Bette waited. Seconds. Seconds.

Seconds passed. Carmen’s heavy breath was the only sound left.

“Hold up. It’s not working”, Bette considered, and Carmen grabbed a scalpel from the tray.

“Got to open him”, she stated, and as she said that, she was already making the surgical incision.

“How long to go back on?”, Jenny asked.

“Done”, Carmen replied, her voice throaty, husky.

“Internal paddles. Charge”, Bette ordered.

Mark positioned the paddles all around the man’s heart.

“Ready”.

“Hit it”, Carmen said.

“Go”.

“Hit it”, Bette replied.

“No response”. Mark’s forehead was sweating.

“Mark, I got to get back on bypass here”, Bette proposed, by Carmen circled the man’s heart with both her hands and started massaging it.

“Almost there…”, she panted.

Beeeeeeeeeeeep was the only response.

“Give me two more minutes”, she exclaimed, massaging, massaging, “Come on!”.

Mark glanced at the flat line on the monitor and said nothing.

Behind the glass panel, the man, still wrapped in his hospital vest, turned his head and watched Shane right in the eyes. Shane and her black clothes, Shane and her soothing smile, Shane and her messy, spiky hair, Shane without wings and realized who she was.

Shane exchanged a reassuring glance with him, then turned to Carmen and observed her, carefully, as she tried to save someone who couldn’t be saved.

”…God has got his phone off the hook
Babe would he even pick up if he could?
It’s been a while since we saw that child
Hangin’ round this neighbourhood
See his mother dealing in a doorway
See Father Christmas with a begging bowl
Jesus sister’s eyes are blister …
The high street never looked so low…”

“Come on…”, Carmen panted, gritting her teeth, her eyes focused on the heart that stood still into her hands, “Come on, don’t do this”.

“He’s going”, Bette murmured.

And Carmen looked up. And her eyes stared deep into Shane’s. Or so Shane thought.

“He’s not going anywhere”, Carmen growled, as if she was talking to her.

Shane jolted.

And a second later

– a second later, only a second later –

it was over and Carmen’s eyes were looking back down, into the man’s chest.

“Come on, don’t do this!”, she exclaimed, her massage becoming rapid, frantic.

Beeeeeeeeeeeep.

“Damn it! Come on!”.