Disclaimer : I do not own any of these characters, they belong to Channel 7. I am just a dedicated fan trying to write fan fiction.
Bron walked casually up to the lift, pressed the button and stepped back. She wondered how something so right could seem to be so tentative and distant at the moment. Her mind focussed on Ben and she smiled but through her smile was a twinge of loneliness, after so long they were finally together but for some reason this seemed like one of the lonelinest times she had ever experienced. Her thought was interrupted by a nudge in the ribs by Luke "Off with the fairies again Bron? Can't be a good thing at this hour" Luke laughed. Bron forced a smile 'don't piss me off' she thought to herself.
The lift arrived and Bron was glad to leave Luke once they reached the ward. She could hear Connor and Jared stop their whispers when she reached the tea room and assumed that they were once again gossiping about her and Ben. She was sick to death of it, why couldn't people mind their own business. Bron walked into the tea room and made herself a coffee without even acknowledging them. "Hey" Connor cried "don't we count anymore?" Jared piped in "yeah what about your friends?? Or don't you need friends when you have Benny boy?" They both laughed. Bron stormed out "You guys really get on my nerves".
Meanwhile Scott was rambling on about the girl he was with last night but it was all bypassing Ben. He stared into the distance, "Are you even listening to a word I am saying damn it?" Scott poked Ben in the ribs "god it isn't even worth it with you, we aren't even on the same planet" Scott faced the other way. Ben felt a lump in his throat, what was he doing. He had always wanted to be with Bron so badly and now it just hurt, perhaps scared or perhaps not ready, he wasn't quite sure but he felt lonely and I didn't know what to do. The radio interrupted his thoughts and he jumped into the ambulance with Scott "C'mon let's go" he said to Scott. "Yes Captain" Scott laughed. Ben rolled his eyes, he wasn't in the mood for him today.
Bron snuck into the locker room and pulled out her mobile phone and dialled Ben's number. She crouched down and listened intently to the dial tones but soon Ben's answering machine came on 'Hi, you have reached Ben Markham....' She slammed the phone on the ground, where was he? She felt her heart sink. Bron went back to her patients. An elderly gentleman Mr Crow leant over and grabbed her hand and said "what would someone have to do to make you happy?? You are as cold as ice today nurse" Bron scowled, great patients as well, the whole world was against her. She wanted to curl up in a ball and cry.
Ben and Scott had stopped for lunch and were sitting on a park bench in Hyde Park. Scott was enlightening Ben with his jokes and Ben was laughing hard when his phone rang. 'Ben Markham' he answered. "Ben, it's me" Bron said. Ben was still laughing hysterically at Scott "Bron, how you are?" he giggled. "Ben, where the hell have you been?? I have been trying to call you for ages, you don't even return my calls" Bron raised her voice. "Settle down" Ben tried to say but Bron was mad and she hung up. Ben just sighed and kept laughing at Scott, he would fix up things with Bron later, there was always this afternoon.
Bron felt nothing but anger, what was wrong with Ben, did he think he could just laugh at her? Like everyone else? Everyone was laughing at her and she was sick of it. Mitch smiled at her as she left the locker room and she tried to force a smile. She felt ridiculed. Mr Crow was awake when she went in to give him his medication and he looked up at her "Wow you are chilled girl, you need a nice boy to warm you up" He smiled. Bron replied "I have one but he is a snowman!" Bron laughed, she was being pathetic but that didn't make her any less angry with Ben.
Ben jumped into the driver's seat of the ambulance and Scott continued telling his jokes. Ben was laughing hard again and tears were filling his eyes. The speedometer on the ambulance was rising without Ben's attention. Neither of them saw the child step out onto the crossing until the last minute. Scott screamed "Ben look out" and Ben swerved to the right losing control of the ambulance and ploughing into a power pole. All went black.
The phones were ringing off the hook in Ward 17. "Would someone please get those damn phones" Terri screamed. Jared picked up the phone, his face dropped and he spoke afew words before putting the phone down. He looked up at Terri and asked "Can we chat in your office?" "Sure" Terri opened the door for him to come in. "What is it Jared? Please do not ask for any more time off to look after Kylie, she is a big girl" Terri sat down. "No, it isn't Kylie" Jared started "it is Scott and Ben, they have been in a horrific accident, firies aren't even sure if they are going to pull through" Jared lowered his head. "We can't tell Bron" Jared said "not yet, she will be shattered". "Don't tell anyone" Terri stood up "let's just wait and see what happens". Jared nodded and left the room.
Luke shouted from across the hallway "Book theatre one and put people on stand by, thanks". Bron looked at Luke "Something serious?" Luke didn't want to let on "sounds like it" and he turned and rushed out of the ward. "Does anyone know what the big hoo ha is about?" Bron asked Connor and he shook his head. "Jared what about you??" Bron turned to Jared "Dunno" came the response. Bron shrugged her shoulders and went and did her rounds. Terri called Mitch into her office and explained what had happened. Mitch shook his head "wow, that is tragic, ok I am ready".
Rose entered Ward 17 and was quite put off that everyone was running around like headless chooks. Mitch grabbed her arm "not now sweetheart, we have a bit of crisis occurring". Rose snarled at him "everything here is always a crisis, it is always the same story" Mitch stepped back "don't do this to me, we have a serious problem, I need your support" Rose rolled her eyes. Mitch raised his voice "Ben and Scott have been in a serious accident and we are not even sure if they are going to live" Mitch raised his head in time to see Bron standing right behind him. "What?" she gasped "why haven't people told me" She ran at Mitch and tried to hit him "you bastard, why didn't you tell me? Why do I have to be the last to know everything? Didn't someone think I had the right to know?" Bron broke down into tears and Connor came over and put his arm around her. "Let's go and sit down, Bron, we don't even know what happened, everything will be ok" Bron tried to talk through her sobbing "I am a nurse Connor, I know exactly what people are talking about, I just want people to be honest with me! I just want Ben, I want him here, now..I hung up on him Connor, I didn't even get to say goodbye!" She cried. Connor rubbed the back of her head "Shhhh, it's ok Bron, it is going to be ok". Connor had a grim look on his face wondering what if it wasn't ok, would she cope?
Luke rushed past "Where is Kylie? They have arrived, let's go people" Bron jumped up and grabbed Luke's arm "Please.....look after him for me" Luke put his arm around Bron "I will, don't you worry" Bron tried to smile but the pain cut deep. Terri came over to Bron "Why don't we go and get a cup of tea and have a rest?" Bron nodded and followed Terri into the tea room.
"Quick, he is haemorraging" Luke leaned across Ben and tried to stop him bleeding. "BP is dropping rapidly" Kylie commented "Luke there is something wrong here". "Thanks Doctor Preece, that is what we are trying to fix" Luke commented. The nurses watched Luke in the hope that he could come up with some miracle to save Ben. Luke concentrated harder than he had ever before, he had promised Bron and he had promised himself to put personal differences aside. "Got it" he cried "Let's stitch him back up" Everyone moved around Ben and worked quickly to try and stabilise him. "BP is still falling" Kylie cried. "Damn it, c'mon Ben" Luke patted his shoulder "you can do it mate".
Scott was wheeled into Ward 17 feeling a bit drowsy but otherwise in ok shape. He garbled some words and Von told him to lie down and rest. "While I am looking after you, there will be no childish behaviour and you will do what I say, is that understood Mr Zimenko?" Von smiled. Everyone crowded around Scott and tried to ask him the same questions "what happened?" "who was drivinig?" "did you.." "are you..." Von spoke up in a loud voice "C'mon give the guy some rest, you people are like vultures" Connor, Jared and Bron stepped back and left the room "Later Scott" Connor called out from the door.
Kylie had her fingers crossed 'c'mon Ben' she thought to herself. Bron meanwhile was biting her fingernails and pacing along the corridor 'where were they? Was something going wrong?' she just couldn't settle down. "Mitch, why are they taking so long?" Mitch tried to smile "I hear there have been some complications but I understand that Dr Forlano has it all under control". He put his arm around Bron "don't worry, Forlano is good, if it is going to be good news, Forlano will deliver it...as much as I hate to say that from a personal point of view" Mitch smiled and patted her on the back.
"OK all done, let's hope he wakes from the coma, thank you team, you did a fantastic job, I think we saved him" Luke commended the other staff. Kylie let out a sigh of relief "he isn't out of the woods yet" Luke reminded her and she nodded 'good enough for the time being' she thought. The wardsmen wheeled Ben to Ward 17. Bron raced up to the trolley "Ben, oh my god, I am so sorry, forgive me for being so pedantic, oh Ben" Bron let her tears flow freely. They dropped onto Ben's closed eyes. "Can we be alone?" Bron asked. The wardsmen left Bron with Ben. She cried and apologised "You are going to be ok Ben, I love you" Bron stroked his face and smiled "I am so lucky and I am going to take care of you". Bron felt tired and relieved. She left the room and looked for Luke. Seeing him at the end of the corridor she ran up to him and wrapped her arms around him and kissed him on the cheek, "thank you Luke, I knew you could do it, thank you so much" Bron cried. Luke hugged her back "any time" he grinned.
Bron sat with Ben for six hours whilst he woke up. She held his hand tightly and cried until no more tears would come. He finally opened his eyes "I could hear you, when I heard you I knew I was either in heaven or I was going to wake up, I love you Bron" Ben struggled to speak. "Shhhh" Bron said through her tears "I will never lose the opportunity to say what I feel again, the days are not long enough and the nights too long when I don't" Bron smiled and Ben smiled back. She leant down and kissed him and there just wasn't a need for words, they sat in silence for a long time..............