As Misty’s scream filled the hospital hallway, actions of friends and family were faster than those of the nearby nurses. It wasn’t just another person in that bed – it was someone loved by more than one.
It was Wyatt and Carson both who made it to the doorway first, but one of them had to give. Their eyes locked, but Carson’s stare was strongest. “We’ve been over this once, mate,” he hissed. “Don’t make me repeat myself.” Entering Misty’s room, he left Wyatt behind, along with Reese and Alec, who stayed put. Not because they wanted to, but out of simple respect. And all, including Alec, were ready to intrude, should Carson’s presence not be wanted…
The day before…
Carson had just finished his morning run and was starting to get things going in the restaurant. Though not open until later, there was plenty to do every day before any customers arrived. The day felt…off kilter somehow. Not that any day was really all that great anymore, but today there seemed to be an unexplainable gloom hanging in the air – one that just made Carson’s mood all the more sour.
Hearing the bell on the front door, he sighed. This is why he always kept it locked until Thirteen or Aerith were supposed to come – couldn’t customers read the closed sign?
He emerged from the kitchen, ready to state his open hours, but seeing Alec, he stopped short. This was odd. “Hey…” Confused, he neared, immediately put on guard by the look on his brother’s face. Something was wrong. Terribly wrong. “Alec?” His approach was made more cautious. “What’s wrong?”
Alec swallowed hard. He obviously couldn’t hide the raw emotions in his eyes. “I thought I should come in person instead of call.”
Carson’s pulse quickened. “Alec…what happened?”
“Look, can we sit down?”
Carson took his brother by the shoulders. “What. Happened? Is it Mac? Misty? What?”
Alec chewed on the inside of his lip, perhaps a little sorry he’d volunteered for this. But he knew it was still best. And he also knew Carson would prefer hearing it straight. “Someone broke into the house last night.”
Carson’s hands dropped from Alec as his eyes widened in panic. “Is Misty okay?”
“She will be. But she was hurt.”
“How bad? Where is she?”
“She’s at the hospital. She…” Alec’s words trailed off as Carson was already on his way to grab his keys, and he rolled his eyes. “She was knifed. In the throat. She lost a lot of blood, but JT says she’s gonna pull through.”
Carson was already back and aiming for the door, but as he opened it, he stopped short and turned to look back at Alec again. A new and horrible thought had struck. “The baby…” His words were but a whisper.
Alec’s jaw tightened. The answer just wouldn’t come. All he could do was shake his head. “I’m so sorry.”
Tears sprang into Carson’s eyes, and he had to take a moment just to absorb the shock. He wasn’t sure whether he wanted to scream, pass out, get sick, or all three. He’d thought his heart could not hurt more, but he’d been wrong. Never had there been a pain anything like this – so deep that it went past pain into a numbness of his very soul. A single tear etched a trail down the side of his face. “Who was it?”
A chill ran down Alec’s spine, hearing the icy cold question. “We don’t know. But the Agency would be an awfully good guess.”
Carson took a deep breath to regain control, and he nodded. “You want to ride with me back to the hospital? Or maybe you should drive?”
“I shouldn’t. I’m still kinda dizzy.”
“Wait…are you okay?”
“Yeah. Just got conked on the head. I’ll be alright. Prolly shouldn’t drive though til I stop seeing double.”
“Right.” Carson finally stepped outside. His legs didn’t feel like he was even moving, but somehow…somehow he’d make it…
Carson had been met with opposition upon getting to the hospital. Though he still did some work for the Elite, he avoided the office as of late, due to all the ill feelings against him. Most relationships had not been mended, though he would always be grateful for the few that had forgiven him. Like Katie. But today, he was wanted by very few. Reese had been unhappy but respectful, while Wyatt had threatened to send him packing. Jason had not been thrilled with his presence, but was tolerant. Anyone else kept their distance. Carson ignored most, unwilling to leave. The sight of Misty lying in that bed was almost too much to bear, and more tears were shed than anyone else knew about. If only he could have been there for her. To protect her. And their child. Their child that now, they would never know. The child whom he had grown to love and look forward to, even if he’d never told anyone. The future was now even foggier than it had ever been before…
…Entering Misty’s room once again, Carson was by her bed in just three strides. “Misty?” His hand automatically went to grasp hers gently, his other palm brushing her cheek. “Hey…shh… it’s okay. You’re okay. You’re safe.”
Jason’s head snapped up quickly enough to give away the fact that he’d just been startled by Katie’s appearance. He’d been so lost in thought that he hadn’t even noticed anyone walking by, let alone her stopped at his doorway.
His eyes were tired, reflecting his heart that was pained with the recent events. Though he’d broken up with Misty, he still cared, and he was still saddened things had turned out like they had. He had a different kind of sorrow – it had not been his child she carried, nor had he had the hopes and dreams tied up in a future with the baby. His pain was simply that of watching his friend suffer.
“Hmm?” It took a moment to get his mind on task, and he finally shook his head. “Oh. Yeah, okay. I didn’t expect we’d find much. Thanks.”
Katie’s invitation took him a little by surprise, but ever since their recent chat over coffee, things seemed to have been better between them. Easier. Less stressed.
He let his eyes land on hers and linger there for a moment or two. She knew he was having a hard time with all this, and he appreciated her insightfulness…even if she couldn’t feel his emotions.
Blinking, he cleared his throat while he stood. “Fresh air sounds good, and I was planning on stopping by the hospital to see if anything had changed, so…yeah. That’d be great.” He grabbed his jacket and joined Katie in the hall. There would be no other witness to the wayward route of his hand – old habits died hard… as did the motion of his hand towards Katie’s shoulder. He caught himself before it reached its destination though, and he inwardly cringed before shaking it off. “Lead the way, driver.”
1/12/15
A Moment's Wish...
Somewhere caught between asleep, and waking Misty could hear talking. Words being thrown around her like lost, answer, saving, and baby. None of it made sense to her as she tried to wake herself a little more. Was this all just a dream, and none of this real. The last thing she remembered was hearing someone in the house. Shadows, falling, the smell of blood, and the fear that rushed over her. What had happened...
The next day...
Feeling the warmth of the morning sun on her face Misty rotates her head to the side and smiles watching Carson laying next to her fast a sleep. She liked watching him sleep sometimes. He seemed so at peace, and calm. It was one of the best ways to wake up.
Looking back up at the ceiling Misty smiles, but soon it fades as a sharp pain coursed through her body shocking herself away. As her eyes open the sun light was gone, and she was in a white room, a hospital room. Her body hurt all over, slowly memories come back to her about what had happened, about the attack.
Slowly bring her hand up to her neck Misty feels the bandages wrapped around her. How bad was it? Letting her hand fall from her neck it rests on her stomach. In only another split moment a wave of fear rushes over Misty. Her baby! There was no need for anyone to tell her, for she already could tell herself by the empty feeling she felt. The next thing to follow was a blood curdling scream, and than sobs. How could this happen....why could this happen? This was the one good thing she had left and now like everything else it was gone. Her baby was gone, and she didn't even know why, the only thing she new and she felt was sadness, hurts, more hurt than all over her body injuries combined, her hear was shattered, and for a moment Misty wished she hadn't lived either.
Leaning back in her desk chair Katie lets out a long sigh. The last few days had been deadly quiet at work and everyone new why. Nothing seemed the same anymore, hurt, sadness...it was so thick someone could cut it with a knife. Misty was family to everyone at work, all so close and now...one of there family members had been hurt almost beyond repair, and no one new what to do. This wasn't something that could be fixed. Psychical Misty would get better, but mentally Katie didn't think it would be so easy.
Sitting forward again Katie runs her hands over her face and lets out a long sigh. She'd been working almost all night to try and fit what had happened together and why. But every ally she looks up came to a dead end. This was just another sick game played by The Agency but still it seemed different some how.
Looking over her shoulder at the light on in Jason's office Katie new thats where he was. She felt bad for him too and couldn't imagine how he was feeling through this all as well. It was hard on everyone but Jason and Misty were so close even if they were just friends again. Getting up she heads that way and knocks gently on the door before poking her head into his office.
"Hey J. I just got done looking through those old files Reese had me on and I came up with more dead ends. He just told me to let you know whenever I found anything or not."
Pausing for a second Katie just studied Jason and her heart sank a little even more. It was hard to actually read him, but still she could just tell by looking at him it was hard.
"I was thinking of going to see Misty, I didn't know if you wanted to tag along. Figured maybe you could use a little time away from work, and fresh air too."
The next day...
Feeling the warmth of the morning sun on her face Misty rotates her head to the side and smiles watching Carson laying next to her fast a sleep. She liked watching him sleep sometimes. He seemed so at peace, and calm. It was one of the best ways to wake up.
Looking back up at the ceiling Misty smiles, but soon it fades as a sharp pain coursed through her body shocking herself away. As her eyes open the sun light was gone, and she was in a white room, a hospital room. Her body hurt all over, slowly memories come back to her about what had happened, about the attack.
Slowly bring her hand up to her neck Misty feels the bandages wrapped around her. How bad was it? Letting her hand fall from her neck it rests on her stomach. In only another split moment a wave of fear rushes over Misty. Her baby! There was no need for anyone to tell her, for she already could tell herself by the empty feeling she felt. The next thing to follow was a blood curdling scream, and than sobs. How could this happen....why could this happen? This was the one good thing she had left and now like everything else it was gone. Her baby was gone, and she didn't even know why, the only thing she new and she felt was sadness, hurts, more hurt than all over her body injuries combined, her hear was shattered, and for a moment Misty wished she hadn't lived either.
Leaning back in her desk chair Katie lets out a long sigh. The last few days had been deadly quiet at work and everyone new why. Nothing seemed the same anymore, hurt, sadness...it was so thick someone could cut it with a knife. Misty was family to everyone at work, all so close and now...one of there family members had been hurt almost beyond repair, and no one new what to do. This wasn't something that could be fixed. Psychical Misty would get better, but mentally Katie didn't think it would be so easy.
Sitting forward again Katie runs her hands over her face and lets out a long sigh. She'd been working almost all night to try and fit what had happened together and why. But every ally she looks up came to a dead end. This was just another sick game played by The Agency but still it seemed different some how.
Looking over her shoulder at the light on in Jason's office Katie new thats where he was. She felt bad for him too and couldn't imagine how he was feeling through this all as well. It was hard on everyone but Jason and Misty were so close even if they were just friends again. Getting up she heads that way and knocks gently on the door before poking her head into his office.
"Hey J. I just got done looking through those old files Reese had me on and I came up with more dead ends. He just told me to let you know whenever I found anything or not."
Pausing for a second Katie just studied Jason and her heart sank a little even more. It was hard to actually read him, but still she could just tell by looking at him it was hard.
"I was thinking of going to see Misty, I didn't know if you wanted to tag along. Figured maybe you could use a little time away from work, and fresh air too."
Suffering
Making sure there were no more threats, nor anyone nearby the house as a witness, the one dark figure slowly weaved in and out of the shadows, waiting for his partners to reappear. But when he heard the muffled sounds of a commotion inside, he waited no longer.
Entering the house, he was quick to see one of his partners groaning at the bottom of the stairs, along with Misty, who was also lying in a heap, bleeding and not moving.
"What happened?! Are you insane?!" The only response he received was word that Joe was dead, upstairs, and this whole thing had apparently been an accident. And an ugly one at that.
Kneeling next to Misty, he felt her pulse, finding it weak. "She fell down the stairs? We were supposed to bring her alive! Idiot!" His backhanded whack to his buddy emphasized his statement. "She's prolly gonna bleed to death, and who knows about the baby now?! There's no way I'm dragging her along - we'll just have to report the incident and hope we don't get shot ourselves for lousing this up."
Not bothering to really even check to make sure the other guy was alright, he hurried up the stairs to sling the dead body over his shoulder - they would not be leaving that kind of evidence. And besides, if they had their dead partner when returning to base, that would be the proof that something had gone terribly wrong. Maybe they could even say that Alec had been in the house. Yeah. That would work.
"Come on." Once back downstairs, he aimed for the door. "Let's get out of here before Alec comes to. With any luck, this chick will be dead by the time he does, and that'll at least be one more agent out of our hair."
Outside, Alec wasn't sure how long he'd been out, when his senses finally returned. His head was throbbing, and things were rather blurry, but he managed to pull himself to his feet. What on earth had happened? Who had attacked him, and why? Then a new thought struck him. "Misty." He squinted to the dark house, just as his ears picked up the sound of squealing wheels. "Oh, no... Misty..."
Stumbling half-blindly to the back door, Alec caught himself on the porch railing, almost falling over from dizziness. "Misty!" Where was she? Had she been attacked too? Making it inside, he fumbled for the light switch. Able to see a little better, it was only after he'd rounded the corner that he spotted Misty on the floor. "Misty? Can you hear me?" He knelt quickly by her side, the sight of all the blood making his stomach churn. He'd grown numb to blood - but not when it belonged to someone he cared about.
Realizing she'd been cut on the throat, he pressed his hand to the wound, trying to slow down the bleeding. "No, no, no...." This couldn't be happening. "Misty, come on... don't do this. Not now. Stay with me." Finding a pulse - though weak - was a small bit of relief, but he knew he needed to act fast.
Daring to leave her just for a moment, he grabbed the cordless phone and was right back at her side with his hand to her wound again. Blood was smeared all over his hands and clothes, and he didn't even know if all the blood on the wall down the stairs was Misty's or someone else's. For all he knew, someone else was still here, but he couldn't risk leaving her to search.
His thumb dialed 911. What happened after that would forever be a foggy memory of an incoming emergency team, an ambulance ride, blacking out, waking at the hospital, seeing Misty wheeled down the hall, and being forced to the ER himself for care...
..."I'm fine, just lay off, will you?" Alec swatted at the nurse's hand and slid off the bed.
"You need a bandage on that," she scolded. "And sit down before you fall down - again."
Alec swayed unsteadily as the room spun, and he held onto the rail at the foot of the bed to keep from keeling over. Mild concussion. So what? He was fine. He already had a few stitches in his scalp - that was good enough.
The nurse's arms went around him to force him to sit back down on the bed, and she looked at him sternly. "Your friend is in the O.R. with the best care possible - there is nothing you can do for her, so you might as well take care of yourself right now."
Alec finally relented, his eyes falling as the nurse returned to cleaning around the stitches on the back of his head, and applying a small bandage. "Have you heard how she is?"
The nurse sighed. "Not good." She set a gentle hand on his shoulder. "But they're doing all they possibly can..."
..."Alec?"
Having eventually given in to resting, Alec was lying on the bed now, staring at the ceiling. A visitor though, startled him, and he looked quickly to the door. "Reese. Wondered when you'd get here."
Reese was dressed haphazardly in an old pair of jeans and a wrinkled t-shirt, his hair rather a mess, indicating he'd been in bed. "Yeah, I hurried as fast as I could. What on earth happened?"
To say this was awkward would be an understatement, but this was too important to dwell on that factor. Alec pulled himself up to sit a little straighter, trying to get his brain to think straight. "I'm really not sure. I just happened to get up at an odd time and got ambushed soon as I stepped out of my shed. When I came to, I went in the house and found Misty at the bottom of the stairs, unconscious and her throat slit. I called 911, and when the team arrived, they swept the house and no one else was there, but they said it looked like someone else had been upstairs, but there's really no telling what actually happened til someone can go through and look for prints and test the blood." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"This shouldn't have happened. I should have heard someone there sooner. I should have stayed in the house. Something. Anything. I should have been more careful about protecting her."
Reese cocked his head. "You really do care, don't you?"
It had been a long time since Alec had seen Reese. Getting kicked out of the apartment the Elite had provided had been the last interaction. And that seemed like a lifetime ago. "Of course I do." Alec let his eyes drop. "She's...family." He shook his head. "This...getting ambushed...I should have listened to my senses. They never should have gotten as far as they did. Misty, she..." His sentence dropped off as he struggled to control his emotions. "She's in bad shape because I let my guard down."
"No one could have predicted this." Reese moved closer to the bed. His eyes were filled to the brim with worry, but blame was absent. "Were you in on this?"
"What? Of course not!" Alec hadn't even considered being under suspicion himself. "Do you really think I was?!"
"No...I don't." Reese's tone was oddly stern. "My point is, you cannot take the blame for this. There's no way you could have known something like this would happen. If -"
He was cut off by JT's entrance into the room. "Reese? Alec?"
Reese turned quickly. "I didn't know you were working tonight."
"Well, I wasn't." JT set his hands in his pockets. "But I'm on call for any Elite patients." He looked between the two men grimly. "I just came from working on Misty."
"And?" It wasn't an employer's concern coming through, but rather an uncle's worry.
"And...she's alive." JT's voice was not very positive. "She lost an awful lot of blood." He looked to Alec. "You probably saved her life by seeing to her wound and calling 911 as fast as you did."
Alec swallowed hard. He didn't feel anything near to a hero at this point. "Is she gonna live?"
"I think so." JT nodded. "I can't be a hundred percent sure, and she's gonna be in ICU for a while, but...if I was a betting man, I'd say she'll pull through. It's just gonna take some time for her body to recover."
Reese's mind had already jumped one step farther. "And...the baby?"
JT pursed his lips before he finally shook his head. "The baby didn't survive."
Alec felt like his soul was being suffocated.
"I think it was the fall," JT continued. "The paramedics said she'd fallen down the stairs. Aside from the loss of blood and the emotional stress, I'd say that the nature of the fall is what caused trauma to the baby. By the time Misty arrived here...there were no life signs and nothing we could do. This adds to Misty's physical condition, but the worst of that is over."
Reese leaned his hands on the foot of the bed, his stare glued to the floor. "Physically. But not emotionally."
JT's nod was solemn. "Agreed." He looked to Alec. "You're free to go any time, but my advice is to take it easy for a couple days, and if you experience any ill effects like bad headaches, dizziness or vomiting, come back in - otherwise, you should be safe to leave." He gestured to the hallway. "You can see Misty for just a brief few minutes if you like, though it'll be a while before she regains consciousness."
"Thank you." Reese straightened and shifted his gaze to the ceiling. Once JT was gone, the silence was overwhelming. He eventually looked back down to Alec, and was surprised to see the young man's eyes held tears just beneath the surface. "You alright?"
Alec shook his head. "No. But I'm far better than Misty." He sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. He'd been so excited. That little baby was going to be his niece or nephew. And Misty...though unexpected, Alec knew she's been looking forward to being a mother. Preparing for it. Getting excited about it. And now...it had been ripped from her grasp. Everything else had fallen to pieces - this had been the one precious thing still good. And now it was gone. "This is gonna kill her."
Reese was quiet for another few minutes. "Yes. It is. But I have confidence she will pull through. She's tough. And this is one of the hardest things she'll ever face...but she'll survive. I know it."
Alec knew he was right. Misty wasn't the first to go through this. But it didn't make it any easier, and Alec hurt the most for her. "Who's going to tell Carson?"
Reese pursed his lips. "I will, unless you feel it would be better coming from you."
Alec nodded. "I'll tell him. I'll stop by and see Misty, then I'll head his way." By now it was early morning. "He'll be at the restaurant already."
It wasn't long before many others from the Elite had been called, including Katie, whom Reese called himself. They had not lost Misty, but this was a hard blow for all of them. It was a big issue that the baby was lost, and it was a big issue that someone had gotten this close and had attacked again - with no clue as to why.
Entering the house, he was quick to see one of his partners groaning at the bottom of the stairs, along with Misty, who was also lying in a heap, bleeding and not moving.
"What happened?! Are you insane?!" The only response he received was word that Joe was dead, upstairs, and this whole thing had apparently been an accident. And an ugly one at that.
Kneeling next to Misty, he felt her pulse, finding it weak. "She fell down the stairs? We were supposed to bring her alive! Idiot!" His backhanded whack to his buddy emphasized his statement. "She's prolly gonna bleed to death, and who knows about the baby now?! There's no way I'm dragging her along - we'll just have to report the incident and hope we don't get shot ourselves for lousing this up."
Not bothering to really even check to make sure the other guy was alright, he hurried up the stairs to sling the dead body over his shoulder - they would not be leaving that kind of evidence. And besides, if they had their dead partner when returning to base, that would be the proof that something had gone terribly wrong. Maybe they could even say that Alec had been in the house. Yeah. That would work.
"Come on." Once back downstairs, he aimed for the door. "Let's get out of here before Alec comes to. With any luck, this chick will be dead by the time he does, and that'll at least be one more agent out of our hair."
Outside, Alec wasn't sure how long he'd been out, when his senses finally returned. His head was throbbing, and things were rather blurry, but he managed to pull himself to his feet. What on earth had happened? Who had attacked him, and why? Then a new thought struck him. "Misty." He squinted to the dark house, just as his ears picked up the sound of squealing wheels. "Oh, no... Misty..."
Stumbling half-blindly to the back door, Alec caught himself on the porch railing, almost falling over from dizziness. "Misty!" Where was she? Had she been attacked too? Making it inside, he fumbled for the light switch. Able to see a little better, it was only after he'd rounded the corner that he spotted Misty on the floor. "Misty? Can you hear me?" He knelt quickly by her side, the sight of all the blood making his stomach churn. He'd grown numb to blood - but not when it belonged to someone he cared about.
Realizing she'd been cut on the throat, he pressed his hand to the wound, trying to slow down the bleeding. "No, no, no...." This couldn't be happening. "Misty, come on... don't do this. Not now. Stay with me." Finding a pulse - though weak - was a small bit of relief, but he knew he needed to act fast.
Daring to leave her just for a moment, he grabbed the cordless phone and was right back at her side with his hand to her wound again. Blood was smeared all over his hands and clothes, and he didn't even know if all the blood on the wall down the stairs was Misty's or someone else's. For all he knew, someone else was still here, but he couldn't risk leaving her to search.
His thumb dialed 911. What happened after that would forever be a foggy memory of an incoming emergency team, an ambulance ride, blacking out, waking at the hospital, seeing Misty wheeled down the hall, and being forced to the ER himself for care...
..."I'm fine, just lay off, will you?" Alec swatted at the nurse's hand and slid off the bed.
"You need a bandage on that," she scolded. "And sit down before you fall down - again."
Alec swayed unsteadily as the room spun, and he held onto the rail at the foot of the bed to keep from keeling over. Mild concussion. So what? He was fine. He already had a few stitches in his scalp - that was good enough.
The nurse's arms went around him to force him to sit back down on the bed, and she looked at him sternly. "Your friend is in the O.R. with the best care possible - there is nothing you can do for her, so you might as well take care of yourself right now."
Alec finally relented, his eyes falling as the nurse returned to cleaning around the stitches on the back of his head, and applying a small bandage. "Have you heard how she is?"
The nurse sighed. "Not good." She set a gentle hand on his shoulder. "But they're doing all they possibly can..."
..."Alec?"
Having eventually given in to resting, Alec was lying on the bed now, staring at the ceiling. A visitor though, startled him, and he looked quickly to the door. "Reese. Wondered when you'd get here."
Reese was dressed haphazardly in an old pair of jeans and a wrinkled t-shirt, his hair rather a mess, indicating he'd been in bed. "Yeah, I hurried as fast as I could. What on earth happened?"
To say this was awkward would be an understatement, but this was too important to dwell on that factor. Alec pulled himself up to sit a little straighter, trying to get his brain to think straight. "I'm really not sure. I just happened to get up at an odd time and got ambushed soon as I stepped out of my shed. When I came to, I went in the house and found Misty at the bottom of the stairs, unconscious and her throat slit. I called 911, and when the team arrived, they swept the house and no one else was there, but they said it looked like someone else had been upstairs, but there's really no telling what actually happened til someone can go through and look for prints and test the blood." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"This shouldn't have happened. I should have heard someone there sooner. I should have stayed in the house. Something. Anything. I should have been more careful about protecting her."
Reese cocked his head. "You really do care, don't you?"
It had been a long time since Alec had seen Reese. Getting kicked out of the apartment the Elite had provided had been the last interaction. And that seemed like a lifetime ago. "Of course I do." Alec let his eyes drop. "She's...family." He shook his head. "This...getting ambushed...I should have listened to my senses. They never should have gotten as far as they did. Misty, she..." His sentence dropped off as he struggled to control his emotions. "She's in bad shape because I let my guard down."
"No one could have predicted this." Reese moved closer to the bed. His eyes were filled to the brim with worry, but blame was absent. "Were you in on this?"
"What? Of course not!" Alec hadn't even considered being under suspicion himself. "Do you really think I was?!"
"No...I don't." Reese's tone was oddly stern. "My point is, you cannot take the blame for this. There's no way you could have known something like this would happen. If -"
He was cut off by JT's entrance into the room. "Reese? Alec?"
Reese turned quickly. "I didn't know you were working tonight."
"Well, I wasn't." JT set his hands in his pockets. "But I'm on call for any Elite patients." He looked between the two men grimly. "I just came from working on Misty."
"And?" It wasn't an employer's concern coming through, but rather an uncle's worry.
"And...she's alive." JT's voice was not very positive. "She lost an awful lot of blood." He looked to Alec. "You probably saved her life by seeing to her wound and calling 911 as fast as you did."
Alec swallowed hard. He didn't feel anything near to a hero at this point. "Is she gonna live?"
"I think so." JT nodded. "I can't be a hundred percent sure, and she's gonna be in ICU for a while, but...if I was a betting man, I'd say she'll pull through. It's just gonna take some time for her body to recover."
Reese's mind had already jumped one step farther. "And...the baby?"
JT pursed his lips before he finally shook his head. "The baby didn't survive."
Alec felt like his soul was being suffocated.
"I think it was the fall," JT continued. "The paramedics said she'd fallen down the stairs. Aside from the loss of blood and the emotional stress, I'd say that the nature of the fall is what caused trauma to the baby. By the time Misty arrived here...there were no life signs and nothing we could do. This adds to Misty's physical condition, but the worst of that is over."
Reese leaned his hands on the foot of the bed, his stare glued to the floor. "Physically. But not emotionally."
JT's nod was solemn. "Agreed." He looked to Alec. "You're free to go any time, but my advice is to take it easy for a couple days, and if you experience any ill effects like bad headaches, dizziness or vomiting, come back in - otherwise, you should be safe to leave." He gestured to the hallway. "You can see Misty for just a brief few minutes if you like, though it'll be a while before she regains consciousness."
"Thank you." Reese straightened and shifted his gaze to the ceiling. Once JT was gone, the silence was overwhelming. He eventually looked back down to Alec, and was surprised to see the young man's eyes held tears just beneath the surface. "You alright?"
Alec shook his head. "No. But I'm far better than Misty." He sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. He'd been so excited. That little baby was going to be his niece or nephew. And Misty...though unexpected, Alec knew she's been looking forward to being a mother. Preparing for it. Getting excited about it. And now...it had been ripped from her grasp. Everything else had fallen to pieces - this had been the one precious thing still good. And now it was gone. "This is gonna kill her."
Reese was quiet for another few minutes. "Yes. It is. But I have confidence she will pull through. She's tough. And this is one of the hardest things she'll ever face...but she'll survive. I know it."
Alec knew he was right. Misty wasn't the first to go through this. But it didn't make it any easier, and Alec hurt the most for her. "Who's going to tell Carson?"
Reese pursed his lips. "I will, unless you feel it would be better coming from you."
Alec nodded. "I'll tell him. I'll stop by and see Misty, then I'll head his way." By now it was early morning. "He'll be at the restaurant already."
It wasn't long before many others from the Elite had been called, including Katie, whom Reese called himself. They had not lost Misty, but this was a hard blow for all of them. It was a big issue that the baby was lost, and it was a big issue that someone had gotten this close and had attacked again - with no clue as to why.
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