Page 34 of Charlotte
“Charlotte, love. Hold on for me. Help is coming.” Hawk looks frantic. Fear floods me, now. I have never seen him afraid. The look on his face right now is terrifying. “Please don’t leave me, love. I need you. I love you so fucking much. I need you to be here with me.” I hear his voice crack. He is running, yelling for medics. I feel so light. The light is dimming. Is it night already? Why can’t I see him anymore?
Chapter 29
Hawk
Oh God!This is bad. She is so pale. There is too much blood. I am running on instinct. I have to get her to the medics. We have to stop the bleeding. An ambulance on the road waiting for us. Screaming for help, I have no idea what I am saying. They just need to help her. The twins won’t survive this. There is way too much blood. I will grieve them, but I cannot lose her. A medic rips her from my arms and lays her on a stretcher. She isn’t looking at me. Her eyes are vacant, and half closed. She can’t die. I won’t let her. I vow as they are working on her.
Ace and Mercury are pulling me back. They are telling me I have to give the medics room to work, but I need to touch her. I must keep in contact with her. Somehow, I know it will keep her here with me. She needs the contact to help her hold on to me. The sounds of a chopper approaching gives me some hope. It is coming to land on the road behind us. The medics move to take her to the chopper and I follow never letting my hold falter.
It only takes minutes to reach the trauma center. The doctor is waiting on the helipad. He tells us that the OR is ready. We head straight there. They intend to make me stop at the door, but I refuse. I will not let her go under any circumstances. Captain Olson has made arrangements to give us special access. Ace convinces them to don me in surgical scrubs and let me sit at her head. It is totally not protocol, but I need to be here. Whatever happens today I need to be here with her. She needs my strength.
The surgery seems to take forever. They work franticly to stop the bleeding. She was hit in the right lower chest. It got her bad lung and nicked the liver. They are giving her transfusions during the surgery. After what seems an eternity, they are closing her up. The doctor says they have done all they can do.
Later we are moved to ICU. So far, the twins are doing fine. Strong heartbeats. Their mother is holding her own as well. There are so many damn tubes. IV’s, chest tube, ventilator, and more I don’t have names for at the moment. She is the strongest woman I know. She has been kidnapped, in a rollover MVA, and shot, yet she is still hanging on to life and to our babies. Captain Olson is working on getting our family here. I have talked to my parents and son and I reassured her children that she would be fine.
Hours later, the gang arrives. I am still parked at her bedside. Sara and Justin enter the room. The worry and fear in their eyes is easy to see. It is a mirror of my own emotions. This woman is what holds our family together. Without her it will all fall apart. Brian comes in, too. He looks unsure of himself as he nears the bed. So, I reach for his hand. He comes to my side.
“How is she, Dad?” Brian is whispering so quiet I can hardly hear him.
“She is hanging on, son. She just needs time to heal. She will be with us soon.” I tell him with conviction. Sara rounds the bed and comes up to us. I can tell she is nervous, and I want to reassure her that Charlotte will be fine soon. I have to believe it. There is no other option for me.
“Umm…Brian? I am Sara and this is Justin.” Sara says as she gestures behind her to her brother. “We are Charlotte’s children. It’s good to meet you. I just wish it wasn’t here like this. I know you don’t know us, but Mom wanted us to be a family. I hope you can come to think of us as your family. No matter what happens with Mom.” Sara finishes as her voices hitches as she tries to hold back the tears that are brimming in her eyes.
“Hello, Sara, Justin.” Brian says as he shakes their hands. “I would like that, but Charlotte is going to be fine. So, don’t talk about what she wants in the past tense.” Sara nods in agreement even though her eyes tell a different story.
I am so proud of the young man Brian is becoming. His faith is exceeding my own. I have been on edge since the moment I saw her hit the ground. My heart stopped beating. I have been in limbo, waiting for the smallest sign that the woman I love is coming back to me. Thought beyond this moment is impossible. Each second, she’s unconscious is an eternity of torture. We set up vigil and wait. The hours pass by slowly. The longer she is out the harder it is for me to hold onto hope.
Chapter 30
Hawk
Damn I sure hurt.What happened? Where am I? The memories come flooding back with a vengeance. I was kidnapped and we wrecked. Then I killed that man and as his dying act he shot me. Oh No! the babies! Are they ok? Did I lose them? Where is Hawk? He is close. I can feel it in my heart he is with me, so I open my eyes to look around. The room is quiet and dark. A slight glow from the heart monitor over my bed glows softly. A warm hand takes mine. Looking to my left, all my anxiety leaves me. Hawk is there, looking into my eyes. I try to smile at him, and he returns the gesture.
“Hi.” I try to whisper, but the tube down my throat makes it impossible. Coughs rack my body and an alarm begins to sound near the bed. A ventilator. I force myself to stop fighting the machine.
“Hi, love” Hawk’s face softens and relaxes. My last memory of him was a look of sheer terror on his face. Fear for me, our babies. Fear that we would never get our happily ever after. Worry for our babies again consumes me. Laying my hand on my stomach, I raise my eyes to his in question.
“They are doing fine, love. They are strong just like their mother.” Hawk comes sit on the bed next to me and places his hand over mine on my stomach. Relief floods me. They are alive. Medical personnel come in and out of the room checking equipment and reset the alarms. When I am fully awake, the doctors come in and remove the tube from my throat. Being able to breath on my own, I whisper hoarsely.
“You are the most amazing woman I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. I love you, so much. Please don’t scare me like that again. I can’t live my life without you.” Hawk tells me when the doctor and nurses have left us alone.
“I am so sorry that I scared you. I can’t believe that it happened to me again. I love you so much. I was so afraid I would never see you again. Afraid I would lose our babies. I am sorry that I let myself be kidnapped again…” I rattle on as I try hard to convey everything running through my mind. Hawk places his index finger over my lips.
“Love you have nothing to be sorry for. You made it through, and you kept our babies safe. I am so damn proud of you, of your strength. I can’t wait to marry you. I need to make you mine.”
“I’m yours, Hawk. From the moment you took my hand in that café, I have been yours. There will never be anyone, but you for me.” Hawk takes my hand and kisses it gently.
Suddenly the room is astir. Our family and friends flood the room. Everyone is talking at the same time. I am so happy to have everyone around me, supporting us. We are so blessed.
Hopefully this nightmare is over. I need to tell them about JoAnn’s part in my abduction. Once all the chatter has settled down, I inquire about what happened while I was out. Captain Olson informs us they were able to link JoAnn to the drug runners. She has been arrested. A SEAL team along with a group of Marine Special Ops have apprehended Hugo Lopez and his Asshole brother. Their drug dealing, gun running, and forced prostitution days are over.
After several days in the hospital, I am released to go home. I just have to decide where home is located. I want to be wherever Hawk is. For now, we are headed back to California and the Naval base. It’s time for my follow up with Dr Martin. It is almost laughable since I was in ICU with a team of doctors and nurses checking me and the twins constantly. But I need this, to get back some semblance of normalcy.
A few days later, after getting a good report from Dr Martin, we head back to our house on base. My kids and Hawk’s family will be here this weekend to visit. I am so looking forward to us all being together. We will be a family again. I can’t wait. We are inviting Hawk’s friends and co-workers over as well. It will be one epic party. Hawk says everyone wants to celebrate my release from the hospital and the end of my nightmare at the hands of my former friend JoAnn and 2 psychopathic drug runners.
Saturday arrives and the house is abuzz with activity. Hawk’s brothers are in the backyard with Deadeye and Ace manning the grill. Hawk’s Mom, Diane has been hovering over me since she arrived. Currently she is fussing over my hair. For some reason she has decided I needed a special hairdo for the picnic. Sara is helping and they seem to be having a bonding moment. I let them pamper me. It’s the least I can do right? They seem so happy, no need to spoil the moment.
I am wearing the most beautiful new dress. Hawk picked it out himself. It is a lovely cream color. It is form fitting at the top and flares out from just under my breasts and falls to my knees, hiding the bump forming in my lower abdomen. A lavender sash hits just under my breasts and there is lavender lace around the hem. A pair of white flats rounds out the ensemble. Diane has pulled the sides of my hair back in little braids and has secured them behind my head. Sara has put small white and lavender flowers in my braids. There is a light layer of makeup on my face. My lips and cheeks a light shade of mauve. I am feeling better than I had for a while, but I am still nervous about getting sick when I smell the food.
