A/N: So this idea just came to me... And I know I've got a bunch of other stories going right now, but I had to start this one as well. Just so you know, I'm still working on the other ones, I haven't forgotten about them. I've just been really busy.
Spoilers: For the episode Stalker. Season 4 Episode 24.
As soon she woke up she could tell that there was someone else in the room with her. Her eyes shot open, and she tried to sit up, but she was in too much pain. She panicked, trying to figure out where she was. She wasn't in her home. She wasn't anywhere familiar. Her vision was blurred, and she was dizzy. Her body ached, and she could still hear someone moving about the room.
She rested her head back down on the pillow as she tried desperately to remember what had happened to her. How she had ended up in this bizarre place. Finally her eyes focused on the room. There was a lot of white; so much that it was almost blinding her. She could hear someone speaking to her, but she couldn't focus on the words. She looked in the direction of the person talking, hoping that looking at this person would answer her questions. Tell her that she was safe, that she wasn't about to be killed or attacked by some freak.
She looked at the woman standing beside her bed. She didn't recognize the woman, but the fear that she was in danger vanished. And then it all came back to her. She had gone into that room with him. She had called Scotty. Scotty had shot blindly at him, but so had he at her. She had been shot. She was in a hospital because she had been shot.
Her eyes clamped shut as she realized for the first time since she woke up how much pain she was in. She could hardly believe what her mind was telling her, but the pain proved it all to be true. She could hear the woman, the nurse, speaking again. She tried to focus on the words, but the pain was unbearable, making it impossible to concentrate on anything else.
She finally felt the pain slowly fading. Her shoulder still ached unbelievably, but it wasn't nearly as bad. She wasn't sure whether she had done it all on her own, or if the nurse had given her something through her IV, but she was grateful nonetheless.
She was surprised when she heard two voices instead of only one. Her eyes opened, and focused on the same nurse, and a doctor standing beside her bed conversing with each other quietly. As soon as she looked up at them, the nurse walked away, and the doctor turned to her.
"Good evening, Detective Rush," the male smiled down at her. She stared blankly up at him, wanting him to go away. She just wanted to be alone so that she could think for a minute. Not that she wanted to remember, but she just needed to be alone. "Do you remember anything from earlier tonight?" he asked after not getting a reply to his greeting. Lilly was tempted to roll her eyes at this question. She had been shot, in the shoulder. Not in the head. How the hell could she not know what happened to her?
Instead of rolling her eyes, she nodded her head; not much, for fear of causing the unbearable pain to return, but enough so that her doctor would see. "Well, we managed to remove the bullet, and we did our best to fix the damage in your shoulder," the doctor explained. Lilly panicked for a second. They tried their best. She glanced down at her shoulder, allowing her eyes to travel all the way to the tips of her fingers. "I just need you to try to move your fingers for me," the doctor continued. She looked back up at him for a moment, and then back to her fingers. It was painful, but she was finally able to curl her fingers into her hand, forming a fist. She sighed in relief as she allowed her fingers to relax again.
"That's great," the doctor said enthusiastically. "Now, you're going to be in a lot of pain for quite a while, and it's not going to be a quick recovery," he explained. Lilly nodded very slightly once again. "Your coworkers have been waiting outside for you to wake up, would you like me to bring them in?' he asked.
Lilly pondered the question for a moment. She had wanted to be alone, but being alone would mean remembering the events of earlier in the night; something she definitely didn't want to do. But, if her coworkers were to join her, she'd probably have to remember anyway. Lilly nodded anyway, deciding maybe she didn't want to be alone after all. The doctor smiled at her one more time before turning around and exiting the room.
Not even a minute later, Scotty was entering her room. Her partner, the man who saved her life. She could see the worry in his eyes. She didn't want him to worry about her, she was fine. He quickly made his way over to her bedside as the other detectives and her boss entered the room. They all had the same look in their eyes.
"How ya feeling Lil'?" Scotty finally asked as the others joined him beside her bed. She felt like she suddenly felt very claustrophobic with her coworkers and her boss surrounding her like they were. She wanted to shrug her shoulder, but she started the movement, she realized her error, and relaxed back into the bed, closing her eyes in hopes of hiding her pain. She heard a chair scrape across the floor, and opened her eyes to see that Will had pulled a chair closer to the bed and sat down. She sighed slightly, glad to have a bit more breathing room.
"I really wish I could stay for a bit longer, Lil', but I've got to get home to Veronica," Kat explained, resting a hand on Lilly's uninjured shoulder. "I hope you're feeling better soon," she added. Lilly nodded and Kat left.
She was suddenly wishing she hadn't said yes to them all coming in to see her. They were all watching her, afraid to say anything. Will was the next to speak. "We were told that we could only stay for about five minutes, since it's so late. But we just wanted to make sure you were okay," he explained softly.
"I'm okay," Lilly answered quietly. Scotty turned around, facing the wall. He pressed his hand up against his face for a moment, before pulling it away.
"I'm so sorry Lil'," he said, still facing the wall. "I should have been there sooner," he added, leaning against the hospital wall. "I could have prevented this," he added. He was very tempted to throw his fist into the wall, but the hand of his friend and coworker, Nick Vera, on his shoulder stopped him from doing so.
"No, Scotty," was all she could get out. She knew it wasn't his fault. He had saved her life, and he shouldn't blame himself. She wanted to tell him that, but she had a hard enough time getting two words out, never mind a full explanation. She knew it wasn't easy to convince Scotty that something wasn't his fault.
"Look Lilly, we've got to get going now, but we'll be back to check up on you, and if you need someone at any time, don't be afraid to call," her boss spoke. Lilly nodded. She watched as the four men left her room, and then closed her eyes desperately wanting everything to go away; the thoughts, the pain, the memories. She just wanted it all to end.
Her mind wandered to the last time she had been injured badly enough that she had to stay in the hospital overnight. She remembered how Ray took care of her. How he stayed with her in the hospital, and took care of her when she was allowed to go home. For a moment she wished she hadn't said goodbye to him for good. For a moment she considered calling him. He was the only person she felt truly comfortable with. And that was because he had seen her through it all.