Hero

[callyha]

Story Title: Hero

Type of story: Short/Medium fic

Main Characters: Most of the residents of Summer Bay

BTTB rating: G

Genre: Drama/Action

Does story include spoilers: none that im aware of

Any warnings: just the weather

Summary: A life is left in danger after a freak slide.

‘Further rainstorms are likely to continue into the night. Advice would be to stay in in front of the fire and barricade yourself in your house. Floods are likely. We will bring you updates when we receive them. In other news..”

“Right, so we need to stay in and prepare ourselves for a flood” Alf said as he turned the radio down.

In the surf club were Nicole, Aden, Miles, Annie, Rachel, Tony and Harry, and a few other costumers.

“Have we got enough things here?” Tony asked

“Yea, we should do mate, if not we have to make do. We can’t go out in this weather”

“Right, put these bags in front of the door to stop any water coming in” Irene said as she handed some bags to Colleen and Leah. Ruby, Geoff, Romeo, Angelo and Morag were all helping.

“Do we know how much longer it will rain for? Ruby asked

“The radio says were due more over night” Angelo replied

“Hey, where is Charlie?”

“Still at the station” Angelo said

“Should we ring her, to let her know where we are?”

“Charlie wont try and get anywhere. She’ll be at the station with the other officers until the rain stops” Irene said

“Martha, what else have you got?” Hugo asked

“Not much, I never got chance to get anything”

“We’ll just make do with what we have got then”

“Charlie!, All roads are closed, we need to get back inside” Georgina shouted

“Ok, are you sure all roads are checked?”

“All units have got back to me, there aren’t any vehicles on the road, everyone seems to be inside, away from the water”

“Good, right come on” Charlie said

“Wait. What’s that?” Georgina said as she looked into the night

Charlie looked where Georgina’s were looking. They saw a tree move a couple of foot to the left.

“oh my god, LANDSLIDE!” Charlie shouted “All units landslide, repeat, landslide on upper bay side, check you perimeters and warn local businesses” Charlie said down her radio.

“What do we do?” Mark asked

“We establish where the slide is going to finish and how fast it’s travelling, and evacuate people if necessary”

[callyha]

here is the next part, hope you enjoy it x

Ruby was sat on a chair. She picked up her phone and saw that Charlie was ringing her.

“Charlie hey. What? I’m at the diner with Irene, Colleen, Geoff, Leah, Romeo, Angelo and Morag. Why?” Ruby’s mouth opened when she heard what Charlie was saying.

“What’s wrong?” Irene asked

“That was Charlie, there's a landslide”

Silence fell over the diner.

“Charlie?…. Its Alf....What?…… Strewth, where is it?”

Alf hung up and begun telling people.

Silence fell over the surf club.

“Charlie, hey you ok, where are you? Ruby rang asking where yo.. What? Hugo and I are at the farm. Oh my god, how close?”

Martha and Hugo fell silent.

For the next three hours everyone was sitting on nerves. Phone services had been cut off, and no one knew where the landslide was going to stop.

Ruby and Angelo were worrying about Charlie been outside in the rain and with the landslide approaching.

“I have to call her!” Ruby shouted

“You cant go out there! Look Charlie knows what she is doing, she’ll be ok” Irene reassured Ruby.

“But…”

“Ruby, Irene’s right, Charlie can look after herself” Angelo added as he walked over to Ruby

“Tony, can you help me move this”

“Yea sure Alf”

“Look, the phone lines are dead, I can talk to Charlie via the radio I have, but I don’t want the others knowing. So every fifteen minutes, I need you to contact Charlie”

“Yea, no worries. Has she found out anything?”

“The slide is two miles away, we aren’t in the path, neither is the diner, but other places aren’t so lucky”

“What about the farm?”

“Charlie never said. I don’t think they will be in danger”

Tony wasn’t sure. Alf never looked at Tony in the eye. They walked back to where the others were.

“I haven’t heard any more radio updates. Do you think something is wrong?” Nicole asked

“Na, Alf and Tony will be using the radio to keep in contact with Charlie. Either that or they’re dancing” Aden answered

“Boo!” Hugo said to Martha with the torch under his chin

“God, you scared me. Have you got the radio working?”

“Sort of, I can hear brief bits of talking, but then it goes dead”

“So what are we supposed to do?” Martha asked looking worried.

“Charlie, Mark and Andy are ten miles up the road, the landslide has abated off, its gone in to the river, they are just trying to divert the water now”

“Right, good. Things aren’t so good here. Look”

Georgina looked to where Charlie was pointing. The landslide was that powerful that it just ate away at everything.

“What do we do?”

“I’m going to see where the slide is headed, evacuating people if necessary”

“I’ll go with you” Georgina said

They walked to the police van and got all the equipment they needed.

As they walked they saw a building in the distance.

“Oh no!’ Charlie said

“What?”

“Look”

Georgina looked. The rain had caused three rivers to flood, they could see a wave of water heading along the road, destroying everything in its path.

“That’s the diner and the surf club. Get on the radio and call for back up” Charlie ordered.

[callyha]

Next bit.

hope you enjoy

“Charlie?.. It’s Alf.. Any news?..

“get everyone to wrap up and to get to higher ground. Barricade the doors and windows with anything you’ve got. The landslide isn’t your worry, it’s the three rivers, they’ve burst and are heading in your direction”

“Strewth”

Alf walked into the bar area and told all the people what Charlie had told him.

Everyone pitched in as they barricaded the windows and doors. Tony got all the towels from the gym and handed them out to everyone. Anything that could be used to keep heat in, they used. Tony then made his way on to the top level and helped everyone else up. Aden made sure everyone was up in the top level, he then grabbed the last few things. Miles helped him climb up.

As the waited they heard furniture moving, everything that wasn’t attached to a wall or the floor was moving. Every bang caused people to jump.

Charlie had also contacted the diner explaining what was going on.

Everyone in summer bay fell silent, no one moved. A landslide? Floods? The town had never had some much weather as this.

Ruby, Angelo, Irene, Leah, Colleen and Morag all pulled together and barricaded the doors and windows. They then used aprons, towels, cloths and paper as a way of keeping warm. They then climbed into the upper level and waited.

Pots and pans fell from shelves, shelves fell over, tables and chairs moved from where they were.

Hugo had been outside for ten minutes, Martha was pacing

“It doesn’t look good. The river has flooded. The water is half way across the field”

“Oh my god. Any chance of it not reaching here?”

“It’s unlikely, but we need to be prepared if it does reach us”

“what do we do?”

“We try and drive to town and find the others so we are with other people. We’re more likely to be rescued”

Martha and Hugo walked to the ute. Hugo drove through the water and headed to the diner.

“What do we do now?” Rachel asked

“We cant get any higher, so we are going to have to sit tight” Miles replied

Rachel was holding Harry and Annie. Everyone was worried about the rising water.

“Alf, have you got through to Charlie?” Tony asked

“No, not yet. I’m going to give it a few minutes before starting again” Alf replied

“Ok, all we do now is wait” Colleen said

“It’s all we can do” Leah replied

“Why arent the police helping? They should be here now” Colleen said

“Gawd sake Colleen. There is a landslide and a flood. The officers are doing their best.” Irene blurted. Knowing that Ruby would be stressing about Charlie. Colleen rolled her eyes. “I was only saying” Colleen whispered to herself

“Do you think Charlie is ok?” Ruby asked Angelo as she looked up at him through teary eyes.

“Yes, she’s tough. Nothing could bring her down” Angelo replied, his voice slightly croaky

Silence fell over the diner. All they heard was the building creaking.

“Charlie. Adams and Taylor have diverted most of the water, and the slide seems to have stopped, but the roads are inaccessible.”

“Have they made radio contact with any businesses?”

“No, the radio isn’t picking any channels up”

Charlie rubbed her forehead. They was no way of contacting anyone in summer bay.

“What should we do senior?”

“Right, Mark, Tom you take that patrol van and head to the bay from the north side, Georgina and I will go to the bay from the south. The first business you reach, get in and get the people out. We’ll Take them to the hospital, they’re high enough to avoid the floods and people could be injured”

“Where are we driving to?” Martha asked

“To the police station. See if we can help in any way”

‘I thought we were going to the diner”

“We were, but we will be more use to the cops”

Tony crawled over to where Alf was.

“Alf. The radio isn’t working mate” Tony said as he put his hand on Alf’s arm, “Come on, we’d better join the others”

Mark and Tom reached the bay. They saw that the landslide had hit the bay. Trees were on top of buildings, cars were in the trees, roofs had come off buildings.

“Oh my god!” Mark said as he looked out the window.

Charlie and Georgina reached the bay. They stopped and looked at the devastation the landslide had made. Charlie looked and saw the diner.

“No!” she screamed with horror. She got out of the car and ran.

“Charlie! Charlie! No wait! Georgina said as she grabbed Charlie’s arm

“No, my daughter, boyfriend and friends are in that building. I can’t leave them!”

Georgina let go of Charlie, Charlie ran to the door of the diner. Mud was half way up the door, trees were blocking the way and it looked very unstable.

There was no way of getting in via the door.

Charlie was getting worried; there was no way she could get into the diner.

Mark and Tom got out of the van and walked along the road. They saw Charlie and Georgina. They rushed over to help

“How does your end look?” Georgina asked

“Not as bad as this” Tom replied

“Right, all of you, do what you can to get into the diner, but be careful!” Charlie said.

For three hours they dug and climbed trying to find a way into the diner. No such luck. Charlie then climbed up on of the trees that was leaning on the building. Once at the top she began to knock away at the building wall.

“What’s that noise?” Leah asked

“What noise?” Geoff asked

“That noise” Romeo said as he heard a thud

“Help!” Colleen shouted

“Did you hear that?” Charlie asked

“Yea, keep going Charlie” Mark said.

Charlie dug away at the mud and debris, eventually she found a window.

“Mark, is there anyway we could make a hole in the roof to get people

out?” Charlie asked

“I could have a go. Why?”

“Because if I try and get the window open the whole lot will cave in. I’m

going to climb in and get people out via the roof. So can you start on the roof please”

“Yes Charlie”

Charlie climbed through the small opening, she knew not everyone would

fit through the hole, Charlie even struggled. Charlie jumped into the diner and landed in the water, it was half way up her shins. Charlie turned on her torch

and looked around.

“Hello?” she shouted

[callyha]

This is the next part. i hope you enjoy reading it x

“That’s Charlie!” Ruby said as she hit Angelo on the arm

“Up here!” Ruby shouted

Charlie followed Ruby’s voice. She walked into the dining room, through the water and saw all the debris that had found it’s way in, Charlie lifted shelves out of the way, kicking everything out of the way to make herself a path.

Charlie then saw Ruby looking down at her.

“Ruby! Are you ok? How is everyone?”

“We’re all ok. Do you want us to come down?” Ruby asked as she stretched further down

“No, I want you to help me get up” Charlie said as she put her torch in her pocket. Ruby went back up.

"Angelo, stretch down and help Charlie up" Ruby said

"Doesn't Charlie want us to go down there?"

Ruby shook her head "Charlie wants to come up"

Angelo, stretched down the hole and helped Charlie up. Everyone was so relieved to see Charlie.

"Hey. Is anyone hurt?" Charlie asked. No one replied "Good. We can't go back the way i came in, so we are going to have to go through the roof. is that ok with everyone?" Charlie asked. she heard people moaning. "it's the only way of getting out. if we go the way i came in the mud can cave in, its safer to go through the roof". Just then Mark burst through the roof.

“Charlie” Mark said

“How’s it looking?” Charlie asked

“Georgina and Tom have started to do the same with the surf club, they haven’t got in yet. Other than that, the rain has stopped, and I got a radio message from the station”

“Good, right, get these out. Everyone, can you make your way over here please" Charlie asked

Colleen and Irene were the first out, followed by Romeo, Ruby and Geoff. Angelo helped Leah out as she couldn’t quite reach Mark’s hand, Angelo followed leaving Charlie to climb out last. Everyone was safely out when a beam fell to the floor, taking a wall with it.

Mark and Charlie took them to the police van.

“Mark, get these to the hospital for a check, I’m going to go help Tom and Georgina”

“Charlie no!” Ruby said as she grabbed Charlie's hand

“Rubes, I have to. I’ll see you soon at the hospital” Charlie smiled. Ruby gave Charlie a hugged and smiled back.

Mark drove them to the hospital. Ruby stared at Charlie until she was no longer visible.

[callyha]

Next part....

Thanks for the comments guys!!! xx

“Tom, Georgina. Anything yet?”

“Not yet, the mud is pretty thick” Tom answered

“Georgina, radio station and the hospital and see if we can get some ambulances, we may need them” Charlie asked

“Ok. What makes you say we need them?”

“Alf told me that one of the customers had cut themselves on glass from a window, it looks pretty bad”

Georgina got on the radio. Charlie helped Tom dig.

“Did you hear that?” Rachel asked

“Yea, Help!” Annie said as she heard a noise

Everyone in the surf club shouted, hoping to be heard.

Charlie stopped digging for a second, listening careful to something she thought she heard.

“What is it?” Tom asked, taking a breather

“They’re shouting. They can hear us . Keep digging” Charlie said. Tom, Georgina and Charlie dug at the mud.

Charlie suddenly stopped.

“What’s wrong?” Georgina asked,

Charlie stood. Her hands were bloody and shaky. “Whoa, Charlie, you ok?” Georgina asked

“Yea, I’m fine, keep going” Charlie said as she braved digging again

“Charlie, stop, your hands are a mess, you can barely stand and you look like you’re going to fall any minute”

“Look. I’m not stopping until the last person is in that ambulance. So you can either shut up and dig or you talk to someone else”

“Sorry”

“It’s fine, can you just help us dig?” Charlie looked up at Georgina. Her eyes told of the pain Charlie was in.

Georgina got on her knee and helped dig.

“I got roof!” Georgina shouted

Tom kicked at the exposed roof, eventually he broke through. Charlie shone her torch through the hole. She saw everyone looking at her with relief in their eyes. Charlie jumped in and told everyone to make there way to the gap in the roof. Rachel and Harry were first out. The paramedic checked Harry over. Next out was Annie, Nicole and Aden.

“Alf. Come on mate, we can get out” Tony said

“Yea, coming” Alf said as he put the radio down. Tony helped Alf out of the roof, and then he pulled himself out. He stretched his hand down.

“There’s no one else down here is there?” Charlie asked before she climbed out. “No, you’re the last one. Come on” Tony helped Charlie out of the surf club. Tony then ran over to Rachel and Harry. Tom walked to where Charlie was stood.

“You ok?” He asked

“Yea, come on, we’d better get off this before it collapses”

Tom and Charlie were just about to walk away from the surf club when they heard something move.

Suddenly the mud fell in through the hole in the roof, taking Charlie with it. Tom tried to grab Charlie, but she went too fast.

“I need some help over here!” Tom shouted

Tony, Aden, Alf and the paramedics all ran to where Tom was, they all began to dig.

[callyha]

Next part Guys......

Hope you're enjoying this x

At the hospital Ruby, Angelo and the others were waiting for news of the others. It had been nearly an hour since they were dropped off at the hospital.

“Shouldn’t they be here by now?” Leah asked, trying not to be heard by a fragile Ruby

“Yea, they should. What’s keeping them?” Colleen added, keeping her voice to a minimum.

“Something’s wrong, it shouldn’t be taking this long!” Ruby said, not looking at anyone, just the floor through her tear-filled eyes

“Hey, hey, come on, don't think that” Leah said as she went to Ruby and held her.

“Leah, they should be here by know, something is wrong!” Ruby said as she looked at Leah

“Ruby, they’re making sure everyone is out. They’ll be here soon” Leah told Ruby

Irene nodded and Colleen held Ruby's hand. Colleen was just about to speak when Rachel, Annie, Nicole and Harry came through the doors.

“Where are the others?” Irene asked as she saw them walk in

Ruby walked over to where Nicole was, looking for Charlie. "Wheres Charlie? She should be with you" Ruby said when she couldn't see Charlie

“Charlie and Tom got us all out” Nicole said, staring at the floor.

“Yea, but where are they? They should be here” Ruby said now even more distressed then she was before

“Charlie and Tom were on the mud when a window broke. The mud fell through, taking Charlie with it” Rachel said as tears trickled down her face.

Ruby cried out, Leah went to her and held her again. the other all gasped as they heard what had happened. horror covered their faces when they realized Charlie could be dead. Angelo had a look of devastation on his face before it turned to anger. with this he headed for the door.

“Where do you think your going?” Irene said as she grabbed Angelo’s hand

“Charlie is trapped in a building by a wall of thick mud, the building could collapse at anytime. I’m not going to stand here and do nothing, I’m going to get her out” Angelo said before heading out the door. his pace turned to a run when he emerged into the night

Everyone stared at the door as it wafted back and forth. No one said a word.

All that could be heard was the cries of Ruby.

The faces of those who waited were mixed. Some were shocked, others were numb.

But Ruby was inconsolable.

[callyha]

Next part...

i'm glad your enjoying this, and leaving lovely comments... x

Angelo got to the surf club and saw the extent of the damage. There were more police officers there helping, who were covered in the mud they had cleared, Tony, Aden and Alf were all sat on bench near an ambulance.

"Hey, Tony, Alf. Aden. Are you ok?"

"Yea mate, just tired. We're sorry mate. We couldn't grab her before she went.." Tony said

"We've been digging for an hour, but there's just too much mud" Alf said as he caught his breath.

Aden looked up. He saw how distraught Angelo was. "Hey, mate. we'll find her, don't worry" He said placing his hand on Angelo's shoulder. Angelo forced a smile on his face.

. Angelo, turned and walked to where the officers were. Georgina walked over to him

“Hey, is there anything?” Angelo asked as he fought his tears

“No, not yet. We're still looking” Georgina replied

"Have you heard anything? Has Charlie made any noise?" Angelo asked, hoping the answer would be good.

"No, Nothing, It looks like we may be looking for a dead body" Georgina said.

“No she's alive. We just have to keep looking” Angelo snapped, not liking what Georgina had said

“Angelo we may have to face facts. It’s been two hours and we haven’t found her.”

“There’s still a chance she’s alive”

“And there’s a chance she’s dead. Angelo, no one wants her to be dead, but it may be the truth. Unless you can hear her?”

“I can sense it. If she was dead, I’d know” Angelo said.

Georgina looked at Angelo and saw the distress in his face.

Georgina turned around and helped the other officers dig. Angelo stood looking up at the sky. The rain pelting down on his face made his tears disappear, but not the pain and anger.

“I can’t loose her” Ruby said as she cried

“You wont loose her” Leah replied

“Yea darl, Charlie is the strongest person I know” Irene added

“If anyone can get through this, its Charlie” Colleen added

Ruby forced a smile on her face.

“Come on, Charlie was the one who went into a storm drain, saved me and then was spat out into the ocean and still walk around the next day. She’s strong. Charlie will make it” Annie reminded Ruby, hoping it would calm Ruby down slightly.

“Look, I’m going to the cafeteria, do you want anything?” Irene asked

“No, I want Charlie, here now. I just want to have her stood in front of me” Ruby said, not looking at anyone.

Irene and Leah both looked at each other with tears in their eyes.

"Rachel, do you know if anyone has rung here?" Nicole asked, trying to help her friend

"No, no one has. Well, as far as i'm aware" Rachel said, disappointed that she wasn't much help to Ruby. Or to Charlie.

Just then the doors burst open. Everyone turned to face the doors when they heard…

[callyha]

Next part, Enjoy!....................................x

“Thirty year old woman, had blunt force trauma to the head, suffering hypothermia, heart rate low, resuscitated on sight, suffered major blood loss ” A paramedic said as Charlie was wheeled in.

“Mum!” Ruby screamed as she saw Charlie hooked up to machines and covered in blood. Leah chased after Ruby and held her as she broke down.

“Alf, what happened?” Irene asked as she looked to Alf. He was stood, barely with it, covered in mud, blood and rain. He was as white as a sheet and shivering, trying to heat himself up.

“We found her buried under one of the beams from the roof, the beam brought some of the gym equipment down on top of her as well. Poor girl, she would have seen the whole thing happen” Alf said as he sat down. When he finished he put his head into his hands, trying to get the image out of his mind.

“Oh my god!’ Leah said as she held Ruby tighter as she felt Ruby slipping closer to the floor.

“She was laying on her back when we found her. It took an hour to move everything” Miles added, he too covered in blood and just as exhausted.

“Miles, your bleeding!” Colleen said

“It’s not mine” Miles said “When we found Charlie she was bleeding pretty badly, Angelo took his shirt of and bandaged some of her cuts, but the blood..” Miles continued before breaking down.

Leah was crying as she held Ruby, who now was trying to break away from Leah, trying to go see Charlie.

The others had tears streaming down their faces. Rachel held Harry even closer and kissed the top of his head before embracing Tony in her arm. Colleen stood, and for the first time in a while, she was speechless. Everyone's attention turned to the door when Angelo walked through them. Irene walked to him and held him. He looked so broken.

“Charlie… She… We… I…” Angelo couldn’t speak

Irene held his as he cried out for the woman he loved.

Ruby, Angelo and the others were all waiting out in the corridor to hear news on Charlie. They had been waiting for three hours. Angelo was becoming irritable, Ruby was sat rocking back and forth and the others were in shock.

“Any news doc?” Angelo asked as he saw a doctor coming out of the theatre

“Charlie is still unconscious. We have stopped the bleeding, but we won't know of any damage until tests are done. At this moment she is stable, but only by machines.”

“What does that mean?” Ruby asked through tears

“It means that the next 24 hours are critical. If Charlie shows no sign of improvement we may have to sw..”

“Don’t even finish that sentence” Ruby said angrily

“I’ll leave you to it” the doctor turned and headed back to the theatre

Everyone stood in a dead silence.

Charlie was so close to death.

[callyha]

Love reading your comments...

Hope you enjoy this next chapter x

Everyone was still stood in complete shock. Leah was still holding Ruby as she cried hard for her mother, Angelo was in the arms of Irene, he too crying for Charlie. Aden was holding Nicole, both with tears in their eyes, Rachel and Tony were sat with each others heads on their shoulders, Harry was asleep on Rachel. Colleen was sat, still unable to bring herself to say anything. Alf and Miles looked out of the window. Both trying to get the image of when they found Charlie out of their minds.

"I've had it" Rachel said. So she handed Harry to Tony and went in to the room where Charlie was been treated

“What is going on?” She demanded

“What are you doing in here?” Dr. Hamish asked angrily

“I’m working. Brief me in please” Rachel lied. As it was the only way she could find out what was going on so she could tell everyone.

“She has suffered cranial bleeding which we stabilized during surgery, her left lung has been punctured and her right lung can’t cope, we have hooked her to a machine to act as her lungs, hence, the next 24 hours.”

“Have any x-rays been done yet” Rachel asked

“No” Dr. Hamish said, still looking at the notes that were made from surgery

“Why not?” Rachel asked angrily

“Charlie is 6 weeks pregnant, and we need the permission from her or the father to proceed.”

“Well go ask him, he’s stood outside. Then get the x-ray done, re-inflate her lung and monitor her closely. How difficult is that?” Rachel snapped

“We had to be sure we could give her an x-ray. We had to run a few tests”

“A pregnancy test takes two minutes.” Rachel said

“She was bleeding from her head. We had other priorities!”

“Right. So ask Angelo if she can have an x-ray.”

"We will, now can you remove yourself from my room" Dr. Hamish said as he glared at Rachel.

Rachel walked out of the room. Leah and Irene looked at her. Rachel forced a smile on her face. Irene covered Angelo's eyes so he didn't see Rachel's face. Ruby never noticed.

Doctor Hamish walked into the corridor.

“May I speak to Angelo please?” He said as he looked at all the men in the corridor

Angelo looked up, Ruby began to cry, everyone else stared at the floor.

“Yes?” Angelo said, unsure of what was about to be said

“Angelo, we need your permission to do an x-ray on Charlie, it's the one thing we haven't done, when we have done the x-ray we will know more about her injuries”

“Yes, do it” Angelo said, without hesitation.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. They thought it was bad news.

Rachel headed back into the room after waiting outside. Angelo looked at her with hope in his eyes. If anyone would make Charlie recover, it was Rachel.

Ruby was no longer in Leah's arms. She was pacing the door where Charlie was.

"We should know something by now. What's taking so long? He told us that 24 hours would be critical, they've been with her for three of them"

"They're making sure they check everything thoroughly. They don't want to miss anything" Irene said softly, knowing Ruby was unstable at the moment.

Rachel came out of the room

“Have you found out anything?” Angelo asked as he walked over to her

“The x-rays have shown that she had a dislocation of the right hip.”

“Again? Is that bad??” Leah asked

“Well, last time this happened her hip went straight back in, but she has a small fracture in the socket, which means we cant put her hip back in until the fracture has healed”

“How long will that be?” Ruby asked

“A couple of days. But she has suffered a major head injury as well so it could take her months to make a full recovery”

“But she will be ok right?” Ruby asked through her tears

“We’ll know more when she wakes up. Charlie received a number of blows to her head, not to mention hypothermia and her other injuries. The next 24 hours are critical”

"What? The other doctor told us the same thing, only four hours ago!" Ruby pointed out angrily,

"I know, but the doctors have only run tests from bloods they got from surgery, Charlie is on her own know. If she shows signs of improvements, it means that it shouldn't be too long before she awake. But.." Rachel stopped what she was saying. Everyone knew the end of that sentence, but no one wanted to say it.

Everyone stood in silence.

The door opened. Doctor Hamish came out

“Only close family can come in” Dr. Hamish said

“I’m her boyfriend” Angelo said as he rose to his feet

“And I’m her daughter” Ruby said as she broke away from Leah.

“Ok, in you go” Dr. Hamish said as Ruby and Angelo rushed in

Angelo and Ruby walked to where Charlie was laying.

Charlie was hooked up to some machines, she had cuts and bruises on her face, her arm was in a pot and she had a bandage on one side of her head, thubes were coming out of her mouth and a machine next to her was going up and down.

Ruby cried as she saw her mum laying there. Angelo had tears in his eyes, which fell when he blinked.

“Charlie?, it’s Angelo, can you hear me?” Angelo took Charlie hand and kissed it softly

“Charlie?, It’s Ruby” Ruby kissed Charlie on her cheek.

Nothing happened.

[callyha]

Next part.

Enjoy x

“Charlie has shown signs of improvement. The last 24 hours have gone well for her, she still isn’t out of danger yet, but the way in which she has improved since yesterday, assures me that she’ll be awake in no time” Dr. Hamish told Angelo and Ruby.

“So the bleeding in her head?..” Angelo asked

“We did a scan this morning and they show that the bleeding has caused no problems, we will know more when she does wake up, but at the moment she is ok”

“Thank you doctor” Ruby said.

“Your welcome. Just one more thing. We were able to put Charlie’s hip back into place, with no complications to the fetus” Dr. Hamish continued

“So what now?” Angelo asked

“Well, when she wakes up we will be able to test her abilities to ensure no physical or intellectual damage has occurred that we haven’t spotted on the scans.” Dr. Hamish continued

“And is these tests go well?”

“Then all her injuries are just physical and she is one very lucky woman. But like I say. We will know more when she wakes up” said and then headed off down the corridor.

Angelo and Ruby looked at each other and smiled.

“Ruby, how’s Charlie doing?” Leah asked as Ruby walked along the beach

“She’s improving. The doctor has said all she has to do is wake up.” Ruby answered, smiling.

“That’s great!, you and Angelo must be so happy”

“Yea. We are.”

“What’s wrong?” Leah asked

“I don’t know if I should tell Ross. I mean he has right to know because it’s his daughter. But I don’t want it to stress him out”

“Why don’t you tell him when Charlie wakes up, that way he knows that he shouldn’t worry”

“But then he will be mad that we left him out” Ruby said

“It’s up to you. I’m sure Ross will understand the circumstances”

Ruby carried on walking along the beach. She looked up and saw Angelo sitting an a rock looking out to sea. He looked like he was crying.

“Hey, what’s the matter?” Ruby asked as she stood in front of Angelo

“It should be me laying there. Not Charlie” He sobbed

“Angelo, stop it. You know what Charlie would be like if you were there. She’d be a lot worse than you are. You have to be strong for her. There when she wakes up. Which she will do.” Ruby said, now sitting next to Angelo.

“ I should have been there, next to her when she was digging people out”

“Angelo, she told you to go to the hospital with me”

“But if I stayed I could have helped get her out sooner”

“You don’t know that. Charlie might still have been trapped under the building, even if you were there, there would have been nothing you could have done”

“But..”

“Angelo stop it. Mum is going to wake up. You two are going to live together and be very happy, and I am going to have my mum back” Ruby said through her tears. Angelo leaned over to Ruby and held her whilst she cried. They both sat on the rock, looking out to sea, taking their minds of what was going on around them.