I�m scared. Waiting for you. I�m hurt, I�m cut and only you can heal me.
Take me in your hands�safe in your hands�
Jack, dishevelled and tired, stood in the corridor of St Hughs constantly pacing the same area.
June had gone into surgery as soon as she had arrived. A single shot had gone into her chest, penetrating the left side of her body. Jim was in ICU with head injuries. And there was Jack, scared. Scared for June, scared for Jim, scared of the thought that he might be responsible for what had happened. Questions flew around in his already throbbing head.
Feeling slightly uneasy on his feet he sat down on the sterile vinyl bench.
�Jack?�
Jack looked up and saw Tony and Gina coming out of the elevator. He stood up to greet them.
�Jack, how are they?� asked Gina and Tony in concern.
Jack looked to the side and realised he couldn�t lie about their conditions.
�Jim�s in ICU, head injuries� Jack watched Tony and Gina gasp at this news.
�June�s been in surgery for about 3 hours now. She was shot in the chest.�
Between them, they all shone the whitest white there is. All three had aged 10 years upon learning this news.
Jack sat down again with Tony and Gina following.
�Have you seen Jim?� asked Tony with a slight edge in his voice.
�Yep, he�s unconscious. He�s serious but they say he�s stable.�
�Uh.� For a moment there was silence, just the three of them, sitting in the corridor with the light flickering above them. It was a depressing and eerie scene.
The doors leading to theatre crashed open and a doctor and nurse came through.
�Mr Meadows?� they asked.
�Yes.�
�Ms Ackland has just come out of surgery -�
�How did it go?� asked an eager Gina cutting the doctor off.
�She�s in ICU, in a critical condition. However, we do believe she was very lucky for pulling through. She lost a large amount of blood very quickly and we believe there shouldn�t be any brain damage despite the lack of oxygen intake at the time of the shooting. The injuries caused by the bashing were not severe.� Replied the doctor.
�However, we must stress that she is still very fragile. The next 48 hours will be vitally important in deciding her fate,� added the nurse.
�Can we see her?� asked Tony.
�Of course, however we have to ask you to not disturb her.�
The doctor and nurse led them through the plastic door to a green corridor with signs to Theatres and Wards. They turned down one of the corridors and were led to a very quiet ward that resembled a rabbit�s warren. June was in the third room to the left, two rooms away from Jim. It was a horrible sight. June was covered in a web of tubes and monitors surrounded her like family. She was pale, her dry skin stretched over her bony face. The three of them stood in the doorway horrified that this happened to a colleague � a colleague they all loved.
__
Throughout the night visitors came and went. Details of Jim and June�s families were hunted down. Andy Thomas was held in the Sun Hill nick and treated with the utmost disgust by the relief. The night brought some progress. Jim roused for a moment and asked after June. Before anyone could have replied he had drifted off into his eternal slumber again. Jack asked if Jim could be moved to the room next to June and the nursing staff hurriedly met his wishes. Now, the two of them shared a large room to themselves.
�They look so peaceful together,� said Gina.
Jack and Tony were taken aback by the abrupt outburst displayed by
Gina. They both turned their heads to look at her and saw that tears had welled up in her eyes.
�Oh god�� Gina broke down into a flurry of tears as Tony went over to embrace her. Jack stayed in his chair, light-headedness getting the better of him. It was a tormenting sight to see Gina emotional over Jim and
June.
�They�ll be fine,� Jack said soothingly and softly. �They�ll be fine.�
__
His eyelids were heavy, as if being born again, seeing for the first time.
The lights�the lights were harsh and painful. He could feel his head throbbing and his leg aching. He started to look around the room. Gina,
Tony, Jack, all slumped uncomfortably in their armchairs trying to sleep�he saw nurses outside through the glass�and he saw�
�June!� Jim said in a husky voice. �June!� Jim repeated. He stretched out an arm to try and touch her but�damn�she was too far. She lay there with machines buzzing around her, tubes left, right and centre. It was painful to see her, he wanted to comfort her and be with her. Terminate her pain with his touch.
�June�June�June� he cried again, his voice gaining strength each time he wailed her name.
But she didn�t respond.
Jim turned his head back up towards the ceiling and felt tears staining his skin.
�Jim? Mate, you right?�
Tony had been waken by Jim and was over by his side.
�She won�t talk to me. What�s wrong with her?� Jim cried.
�She�s in a bad way mate.� Tony replied reluctantly. �She was shot in the chest by Thomas� he continued. �They did some surgery on her yesterday afternoon, they�re not sure how she�ll go�� At this news Jim turned back to look at her and his tears continued to flow. �But you�ve got to be strong mate,� Tony replied. �Not only for yourself but also for June�
�Yep, I know�� Jim said trying to regain composure.
�I tell you what Jim,� Tony said in his most enthusiastic voice, �we didn�t expect to see you come around so quick! Doctors said you wouldn�t wake up for a couple of days.�
�What time is it�what day?�
�It happened yesterday Jim,� said Gina. �About 26 hours ago now.� Gina had risen to join the conversation by Jim�s bedside. �Hello, Jim.
Looking good you are, fighting fit.� She joked.
It was received warmly by Tony and Jim, a good moment to cut the sadness.
�You haven�t been here all that time have you?� Jim asked.
�No and yes I�m afraid� replied Gina. �We�ve been coming and going, us and the entire relief that is.�
�My head really hurts,� said Jim. �Think I might have a sleep.�
�Good thinking Jim,� replied Tone. �And don�t worry, we�ll all be here when you wake up.�
After a few minutes Jim had fallen back to sleep. Gina and Tony left the room to stand outside. Gina turned to Tony as they watched through the glass outside the room.
�What d�you think?� asked Gina.
�I dunno, he�s not that bad. But he�s feeling for June, you can just see it.�
�Is there something going on between them that I don�t know about?� asked Gina suspiciously.
Tony looked from Jim to June and finally to Gina rather sheepishly. The look said it all.
�Now I understand.� Gina said with a slight giggle.
�They�ve been together for months now. They�ll kill me if they found out I was telling you their secret.�
�How did you find out?� asked Gina as they walked off to find a coffee machine.
�Well to cut a long story short, I went around to June�s house the night of the riots outside my place,� Gina nodded remembering the Lee Dywer incident.
�And I knocked on the door with flowers and all. June answered in her dressing gown and was completely shocked to see me. Just as that happened, Jim came down the stairs in his dressing gown. I was infuriated, so I dumped the flowers on June and walked off.�
�Why were you angry?� asked Gina, �you aren�t�jealous�are you?�
�Oh, no not really. It was the fact that June and Jim had denied that anything was going on when I asked them that day. It was really a bit of an over reaction on my part.�
�Hmmm.� Replied Gina.
__
For days, Jim and June remained in ICU their conditions slightly improving. Their shared room was now decorated with flowers from various well-wishers.
Jim remained in ICU with June just as he asked, despite the fact that
Jim was now well enough to move around. He now kept a bedside vigil for
June, waiting in anticipation for her to wake up. Days progressed and Jim still stayed. The relief took turns to keep Jim company during both the day and night. Jim couldn�t believe just how understanding they all were. They all cared about both him and June. But, never together in the one breath�
__
�Great news everybody!� said Tony as he rushed into the packed canteen.
Everybody instantly hushed.
�June�s regained consciousness!� Tony beamed at the attentive crowd.
Everyone in the canteen burst out in applause.
�How is she?� yelled out Nick Klein. Again everyone went quiet.
�She�s had a knock or two but you know June. She�ll be fighting fit soon and back in CSU before you know it.� Tony replied.
Gina who was sitting at a table with Craig Gilmore found this quite surprising.
�Can�t believe she�ll be returning,� said Gina to Craig.
�What makes you say that ma�am?� replied Craig.
�What with the shooting and all, I�d be spooked out of the job,� said Gina very seriously.
�Oh come off it Gina, we all know June. The job is her life; we�re like her family to her. She wouldn�t just leave like that.�
�Hmmm, good point�but you don�t know what I know� Gina replied cheekily.
__
�Jim could you pass me my moisturiser.� June asked.
�Is that the last of it?� Jim replied while looking around the hospital room.
�I think so,� June replied while trying to zip up her duffle bag.
Jim spotted June having difficulty and moved over to help her. Both their hands met and zipped up the bag with ease.
�I was so worried about you,� Jim blurted out. �I would sit by our bedside trying to rouse you but nothing would work.�
June sat down on her bed with Jim, hand in hand.
�Do you remember the time when Mickey first arrived at Sun Hill and he had a hunch about something? It was down at the social club, do you remember?�
June asked.
�It was when that�um�Colin guy took a swing at you with that SledgeHammer. Wasn�t it?�
�Yep. Then while we were waiting for Mickey to have a talk to the prisoner in the van. We wandered off and had a chat.�
�Mmm��
�That was the first night that I started to think that maybe what I had been looking for was in right in front of my eyes. It was the way you were so gentle and kind�There�s no point denying it Jim but I�ve always had trouble with men. Never can find just what I�m looking for�and for the first time in my life, I think I�ve found it.�
Jim looked up from watching their embracing hands to see the truthful look June was giving him.
�And I�m just hoping�Jim Carver, that you still feel the same way.�
�Of course I do.� Jim said as he hugged June.
�Oh thank god for that,� she said exasperated.
After a while they parted from their embrace and placed a delicate kiss on one another�s lips. Jim pulled away with a questioning face.
�Why do you ask? I mean, why did you think I would stop loving you?�
Jim asked.
June bit her lip; she wanted to choose her words carefully here. �There is something that the doctors picked up�on my blood tests�and further tests were done those times when you weren�t here. Jim they found out that I was�I am�I�m�pregnant.�
(One story onto another! He he he. To be continued�)
Back to Homepage Back to Stories