Best Friends Forever Ch. 03

"It's a shame that one of them died on the way here," the paramedic said, pushing the empty gurney from the room where he just dropped off his passenger. "And it doesn't look like that one will make it through surgery with all the internal injuries he sustained."

"I know," said the driver of the ambulance. "If we had only gotten there sooner, he may have had a better chance." Hearing a lot of commotion both of them stopped and looked over at the room where two doctors and three nurses were working furiously on one patient.

The woman lying on the bed had tubes and IVs sticking out of her arms and mouth. They stood there as one doctor began chest compressions as a nurse rolled the crash cart closer to the bed. Needles were quickly prepared and more medicine was thrust into the IVs as the nurse called out that the paddles were ready.

The EMTs watched the doctor stop compressions, grab the paddles and yell out "CLEAR" before placing the paddles on the woman's chest. The body rose off the table a tiny amount before falling back on the bed. A loud long tone rang out in the silent room for a split second before the doctor called for a higher charge.

The room grew more and more silent as the doctor tried three more times to save the woman's life; and each shock was still followed by the long, solid tone showing no pulse on the patient. The doctor looked up at the clock and let out a long sigh before saying, "I'm calling it."

The two medics turned and walked away from the room, their heads hung low. When they reached their rig, the two of them worked in silence as they put the gurney inside and cleaned up the inside from all the waste that was used on the ride to the hospital. When it was cleaned up, the driver checked with base and was told the night was currently clear of any calls.

"I hate it when so many come back from an accident and don't make it," the other one said. "I don't feel so sorry for the drunk driver, though. As much as I hated seeing her die in there, I am glad to see that she got what she deserved for all the pain she's caused."

The other one looked at him and frowned. "I hate seeing anyone die, even after that nasty mess we were picking them up from. Hey, here comes the other ambulance. I guess they finally got the two out of the crushed car." Both men looked up and watched as the ambulance drove in silence to the ER doors.

"Shit!" exclaimed one of them. "No lights or siren. Damn it! No one survied!"

As they stood there, looking on, the diver jumped out and walked over to the back doors before seeing the other two paramedics.

"Good, you're still here," he called to them. "Get over here, and bring your gurney. We're going to need your help. You won't believe this."

The two rushed over to the open ambulance door with their gurney. When they reached the opening, they were shocked to see the couple lying side by side, one on the gurney, and the other lying strapped to the bench, holding each others hands. The driver climbed in and stepped carefully over the clasped hands and spoke to the other two EMTs.

"When we separated them, their vitals went haywire, and they began to crash," he told them. "When we lay them side by side, their hands touched and the vitals were instantly clear of any danger. Every time we tried to separate them, the vitals went south; so we decided to transport them together like this.

"We're going to take her out first. Get your stretcher in here fast, put him on it and roll it back out even faster so we can get them back together again. I don't know what it is about these two; but they're holding onto each other like they're keeping each other alive."

In a flash, the hands were separated as the woman was rushed out, her portable heart monitor going from a slow steady beat to a rapid pace, as did the man's. The two rushed in and quickly put him on their gurney and rushed it out the door without worrying about strapping him and his body board down to it. As soon as they were out the door, the couple was put side by side and the other EMT put their hands together again. Both monitors were instantly back to a normal healthy and safe rhythm.

Both of them looked at each other before reaching forward and grabbing the end of the gurneys and began to roll them out at the same time. When both of them were on the ground, the four men and two gurneys quickly made their way into the ER, the two separate heart monitors beeping loud and in synch with each other, showing that the couple's hearts were beating exactly at the same time as the other.

---

John opened his eyes and stared at the dark tiled ceiling above him. His body hurt and he felt sore, as if he had been run over by a steamroller. He lay there, trying to get his bearing, trying to figure out where he was, since that was definitely not his bedrooms ceiling above him. His mind finally began to pay more attention to its other senses, hearing a steady beeping noise close to his head.

As he turned his head, John saw an IV stand and heart monitor close by. Watching the monitor, he slowly came to the conclusion that he was in a hospital; but he couldn't figure out why he was there. He tried to raise his hand up to his head, but a pain in the back of his hand let him know that the IV was still in and moving that arm too much was not a good idea.

Moving his other arm, he felt his hand holding something before it registered in his mind that he was holding someone's hand. He turned his head and looked to the other side and saw Lisa lying beside him, her face turned toward his.

John's heart leaped with joy at seeing Lisa by his side, and knew it was her hand holding his; but then he noticed another heart monitor and IV on her opposite side and it occurred to him that, she too, was a patient in the hospital. Ignoring the pain, John brought Lisa's hand up to his lips and kissed it on the knuckle.

Lisa stirred from her strange dream, and her eyes gently fluttered open. She found herself looking directly into John's eyes, and saw that they were growing misty while he looked at her over the hand he was holding up to his lips. She smiled at him and reached one finger up out of their gripped hands and stroked his face gently. He looked at her and Lisa felt her heart jump a couple of beats. She even heard it thanks to the beeping on her other side.

John saw the puzzled look on her face before she turned and looked at the monitor stand beside her. She rolled her head and looked at him puzzled still before her eyes widened in shock to see an IV stand on John's opposite side.

"We're in a hospital," he whispered to her, before thinking about how obvious this had to be for her by now. "Sorry for stating the obvious," he said with a blush. She returned his smile before speaking.

"Do you know what happened?" she asked.

"I can answer that," came a voice from near their feet.

Both of them looked in the direction and noticed a woman, wearing a white lab coat and clipboard in her hand, standing at the foot of the large bed they were sharing together.

"I'm Doctor Janice Terrell," the woman said, "and you two have been in a very serious accident."

John and Lisa looked at each other for a moment before their eyes widened again, suddenly remembering the dinner they had shared and the accident just afterward. Looking back at the doctor, she smiled, calming both her patients.

"You're both doing just fine and will be able to go home soon. We ran several tests over the past 12 hours, while you were unconscious and there seems to be no damage to either of you."

"But, the car...it was crushed all around us," John said.

"How did we survive that?" Lisa asked.

The doctor stood there, her smile growing as she looked at the two of them.

"No one knows, actually," she told them. "When you were removed from the wreckage, your vitals nearly crashed; but out of sheer luck, the paramedics laid you both side by side and when you hands touched, the vitals went right back to normal.

"There was nothing wrong with you, but when you two were separated; your bodies just seemed to give up. No one's been able to explain it. Even your heart rates have been confusing us while you two have been together. They're perfectly in synch with each other."

John and Lisa listened after the doctor spoke and noticed that they could hear only one set of beeping even though there were two machines in the room. They gripped each others hand tighter as they looked at the doctor, who was still smiling at them.

"Since you're both in good health, we're only going to keep you here for another 12 hours before releasing you to go home. I'll have a nurse come in and remove the IVs and monitors so you can relax more comfortably."

After the nurse had done her duties, John and Lisa thought about just sleeping cuddled with each other for the rest of their hospital stay; but that wasn't to be the case. They both had visitors that they had never met before, all of them, firefighters, EMTs, and emergency room doctors, wanting to see for themselves the couple that had miraculously survived the tangled wreck from the night before.

When the couple finally rolled out of the hospital in wheelchairs, they found, to their surprise, a limousine waiting for them. As they sat there, looking at it, the driver climbed out and opened the back door for the couple.

"That's the driver from last night," Lisa said to John. "What are you doing here?" she asked the driver.

"I got your message you wouldn't need me anymore and left the parking lot," he replied. "I got caught up in some traffic due to an accident and by the time I was at the scene, I saw them pull you out of the mess. I have a brother who's an EMT who told me about your situation and I made sure that I would be here to give you both a ride home, after what you two had been through."

The couple smiled and Lisa walked over and gave the driver a hug for his kindness.

"This isn't appropriate behavior for a driver," he chuckled, as he returned the hug. Lisa let go and climbed in with John right behind her, his face still showing a bit of shock on it.

---

When they returned home, John called his work as Lisa called hers, both giving a quick synopsis of their accident and asking for the week off. When Lisa hung up, her face showed sadness as John smiled at her.

"What's wrong?"

"I've already used up all my vacation days, and paid time off this year," she told him. "They said if I don't come in tomorrow, I'll be fired."

"But the hospital said you need to have at least 48 hours stress free. You can't go into work."

"I know," she said, walking over to John and sliding her arms around him. "I guess I get to spend the next few days putting together my resume."

"Among other things," he responded, gently folding his arms around her. When she looked up at his face, John leaned down and kissed her lips. It was just a gentle touch for a second, as the held each other before their lips parted a little. As they began to let their tongue's tips reach out and just barely touch, their embrace tightened a little more.

Just as the passion was growing, and their embrace getting stronger, both of them felt the other twinge for a second before quickly breaking off the kiss. Looking at each other, they knew that the doctors had been right about their bodies having internal bruising.

"I guess we're going to have to wait a few more days," Lisa chuckled, before just leaning into John's warm embrace. "Just as long as we're still able to hold each other, I'll be happy."

They stood there for several moments, enjoying the moment, when John's phone rang. Reluctantly, they broke apart and he answered the call. As he talked, Lisa felt a feeling of dread and sadness come upon her as she watched John's face grow more and more sorrowful. When he hung up the phone, it was her turn to ask his earlier question.

"What's wrong?"

"My father passed away," he told her, tears beginning to stream down his cheeks. John half sat, half fell, onto the couch, his emotions finally releasing. The tears came rolling freely as Lisa rushed by his side to comfort him. John quickly wrapped his arms around Lisa, knowing that she understood his pain better than anyone.

He had been with her in college when she had gotten the news that both her parents died in the house fire. Even still, this time, Lisa's hugs were much better than when she and John held each other as he cried at his mother's funeral during their senior year of high school. Now both of them had lost their parents, and it crossed both their minds that none of them were going to see John and Lisa together, as much as all four parents had expected them to get together.

Lisa's tears began to pour out, feeling the loss all over again and they both just sat there for nearly an hour crying into the other's shoulder. When there seemed to be no more tears, they both just held each other, their breaths coming in short deep and breaking gulps. Finally, Lisa pulled back and stood up, taking John's hand in hers. He stood up and let her lead the way.

Lisa turned off the living room light switch, and walked down the hall to her room, John blindly following the woman he truly loved more than anyone alive. Once in the room, without even turning the light on, Lisa led him to the bed and made him sit on the edge. She kneeled on the floor in front of him and began to remove his shoes and socks with gentle tenderness.

As she rose, her hands caressed his legs and came to the John's belt. He let her undo his belt and loosen the button and zipper. When she stopped, he stood and let his pants fall as his hands went to the pants she had been given by the hospital staff. He helped her take them off, his hands gently gliding down her legs as Lisa pulled her shirt over her own head.

When John stood up, he was not surprised to find her standing in just her panties. His hands slid around her waist as her hands went to his waist. Just as he was about to pull her into him and kiss her, her fingers grabbed the bottom of his shirt and began to lift it up. He let her go, raising his arms to let her take his shirt off.

When it was high enough, Lisa let John do the rest, her arms moving gently around his chest. John dropped the shirt to the floor and pulled Lisa tighter to him. When she took a quick short breath through her teeth, he remembered her bruised body and loosened his grip on her.

"I'm sorry," she spoke into his neck. "I want to, John. I really do want to be with you right now; but I'm still too sore."

"I know," he whispered to her. "I really do understand; and we can sleep in separate beds tonight, if you want to be on the safe side."

Lisa's arms tightened, causing John to groan with the pain it caused. She quickly loosened again.

"I can't stand the thought of not being near you again, John," she whispered. "After what has happened, I want to spend every moment possible with you."

He tilted his head and kissed her cheek gently before agreeing with what she said. They climbed into her bed and lay on their sides, facing one another. As their bodies gave into the embrace of the soft mattress and warmth of the blanket, they clasped their hands together and drifted into deep sleep.

---

The next week went by in a blur for both of them. Three days later, John's father's funeral took place. As he sat at the graveside, Lisa sat by his side, crying along with him. During the line of condolences, nearly everyone mentioned what a wonderful couple John and Lisa made and how proud his and her parents would be to see them finally together.

Though they both felt their bodies were fully healed from their accident, neither one was feeling up to making love that night. For the next couple of days and nights, John and Lisa were nearly inseparable. That Friday afternoon, Lisa had finished with her resume and began sending it out via the internet. John had called his work and told them he would be in the next Monday, ready to earn his paycheck again.

After hanging up the phone, there was a knock at the door. Lisa stood up and walked over to answer it. To her surprise, the limo driver from the weekend before stood on the other side. She called John over to the door, quickly worrying that maybe the driver was stalking her, after showing up like this again.

John opened the door, not in the mood to deal with someone that was after the woman that he knew was his. When he opened it, the driver looked at John with a straight face and didn't even bother to smile.

"Can I help you?" he asked the driver. Lisa came out from behind John, and the driver's stony face quickly changed from serious to friendly again.

"No wonder the address sounded so familiar," he said, looking at her then John again. He then pulled out a small note pad and began to ask while looking at it. "Are you John Lassiter, son of Jacob Lassiter, who passed away this past Sunday?"

"How the hell do you know that?" John frowned. His anger at this man stalking his girlfriend and bringing up his father's death was growing.

"I'm sorry for you loss, sir," the driver replied, giving a serious face again. "I was given instructions to come pick you up for the reading of his Last Will and Testament, along with a Lisa Chambers. I'm guessing that's you," he nodded to Lisa, still keeping his serious face.

"What?" both John and Lisa asked at the same time.

"Here's the card for the law firm that sent me," the driver said, handing over a fancy business card. "You can call them, if you wish."

John quickly dialed the number, while Lisa stood by his side, neither one taking their eyes off the driver. When John hung up the phone, he turned to Lisa.

"We're both in my father's will," he told him. "We need to go to the reading this afternoon. They said they were unable to reach me on my cell phone, the one that was destroyed in the accident; but they knew my address and sent the limo to pick us up."

Lisa nodded and grabbed her coat as did John. The both rode in silence in the car and the elevator at the downtown building that the law firm was located. When they were finally shown to the lawyer's office, they found there was only the lawyer and two other men neither one of them recognized.

"Mr. Lassiter, Ms. Chambers, my name is Michael Hosslinger," said the lawyer, coming around the desk to greet them. "This gentleman is Judge Harry Tobias and this other gentleman is Markus Schmidt. He's an accountant your father knew and worked with. They are here as witnesses to the reading of the Will."

"Mr. Hosslinger," John started. "I don't understand. My father didn't have much to really give away at the time of his death."

"Actually, sir," spoke up Mr. Schmidt, "your father was worth a lot more than he ever let on with anyone. After your mother's death, he invested her life insurance in several stocks and bonds. As of Monday morning, when I got the call and cashed in his stocks and bonds, it was discovered your father was worth more than even I had thought at the time."

"Let's read the will first, Markus," said Judge Tobias. "Follow procedure and then let the couple know what they're looking at."

Everyone sat down and Mr. Hosslinger picked up a file off his desk. Over the course of the next half hour, John and Lisa sat side by side on a very plush leather couch, listening to the lawyer drone one with the very dry legalese of the Will. When he was finished, John noticed that during the reading he and Lisa had taken each others hand in the others without either one noticing.

"So, according to the will," continued the lawyer, seeing by John's and Lisa's faces that they hadn't completely understood all of it, "Mr. Lassiter has left both of you his entire estate, to be divided in half between the both of you."

John and Lisa looked from the lawyer to the judge for clarity. The judge just smiled and nodded toward the accountant, still sitting quietly. When they both looked at him, they were surprised to see he had a pocket calculator in his hand, punching in numbers while looking down at a file he had pulled out of his briefcase.