"Um Miss," said the nurse patiently. "I think you are sitting on a stethoscope. Could you give that to me please?"
Vicky stopped crying when she realized there was something hard grazing her hip.
"Sorry, here you go." she croaked out, voice hoarse with all the crying. She handed the nurse the stethoscope and watched as she touched his chest with the metal portion. His chest was bleeding in places and there were angry red marks on his wrists where the tight rope had bound him. The nurse listened to Axky's seemingly still heart for what seemed like an eternity.
Then, pausing, she put an oxygen mask over Axky's mouth and nose before attending to his bruises.
The other nurse meanwhile had finished dressing Levi's wounds and was now putting on his oxygen mask.
It took Paula and Vicky over a minute to realize that everyone in the van was breathing.
Everyone in the van had a pulse.
Oh.
Oh my God.
They made it!
"Are they going to be okay?" asked Paula tentatively.
"They should be." said the nurse. "The older man has inhaled a lot of smoke, it is already hard for him to breathe, but as soon as we get to the hospital we can hook him up to a mechanical ventilator if needed. For the most part, he may just wake up in a couple of hours on his own after we give him a few bottles of saline. He's lost a little blood and a lot of water."
"The younger man got dizzy with all the smoke. Stuff like this happens when fires break out in homes. Thankfully he got out in time, I'm guessing he'll wake up any time now." said the other nurse wiping away at the blood on Axky's shoulder. "The doctors need to see them both to find out if something else is wrong. They're both breathing, so I that's good."
Vicky excitedly hugged her mother, fresh tears pouring out her eyes.
Still breathing was great. She could work with that---
"...puke..." whimpered a voice.
All four heads turned to Levi, who had ripped off the oxygen mask and was now trying to retch while still lying down.
The nurse quickly helped him into sitting position and handed him a paper bag.
"...fucking ash everywhere..." he cursed as he retched into the paper bag, chest heaving. "...chest hurts...old man...OLD MAN!"
He stopped puking to frantically look around. His eyes locked on Axky's sleeping form and he turned back to the nurse helping him sit up.
"... he dead?" he asked breathing through his mouth fighting the urge to throw up again.
"No he's alive, thanks to you." said the nurse placatingly. "If you need to vomit, please do, it's good if you can stay awake while we reach the hospital."
Levi nodded, returning to his paper bag.
It took him a good while before he exhausted his belly. He felt much better now that his dinner was out. It was only after he finished rinsing his mouth on the tiny basin and looked around for the towel that he caught sight of Vicky and Paula sitting behind him in the van.
"What the hell?" he spluttered trying very hard to believe that what he was seeing was true. He rubbed at his eyes.
"Hi Levi." said Paula with a smile. "Thank you for rescuing my husband. I am so glad you are alright. I will let your mother know you are safe---"
"NO!" said Levi before receding into a spree of coughs. "Don't tell her anything! She can't know!"
"Okay...but eventually we need to tell her." said Paula with a frown. "Or the hospital will."
Levi groaned and held his head in his hands. He coughed repeatedly, his lungs trying very hard to get rid of all the muck.
Throughout it all Vicky only stared at Levi. She couldn't bring herself to say a word. Even though she was no longer upset with him, she was grateful and if anything she loved him even more that very second...but she knew that even if she did ... it didn't mean he felt the same way.
Levi was coughing uncontrollably now and the nurses were trying to keep him sitting so he wouldn't hurt himself.
Vicky prayed silently in her head. She didn't want anything from him but that he became healthy again. She didn't expect love or affection, hell she didn't even mind any of the games Levi had played on her. She was willing to forgive and forget. Her eyes caught Levi's watery brown ones and her breath hitched.
Ignoring Levi was by far harder to do than simply say. When his expressive eyes met her own her heart lurched just like it had six years ago. At that moment it all came crashing back, her pain, her hurt, his lies, his truth.
The emotions were overwhelming, but Vicky willed herself not to cry. She turned away her head and focused on caressing Axky's hand resting on her lap.
She didn't see the hurt flash across Levi's eyes and she didn't know how badly he wanted her to speak to him, to acknowledge him, to call him names, to hit him with words and hurt him. But all she did was ignore him. And frankly, that hurt worse than a burning splinter to his chest ever would.
The ambulance came to a sudden halt and everyone lurched a bit due to inertia.
The doors opened and Axky was taken out first. The nurses got down and Paula followed Axky's bed to the hospital.
For a fleeting few moments, Levi and Vicky were alone.
"Vicky," said Levi hoarsely, trying to keep from coughing. Hell he'd puked in front of her already, there wasn't much coolness left of him anyway.
"I'm glad you are safe." she said smiling weakly. "I thought we lost you."
She was itching to touch him, to rub away the soot by his slightly singed eyebrows, to kiss away the cuts and scratches on his face and chest, to wash away the ash from his blonde hair, to hold him close and hear his heartbeat firsthand.
"I'm sorry Vicky." he said huskily as the nurses unloaded his bed from the van.
"Levi..." she called as he was rolled away. The name rolled off her tongue like it had always belonged there and had finally come home. His eyes widened as she spoke his name and a gentle smile tugged at his lips.
She followed close behind, clutching her palms to her chest. It ached to say his name, but it felt oddly relieving to be able to say it.
"Levi." she said again, softer this time. "Thank you."
She didn't know if he heard her, but the nurses saw him grin.
***
"JACK!" sobbed Brielle into the phone. "Jason and Gary are missing! Our little angels are gone!"
"Honey---" started Jack trying to figure out what had happened. "What?"
"The boys are not in their beds!" she said tears rolling down her cheeks. "Oh wait hold on, Paula is calling me."
And that is how the CEO of Dickson Enterprises, Jack Dickson was placed on hold.
"Paula!" started Brielle hysterically. "Jason and Gary---"
"Are here with me." completed Paula. "Apparently they came here with two friends of Vicky's. They are both safe and I'll bring them home safely as soon as Axky is settled."
"What happened to Axky?" asked Brielle in surprise.
"I'll explain later Brie. Don't worry about the kids, they're safe okay?" said Paula. "Anyway, gotta run, bye!"
She hung up leaving Brielle was more confused than ever. She returned to her call with Jack.
"Jack, Paula said our boys are with her. She said Axky is in the hospital. What's going on?" she asked.
"They found him?" started Jack excitedly. "I'l explain later Brie. Catch you later. Bye!"
He hung up too.
Brielle cursed into the night. "No one ever tells me anything!"
A/N: Poor Brielle, always left out of the action. :)
Hi everyone!
Hope you liked this update!
Vicky is a bit mad at Levi, but hey what's love without a little fight here and there eh? Do you think they can get back together ?
Let me know your thoughts!
Lots of love,
Andy