"What do we have?" Grant asked as he jogged to the emergency entrance.

"We have a gunshot victim. Unstable, unconscious. Two gunshot wounds. One by the pulmonary artery and another near the stomach. Head trauma, possible cranial fractures. She's bled out a lot and there's internal haemorrhaging." A male EMT announced.

His breathing hitched when he saw her. "Nathalie?" Faltering in his steps, he reached out for her hand.

"You know her?"

He nodded as he released her and grabbed his stethoscope. "Do you know the type or size of the bullet?"

"Nine millimeter." The male EMT called out from the entrance.

"Prep for surgical intervention! We need to insert a chest tube into the left thorax STAT!" Grant ordered.

Nathalie's body began violently convulsing.

"She's going into shock!" He yelled.

They revived her and prepared for surgery.

"You all right, Dr Wealleyn?" The physician associate asked while he analyzed X-rays images.

He reined in his emotions. "Yes."

Nathalie temporarily opened her eyes. He could've sworn she'd seen him, but then remembered that the anaesthesia was taking effect and her mind was possibly elsewhere. In that briefest flitting of her lids, the stars that once danced so brightly upon their shiny surface and impossible to grasp, faded away. The machines beeped incessantly with their departure.

With all his willpower and determination, he anxiously tried seizing her. Panic ballooned inside him when reviving her took longer. Breathing heavily, his eyes wildly darted between her paled face and the paddles. He refused to let her go and slowly brought her back to him. The cold handle of a scalpel gently slid into his hand, he paused and braced himself.

Its blade gracefully glided and parted skin, revealing the secret pinkish-pale layers underneath. His mind battled to push back sympathetic stray thoughts that sought domination, but with the steps that followed, it became increasingly difficult for him to control. Cutting and cracking sounds grated his ears, reverberating through him.

His heartbeat quickened with hers as both laid differently exposed. The physician associate cast him a worried glance. He inhaled deeply as he reached in to her strong, yet fragile heart. What secrets did she safely lock away within it? Even with it bared and exposed before him, it remained mysterious in its nature.

Blood began to pool quicker as the physician associate strained to clear as much away with the suction device. The wound was under his finger as he attempted to apply pressure to control the outpour, but it caused the usual pulling away reaction every time he went near her heart. It announced his intrusion again.

He was losing her over and over again. "Damn it, Nathalie! Stay with us!" His voice struggled through his panting.

"We have respiratory failure ..."

The white hospital lights beamed down upon him outside the operating theater. He hung his head and nestled next to the wall. A nagging pull to remain by her side tugged at his soul, but he needed to make his rounds. Before setting off, he retrieved his phone and called Matthew, telling him the news about Nathalie.

As his shift was ending, Matthew approached him at the ward.

"I thought you'd want to know." Grant said in a defeated and dry manner.

Matthew was perplexed by Grant's demeanor. "It's awful, but why are you acting like this. Thought you called me more for emotional support?"

"Didn't she stay overnight with you?"

"So, that's why. How'd you find out?"

Grant stared at him.

"Nothing happened! Honest truth."

It was a small relief, not that anything would've changed his feelings. "I also called you for another reason," he said and led Matthew to his office.

"What do you need?"

"I want you to give this to mom," Grant handed him a Manila envelope. "Was going to visit her, but after all this, I don't want to even look at her right now and ... I'll be staying here tonight."

"What's in it?" He started to open it, but Grant held out his hand.

"You can look through it later. There's a detailed note included with the paperwork. I also have a message for her."

Matthew raised his eyebrow.

"Tell her if she ever does that again, I'll cut her out of my life. Indefinitely."

"You know she'll start with her theatrics."

"Just say 'Lidocaine' and that I know what she did. Got the papers from Dr Linda Holstens."

Matthew chuckled. "I guess that one time you dated a colleague worked out well for you?"

"I DIDN'T date her! We met for drinks one time. Still peeved about that, man-child?" Grant crossed his arms.

"Hmm, maybe a little bit."

"She's still single by the way."

"Yeah, I'm going to pass. She'll always be fangirling over you."

Grant sighed and rubbed his face.

"Nathalie will pull through. She's got you looking over her." Matthew gripped his shoulder.

"We'll see. She's still in critical condition and we have to perform a second-look surgical intervention. You know all the complications that can arise until then, plus the dangers during the second-look."

"So just hold on and have faith."

He tried to sleep, but the restlessness overwhelmed him. Beyond the see-through glass entrance of her ICU room, a doctor peered over Nathalie.

"Hey, Mike."

"I was just checking on her vitals and drainage tube. No signs of improvement. I'll be out of your hair."

The shadow of a frown appeared on Grant's face.

"You should probably go home and get some sleep, you look exhausted."

"Won't work, I'll just be worried the whole time. By staying here, I can check up on her and calm myself down."

Mike placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'll check on her again in two hours."

"Thanks. See you later."

Nathalie's face was slightly mottled with pale splotches and stained by a lilac hue. Her mouth was forced open by the intubation tube and laid slackened to the side. He leaned over and kissed her forehead. Intoxicated and possessed by her scent, he closed his eyes. Reflections of a seemingly distant happiness filled his mind.

***************
***[1,018]

That's a prodigal EMT, what wonders a limited word count creates!***