Collision Course by JadeC47

Part 8

"What’s going? Why won’t anyone tell me what’s going

on!!", Several of the people in the waiting room drew

their attention to the shouting man. The Llanview

hospital staff seemed less amused, the ER was prone to

episodes like these. People were constantly being

brought in with every injury or ailment under the sun.

The nurses had seen it all, from children with

dysentery to the common cold all the way to gun shot

wounds. Often times these people were brought in by

people who cared about them, and this man was no

exception.

John McBain had been pacing up and down the halls of

the Llanview Hospital demanding to know what was going

on. Everything seemed so strange so distorted. He was

having trouble keeping it together. One moment RJ had

been in his face and the next Evangeline was calling

his name, all he could think of, all he could hear was

her, calling him, saying his name…

He had watched her collapse to the floor, his heart

plunged at the sight of her. He should have listened

better, listened to her when she had called, to

Antonio when he had told him to back off, and finally

to his gut instinct when it told him to end

Evangeline’s involvement with this case. Bu he hadn’t,

he hadn’t listened to anyone or anything, and now he

was in the last place he wanted to be, a hospital,

just waiting, and praying for a miracle.

"What the hell is going on!!" The nurse at the desk

jumped back instantly as John’s fist came crashing

down on the counter. He knew she was doing her best,

trying to be sympathetic and understanding. All the

while making an attempt to keep him updated on

Evangeline’s condition. But that wasn’t enough, not

for him. Each moment he spent away from Evangeline was

another moment he spent letting his mind ponder the

possible outcome of this…this…

"Oh God," he raked a hand through his dark hair.

The timid nurse opened her mouth, trying to think of

something to say to the cop. He’d been down here

countless times, sometimes on a case but mostly to

visit his brother. But tonight the tough cop was gone.

In his place was a man so consumed with anger, and

pain. But before she could speak Dr. McBain suddenly

appeared with another doctor close behind him.

"John," he placed a hand softly on his brother

shoulder.

"Mikey," his voice seemed to shake as he spoke, "Why

won’t- why won’t anyone tell me what’s going on?"

Michael raised his hands in protest, willing his

brother to calm down.

"John, John , Hey this Dr. Emily Watts, she’s handling

Evangeline’s case."

John McBain turned his attention to the tall brunette.

"Dr. this is my brother John, he brought Evangeline

in."

The doctor nodded as she began to speak.

"Ms. Williamson went into shock. She was in pretty bad

shape with the bruising. She experienced some internal

bleeding. We managed to stop the internal bleeding but

she’s gonna need to take it easy for a while. She’s

unconscious now but she should to come to once the

anesthesia wears off."

"What? Wait a minute, bruises? internal bleeding, I

don’t understand."

The doctor sighed before she continued.

"It appears Ms. Williamson suffered some sort of

fall. She had some serious bruises a broken rib and

she suffered some serious bleeding. She must have been

in excruciating pain, I mean I gotta tell you I’m

surprised this didn’t happen sooner. Any idea what

happened?"

"I don’t…" he seemed to be in his own world as he let

the words sink in. A million thoughts ran into his

head. Why didn‘t he see? Why would she keep this from

him? Unless…

"There something else…"she continued. "Evangeline had

…bruises at the base of her neck. It looked like she’d

been…strangled…thought you might be able to shed some

light on that."

John looked up at the comment, he didn’t miss the true

meaning behind her words.

"Now hold on here, my brother would NEVER hurt

Evangeline."

The doctor apologized for any misunderstanding as she

caught the look on John’s face. John made no attempt

to defend himself.

"Can I see her?"

Dr. Watts nodded, slightly apologetic.

"We’re getting her moved into her own room. You should

be able to see her soon."

"Thank you." He managed before the doctor walked away.

"Hey Johnny, she didn’t mean anything by that…"

Michael made an attempt to comfort his brother, but he

knew Dr. Watts words were the last thing on his mind.

"How is she?" Antonio Vega appeared behind them, with

Sonia beside him.

"She-she was bleeding internally. The doctor said…"

his gaze trailed behind them to he man who stood at a

distance from them. RJ stood staring John square in

the face Antonio followed his gaze, he could see the

wheels turning in his friends head. RJ just stood

there , he didn’t belong here, especially after what

happened , Evangeline was lying in a hospital room

somewhere and he was out here, waiting for HER, it was

just wasn’t right.

Antonio suddenly blocked John as he charged towards

RJ.

"Don’t, not here and not now." John stared back, his

nostrils flared as he made an attempt to move. "I’ll

get it out of him."

"John?"

They all turned as Michael spoke.

"The nurse says Evangeline’s ready…if wanna go in and

sit with her."

John didn’t hesitate as he followed the nurse out of

the waiting area.

The room seemed so small as he entered. The only light

that guided him to her side was the bedside lamp that

illuminated her face.

For what seemed like forever he just stood there,

staring down at her. She slept peacefully, her head

cocked to one side, oblivious to the storm that raged

through his mind.

"Why didn’t you tell me…",

He whispered the words as he trailed a hand down the

side of her face willing her to wake up. He knew she

needed her rest, but he also needed some reassurance,

he needed to know she was still there.

"Stay with me," he whispered again. It was like

dejavu, he had said those words before, in a place

just like this, but at that time it had been too

late. But not this time, not again, he would be damned

if he would let her go, he couldn’t do this again, he

wouldn’t lose someone he…

"Hey," John hadn’t heard Michael knock. "I-uh figured

you might want to stick around, till uh, till she

wakes up." He nodded to Evangeline as John turned his

head back to look at her.

"I can have one of the nurses prepare a cot for you at

the end of the hall…"

"That’s not necessary," he said simply without

turning.

"She’ll be fine," Michael sighed, "Emily said she’s

out of the woods, she’s gonna be ok." He came to stand

on the other side of the bed.

"This time." John brushed back some loose strands of

her hair, there was something in his voice that made

Michael look up instantly.

"Hey!" he whispered loudly, "whatever your thinking

don’t! This is nothing like Caitlin!"

"Isn’t it?" he stepped away from the bed, as if being

so close to Evangeline hurt. "I shouldn’t have let her

get involved, I couldn’t save Caitlin and now…." he

turned to look out over Angel Square and into the

night.

"John, I know you better than you think. Ever

since…Caitlin, you’ve taken over this hero role with

everyone around you. With me, with mom, Natalie?" he

walked to stand closer to his brother, following his

gaze.

"But Van’s not like that, she’s a tough girl. You

can’t be with her every time, all the time. She’s

gonna be fine John, I think she just needs to know

you’re with her."

A long silence passed before John responded to his

brothers words.

"All I wanna do is go out there and get the son of a

bitch that did this to her. But-but I’m so afraid if I

leave, if I even blink for one second she’ll be gone."

"John…" suddenly Michael’s beeper went off. He turned

it off immediately before turning to his brother.

"I-uh, I gotta take this-"

"I’ll be fine." John turned back to Evangeline before

pulling up the nearest chair and sitting down next to

her bed. Michael McBain closed the door quietly behind

him as he left the room.

As John peeled off his leather jacket, he fought back

the images that seemed to be burned into his head. He

watched her for a little while longer, before taking

her hand in his. He clasped her tiny hand between his,

lowering his head as he did so.

His heart was heavy as he closed his eyes. He couldn’t

remember the last time had had said a prayer, but this

time he wouldn’t take any chances, not now and

definitely not with her.

"I don’t think I can go through this again. Dear God

please…please keep her safe."