Blinding siren lights.

Voices that were too loud.

I could hear a multitude of voices around me

Most of them I had never heard before.

Too much noise. Too much agitation around me.

It was chaotic.

My mind was failing to register what was happening.

Fear rushed through my body.

« John... »

I searched for his eyes.

« Yes, my love ? I'm right here»

I tried to smile at him, but I'm not sure I succeeded to do so.

I was feeling at peace knowing that he was with me.

Eventhough the thought of going away from him was terrifying me.

Tears kept streaming down his cheeks, as he held me closer to his chest. As he he wrapped tighter around me the uniform jacket that Jay had covered me with.

Tirelessly, he kept rubbing my body, in an attempt to warm me up.

Despite his efforts, coldness was taking possession of my body with every passing second.

« You're getting cold, love... Damn it ! Someone bring a blanket, a coat or anything ! Jay ! Pedro ! »

He was now shouting in panic, his eyes franticallt searching for someone who could help him.

« John... Don't... »

My sentence remained unfinished. It took me all my strenghts to be able to speak.

John's eyes met mine again.

Tears kept falling from them.

« I dont... Need... Anything... . Nor anyone else», I managed to say, despite that excrucating pain I was feeling. « Please... Ask them all... To leave »

« Shh, love... Don't speak. You're hurting », John pleaded through his tears.

But I couldn't stop. I needed to tell him...

« I... I just need you with me, John... Stay with me...»

« I'm right here, Celia love. I'm not going anywhere. You'll be all right, I promise. You're going to be perfectly all right »

I tried to smile at him. He needed to believe that I'll survive these bullets that were lodged in my body.

He needed to believe that I'd come back to him.

I couldn't bring myself to tell him that life had decided otherwise.

« Mrs Lennon... »

I recognised Jay's voice, although I was feeling too weak to turn my gaze and look at him.

« Mrs Lennon... You'll be fine... We'll take you to the hospital in just a few minutes... »

He had now knelt in front of me and he was covering me with a blanket.

« Th... Thank you... Jay », I managed to utter.

With much softness and with the utmost care, he wrapped me further in the blanket.

I was feeling a little warmer now.

« You'll be okay, Mrs Lennon. The ambulance will be here in a minute »

He was trying to sound reassuring. But, when his eyes met mine, I saw fear in them.

« We'll take you to the hospital, okay ? You'll be fine, Ms Lennon »

His eyes were glistening with tears.

« Don't... Cry... Jay »

I tried to give him a reassuring smile.

Through his tears, he smiled back at me.

His eyes then met John's.

« I think we should take her inside, Mr Lennon. It'll help her to feel warm. We can't leave her here »

« You're right, Jay... But the ambulance will be here any time now. We have no t -»

« Excuse me... »

The voice of a stranger suddenly came from nearby.

John and Jay raised their eyes to glance at the tall figure which was standing before us.

« I'm James Moran, NYPD officer », the stranger spoke.

As he said that, I turned my gaze and tried to study his figure. My vision was blurred. But, despite this fact, I could still see - that he was wearing a sly blue uniform on which a badge was pinned.

Unlike John, I had never done anything that had made me go against the Law - not even going to the disco before turning twenty- one or exceeding any speed limit.

Honestly speaking, I had always made a point to live a quiet life - and that had completely changed the day I met John .

Funny that my very first encounter ever with the police has to happen while I'm at the threshold of death.

« Where is that bastard ? « , John asked - he actually shouted his question.

It took my a few seconds to understand that John was referring to the man who had shot me.

« You... caught him, didn't you ? «

John was choking up.

« He's been arrested, Mr Lennon », Officer Moran gave John a sympathetic smile.

Upon hearing these words, John broke down in tears.

How I wish I could do something - anything - to take hs pain away.

« D'ya hear this, Celia ? », he raised his eyes to gaze back at me. « They got him ! »

With great difficulty, I managed to give him a weak smile.

« It should have been me », he whispered.

« I beg your pardon ? »

John raised his eyes to look at Officer Moran, not noticing the surprised look that Jay was shooting him.

Mr Moran looked as shocked as Jay was.

« I should have died... Celia got shot in my place... Chapman came her to shoot me... »

John's eyes met mine again.

« I'm so sorry, Celia love ! I'm so sorry... It shpuld have been me ! »

I kept my eyes locked on his face, which was distorted with pain. I felt helpless.

I wish I could tell him that I felt blessed to die in his place... That Death wasn't scaring me... That the most important was that he lived.

Jay laid a comforting hand on John's shoulder.

Officer Moran knelt down newt to John and locked his gaze to mine.

« You're going to be okay, Madam »

It seems I was the only one to know that there was no truth in these words.

« Madam... », Officer Moran called me again. « Are you Celeste Lennon ? »

The question cut the air, unexpectedly. Somehow, it managed to reach my numb mind.

Why this question ? Does he think that I don't know about my own identity ?

I gazed towards John, searching for an answer in his eyes.

« Tell him, love », he simply whispered, succedding in giving me a thin, reassuring smile.

I turned my gaze back towards Officer Moran.

« Y... Yes... », I nodded at him.

With every passing second, my strenghts were slipping away from me.

My eyes were now closing...

« Celia ! Celia ! Stay awake ! »

I felt the repeated slaps that John gave on my cheek.

Light slaps that soon turned into heavy ones.

They made me open my eyes again.

« John... », I slurred. « St... Stop it... Let me sl -»

« The ambulance will be here in six minutes, Mr Lennon »

Again, the voice of a stranger... Maybe another police officer...

« Six minutes ? We can't wait that long, for God's sake ! We need to take her to the hospital immediately ! »

John was screaming at the poor man. I wanted to tell him to calm down... I wanted to tell him that it was pointless to scream. That it was already too late...

But I was too weak to be able to speak.

« Mr Lennon is right. Let's use our car »

I wasn't sure who this voice belonged to. Was it Mr Moran's ?

« Which hospital are you taking her to ? »

« Roosevelt Hospital's the nearest, Mr Lennon »

« Let's go, then »

I felt John taking me in his arms. A few seconds later, I was laying on a soft material.

Was it the back seat of a car ?

Where was John ?

« I'm here, Celia love », came his answer, as if he had read my mind.

I finally felt his arms around me. He was holding me so tightly that I was finding it hard to breath.

But it didn't really matter.

I was feeling at peace, knowing that I was going to die in my husband's arms.

« Please hurry, Mr Moran! »

I sensed urgency on John's voice. I also sensed the tears.

I felt too weak to raise my eyes and look at his face. But I knew he was crying.

« We're almost there, Mr Lennon. In a couple of seconds »

God bless that man who was trying to reassure John. God bless him for his efforts to save me.

But he didn't know that they would go vain.

« John... », I raised my eyes to look at John. I wanted to tell him not to cry for me.

I wanted to tell him that everything was going to be fine... That I wasn't scared, because he was with me... That he shouldn't be scared either.

« Love... », he gazed at me. « Celia... Stay with me, love... Stay awake ! »

« Please go faster, Mr Moran ! She's leaving me ! »

He was shouting again.

He sounded so desperate.

To think that I was the reason why he was so panick-stricken was unbearable to me.

But at the same time, I was glad that he was alive and safe.

It didn't matter that life was slipping away from me.

As long as the love of my life was safe.

The years to come will slowly erase his sadness of losing me. Time will heal him.

He will be a good father to Sean, like he always had been.

He'll work on becoming a better father to Julian.

He'll build a healthier realtionship with Cynthia.

He'll move on in his life.

He'll be surrounded by people who'll love him unconditionally.

He'll lead a peaceful, wholesome life filled with happiness and love.

I knew it.

From where I was heading to, I'll watch over him. I'll make sure that his life ahead is filled with all the joy and happiness that he deserves.

« Celia... Celia, Sweetheart... Don't go ! Stay with me ! Do you hear me ? Stay with me, love ! »

« I have to go now, John.... I'm sorry »

I suddenly realised that my eyes were filled with tears.

It was painful to leave him.

I tried to struggle as much as I could to stay a little longer with him. But my strenghts were slipping away from me.

« I... I love you, Johnny Boy »

I tried to give John a comforting smile.

« Tell Sean that Mummy loves him... »

My eyes were closing again. This time, I couldn't fight against the sleep that was irresistibly drawing me into its arms.

Death was calling for me. I couldn't make it wait any longer.

« No !! Celia love !!! »

The heart-wrenching cry that John let out, calling for me, was the last thing I heard before I surrendred to Death.