Chapter 33 - The Darkness Continues
Trey was on his knees, crying in pain while holding Cat's lifeless hand. He felt like someone had ripped his heart out of his chest. His beautiful mate was gone before she even had a chance to live.
*"Trey, get up. I can hear her heartbeat. It's very faint, but it's there. Get someone in here to get her to the hospital now before we lose her."* Atlas screamed at Trey so he could hear him through the pain he was feeling. As soon as he heard what Atlas said, he jumped up.
"Get a medic in here now. She's still alive." Trey was scared to move her because he may make her injuries worse. He heard running behind him and saw two medics carrying a stretcher. He moved out of the way so they could do their work. He watched as they checked for a pulse before quickly hooking her up to oxygen and a heart monitor. They started an IV and began pushing fluids to help stabilize her.
"We have to get her to the hospital now, or she won't make it. What's her name?" The medics slid a backboard under Cat before transferring her to the stretcher. They pushed her out of the house with Trey on their heels.
"Her name is Caterina. I'm Detective Trey Galloway, and she's my girlfriend. I'm riding with you." Trey was not giving them a chance to argue, and with the look on his face, neither of them had the nerve to tell him no.
"Alright, detective, let's go. You ride in the back and help Fay and talk to Caterina. Even if she's not awake, she can still hear you." Trey nodded at the medic as they loaded Cat and set everything up. He then jumped in and took her hand.
As Trey looked at her, she seemed even smaller than usual. She was so bloodied and bruised that she looked disfigured. He and Atlas would make Caleb pay for what he did to her. It didn't go unnoticed that he was naked when they got there. Trey swore he would kill him and rip his dick off before forcing it down his throat before he died.
"Cat, hang on. I'm sorry I didn't get to you sooner. I promise to make it up to you every day for the rest of my life. We have so much to do together. We need to make the group home and travel so I can show you the world. I love you so much, and I can't function without you. Please don't leave me, sweetheart. We haven't had enough time together. We need to make happy memories, just like I promised you." Trey had tears running down his face as he watched Fay place a tube down Cat's throat.
She didn't look like she was alive to him, but the monitor showed her heart was still beating. Trey kept that sound in his head, and it was all that was keeping him from losing it. Suddenly the machine stopped beeping, and Trey looked up at Fay in a panic.
"She's crashing, Brent. Step on it." Fay grabbed the defibrillator and quickly attached it to Cat's body, telling Trey not to touch her. She shocked her and waited. Nothing happened.
"Cat, don't leave me. I love you. Please don't leave me. We're almost to the hospital. Hang on just a little longer." Trey wanted to touch her, but Fay was ready to shock her again. He held his breath and waited. This time the beeping started, and the monitor showed she had a pulse again, but it was weak.
When they pulled in front of the Emergency Department, the medical staff was already waiting for them. Trey helped Fay get Cat out of the back of the ambulance. He ran into the hospital at Cat's side, telling them what had happened to her the best he could.
"Detective, we need you to wait out here while we take her back. We won't know what she needs until we look inside. Someone will be out to talk to you once we know more. What's her name?" The nurse talking to him was older and had a very calming nature.
"Her name is Caterina Cox. She's my girlfriend, and I'm the only family she has." He watched as the nurse's eyes widened in shock, and she looked in the direction they had taken, Cat.
"Did you say, Caterina? The nurse from upstairs? Shit, let me tell them who she is. Everyone loves Cat. She's a fantastic nurse. Hang on, young man, we'll save her." With that, the nurse ran behind the double doors while Trey fell into a seat in the waiting room.
He put his head between his hands and cried. He had never been a crier, but the thought of his mate dying was too much for him to bear. He wanted to be back there with her so he could see what was going on. Trey stood up and started pacing. He was hoping that no news was good news. That meant she was still fighting.
He suddenly had an idea. If he could donate some of his blood to Cat, it might help her heal faster. Werelions heal a lot quicker than humans, so maybe he could help her through his blood. Trey ran to the front desk in the emergency room to ask someone how he could donate blood. The young woman standing at the desk looked vaguely familiar to him.
"Excuse me. Can you tell me where I can donate blood for Caterina Cox?" Trey asked the woman, not wanting to waste time. She looked surprised when she saw him.
"You're the patient I took upstairs the night Cat went missing. I'm Millie, don't you remember me?" She fluttered her eyes lashes at him, and Trey got angry. Cat was fighting for her life, and she had the nerve to flirt.
"Listen, I don't have time for games. My girlfriend Cat is in there fighting for her fucking life. Now tell me where I can donate blood for her." Mille's face fell, and she looked angry.
"Whatever, asshole. Go to the lab at the end of the hall." Trey ran to the lab ignoring her attitude. When he got there, he was greeted by a young man.
"Excuse me. I want to donate blood for Caterina Cox. Can I do that here?" The man looked saddened by Cat's name.
"Yes, we can do that here. We just heard about Cat. They took some blood to the operating room for her. Let me run a quick test to make sure your blood is compatible, and then we can take a donation. My name is Max." Trey was relieved to be able to do something.
Max quickly took a small sample of Trey's blood and put it in a machine to check his blood type. He said that Trey's blood type was O negative, meaning he was a universal donor. He said no matter what Cat's blood type was, Trey's blood would be able to be given to her.
Max quickly hooked Trey up to an IV and had him squeeze a squishy ball while he took his blood. As soon as he was done, Ty told him he would let the doctors know they had a family donation for Cat so it could be the next bag given to her if needed.
Trey returned to the waiting room and was surprised to see Ellie and Roger. They both walked up to him when he came in. Roger gave him a fatherly hug, and Trey started crying again. Ellie was silently weeping next to them. She didn't know Cat well, but she had come to admire her in the short time they'd been working her case.
"Have they given you an update yet?" Roger asked as he fought back his tears. Seeing Trey break down was almost too much for him to take.
"No. Cat crashed on the way here, but she fought. She was barely holding on when they took her back. I just donated some blood for them to use if they need it. I can't lose her. She hasn't had a chance to know how good life can be." Roger led Trey over to the chairs, and they sat down.
"She'll come through. You two have a whole life together. From what we've seen of her, she's a fighter." Ellie said as she sat down on Trey's other side and took his hand. She hated seeing him like this. When she saw Cat on that bed, she thought there was no way she was alive. If she could hold on this long, Ellie full-heartedly believed she would continue to fight.
Trey hoped Ellie was right. He knew that Cat was strong, but there was only so much a person's body could take. He was afraid of what this would do to her mental state. She had just started to open her heart and learn to love. As he sat there thinking about every minute they had spent together in this short time, a doctor came into the waiting room. Trey, Roger, and Ellie all jumped up.
"For Caterina?" He asked, looking at them.
"Yes." Trey could barely speak, afraid of what the doctor would say
.
"I'm Dr. Jones. I operated on Caterina. Before I go through all the details, I want to let you know she's still hanging on. It will be touch and go for a while, but she's fighting. When we took her back and scanned her to see what internal damage she had, we were shocked she was still alive. She has four broken ribs, both tibias are broken, her collar bone is broken, and one arm is broken near the wrist. Just about all her organs are bruised, and she has internal bleeding. She also has a concussion, a broken nose, and several broken facial bones. We did surgery to stop the internal bleeding. None of the broken bones require surgery yet, but we'll keep an eye on them to ensure they heal properly. She has a cast on each leg and one arm. Her torso is wrapped to help the broken ribs. It's impressive that she's still alive, but now we have to take it one day at a time. We're moving her to the ICU now. Do you have any questions?"
Trey couldn't believe the number of injuries Cat had sustained. He would make sure no one ever touched her delicate body again. He was never leaving her side for even a second.
"When can I see her?" Trey had to see for himself that she was okay.
"I'll take you back now. They should have her set up in her room." Dr. Jones led Trey through a set of double doors and then into the ICU. Trey saw a bunch of people in one of the rooms hooking up all kinds of machines, and to his surprise, that's where Dr. Jones was leading him.
Cat was lying in bed with so many tubes and machines hooked up to her that Trey felt his heart breaking. Everyone stepped away when they were done so he could take the seat next to her. He saw part of her face, and it was severely bruised, but the blood had been washed off.
Trey reached over to hold her hand. She felt extremely cold, but at least he knew she was alive. As he continued to watch her, he broke down again. Why did this have to happen to Cat? She had already been through too much. Seeing her in this condition broke him, and he bent down to kiss her hand while he sobbed.
