As it was commonplace now, the media surrounded the crowd outside the school. An officer had loaded Craig and Catherine into his car, and with light on, he drove toward the hospital while Catherine held her jacket to Craig’s bleeding head, which he’d cracked open on a rock when he’d fainted.
“It’s okay,” she kept saying, but it wasn’t. And yet she’d repeat it again. “It’s okay.”
Craig heard the siren from the car, but also the siren from the ambulance that had raced up behind them to pass them.
His heart pounded. “She’s in there.”
Catherine batted her eyes as tears fell. “What are you talking about?”
“She’s in that ambulance. They wouldn’t be running if she weren’t alive.” He sat up taller. “Hurry. Get us to the hospital,” he told the officer driving the car.
“I’ll get you there. I’ll see what I can find out on your fiancée too.”
By the time they’d arrived at the hospital, media moved in on the entrance and were being pushed back by officers.
The officer driving the car pulled up behind the ambulance, and Craig watched as they unloaded the gurney and pushed it through the door.
The officer climbed out of the car and walked to his door, pulling it open. “That was her. She’s heading into surgery right now. I don’t know her condition. I don’t know where she was shot.”
Craig felt his world slipping from him again. “Please follow them,” he begged the officer. “She’s pregnant. They need to know she’s pregnant.”
He nodded and hurried into the entrance following the paramedic team.
Catherine helped Craig from the car and walked him into the emergency waiting area where they took his name, replaced Catherine’s jacket with gauze, and took him back to a room.
They cleaned out the gash on the back of his head as Catherine called Hal, who was headed to pick up his mother and get to the hospital.
As they were beginning to staple Craig’s wound together, the officer who had driven them to the hospital walked into the room with a somber looking doctor.
“I have news on your fiancée,” the officer said.
Catherine moved to Craig and took his hand. If the doctor’s eyes were a sign, things were bad.
“Your fiancée is in surgery right now. The bullet went through her shoulder and out through her back. There were no major organs hit, but her shoulder will need to be reconstructed.”
Craig’s jaw trembled and he couldn’t get any words out.
Catherine gave his hand a squeeze. “She’s alive?”
“She’s alive and going to make a full recovery.”
Craig batted his eyes against the tears that rapidly fell. “The baby?”
The doctor reached his hand out to Craig’s shoulder, and Craig sucked in a breath.
“The baby’s going to be okay too.”
Craig sat in the surgical waiting room with a throbbing headache holding Esther Diaz’s hand as Hal paced down the hallway.
Rachel had been in surgery for hours, and every so often a nurse would come to them and give them an update.
Hal had made it very clear that they would not talk to the media that circled outside. Catherine, as a member of the county school department and close friend of the family, spoke to them on behalf of the Diaz family, and Craig felt as if that would buy them some time.
Alex and Bruce had both called and texted him to check up on her, and he knew Catherine and Hal’s phones were flooded with well wishes and questions alike.
All Craig really cared about was seeing her face and holding her again. How many times could one person cheat death, he wondered.
Would this make her give up doing social work, or would it fuel her? Could he convince her to leave it all behind and just raise their baby?
As if he’d summoned him, the doctor walked into the waiting room and straight over to him and Rachel’s mother. Hal hurried back into the room and stood with them.
“She’s out of surgery and in recovery. It’ll be just a bit before you can see her.” He sat down next to Rachel’s mother. “The bullet shattered her shoulder and went out her back. No vital organs were hit. She’s going to need physical therapy, probably another surgery, and she’ll have scarring.”
They couldn’t help but all chuckle wearily at that one. Craig wondered what kind of artwork she would choose for that.
“They’ll send someone to talk to her about seeking professional help for what she went through, I have no doubt. But it looks like she has quite the alliance here.”
“We’re here for her,” Craig said wrapping his arm around her mother’s shoulders.
“They’ll come for you when you can go back.”
The doctor excused himself and Hal sat down. “She’s a rock,” he said. “No one else could have survived that.”
Pride swelled inside of Craig. She was a rock.
Craig took a walk while Rachel was still in recovery. He called the guys to tell them what had happened and what they could expect. Catherine had found him staring at vending machines and she put an arm around his shoulder.
“How’s your head?” she asked.
Craig lifted his fingers to the staples at the back of his head. “Still attached. What a hero, huh? I faint and crack my head open.”
“I can only imagine what was going through your mind. But she’s going to be okay. The baby is going to be okay.”
Craig nodded. “Yeah. It sure changes your perspective though. I can’t help but wonder if she’ll go back.”
“I suppose it’ll depend on the story she tells. I’m hearing she caught friendly fire, if you will. He didn’t do this to her.”
Lifting his eyes to meet Catherine’s, he smiled. “I’m sure she was trying to help him until the very end.”
“No doubt.”