One Last Chance (30 page)

Nick, who had been standing beside one of the police cars, talking to two officers,
hurried towards the car too. But Cole didn’t pause. He put his foot down and sped away at top speed.

“What’s happened?” Nick ask
ed Nathan as he hurried towards him.

“He said he knew where she was and
took off.” Nathan explained. “But that’s all I know. One minute he was talking about taking his parent’s to Ally’s apartment then the next…”

“That’s it!” Nick exclaimed. “That’s where he
has gone.”

Nathan shouted over to one of the police officer
s to inform Sergeant Dickson where they were going, then both he and Nick jumped into his car and sped away after Cole at high speed.

Cole was already nearly at Ally’s. As he drove, he chanted to himself over and ov
er again. “Just let her be okay, just let her be okay.”

Wh
en he reached Ally’s apartment, he hit the brakes and jumped out leaving the car running. He ran to the door and thanked God for giving him a break, that someone was just leaving and held the door open for him. He didn’t wait for the lift. Instead he headed for the stairs and took them two at a time.

When he reach the corridor, he could have sworn he heard
someone crying. As he got closer to her door, he was certain it was Ally that he could hear and his stomach knotted.
What is that bastard doing to her?

When he reached the door, he could feel the blood drain from his whole body.
It hadn’t dawned on him until now, as he stood there and stared at the black door. It was the black door from his dream. It all came rushing back to him.

He kept waiting to wake up but he didn’t. This was no bad dream. This was really happening.
He took deep steadying breaths because he thought he was going to vomit again.

Keep it together,
he scolded himself.

“I SAID STOP FUCKING SCREAMING,
I CAN’T FUCKING THINK!” He heard Jason scream at Ally. All the while Ally was still crying. Cole could barely breathe. He wanted to kick the door in but he knew he needed to handle this correctly.

“I WANT COLE!” H
e heard Ally cry out and his heart almost broke. Cole pulled his phone from his pocket and called Nathan.

“He has her in her apartment,” he told Nathan th
e minute he answered the phone. “I can hear her crying.”

“Don’t do anything till I get there,” Nathan replied
in to the phone. “I’m nearly there, so is the police.”

“I can’t stand here and do nothing, Nate!” Cole exclaimed as he heard Jason shouting once again.

“SAY IT!” Cole heard him demand as Ally cried harder. He could feel his blood boiling. He brought the phone back to his ear.

“Nathan, I can’t wait,” Cole said in an eerily calm voice
.

“COLE DON’
T DO ANYTHING STUPID!” Nathan roared into the phone but Cole just hit end and slipped it back into his pocket.

He stood in front of the black door
and stared at it for a moment. He could hear Ally cry out again.

“I WANT COLE!
”

The
plea nearly broke Cole’s heart. Then he heard.

“PLEASE, I NEED HELP, THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE BABY
!”

Cole
’s heart nearly jumped out of his chest, he knew he needed to get in there and needed to do it fast.

“OP
EN THE FUCKING DOOR JEFFREYS!” He roared as he began beating the door with his fists. He could hear Ally cry out and he banged the door harder.

“ALLY, I’M HERE!” H
e called through the door as he stepped back and then ran at the door hitting it square on with his shoulder but it didn’t budge.

“COLE, NO
!” She cried out. “HE HAS A GUN, PLEASE, DON’T COME IN HERE!” Then she cried out once again as if in agony and Cole knew something was very wrong. He needed to get to her.

Taking hold of each side of the door frame
, he began to kick the door as hard as he could.

He heard Jason scream something out, but he couldn’t hear what he was saying over Ally’s crying. So he just continued to kick
the door.

Cole could hear the sound of the sirens in the distance as they got closer and closer to the apartment.

“COLE!” He heard Nathan call from the far end of the corridor. He turned to see Nathan and Nick hurrying down the hallway. Nick was still holding his ribs but he had a determined look on his face.

“I have to get in there,” he said in a panicked voice. “Some
thing is wrong with Ally. I need to get her out of there.”

Cole turned and kicked the door one more time.

Suddenly Ally screamed.

“NO JASON NO!” A
nd it was followed by a loud bang.

“ALLY!
” Cole screamed as his dream came crashing into his head.
Wake up, wake up,
he chanted to himself.

But he didn’t wake up, and the only sound was the sirens of the police cars as they surrounded the building.

Cole took a deep breath and with one more kick the door burst open. He steadied himself before he stepped through the door, unsure of what he was about to find.

Cole sat and listened to the rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor. As he watched her sleeping, his heart ached.

“Would you like to hold her Cole?”
A nurse called Tasha asked softly, pulling Cole from his thoughts. He looked up at her and forced a smile. Smiling was the last thing he felt like doing.

“Is that allowed?” Cole asked nervously.
He was still afraid to touch her. She was so tiny and fragile looking.

“Of course it is,” Tasha replied. “I know all the machines are scary but they are mostly for precaution.”

“So, she’s okay?” Cole asked looking from the nurse back down to the tiny bundle in front of him.

“She’
s a little fighter,” Tasha smiled down at Cole. “She is breathing on her own very well, her heart and lungs are good and strong. She is only in there to be monitored She can probably go home in a day or two. And I must say she is absolutely gorgeous.”

“Thank you,” Cole said with a sad smile. Tasha took the baby from the incubator and handed the tiny pink bundle to Cole.

“I will leave you two alone,” Tasha said before she disappeared leaving Cole alone with his little girl.

He looked down at his sleeping daughter and smiled, as the tears danced in his eyes.
He couldn’t believe how prefect she was. Although she was really small, she had a look of Ally off her and it made Cole’s heart hurt so badly. He missed her so much. He wished she was there beside him right in that moment.

He knew nothing about babies, not really. Ally was always the one who knew what to do with Ben. How was he supposed to cope without her telling him what to do for the best?

“Hey Little Bean,” he whispered softly. “Can’t believe you are here and I finally get to hold you. I wish your mom was here right now to see you. She would just love you. She loved you from the moment she knew you existed.”

Cole star
ed down at the little girl through the glistening tears in his eyes. He felt so lost.

“Cole,” Pop said suddenly from behind him. “How is she doing?”

“She is breathing on her own and the nurse said all her vital signs are really good,” he replied, trying his hardest to sound positive. “They say she will be fine. She might even be allowed to go home in a couple of days.”

“Well
, at least that’s something,” Pop said as he sat down next to Cole. “She is a fighter, just like Ally. I swear, from the day Ally came into the world, she was a determined little thing. She was walking before her first birthday. Learned to ride a bike without training wheels when she was still only three. She had more cuts and bruises from falling off but she got back up every time. She never gave up.”

“Something tells me this little girl has her mother’s stubborn streak,” Cole laughed sadly.

“Son, I know you have been through a lot. And I won’t pretend I know how you feel,” Pop said looking up at Cole. “The love between a husband and wife is unlike any other love there is. If anything were to happen to Molly, I’m not sure I could go on. I know your heart is broken. All our hearts are. But you can’t keep doing this. You have to stop blaming yourself for what happened.”

“I let her down Pop,” Cole said as the tears trickled down his face. “I promise
d I would let nothing happen to her. I promised he would get nowhere near her again. But I didn’t keep my promise. He got to her and there was nothing I could do to stop him. I stood outside that door and heard her cry for…”

He couldn’t even say it. He closed his eyes as he tried hard to keep himself under control.

“But that doesn’t make what happened your fault,” Pop insisted. “She knew when you made her those promises that you really meant them, but she also knew you couldn’t control everything. You couldn’t control Jason. Yes he got to her but that doesn’t make it your fault.”

“Pop she is my world,” Cole said, letting out a soft sob. “I
need her. I can’t do this without her.”

“Then don’t,” Pop replied
bluntly. “Hiding in here with the baby isn’t going to change anything. You know this.”

“I
just can’t sit there and watch her on those machines anymore, knowing this is all my fault,” Cole sobbed harder. He glanced down at Little Bean in his arms and tried to pull himself together. “It’s been almost a week now, and she still hasn’t woken up.”

“Cole,” Pop said as he placed his hand on Cole’s shoulder. “I know the baby needs you,
both your little ones need you. But right now, Ally needs you too. She needs to know you are there, to hear your voice. She needs to know she has something to fight for.”

Cole stared at P
op for a moment and considered what he had just said.

“I know
she does,” Cole nodded and he knew Pop was right. His gorgeous girl needed him. He needed to be the man she had married. He looked up at Pop and smiled. “I need to let her know we are waiting for her. Let her know how much her family needs her. How much I need her. I need to be there for my Ally.”

“That’s the spirit,” Pop replied with a grin, happy someone had finally reach
ed Cole.

“
How would you like to spend some time with your great-granddaughter?” Cole asked looking at Pop and smiling at him.

“That would
be a dream come true,” Pop said as his eyes glistened with a mixture of both tears of sadness and pride.

Cole stood up and careful
ly placed Little Bean

into her great-grandfather’s arms and kissed her softly on the forehead.

“I will be back in a little while my precious little girl,” he whispered to his daughter. Then smiled at Pop, before he headed for the door.

He made his way to the lift
that would take him up two floors to I.C.U. When he stepped out onto the fifth floor, he headed down the corridor to where Ally’s room was located, his heart began to race. Each step he took, he was filled with more and more purpose. Suddenly, he was filled with a consuming need to see her. When he reached the room, Gus and Laura were sitting outside her room. Gus looked completely shattered. He looked up and smiled when he saw Cole. Cole gave him a nod before he opened the door and walked in. A surprised, Nan, Ella and James looked up at him in unison.

“She’
s been waiting for you,” Nan smiled up at Cole, as the unshed tears twinkled in her eyes. She stood up and looked over at Ella and James. “I think we should go for a cup of tea, give them some time alone.”

“
Sounds like a very good idea,” James agreed as he held the door open for the two woman to exit. Then, smiling at Cole and giving him a reassuring nod, he left, closing the door behind him.

Cole stood for a moment and stared at Ally lying there in the bed, lost among all the wires and machines. He walked slowly towards the bed and lifted up Ally’s hand.

“Hey, gorgeous girl,” Cole said softly as he leaned down over Ally and kissed her lips. “Have you missed me?”

He stared at Ally
, waiting for a reaction but the only noise was the sound of the different machines beeping in time with one another. Cole’s heart sank a little.

“I miss you so much
, Ally,” Cole whispered against her mouth. “Please open your eyes and look at me. I need to see your beautiful eyes. I need you.”

Still there was nothing.
Cole sighed as he climbed onto the edge of the bed and laid down next to his Ally.

“I’
m here,” he whispered to her, his lips barely inches from her ear. “You have to wake up. You promised me we would grow old together. I can’t do this without you Ally. Please, open your eyes. Please, gorgeous girl, I need you.”

He waited for her to respond, b
ut she didn’t make a sound. He swallowed hard the lump of grief in his throat that was almost chocking him. He refused to give over to his grief any more. She need him to be strong. She needed him to fight for them both. He had to be her strength.