Adopted by Phan

Chapter 112

Dan's P.O.V.

The ride to the hospital, in a police car with lights and sirens blaring, was silent. Phoenix had gone back off to sleep with the motion of the car, the noise never seeming to bother him even though Phil and I could hardly hear each other speak over the racket.

We kept getting updates over the radio and it seemed like Jay was hanging by a thread onto life, as it kept saying that her heart had stopped but the doctors managed to stabilize it again and again. Ever time her heart stopped my heart sunk a little further, as I knew that if it kept stopping they'd have to let her go.

In the police car we managed to reach the hospital in less than ten minutes, my heart almost stopping as we got one last message to say that her heart had been stabilized again. An officer guided us up to the reception and the lady behind the desk asked for the patients name.

"Jay Tori Lester." She scrolled through her computer.

"There's no room registered yet, the best I can give you is the trauma unit, children's ICU on the 4th floor. She only arrived here 15 minutes ago, I don't doubt that the doctors are trying to stabilize her." I nodded numbly. Everything felt like a dream, almost as if it wasn't real.

We took the elevator to the fourth floor, trailing the officer without question as he knew what he was doing. Phil and I were too numb to talk, his attention mainly focused on Phoenix.

As we reached the ICU the officer caught a nurse's attention and mentioned Jay's name to see if he knew where she was. He nodded.

"She's being stabilized in the public ward, the nurses are doing their best but everything's hanging in the balance. It could go either way. I'm sorry." His last words caught me off guard and I looked to the floor, praying that it didn't mean what I thought it did. That she was more likely to fall.

The nurse took us down several winding hallways, passing a few different rooms and passages before we tapered off into a smallish room with 8 beds in it, all but one of them full with a child. There were curtains drawn around all of the beds bar three, the empty one, one with a comatose young boy, maybe 8 at the most, and Jay.

I wanted to scream.

There were at least 4 doctors and nurses gathered around her bed, all of them talking in hushed voices and doing something or other. There was a heart monitor, drips and tubes everywhere and I knew at once that she was on life support, the machines beating her heart for her.

As we drew nearer one of the doctors drew away and came over to us with a sombre look on her face and a clipboard in hand.

"Are you Mr and Mr Lester?" I nodded, not even registering that she had addressed me as Mr Lester. My name hadn't officially been changed yet, but I was too numb to notice. "I'm sorry... It's not looking good."

I dropped my head, wanting to scream and cry and yell about how 'this isn't fair!' but I couldn't. All I could do was slowly shake my head, Phil slipping his hand into mine and try to control my breathing enough that I could calm myself. I was crying silent tears too, they were slipping from my eyes and down my nose without my care or attention, it didn't matter after all.

Through my tears my eyes fixed on Phoenix, who was beginning to stir and making little wailing noises as he either needed to be changed or wanted something to eat. Chances were that he wanted both.

"Time will tell, but if she pulls through the next few days okay the scale might tip back in her favour... but as it's looking right now, the next 24 hours is life or death." Phil squeezed my hand again, one hand in mine and the other holding Phoenix up, who was now squirming and letting out pitiful little wails to gain our attention.

24 hours. One day was the difference between life and death for Jay and I prayed to ever god I could think of that they would spare her and she would get better.

The officer nodded to the two of us, giving us a sad little salute before turning and leaving us in the room, with the doctor who pulled out two chairs for us. We sat down in them and I just took in Jay's appearance. She had tubes coming out of her nose and mouth, wires everywhere, needles in her arms and a peg on her finger to monitor her heartbeat.

It was hard to see her like that.

"I'll go get a bottle for the little boy okay, just stay here." I nodded and leaned my head onto Phil's shoulder, closing my eyes and trying to block everything out of my system so I could concentrate. A couple of minutes later the doctor reappeared with a warm bottle in hand, which she handed to Phil so he could feed Phoenix.

I felt the doctor place a hand on my shoulder, squeezing it in an effort to comfort me.

"I'm sorry. This shouldn't have happened."

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"Dan?" I hummed, not bothering to look up or even try to do anything. "You okay bear?"

I looked up at him with sad eyes and shook my head, how could I be okay? Jay was dying, she still could die, right in front of me and all I was doing was praying that she would be spared from that fate.

"How can I be?" I knew I sounded bitter but I didn't care. "Phil, I'm scared." I surprised myself with how quickly my voice changed and how fast my mood dropped, one second I had anger and bitterness running through my veins and next I was scared, terrified even.

Phil moved his arm carefully and it landed on my wrist, making sure that I was looking at him.

"I know Dan, I am too- what's going on!?" Both of our heads snapped around at the same time, as Jay's heart monitor had started to go nuts, shrieking out a high pitched wail as the green squiggle that monitored her heart rate flatlined.

"Move out of the way!" I was pushed aside by a doctor, who rushed to Jay's side. Phil and I were jostled into a corner, hands squeezing together and trying to protect Phoenix from being knocked around and awaken.

"What's happeni-"

"Get me a defibrillator! We have a critical!" Phil's panicking eyes fixed on me. He tried to speak, but all he managed was to mouth,

"No. Please."