Charlotte's Battle - Jason's Recovery

Chapter 22 - The Wedding Part 1

Charlotte couldn't even begin to explain how scared she was. Her mother unhooked her from most of the wires except for the catheter and the IV medications. Sara and Jason picked her up and they all went to the corner away from the door and away from the window. Thankfully Sara had been through this once before but she's never had her own children in the hospital at the time so she tried her best to keep everyone calm.

Charlottes heart was racing and she was so scared, she felt like she couldn't breathe. That's when her mother began to try and calm her down. Charlotte nodded and swallowed hard as she focused on her breathing. Both Jason and Jessica knew what to do in this type of situation so they just comforted Charlotte in silence, careful not to make any noise.

When Sara's pager vibrated, she checked it and noticed they were still in lockdown. "Okay..." she murmured as she looked down at her daughter and slowly got up. "Stay here.. stay quiet and don't move." She told them, receiving nods. She slowly and stealthily made her way to the door. She stayed against the wall as she peaked through the small window.

A few gunshots were heard further down in the hallway, then sounds of running could be heard. Sara stayed there and watched as she saw a nurse on the ground, bleeding and hemorrhagic. She saw a few police officers running down the hall as well. She gulped slightly before opening the door and carefully rushing to the nurses side. "Angelica... oh no... a-are you okay?" She said, realising that was a bad question to ask.

She got up and ran to the supply cart and grabbed a ton of gauze and ran back to the nurses side. She opened the packages and held gauze on the gunshot wound. She wasn't sure if the bullet went straight through or not. She heard heavy footsteps running towards her and she turned and saw a surgical resident who kneeled down by the nurse. "I got this Sara, go back to your family." The resident said.

Sara gulped again and nodded as she got up and went to the room her family was in, closing the door and sliding down to the floor. Her hands and scrubs were soaked in blood. Angelica's blood. She was silent as she cried. She realized Angelica wasn't going to make it.

Charlotte noticed this and tilted her head. She heard an announcement that the code was lifted. "Okay, mom... Tell me what happened." Jason said, getting up and going to her.

"B-basically. The shooter- shot Angelica. And I think she's not going to make it." Her words were shaky and laboured. Jason went and grabbed the oxygen tank and a set of tubing. He quickly put it together as he witnessed his mother hyperventilating. He brought it to his mother and put the mask over her mother. "Breathe, mom. Just breathe. It's okay..." he said as he turned and looked at Charlotte.

It took everyone a little while before going back to work and doing what they need to. Charlotte's mother ended her shift early to go and get Charlotte a dress for the next afternoon. Charlotte was focused on the game on her Nintendo. She wanted to get out of reality so that's what she did. When a combination of watching television and playing the game, she was able to forget about everything for a few hours.

~~~

Sara walked into her daughters hospital room, gently pushing a wheelchair. She stood by her daughters bed, noticing her asleep. She knew she had to wake her, but it was nearly eight in the morning so it would be a little early. With today being the wedding day, she had to wake her a bit earlier.

Charlotte's eyes slowly opened, a smile forming on her face as she saw her mother standing beside her. Her mother told her good morning, holding a bottle of her favorite formula. "Aww mom, you know... I love you." She said, squeezing her mother's hand. She loved this formula because it helped her gain more energy. She definitely would need it. She smiled and watched as her mother put the formula into the bag. She slowly looked down at the tube connected to her stomach. She smiled and looked at the giraffe shaped tubie pad. She then looked up and saw Jason at the door, holding a bag. "Jason!!!" She said excitedly as she sat up.

Jason glanced at her and suddenly images began to play in his mind.
His eyes closed as he gulped, listening to the sounds of the glass breaking. His head was throbbing and he could hear noises coming from the hallway. He tried to get up but his legs buckled underneath him. He was out of it, but he could feel arms holding him  close. He could hear the quiet murmurs from its voice. He couldn't tell who it was as a gunshot erupted from the hall. His breathing hitched as he held onto the person. He felt the blood pounding in his ears and the smell of gunpowder flew in the air. The blow of the gunshot hitting a wall, creating a bounce back from the body it hit. The sounds of Jessica's voice brought him back to the moment. His heart was racing as he slowly glanced at Jessica.

Jason blinked a few times, feeling an arm wrapping around his waist. It was Jessica. "Hey..." He said, a smile forming on his face. He had pale cheeks and he seemed to be shaking. He took a deep breath and glanced back at Charlotte. "Hey..." He said again, slowly pulling from Jessica's arms and moving towards Charlotte. He sat down beside her on the bed. "You ready? Three hours until the wedding. Mom will be helping me get ready so Jessica will help you out a bit, Okay?"

Charlotte nodded and smiled at him, looking over at Jessica. She watched as Jessica came over to her, carrying a bag. Both Jason and Sara left the room, going to the staff restrooms to help get Jason ready for the big day.

Jessica sat down on the car beside the bed, opening the bag and going through it. She pulled out a pallet of makeup, but nothing too much. Jess was looking into doing a natural look. She even bought her a wig, brown medium length hair. She smiled as she looked through the bag, glancing at Charlotte as she pulled out the dress she would be wearing.

~~~

Once everyone was ready for the ceremony, many of their friends and family all met up in the chapel on the second floor of the hospital. The priest was at the podium and the bridesmaids had already lined up and went through. Sara, charlottes mother, pushed her in the wheelchair with the neck race on as she threw flower petals on the carpet. She was wearing a light pink dress with white leggings and white slip on flats. She had the wig on her head, the hair over her shoulders and down to her stomach in front. The groom was standing there by the priest, watching as the flower girl went through, as well as the others.

Then finally it was time for the bride to be revealed. Jessica Renee Anderson - or to be - was standing there with a white dress with floral lace in the front under her neck. Her hair was curled and she had the vale on, the dress was a bit long so it dragged behind her on the carpet as she walked with her father to the groom. She held a bundle of flowers to her chest, handing them to Charlotte when she finally reached the groom.

Charlotte smiled at Jason and Jessica, giving him a thumbs up. The ceremony started with the priest reading off the introduction which follows.

((The wedding ceremony and the words from each person and the priest are in the next part))