OK, so this is the last real chapter of this story. There will be a small closing chapter that sets the scene for the next story. With the holidays and all, I do not plan on that getting posted any time soon, but I will do my best.

(Hey, centered text!!! MUAHAHAHA)

Hope you like this chapter! It is sort of different from my other chapters, but I am content with it.

Without further ado, here it is. Part 2. Enjoy!!

"No, no, no," Rebecca softly whispered to herself as she came within arms reach of Shaun. "What happened? Shaun?"

The tears were building up in both Lucy and Rebecca's eyes.

Desmond took off the white ¾ quarter length waffle shirt he was wearing over his plain white t-shirt.

"We have to stop the bleeding! " Desmond shouted as he applied firm pressure with the shirt to Shaun's wound.

Shaun let out a moan that mixed with the gurgling sound of blood in his throat.

Several other Abstergo guards barged through the door Vidic had left open when he escaped.

"Shit! We have to get out of here!" Lucy yelled upon seeing the new threat.

"L-leave…me," Shaun managed to say in between moans and groans.

"NO!" Rebecca shouted in protest. "We are NOT leaving you!"

"Lucy," Desmond exclaimed to get her attention. "Can you stop the bleeding and tend to his wound while I drive the truck?"

She nodded in reply.

"Good. Help me get him in the truck," Desmond ordered. He grabbed a SIG SG 551 off of a dead guard and fired at the ones making their way towards the Suburban.

Lucy knelt down and wrapped Shaun's right around her neck and gripped him tight to her body. Desmond did the same on Shaun's other side. They slowly walked him to the truck accompanied by Desmond's covering fire.

Normally, Rebecca would have been impressed by a man firing a rifle in the manner Desmond was, but this wasn't a normal situation. She opened the door so Desmond and Lucy could ease Shaun into the truck. They hadn't loaded any equipment or anything into the back of the truck, so they quickly folded the right side seats on the second and third row down so Shaun could lay flat on them.

"Get in!" Desmond commanded. He was getting used to this business of being the one telling everyone else what to do. Rebecca hopped in the third row seat while Lucy occupied the second row. After opening the driver side door of the truck, he hopped in, started the engine, and put the pedal to the metal.

"Come on Shaun, stay with us!" Lucy whispered to the wounded Brit. Desmond's shirt was now maroon red and couldn't absorb any more blood even if it were a ShamWow. "Fuck! I need something else!" Lucy swore in a desperate panic.

"Desmond! There is a first aid kit in the glove compartment and some towels in the drawer under the passenger seat," Rebecca yelled hoarsely.

"On it!"

She rubbed her hand up and down Shaun's lower leg and tried to comfort him. "Hang in there Shaun. Please…Oh God please!"

Desmond tossed the supplies back to Lucy who quickly made use of them. She paused for a moment and cried out "Oh God…"

Rebecca was mortified by the grim look on Lucy's face. "What is it?" she demanded with a pleading tone in her voice.

"He is going in and out of consciousness." Lucy lightly tapped the side of his face but got no response. She was desperate. Her hand sharply met his face again as she slapped the fire out of him. "Stay with me Shaun Hastings!"

"What the hell are you doing?" Rebecca shouted.

"Trying to stimulate response. You try something, anything." Lucy turned her focus on Rebecca, her eyes wide and her head tilted forward. "Well?"

With all the strength she had inside her, Rebecca hardened her face and scooted forward in her seat as she leaned over Shaun. "Shaun, you are going to make it. You have to make it. Because I…I…I love you, too."

Lucy shot her head backwards with a look of shock on her face. "Wasn't expecting that," she thought to herself. She looked over at Desmond who was staring in utter shock and amazement at the three of them through the review mirror.

"What is going on back there?" He knew it was serious situation, and his reaction was in fact a serious one, but it came across as sarcastic. Through the mirror, he saw Lucy give him a nasty glare as she looked at his reflection.

"Desmond, there is a hospital about three miles from here. The Dean of Medicine there is an undercover Assassin. She will help us. Just follow this road," Lucy explained, the fierce glow still on her face.

"Alright."

Lucy focused her attention back on Shaun and Rebecca.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you this morning. I was just too stunned when you told me you loved me that I pretended to be asleep. You have to stay with us, with me. Please," Rebecca continued to plea.

Touched by the whole scene, Lucy put herself in Rebecca's shoes. What if that had been Desmond lying there? As all these thoughts and emotions flooded through Lucy, she started to cry with Rebecca and reached over to rub her hand on Rebecca's back.

Shaun opened his eyes slowly and smiled sweetly over at Rebecca. "I'll hold on as long as you do," he proposed as he held out his hand.

Rebecca managed to heave a small chuckle in with her cries as she grabbed his hand. "I won't let go," she promised.

A few minutes later, Desmond called back to the group in relief, "We are here!" He pulled up with the passenger side of the truck next to the Emergency Room entrance and jumped out of the car. A paramedic, who was standing outside the entrance on his cigarette break, ran over to the Suburban to help.

"What happened?" the man asked.

Desmond responded, "Gunshot wound. He is bleeding badly."

"Greg! Get over here with the gurney! We have a gunshot victim!" the paramedic barked.

"On it, Steve!"

The two paramedics loaded Shaun onto the gurney and rushed him inside leaving Rebecca, Lucy, and Desmond behind.

Rebecca stood next to the truck motionless with her hands over her mouth. She was in so much shock that she couldn't even cry.

Lucy grabbed Desmond's arm and pulled him to her. She lifted herself on her toes and whispered in his ear, "I'll go straighten things out with Lisa. You stay here with Rebecca and make sure she is OK. I'll come back when everything is squared away."

"Lisa?" Desmond whispered back.

Lucy bugged her eyes open and raised her eyes open to try to hint that she was talking about the undercover Assassin she referred to earlier.

"Oh, gotcha. We will prolly be in the waiting room," he replied.

"Alright," Lucy responded. She lifted herself on her toes once again and kissed him on the lips. "I love you."

"I love you," he whispered back as Lucy lowered herself back down.

While Lucy ran inside, Desmond walked over to Rebecca. "Hey, I need to move the truck. Wanna help me find a parking spot?" He noticed Rebecca hadn't even flinched in acknowledgement to his suggestion. "He will be OK Rebecca," he assured her as he wrapped his arms around her.

She turned around in his embrace so that her face was pressed against his chest. "How can you say that?" she said. Her voice was muffled, but Desmond understood what she said.

"I just know. You told him how you felt about him, and that gives him something to fight for. That's how I know."

She nodded her head and after a few minutes of silent sobs, she said, "Let's get this big ass SUV out of the way.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It had been at least three hours since Desmond and Rebecca moved the truck and sat down in the waiting room. Lucy had joined them. Desmond was sitting in between the two girls with his arms around them. Both of their heads were rested on his shoulders, his head against Lucy's head.

"Miss Stillman?" a nursed asked loudly as she stood in the middle of the waiting room.

All three of them stood up and Lucy approached the nurse. "Yes?"

"Mr. Hastings is out of surgery and is in his own room now." The nurse said.

"How is he?" Rebecca questioned.

"Stable, but you will have to ask either his overseeing doctor or nurse about his condition. His room is on the second floor."

"Thank you," Lucy responded softly and gratefully.

They took the elevator up to the second floor and walked down the hall that led to the nurses' station.

"How may I help you?" a bubbly nurse asked the group.

"Shaun Hastings please," Desmond replied when neither of the girls could direct a response.

"Hastings, Hastings…Ah, Shaun Hastings, room 13B. Just take the hall on your left."

Desmond bowed his head and said, "Thank you." He placed his hands on each of the girls lower backs as he led them down the cold, white hall. Desmond never cared for hospitals. Everything was so white, cold, bright, and sterile. And they always smelled like alcohol and Fabuloso. It was ironic to him that such a grim place was employed by such bubbly and joyful nurses. How could anyone be happy to be there?

"Here it is," Desmond stated as they reached the door.

As he opened the door, Rebecca quickly and cautiously scooted inside. She, too, hated hospitals mostly because of the numerous video games she played such as Silent Hill, F.E.A.R., and Resident Evil and the like which contained some eerie hospital levels.

Desmond grabbed Lucy's hand as they both entered the room.

"Are you friends of Mr. Hastings?" the nurse asked as she placed the chart back on the foot of the bed. She smiled and folded her hands and let them fall to waist level.

Each of them nodded in response.

"How is he?" Lucy asked. She knew it should have been her in that bed and she was grateful that it wasn't, and that made her feel guilty.

The nurse's smile quickly vacated her face. "The surgeons were able to remove the bullet. There was no severe bleeding. But…"

"But what?" Rebecca asked gravelly. Her throat was still dry from all her crying but she never bothered to get a drink to wet her mouth and throat.

"The bullet grazed some nerves in his spinal chord. We did some needle prick tests and as far as we can tell, he will most likely be a paraplegic," the nurse answered bleakly.

"Paraplegic? That means paralyzed right?" Desmond asked.

Rebecca shut her eyes at the thought of Shaun being paralyzed. Some tears fell down her face as her lids tightly closed.

"Yes, generally of the legs and lower body. Fortunately, in your friend's case, he appears to have lost feeling just in his legs. His upper right leg still responded to our test, but the lower leg didn't. We were not able to get any response from his left leg at all."

Rebecca walked over to Shaun's bedside. He was still asleep from the sedatives he was given earlier.

"I'm sorry, truly I am. It seems our numbers are quickly dwindling. If you need anything at all, just call for me. My name is Andrea. But I have to go assist in an operation shortly, so I have to leave."

"Thanks," Lucy screeched as she tried to hold back more tears.

Desmond waited until after Andrea left to ask what was on his mind. "What did she mean by 'our numbers are quickly dwindling'? She another…'friend'?"

"Yeah." Lucy walked over to the chair next to Shaun's bed and sat down.

Desmond picked up another chair and placed it next to Rebecca so she could sit next to Shaun as well. "Damnit," he mumbled. There weren't any other chairs in the room. He opened the room door and poked his head out. "Bingo." He casually walked up towards an unoccupied chair, whistling as he walked. Nurses looked at him suspiciously. He looked as if he was up to something, but they quickly ignored him and went about their business. Oblivious to his spectators, he picked up the chair and dashed back towards the room.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Rebecca, Lucy, and Desmond both fell asleep in their chairs. Desmond had placed his chair at the foot of the bed facing the door.

Lucy woke up when she was startled by Shaun's stirring.

"Shaun?" she whispered, careful not to wake the others.

"Rebecca?" he asked. His eyes were still closed even though he tried to open them.

"No, it's Lucy."

He finally managed to open his eyes and met the blonde's deep blue gaze. "Wow, I never noticed how blue your eyes are. They are like sapphires."

She rolled her eyes and replied, "I think they gave you too much pain medication. How are you feeling?"

"Like they gave me too much pain medication," he giggled.

Lucy joined his quiet laughing.

Shaun stopped when he noticed the dismal look on Lucy's face. "What is it?"

She shook her head as she tried to hold back a sob. A few tears managed to escape her feeble attempts. "Why did you do it?"

"Do what?"

"You saved me when you didn't have to. Why?" Lucy asked. She looked deep into his eyes as she was searching for an answer.

Shaun sighed and tried to explain. "Once I saw Vidic with that gun, I knew exactly who he intended to shoot. He is a power freak, and you managed to escape and expose that. You were completely free of the grasp of his control and he hated you for it. That's why he wanted to kill you."

"That's also not what I asked," Lucy retorted.

He took a deep breath. This would be difficult for her to hear. "I couldn't let him hurt you because…"

Lucy was now impatient but held her comments given the condition of her friend.

"Desmond. The fate of the world truly rests with him. And he needs you. Literally. If something were to happen to you, if you died, he would slowly slip and fade away. I've seen the way you both look at each other. If either of you were to die, the other would too. I am willing to sacrifice myself in order to save both my friends and the hope of our mission."

Now he had brought Lucy to tears. She couldn't fight them anymore. "Oh Shaun…" Her head fell down as she leaned against the side of his bed.

"I'll be fine. I may be permanently damaged for it, but I'm still alive. We are all still alive." He placed his hand under her chin and lifted her head up so her eyes could meet his. "That's all that matters. All of our lives are now devoted to a war of which few are aware. It takes selfless people to give up their own concerns to preserve the freedom and rights of others. The good side never prevails without sacrifice and the sooner you can accept that, the sooner you are free from the fear of what may happen. We are trying to save the world here, Lucy. Did you think it would come with anything less than sacrifice?"

I'm sort of sad that the story is coming to and end. But with all endings come great beginnings. Or something like that. :|

Please review and tell me what you think. As usual, let me know of any errors or just things that make no sense. I will be more than happy to correct them!!!!

Happy Festivus!!!!

(High five to anyone who gets that up there ^ XD)