"Hey bro" Aaron answered voice filled with sleep
"Zak? Whats wrong man?" He asked
"Aaron shes gone, Gabbys gone" zak broke down in tears
"What do you mean shes gone? Like she left, you cant find her?" He asked confused but fully awake now
"Shes dead, she just died in her sleep" he sobbed
"Have you tried to bring her back? How could she just die in her sleep, shes perfectly healthy, she'll outlive us all. Are you sure she's not just sleeping really deep?" He asked as he got up and threw on clothes explaining to his wife he'd be back
"Shes gone aaron, her heart isnt beating and the paramedics can't get her heart started again. They're still trying to get her vitals started"
"Im on my way, I'll call your mom and her mom" aaron said as he rushed out the door to his car
"I can't lose her aaron... I won't survive it" zak admitted as they hung up
At 3:07am on a cold and frosty morning in Mountainview hospital Gabrielle Bagans was pronounced dead on arrival.
"Mr Bagans, we'd like to perform an autopsy to determine the cause of death. I just need you to sign here giving me permission to perform it" doctor Hanson said pointing to the areas on the forms where his signature was needed.
Zak only nodded at him before signing the forms, only a shell of the man he'd been just 24 hours ago he made his way out of the hospital his mom, gabbys mom, Aaron, Jay and Billy following him, trying to make sure he didn't do anything stupid...
He'd planned to just go and drive, just him and the dogs until he realized He'd ridden here in the ambulance and had no way home
"Ill need a ride home" he admitted stopping at the front entrance
"Mom can you and julie give me a ride home?" He asked not turning to look at them because he didn't want them to know he was crying.. if he could just make it home without them noticing... home, that was a foreign place now... it'd never be home again, not without Gabby.
"Sure sweetie whatever you need" Ellen said as she tearfully put an arm around his shoulders, as Julie did the same leading him to their car.
The ride from the hospital to the place Gabby & Zak had called home was silent.
"Would you like us to stay?" Julie asked
"No, I'm just going to hang with the girls for a while and try to process it" he admitted as he got out of the back of his mom's Mercedes in the driveway.
Walking into the house felt like walking into a cold and damp tomb, nothing about it resembled home now that gabby was gone, all the warmth she'd gave our home was gone, even the dogs felt it... they were happy and waging their tails until they noticed their mommy wasn't with me... her 3 looked at me like wheres mom..
That was all it took for the dam to burst, shutting the door I fell to my knees as they surrounded me trying to comfort me even though they didn't understand what was going on, it felt wrong... it wasn't that I wasn't use to coming in alone sometimes it was the fact there was no music playing, all the windows were shut and it all felt cold...
Once I picked myself up I made my way upstairs and into the last room she saw before she took her final breath... our bedroom.
I slid down the wall beside the door looking towards the bed and just sat there awhile thinking… the bed still laid rumpled from the night before.. The room still smelt of Gabby's perfume, her sandals laid in the floor by the couch in the sitting area of the room where she'd left them, her kindle left on the nightstand beside her phone both still charging, the flowers she took such pride in stood proudly around the room in their vases, the gauzy light pink curtains she'd loved so much swayed in the breeze coming through the balcony doors we'd left open when we went to bed the night before and I'd forgotten to close before leaving for the hospital last night or this morning, the bookshelves that held knickknacks before she moved in now filled with her romance books she loved so much.
Getting off the floor I walked into the bathroom and found her side of vanity still stocked with her makeup and skin care products, the shower still held her shampoo, conditioner and shower gel that smelled of vanilla and hibiscus. The bathtub still held the bubble bath she loved so much.
The closet while her side wasn't completely filled yet still smelt of her perfume, the jewelry cases in the island still filled with the jewelry I'd bought her and she'd brought with her when she'd finally moved in, her shoes and boots sat neatly on the shelves never to be worn by her again, her clothes while most were black like mine a few brightly colored pieces stood out against the black ones.
Walking out of the bedroom I walked downstairs and into her office/floral studio, while my office across the hall was usually neat and organized as a rule hers was very much a tornado scene compared to mine because she claimed whenever she organized and cleaned up that she could never find a single thing she needed when she needed it… she thrived in chaos, not only had Gabby been the best assistant I'd ever had prior to our becoming involved and getting married but she was a world class writer of fan fictions and romance novels. But she was exceptionally gifted florist who held a passion for the craft for the past year since the loss of one of her dogs. There wasn't much that Gabriella Bagans wasn't amazing at…. Simply because she was Gabby.
Gabby had a way of lighting up the room the second she walked into them, if someone was sad she could instantly make them happy again. Gabby never claimed to be a bright light or the life of the party but that's exactly what she was. Her sense of humor was unmatched, even if she laughed at the wrong moment, her beautiful laugh was always welcome where I was. I strongly believe that's why she'd very quickly became best friends with Aaron when she first came to work for me because they were both the comedy section of the ghost adventures crew.
Gabby was everything i never knew i needed and there wasn't another woman in this world who would ever stand in her place. I always knew she'd ruin me for women and she has, I'll never remarry or date another woman... I'd made a vow to her on our wedding day that even though she hadn't been my first, she'd be my last. There wasn't a heart left in my chest to give to another, my person had taken it with her when she had gone..
-Ellen & Julie-
"I'm really worried about him Ellen" I admitted, I'd tried my best to tame back the emotions while I'd been around Zak but now I couldn't do it anymore.
"So am i.. she was his entire world, it's going to be very hard for him" she said as she wiped the tears falling from her eyes, neither of us had stopped crying since we'd gotten to the hospital and I still had to go home and tell her brothers and sister in law that she'd passed, they'd texted all night asking how she was and what was going on... finding out she'd passed would be devastating to them.. just like it had been to the rest of us... nothing would ever be the same.
"I've still gotta tell Kevin, Kash and stacey... and the kids" I remembered
---At Julie's---
"Is she okay? Whats going on? Why was she took to the hospital?" Kash asked, rapid fire questions as Stacey sat on the couch holding Ella kay beside her mom teresa.
"Is gabby going to be okay?" Stacey asked, Kevin just now coming downstairs with Kole and Kelsey.
"Whats wrong?" He asked looking around the room at us
"She's gone... she was dead by the time they got her to the hospital" I admitted, my heart breaking into even tinier tatters as I spoke the words.
"was she and zak in an accident? What happened?" Stacey's mom Teresa asked
"Zak said they had gone to bed last night and everything was fine and she'd fallen asleep and about 20 minutes later he felt her heart stop beating against his hand, he did CPR until the paramedics came then he let them take over and they finally got her heart started again then by the time she got to the hospital they'd lost her for good... Gabriella's gone" I explained as another round of sobs burst out of me.
"Daddy can we go see aunt Gabby today?" Kelsey asked tugging Kevin's hand
That question crushed the tiniest little piece of my heart that I had left..
Kash couldn't hold it together anymore and excused himself out the front door, Stacey followed after him as Teresa held ella.
We were all in shambles, shock... nothing about this seemed real and it felt so wrong, this was never supposed to happen... never to the girl we titled our marine, she was stronger and more resilient then her siblings.. even me. She was truly US marine Corp material.
---Zak POV---
After feeding the dogs and letting them out to do their business I called the hospital and asked to speak to Dr Hanson.
"This is Dr Hanson, what can i do for you?" He answered
"This is Zak Bagans, I'd like to know when to expect the autopsy on my wife to be completed?"
"I expect to perform the autopsy tomorrow then depending on the results she should be sent to the funeral home on Friday. Is there anything wrong?" He asked
"No i just wanted to know when to expect it to be completed"
Just the though of Gabby being cut open made me sick but still i couldn't accepted that she was gone... just like that without a reason. Maybe if I knew why she'd passed like that... if I was given a reason... maybe somehow I could learn to accept it...
Being in this house today was hard enough in itself, sleeping in our bed would be torture... her funeral would be a sword to the heart and I couldn't be sure I'd survive it… maybe it wouldn't be so bad if I didn't, at least maybe I'd be with her again.
death was something that made my work possible, yet I couldn't imagine walking around our home in the darkness asking Gabby to speak into a recorder for me, show herself on camera or move something so that I knew she was here.. so I knew she was still with me, she hadn't given up and left me on my own once more... I never wanted to go back to the version of myself again.
I couldn't imagin doing any of those things... yet that night I found myself sitting in the floor of our bedroom with a camera sit up recording and a recorder in my hand speaking to the darkness.
"Gabby, baby are you here?" I asked the darkness as tears fell
"I miss you baby" I murmured.
I asked countless questions and called her name countless times throughout the night without receiving a single answer... I couldn't understand it, I felt her here.. I knew it was her, I'd get a wisp of her perfume and I knew she was here yet she chose not to communicate with me. I wouldn't give up, I'd never stop trying to communicate with her... I'd never give up on her.
I hadn't bothered to go to bed that night knowing I could have myself under control when I climbed into bed but the moment I smelt her shampoo and body wash on our sheets I'd crumble again and the girls needed me to hold it together even if it was the hardest thing I'd ever done.
I had yet to go to the garage yet because I knew that would be as bad as going into her office, her green 76 Porsche sat in her spot in the garage dominating the garage with its chunky racing tires. The smile on her face the day I'd brought it home for her was worth the 1.95 million I'd spent on it at the auction. I'd known the moment I'd heard Steve mcqueen's last custom order Porsche was going on the auction block that I had to buy it for her as a birthday gift and thats exactly what I'd done, it had been her favorite car from her collection despite having a decent size warehouse full of cars, this was the one she drove daily. It sat beside her all black Camaro she'd just gotten last summer.. aside from her writing and her flowers and the dogs, cars were her passion... she believed they had feelings just like a human and she believed in respecting them just the same.
---
Somehow I'd gotten through 2 days and planning her funeral then I got a call from Dr Hanson. I'd expected him to give me the results of the autopsy or tell me she was being sent to the funeral home yet his words shocked me to the bone.
"Hello?" I answered, still moving on autopilot as I had since she'd left this world, I hadn't slept since that night.. I doubt I ever would again.
"Zachary Alexander Bagans?" he asked as I answered the phone.
"yes?" I grumbled into the phone
"I have some very unexpected news about your wife" he said sounding like he'd just struck gold.
"she's still alive sir…" he stated
"you have a lot of balls calling a grieving husband and telling a sick joke like that!" I stated in outrage as I started to push end call.
"I'm not joking sir, she's 100% alive. Her heart is still beating sir, we've moved her back into the ICU. I would-"
"how do you know her heart is still beating?! She's been dead for 3 days!" I yelled, I'd lost my sanity now.. I couldn't control anything going on in my head.
"I prepared her for the autopsy and as I began cutting her blood started pouring out of the incision. Sir I've performed hundreds of autopsies and I've never had a single dead body do that, only living bodys pour blood when they're cut"
My brain wasn't processing his words… he was trying to say Gabby was still alive.
"Mr Bagans, sir are you still there?"
"I'm on my way" I said hanging up the second my brain finally caught up, I threw on the first clothes my hands landed on and threw a hat on my head before grabbing a phone charger and car keys and running out the door, not even taking time to see what car I'd grabbed the keys to, clicking the unlock button on the fob I found I'd grabbed the keys to Gabby's camaro. Today I didn't care what car I was driving, I just wanted to see my wife again… not laying in a casket or on a slab in the morgue with a Y cut into her.. I wanted to see her laughing, smiling and happy again.
In my rush to return to the hospital I knew I broke more laws in just 30 minutes then I had in my entire 15 years of driving but I didn't care, it just didn't matter. I wanted to let everyone know yet I wanted to make sure he was telling the truth before I gave anyone else hope.
I didn't walk into the hospital, I ran.
"you have a Gabriella Bagans in the ICU, what room is she in?" I asked impatient
"who are you to her?" she questioned emotionless
"I'm her husband! Now what room is she in?" I asked angered that she'd held me up this long.
"she's in room 704 8th floor" she admitted emotionless.
I couldn’t stand here and remind her of where she worked, she wasn't important to me but Gabby was, getting to Gabby was the most important thing to me right now. I didn’t care whatever else was going on as long as Gabby was okay.
The elevators seemed to take forever to even stop so I took the stairs, 2 at a time before bursting out the door when I finally made it to the 8th floor and straight to the nurses station I ran, out of breath and sweating like a pig I stopped right in front of a nurse who looked as if she'd been in the business 30 years without a single day off.
"room 704! Where is it?" I asked gulping in air
"last room on the left before the waiting room"
Walking into that room I'd never been more nervous… nervous about what I'd see or if I'd see her there waiting for me…
The moment my eyes landed on the bed I saw my own version of perfection, Gabriella Elise Bagans. Her eyes closed but her chest rising and falling in a steady pace and the machine beeping with sure and steady beats… she truly was alive… or maybe this was a dream.
I wondered over and sat in the chair beside her bed, taking her hand in mine
"it seems your wife is going to be alright after all Mr Bagans" the doctor spoke from behind me
"Mr Bagans, I believe Gabriella has something called Brugada syndrome. It's a rare genetic disorder that affects the electrical conduction system of the heart. It can cause a person's heartbeat to slow down or even stop, making it difficult or even impossible to detect." he explained as he stood at the end of the bed.
"it's never happened before, what caused it to happen this time and why hasn't it been happening before now?" I questioned.
"we aren't sure what caused it, or even if something actually caused it. There are several medications that we can place her on as well as therapy and surgery that can be preformed." he went on to explain.
"which is the best option for her?" I asked
"that depends on your lifestyle. They all come with risks but since this is just the first time it's happened we may be able to wait a while before we take any preventative action.. However She will need to be tested before we determine whether or not she actually has brugada and if any form of treatment is actually necessary" he admitted.
He excused himself soon after and left the room leaving Gabby and I alone once more. I stood and leaned across her and kissed her lips before retaking the seat behind me, it seemed as those that kiss somehow brought her back as she started to stir from the deep sleep she'd been in for days.
She slowly turned her head to face me before slowly opening her eyes and looking at me.
YOU ARE READING
Gabriella (A Zak Bagans Fanfic)
Fanfiction"Sometimes God let's things happen so that we can do God's work.. he gave you an assignment didn't he?" He asked "He did.. he told me to save Zak.. stop him from continuing down the path he's taken. To bring him back to his friends and humble him on...
