor came in and checked vitals or his wounds. He didn't stir once. She couldn't bear to leave him and ended up falling asleep in the chair, head resting near his arm.  

~*edited*~