*****
They burst through the doors, as the medical team swings into action lifting Kiki from Megan’s hands and rolling her away, Megan wants to follow them she is fighting both her mother and Tonia and the nurses, she is screaming she is kicking and wailing, the couple who had hit kiki is holding themselves in fear as the woman cries ”We are so sorry, we didn’t see her, we are so sorry” no one pays attention to them, everyone pays attention to the distraught mother.
”Don’t take her away from me, she is the only thing I have left, she is my daughter, why do you want to take her away from me, you will not take her away from me, she is my daughter mine… Kiki!! KIKI!!” She fights them off holding onto the rolling bed as they try to restrain her
”Ma’ám please, we need to take her to the theater room, get me a sedative, before she goes into shock, she is hysterical!!” A nurse tells another
“‘You will not take her away from me!!” This causes Sean to stagger in pain holding his chest… it hurts, it breaks his heart seeing her like that, hearing her repeat those words he has come to know her with..
He pushes them away, he grabs Megan and holds her tight, she is struggling and screaming, he holds her face to cause her to stare at him as she struggles ”No one will take her away from you, I promise you..I won’t let them I swear it Megan, on my life… she will be fine, she is coming back to you”
”No… no Kiki!!”
”She is coming back to you, Kiki will” he holds her still, hugging her to him, pulling her down as she wails. Megan grabs him in her pain crying into his chest as he cradles her to him, the tears flows freely from his eyes… he holds her for a while, and lets her empty herself on him.
Charles is by the corner, he is shaken. The couple come to them, to Tonia and Ruth as they hug each other waiting ” we didn’t see her, please forgive us”‘ they cried. Zachary stands there… wishing death upon Charles, he steps away from him so he isn’t tempted to break a flower vace on his head.
He watches Sean and Megan, curled up in a corner on the floor… and he prays that God saves the little monster, if not for anybody’s but for Megan… and maybe for Sean… who seems to love the girl for reasons he cannot explain.
*****
It’s a few hours later when the doctor comes out, they gather him..
”Parents?”
”Mother, single mother” Megan says
”We are her family, she is my granddaughter” Ruth speaks up
”Okay, I have good news and bad news, she is out of danger, thankfully we were able to stop the bleeding and stitch it, she has a broken arm but nothing good casting cannot fix in a few weeks, the bleeding came from her head, she had a mean fall and it fractured her skull”‘
”Oh my God!!;” Megan gasp
”But, barely kissed it, it was due to the hard fall and her head is still delicate… so hence the pool of blood from there and also her arm and of course tiny bruises. Good thing that she is young, she would heel faster than a grown adult and in a few weeks all that would be clear and she would be back to normal. Like I said, she is out of danger, she is a miracle.”
”Okay, what is the bad news?” Sean asks
”She lost a lot of blood and the blood bank do not have her blood type presently, and we need to give her blood…so…”‘
”That is no problem, I am her mother, take mine, take mine”
”Okay, come with me.”
”Doctor, what are the charges” Charles speaks
”You get away from here… You did this you-“‘
”Megan”!! Sean holds her “Now is not the time”
“‘We would pay for anything, please tell us” the couple says,
”You don’t have to worry about that “‘
”I do not understand ” Megan looks at the doctor,
”Mr O’Conner paid for the bills not so long ago, “‘
Megan turns to look at him “When did you do that?”
”When I went to get everyone coffee, I spoke to the nurse and she told me of the charges… but that doesn’t matter, you go give her blood”‘
”We are so sorry, we would do anything you ask of us, please, we are sorry” they look at Megan
”It wasn’t your fault, you may have ran her down, but you weren’t the one who made her run. You can leave, there is nothing you can do here… I will not press charges, the one who is at fault has to suffer through the guilt alone”‘
Megan’s eyes pools as she follows the doctor. The couple plead for more forgiveness before they leave .
”Ruth?” Charles turns to his wife
”Don’t Charles, don’t ever!!” Ruth walks away holding onto Tonia who glares at Charles..
Zachary turns to Sean “I swear it, I could crush his skull. How are you, you look shaken up.”
”I am glad she is okay…”‘
”Yeah. It was a nice thing to do, pay the bills without being asked”‘
”It’s nothing, life is more important “‘
Zachary nods
*****
They come back a few minutes later with Megan’s face sullen..
”What is the matter?”
“What is a wrong sweetheart?” Ruth gets to her, the doctor speaks
”She is not a match!!”
”I do not understand, she is her mother?”
”It’s a medical thing, it is how genetics works, a child can have a mixture of genes from both parents or he picks one from one parent. From every independent gene, you get two copies, from either parents, now even though these copies are off the same gene, you can still get different versions of genes and these are called ALLELES…”
”we don’t understand doctor, too medical, can you break it down for us”
”Okay let’s assume this ALLELES is likened to cars, with designs and doors, but these same cars can come in different models with a one door or two as against others. But we all know that all cars do the same thing which is to take you from one place to another right? Okay but these cars are made, shaped and modeled differently. So is the case for human genes. Now there are two main genes in humans, one is for the ABO type, that is the gene codes for a protein that is on the surface of your blood cells, and the different variations or ALLELES for the blood type protein are called AB and O.
The other gene is another called the RH factor, here the ALLELES are called plus(+) and minus (-), ordinarily it shouldn’t matter what type your blood is unless you need a transfusion or loss of blood and you need blood, and in this case it is important that you receive blood that is the same type as yours unless the wrong type of blood you are being transfused with will make one really sick because your body will see the received transfused blood cells as foreign attackers and will destroy the new blood cells.
So again, the two main genes are inherited separately, so here a child can either have a mix of his/her parents blood type or they take one separately from the other. It does not in anyway suggests the child isn’t the biological child of the parent, it’s just the biological makeup of man or how the universe or God designed it to be”‘.
”So what are you saying doctor?” Sean asks, he wasn’t the only one still confused
”Speak doctor”‘ Zachary says
”I am saying that family members should follow me so I can check their blood to see if it’s a match for the girl, and if they are not, there is another type which is the Type O, people with this blood types are called the Universal donors because they can give blood to anyone regardless of their blood type, why because their blood cells do not have any versions of protein of the afore mentioned coded proteins coded for by the genes on their surface and if none of them is neither a match for the little girl but they are of the O type, they can give her blood”‘
”Okay so, you want to check the family members of Kiki to see if they are a match?” Zachary asks
”Yes!” The Doctor nods touching his temple
“Fine, you should have just said so instead of confusing us with medical talk..” he frowns
”I will follow you doctor”‘ Ruth says
”I will too, I am, her grandfather!!” he steps forward
”I do not want him giving my child blood, I don’t!!” Megan screams
”Megan, save your daughter first and then you can trash it all out later ” Sean tells her, all that matters is Kiki, she can deal with her father later.
”Yes Megan!!” Tonia nods
Ruth eyes Charles, then she nods to Megan “this isn’t penance for his sins Megan, but if this helps to save your daughter, you will take it and save your little girl”‘
The doctor beckons for them to follow him, when Sean reaches for Megan, she doesn’t resist him or push him away… she leans into him… praying .
*****
”What do we do doctor??”‘ Ruth says coming out worried, the doctor runs a hand through his hair
“What’s wrong mum?” Megan jumps up going to them, the other follow
”We are not a match for Kiki” Ruth’s eyes pools, Charles is silent, his eyes pained.
“‘Doctor, we won’t be able to get a match not for the next 72 hours”‘ the nurse comes to tell him getting off the phone from the blood bank
”If we don’t give her blood now she would go into shock” the worried look of the doctor causes Megan’s heart to leap
”But, we can be checked too right? I mean, we can?” this wasTonia,
“‘Yes doctor!!”Sean says too,
“Yes of course, come with me”
*****
Sean watches as they take Tonia’s blood and runs it through a microscopic glass, puts it a in machine while it is in a tube, it takes a few minutes for the result to show on the screen.
It does, the nurse shakes her head “‘Not a match, not same blood type”. it was Zachary’s turn. They draw out the blood, Zachary winces in pain turning his face away..
They test the blood,
”Come on!!”‘ Zachary says
The nurse shakes her head, the doctor comes in at that moment.
”what’s the result?”
”No match!!” she says ”I want to check the last one”‘
”Quickly please, I put a call across to the bank again to check and call for donors to donate blood, hopefully we can round it down to 24 hours”‘
Sean takes a seat and squeezes his fist as they draw out blood, he has never liked needles or anything sharp, he swears under his breath as the needle pierces his skin, drawing out blood as it would his essence. The nurse gives him a wet wool soaked in spirit and daps on the spot she pulls the needle out from, it stings, “‘hold it and press it” she orders, he does so getting up.
She runs it, he turns away looking at his hand, such a tiny needle taking so much blood.
The red light goes off, an alarm does too.
“‘What is It?” they chorused ”What is happening, is the machine bad, what’s that noise?”
The doctor turns smiling, ”haha!! A match, a perfect match!! You have the blood type” he claps Sean’s back ” Nurse, take his blood so we can start””
”Oh thank God!! So he has the O type? The universal donor?” Zachary asks
“‘And I thought you didn’t understand the medical terms the good doctor was saying ” Sean raises his eyebrow
”Hey I am not entirely stupid my friend” Zachary nudges him
Sean is smiling, finally Kiki gets to get blood…. oh another needle in his body. oh well! …anything for the girl.
He seats as nurse connects the needle to him again, this time she connects it to a blood bag… again she pierces the needle into his skin and begins to draw blood, he winces in pain as the blood gushes like a little fountain into the blood bag..
That liquid red thing… literally the essence of life.
The doctor that was smiling staring at the machine, suddenly he frowns… the nurse and him exchange looks as they see it ”Who do you say you are again and how are you related to the family?”
”Sean Philips, friend to the family”‘ Sean says frowning “‘Why?”
”And you are not related to the little girl?”
”I do not understand your question. What do you mean if I am not related to the little girl?”
”I mean Mr Sean, you are not an O type donor, you are infact a perfect match to the girls genes. Your DNA and hers are exact.”
”What does that mean?”
”It means that… from what the results are telling me that you are the 95% percent the biological father of Kikina!” the doctor says turning to him
Sean’s mouth drops to the floor, so did Zachary’s. Tonia gasps..
*****
TO BE CONTINUED.
