The Arctic Wolf (Part V)

***NOTE: Where you see parentheses is where I would put italics if I could use them. Within the story it indicates a character's thoughts, and whenever someone is not actually speaking aloud. Thanks, Enjoy!***1

***Part V: Calling the Alpha Pair***2

(DOUGLAS)3

A very frightened woman sat in a waiting room chair of an uncannily quiet emergency room. Her husband paced the floor like an agitated jungle cat, tears in his eyes, and panic etched in the lines of his face. He gritted his teeth and ran his hands over his face repeatedly, and paced some more. (How long do we have to wait, just let us see her! And what the hell was that nurse talking about, her fiancé? Emily had no fiancé! She’s never been engaged to a boy, what the hell was that nurse thinking? There must be some mistake!) He tumbled the thoughts over and over again in his mind, completely distraught. (I want to see my daughter, damn it!) Mr. McNeil was entirely unnerved. (That’s my little girl in there! I want to see my baby girl!) Emily and her father had always been terribly close, and he couldn’t stand the thought of losing his eldest child. (I should have told her to stay…she offered to go shop for dinner because Marie was sick. God, how could this have happened to my little girl?) 4

(MARIE)5

His wife, Marie sat in one of the gray chairs behind him, weeping quietly into her hands. (I want to see my daughter!) She wiped at her eyes with an already overused tissue. They’d only been there fifteen minutes, but it felt like it had been an eternity. Her daughter was hanging on to life by a thread, and she wasn’t sure she could stand it. (She’s only twenty-three; she’s too young to die!)6

Finally, a sweet-looking elderly nurse appeared. Her blue eyes twinkled with tears and she sat down beside Marie. 7

“Mrs. McNeil, can I get you anything? I promise it won’t be much longer.” She touched her hand. “I know it’s not my place, but I just can’t help it. I have four children, and I couldn’t imagine what you must be going through. I met her fiancé earlier, and he was such a nice young man. A police officer called him and he had to relay the entire story, and I overheard, and I was just completely devastated by the thought that this could happen. Well, all I really want to say is that I’m very sorry, and I sincerely hope that she recovers.”8

The old woman looked so sweet and heartbroken to Marie when she looked in her eyes, that she smiled and hugged her, thankful for the comfort she was trying to provide. 9

“I…I…I just don’t understand…” she whispered between sobs. “My little girl…my Emily…” The nurse patted her hand, and pulled another soft tissue out for Mrs. McNeil. Marie took it with a pained smile. “Thank you, for caring.” 10

“I’m glad to help in any way possible. If you’d like there is fresh coffee over there. I just made it. It would help, I think.” She gestured toward the table where Stefan had taken a cup earlier.11

“Thank you, very much.” Marie stood up and made herself some coffee, and Mr. McNeil sat down, fed up apparently with pacing. 12

(DOUGLAS)13

Douglas McNeil was not accustomed to waiting. He was used to being the authority around the people he worked with and those who worked for him. Colonel McNeil was well known as one of the toughest commanders in the Marine Corps. Everyone either admired him, feared him, or both. No one messed with the ‘top dog’ as they called him. He’d commanded troops in battle and ran fearless through enemy lines, but when it came to his daughter, he was a nervous emotional wreck. (This is not happening.) He could not shake the urge to deny everything, but he knew it was all there in front of him.14

(Meanwhile…)15

(STEFAN)16

Stefan started and sat up straight. He’d dozed off at Emily’s bedside, the melody of machines and technology sending him to sleep like an odd nightmarish lullaby. He ran his hands over his face and looked at Emily. She rested, exactly as before. Nothing had changed. He sighed. He glanced at his watch. (Nearly an hour.) He rose from the chair and stretched his stiff, exhausted limbs. (Her parents should be here soon, and I’ve got to explain everything. God, how do I do it?) He realized that it would not be as easy to tell his love’s parents about the whole tragedy, and explain why he had ridden to the hospital with her in the ambulance and arrived to see Emily first under the false pretense that they were engaged. (I’ll have to definitely win them over on that one, he thought.) He hadn’t seen her parents in a long time-since a week before Stefan and Emily’s last fight six years ago, that had torn their friendship to pieces. He sighed. (Time to make amends.) He wondered if Emily ever told them everything. (Knowing her, she didn’t.) Emily was very proud and dignified, and would never admit to allowing the best friendship that ever happened to her slip through her fingers, and he knew it wasn’t her fault; it was his, but she would blame herself anyway. (That’s how it always is with Emily.) 17

He bent over and brushed his lips on the knuckles of her right hand, planting an affectionate kiss there. “I shall return, my love. Hold strong…hold strong; for me, for your parents, for everyone…” He walked to the door and turned to whisper, “I love you,” before exiting, and shutting the door behind him. 18

The bright lights of the hallway greeted him like a smack in the face. The room had been dim and his eyes were not accustomed to the light. He squinted and held his head down, and made for the restroom at the end of the hall.19

Stefan bent over the sink and stared up into his image in the mirror. His face looked so much older; worn and exhausted, each line etched deeply with sorrow and anxiety. He sighed and splashed the cool crisp water onto his face, running his hands through his hair. He dried his hands and face with a paper towel and took the elevator down to the emergency waiting room. (Her parents will be there. What will they say when they see me? The nurse must have told them Emily’s fiancé is here, and they must be as confused as hell. Shit, what do I say?) He tumbled thoughts quickly through his mind, trying desperately to rehearse the best things to say, but couldn’t decide on a solution to his dilemma. He sighed and stepped out of the elevator. (Time to run the gauntlet.) 20

He straightened his shirt and suddenly remembered that it was covered in Emily’s blood. (I can’t greet them in this! It will scare the living shit out of them! They’ll spend the whole time looking at the blood instead of at me. Shit!) Just then, a nurse walked by and he stopped her.21

“Excuse me, ma’am, can I ask you something?” She nodded. “Is there a way I can get a shirt or a jacket to go over this or exchange with this one? I’m covered in blood from earlier…my fiancé is up there, and I can’t go in front of her parents like this. It will scare them to death. Can you help me?”22

“Certainly sir. Follow me.” She led him down the hall and around the corner to a closet. She shuffled through jackets and found an old doctor’s jacket from when they had been blue. This year they were white, so that he couldn’t be confused with anyone if he wore the blue coat. “This should do the trick. Try this one.” 23

Stefan tried on the jacket, and found it to fit fine, so he thanked the nurse and buttoned up the jacket, striding quickly off to the waiting room. 24

Marie sipped the hot strong coffee and Douglas sat in his chair once again, staring out across the hallway. He seemed to be in a reverie, but Stefan was certain he felt more like he was in a nightmare. His face was tortured, worry, anger, and sorrow written all over it.  Delia sat with Mrs. McNeil, holding a box of tissues in her small lap.25

Stefan stopped. They didn’t see him yet. (Will they even know me when they see me? Now or never, you coward. Now or never.) He walked quickly down the hall and stopped a moment, giving in to his old habit of running his hands through his hair. 26

“Mrs. McNeil?” He was surprised he found his voice as he approached. He was so tired he felt like dropping right there on the floor, and he was certain he looked terrible.27

Marie and Douglas looked up simultaneously, expecting to see a doctor. Instead, they saw an oddly familiar face. Taller. Older. Deeper voice. Stefan saw the puzzlement in Mr. McNeil’s eyes, and the recognition in his wife’s. Delia smiled and stood up, placing the tissues on the chair, touching Stefan on the shoulder and whispering “Good Luck,” at him before leaving them to their privacy.28

“S…Stefan? Stefan Wolfgang, is that you?” Marie’s eyes were wide with recognition, her mouth agape, shocked that after all those years, the little boy she’d cherished as if he were her son, was standing there in front of her, a grown man. 29

He gulped and nodded. “Yes, it’s me.” Douglas just stared up at him in disbelief, taking in Stefan’s words, trying to register emotions. Stefan knew he was in terrible pain. 30

Mrs. McNeil bolted out of her chair and threw her arms around Stefan in a desperate embrace. “Oh my god, I can’t believe it! It really is you, all grown up!” She looked up at him and reached up to affectionately touch her hand to his face. “And so handsome, too! I just can’t believe it! My how you’ve grown! So tall, I can barely give you a hug, you silly boy.” She hugged him tight and stood back, caught in a reverie.31

“Mrs. McNeil, I…” Douglas interrupted him. “It’s good to see you again, Stefan, but may I ask what you’re doing here? We’re waiting to see…” This time Stefan interrupted. “Emily, I know. I am too.” 32

“What?” Douglas stood out of his chair. “We haven’t seen or heard from you in years, how is it you show up at the hospital before we do to see Emily? How did you…”? Douglas’s voice suddenly gave out on him as he realized the answer to his questions. “Her…her…fiancé!” 33

“Mr. McNeil, I can explain…” Stefan held up a hand, hoping to hold off the storm that he knew might explode from her father’s mouth if he didn’t begin immediately.34

“Yes, please do. We’d like to hear it.” Marie grabbed her husband’s arm to calm him. “Please, Stefan, tell us.” 35

“I was there, at the grocery store, and I saw her, and it was the first time I had seen her in six years. I talked to her, and she insisted she didn’t remember, but I persisted-I followed her outside, and then the car…and it all happened so fast…and I just didn’t know what to do…I just sat there and held her…and I knew that they only let relatives, fiancés or married partners to ride in the ambulance, and I was desperate…I just couldn’t let her go. So I slipped my ring on her finger, and I lied. I told them I was her fiancé so they’d let me come with her. I just couldn’t let her go alone. I love Emily, and…and…my heart wouldn’t allow it. I was so scared. I thought she was going to die, and I couldn’t let that happen. So I’ve been here the entire time, and everyone thinks I’m her fiancé. I hated to have to lie about something like that, but I had to think fast on my feet, and it was the best I could come up with. I’m sorry if that’s caused trouble for you guys. You’re like family to me. I had to add to the problem. I…I don’t know what to do…I…I love her.” 36

The entire time he was talking, his face changed from calm and demure to more and more desperate, until every fiber of his being screamed in agony, and it was written all over him. As soon as he choked out those last tearful words, he knew he was crying, and he didn’t care. He flopped into a chair and held his head in his hands, and just let go. He sobbed in front of her parents, and it didn’t matter. Mrs. McNeil exchanged a sad look with her husband. He went to the table and retrieved a cup of coffee for Stefan and Marie knelt down at his side, her hand on his shoulder.37

“Stefan…we have to hold strong for her. We have to. She’ll make it. She’ll be all right. Emily’s a fighter. You know that. She won’t give up. Thank you, for telling us the truth, and we’re glad that you were here. At least we know she wasn’t alone. Thank you.” She pet his hair as if he was a small child again, crying over a broken toy or a splinter from the tree house in the back yard, trying to soothe his fears and calm him.38

Stefan ran both hands over his face and over his hair and looked up at her. The tears glittered on his cheek and he managed a half smile. “Thank you, Mrs. McNeil. I really should be comforting you. She’s your daughter. I…I’m sorry, I just couldn’t hold it in anymore. But thank you, for everything.” 39

He looked up at Douglas’s imposing six foot five inch frame as he put a cup of coffee in his hand.  He smiled. Emily got her height from her mother, apparently. Marie was only 5’6’’at best. “Here. We’ve all got to be strong together. Marie’s right. You came in with her; you must have been here for a long time. Why don’t you go home and get some rest, and come back after you’ve had some sleep. Give us your number and we’ll call you if anything changes.” Just like Colonel McNeil, Stefan thought. Always the calm one, the authority. 40

“Mr. McNeil, I don’t think…” He didn’t want to leave. (I can’t leave…I can’t sleep soundly knowing she’s hanging on for her life!) It didn’t seem right to him.41

“It’s okay, son, I understand, but if you don’t get some rest, you’ll be no good to her when she wakes up, so go rest while you can. Give me your number, son.” Douglas pulled out his cell phone and punched in the numbers that Stefan dictated. Stefan sighed.42

“I’ll keep my phone on me at all times. Please, call me if anything happens…especially if she wakes up. I've got work tomorrow, but I will take your call above all others.”43

“We will, darling.” Marie McNeil looked so sweet and concerned even though her world was in pieces. He smiled at her and embraced her. 44

“Thanks, for everything,” he whispered, “You know that I love your daughter more than anything?” A tear rolled down Marie’s cheek as she nodded. 45

Stefan took a gulp of the coffee and sat it at the end table beside the chair. He exchanged a rough embrace with Emily’s father before leaving them behind. (What did I ever do without them?) His parents would be wondering where he was. He left their house for groceries, and here it was almost two in the morning. He knew he shouldn’t wake them up to come get him, so he called a taxi. It had stopped raining, so he stepped out onto the sidewalk and sat down on a slightly damp bench, waiting for the taxi to arrive. He lit a cigarette and took a long drag. (Emily, my love, hold on…)46

(Two hours later…)47

Stefan hardly remembered the ride home in the taxi, but he recalled having to explain to his parents where he’d been and why he was such a mess. They’d both been in shock, first from the idea that he was mentioning Emily’s name after six years and secondly after hearing what had happened. They were as worried as her parents had been, and his mother, Glenn, was in tears the entire time he related the tragedy. His father, Mitch, held her tight. Years ago, they had been like family to each other. Glenn had always treated Emily like a daughter, just as the McNeil’s had treated Stefan like a son. It was heartbreaking for Stefan to have to answer their questions. He was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to crawl in bed and wake up from the horrible nightmare that he’d found himself in. 48

Finally tearing himself away from his parents’ imploring faces and his mother’s fidgeting hands, he ripped off the hospital jacket and bloody silk shirt and threw them in the garbage, flopping onto the guest-room bed and kicking off his shoes. He didn’t even bother to throw the cover over himself, for as soon as his head hit the pillow; he passed out from exhaustion.49

(Hours later…)50

Stefan bolted upright out of bed to the sound of his phone going insane with a familiar but annoying ring tone. He knew exactly why he devoted that one to Captain Massey’s number. (The man annoys the living shit out of me!) Frustrated and tired, he leaned over the bed and snatched the phone off the bedside table. Stefan glanced at his watch. (Holy shit! No wonder they’re fucking calling me!) Putting the phone to his ear, he answered, trying to make sure his voice didn’t sound groggy.51

“Sergeant Wolfgang, where the hell are you? It’s four o’clock in the afternoon and you never bothered to call in! We’ve got a shit-load of paperwork with your name on it and you haven’t lifted a damn finger! Get your ass here pronto or I’m calling Chief!” 52

Stefan loved how Massey never gave him a damn chance to reply to anything he ever spat out at him. (The man’s a damned nuisance!) He hung up the phone, flinging it on the bed with his wallet and badge. He jumped out of bed and flew across the room, throwing on his uniform in record time. (Shit! Shit! Shit!) It was four in the afternoon and he’d never come in to work, and Captain Massey was always a bitch about punctuality, although he’d hardly ever given any superior officer reason to yell at him during his career. He was an impeccable officer, how the hell could he let something like this happen? (This is just not my goddamned day, he thought.) He snatched his holster and pistol off of the dresser and shoved his phone, wallet and badge in his pocket. (Damn it, my car’s at the store!)53

“Shit! Fuck me!” He cursed aloud, shoving on his shoes and running to the bathroom. He slapped on some cologne and combed his hair back, tying it at the back of his head in a loose ponytail. Massey hated his long hair, but Chief didn’t mind, so Stefan rubbed it in Massey’s condescending face. (Bastard.) 54

Stefan ran into the living room to see his dad in the kitchen making a glass of soda. “Are you okay, Stefan?”55

“I’m late for work, and I left my damned car at the grocery store. I need to borrow the truck, dad.” His dad dug his truck keys out of his pocket and flung them at his son with a smile.56

“Just be safe, son, okay? We know you’re worried about Emily, but she’s going to be all right, so you have to try and get through work today.”57

“Shit, I’m late! Thanks dad. Bye mom!” He called as he ran out the front door and climbed into the giant blue four-door Dodge Ram his father was so proud of, and sped off to work, but instead of the stacks of paperwork, and his dick-head boss, all he could think about was Emily. 58

(End of Part Five)59

(to be continued...)60