Dyson's hand was wrapped tightly in a girl's hand. A girl he still didn't know. He didn't know her name or anything about her, but he knew she needed him. She was bleeding heavily from the gunshot wound to her abdomen and there was no way to know if she would survive. The ride to the emergency room seemed like it lasted hours. His arm was throbbing but he could deal with it later. Dyson was speaking in loud tones to her just to keep the girl awake.
"Hey, come on now keep those eyes open. Tell me your name." Dyson said. He was shifting in between watching her and watching the paramedic as he tried to stabilize her.
"Kelly, I'm K-Kelly." She said trying to keep her eyes open. Her eyes were a pretty shade of green he noticed. Reminding him of his girl at home.
"Ok Kelly, tell me about you. How old are you, do you have children, how about a husband?" he pushed on.
"I'm twenty two. I…have a…daughter…she's one. My boyfriend…is her…dad." She said trying to steady her breathing.
"How much longer?" Dyson called over his shoulder.
"Almost there." the paramedic said. Dyson turned back to her and noticed her eyes were closed.
"Hey! Kelly! Open your eyes!" he said quickly and loudly.
"I…can't." she whispered almost inaudibly. Dyson spun around toward the driver.
"Speed up." Dyson growled out. The driver stomped on the gas and the engine revved.
"Got no pulse!" the one across from Dyson called. Dyson spun back around his hand still holding hers and he realized her hand was limp inside his grip.
"Keep working on that!" Dyson said to the man across from him, gesturing to the bleeding wound. Dyson stood to his full height, which was difficult inside the ambulance, but his keen sense of balance helped tremendously. He placed his palms on her chest in CPR fashion and began his attempts.
"We're here!" the driver called. The back doors burst open and chaos ensued as doctors and nurses swarmed the vehicle. Dyson stepped away and let them take over. He was next to the girl the whole time until they got to the door were they stopped him.
"Follow me sir, I'll take you to the waiting room." one of the nurses said. Dyson nodded and followed her into a room with a few other people all looking about as nervous as him. He noticed the odd looks he was getting from people and he looked down and noticed the blood on his hands, shirt, and jeans as he sank into a nearby chair he realized they were probably looking at his arm also, but he'd be fine, it'd heal by sun up.
Dyson beat heavily on the hotel room door. The man dealing drugs to kids was right behind the door and he wanted at him. Hale was close by at the bottom of the only stair case just in case he happened to make a break for it and get by Dyson. The sound of yelling brought his head around toward the store right next to the hotel. He listened closely trying to figure out what the yelling was about.
"Hale check that out?" Dyson nodded as he knocked on the door again.
"Open up!" Dyson called.
"Sir, the man that was there left two weeks ago." Dyson looked up and noticed the young girl poking her head out the door next to his.
"Are you sure?" he asked quickly. She nodded before a large hand grabbed her and jerked her back into the room.
"Stop talking to strangers." A male voice said. Dyson glared toward the door but turned to his partner.
"Dyson, come check this out." Hale called. Dyson made quick work of the stairs and hurried toward Hale. Inside the small store there was a man, holding a pistol pointed toward the cashier.
"He's robbing the place." Hale said. Dyson nodded and looked around the store. He noticed a girl, hiding behind a shelf and he knew he had to do something. He was trying to think of something to do but then everything happened at once, the girl moved and knocked something off the shelf. The gunman swung around and fired, the girl fell to the floor in a pile. Dyson was there in a instant, flinging the door open, the gunman turned and fired again toward Dyson. He felt the bullet tear through his arm, but was not concerned with it.
"D!" Hale yelled. The man took off, running past Dyson and into the street.
"I'm fine, get him!" Dyson yelled. He ran back toward where the girl was and fell to his knees in front of her in a puddle of her blood. He turned her over and looked at her wound. He stripped off his shirt leaving him in only his white undershirt. He balled his shirt up and pressed it hard against the wound to stop the bleeding. She shot upward and Dyson grabbed her shoulder holding her down.
"I know it hurts, but it's helping, just relax." He said quickly. Tears streamed from her eyes as she looked up at him.
"Am…I…going to…die?"she gasped out the words.
"Not if I can help it." He promised.
Dyson was sitting in one of the small plastic chairs, elbows resting on his knees, his head sitting in his hands. He'd tried to clean off the blood on his hands, but some had stayed and dried. He leaned his head and pulled his phone from his pocket. It had vibrated hours ago but he'd yet to pull it out and check it. He flipped it open and read the screen, one missed call from Hale, one voicemail, and one text. He listened to the voicemail first.
"D, I got the guy, just got to the precinct, I know you're at the hospital so call me when you get some news on the girl." Hale's voice said. Dyson deleted the voicemail and checked the message. He read it quickly 'Hey, hope you got your perp, it's really late so I'm going to lie down, wake me up when you get home. Be safe.' He read it again, and once more. He should call her and let her know he was ok, but she was probably sleeping and he didn't want to wake her. He decided to wait and he closed his phone and stuck it back in his pocket.
"Are you here for Kelly Franks?" a voice said. Dyson's head popped up at Kelly's name, the doctor was standing there facing him. He looked awful grim and Dyson feared the worst. He didn't know who else to call or contact since he didn't know the girl's boyfriend's name or anything so he was going to be here for her until someone else showed up.
"Yeah, I am." Dyson said standing.
Dyson pulled into his driveway and eased the car into the garage. He hit the button and the garage door slid down into place. Dyson slid from the car and he hurried to his door and slid the key inside. After that he was quiet. He stepped into the darkness of his home. He slipped his shoes off and he walked into the kitchen where he gently placed his keys onto counter. He turned, opened the fridge, grabbed a beer, walked into the bathroom, and closed the door before he flipped the light on. He stripped his shirt off and dropped it onto the white tile of the bathroom floor. He looked up to the mirror as he lifted a wet rag and wiped the dried blood off his arm and cleaned the wound. The bullet had gone straight through so it would heal fine, it was already starting to heal, all he was left with was the pain, but that too would end soon. Dyson spotted the yellow sticky note in the corner of the mirror and he smirked as he read it. 'Come to bed' it said. He pulled off his jeans leaving him in his boxers and he flipped off the light. He turned toward the laundry room where he dropped his clothes into the dirty clothes basket next to the washing machine. He lifted his beer to his lips and finished it, tossing it carefully into the trash before he headed down the hallway towards his room. He paused as he reached the doorway and he leaned against the frame and admired the scenery. She was stretched out across the bed, completely naked, lying flat on her stomach, one of her arms tucked under her head, the other hanging off the side of the bed. The dark sheet was wrapped around her bottom but that was it. Her long slender back and legs were exposed, her raven colored hair strewn across her shoulders and the bed like water cascading down. He frowned as he pictured Kelly, he'd done all he could do, or could he have done more? He sighed and eased himself down onto the edge of the bed. He sat there and rubbed the bridge of his nose. All these thoughts were flying around in his head when he felt a warm hand splay across his back. Her soft fingers ran across his lower back and up across his shoulder, her hand slid up over his collar bone and then down his chest, her other hand slid around his side and rested on his abdomen. Then he felt her body, her small breast pressed against his back, her body melted against his and she rubbed her face across his neck carefully, her lips trailing across the back of his neck and then around to kiss along his jaw.
"I'm glad you're home." She said into his neck. Her left hand stroked his chest while her right rubbed over his abdomen. He nodded and let out a breath as he relaxed into her arms. He relished in the feel of her body pressed against his, the way she made him feel by showing him affection.
"I didn't mean to wake you." He said. She placed another kiss on his neck.
"I wasn't sleeping well anyway." She chuckled. He nodded and lifted his left hand up, placing it over hers. He slipped his fingers in between hers as they gently stroked his abdomen. His fingers ran gently over the fairly large diamond ring that rested on her ring finger. He loved feeling this on her hand.
"What's wrong Dyson?" she asked turning her face toward his.
"Girl got shot tonight. She was young, really young." He said.
"Is she ok?" she asked.
"She is in the hospital, they have her breathing tubes, doctor says he doesn't know if she'll make it through the night. He said they lost her twice on the table. She was so close to dying." He said.
"But she's alive." She said, her strokes on his chest picking back up when she felt the tension in his body.
"If I would have acted faster, maybe things would have turned out differently. She'd be home right now, with her daughter, not lying in a hospital bed on the brink of death." He said.
"Dyson you can't blame yourself for something that was out of your control. She's alive. That's what matters." She kissed his jaw.
"The doctor said had I not done what I did, she wouldn't be alive." He said with a small smile.
"What did you do?" she asked.
"I kept pressure on the wound so she wouldn't bleed to death and gave her CPR in the ambulance." He said.
"And you talked to her and kept her awake in the ambulance." She said with a smile.
"How'd you know that?" he asked.
"Lance called, he was the paramedic driving." She said. Dyson nodded, he hadn't even noticed his friend driving, he'd been so concerned with the girl.
"I just wish I could have prevented her getting shot." Dyson said squeezing her hand inside his.
"She's alive because of you. Because of you no one has to tell her daughter that her mommy won't be coming home. Because of you she gets to see her daughter again, and hold her. Be proud of yourself baby." She said squeezing his hand back. He smiled as she squeezed him tightly and pulled him backward until his head was lying on her stomach. Her hand tangled in his hair as she massaged his scalp. She moved to a sitting position, his head falling into her lap. Her long black hair fell down and the tips tickled his face as she rubbed his head.
"How is your arm?" she asked as she ran her other hand over his chest.
"It will be healed by the morning." He said closing his eyes as her hands massaged his body.
"Good. We can go see her tomorrow if you want." She said nibbling her bottom lip slightly.
Dyson leaned up and captured her lips. It was a long gentle, sweet kiss. Her hands never ceased movement as they kissed.
"You're a great multitasker." He smiled when they separated.
"You're a great kisser." She smirked. Dyson chuckled and moved upward until he was lying next to her on the bed. He slipped his arms around her and pulled her against him again. The baby monitor on the bed side table lit up as a cry broke through the silent atmosphere.
"Someone knows her daddy is home." she smiled. She slipped out of his grasp and stood from the bed. She lifted her robe off the ground and draped it over her naked body.
"I'll get her." Dyson smiled as he eased out of the bed. She glanced back over her shoulder and nodded with a smile. Dyson passed her and placed a soft kiss on her cheek as he headed out the door and down the hallway. He flipped on the soft lighting overhead and made his way to his daughters crib.
"Hey there pretty girl. What's wrong?" he asked as he leaned over and peered into his daughters wonderful green eyes. He lifted her in his arms and her small chubby fingers reached up toward him as she ceased crying immediately.
"That's my girl." He said. Dyson eased down into the rocking chair next to her crib and cradled her in his arms.
"Told you. She knows when you get home." his wife said as she stood in the doorway. Dyson smiled and shifted his daughter into one arm and held the other out for his wife. She smiled and sank down into his lap. He curled his arm around her. He was wonderfully happy, he had his wife in one arm, his daughter in the other.
"You ground me." he said kissing his wife gently.
"And that means?" she asked.
"Whenever my shit gets out of control and I feel like I'm going to fly off the handle, you keep my feet on the ground." He smiled as she wrapped her arms around him.
"I love you." She said pressing her lips against his.
"I love you too Kenzi." He said.
A/N: So just in case you are wondering. I referred to Kenzi throughout the whole story as 'she, her, or his wife' I did this because I feel like it added more mystery to the story, even though you already know it is Kenzi, it kind of makes you wonder. So any who, hope you enjoyed it.