midwife » michael gray. [completed]

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT.

  → CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT; CHRISTMAS DAY.   

It wasn't surprising that the hospital was pretty much empty on Christmas Day. The patients that were in the wards were the elder generation, the ones who were too sick to go home for Christmas or had no family. It would be in the evening when all of the drunken folk came in, usually from having too much to drink and not being able to control their anger or doing something stupid. It was the drunken accidents that Hannah found the most entertaining as she listened to their rambling while she bandaged and cleaned up a deep cut or injury.

However, Hannah's day quickly turned at the arrival of two new patients.

Michael had been suspiciously quiet the night before. She had spent a few hours with him before leaving to go back to the convent and spend some time with the sisters and nurses, he had been happy until Tommy had rung up. After the one phone call, Michael's mood had completely changed. She just put it down to Tommy being annoying and causing some sort of argument but it all became clear the next day when Michael was rushed into hospital with multiple gunshot wounds, a letter in his coat pocket and some white powder.

"What's happened?" Hannah shouted as she ran besides Michael's bed that was travelling down the wards at a fast speed signalling that there was something dangerously wrong. Michael was unconscious and blissfully unaware of all the panic and commotion that was going on around him. "Is anybody going to tell me? I am his fiancée and I have a right to know what is going on."

One of the more senior nurses backed away from the bed, her hand grabbing hold of Hannah's arm to stop her from going any further. Hannah struggled to get out of the women's grip, she wanted to be with Michael and make sure that he was okay and alive.

"Get your hands off me," Hannah snapped, not once giving up as she was dragged through a side room away from the wards. "My fiancé is bleeding out to death down there so if you don't let me out of this room, I will make your life a living hell." Hannah was crying at this point, tears running down her face as her mind went to the negative. Hannah didn't mean anything that she was saying, and she made a mental note to apologise to the nurse the next time that she saw her. It was just the mixture of worry and anger was making her say and do things that she would never do in her life. It was like something had taken over Hannah.

"You need to calm down, okay? Michael is in the best care possible and those doctors are going to do everything that they can to save him," the nurse said, a part of her wanting to let Hannah go and be with Michael but she knew that Hannah wasn't in the right frame of mind.

Hannah threw her hands up in the air out of frustration. "He needs me, he's going to be scared."

"He isn't awake Hannah, he doesn't know what is going on and I'm not having you go in there when you are this upset because it will only make things worse. I think it's best that you go home and calm down, go and see the nuns, okay?"

Hannah shook her head. "No, it's not okay. I am staying right here with Michael, alright? I will stay here until he is awake and I swear to God, if those doctors don't save them, then hell will rise. Is that understood?"

The older nurse knew that Hannah didn't mean a word that she was saying, her emotions were just all over the place as she tried to process what was going on. It was only when Hannah saw Esme running down the corridor that the panic really set in. This wasn't just a random attack, or Michael being in the wrong place at the wrong time, this was organised.

"Who else has been admitted?" Hannah asked quickly, her heart racing.

The nurse sighed before answering, "John Shelby."