nto Mercy Hospital, its s

hands gloved, faces tense. The stretcher rolled out fast, wheels clattering ag

oss polished floors. The sharp tang of antiseptic burned the back of Mr. Donald's

g shut with a final metallic thud, leaving him outside

s shoulders sagged; his hands locked together s

lace in this place of steel and disinfectant. He had carried them earli

e. His

whispering again,

ime, t

fled chorus of the operating team

n. Hold pressu

at door, a young woman's life teetered on the

bows braced on his kn

and daughter..... I have t

-

this same date, he

ad split his life clean in two. A truck.

les away in another city

, the corridors had smelled just l

got to sa

d their hands

ery breath, in every lonely evening, in every anniversary where he laid

other visit - another quiet a

he s

, her clothes soaked with blood.Something in him froz

ung,like Angel,h

hat same ache clawed its way back through his che

is voice shaking. "But I won't lose her

-

gged mer

der, the ticking clock, the buzz of overhead light

He stood, paced and sat again. Every time the door creaked

when finally, the ope

ask dangling at his nec

ir

ore he even realized. "Yes

ed. "She's stable. It was

st stared, unable to br

ile. "We'll move her to the recovery ward soo

him.He had to grip the back o

whispered. "Th

n years, something i

itself back together where ther

-

of surgery, she looked impossib

at wrapped around her head. Only her lip

s the nurses guided the s

," one nurse said gently. "She shoul

nod

er bedside and sat. The room was dim except for the rhythm

red - proof that she was

p now," he murmured softly. "You hear me? You'll live.

ice trembling with a kind

ng. And I'll find whoever did this to you. That driver - he won't just d

r her hand, hesitant, t

y but something de

one before him to protect, and

. It tapped against the windowpane like a heartbeat

k, exhaustion cre

pt time with her fragile breath, the man who had buried his en