Mike stands up to toss away his food, and I see Phoebe zoned out, staring outside the window. I watch her for a few seconds before I scoot over and move her hair away from her face. She doesn't jump when I do this, making me shocked but also very happy.

"What are you thinking about?" I ask as she looks at me. She looks exhausted but pleased.

"About tonight," Phoebe answers, "I have a bad feeling that's all." Phoebe looks down at her knitted hands, nervous.

"Look at me." I put my finger under her chin, making her look into my eyes. "I promised you; nothing will happen if I'm with you." This makes Phoebe give me a weak smile.

"I should get going; I have to wrap the presents I got the girls and pick up their cake before seven." Phoebe grabs my hand, moving it away from her face. I nod my head, standing up with her. I look around for Mike, seeing him help an elderly lady open her water bottle. "It's okay, you don't need to walk me out," Phoebe says, seeing me looking at Mike.

"Are you sure? I don't want you to feel like-"

"Babe, it's okay." Phoebe smiles, grabbing my hand. "Spend time with your friend; it's okay. If I had any friends, I would want to spend as much time with them as possible." She frowns slightly but quickly kisses me on the lips. "Tell Mike; I said bye. I love you." Phoebe leaves me in the middle of the cafeteria, walking away rather quickly.

I look over to see Mike walking back towards me, "Where did she go?" he asks, and I tell him that she had to leave.

"She said bye." I chuckle, and he nods his head.

"She's good for you," Mike says as we walk into the elevator. Leah is inside, looking at me then up and down at Mike. "Bro, you're in love."

"Yes, I am." I laugh as we exit the elevator. We walk back to Maria's room, knocking on the door before we enter. "It's time for physical therapy," I say as I enter the room, making Maria frown.

"I don't feel up to it today," Maria says, pulling her blanket close to her.

"I-"I hear the alarm go off for code blue in my hall, making me rush out of Maria's room. I run into the room; the nurse and I jump into action. This isn't my patient, but I need to make sure she doesn't die.

"Clear" I shout, everyone moves their body as the nurse shocks her. We all wait, hearing the long beep continue. After a few minutes, nothing has changed, and it's time for me to pronounce her death. Everyone backs away as I look at the clock. "Time of death... 5:17 PM." I am defeated, angry at how I couldn't save this child.

The nurses turn off the machines, unhooking the Ambu bag from the tube in her throat. I stand against the wall, watching as they put the sheet over her head and wheel her away from my sight. I look at the space seeing all the supplies we used laying around the floor where the bed used to be. A few minutes later, I watch the cleaning crew enter the room and scrub the floor down and take out the machines. After what felt like hours, the whole room is spotless, and a new bed is placed in front of me.

"Noah?" I look over to see Mike standing at the doorway. "You okay, man?" He asks, making me nod my head.

"Where's my daughter?" I look over Mike's shoulder, "Where's Frances?" Mike looks down at his feet, then walks away. I usher the mother in the room, closing the door and having to do the worst part of my job. She collapses, and I can catch her in time before she falls to the floor.

She refuses to let go of my shirt, crying and screaming as loud as she can, I hold her not letting go of her until she calms down. I manage to get her to sit down in the chair, and I look over at the door, and I see Doctor Miller looking through the window. She opens the door quietly, coming to the mother's side and giving her some extra support. The mother finally lets go of me, and I realise she is about to faint.

"She's about to faint," I say, and within a second the mother goes limp almost falling out of the chair. We get to the emergency room, and Leah says she will keep an eye on her. I managed to make my way back into Maria's room looking at my watch, and it's 6:30 on the dot.

Mike and I leave the hospital, and since he doesn't have a car here, I drive him to his hotel to get changed for tonight. I sit in my car, staring at the neon sign in front of the office. Once Mike enters the car, he tries to ask if I'm okay, but I don't say anything. Instead, we continue to drive in silence... When we park, I get out of the truck, and Mike follows me into the complex.

"This is a nice place, Noah," Mike says as we exit the elevator. I should see if they have a place available here. Especially since it's so close to the military base." We enter the apartment, seeing everyone watching television. Phoebe looks up at me, smiling, and I can't seem to smile back at her. Quickly, her face changes and she stands up. I go into our room, and Mike sits down at the kitchen island.

"Hey, Mike." I hear Phoebe's voice, and it fades away as I get closer to the bed. The door opens, and I feel Phoebe's presence. I don't look towards her, feeling like I will break at any second. But she wraps her hands around my waist, pulling me into a tight hug. She moves so she is facing me, and I place my head on her shoulder, completely breaking.

Phoebe doesn't say anything. Instead, she holds me running her fingers through my hair as I deal with these emotions. I have lost many friends in my life, many of them under my care. But today, was the first time it was a young child. She was only six years old. Had her whole life ahead of her...

"It's okay." Phoebe finally whispers, "I got you." She kisses me on the head as I fall to the floor. She lands with me, still holding onto me. Somehow she managed to move my head so I am looking at her and after one look, she climbs into my lap and holds onto me.

After a while, I feel better, and I remember that it's her sister's birthday. She was in here worried about me instead of spending time with her sisters.

"Phoebe, your sister's birthday," I say, and she pulls me back into a hug.

"It can wait a little bit longer-" Phoebe whispers, kissing my neck softly. "I want to make sure you're okay."

"I'm okay now," I whisper, making her grab my face gently and brushing her thumb against my cheek. "The last hours of my shift was hard on me- we uh. I- I couldn't save a child." My voice breaks slightly.

"Oh, baby," Phoebe says, visibly heartbroken. "I am so sorry." We sit there on the floor holding onto each other.

-

* If you liked this chapter, please consider giving it a vote and answer the questions below. *

-

My poor Noah... I'm sorry I did that to you.

But I wanted you guys to see another side of him, especially when it came to his patients, people and of course children. Also, you just read Chapter 46 out of 50... Chapter 50 will be the teaser to book two. So Chapter 49 will be the official last chapter of "Save My Hope." How insane is that?

I have been writing this "Save My Hope" since late 2017 and it is now 2020 and I am about to finish it. This book means absolutely everything to me and I hope it means a lot to you too.

Questions:

1. Could you see this book as a movie or a TV show? Why?

- Anna

* Another comment: since this chapter got to 21 comments I thought it would be great to share what the second book will be called and what the book cover will look like. Please let me know what you think! *

Book two of the Saved series: