Not a moment too soon

In the car Max told Noah that the hospital had been trying to reach him through the number that was written as Laila's emergency contact, but Noah had put the phone on silent for the party. Noah had only a few numbers that could get through his 'do not disturb' mode when it was activated on his phone and although Laila was one of them, the hospital wasn't. With Laila's phone being locked and pretty banged up from the accident, it was in no shape to be used to contact Noah.

On top of that, with hospital rules preventing the staff from using personal possessions of patients without permission and Laila not being in a position to give them that, they had to use the hospital phone regardless of the state Laila's phone was in. Without much success in this case. Fortunately the bodyguard was conscious and provided them with Max's number after the hospital informed him that they couldn't reach Mr. Stephens and asked him if he had another number they could call.

He too initially didn't plan on answering the call, as it was an unknown number and at an event like this, he was way too busy to entertain any unnecessary calls. However, Max had the spam filter on his phone activated. Any number that was listed or reported as belonging to a certain company or institution, would be displayed with this information whenever there was an incoming call from a number that wasn't in his contact list. When the word hospital appeared, Max immediately answered the call. The moment Max realized what the call was about, he made his way over to Noah, practically running by the time he heard how severe the accident had been.

The car Laila had been in, had been slammed from the side by another car. She and Damian, had to be rushed to the hospital where they received emergency surgery for the wounds they had suffered. Fortunately Damian had quick reflexes and the moment the car appeared in his peripheral vision, he managed to turn the wheel ever so slightly. This caused the impact of the blow to be taken mostly by the empty backseat passenger side, instead of the seat where the bodyguard was sitting.

With the bodyguard being trained to brace himself for impact, and being built sturdily to begin with, he had escaped any major injuries. Along with the split-second help he had received from Damian, the bodyguard was well enough after the crash to call for an ambulance and put out the fire in the hood of the car. This was a better option than removing Damian and Laila from the car, since moving injured people without knowing their injuries or proper precautions, can make the situation worse.

The bodyguard had been disoriented and unconscious for a little while, but regained himself pretty soon after that. And although it had been too late for him to catch the person who had caused the crash, which seemed more intentional by the second, it had been just in time for the people who actually mattered.

Upon arrival at the hospital, the bodyguard had been informed that the call for an ambulance couldn't have been made a moment too soon, because any later and their chance of survival would have been slim to none with the injuries Laila and Damian had suffered. Them being his first priority, had therefor been the right call. However, he was a bit worried about what he would say to Noah once he received the news of what had happened, because he had no good explanation for how this could have happened nor an answer for who could have done this.

The bodyguard couldn't help but blame himself for the situation. He had somehow lowered his guard with how long the situation had been lasting and no apparent threat in sight for weeks. Everyone had been in a good mood. Laughing, joking. They were on their way to a party to celebrate, to show that things had returned to normal. But in a split-second, they had been proven wrong for thinking and feeling this way. And while Laila and Damian couldn't be blamed for thinking this way, his sole purpose, his one and only job, was to be on guard at all times in order to protect Mrs. Stephens in case their sense of safety had been wrong. And he had failed. He had allowed their feelings to affect him and his performance, and now they were paying the price, while he got off with a few cuts and bruises.

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Soon enough Noah had arrived at the hospital, but he had no attention for the bodyguard. His sole focus was on seeing Laila. He asked the front desk where he could find her, but the lady behind the desk told him that he couldn't see her just now and that she needed him to fill out some paperwork since Laila had been in no state to do it herself. Before the woman could give Noah any additional explanation, he replied, "I don't care about your damn papers. Just tell me where my wife is. How is she doing?"

It was clear the woman was just doing her job and no one was really in the wrong in that situation, as both reactions were understandable. Noah was a worried husband who had just been told that his pregnant wife had been in a car accident, severe enough to require emergency surgery. And the woman knew that these papers were essential, as they needed to know of any allergies or other medication to make sure nothing goes wrong during or after the surgery because of any unknown information.

Knowing this and seeing the difficult situation they were in, Max reached out his hand as he told the woman, "It's okay. I'll fill out the papers for you. Just answer his questions." The woman let out a soft sigh before handing Max the clipboard with the papers she needed filled out, before telling Noah what he wanted to know.