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“I don’t have a good feeling about this. Emily being out there alone..”
And boy should Will have listened to himself.
It was now four o’clock in the afternoon, with still no sign of Emily. They had found Amber, who had said that Emily seemed to be pale and a little out of sorts. Thankfully though, Amber would make a full recovery. Emily though? If they couldn’t find her, who knows what could happen.
Sonny and Laka had launch some jet-skis, while Will, Hina and Kainalu were patrolling the beaches, hoping and praying to find something, anything to point them towards Emilys disappearance. People on the beach started to clear out, being both good and bad—good if they find Emily, being able to have space—but bad because thats less people who can find her.
“Do you think she’s okay? I mean, she’s more prominent to hypothermia out there, and it’s been what? Three hours now?”
“I mean, I guess we’ll see. She doesn’t have too much of a chance now. The longer it takes for them to find her—“
Will cut the two lifeguards off mid-conversation, being two new transfers from other beaches, “Shut up! Both of you shut up! You don’t even know her! Emily is strong and resilient. I’m more than sure she is capable of keeping herself alive until then.” Will’s unannounced words scared the two lifeguards to death, (Will later finding out their names were Olivia and Michael).
Both of them mumbled a quick sorry before scurrying off to look around the beach and watch the water more, scared now of Will.
Anyone who knew Will knew that he was protective and had a deep determination to help his friends, but more importantly, Emily. No matter the situation, people knew Will would be there for her, just as she would be there for him.
Will had gotten caught away from his thoughts with the roaring sound over the radio of Sonny’s frantic voice. “We got her! We got her! We need EMS to meet us at the beach! She has stage three hypothermia, unconscious with a pulse.”
Did Will hear him right? Hypothermia? Stage three? He isn’t even sure where his head is anymore—his only focus is Emily, and making sure she stays alive.
Will viciously grabbed his radio, queuing it in for dispatch. “Dispatch, this is tower 7-2. We need EMS for a down lifeguard, hypothermia. Not conscious but breathing.”
”Copy Tower 7-2. ETA 8 minutes.”
Will cursed under his breath, seeing the jet-ski with Sonny manning the handlebars and Laka on the back holding Emily, making sure she wouldn’t fall off. The whole scene was hard for Will to take in—the love of his life, on the back of a jet-ski after being out in the ocean for four hours. That just left a sour taste in his mouth, but more of a burning image in his head.
It took every amount of self control for him to not yell at everyone and break loose of the imaginary string holding himself together. And, although he could break down right now, he didn’t get that privilege—no no, he had to be strong for Emily. She’s the one on the back of a jet-ski unconscious and who knows what else more. He couldn’t break down.
He couldn’t break down, not yet, not now, not here.
As soon as Sonny and Laka made it to the sand bank, Will rushed in, helping bring Enily to the beach while Hina snd Kainalu grabbing med bags. They didn’t have as much as the EMS would have, but they could at least do the basics and prepare her for transport to the hospital to make sure she lived.
Laka and Will carefully brought her clammy body onto the sand, putting a C-collar and oxygen mask on her pale face. The elephant in the room however, was the impending hypothermia, which required care to treat. Will barked orders around, ignoring the looks he got from others. “Hina! Go get the warming blankets from HQ! We need them right now!” Hina nodded, scrambling up to get the desperately needed blankets.
In any other normal situation, Will would yell at the bystanders to give them space, and logically, he should. But, his mind was so up in the clouds, he could care a lot less if anyone is watching or not, let alone if they were recording or not.
Will had known if he was in the same situation, he would wasn’t comfort and sweet words to be said—who knows, maybe it would help with Emily’s consciousness. “Hey baby, it’s okay. You’re okay, I’m here.” And for five straight minutes until EMS had arrived, that was what Will did. He whispered sweet, soft words to Emily, reassuring her, and it seemed to work with rousing her slowly.
By the time the EMS arrived, she was half conscious, slurring random words every few minutes before going out of it again. It reminded of Will of when she slept, sleep talking and herself not even sure as to what she’s saying unless Will brings it up to her, but still confused in the end.
The ambulance ride was calm, knowing Emily was just sleeping and it was normal for that to happen. She needed to stay warm, which also wasn’t new, having a fee hypothermia cases in the past.
Arriving to the hospital however was a lot different than Will had imagined. As soon as they got there, she was swept away for multiple images and testing to make sure nothing that had happened to her had been life-threatening.
Finally after three hours she was out into an actual room where Will could visit. Walking in, he immediately noticed the multiple wires and cords throughout Emily, with IV’s, a pulse oximeter and ECG patches, which he was told would come off soon.
Will dat down in one of the chairs, Emily still not being awake. About every hour a nurse would in and check her temperature, making sure not to heat her too much and give her a fever which could lead to other complications later down the road. Even her doctor came in a fee times to see if she was awake, and of course she wasn’t—but he did reassure Will that she would be okay, and make a full recovery. “So, she will be staying for a few days under observation. Then after that, we can talk about discharging her. Sound good?”
Will nodded his head and the doctor left, once again leaving them two alone. Will kept saying soothing, sweet words that he had told her on the beach, and not only for her comfort and reassurance, but for his too.
“You’re okay, it’s okay baby. I’m here.”
”Do you know how many times I’ve heard you say that?”
The sudden voice in the room made Will look up from where he was staring at the ground to see Emily staring right at hime. Her voice was hoarse and dry, as she started coughing a little. Seeing this, Will reached over to grab some water and give it to her.
“Thanks.”
”Yeah..”
Emily nodded, finally locking eyes with Will and seeing how much he truly looked like a mess.
“How are you doing?” She chuckled.
”I should be the one asking you that. How are you?”
Emily looked around, thinking for a second. “Yeah, well from what I’ve learned is that your trauma isn’t just your trauma. It also affects your partner, and coworkers.”
Emily noticed how tense Will had seemed, knowing it had out a dent in his mental health too. She scooted over in her bed, making a little space for Will to join her. “Come here,” She patted the now empty spot. “I want cuddles.”
”I-I don’t want to hurt you anymore than you’re already hurt.”
”Oh please! We both know that I’m not even hurt! I just got a little hypothermia! Not even a big deal. Maybe next time I’ll drown just to scare you!” She chuckled.
Emily saw Will’s soft expression, not even a little interested in her joke.
“Not funny Em..”
She breathed deeply, “Yeah sorry. I kind of forgot joking and humor isn’t everyone’s choice of coping.” She looked to him. “Anyways, I don’t care. Come here, I want cuddles.”
Will hesitated, and Emily saw this. “Please?” She pleaded, just wanting to be in the comfort of her boyfriend. “Fine, but if you hurt I’m getting out.”
”Okay!” A big beam of a smile went across Emily’s face.
Will gently climbed into the small bed, wrapping his arm across her back and pulling her close to him. He kissed her forehead, going back to whispering soft words in her ear, no matter how many times she heard it.
As he was falling asleep, Will knew he had Emily and at the end of the day, she was okay, she was alright, she was alive.
And thats all they needed.
~~~~~~~~~