Carmen appeared in what seemed like seconds, her medical kit already in her hands as she rushed toward them.
"You're going to have to move back," she told Dean and June as gently as she could while still being firm. "We need room to work."
Dean leaned over Lacey one more time, his heart breaking at the sight of her injuries. "Please, Lacey, come back to us. Hold on." His voice was rough with emotion. "I love you. Please, please come back to us."
He pressed a gentle kiss to her lips, tasting the metallic hint of blood and feeling the alarming coolness of her skin.
Lacey's eyes fluttered open for just a moment, unfocused but aware.
"Dean?" Her voice was barely a whisper. "Dean..."
Then her eyes closed again and she went limp.
"We need to move now," Carmen announced to her team, taking charge of the situation with professional efficiency. "Dean, June, please step back so we can get her stabilized for transport."
June gently took Dean's arm and drew him away from where Carmen and her team were working to get Lacey onto a stretcher. The process took only minutes, but it felt like an eternity as Dean watched them check her vital signs, start an IV line, and prepare her for the rush back to the ambulance.
When they began moving toward the trail that led back to the vehicles, Carmen looked at Dean with compassionate eyes.
"You can ride with us," she offered.
Dean glanced at June, who immediately nodded her encouragement.
"Go," she told him. "She needs you there."
Dean climbed into the ambulance, his heart hammering with fear and that awful feeling of helplessness that he'd experienced during some of the worst moments of his life.
Lacey
Consciousness returned slowly, like swimming up from the bottom of a deep, dark pool. Lacey became gradually aware that she was moving, bouncing gently in a rhythmic pattern that made her stomach feel unsettled.
Where was she? The nausea and pain that were becoming more apparent made it difficult to think clearly. She felt weak and groggy, as if she'd been drugged or was coming out of anesthesia.
"Hello there," a familiar voice said warmly. "Welcome back."
Lacey managed to open her eyes and found Carmen smiling down at her, wearing her EMT uniform and surrounded by medical equipment.
"Where..." Lacey tried to speak, but her voice came out as a barely audible croak. She felt like she was trapped in one of those dreams where you can't move properly, where your body won't respond to your mind's commands.
Fragments of memory began to surface through the fog in her head. Footsteps behind her. The sensation of turning around. Then pain exploded through her skull, and everything going black.
Panic flooded through her as the implications registered.
"Where am I?" she managed to rasp out. "What's happening?"
"Lacey..." Dean's face appeared beside Carmen's, his expression filled with relief and concern. "Calm down. You're safe now. You're in an ambulance going to the hospital."
Dean? Dean is really here?Her eyes felt impossibly heavy, and keeping them open required more effort than she seemed to possess. The relief of seeing his face, of knowing she was safe, was overwhelming.
She lost consciousness again.
When awareness returned the next time, Lacey found herself in a hospital room filled with the familiar sounds of monitors andmedical equipment. Something warm and soft was holding her hand, and when she turned her head slightly, she could see Dean sleeping in the chair beside her bed.
His head rested on his folded arm, and his other hand grasped hers with gentle but firm pressure, as if he was afraid she might disappear if he let go.
"Dean..." she breathed, her voice still weak but clearer than before. "Are you really here?"
His head shot up immediately, and his eyes opened, instantly alert and focused on her face.
