A Longmire Fanfiction:
I own nothing, all rights reserved.
I wanted to pick up where season 4 left off and fix-it/speculate about what might happen next. The cliff hanger murdered my emotions and I am pretty anxious/excited. Please feel free to let me know what you think this is the second fanfiction I have ever written so please judge with grace. Also, please enjoy!
Rated E for Everyone
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Vic stared at the picture in her hand unable to reconcile with her emotions, she saw the smile on her face and she knew why it was there. She loved him, even after everything he had done she loved him, and it was enough to keep her fixated on the photograph. His strong and trusting character, his soft eyes, and his integrity made him the kind of man anyone could confide in. She had lost it in the alley, consumed in part with jealousy and some betrayal. He hadn't betrayed her, she was the one who went too far with Eammon and yet she was mad at him. He shut down and refused to open up to her even though they had shared so much together over the years. Intimate moments that went beyond friendship, but maybe she had misread, surely he saw here as an immature yet talented detective … nothing more. Still, her heart bleeds at the thought of him loving another woman while she silenced her desire. A light buzz from her phone brought her out of the emotional trance she was in, she glanced down at the screen, Cady?
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10 minutes earlier …
Walt grasped the phone on the entryway table as he stuttered out words into the other end, he felt his body weaken at the loss of blood and he could barely hear Cady's frantic screams on the other line. It was over so fast he didn't have a chance to even try and save Donna. The masked intruder shot him twice and as he fell the mad man ripped Donna out of the cabin in a torrent of bitter words and vicious threats. Now he was lying on his living room floor covered in warm blood unable to move, speak, or feel. What had he been thinking, had he actually believed the dream was a green flag to go ahead and do what he thought he wanted. Donna was a good woman but he knew that it was wrong to lead her on when he wasn't sure what his heart held for Vic … he did know that there was something there. None of it seemed right when Vic practically confessed her love to him in the alley all he could think was, 'I owe you nothing,' what a terrible conclusion to make. Now he was alone aside from the faint screams that still rang from Cady's end of the line. He knew he was fading, but he heard her tell him she was coming then all he could hear was the low hum of an ended call.
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What on earth was Cady calling for she said she had business at the casino and wouldn't be back for a while, hopefully, she wasn't losing it on Mathias. Without further hesitation, Vic answered not at all prepared for what she was about to hear.
"Vic it's my dad, we are at the hospital he just went into surgery and I don't know if he is going to make it. When I got to the cabin he was unconscious" … Cady breathlessly fumbled over her words. "He was shot to pieces Vic, please you need to be here." Vic couldn't respond, her tongue was dry and her throat was tight, no way this was happening; please God no! Vic dropped the phone, grabbed her keys and raced outside to her truck. Tears blurred her vision as she tried to start up the engine, to no avail she slammed her hands on the steering wheel over and over and let out a bout of hard sobs as she sucked in the cool night air. The sting of her tears faded as she took a deep breath and finally regained enough composure to start her truck. Switching gears and pressing her foot down as hard as she could she speed off down the street, no idea what was awaiting her.
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Cady felt light headed sitting on the hard hospital sofa, what on earth was happening, she was sure her body would stop trembling soon, but she was visibly distraught, the makeup from earlier was running down her tear soaked cheeks and her dress was covered in the blood of her dying father. When he told her he had been shot she didn't know what to think, until she realized his slurred speech; which meant that he was in terrible shape. When she had run into the cabin she never felt more helpless. As soon as she had hung up with him she called an ambulance to drive up to the cabin. Headed from the casino she beat them by about five minutes headed … but the wait felt more like an hour. Watching him bleed out on the floor, unable to get a read on his pulse and screaming at him to wake up had all but wrecked her. When the ambulance had finally arrived she was terrified that it was too late, she rode over with him and prayed it wasn't. Now here she was barred from going past the operation room doors, sitting alone in an empty room, waiting to hear something; anything.
"Cady!" Vic's screams accompanied with the thumping sound of her support boot filled the hallway, "Please tell me he is okay, I just want to know if he is okay!?" The look in Vic's eyes was one of horror and helplessness and it took everything in Cady to stay calm as she responded.
"Vic, he is in surgery and all they said was that they would do their best to save him, he lost a lot of blood." Cady fixed her gaze on her roommate and friend, unable to say anything else … a sick feeling rose in her stomach. "I can't lose him, I already lost my mom, I can't lose him too Vic." Vic quickly closed the space between them and sat next to her, wrapping her arm around her back and putting her head on her shoulder, they both began to sob, neither ready to lose a man they loved.
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Henry had about had it with faking and he was sure that Walt finding out from someone else would devastate their friendship, he had to call. He tried Walt's home phone first, he thought meeting up and talking face to face would be best, he just had to find him first. The answering machine picked up, 'this is Walt.' What on earth was he doing that he couldn't answer his phone? Maybe he was with Vic, they seemed to always be together so he would call her and find out. He waited for an answer but she didn't pick up, Victoria Moretti without her cell phone? The station was closed so he did not call there, but he tried Cady. It rang twice before she answered.
"Henry," her voice was strained and it sounded like she had been crying, he wasn't sure if he had called at a bad time, but it sounded that way. "Henry dad has been shot, Vic and I are here at the hospital and dad is in surgery; we aren't sure of anything." Immediately Henry reacted with a frantic slur of terror traced words.
"I'll be right there Cady, I'll be there soon, I, I …." His words trailed off as he dropped his phone onto the floor of his apartment. His eyes stung as he rushed downstairs and out of the Red Pony keys in hand, his best friend, not his best friend.
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The operating room doors flung open as a startled looking nurse raced toward the front desk. "We need doctor Grant in operating room two we have a man with multiple gunshot wounds and he is not responding well, also please contact the blood bank and let them know we need a new shipment of AB negative in tomorrow, this guy is going to use up most of what we have available here." The receptionist nodded and quickly picked up the phone, tapping the dial pad at a frantic pace. Cady and Vic watched in horror as the nurse ran back through the doors leaving them with nothing but more bad news. 'He wasn't responding well' that is what she had said, what in the world did it mean? Just when they thought it couldn't get any worse Henry came flying through the corridor, his face pale and his lips pulled tight in a contorted grimace. His eyes were red and tears stained his cheeks, they both looked at him with similar expressions.
"Anything?" He knew the one word would convey exactly what it was he wanted to know. Cady shook her head and rose slowly to her feet, Vic placed her hand on her lower back afraid she might fall, then Cady wrapped her arms around Henry's neck and sobbed into his shoulder. She shook violently in his arms as he steadied her and began stroking the back of her head. "Shhh, he is going to pull through, he has to pull through." Vic glanced up at Henry and their eyes met, they both fought back tears, Walt Longmire was not supposed to die, and it would shake them to the core if he did.
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Three and a half hours had passed since they had heard the nurse bark commands at the young receptionist. They were exhausted and Cady had fallen asleep on Henry's shoulder after they sat down across from Vic, who was now splayed along the sofa hands covering her eyes as she tried to get rid of her throbbing headache. Henry was stoic it seemed, his face emotionless and calm. It was cold in the waiting room and no one had said a word after Henry arrived, until a tall man with white hair walked up slowly toward them, a clipboard in hand. Henry was the first to see him, raising his head up to meet the surgeon's gaze. Then like she had been burned with a molten hot brander Vic practically leaped from the sofa and shot a questioning look at the man in the white coat.
"Hello, I have news about Walt Longmire, I am required to first notify his next of kin, would you mind waking Cady?" Henry immediately patted Cady's back and she stirred opening her bloodshot eyes. Her look turned into one of uncertainty and she slowly stood as did Henry. "He is very weak, but he survived the surgery and it looks like he is going to make it alright. He had severe hemorrhaging of the liver and the second bullet in his shoulder just missed his axillary artery, it was lodged underneath his armpit so we had to take our time. He is in a medically induced coma so he can get his rest, you can go in and see him soon, I just need Cady's signature for a few required medical documents." Cady nodded and followed the doctor to the front desk.
"He's okay," Vic's voice was raspy, "Thank God!" Her body shook as she let heavy sobs pour out of her, Henry walked over and placed a firm hand on her back. Tears filled his eyes as he felt relief rush over him like a wave.
"Yeah, you cannot keep Walt down long, he just refuses to give up; that man is a fighter." Henry glanced over at Cady who struggled to write through her tears, the doctor was standing close by, a look of relief on his face. He and his team had saved the life of a man whose absence would have wrecked an entire county full of people.