Chapter 7: The Unconscious Doctor
Down the hall, the atmosphere was drastically different. Liam hadn't left the hospital yet. He sat on a stiff bench in the surgical waiting area, a stale cup of black coffee warming his hands. He couldn't go back to the firehouse until he knew the fate of the other woman—Mary.
He watched a man pacing the floor a few yards away. The man was wearing a crumpled suit, aggressively chewing on his thumbnail, his eyes glued to the double doors of the operating theater. Liam recognized the look. It was the same look Alex had worn just an hour ago.
Liam stood up and approached him. "Excuse me. Are you waiting for Mary?"
The man stopped, looking at Liam’s fire department t-shirt with wide, desperate eyes. "Yes. I'm her husband, David. Were you... were you at the fire?"
"I was the one who pulled her out of the elevator," Liam said gently, extending a hand. "Liam Carter."
David shook it vigorously, though his grip was trembling. "Thank you. God, thank you. The doctors said if she had been in that smoke for another five minutes..." He couldn't finish the thought.
"How is she?" Liam asked, keeping his tone calm and grounded.
"She has a severe concussion and a fractured skull from where the debris hit her," David explained, rubbing his tired eyes. "They rushed her into surgery to relieve the pressure on her brain. And the baby... they had to do an emergency C-section while she was unconscious. It was too early. Only thirty weeks."
Liam’s heart sank. "Where is the baby?"
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"NICU," David said, his voice cracking. "It’s a little boy. He’s small, but they say his heartbeat is strong. I just... I can't lose her, Liam. She's a pediatric oncologist. She saves kids for a living. She didn't deserve this."
"She’s a fighter, David," Liam said firmly, clapping a heavy hand on the man's shoulder. "I felt it when I was carrying her out. Hold onto that."
