I look down at Moira. She’s still unconscious and so light in my arms. Then I look back at Sean and notice the gas can lying by his trapped body, and it all clicks into place. I could save him; I know I could. I could save the fucker who caused this and hurt the woman I love, but to do so would mean I would have to set her down, and there’s no way in hell I’m doing that. I don’t even look back at him, not even when he starts screaming my name again, because it’s not really a choice at all. Moira will always come first, before anything and everything.
When I finally see the sun start to penetrate through the thick smoke, I let out a grateful breath and stumble back through the broken door. Dima is just getting out of his car and running over to me.
“Is she okay?” he asks, leading me away from the building since I won’t let go of Moira for him to take her. “I called 911. The fire department is on the way.” He looks back at the building. “Is there anyone else in there?”
“No,” I say, not even needing to think about it. I carefully set Moira down, using my shirt as a pillow against the hard ground. I press my hand against her chest, feeling the soft beat of her heart, but she’s not waking up, and every second that her eyes stay closed is making it harder and harder to breathe.
“Moira,” I say, cupping her face and kissing her. “Please wake up, baby.” I don’t even realize I’m crying until I see the tears fall on her face. I press my forehead against hers. “Please don’t leave me,” I beg, barely registering the loud blare of sirens that’s getting louder with each passing second.
I hear Dima yelling at the paramedics, guiding them over to where we are before I feel his hand on my shoulder, gently pulling me back so they can get to her. I fight him off, refusing to let go of her. He pulls harder, and I feel so close to losing my grip on whatever sanity I have left. Dima’s Russian mixes with the English from the paramedics, and none of it makes any goddamn sense to me.
Dima finally manages to pull me away, and the EMT workers rush in to help Moira. I collapse into Dima, letting him support me, because I sure as hell can’t do it on my own.
“She’s going to be okay,” he tells me. “She’s strong, Kolya, and a fighter. I promise, she’s going to be okay.”
Even though deep down I know that he can’t possibly know this, I still cling to his words like the lifeline they are. When they put Moira on a stretcher and start to lead her to the ambulance, I stumble after them, knowing there’s no way in fuck I’m letting her out of my sight. Dima squeezes my shoulder and tells me he’ll follow behind as I climb into the ambulance and watch them try to save the woman I love.
“Sir, are you hurt?” one of the EMTs asks me.
“I’m fine,” I quickly say, waving him away. “Treat her, not me.”
He looks like he wants to argue, but one look at my face has him wisely turning his attention back to Moira. My throat feels like it’s on fire, and I’m pretty sure I got a few burns, but I don’t give a rat’s ass about any of that right now. I watch as they fasten an oxygen mask to her face and start hooking her up to machines that do God knows what. Reaching out, I grab onto her hand, stroking her soft skin and refusing to think about a life without her. The very idea of it has me wanting to completely shut down, because there is no life without Moira. There’s only going back to the shell of one I had before I met her, and I’m not willing to do that. It’s her or nothing. That’s all there is to it.
When we get to the hospital, I keep her hand in mine and follow as they lead her in. Nurses and doctors rush in, listening as the EMTs fill them in on what happened and what her vitals are. One of the nurses turns to me. “Are you her husband?”
“No,” I start to say, but then she cuts me off with a, “Well then you’ll have to wait out here.”
As soon as I hear that, I say, “I’m her husband,” because I sure as fuck will be as soon as she’s well enough to walk down the aisle.
The nurse eyes me, and I know she knows I’m lying, but I’m not about to back down. Her mostly grey hair is up in a bun, and there’s a softness to her face that tells me she’s the best kind of nurse, the kind that cares too much, is sharp as a whip, and probably works way too many hours because of it.
“She is my whole world, and I’m not leaving her.”
She eyes me for a second longer before sighing and handing me my shirt from where the EMT had laid it beside Moira. Gesturing to my forearm, she says, “I’m going to want to take a look at that burn later, just so you know. For now, put this on and try to stay out of the way.”
I nod and quickly pull my shirt on before grabbing Moira’s hand again as they wheel her down to a room. I step back when I’m forced to and try to stay out of their way and pretend like my life isn’t completely falling apart. I’m not sure how much more I can take, but then I hear a voice say, “Kolya.”
It’s hoarse and cracked and doesn’t sound at all like she normally does, but I instantly recognize it for what it is—the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard. I feel lightheaded with relief as I step towards the bed and cup her face, bringing my head close to hers. Her green eyes are red from smoke, and she’s covered in black soot, and I’ve never seen anything so gorgeous in my life. I smile and kiss her forehead, not wanting to remove the oxygen mask that’s still around her mouth and nose. Letting out a shaky breath, I say, “You’re not allowed to ever scare me like that again.”
She gives me a soft smile and cups my face, running her eyes over me. “What happened? I was in the office printing out the coupons, and then everything just went black.” She reaches up and touches the back of her head, wincing as she does so. “Did I fall and hit my head?”
The older nurse I spoke with earlier steps closer and examines the back of Moira’s head. “You’ve got quite the knot back here, sweetie. The doctor’s on his way, and I’m sure he’ll want to order some tests. There’s also some policemen waiting to speak to you.”
“What? Why?”
“I think they just have some questions about the fire, honey, but you don’t need to worry about any of that right now.” She turns to me and gives me a wink. “Your husband will take care of everything until you feel well enough to answer questions.”
Moira quirks an eyebrow at me but doesn’t contradict the nurse who pats her on the knee while talking to one of the younger nurses as she prepares to put in an IV. She’s just gotten the needle in place when the doctor walks in and starts going over the chart that was pretty much immediately started when we walked through the front doors. He scans the pages and then looks over at Moira. He asks her several questions before examining the bump on her head.
“Okay, we’re going to go ahead and get an MRI done to make sure you don’t have a concussion, and I want to do some bloodwork.” He turns to look at me, noticing how I haven’t let go of her hand or stepped away from the bed. “I promise we’ll take very good care of your wife, but I am going to need you to wait here while we take her down for further testing.”
“Perfect,” the nurse I’d spoken to earlier says, beaming at me. “That’ll give me time to look at your arm.”
“You’re hurt?” Moira says, trying to sit up.
I put my hand on her shoulder and gently push her back down. “It’s nothing, just a little scrape.”
The nurse lifts a brow at me behind Moira’s back to let me know she knows I’m full of shit, but she doesn’t say anything, so I give her a grateful smile before kissing Moira goodbye. I watch them wheel her out, never taking my eyes off her until she’s disappeared around the corner.