Chapter 4 A Guardian Vow

The ambulance screeched into Mercy Hospital, its siren fading into the night.

Under the harsh glow of the entrance lights, nurses and doctors stood ready - hands gloved, faces tense. The stretcher rolled out fast, wheels clattering against concrete, voices rising over one another as they rushed Kimberly inside.

Inside the hospital, the air felt cold, sterile, and restless. Shoes squeaked across polished floors. The sharp tang of antiseptic burned the back of Mr. Donald's throat as he followed the sound of hurried footsteps until he could go no further.

They pushed her into the operating room. The doors swung shut with a final metallic thud, leaving him outside with nothing but the red glow of the IN OPERATION sign.

He sat down heavily on a hard plastic chair. His shoulders sagged; his hands locked together so tightly the veins stood out against his skin.

The faint scent of lilies lingered on his jacket - soft, oddly out of place in this place of steel and disinfectant. He had carried them earlier that evening to the cemetery, to the two graves he visited every year.

His wife. His daughter.

Now he sat here, whispering again, but not to them.

This time, to God.

Through the thin wall came the muffled chorus of the operating team - firm, steady voices giving orders.

"Clamp. Suction. Hold pressure... steady."

Each word cut through him. Somewhere beyond that door, a young woman's life teetered on the edge, and there was nothing he could do to help.

He leaned forward, elbows braced on his knees, voice raw and low.

"If I couldn't save my wife and daughter..... I have to save this girl. I have to."

---

Five years ago, on this same date, he had lost everything.

He still remembered the phone call that had split his life clean in two. A truck. A wet road. A car that never made it home.

He'd been hundreds of miles away in another city, sealing a business deal.

By the time he got to the hospital, the corridors had smelled just like this - cold, clean, merciless.

He never got to say goodbye.

Never even held their hands one last time.

Since then, guilt has become a quiet companion. It lived with him in every breath, in every lonely evening, in every anniversary where he laid lilies on the graves and whispered, "I'm sorry. I should've been there."

Tonight was supposed to be another visit - another quiet apology whispered to the dead.

Until he saw her.

A girl lying on the road, blood matting her dark hair, her clothes soaked with blood.Something in him froze at that sight - not fear, not pity, but recognition.

She looked so young,like Angel,his late daughter.

And now, as he sat staring at the theater door, that same ache clawed its way back through his chest. But this time, he refused to let it drown him.

"I lost them," he whispered hoarsely, his voice shaking. "But I won't lose her. Not tonight. Not on their anniversary."

---

Time dragged mercilessly.

Minutes stretched into hours. Every sound grew louder, the ticking clock, the buzz of overhead lights, the muffled footsteps echoing down the corridor.

Donald tried to sit still, but his body wouldn't let him. He stood, paced and sat again. Every time the door creaked open, his heart surged then sank when it wasn't the doctor.

He had almost given up when finally, the operating doors burst open.

A doctor stepped out, mask dangling at his neck, eyes tired but calm.

"Sir?"

Donald was on his feet before he even realized. "Yes-yes, I'm here. How is she?"

The doctor's voice softened. "She's stable. It was close, but she's alive."

For a moment, Donald just stared, unable to breathe. "She's... alive?"

"She is," the doctor repeated with a faint smile. "We'll move her to the recovery ward soon. You can stay with her once she's settled."

The relief that washed through him.He had to grip the back of the chair to steady himself.

"Thank you," he whispered. "Thank you, doctor."

For the first time in years, something in his chest loosened.

A tiny thread of hope stitched itself back together where there had only been emptiness before.

---

When they wheeled Kimberly out of surgery, she looked impossibly small under the white sheets.

Her face was pale, framed by bandages that wrapped around her head. Only her lips and the curve of her jaw were visible.

Donald followed closely as the nurses guided the stretcher down the hallway.

"We'll monitor her through the night," one nurse said gently. "She should regain consciousness before dawn.

He nodded.

When they reached the ward, he pulled the chair close to her bedside and sat. The room was dim except for the rhythmic blink of the monitors and the steady hum of the IV pump.

Each small sound felt sacred - proof that she was still here, still fighting.

He studied her face in silence. "Don't you dare give up now," he murmured softly. "You hear me? You'll live. You have to. I couldn't save them, but I'll save you.

He swallowed hard, his voice trembling with a kind of desperate tenderness.

"I don't even know your name...when you wake up, you'll tell me everything. And I'll find whoever did this to you. That driver - he won't just disappear into the dark. He'll pay. People like that shouldn't walk free."

His fingers hovered near her hand, hesitant, then brushed against it.

This wasn't charity but something deeper - redemption.

For once, fate had placed someone before him to protect, and he wasn't going to fail again.

Outside, the rain began - soft, steady, unrelenting. It tapped against the windowpane like a heartbeat, matching the rhythm of the monitor beside her bed.

Donald leaned back, exhaustion creeping through him.

And as the rain whispered its endless song and the machines kept time with her fragile breath, the man who had buried his entire world sat beside a stranger he had already vowed to save.