Her head hurts, her left shoulder aches, and her whole body feels num.
She wakes up in a hospital bed, she can feel tubes all over her body, she can see the ventilator machine next to her bed except the tube is no longer connected to her mouth, she can hear the sounds of beeping hospital machines and that's when she knows that she is indeed hospital. She steadily opens her eyes, her vision nothing but a blur. It's clearly not day time because the lights around the room are dim and the nearby window is displaying nothing but darkness and streetlights and also the tiny stars shining through the dark sky. She can feel someone or something or rather holding her hand. Her first instinct thinks it's the prosecutor who tried to save her life, the one who also held her hand while she was dying. She can't remember much, she can hardly remember anything but in some odd way she can remember him, he was the last person she ever saw before she shut her eyes, he is also the last person she ever spoke to, the memory comes back. 'Tell my kids I love them, I love them more than anything; tell them that they make me proud every day... Tell Will that I love him, I always have and I will never forget what he has done for me...' 'you can tell them yourself Alicia, just don't shut your eyes' Finn replies. That was the last conversation she ever had before Kalinda showed up and then everything slowly drifted off into a haze.
Everything is slowly coming back to her mind, she can remember her best friend trembling next to her while she laid on the cold courtroom floor, blood pouring out of her shoulder, she can remember Dianne standing above her, most importantly she can remember her client Jeffery Grant pointing a gun towards her. It's like a nightmare, and she feels like it will never go away.
She murmurs a few words that make absolutely no sense. Her vision is still blurry, maybe that's because she can hardly open her eyes properly. She see's someone, a man figure sit up from his seat and squeeze her hand even more. This simple hand gesture brings her back to when Finn was squeezing her hand for dear life, except when he done it, she was in extreme pain, now she just feels num as well as discomfort.
"Alicia?" someone says, a deep gently voice that she can't quite comprehend who it belongs too.
"Finn?" she mumbles, blinking her eyelids.
She thinks it's Finn because naturally one would think that when the last thing you feel before drifting off into unconsciousness is someone's hand entwined with yours and the first thing you feel when you wake up is the same motion except this hand is much more warmer and familiar. That's because it is Will Gardner's.
He has no idea what to do, did she just call out somebody else's name? Who in fact is a total stranger to him, he has never heard of a person called Finn, could Finn be some other guy that she knows, could he maybe be the reason why she left her husband?. He jumps to conclusions in his head and by these assumptions he feels slightly terrified at the idea.
"Alicia... It's me, Will" he says, sitting on the edge of the bed, still holding her hand. "We're in the hospital, you came out of surgery about three hours ago" he indicates "You're alright now, you've lost a lot of blood, you have to stay in hospital for the next couple of weeks..." he says squeezing her hand.
"Will?" she murmurs a little confused, her eyes now fully awake. Taking in his appearance, she notices how he looks terrified and worried. He responds by nodding his head, smiling at her.
"My kids..." she whispers, barely audible but he can hear her.
"They're with Owen and Veronica, I was just with them a few hours ago. They're alright.." he reassures her, squeezing her hand to which she squeezes back. One would think that after all the pain circulating through her body she wouldn't have the energy to squeeze anything, except she does with him. His gentle hold is the only thing keeping her stable.
"It hurts... It hurts so bad" she mutters, her voice barely audible.
Will's heart aches for her, he just wants to scoop her up into his arms and hold her but then that outcome would probably only cause more pain to her body. "I know' he brushes his thumb over the palm of her hand. "I'll go get the nurse" he says standing up, letting go of her hand.
"Dont.. don't leave me" she pleads, whispering.
He moves closer to her, gently touching her forearm, looking sweetly into her eyes. "I'm not going anywhere" he reassures her "I'm just going to get the nurse and I will be right back." He gently brushes his thumb against her arm. She nods her head and hums at the comfort.
Once he comes back, as promised he has the nurse with him, he quickly sits next to her bedside holding onto her hand once again and watching her with fascination as her eyelids flutter, looking up towards the ceiling and he knows that she must be tired.
"Good evening Miss Cavanaugh, my name is Claire and I am your overnight nurse. How are you feeling?" she asks, walking next to her patient, while monitoring the machines.
"Sore..." Alicia mumbles "I can't sleep because of the pain..." she states. Will squeezes her hand once again, reassuring her that he's here and not going anywhere.
"Where in particular is the pain?" the nurse asserts.
"Everywhere..." she admits. "It circulates through my body but mainly near the shoulder." She states
The nurse nods her head convinced. "Okay then, that can be expected after the day you've just had, I will transmit a morphine bag to your I.V line, so the small amount of morphine will flow through your body and help with the pain. Is there any other pain you are experiencing at the moment?"
Alicia nods her head, squinting at the pain that just hit her in the arm "Headache, that's it" she declares.
"Okay, I will be right back" the nurse states, walking towards the door until Alicia stops her in her tracks.
"Nurse?" Alicia says
"Yes?"
"Is there... Was there a man brought in? From the same...accident...as me? About six feet...Lawyer.." she finishes, her voice sounding tired but also desperate to get a response.
Will then realises who the man called Finn is. He must have been the prosecutor during the case, and the person who Kalinda mentioned earlier, 'She was lying on the prosecutors lap' he distinctively remembers her words; words that made his heart stop for a few seconds.
"Hmm not that I know of..." the nurse starts off "I can give a call down to the emergency room if you want?"
"Yes please" Alicia responds. "His name is Finn... Finn Polmar"
The nurse nods her head, she can't help but glance at Will with some curiosity, noticing his hand entwined with hers.
The nurses and doctors around the floor know who she is, how could they miss is? It's all over the news. 'Governors Ex wife shot in court and rushed to hospital'. So obviously it's not hard to suspect that something's going on here between this stranger who by the way looks really attractive and the ex wife of the current Governor of Illinois, instead of thinking much into it, the nurse decides to ignore it, it's none of her business anyway.
Peter has taken the time to call Chicago general hospital's CEO who he has known for years, and given specific orders to take extreme care of his ex wife and the mother of his children. Which the hospital has responded to really well, considering they have done everything humanly possible to keep her alive.
"Okay, I will give the emergency room a call right now. I'll be back soon with the anti biotic" the nurse states, leaving the room.
Once the nurse has left , Alicia exhales with a deep sigh and glancing around the room, noticing the large amount of flowers draped across the nearby table in the corner. Surely Veronica didn't go to the trouble of buying so many flowers for one person.
Alicia grins at the thought before saying "Where did all the flowers come from?" she says facing Will who's taken in her words, grinning at them as well.
"The whole of Illinois" he states, laughing at his comment.
"Really?" Alicia says, stunned and a little surprised.
He nods his head "Yep, and there's more in the waiting room and also the reception desk" he states, giggling.
"But how do they know?" she asks confused.
"It's all over the news" he simply states, glancing down at their hands, noticing how perfect they fit together.
Taking in his words she thinks that maybe he may have found out through watching the news, the alone makes her shatter.
"Is that how you found out?" she questions, concerned.
"No" he replies softly. "Kalinda called" he states, avoiding eye contact, still staring at their hands and brushing his thumb against her palm.
"Kalinda" she sighs, remembering the scene earlier on today. "Is she alright? What about Dianne? What happened to them?" she pleads.
Will faces her concerned appearance, admiring her concern towards Dianne and Kalinda. "They're fine, They're absolutely fine... They are more worried about you... we all are" he states, looking deeply into her eyes and admiring how her hazel tired eyes shine.
She notes the way he looks at her and to be perfectly honest, she feels a little uncomfortable, not uncomfortable in the sense that she wants him to leave, in fact, she wants him to stay more than ever, it's just that the last few months haven't exactly been civil between the two, yes they had agreed, just a couple of weeks ago, to be more civil and kind towards each other and then there was that encounter back at her offices earlier on today, before the shootings. Regardless, this situation is still weird because she doesn't quite understand where they stand now. She's scared that he will walk into her life only to have him walk back out once he returns back to the fact that she backstabbed him, stealing his top clients.
"Are you alright?" Will brings her attention back to the present, concerned of the fact that she sort of drifted off in deep thought.
She nods her head and smiles at him. The room once again falling silent until Will speaks up. "I'm sorry" he declares, his face portraying somebody whose deeply disappointed in himself and asking for forgiveness except she doesn't know what for.
Alicia couldn't be more confused "For what?" she asks softly, nearly a whisper.
"For everything" he shrugs his shoulders "For the way I've been treating you in the last few months..." Alicia interrupts "Will" she interjects, squeezing his hand but he continues. "No, please Alicia I need to get this out or I'm afraid I never will." He whispers
"When Kalinda called and said you had been shot... I didn't know what to do, I had no idea what I was doing or where I was" he laughs, remembering how Cary had to, basically walk him towards the elevators.
"So many thoughts were going through my mind. Mainly the thought of loosing you, those three hours waiting while you were in surgery were the most excruciating in my life." He admits, staring at her, waiting for a response.
It takes a while for her to respond but when she does, it takes him by surprise. "I thought of you too" she whispers "While I was lying on the floor, I couldn't stop thinking about all the important people in my life, you, my kids, my family... I tried to fight him.." she breaks "I tried to stop Jeffery but then the bullet hit me, It felt like this huge force into my body... I can't remember much except for Finn pulling me to the side and covering me with his body and then he got shot and... and everything happened so fast" she cracks, remembering the horrific scene.
From hearing her words, his heart aches for her even more. He takes in her words about Finn trying to save her life, comforting her while she lay in her own pool of blood. Will immediately takes action in comforting, sitting on the edge of the bed closely to her and taking her hand with both of his. "He tried to save you?... Finn?" is the first thing he says.
She nods her head "Yes. He pulled me under the table and that's when he got shot, he covered me with his body. I thought I was going to die..." she says closing her eyes, a single tear falling down her cheek.
Will can't help but think of how much he owes this man Finn, he saved the love of his life and for that, he is truly thankful. Gently brushing away the tear off her cheek he tenderly places a kiss against her forehead. "It's alright, it's going to be alright" he assures her "I'm not going anywhere."
She slowly opens her eyes and finds herself facing his. "Thank you" she murmurs. With his body still leaning against hers, she slowly lifts her hand up to cup his cheek and pulls him down for a sweet lingering kiss. He pulls away to give her breath and rests his forehead against hers, closing his eyes he murmurs "I love you" to which she responds with a wide but tired smile. She gently but quickly pecks his lips before whispering "I love you too." And with that, Will feels like he is going to explode with happiness but under the circumstances, he can't exactly pick her up and spin her around so instead he kisses her again, cupping her face with his hands. She can feel the wide smile against her mouth. He slowly pulls away, afraid that he might take too much breath away from her, he sits back on the edge of the bed, gently pushing a strand of hair against her face and staring at her like she's the most beautiful woman in the world.
"Your staring is making me feel all sorts of weird things counsellor, It's could definitely be better than morphine... Although I haven't tried it yet..." she jokes half grinning and half exhausted. He laughs at her words and takes in how exhausted she looks.
"Well let's test the morphine out first, and that way you can get some real sleep" he grins, smoothly brushing his hand against her forearm, he still hasn't let go of her hand.
Just then the nurse walks back in with what looks like a small sealed up bag in her hands."I called the emergency room, they say Finn Polmar was admitted into hospital shortly after you were" she declares. "I believe he also had surgery and is now resting which is what you should be doing" she states, smiling at the patient and the man sitting next to her, noticing how cosy the two look.
Will nods his head, returning the smile. "Yes sorry, we were just waiting for you to come back, I promise, she will be getting plenty of sleep" he states, glancing back at her.
"So Finn is alright?" Alicia speaks softly to the nurse, monitoring how she's adjusting the morphine into the I.V line tube that connects to her arm. "It would appear so, yes" the nurse replies.
"Now" the nurse indicates once finished adjusting the medication "Get as much sleep as possible, you've had a long day Miss Cavanaugh, I could only stress that you need rest." She states, signifying that she is talking to both the adults in the room.
"Please, call me Alicia" she murmurs, smiling at the woman standing above her. The nurse nods her head and returns the smile "Is there anything else I can get you?" she asks.
"A blanket for him please" she gestures towards Will who is currently sitting in the big chair next to her bedside, still holding her hand "There's a blanket in the closet right behind you sir, Uhh sorry I didn't get your name?" the nurse states.
"Will... Will Gardner" he replies.
"Alright then" the nurse starts off towards her patient who is slowly falling to sleep, her eyelids blinking slowly. "Get some sleep Alicia, Your doctors will be visiting you later on today and I will be checking on you regularly throughout the night."
Alicia only responds nodding her head .
"Thank you nurse, for everything" Will states, while grabbing the spear blanket out of the closet.
"Goodnight" the nurse replies and with that walking out of the room.
Will glances at the clock taking in that it's one a clock in the morning before facing Alicia, her eyes are already shut but he can tell by her breathing that she is still awake. Gently placing a kiss against her cheek "Goodnight and sweet dreams" he gently whispers against her ear, so that she can only hear it. She hums and smiles as a response and with that Will slowly sits back against the chair, moving it closer to her bedside and entwining his fingers once again with hers drifting off to sleep.
The next time Will wakes up it's not because of Alicia, but from a small knock at the door. His first instinct looks over to Alicia to see if she has awaken by the noise but instead she's still sleeping like a rock, her fingers still entwined with his. He looks towards the doors and there's Kalinda with what looks like flowers. "Flowers from Lockhart Gardner" she mocks, peeking into the room holding them up.
"Kalinda!" he beams, gesturing for her to come in. He glances towards the clock, noticing that it's only 5 a clock in the morning, the sun still yet to rise
"How is she?' Kalinda asks, placing the flowers on the table next to the other dozen of flowers and taking a seat beside Will.
"Stable... Did you get my text last night?"
"Yes" Kalinda replies. "I got a hold of Dianne and informed her. She was really relieved..." she sighs, looking at Will whose eyes are fixed on the woman lying in front of him.
"Has she woken up yet?" Kalinda asks quietly, not wanting to disturb the piece.
Will nods his head. "Yes, for about a half an hour" he replies, sounding relieved.
"Did you talk to her?" Kalinda asks questionably.
It takes a while before he answers. His mouth forming into a wide relieved smile. "Yes."
Noticing his facial expression and relieved tone, she takes it as they finally sorted things out even under the circumstances. She nods her head and leaves it at that.
After a long pause of silence, both of them taking in how Alicia looks. Will suddenly speaks, hesitantly "What happened in court... when you found her?" he finnishes, now facing Kalinda.
She stares at him blankly for a few minutes before starting off. "I heard the gunshots and the screaming, It took a while but when I eventually got into the courtroom, the first thing I saw was her shoe on the floor, that was when I freaked out. The second thing I saw was Jeffery Grant sitting under the bench with a gun pointed under his chin, he kept triggering it but it wouldn't produce, he had used all the bullets..." she pauses for a second glancing back at Alicia whose still sleeping like a rock and then turning her attention back to Will. "When I got towards the prosecutors bench... That's when I saw her, the prosecutor was sitting against the table and she was lying on his lap... They were holding hands and she was trying to keep her eyes open, he kept talking to her, telling her to stay awake. He was in a lot of pain too, he was shot on the top of his shoulder but it wasn't as bad as hers... Dianne had managed to get inside the courtroom as well, I don't know how but when she came towards us and saw Alicia, she just trembled; I think she was a little freaked out by the blood" Kalinda half jokes. "Anyway.. when the paramedics showed up, I kept thinking it was too late, she was drifting off. The prosecutor stayed with her the whole time and when they pulled her off his lap she just kept saying don't let go of my hand and he didn't, he never let go." She finishes, her voice shaking a little.
Will eyes her up and down and takes in her words, he's never seen Kalinda emotional before, in reality he's never seen her emotional at all, although she doesn't look that emotional at the moment but he knows that inside she's trembling, just like he is.
"He covered her with his body" Will states in the middle of the silence. Kalinda glances back up to him and gives him a confused look.
"What?" she says lost.
"Alicia told me, after she got shot, Finn pulled her under the table to get her out of the crossfire, in doing so, that's when he got shot... He still managed to get her under the table and he covered her body with his until the shootings and screaming's had stopped..." Will states, remembering Alicia's words just a few hours ago.
Kalinda absorbs his words but doesn't say anything further.
"Do you think she would have died?" Will asks in deep thought, his eyes locked on Alicia's sleeping form.
"What do you mean?" Kalinda says confused.
"If Finn hadn't dragged her out of the crossfire" he states, this time looking towards Kalinda.
Now, fully understanding what he means she responds, confidently. "No" she simply states. "If he hadn't of moved her than she would likely have gotten shot again."
He turns his attention back to Alicia, nodding his head and agreeing with the other woman's words. Alicia could have died, this woman that he is hopelessly in love with could have died and could never have had the chance to know just how much Will Gardner loves her, this is his second chance to prove it to her and he has the rest of his life to do just that. She is alive, she is breathing, she is right in front of him and most importantly she now knows that he does love her, he loves her more than life itself and he's not going anywhere.
One more chapter left! :) the next chapter, I cant wait to write! its just to end off the story. It is going to fast forward into five or six months which was my original plan and will have a lot of Alicia/Will of course. And Alicia's experience since the accident and also the Alicia and Finn friendship.
Please review! :) I will update soon but first I need to hear your thoughts, they are deeply appreciated!
