One of a Kind - A KathNiel Story

Chapter 43

Panic was too small a word for what was coursing through Noah, unable to look away from Kath as she remained unmoving at the bottom of the stairs. His whole body was shaking, memories of the night he witnessed her get shot running through his head. It was making it almost impossible to breathe but he raced down the stairs, having to grip onto the banister to stop himself from falling too.

"Mommy?" He choked out, not even realizing how hysterical he was until he tried to speak. His tears fell harder down his face to see Kath still completely unresponsive and the closer he got, the more he could see the bruising forming on her forehead and her arm that was stretched up. Her other arm was across her stomach, even in her unconscious state trying to protect her little girl. "Mommy?" Noah spoke a little louder, falling to his knees beside her and he shook her by the shoulder of her shirt but she still didn't move. "Mommy, wake up! Mommy!" Noah begged, shaking her again but Kath was motionless. Noah sobbed, looking all around him desperately for something to do to help. He rushed back up the steps, heading into the nursery. It tore him apart to be away from Kath when she was in trouble, but he had to try and help. He searched the entire nursery for Kath's phone, pulling the cushions off of the armchair so they littered the floor and he tipped the footstool over, pushing the chair away from the wall so he could see underneath it but her phone was nowhere to be seen. "DADDY!" Noah screamed, even though he knew it was impossible for DJ to hear him - he was still working and wasn't due home for another couple of hours. "HELP!" He called out again, but he didn't get any kind of response.

Noah ran out of the nursery and rushed down the steps again, slipping slightly but he caught himself on the banister and he went onto his knees beside Kath again, moving hair out of her face so that he could see her better and he couldn't stop himself from sobbing. She wasn't bleeding, but it was still terrifying for him to see his Mom so vulnerable when he knew that Dylan relied on her and was weeks away from being ready to be born. "Mommy... Mommy, please wake up." Noah begged, his forehead against hers as he grasped tightly onto her hand, sobs escaping his lips as she didn't respond to him. The only reason he knew she was still alive was that he could feel her breaths against his face as he rested his forehead against hers. He pulled away from Kath's face and touched her bump instead, delicately. He was terrified that just touching her would put Kath or Dylan in serious trouble, but he was desperate for them to be okay. "Dylan?" Noah choked out, sweating because of how panicky and shaky he was. He couldn't calm down, he had to keep reminding himself how to breathe properly but he was feeling lightheaded with pure fear. "Dylan, are you okay?" He raised his voice, his hands still on Kath's bump but he was practically screaming through sobs when he couldn't feel any movement. "NANNA!" Noah threw open the front door after scrambling to his feet, being careful that the door didn't hit Kath but he froze in the doorway. He knew his grandmother was a nurse and could help, he'd walked to his grandparents' house from home before with his parents but he couldn't remember which way to go because he was so panicked and he was too afraid to leave Kath behind. He shut the door and looked back at Kath for a moment before rushing through to the kitchen, remembering what he'd seen in movies and he pulled a chair from the table towards the sink and he climbed up onto it before grabbing a glass from the counter, filling it with water. "Mommy, don't be scared! I'm coming back!" Noah yelled, even though he hadn't gotten any kind of response from his Mom since she fell. He set the glass on the chair beside him before climbing down and he took the glass in both hands, being careful not to spill any of it. He felt guilty, knowing what he was going to do but it was all he could think of that might work and he'd seen it in movies - to dump the water over his Mom to shock her into waking up. He was spilling the water, even though he was trying to be as careful as possible. He was just too shaky to be able to control the glass properly but he practically screamed when he looked at Kath.

She was moving her fingers.

"Mommy!" Noah set the glass on the floor in the living room, not noticing or caring that it spilled onto the carpet instantly. He raced towards his Mom, holding onto her hand that she was very slowly moving.

"Noah...?" She mumbled, slowly opening her eyes - the first thing her vision focused on was her hysterical son.

"Mommy, you fell down!" Noah couldn't stop sobbing, throwing himself at her and Kath winced, but she wrapped her arms around her son.