Chapter 37

Miller woke up to something landing on his face. "Dude, your girlfriend is insanely hot and can cook. Props to you." Burk said as he leaned over him and ate some kind of flaky pastry. That said pastry crumbed onto his face, answering the vague question what had landed on him.

"What?" Miller asked bleary eyed and confused. He tried to move but pain lanced through his body so he decided it was better to just lay in bed very still.

"Maria said she was going to be back tomorrow." Burk told him as he scarfed the last of the pastry he was eating. "Oh let me get that." he said as he licked a finger tip and used it to pick a crumb off Miller's face and then ate it. Miller just didn't want to think about how their friendship got to the stage where Burk felt comfortable eating off of him.

"Maria's my new roommate. Where's my Mom?" he asked Burk, his voice thick as his mouth was dry. He wondered how long he'd been out of it.

"I might marry her." Burk told him.

"You're not marrying my Mom." Miller told him, he could accept Wolf but Burk? Not happening.

"No, Maria. This pastry is amazing." Burk informed him as he took another bite of the pastry. It annoyed Miller given it was supposed to be for him, if he was to believe Burk.

"My Mom, is she ok?" Miller asked, he would let go of Burk's preoccupation with Maria as it wasn't his place.

"Yeah, she's ok, little roughed up and has like 23 stitches in her arm. You Millers are bad ass, I didn't see before but damn, you don't mess around." Burk said looking impressed. Miller could only frown as he didn't quite understand.

"What's going on?" Miller asked him, against his better judgement he tried to get up but Burk pressed a hand to his shoulder. Pain lanced through him that made his groan as he laid back down. His body yelled and ached angrily at him for moving. He hissed a breath as everything just hurt.

"Ok, just don't move. Your Mom; she kicked your Dad's ass. Shot him; all with like a huge broken piece of ceramic sticking outta her arm. It was sick, as in gross but also bad ass." Burk clarified thoughtfully. Miller frowned as he didn't think his Mom could shoot someone but glad she was alive. "She's shaken up but the docs have cleared her to go home with Commander Garnett. She'll drop by and visit you." He added.

"Ok, what about Cruz?" Miller asked him as he felt vaguely relieved to know his Mom was ok. That his father was caught. It meant it was over, he could worry about the rest when he had all of his brain working. Whatever drugs they had given didn't do much for the pain but they messed with his brains.

"Alive and well, he's got a few busted bones and a bum leg but he'll recover. His girlfriend and kid are with him. We're all good, oh and I forgot to tell you. Danny and Wolf ran into the room to save your Mom. Instead of a thanks, Wolf ended up with vomit on his boots." Burk said with a laugh before he gobbled the rest of the pastry. He gave a moan of appreciation which just didn't help Miller make sense of anything that was going on.

"What about my father? He didn't get away did he?" Miller asked, he didn't want to know but he felt it was best to ask and get it out of the way. Burk's features grew serious and empathetic, it didn't bode well for Miller, he wasn't sure he could handle being on the outside of the hunt for Rob.

"Oh dude, no, I'm sorry. He died. Bled out, your Mom hit him in the shoulder, hit the brachial artery. All downhill from there. I wish he'd been a better person for you." Burk said sincerely, Miller sagged against the mattress in relief and then a wave of sadness rolled through him as he didn't see it coming. He had thought he'd have Rob haunting him and his Mom. That he'd be able to at least have the last word. But he was also sad that his father was the man he'd wanted, or deserved.

"Yeah me too." Miller said sadly.

"But on the upside, you are going to be fine. You have a broken nose, bruised back, 3 cracked ribs and well more bruises than an overripe peach that's rolled through a supermarket." Burk told him, trying to keep things upbeat.

"Thanks." Miller said deflated as he was lost in his own head and emotions.

"Anytime, I think I need to spend more time at your place. These pastries are amazing." Burk said as he was definitely distracted by the food.

"They are meant for me." Miller informed him as he saw Burk reaching for another pastry from the container sitting on his tray table. He didn't know why he was being possessive of the damn food. But he was, maybe it was his way of trying to take control back from the lack of control he'd had the last few days.

"You're pasty white ass will thank me for eating these." Burk told him.

"Just leave one for me." Miller said making a compromise. Burk grinned as he hoed in.

"You're good to go." The doctor told Bobbie, she sat on the gurney with her head hung low. They had stitched her up, given her an IV drip and a shot of maxolon to help her stop throwing up. But after a few hours, they decided she was fine to go. She however wasn't ready to move.

"Thank you." Andrea told the man, she continued talking with the doctor about organising Bobbie's discharge from the hospital. Bobbie tuned it out as she just couldn't comprehend the day. She was relieved her son was alive but sad for Rob's death. She was sad he couldn't be a better man, and then it made her feel guilty for not picking a better man to begin with. Guilty because she'd shot him, she'd killed him. That the whole of everything that happened was her fault.

"You ok?" Andrea asked her.

"I don't know." Bobbie replied, she wasn't sure how to feel other than hollowed out and guilty. Even it didn't feel right like she was pretending.

"It's ok to not feel ok about today and what happened. Just remember that you didn't have a choice in shooting him. It was self defence."

"So it makes me better? Less guilty? I killed him." Bobbie asked, her tone sharp as she wondered why Andrea was letting her off the hook.

"And you don't know how to feel because it was anticlimactic."

"Excuse me?"

"It's not like the movies. There's no catharsis in another person's death. The issues you had with them still remain; unresolved because you didn't get to say what you wanted but in the end. But in my opinion, don't feel guilty about it, he was an asshole who would've killed you and your son over something that was entirely his fault to begin with. If my husband had tried that, I'd have shot him in the head and called it a day. So let it go, lift your head up, he's not worth anymore of your time. " Andrea told her, Bobbie let her words sink in for a moment. For some reason she was glad Andrea hadn't tried to assuage what she was feeling with flowery poetry or reiterate that everything would 'be ok' and 'you did what you had to do'. It did however help her change how she saw it, Andrea was right.

"I need to see my son." Bobbie told her.

"Ow, be gentle." Cruz told his sister as she punched him in the shoulder and it wasn't a love tap. "I'm hurt." He reminded her, he would've rubbed the sore spot but a hand in an arm cast did not make for a nice massage.

"So am I!" Maria told him as she hit him again. Cruz winced but took the hit as his sister obviously needed to vent. "Do you know what an asshole you are? I swear I lost ten years of my life worrying over your stupid ass. I can't afford to lose you. You're all I got." She told him, tears burned the back of her eyes as she felt like she'd barely had him back only to have nearly lost him completely.

"I love you too." Cruz told her with a dopey smile. It didn't help him as Maria glared at him.

"I really want to punch you again." Maria told him with a pout as she was still shaking with angry and concern over him. But instead of hitting him, she wanted to break down and cry in his arms. But she couldn't because she was afraid if she started crying then she wouldn't stop and she still had to see Miller.

"Where are the boys?" Cruz asked her.

"Your friends are looking after them for me." Maria told him, she was so surprised at the support system that sprung up overnight for her and the boys. She'd gone from being completely alone to having over a dozen new numbers in a new mobile phone for her. People, she'd never met all offered her support to helping her with the kids and the apartment. She was just so touched and overwhelmed by it she was half afraid Cruz had died without her being told.

"They are good, you should be friends with Kara. She's about to have a baby." Cruz told her, like it was a plan he'd just thought of and thought it was great.

"Really? I thought she was just fat." Maria drawled sarcastically, but she didn't need to tell him that she already was friends with Kara and the other women that were his friends. She figured she'd seek her revenge by sharing childhood stories so he could be mocked by them mercilessly.

"That's not nice. She'll need your help. Her fiance is a moron when it comes to babies." Cruz told her.

"Oh and you're an expert." Maria remarked drily, he smiled dopily and she knew his automated IV drip had given him more pain relief. The man could not hold his morphine.

"I'm getting them- I mean there." He said slowly correcting himself. "What do you think of Ava?" he asked changing the topic.

"I like her." Maria said downplaying how she really felt. She freaking loved Ava, the woman had saved her from a hideous tattoo mistake and helped her through a crisis with her brother. She'd stepped well and truly above girlfriend duties in the past few hours.

"I'm going to ask her to marry me one day. So don't scare her off." Cruz told Maria, she snorted a laugh as drugged Cruz was pretty amusing.

"And why is she the one?" she asked mockingly, she drew up a chair and sat down. She wanted to see how much information she could pull of out Cruz before he passed out.

A knock sounded at the door, Miller turned his head and saw his Mom. She had a black eye, a busted lip and a bandage covering most of her right arm. Her hair was loose around her shoulders and she was wearing a loose grey singlet and what looked to be pyjama pants with llamas on them. He smiled as he'd bought them for her when he was like 12 for her mother's day present. She gave him a smile in return as she stood awkwardly in the doorway.

"I'll leave you two and see what food is lurking in Cruz's room." Burk said he stole another pastry before fleeing the room but not before he made a dramatic bow and gesture for Bobbie to step into the room first. Bobbie gave a small chuckle at the gesture and watched as Burk left the room before she turned to her son.

"Eric, how are you?" she asked as she moved to his bedside. She took his hand in hers and smiled down at him.

"Everything hurts." He confessed, but he felt better for seeing her. Her smile wavered slightly and it pained him to see her so clearly upset and trying to hide it.

"I'm so sorry." She said tears filling her eyes; it really killed him to see her crying over him especially given what happened. He'd been useless at saving her and he was going to be alright. He would heal up and walk out of the hospital, so the tears were unnecessary.

"Mom, don't cry. It's over, I'm just glad you are alright." He told her, tears filling his own eyes.

"Ok." She said nodding. She wiped away the tears and pulled herself together for him. He blinked back his own as he was grateful for her being here. Grateful he had a mom like her.

"Talk to me about anything else but today." Miller said as he didn't want to do a post mortem on what happened. He knew they should process it but he didn't want them to be upset, he didn't want to cry, he didn't want to think about Rob. Most of all, he didn't want his mother to keep apologising for something that wasn't her fault. What he really wanted was to smile, he wanted to freaking laugh even though it would hurt like hell.

"I'm thinking about adopting a dog." Bobbie offered with a bit of a forced smile. It was the kind that she used when she was afraid he'd think whatever she was going to do was a bad idea. But she still asked because she wanted his thoughts or approval.

"A dog?" he asked a little confused as it was out of the blue for a conversation topic. But he'd asked for them to talk about anything other than what happened to them.

"Yes, Andrea thinks it would be good for me to have a companion around the house to make me feel safe when she's deployed. It's better than a gun. What do you think?" she asked him with frail smile as she wasn't sure what to say to make him feel better.

"I like it." Miller said after he weighed it up for a moment. It wasn't a bad idea, he just hoped Wolf didn't have a problem with it. But then that was Wolf's problem not his. Miller liked dogs. His approval made his mom smile warmly which was just what he needed to see.

"You ok?" Preacher asked Ava, he'd stopped by to make sure she was ok. She was, the man she loved had nearly died but he would survive and she had survived it all without pulling away. Instead she had reached out, something she hadn't thought she'd been able to do. Across the hallway in Miller's apartment Maria was with Alisha, Kara and Val. The three women helping out with the children and supporting Maria. Ava had needed to retreat to her apartment for her and Clara's sake as Clara was too restless from all the noise and Ava just needed a moment to digest it all.

"Yeah, thank you for dropping by." Ava told him, she reached out and squeezed his hand with her own.

"Anytime. Go get some rest. We got work tomorrow." He told her, he pulled his hand away and rose from his chair and headed to the door.

"I'll have Clara with me." Ava told him.

"Not a problem." Preacher said.

"See you tomorrow." Ava said, she watched him go and when the door closed she moved to Clara who was laying on the floor gnawing on the corner of a blanket. The baby girl had settled down a lot in the quiet of Ava's apartment.

"Hey you," Ava said to Clara, she lifted Clara and her blanket up into her arms. She cradled Clara's body in her arms and smiled softly at her, relishing the sense of peace and relief that everything would be ok. "We had a long day, didn't we?" she asked her, she knew she wouldn't get any kind of response but spoke anyway. "But everything will be fine, you and me are going to have a lot of girl together over the next few weeks while your Daddy gets better." She told Clara.

Clara looked up at her with a clueless expression before breaking into a smile. Ava smiled and cuddled her close.

"Hey," Wolf said as Bobbie walked into the house. She stopped at the door and smiled at the sight of him. He wasn't awkwardly standing around- No, he was on the couch sitting back like it was a normal day. Just any old normal day where he would be waiting for her to come home from work; but they hadn't a day like that.

"Hey," she said as she kicked off her shoes and moved to the couch. She sat down next to him and he gently pulled her across his lap with his arms around her. She felt safe, she soaked it in as she rested her head back against his shoulder and closed her eyes.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be at the hospital. I was caught up with police and my superiors." He told her.

"It's ok." Bobbie said and it was true, part of her was glad he hadn't been there as it gave her a chance to realize that she could stand on her own two feet. Yes, he'd taken her out of the room and away from Rob. But she had survived the rest on her, she hadn't needed him to pick up the pieces or fix her for some reason that made her feel stronger than she thought. Even though she felt horrible and guilty for what happened in that room with Rob, she realised she had saved herself, she was her own hero. "He's dead." She told him.

"I know." Wolf said, he pressed a gentle kiss to her shoulder that wasn't covered in the bandage.

"I thought I'd feel relieved but I just feel nothing and I feel guilty for feeling that way." She told him, she was glad she couldn't see his face as she didn't want to know what he thought of what she was saying.

"It's ok, it'll pass with time. Right now, just focus on this. Miller is alive, you're alive and you did what you had to; to survive. Be proud of that. I know I'm proud. Something I taught you stuck and you used it. I knew you guts Bobbie, I'm so glad that you're here with me." He whispered warmly to her, she smiled as she did feel good about being able to fight back. It felt like she'd won a part of herself back. A part she'd been missing for years when Rob had beaten her the first time.

She shifted slightly in his arms and turned her face to his, their faces were so close she could only focus on his eyes as he looked at her. She brushed her nose across his. He made her feel safe, wanted and desirable. "Stay with me, tonight." She whispered against his lips, she kissed him softly, but as soon as he responded, she twisted in his arms and pulled him closer as the kiss deepened. They both knew where this was leading, neither of them were going to listen to common sense. Bobbie's injuries twinged in pain but she ignored them as all she wanted was Wolf.