Chapter Seventeen
Ben knew his head wasn’t entirely in the game, because of Molly. But he couldn’t take time off from work anymore; he was needed. He also needed to do something that made him feel useful.
He needed to give Molly time. When the call came in that the women’s shelter on the outskirts of town was on fire, he knew in his gut it was going to be bad—and he knew if anything happened to Molly’s patients there, she’d be devastated. He knew the motions, he knew the routine, he knew the protocol by heart. The problem was that adrenaline and instinct weren’t enough in a situation like this—not in an old building that was very close to collapsing.
But adrenaline was what he went on as he heard one of the evacuated mothers shouting that her six-year-old was trapped inside the building. They had all been in the dining room when the daughter had run back upstairs to get her Elsa doll. It was Molly’s patient, he knew it. The fire had spread so quickly, no one could get up the stairs. He was prepared to have to search for the little girl, remembering how Molly had said she was extremely timid. A child that age, with a traumatic past, would surely be hiding.
Ben and Finn had never left a child behind, and today was no exception.
Adrenaline and determination pushed him as he made his way through the flame-filled upstairs corridor. He ignored the sweat dripping down his neck and back and the burning sensation of his ears beneath his Nomex hood.
According to what command had told them, the room was at the end of the hall. The house was large, but old, with separate wings.
It wasn’t much farther, he kept telling himself, as he and Finn crawled to that last room. They had been in and out of this building, dozens of people rescued, but they had to get to this kid. They had to get to her fast, because they knew with each minute that ticked by, her chances of survival were slipping, and their chance to get to her before they were commanded to evacuate would be gone.
He and Finn both knew this place was a ticking time bomb. The building was beyond saving. When they finally reached the door, Ben checked the door for heat using his thermal imaging camera. It was hot, but not enough to make him turn away.
He reached up and grabbed the handle with his gloved hand and pushed the door open. It was smoke filled, just like the corridor, and visibility was next to nothing. He reached for the camera hooked to the strap of his breathing apparatus and scanned the room. The only wall not lighting up was the one facing the front yard, which was perfect, since he had a feeling that was going to be their only way out of here.
The air horn on the fire truck blew, too soon for his liking. He and Finn ignored it as it blew once, twice, and three long times. And then the evacuation orders came in verbally over the radio speakers in his air pack. Dammit. They needed more time.
“Get her fast!” Finn yelled, and Ben knew he was damn lucky to have a brother as crazy as he was.
“Matthews! Get the hell out of that building now!” Command screamed in his ears.
He and Finn ignored the command and worked their way through the room. It was a small space, and Ben checked the closets. The window burst open, glass shattering. At least they wouldn’t have to waste time breaking it open. “Call in for a ladder, let them know we have one victim,” Ben said grimly.
Command repeated the call and they acknowledged. They saw the motionless little girl huddled in the corner of the room, trapped behind a beam that had fallen.
“Eliza,” Ben called as he crawled toward her, hoping she’d respond, the sound of the fire deafening. She opened her eyes, and he motioned for to stay where she was. “We’re going to get you out, okay?”
“Just stay still, honey,” Finn yelled.
She gave them a nod and started coughing. Her face was black, and he knew she was close to losing consciousness. More beams crashed nearby, and the little girl jumped, crying and coughing.
“Eliza, can you try to get closer to me?” Ben yelled over the roaring, hissing sounds around them. He knew the sounds must be frightening, and the entire situation was going to haunt her for years to come.
She shook her head, clutching that doll Molly had given her.
Dammit. “Okay, I’m going to reach through and my brother is going to lift you up and out of here, okay? Just stay there. I’m coming, sweetheart,” he yelled. The beams were massive, typical from the time period this home was built, and he knew very close to falling on any of them. Because she was too scared to try to inch closer, he was putting himself in danger of getting trapped. He had to get her through it safely.
“Pass her to me as you hoist her over,” Finn yelled, in position to receive her and then hand her off to the waiting firefighter on the platform.
Exhaustion was setting in, and he knew it was now or none of them were going to make it out of here. Ben knelt down and reached for her, using what he had left of his upper body strength to lift her through.
“Don’t leave me here,” she sobbed against him and clung to him tightly, and he knew he wouldn’t. He knew it, even as his knee gave out. Searing pain shot through him and suddenly everything felt as though it were happening in slow motion.
“I got you,” Ben said roughly, wincing as he lifted her over the beams.
Finn was clearing the sharp shards of glass from the window just as the aerial truck platform outside the window arrived. Thank God. They were going to make it out of here.
He handed Eliza over, unable to get himself off the ground. “Get her out of here,” he yelled to Finn. He felt Finn lift Eliza, and he clenched his teeth, preparing to crawl to the window. But it happened too fast, and he was moving too damn slow.
The sound of a roar echoed in his head, and he was only vaguely aware it was his. He stared with eyes that stung, as a beam pinned his bad leg to the ground.
But he heard Finn. He heard Finn swearing and promising he’d get his sorry ass out of here.
…
“Thanks for staying tonight,” Dr. Luke Thomson, her friend and fellow doctor, said.
“Of course,” she replied, trying not to let her panic show as they walked past triage. She knew this was the calm before the storm. She was worried on a personal level. When the call had come in about the fire at the women’s shelter, she’d had to keep her emotions under control. But tonight would test her, because she knew Ben was working, and she knew the influx of people were coming from the women’s shelter. There was at least a dozen injured.
They walked quickly to the main doors in the ER, ready for the first patients. The place was about to implode. She was ready to face whatever was coming their way. There were already three in critical condition and when she heard one was a child on the way, she knew there was no way she’d be leaving the ER. Burn victims were always tragic and took so much out of her; it was a traumatic injury both physically and mentally. She had no idea how Ben and Finn did this for a living. And she had no idea what she was going to do if Ben was among the injured.
“Get ready for a long night,” Dr. Barrett, said, a grim look on his face as he joined them.
As the first patients started coming through on stretchers with paramedics, the three of them went off in their own directions, and soon all the ER bays were full. All the respiratory therapists—which weren’t many at a small hospital—were called in and already assessing patients.
Molly was pulled in different directions but kept looking toward the doors for any signs of Ben. He was fine. Of course he was fine. This was what he did for a living, and he always made it out. He was strong, healthy.
But as she treated patients and noted how many serious burn victims there were and how many were being intubated, her mind kept thinking the worst. And where was the child? Time passed, the critically injured were stabilized, and there was still no sign of the child. She knew that wouldn’t be good because it meant that she was one of the last to be rescued.
“Incoming, Molly. Six-year-old little girl,” one of the nurses said, running to meet the paramedics. Molly’s heart stopped when she saw Eliza’s arm wrapped around the Elsa doll. Molly jogged alongside her as the paramedics and Faith rushed through the doors, an oxygen mask already on little Eliza. She listened as the paramedic spoke quickly, telling her what she needed to know.
Molly leaned over the stretcher, her hand on the metal rail as they jogged to a recently emptied bay. The little girl didn’t open her eyes, but Molly spoke anyway. “Eliza, it’s Molly. You’re going to be okay, sweetie. I’m here, I’m going to help you. You’re going to be okay.”
She looked at Faith, feeling her pain, feeling her terror. If she could have given in to her feelings she would have. She would have questioned why bad things happened to good people; she would have questioned why this woman was being forced to bear another tragedy. Hadn’t she been through enough? “She’s going to be okay,” Molly said, her voice coming out sounding strong and resolute.
Faith nodded, crying as one of the nurses’ assistants came to lead her away so they could treat Eliza.
Molly was about to follow Eliza when something made her turn around, and she spotted Finn. His skin was black, his hair matted to him, his eyes rimmed red. But Finn was walking; Finn was fine. Her gaze went from his grim one to the man in the stretcher he was holding on to.
Panic set in, drowning her as she stared at Ben’s closed eyes. He had an oxygen mask around his mouth, and he wasn’t moving.
It was too much. The lights were too bright. The sounds of metal, of people crying, moaning, were too loud.
“Dr. Mayberry!” one of the nurses standing with Eliza yelled.
Molly snapped her eyes open and focused on the little girl. Focus. She could focus. Focus always freed her. She had a job to do.
Luke was suddenly beside Ben, helping them push his stretcher into a free bay at the opposite end of the emergency room. “Molly, I got him,” he said, loudly, over the noise of chaotic room. He held her gaze, and she saw the reassurance, the steely determination. She blinked, nodded, and understood the emotion in his eyes and voice.
She looked at Finn and then Ben one more time, before she left for her patient.
She would have to trust that Luke would save him.
…
Two hours later, Molly finally finished with Eliza and was pleased with her prognosis. She just finished reassuring her mother. She had to intubate Eliza, which she always hated having to do, especially to a child, but she’d had no choice. She’d been relieved that there were no third-degree burns. The specialists were now treating her and would take it from here. Faith was by her side now, grateful for her daughter’s safety.
The ER was still packed, but the level of craziness had begun to die down. She’d asked for regular updates on Ben and knew he was going to be okay.
“Luke!” she yelled, spotting him by the water dispenser. “How is he?”
Luke handed her a water as well, and she downed the glass, parched after hours without a break.
“He’s going to be fine. Imaging confirmed no internal bleeding, but he fractured a rib and femur. It was a clean break though, so he won’t need surgery.”
She breathed a sigh of relief. “You’re sure? You consulted with Drew?”
“Of course. He’s going to be fine,” he said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “I uh, I gotta run, Molly. Gwen just called; her brother is bringing her in. She’s in labor.”
Molly gasped. “You’re going to be a dad,” she whispered.
His eyes were shining. “I don’t know what happened between you and Ben, but don’t let any more time pass between you and your future. Don’t take it for granted. If you’ve got a second chance, take it and run, Molly. Believe me, I almost threw everything away.”
She blinked back tears as she stared into his concerned eyes. “I have to go see him. Good luck. I can’t wait to meet your baby,” she whispered, touching his shoulder before walking briskly through the ER.
She stopped outside his bay and saw Finn sitting beside his brother’s bed. She was relieved to hear Finn calling his brother an idiot. She walked in and her heart squeezed at the sight of them. They looked like hell. Their dark hair was matted and filled with dirt and sweat, and their eyes were rimmed with red.
“I’m getting some water,” Finn said, standing slowly, wincing. “Unless there’s a vending machine filled with beer.”
She smiled. “Sorry, I can put in a request. But…go home. I’ll stay here with Ben.”
He gave her a nod, his eyes serious. “Don’t tell our mother. Once he’s been released I’ll let her know.”
“Of course.” She said it without looking at Ben. Maybe she was afraid he’d tell her to leave, or maybe she was afraid she’d lose it right then and there. Finn looked over her shoulder at his brother and nodded. “Okay. But uh, be good to him. That idiot saved a little girl’s life tonight. You can piss him off tomorrow,” he said with a small smile before disappearing back into the ER.
She turned slowly to face Ben and the moment she did, she felt tears well in her eyes. He was a disaster. Her gorgeous, perfect Ben looked as though he’d walked through hell. His hair was matted down, filthy, his face black. “Hi,” she whispered.
“I look worse than I am,” he said, his voice hoarse.
“You’re actually pretty bad. A broken leg and rib.”
He shrugged then winced with the movement. She approached him and carefully placed her hand on his dark one. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’m sorry for not being as strong as you, for being a coward.” She stopped speaking and attempted to regain her control.
“Don’t,” he said, wincing again and coughing. “Don’t apologize to me; don’t say you’re not as strong as me. You’re the strongest person I know. You’re the most beautiful person I know. I’m hoping to hell you’re saying all this to lead up to something big.”
She was smiling through her tears and leaned down, carefully smoothing the hair off his forehead, needing to touch him. “I love you, Ben. I’ve always loved you. For me, it’s always been you and…thanks for holding on, for believing in me. And for the record, I was going to tell you that I’m not just telling you this because you’re in the ER.”
“I thought it was the uniform that got you in the end. Women really like it,” he said, managing to give her an adorable smirk before coughing.
“Ha,” she laughed, without an ounce of insecurity. “The uniform is good, but you don’t need a uniform, you never have. You were everything to me. You still are. You set the bar, and no one has ever been able to come close. You’ve always been the man I wanted, in my dreams, in reality. I just…don’t give up on me. I’m trying. I will try. But I will not run. Never again, Ben. You…I love you so much. So, if you can forgive me for leaving you…twice…then, I want to start over with you,” she whispered, leaning close.
“I love you, Molly. I will walk with you, and we’ll figure it out together. I know what it’s like to lose someone you love. I’ve grieved for my father. I cried for him. I would have walked through hell to save his life if I could have. I would have done anything to prevent him from dying, from missing out on living out his life and being with us. I would have done anything to keep my mother and little brother from going through the pain of burying the most important man in our lives. And then I grieved you, Molly. I grieved the end of our future. I let you shut me out; I took your word for it. And then you came back, the answer to my prayers—only a decade later. And hell, as much as I didn’t want to fall in love with you again, I realized I had never stopped loving you. When you told me…the truth…I didn’t know how the hell I’d get over that, how I’d live with the rage, the guilt, the sorrow, and I realized the only way was with you. I won’t lose you again. You are my life. You’ve always been my future, so if you need to run, if you need to get the hell out of this town to be whole, then I’ll run with you, baby. To hell and back, I’ll go anywhere with you.”
She was crying when she kissed him, knowing he always spoke the truth.
“One more thing before you make me forget what I was saying; I’d get down on one knee again for you, as many times as it takes.”
She framed his face with her hands and kissed him again. She knew Ben was one of the good guys, she knew there were good guys, and there were good people. And she knew that despite her relationship with Faith, there were good people in Shadow Creek. She knew that with Ben by her side, she could start her life over again here. With her sisters, with Ben’s family, with Ben. It had taken her nine years to come home, to find her way back to Ben, and he’d made her whole again. Home was with him.