Chapter 10: The Bullet of a Gun

A week later, Hayley sat waiting in the airport, along with Karen. Brooke and Lucas were due home from their honeymoon today and Hayley wanted nothing more than have Lucas back to protect her. She had lived the past week, looking over her shoulder worrying that Dan would crop up at any minute, with his manipulative ways.

"You alright, Hayley" Karen asked her with a smile

Hayley nodded and flashed a smile back at Karen "Yeah, well if alright means feeling like your heart has been ripped out, then yeah I have never been better"

"Come here" Karen said and wrapped an arm around Hayley's shoulders. "Don't let Dan make you feel like that. Trust me you are better of without him. We all are. The sooner you get over him and get on with your life the better"

"Yeah, I guess you are right, its just the hardest thing I have ever had to do"

Hayley jumped up when she saw Lucas and Brooke walking towards them. She wasted no time in hugging her best friend "I missed you so much, Luke"

Lucas hugged her back, "Missed you too Hayley. I tell you something. I can't wait to get home"

Dan Scott walked into the beach house, that night, the place was dark but before he could reach the light switch, to turn on all the lights. A gun shot went of, Dan felt a large pain in his chest before he fell to the floor. He felt a note being pushed into his hand before the front door being closed. He reached into his pocket, wincing at the pain as he moved, grabbing his phone he typed in Hayley's number, raising the phone to his ear.

When her phone rang Hayley was cleaning up the tables, at Karen's Cafe, she took her phone out of her pocket and looked at the number. It read as 'No Number', who ever it was must have with held it. She never dreamt it would have been Dan, she deleted his number from her phone when he left her.

"Hello, Hayley James speaking" she said rather nervously

"Hayley" Dan said in an almost whisper, he was running out of breath "Hayley, I....I...the beach house....I...." the phone went silent, but it was still connected.

"Dan?" she said "Dan, is that you. What happened to you" When she got no reply she spoke again "Okay, I don't know if you can still hear me but I need to know where you are. If you can here me and you are at the beach house then hang up"

The line went dead. Hayley dropped her phone back into her pocket, quickly removed her apron and called to Karen that she had to run out and do something.

"Hayley James," Karen called, walking out from the back "Where exactly are you going"

"If I tell you, then you are only going to try and stop me" she said running out the door. She kept running until she came to Dan's Beach House. As she arrived she took a moment to catch her breath before trying the door, to her surprise it wasn't locked it opened.

"Dan!" Hayley called out, hoping he would hear her, she reached out for the light switch, turning on the lights.

Dan was lead on the floor, his shirt covered in blood, he was awake, but only just. "Oh my god" Hayley gasped and threw herself down on her knees next to him and took hold of his hand "Dan what happened, you have to tell me what happened"

Dan gripped her hand as tightly as he could, which wasn't really all that tight. "Get....." he gasped for breath "....Ambulance" he managed to say

Hayley nodded and got her phone out of her pocket and dialled 911 "I need an ambulance please and fast. " Hayley gave them the address of the Beach House and turned to face Dan as she hung up the phone. "Its going to be okay, I promise. I am going to have to try and put pressure on that wound, okay" she let go of his hand and removed her jacket, scrunching it up into a ball, she placed it over the wound and pressed down firmly holding it in place. "Can I ask you something?"

Dan nodded as he slowly began to get some of his breath back

"Why me? Why did you call me?" she asked, still applying pressure to the wound in his chest.

"Because.... I knew you would come....I knew.... that despite the way..... I treated you, you still loved me.... if anyone deserves to see me die.... then its you."

"I am not going to have to watch you die, Dan. You want to know why because you are not going to die. I won't let you." Tears filled her eyes "You are right by the way, about me still loving you.... if I ever find out who did this to you I will never forgive them, especially if something happens to you"

Hayley turned her head to look at the door as she heard the sirens approaching, she applied a bit more pressure to his wound and looked back at him checking he was still awake. He was but he was slowly drifting asleep. "Dan, talk to me. Just keep talking okay. About anything."

"Hayley....I....I" he gripped hold of her hand once more "Never stopped.... loving you..." he trailed off.

Hayley desperately tried to think of a way to keep him talking to her "You know you no longer have to feel jealous about me carrying you name around"

"How come.." Dan panted

"The emolument papers came through this morning. The marriage between me and Nathan never happened"

"Yeah.. well... if you think that is a good thing... then... then..." he began to trail of again, he could feel his eyes getting heavy, before they finally closed.

"Dan! Dan! Wake up. Dan! Your scaring me!" Hayley shouted at him, she slapped him across the face "Please wake up. Don't you dare leave me." She leant over and kissed his lips, causing herself to become coated in a thin layer of blood. She hugged him tightly, not caring about the blood stains he was leaving on her. Her jacket slid onto the floor, but it didn't seem to matter because only moments later the ambulance pulled up outside the door and two men rushed in carrying a stretcher.

Hayley stepped back, as they lowered him down onto the stretcher and carried him to the ambulance, her face stained with tears and her clothes stained with blood, she picked up her jacket from the floor and put it on zipping it up and walking out the door.

"Is he going to be okay," she asked

"Its hard to tell, at this moment. He has suffered a gun shot to the chest and it looks like its punctured his heart. If we can get him to hospital then we may be able to save him. Do you want to ride in the ambulance with him"

Hayley shook her head "No, I think I had better go home and get changed first. I will be at the hospital as soon as I can"

As she ran back to the Karen's home, after Nathan threw her out she moved into Lucas's old room, she was sure that people were staring at her, she couldn't say she didn't blame them, she was stained with blood after all.

She burst into the house and hurriedly changed her clothes before writing a note for Karen and leaving it on the table in the hallway. She ran back out the house and took a bus to the hospital.

Once she arrived she walked over to the reception "Excuse me, I'm looking for a Mr Dan Scott. Could you tell me where he is"

"Just a moment" said the girl behind the desk, she turned to her computer and typed in Dan's name "He is in surgery at the minute. But if you like to wait in the waiting room just around the corner. I can inform you when he leaves. Assuming you are family"

"Yes, well sort of I'm his girlfriend" Okay so that wasn't exactly true anymore but it was the only way she was going to see him

"Just take a seat and if you keep an eye on the door you should see him being wheeled past as he comes out of surgery"

"Okay, thank you" Hayley said and made her way towards the waiting room she sat down in a chair right by the door way. Please be okay, Dan. Please. You have be okay. She thought to herself, keeping her eyes fixed on the door, people were wheeled backwards and forwards past the door, but none of them being Dan.

Hayley must have fallen asleep, because she was awakened when someone shook her arm gently. She opened her eyes and as the person came into focus it was a police officer. "Hayley James?" he questioned

"Yeah, that's me" she said as she slowly began to sit up

"Hayley James, I am arresting you for the attempted murder of Dan Scott. You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention, when questioned something you may later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence." The Police officer took hold of her arm as he spoke and handcuffed her hands together.

"What?" Hayley said, she was in total shock "No you have got the wrong person. I saved his life. I rang the ambulance."

"Miss James it would be best you could just come with us and stay quiet."

"No you can't do this to me. Ask him, ask him when he wakes up it wasn't me I didn't try to kill him"

The Policeman didn't say another word. He simply dragged her into the police car that was waiting outside.

Hayley sat back in the seat, she was too shocked even for tears. The only way they could know she was there was if Dan had told them she was.

"Can I ask who made the accusation, against me" Hayley asked.

"I can't answer anything until you have made a statement and had a formal interview. I am sorry Miss James"

Hayley sighed and took a deep breath. As the car arrived at the Police Station, she burst into tears knowing that if she could go to prison for something she hadn't done.

She got out of the car accompanied by a policeman "Don't touch me I am perfectly capable of walking myself unlike the man I love who is busy lying in the hospital and as far as I know he could be dying and I am being blamed for it. I wasn't the one who tried to kill him"

"She didn't try and kill him!" said a voice from behind them Hayley and the Police Officer who accompanied her turned around

"Nathan!" Hayley gasped "What are you doing here!"

Nathan took a deep breath "I came to tell you that Dan was asking for you and to confess something" he took a step forward. "I tried to kill Dan"

"No, Nathan. Tell me no" Hayley screamed at him as the officer unhand cuffed her and handcuffed Nathan, walking him into the police station.

"Hayley, I am sorry I really am. I only wanted to get him back; I wanted to get him back for breaking your heart. I still love you, Hayley" Nathan shouted over his shoulder.

Hayley leant up against a wall and closed her eyes, she knew she had to get back to the hospital and fast. But right now she didn't know if she could face Dan, what it had been him who convicted her of murdering him. No matter what she tried to do, there was only one person she wanted to see right now.

She began to take the long walk back to the hospital. "This going to take forever," she said to herself. She reached in her pocket for her phone, but it wasn't there. She didn't give herself a chance to think what had happened to it. She took a deep breath in and slowly breathed out before sprinting all the way to the hospital, as she ran through the doors, she bumped into Lucas and hugged him gasping for breath. After finally catching her breath she looked up at Lucas.

"Where is he, Luke" she said, wiping the tears from her eyes

"I'll take you. Come on." He said taking hold of her hand and walking with her down the hallway "Anyway what took you so long to get here, you were with him right. I mean I saw your clothes dripping with blood on my bed"

"The Police Station" Hayley answered her hand gripping Lucas's tightly "I came here only to arrested for his attempted murder, I thought I was going to get sent down for it when Nathan showed up and told the police it was him"

Lucas nodded slightly as they came to Dan's room, he was still under the anaesthetic, "Yeah about that Hayley. I think I owe you an apology"

Hayley shot him a stare "Oh my god, Lucas. You told the Police I tried to kill Dan"

"Look, I'm sorry okay. I walk into my room to find your clothes dripping with blood and...."

"Sorry isn't good enough, Lucas. If I had gone to prison then it would have been your fault"

"Look, Hayley." He took hold of her arm stopping her from going in to see Dan "What was I supposed to think"

Hayley glared at him "You should have confronted me about it first, instead of just assuming it was me"

"Fine if you didn't kill him then why were you there. You were supposed to be working at my mum's cafe"

"He called me, okay. Now don't talk to me ever again, Lucas." Hayley said and walked into Dan's room.

Lucas sighed, as he watched Hayley and Dan for a few moments. He watched as Hayley sat down in the chair next to his bed. He watched as Hayley took hold of Dan's hand and gripped it tightly. Before finally walking away.

Hayley stayed silent for a few moments just holding onto Dan's hand, she didn't know what she should say to him if, if anything. She closed her eyes for a brief moment. "Dan. " she said after a short while "I'm sorry I took so long to get here. Believe it or not I got arrested for attempting to murder you. I really thought I was going to go down for it, then Nathan showed up at the police station and confessed to it all" she stopped talking, feeling slightly stupid she was talking to someone who probably couldn't hear her. She just sat there after that and stayed silent, her hand still holding onto his. "I love you, Dan" she whispered,

Finally after what seemed like hours later, but could only have been two at the most, Dan came round. He slowly opened his eyes and cast them on Hayley, who flashed him a smile. "Hey you, I thought I was going to lose you for a moment"

Dan smiled weakly "Maybe.... you would be better off if you did....the only thing I have ever caused you is pain, Hayley"

"That's not true, you and I both know that" Hayley objected "Anyway, I had better go and tell the nurses you're awake." She smiled and gave his hand a tight squeeze before getting up and walking to the door.

As she opened the door Dan called out her name, she turned her head to face him.

"I love you too" he said with a small smile.

"So you heard what I said then" Hayley grinned at him and ran back over to his bedside, leant over and placed a soft kiss on his lips.

"Every word" Dan said as he gave her a wink