Chapter 10: Aftermath

Emma was sitting in the trauma room. She had been poked, prodded and x-rayed over the last hour. She had a bruised jaw bone, bruised ribs, a split lip, and a cut over her left eye. She had a slight concussion but nothing too serious. After the doctors left the room, Commander Lindell and Captain Harrington walked into the room.

"How are you Ms. Hayes?" Captain Harrington asked as he moved to a chair beside her bed.

"I… I really don't know." Emma finally said after a few minutes. Both of the men nodded.

"We want you to know that we are all here for you." Commander Lindell told her and she looked at him.

"Am I… am I in trouble?" She asked and they both nodded their heads back and forth.

"No, you were abducted, abused and your life was threatened. You didn't do anything wrong." Captain Harrington told her as he grabbed her hand and squeezed.

"Bravo Team should be in anytime now." Lindell told her and she nodded once again.

"Will you stay with me until then? I mean, I know you are busy and everything…" Emma said.

"Of course we will. Nothing is more important right now. Alpha and Charlie are outside the door." Commander Lindell told her and Captain Harrington agreed. Emma nodded and began staring at the wall again.

Clay&Emma_Clay&Emma

The moment the door of the plane opened every member of Bravo was moving towards their cage room. They threw their bags in the area of the cages and ran off to the infirmary. By the time they got there, the police were waiting to interview Emma. Jason and Clay were the first ones through the door and they saw every member of Alpha and Charlie standing there. Jason moved over to Full Metal and Beau. Metal filled him in on the events leading up to finding Emma.

"Jace, it's good to see you." Metal told him.

"I'm glad to be back, how is Emma, what exactly happened?"

Full Metal told him about Derek finding the apartment door opened, finding signs of a struggle, finding out Stella took Emma, the steps to find Emma, and heading towards the warehouse where they were.

"Blackburn said that Captain Harrington told him Emma was the one who shot Stella. Is that true?" Jason asked, wanting to know exactly how much trauma his baby girl had been through.

Full Metal took a deep breath, then looked at Beau before returning his gaze to Jason. "Yeah, when we pulled up and began moving towards the door we heard four gunshots. We ran in, thinking the worst, and found Emma laying on the floor with the gun and Stella laying at her feet, dead." Jason closed his eyes, hating that his innocent, precious baby girl had to take a life. Ray, Sonny, Trent, and Brock were listening and shocked. Jason hadn't told them that Emma was the one who killed Stella while they were on the plane.

Jason looked at Beau, "thank you for saving my daughter."

Beau shook it off and said, "look, we may have a problem with each other but I would never let anyone hurt your kids just like I know you wouldn't let anyone hurt mine."

"Damn right about that… brother." Jason said and patted Beau on the back.

Clay was talking to Derek, who told him everything that had happened. "Where is she?" Clay finally asked, after finding out the information.

"She is in trauma room 3 with Captain Harrington and Commander Lindell." Bravo moved towards the door and walked in. The moment Jason saw Emma he had a rush of anger, fear, and joy at seeing her, sitting there, alive, hurt but alive. Emma looked at the door as it opened and felt relief knowing that her family was finally here.

"Hi, baby girl." Jason said as he moved towards her. Clay was not far behind him. Captain Harrington and Commander Lindell slipped out of the room as the rest of Bravo moved into it.

"Hey daddy." Emma responded. She leaned into both her father and Clay as they wrapped her into a tight hug. She tensed for a moment and hissed.

"What's the damage?" Jason asked as he pulled away from her. Clay still held onto her, not tight enough to hurt you, but tight enough to feel her in his arms.

"Nothing's broken. My ribs are just bruised and so is my jaw. I have a slight concussion. Some bruises and cuts over my body but nothing too serious." Emma told him, trying to convince the most important men in her life that she was alright. "Are you guys going to just stand there or are you going to hug me too?" She asked Ray, Sonny, Trent and Brock, who were just standing there watching her. They chuckled and moved towards her, each of them wrapping their arms around her, making themselves believe she was actually there.

Before anyone else could say anything, there was a knock on the door. It was a detective coming to talk to Emma.

"I'm Detective Smith, can I ask you some questions?"

"Yes, of course." Emma said and the detective pulled out a notepad and pen.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

Emma took a deep breath and began her tale, "I spent the night at my boyfriend's apartment, who is Stella's ex. We've been having problems with her for the last several weeks." Emma told him.

"What kind of problems?" The detective asked for her to clarify her statement so that he had all the details.

"She would follow me and Clay around while we were on dates. She would watch us while we were at Clay's apartment. She would text me and threaten me."

"Why didn't you report it?" The detective asked.

"I didn't think that she was a threat. Anytime that I had seen her before her and Clay broke up she was so nice and seemed like she wouldn't or couldn't hurt anyone. I… I assumed that she was just upset that Clay broke up with her." Emma told him and the detective nodded.

"Please continue, Ms. Hayes."

"I was in the kitchen when I heard something behind me, before I could turn around there was something covering my nose and my mouth. I started struggling and began feeling light headed and blacked out. I woke up, I don't know how long after that, but I was on the floor of a warehouse… Um... Stella was there. She kicked me in the stomach and pulled me up by the hair and hit me... She told me that I was going to die… that she was going to kill me." Emma stopped for a few seconds and closed her eyes.

"Do you need a moment?" The detective asked, not wanting to upset her but Emma shook her head no.

"She walked away for a few minutes and I managed to get to my feet. She… had my hands duct taped together in front of my body. I walked towards the exit and noticed that she was asleep. So I tried to move past her and she woke up. We fought and she pulled out a gun."

"Do you know what kind of gun?" The detective asked.

"It was a black semi-automatic 9mm." The detective nodded for her to continue her story. "I kicked the gun out of her hand. We fought again for a few moments and then I reached for the gun…" Emma stopped.

"Have you and her ever had a confrontation before the abduction?" The detective asked.

"Yes, the night before the abduction. We were at the Bulkhead and she was hitting on Clay. I told her to back off and she got in my face. I told her to leave me and him alone. I turned around and she pulled me back to her by my hair. I was able to get her to the floor and get her hand out of my hair. After that she left."

"Okay, thank you for your cooperation, Ms. Hayes. I'm sorry this happened to you."

"Thank you, I'm not in trouble for what happened, right?" Emma asked.

"No, we have all the evidence from the apartment, including the surveillance video as well as everything that the military had. With everything at the warehouse, the evidence and witness statements, the District Attorney agrees that you acted in self-defense. You shouldn't have to worry about criminal charges." The detective told her and Emma nodded.

"Thank you."

"I would suggest getting counseling for the traumatic events you went through." Emma shook her head and the detective walked out of the room. Moments later, the doctor came back into the room.

"Hello Ms. Hayes." The doctor said to her, it was a doctor that was very familiar with Bravo.

"Can I go home?" Emma asked, she was really to leave.

"We are going to release you. But I am recommending counseling for you, Ms. Hayes."

"I really don't think that's necessary." Emma told him.

"Emma…" Jason started but Emma interrupted him.

"Daddy… I'm fine." Emma said as she moved to reach for her clothes. She noticed that they were bloody and she paused, having a flash of the fight.

"I'll call Naima to bring you something to wear." Ray said and EMma nodded her head in thanks. And of course, like every good wife of a SEAL, she was already three steps ahead. Naima walked into the room, not five minutes later, with a bag for Emma.

"Thank you, Aunt Naima." Emma said and began pulling the pants on under her hospital gown. She moved behind a curtain and put on her top. She walked from behind the curtain and moved towards the door. She led Bravo towards the parking lot and climbed into Clay's truck. He got into the drivers side and began driving Emma back to her house. Everyone had moved towards Jason's house and walked into it.

Clay&Emma_Clay&Emma

"If you guys don't mind. I'd like to take a nap." Emma said to them and they all nodded. Emma looked at Clay and grabbed his hand and pulled up the stairs with her. She closed her bedroom door and locked the lock. She turned around and could see that Clay was battling with his emotions.

Emma walked over to him and kissed his lips lightly. He kissed her lightly, not wanting to hurt her split lip.

"Oh baby, I'm so sorry. This should not have happened." Clay said and he started crying.

"Clay, this wasn't your fault." Emma said to him as she moved them towards her bed.

"You could have died, Emma." Clay said, thinking about never being able to see her again or talk to her.

"But I didn't Clay, I didn't die. I'm safe, I'm here. I'm with you. Make love to me?" Emma asked, knowing that was what they both needed.

Clay kissed her bruised jaw, then her head where she had stitches, her lips, down to her neck and chest. He pulled her shirt over her head and saw the bruises over her arms and stomach. He laid her down and kissed each of them. He removed her bra, pants and panties. Emma removed his clothes at the same time. He entered her slowly, not wanting to hurt her. They moved together, slowly, neither of them wanting to finish but wanting to be connected. After a few minutes, Clay and Emma both orgasm and pull apart. After a few more minutes, they got up from the bed and put on clothes before laying back down and curling up together.

Clay&Emma_Clay&Emma

Bravo was standing outside near the firepit with beers. No one had said anything for over an hour until Sonny spoke.

"Jace, you and Spenser left out some things earlier." Sonny said and took a swig of his beer. Jason sighed and nodded.

"Emma was the one who killed Stella." Jason said out loud and Bravo was silent.

"She is going to need therapy, Jason." Ray said.

"Yeah, I know." Jason agreed.

"She is also not going to go willingly." Brock added and they all nodded.

"Yeah, I know that too." Jason said, thinking about how he was going to get his daughter to seek help.

"What are you going to do?" Trent asked.

"I don't know but this shouldn't have happened. I should have been here." Jason said.

"We all should have been here, protecting her." Sonny said.

Clay&Emma_Clay&Emma

Emma woke up with a start, she dreamed about the warehouse incident. She was able to knock the gun away from Stella and grab it, but everytime she fired it, the bullets missed Stella. All of a sudden, Stella was standing over her, strangling her. She rolled over and saw Clay asleep beside her. She smiled slightly, not wanting to hurt lip. She got up from the bed and began walking down the stairs. She saw that her family was standing around the firepit and heard the end of their conversation before making her presence known.

"You did, you know." Emma told them and they turned to look at her.

"What do you mean?" Ray asked as she joined them.

Emma walked over and wrapped her arms around her dad and Uncle Sonny. "You did protect me, not directly, but you did."

"I don't understand." Jason said, looking down at his daughter.

"You taught me how to defend myself. Everyone of you. You taught me how to fight and how to shoot. That's why I'm alive right now, it's because of you." She said with tears in her eyes. The boys just stood there and thought about what she had said. Moments later, Clay walked out behind her.

"There you are." He said and Emma turned around to go into his arms.

"Emma, I think that you should see someone." Jason told her and Emma groaned.

"I don't need to see anyone, daddy."

"Baby… what happened was traumatic. You need to let it out. You need to talk to a psychiatrist." Jason tried to reason with her and she knew that if she didn't talk to someone, they wouldn't let up.

"I don't want to talk to a psychiatrist."

"You need to talk to someone. There are some things that you can process by yourself. But Emmie, something like this, you need to talk to someone." Ray said to her.

"If anything, you can talk to us." Clay told her and she looked around.

"Can we go in the house?" Emma asked and everyone moved towards the living room. Emma sat on the couch with Jason on one side and Clay on the other. Ray and Sonny said on the coffee table directly in front of Emma while Brock and Trent stood on either side of them. He sighed, "I don't remember."

"Remember what, sunshine?" Sonny asked.

"I remember picking up the gun, I remember pointing it at her, I remember hearing gunshots, and I remember watching her fall. But, I don't remember pulling the trigger." She said as tears ran down her cheeks.

"That's normal, Em." Trent told her, trying to comfort her. Jason had his hands on Emma's and squeezed. Clay wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

"I don't feel anything. Shouldn't I feel something?" Emma asked and looked at each of them for answers.

"Like what, Emma?" Ray asked, gently.

"Guilty that I took someone's life? Sad? Angry?" Emma asked.

"You did what you had to do, Emma. There is nothing wrong with that." Sonny told her and Emma shuttered.

"I was really scared." Emma admitted as she sobbed.

"It's okay. You're safe now. It's okay." Clay kept muttering into her hair. At this point all of Bravo had moved to give her a huge group hug. After a few minutes, Emma stopped crying and everyone pulled back. The doorbell rang and Jason went to answer it.

"Hey, come on in." Jason said as he saw Lisa, Mandy, and Blackburn. They all moved into the house and into the living room.

"How are you feeling, kitten?" Blackburn asked Emma.

"I just want to forget about it." Emma said and everyone nodded.

"Well, that may be a problem."

"Why?" Emma asked, confused.

"Stella's parents are suing you for wrongful death. You are going to have to testify in court."