Chapter 19 - "Saving her..."

Johns PoV

'I can't'

'You can John. You have to. That day. That day was irrelevant. He shouldn't have let you do it. And I know you couldn't save your parents but you can save her' Richard encouraged.

'But what if it goes wrong? What if it happens again?' I shouted tears forming.

'The longer we argue. The less time you've got. Look at her and tell me you don't want to save her life'

'I do but---'

'It won't happen again dude. You have to do this' he said again. 'Your Dad would be telling you the same thing. He doesn't blame you John' Richard said.

I took a deep breath.

'I'm here to walk you through' Janie said. I ignored the blinding agony in my leg, and the noise of trying to cut through metal. The heat that was radiating the car and all other sounds that were distracting.

He was right.

I had to do this.

My Mum died over a year and a half ago, because I failed to save her. We were in a situation very similar to this.

He couldn't do it. He was dying himself. He was trapped and Mum was shaking in the ground, gasping for breath, much like Clara right now.

He walked me through it, but the blade slipped. It cut through her lung, puncturing it and causing her to suffocate.

I was all alone then with no one but myself to blame for their death. In time Jane made me realise that it wasn't my fault. An investigation was carried out and it was found that, that didn't cause her death, but I can't take that guilt.

'John. You don't have time to think about this. You have to do it'

'Okay' I said shakily trying so hard to look for something in Clara's eyes.

'I'm going to help you Clara. I'm going to make the pain go away' I assured her stroking her head and looking in her eyes. She was scared.

All I could see was fear.

Open her top, and make and incision in her side. No more than 5cm long' she yelled.

'This will hurt Clara but I promise it will help' I said piercing the knife into her side and making the cut.

My hand was shaky but I moved the knife quickly so that it didn't cause any more damage.

'Now insert the tube upwards and you'll know it worked when air comes out in the tube'

I pushed the tube in and waited seconds before it popped and I knew it had worked.

I sighed in relief connecting the bag to the tube and realised this was more complicated than it looked.

'Umm. Janie... There's blood coming out of this tube' I shouted up.

'But is she breathing okay?' She asked.

'Yeah' I assured.

'Then we've bought some time' she said reassuringly and I heard the firemen pulling the top of the car up.

'It's okay Clara, your going to be okay' I told her blinking twice to rid of the pain.

'What--- what about- yo--u?' She gasped. I brushed past her hand and placed the mask back on her face before I slipped out into unconsciousness myself.

'Where are they?' Jane asked as she arrived in Cardiff and Steven was waiting for some news.

'Well I'm still waiting' he said huffing and Richard wandered out of the emergency department with his arm in a sling.

'What happened Richard?' Jane begged. 'I've no idea. All I know is that we were in a car crash and there blaming the other driver. Otherwise I don't know' Richard said.

'How are they?'

'Again. No idea. They won't tell me anything. It's all private and that because he's an actor. A well known gave apparently'

'I'm his aunt and legal career. You have to tell me what's happening' Jane demanded.

'Lilly is getting an x-Ray. Looks like just a sprain, and a few stitches on her head' he said and Richard sighed in relief.

'Clara's by far the worst, but there both in theatre.' He confirmed.

'How's John?'

'His leg was trapped for quite some time, but looks like a couple of broken bones that need to be reset to heel. It's his right leg and foot. He's got some mild cuts and bruises but I think on the most part head going to be fine'

Then they all addressed the elephant in the room.

'And Clara?' Richard asked because nobody else seemed like they were going to ask.

'She's in theatre too. Her arm was pretty bad. Again looks to me like a couple of broken bones that need resetting'

'And the rest' Richard encouraged.

'Her lung collapsed so there trying to sort that out, as well as some bleeding from the impact. It seems like she took the brunt of it. Whoever did that chest drain is owed a big thanks. Because that chest drain saved her life' he said and walked away.

'Yeah. We'll have to rearrange some stuff on set. The priority is him getting better' Steven said some the phone and left to go and do a press summit.

I awoke what could have only been a few hours after I had passed out, and saw strangely enough something trending in Twitter.

Bloody Twitter. I regret the day I ever got it.

'We understand that a lot of press and bloggers were expecting the safe arrival of John Smith here this evening, but there was a collision with the vehicle he was in with his friends and another vehicle. Whilst we don't know the extent to his damage, we are informed that he is stable in hospital. We ask you take our apology that we know he would want to give you, and wish him a smooth recovery. More will be released by the BBC when we know more. Karen and Arthur will still be attending this evening to answer any Doctor who related questions' Steven said and walked away.

I was reading up on all the comments when someone came in, and some of the fans were really sweet. There was a lot of worried fans and nice messages.

'John Smith?'

'That's my name' I muttered looking up.

'Your doing well. Just a few broken bones in your right leg and foot that had to be set... But otherwise only a few cuts and bruises. Your okay though' he said.

'And the others in the car?' I asked.

Although I was only worried about Clara. 'The blonde girl was discharged an hour ago with a sprained wrist. The brown haired boy Richard has a dislocated shoulder and is in for observation. You can see him if you like?' She asked and I nodded.

'Clara?'

'The other girl?'

'Yeah. My Girlfriend?'

'She's in the intensive care unit. There trying to stop a bleed. She's had a number of blood transfusions to help out. Once the bleed stops they can operate again, but until then... It's a waiting game'

My world stopped.

'Can I see her? I want to see her' I demanded and she looked worried but nodded all the same.

I wasn't too surprised to find Lilly and Richard both down there. 'Aren't you supposed to be under observation?'

'Aren't you supposed to be in a bed resting?'

'Fair point. What's she still doing here?' I asked pointing at Lilly.

'She's really shaken up and didn't want too go. I can't blame her. Plus her best friend is in intensive care fighting for her life' he said the realised he shouldn't have said that.

'Dude I'm sorry' he said. I shrugged my shoulders. 'Can I see her now?' I asked and was wheeled into her bed side.

Richard and Lilly both followed in, while I stayed at her bedside. She looked so peaceful, yet there was so much keeping her alive. She's not even breathing herself.

'How did this happen?' I asked the room.

'I remember the car hitting. You and Clara were the only two that passed out.'

'I remember a loud crash, and then looking over to find a lot of blood. The first person I saw was Clara' Lilly said with a quivered lip.

She looked over at Clara sorrowfully and let a few dormant tears escape. 'We were conscious for a good 15 minutes before you came around' Richard muttered as I stroked Clara's hand.

'The first thing I noticed was that your leg was trapped, so immediately climbed over. We encouraged the driver to climb out for help'

I could see that Lilly was re-living it all over I her mind.

'What's your injuries?' I asked.

'Broken shoulder. Shouldn't need surgery but they did have to pop it back in. It wasn't nice' he complained.

Then I turned to a nurse.

'What about her arm?' I asked.

I couldn't even see it. She had just had surgery to pin a few bones back into place as had I on my leg, but it was in a sling, and wrapped but there was obvious blood seeping through.

'Making sure there isn't any infection. Making sure that all the nerves in her arm work effectively and that the bone heels correctly. Little more complicated than your average clean break, but if all goes well from here, a cast for 6-10 weeks and a little rehabilitation'

'And her other injuries?'

'Were waiting on the bleeding to stop. There has been some significant kidney damage. The chances of coming back from this without medical intervention later on is not good'

'Oh wonderful' I said sarcastically, running my fingers through her frail hair, and kissing her forehead.

'I sense you have something else to say?' I said looking at how frail she is right now.

'Well if it's any consolation, looks like she's got one strong baby'

All three of our heads snapped up en-sync. 'Baby!'