Dr. Chamberlain hooked Kate up to machines that displayed her vitals. Her heart rate was elevated, and her blood pressure had dropped to severe levels. A cloud of ruby red spread across the sheet as Kate’s body bled profusely.
“She’s lost a lot of blood,” the doctor commented.
“Give her my blood. Now.” Nick rolled up his sleeves and tapped the inside of his elbow.
“We have to stop the bleeding before giving her more.” The doctor shook his head and retrieved packets of sterile gauze. “What I need to do will seem a bit crass, so I need you to trust me. I could use your help, but if it’s too much, you should leave and let me work.”
“You’re wasting time. What do I need to do?”
Nick followed the doctor’s orders to bend Kate’s legs at the knees and spread them apart. The doctor packed the bleeding cavity with gauze, the material soaking through faster than he could insert it.
“It’s not working. What now?” Nick growled.
“Do you know what her blood type is?” Dr. Chamberlain asked.
“What? I don’t know. Can’t you run a test or something?”
The doctor nodded and left the room. Nick gripped Kate’s hand in his, watching the shallow rises and falls of her chest.
“You’re going to be okay. You’re going to come back to me, baby.”
Kate’s eyelids fluttered, and Nick leaned in, hopeful that she would look at him. Her breathing slowed from its rapid-fire pace to a steady cadence. Nick glanced at the monitor displaying her vitals and confirmed that her heart rate had dropped. This might have been a good sign. Perhaps she was stabilizing.
“That’s it, baby. Come back to me. I will give you every drop of blood in my body. I just need you to be okay.” Nick kissed the back of Kate’s hand.
“Nick.” The word tumbled from her lips. It was so soft that Nick would have missed the sound had anything else made a noise in the room. Upon hearing his name, tears clouded his vision.
“Yeah, baby. I’m here. I’m right here. Everything’s going to be okay.”
Kate’s eyes went still, no longer moving beneath her lids. The steady intake of her breaths slowed further until her chest was nearly motionless. The smallest rasp of an exhale passed across her lips. Nick awaited the inhale that should have followed, yet none came. Kate lay unmoving. The machine behind Nick sputtered a few final blips before falling into a steady, rhythmic sound.
Turning in horror, Nick discovered the vitals on the screen displayed all zeroes.
Chapter 58
Dr. Chamberlain rushed into the room, eyed the flatlined vitals, and moved to Kate’s side.
“No. No, fucking do something!” Nick screamed. The doctor pressed two fingers to Kate’s neck and shook his head to indicate there was no life rushing through her veins. Nick’s hands shot up to his head, clutching his hair in distress.
The doctor positioned his hands over Kate’s chest and began compressions. Kate’s body jolted with each thrust. After a minute had passed, Chamberlain tilted Kate’s chin back and breathed into her mouth. He returned his hands to her torso to continue the lifesaving efforts.
“Baby, please! Do not fucking leave me!” Nick paced back and forth, his eyes darting around the room as if the key to Kate’s survival lay on a counter somewhere. Nick’s eyes landed on the needles and tubing the doctor had brought in for the transfusion. He swiped the supplies and stood beside Kate’s bed.
“What are you doing?” the doctor demanded in between chest compressions. Nick poked one of the needles through Kate’s skin in the crease of her elbow. “Nick, stop.”
Nick held the tubing and jammed the needle on the opposite side into his own vein. Blood trickled through the tubing at a slow pace, descending the sterile plastic toward Kate’s arm.
“You don’t even know if your blood is compatible!” Dr. Chamberlain shouted before performing another rescue breath. Nick ignored him, tightening his arm so that the blood flowed faster.
“I can’t just do nothing.” Nick’s voice cracked, and his cheeks were soaked with tears.
Another round of CPR produced no results, and the doctor stood up straight. He shook his head.
“Nick, she’s gone.”
“No, no, she’s not. I can do this. I can fucking save her!”
Kate lay lifeless on the bed. The blood Nick forced into her veins leaked from her arm, trickling onto the sheets beneath her. The doctor pulled the needle from Kate’s elbow. Nick glared at him, his lips curling into a vicious snarl.
