Chapter 60

He fell to the ground, suffering a gunshot wound to the chest. She ran over to him and took his face in her hands.

"Stay with me!"

She was crying as she tried putting pressure on the wound. His eyes kept opening and shutting, but he spoke no words.

"STAY WITH ME!" She covered him with her body as she cried. "STAY WITH ME!"

The garage door was knocked down.

"CHICAGO POLICE! HANDS IN THE AIR! NOW!" Hank yelled, waving his gun around.

Kevin ran over to them to see what was going on. "What happened?!"

"He's been shot..."

"Gabby and Jessica are on their way, but they can only get here so fast. Hang on."

"Kevin, I love him..." She was wiping tears away.

"Let me get this." Kevin said, putting pressure on the wound, doing his best to stop the bleeding. Gabby and Jessica ran inside as soon as they arrived.

"What happened?" Gabby asked as Jessica was feeling for a pulse.

"He's been shot...I'm begging you, PLEASE save him."

"I'm going to do everything in my power to save him. You know I will."

"Thank you."

Gabby gave her a hug right before they headed out.

"He can't die." She said to herself as tears fell to the floor.

"You okay, kid?" Hank asked, walking up next to her.

"Not really."

"He's going to live."

"How do you know that?"

"I've been shot dozens of times. I stuck it through and lived."

"Everyone is different. All because you lived that doesn't mean he will!"

"That is true about everyone being different, but your love is what will keep him alive."

"How am I going to tell the kids that there father's been shot? Hannah will go ballistic. She won't talk or eat if she finds this out. Brayden will end up doing the same thing. He's everything to those kids."

"It will be their love, too."

"I can't do this anymore."

"What can't you do anymore?"

"I need him in my life."

"I know you do."

"I need him in my life like you need Camille in yours."

"I would die for that woman."

"If he dies, I won't be able to go on."

"He won't die and neither will you."

"You never know! There's that one chance he could!"

"Try not to focus on the negative things. Focus on the positives."

"How can I focus on the positives when my husband is bleeding to death?!"

"If you think positive, good things will happen. Would Adam want to see you like this?"

"He'd tell me to stop all my crying and he would be fine."

"Listen to that."

"I'm not gonna stand here and listen to that while he's on his way to the hospital!"

"Then get down there and let us handle stuff here."

"But-"

"I'm telling you to get down there. Go. NOW."

Her eyes were so tear filled, she could hardly see. When she ran inside, Will was in his usual spot.

"Will! Was Adam brought in?"

"He's in surgery at the moment."

"If those next words out of your mouth aren't that he's gonna live-"

"You both got lucky. It missed a major artery by half a millimeter."

"So he's going to live?"

"Yes."

"Thank god!"

"We won't be able to remove every bullet fragment, but we're trying. It split into at least seventy five pieces when it struck him."

"What if he gets lead poisoning from them?"

"We're giving him an antibiotic that will keep that away."

"Can I see him?"

"When he's out of surgery."

"Why can't I go in now?"

"The surgeon won't allow it."

"They need to let me in there!"

"If it was up to me, I'd be more than willing to let you in there. I'm sorry."

She slumped down in one of the waiting room chairs.

"Is there anything I can get for you? Perhaps breakfast?"

"I'm not in the mood."

"You need to eat something."

"I'm too worried."

"You can't starve yourself because you're worried. You need to eat."

"No, Will."

"I'm not taking no for an answer."

He told Dr. Tramble that he needed ten minutes to run down to the cafeteria. She nodded her head, keeping an eye on Kim. Erin, Al, Kevin and everyone else came running in. Stephanie and Ally followed close behind.

"How are you holding up?"

"Not well, Bob. Not well at all."

"I know my son."

"Have you ever been shot?"

"When he was a freshman in high school. I'm still here and I'm doing just fine."

"I'm trying to pretend like this doesn't bother me."

"You can cry and be upset all you want."

"Why aren't you crying?"

"I'm trying to keep my strong face on."

"There's no way I can do that."

"You have to."

"I can't be strong when my husband is in there fighting for his life!"

"They said he's going to live."

"I love that man more than my own life."

"He loves you, too. After he saw you at camp that summer, you were all he wanted to talk about."

"He's all I could think about. I missed him."

"He felt the same way towards you. He may have only been a kid at the time, but he knew you were the one."

"They refuse to let me in there."

"We have to wait till he's out of surgery."

"I can't stand being apart from him like this."