An Unexpected Gift (2 page)

He
paused for a moment. “It’s past midnight love, this is a deserted stretch of
road. Why would a young lady like you be out travelling so late at night and in
a place like this?” He didn’t want to admonish her but equally, he wanted to
know what had possessed such a tiny little thing as her to be roaming the
streets of London this late at night.

Caitlin
pulled the blanket tighter around her body and looked up at the policeman apologetically.
“I’m sorry. I should have known better. We had a department Christmas party at
a restaurant in Covent Garden. I should have left earlier or taken a cab. But I
ended up staying later than I thought I would and got the last train home. I
never get home this late. My flat is two minutes away. I was hoping to flag
down a cab but it never came. So I took a chance and thought I’d walk. I
thought I’d be home in no time.” Her face saddened and the shivering started
again, though it wasn’t because of the cold. She was frightened because it was
starting to dawn on her that she had been extremely lucky to get out of this
with no more than a few bruises.

The
older policeman looked at Caitlin sympathetically. “It’s when you least expect
it that things like this happen. You mustn’t take any chances like this again,
promise me?” He felt sorry for her. Caitlin sniffed and nodded her head
sheepishly. 

"And
you don't know of any reason why anyone should do this to you?" asked the
younger police office.

"No,”
she said firmly shaking her head and wincing at the pain this simple action
caused.

No,
she hadn’t asked for this to happen to her. She was a normal, honest, decent
girl, with a normal job, normal flat mate, normal family and a normal
upbringing. Everything in her life had been normal, if she crossed out and
forgot about the awful months with Carl. And now that she had broken up with
that bastard, her life was slowly getting back to normal.

"Are
you sure?" the police office pressed. Holding the corners of the blankets
tightly, Caitlin was defiant. "I don't know why anyone would want to
attack me."

Should
she tell them about Carl?

But
her attacker was someone she had never seen before. What had happened to her
tonight was purely down to her being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It
could have happened to anyone.

She
wiped her face with a tissue that one of the officers had given her and looked
down in alarm to see that it was smeared with blood. It was odd because she
didn’t feel that much pain.

The
paramedics carefully placed the injured man onto a stretcher and carried him
into the ambulance. As they walked past, Caitlin saw that the man who had saved
her had now opened his eyes. The paramedics stopped as Caitlin took a step
towards the stretcher. The man stared up in confusion and his gaze rested on
Caitlin.

"You’ll
be fine," she said gently, attempting to smile but even smiling was an
effort and her face ached. He opened his mouth to say something but winced in
pain, holding his hand to his chest. “Don’t move,” she ordered softly before
the paramedics carried on into the ambulance.

She
watched as the two police officers combed over the area around them. They were
examining the blond man’s car and as she stood to the side she overheard one of
the police officers saying, "Probably a random attack. We always get more
of them at this time of the year."

The
older police office came over to Caitlin, “We'll follow you to the hospital,
love. We'll need to get a statement from you both."

"But
I'm alright," pleaded Caitlin, desperate to get back to the warmth of her
flat. “I just want to go home. I’m only two minutes away. Can’t you just take
me home now?"

"Sorry
love, unfortunately, you've taken a bit of a beating yourself.  You need
to go to the hospital and get yourself checked out first."

"But...."
began Caitlin.

"No
buts young lady. Into the ambulance you go," he took Caitlin by the arm
gently and handed her over to one of the paramedics.  "Cheers Phil,
see you at the hospital."

Inside the ambulance the
paramedics hovered around the blond man while Caitlin took a seat at the side.
"He's going to be alright isn't he?" she asked worriedly.

"He'll
be fine, might have a couple of cracked ribs though” one of them replied.

Caitlin
was horrified. This poor man, a total random stranger had stepped in to help
her and had suffered such terrible injuries himself.

And it was barely a week
before Christmas too.

She
looked at him lying with his eyes closed, silent and still on the stretcher.
"I'm so sorry," she murmured, leaning over to stroke his hand which
lay outstretched beside him.

At
the hospital the doctors took the man off for further examination while a stern
faced nurse tended to Caitlin, completely ignoring her pleas. She cleaned up
Caitlin’s face and examined her to make sure she hadn't suffered any other
injuries.

"I
told you, I'm fine. That poor man took the beating for me. I got off easy.” She
was annoyed that they were all so concerned about her. But when she looked in
the mirror, she was shocked. Her brown eyes were bloodshot and her right eye had
developed a greenish black bruise that was slowly spreading out over her brow
bone and underneath. Her right cheek was swollen and puffy and bore an angry
red imprint of what had most likely been her assailant's knuckle. Her
upper lip stung sharply and she could see the deep cut just above it. She was
slowly starting to feel sharp pangs of pain all over her body now that she had
stopped to think about herself. And when she looked down at her brown, corduroy
skirt she saw that her tights were ripped too, exposing bloody, grazed knees
underneath.

As
she waited patiently, one of the police officers, the older, friendlier one,
came back to her. 

“So
they cleaned you up."

"I
didn’t realize I'd been hurt so badly."

"You
did take a bad beating. But your boyfriend took the brunt of the attack."

Caitlin opened her mouth
to protest but he continued, looking down his notes. "22 Winterbourne
Crescent, Ladbroke Grove, is that right?"

"No,
what's that?"

"Not
your address?"

She looked at him
irritably. "No. And he’s not my boyfriend. I’ve never met him before.”

The policeman frowned at
her.  "Oh. We thought you were together.” He hastily scribbled into
his notebook again before looking up at her over his glasses which were
slipping down his nose, “Not many people would risk their lives to save a total
stranger’s."

Despite
the pain that had hijacked Caitlin’s life recently, this act of kindness by a
stranger had restored a bit of her faith in people once more. “I know and I’m
thankful that he did. I owe him a debt of gratitude.”

The
policeman stared at Caitlin, taking in her small frame and her elfin features.
Did she have any idea how lucky she was that someone had come to her rescue? He
didn’t want to think of the consequences otherwise.

"Right,"
he said wearily, pushing his glasses back up his nose again. It was almost two
in the morning. "Let's take it from the top again. Is there anyone you
need to contact? To let them know what’s happened?”

Kerrie.
She’ll be worried sick.

Caitlin
got out her phone and dialed Kerrie’s number.

Around
forty minutes later, when the police officer had taken Caitlin's statement, he
offered to drive her home. But not before she had demanded to see the man who
had saved her.  The nurse acceded to her request, since the man was now
stable and resting.

"No
more than five minutes," she warned, glaring at Caitlin.

He
lay on the bed in the teal colored hospital room. His eyes were closed but he started
to shift when he heard Caitlin's footsteps. She stood by his side, looking down
at him. His face looked even more battered and bruised than hers. Both of his
eyes sported bruises and his entire face and nose were swollen.  Even his
breathing was slow and labored.

"Thank you,"
she whispered. At the sound of her voice he opened his eyes, slowly and
painfully.  She saw that they were bright blue but heavily bloodshot. His
blond hair was still matted with smidgens of blood but his wounds had been
cleaned and the deep cut above his left eye had been stitched. Even with all
his injuries, he had a strikingly handsome face.

"No
need to thank me," he said slowly, trying to focus on her face.

Caitlin
persisted, “I feel awful that this happened to you on account of me.”

“You
shouldn’t.”

“You
saved my life.”

“Glad
I was there.”

“I
owe you.”

“No,
you don’t,” he said in a soft voice. “I would have done that for anyone.
Animals like that ought to be locked up and kept off the streets. For good.” He
grimaced and his face turned dark as he suffered a sharp sting of pain that surged
through his ribs.

“I
hope they catch him before he does this to someone else.”

“I
hope so too.”  His words were slowing down and he was having trouble
keeping his eyes open.

With
a badly beaten and bruised face herself, Caitlin stood by the stranger’s
bedside and watched him lying silently, with his eyes closed. He had a calming,
soft and gentle way about him and yet he hadn’t hesitated at all to get
involved and save her from a thug. It was the opposite of what she had been
used to.

She
liked this feeling that someone out there had saved her. She wanted to stay
there with him. Even though she hardly knew him, she felt as though she had
some sort of bond with him.

She
felt she knew him better because of the violent attack they had both suffered,
than if they had just randomly met anyplace else. Not that she was having any
romantic illusions about him. Yet even so, she found it hard to tear herself
away.

“I
don’t even know your name,” she said, gently.

For
a moment he lay still, then without opening his eyes he said, “Daniel.”

“Goodnight
Daniel.”

“Goodnight.”

A
weary Caitlin arrived back at the flat in the early hours of the morning. She
collapsed into the arms of her best friend Kerrie and burst into tears. Kerrie
held her tight until the sobs slowly subsided. She had stayed awake the whole
night worried about her friend. The worry had been replaced with a slow,
simmering anger which had bubbled to the surface as soon as Caitlin had walked
through the door. Kerrie had taken one look at the battered face of her friend,
seen her ripped tights and shattered soul and held her tightly until she had
calmed down enough to talk. In a wavering voice Caitlin repeated more or less
what she had told the police officers.

With
the right side of her face black and blue and her lips all swollen, Caitlin
held onto the hot cup of Green & Black’s hot chocolate that Kerrie had made
for her. She held it more for warmth and comfort. “If it hadn’t been for him,
Daniel….”  Her voice disappeared and she sat there, dazed.

"The
bastard," said Kerrie struggling to contain her rage. She slammed her cup
down on the table.  "This is why all women should carry a Taser. If
you’d had one of those, you’d have been home safe and sound and that poor sod
wouldn’t have touched you.”

"It’s
not even legal Kerrie.”  Caitlin trembled when she ran through the scene
in her mind for the tenth time. “I was so scared,” she shuddered. Kerrie’s
smile turned sympathetic.

“How
lucky that your knight in shining armor showed up.” She meant it as a joke but
there was a truth to it. If he had not been there to intervene, would Caitlin
even have made it back home? She pushed the thought away as fast as it had
flashed into her mind.

But
it wasn’t so easy for Caitlin to shut off, as tired as her body felt, she kept
replaying the scene over and over in her mind. “You read about it happening to
other people all the time. But when you're in it, you just shut down. It’s like
its not even happening to you. Your body is not yours. I froze. I remember kicking
him and poking him with the key just like you told me,” Kerrie visibly
brightened at the mention of this. “I really don't know what would have
happened if Daniel hadn't come along."

She
was still shivering, even though Kerrie had turned the central heating on. Her
hands were shaking and Kerrie took the cup of hot chocolate from her and put it
onto the coffee table on the side. She held Caitlin’s hands in hers, in an
effort to calm her down.

“Don’t
worry Caitlin. You’re safe now. You’re home.”

Caitlin’s
wide brown eyes glistened as tears started to well up again. “I was so scared,”
she whispered as the tears started to fall.

Kerrie
hugged her friend. “You’re going to be fine. Drink up now. You need to get some
rest.” 

Kerrie
had managed to wrangle working from home for two days and did a great job of
looking after Caitlin. For the remaining two days of that week, before most of
the working world closed down for the Christmas break, Kerrie fussed over her
like a mother hen.