When Duty Calls

I do not own The Golden Hour in any way.

It was just a normal drive home from work.

Tiffany drove home the same way she always did. She knew her father wouldn't be home.

He was pulling another over-night shift at the hospital.

Her favorite song came on the radio. She cranked the volume and started to jam out.

What she didn't expect was for a truck to take the corner sharply and barrel right into her.

Alec glanced at the clock. His daughter's shift had ended an hour ago.

It had been over half an hour since he had heard from her.

"I'm sure she's fine, mate", Paul said, "She probably just forgot".

"She never forgets", Alec told him.

When Tiffany came to, she was hanging upside. She managed to pull her phone out of her pocket and dialed her father's number.

"Tiffany!" he sighed.

"Daddy", she said, her voice cracking.

"Tiff, what's wrong? What's going on?" he asked.

"I've been in accident. The car is upside down", she told him.

"Don't move. Can you tell me where you are darling?" he asked her.

She could tell he was trying to keep calm for her sake. "I…I don't know", she said sniffling.

"Tiff, listen to me, love. It's going to be okay. I'm going to get there as soon as I can. Now, did you take the same way home that you always do?" he asked.

"Yeah", she said.

"Okay. Darling, I need to go. Keep calm okay?" he said, "I love you Tiff".

"I love you too", she said and hung up.

Alec ran through the hospital.

"Alec! Alec!" Paul said running after him.

Alec grabbed his pack and made his way to the helicopter pad. He had to get to her. He promised her.

Paul and him jumped into helicopter.

"I'm sure she's fine, mate", Paul told him as they pulled on their helmets.

The helicopter ride was a tense one.

As soon as they landed, Alec took off for his daughter's car.

"Daddy!" Tiffany yelled.

"I'm here, darling", he told her. He pulled out a neck brace and fastened it around her neck. "Paul! Call the fire brigade!" Alec yelled, "Don't worry Tiff. We're going to get you out of this car. Do you have any pain anywhere?"

"My leg", she told him.

"Can you feel your foot?" he asked.

"No", she said sniffling.

"We're gonna get you out of here", he told her, "Just stay awake for me".

"How is the other driver?" she asked.

"Fine. Minor injuries", Paul said coming up to them.

"Where's the fire brigade?" Alec asked.

"On their way", the Irishman told him, "How you doing Tiff?"

"I really wish I wasn't hanging upside down in my car", she said.

They could hear sirens.

"Bout damn time", Alec snapped.

"Don't leave me", Tiffany begged.

"I'm not going anywhere, love", he told her.

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to stand back", the fireman said.

"No!" Tiffany yelled.

"Tiff…" Alec said.

"No!" she yelled as the fireman pulled him away from her, "Daddy!"

Alec was torn.

"You're her father first and a doctor second", Paul told him.

He hadn't been this scared since the day Tiffany was born. "I don't know what to do", Alec told Paul.

"Be her dad", Paul said.

Alec ran back over to the car.

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to stand back", the fireman repeated.

"I'm her father, so I suggest you back off", Alec said, "Please. Just let me be with my daughter".

The fireman relented and let Alec hold Tiffany's hand as they were cutting her out of the car.

"You're doing so well. My brave girl", he told her, "Paul! Get a backboard ready! Okay, Tiff, we're going to put you on a backboard so I can assess you".

She squeezed his hand to let her know she understood. She cried out when her father, Paul, and the firemen helped to get her on the backboard.

"Paul! Go get me a splint!" Alec yelled, "Is there pain anywhere else?"

"No", she said.

"Now, I'm going to give you some pain meds so we can work on your leg", he told her.

"It's bad isn't it?" she asked, "And you can't lie".

"It's nothing I can't fix", he said.

She hissed when the needle broke the skin, but soon, it felt like she was flying. She cried out when they put her leg in the splint.

"There, all done", he told her, "Now you're going to have a nice little ride in the ambulance. I'm going to give you a sedative. Okay, love?"

"Damn. I was hoping for the helicopter", she said as she felt the drug enter her bloodstream.

He held onto her hand until he felt it go limp.

They placed her on a stretcher and loaded her into the ambulance.

"Hey Paul, can you go with her? I need to sort things out here", he said. Alec had to call the insurance company and tell them about her accident and hopefully get her a new car to drive once she was done with physical therapy. He needed to call her workplace and tell them what happened so they wouldn't expect to come in.

"Alec?" Paul asked.

"Yeah?" Alec asked.

"She's your daughter. You should go with her", he told him, "You can deal with everything tomorrow morning".

Alec nodded and got in the ambulance.

When Tiffany came to, she could hear a beeping noise. She immediately knew that she was in the hospital.

"Hey there, sleeping beauty", she heard.

She looked over and saw her father sitting next to her bed. "Daddy", she said smiling.

Alec sat down on the bed next to her. "How you feeling?" he asked her.

"Like I flipped my car several times", she said.

Alec chuckled. "Nothing gets past you, does it?" he asked, "Your mother would have been proud of you". Alec rarely talked about her, because he had been forced to stand back and watch her die after delivering Tiffany.

"When can we go home?" Tiffany asked him.

"In the morning, love", he told her, "Now, go back to sleep".

Tiffany closed her eyes.

Once she was asleep, Alec crawled in the bed with his daughter and took her in his arms. He'd been so close to losing her and it was a wakeup call for him. He needed to learn how to divide his time between the hospital and her. He wasn't sure how he was going to do it, but he knew that he would know when duty called.