Here is the final chapter of Heart. I want to thank you all for sticking by this story even though it took me forever to finish. I have such loyal readers.

Enjoy ~

Chapter 11: I Need You to Fight

The boom hurt my ears and rattled the windows. I could hear Jenny's cries from the stockroom. Opening my eyes, I found Dan with a shocked expression on his face. Clutching his chest, I watched as the blood ran over his hands before he collapsed dead on the floor. Unlike the movies, there were no final words, no drawn out death sequence and surely no last minute scare when the killer comes back to life. Dan was dead and I couldn't be more relieved. I just hoped that Jake could forgive me.

"Luke, help him. We need to keep Jake awake and comfortable. The ambulance is on its way." I dropped to my knees and pulled Jake head onto my lap and tried comforting him. But I couldn't take my eyes off of the blood pooling on his chest. I knew that I had to act. Tearing off my shirt, I placed it over the wound and pressed. But I couldn't handle the scream that erupted from his mouth. I now understood the expression blood curdling. With tears in my eyes, I started to pull my hand back, hoping to reduce the pain. But Jake threw his hand over mine and pressed down again. In that moment, Jake showed me that he was fighting, that he was holding on to everything we had.

Hearing the sirens, I breathed a sigh of relief. Jake was conscious and fighting and I just prayed that the fight continued. Brooke led the paramedics in and I was forced out of their way but not before I could mouth the words, 'I love you' to Jake. Jenny decided to start crying again and Brooke left to go get her. My poor baby was probably frightened by the loud gunshots and being left alone.

Pretty soon the gurney came and went, taking Jake with it. Time seemed to move at such a fast pace that it seemed impossible for me to form even a single thought. With the time distortion and utter chaos, my mind shit down and Brooke took control of my body, pushing and pulling me wherever she need me to go. Feelings on a conscious level stopped even though tears were being shed. I felt numb. At some point, Brooke pushed Jenny into my arms and all I could do was hold her close.

The police entered only after the EMTs cleared, one set taking Jake and the other removing Dan's carcass from the store floor. I wanted to chase after Jake but the police halted my attempts. Brooke and I answered every single question with immense detail even when they rephrased the question five times. Brooke admitted to shooting Dan. I was shocked. When it all happened, I didn't really care that Dan was shot. I was glad he was dead and focused my attention on Jake. I knew that Brooke kept a gun at the store after the robbery but I didn't think she knew how to use it. I just never connected all the dots. I'm sure it was a sign of the trauma I had suffered.

Even more surprising was the fact that they didn't whisk Brooke away to jail. Instead they handed us their cards and said that they'd be in touch. Once they left, I ran to Brooke's car with Jenny still clinging to me tightly and waited for Brooke to lock up.

Once we were all buckled up in the car, we sped off to the hospital worried about how Jake was. Glancing at the clock, I estimated that the cops detained us for almost an hour. Knowing that my heart sank thinking about the plethora of ominous outcomes that could have occurred in said hour. Instead of dwelling on the negative, I instead focused on my daughter in the backseat. She was lost in a state of innocence, oblivious to the dangers and uncertain circumstances that we faced.

Lost in my internal reflection, I didn't realize that we were here. In fact, I didn't realize that Jenny was once again in my arms, snuggled up against my old gray hoodie which I couldn't remember putting on. Nevertheless, I did put it on, Jenny is in my arms and we were walking into the hospital. Brooke asked the nurse for an update but there was no news. So we plopped ourselves into the uncomfortable green waiting room chairs, hoping for the best. But it didn't come that night.

Glancing up at the clock, I saw that it was almost 10 o'clock. We'd been sitting here for almost 6 hours. I had Brooke take Jenny to her place while I contemplated how this whole thing had gone wrong. Sitting in the silence of the waiting room forced me to relive that moment over and over again. I agonized over every detail. Two moments kept replaying in my eyes. The moment I saw Jake with his duffel bag, the hurt and pain in his eyes and the moment I saw the blood pour from his chest. How was I supposed to go on without Jake?

"Mr. Scott." I looked up and saw the emotionless face of the doctor. My stomach dropped to my toes and I rose to greet him. "We were able to get the bullet out. It missed all major organs. We're moving him to a private room, but he requested that you be there before he got there."

I didn't know what to say. Jake was fine. Tears fell and I could do nothing to stop them. I was relieved beyond words. I followed the doctor down the hall to a private room and true to his words before, the room was empty. "Thank you doctor".

He chuckled, the laughter reaching his pale blue eyes. "Don't thank me just yet. Jake definitely has some choice words for you young man." The doctor left and all I could do was stare at the empty doorway awaiting Jake's arrival. Even though the doctor assured me that Jake was fine, being in the room alone did nothing to quell the fear I felt. The road to hell was paved with good intentions and I drove down that road tonight. I almost lost him tonight and that realization broke my heart. They would have taken Jenny away from me, Brooke could go to jail, and where would I be. I would be just a shell of a man if anything happened to them.

"Luke." I heard his weak voice as he came into view. He was very pale and clearly shaken, but he was there and that took most of the weight off of my shoulders.

I leapt from the chair, watching as they transferred him to the bed. He was clearly in a lot of pain as he winced and grits his teeth during the process. The nurse started him on some pain meds and they left us. "Jake, I am so sorry. I-"

"I love you. Just don't leave me." Tears streamed down his face. I wiped the tears as they fell and laid a kiss on his forehead. "I thought you were trying to get me to leave and it hurt when I thought that you and Brooke were together."

I dragged the chair as close to him as I could get it and wrapped my hand in his. "Never, Jake. I was just trying to keep you and Jenny safe. I never meant for you to get hurt. But you did and it's all my fault." Now I was crying, the emotions that I had been bottling up through this whole experience came out and there was nothing I could do to stop them.

"Hey all that matters is that we're together and Dam can't hurt you anymore. It's just you, me and Jenny from now on. The family that we've wanted to be" Our eyes met and the sincerity of his words caused my heart to swell. He was right. Dan was out of my life, and Nathan's and now Jake and I could be together without any interruptions. Now we could live in peace and be exactly who we wanted to be. Our lives started at this very moment.