While Jed was in surgery, Abbey brought Leo up to date on what had been happening in his absence. Of course, there were gaps in her knowledge and only Jed could provide more information when he came out of surgery. Leo was sure that Ron would also thoroughly investigate the background of this. He would turn over every rock there was until every bit of information was discovered and everyone responsible would be brought to justice.
The surgery itself only lasted a little under two hours. Abbey was invited to sit by Jed's side in a private recovery room while he came out from the anesthesia.
She thought about how bad it could have been and tears rolled down her cheeks. He had been only thinking of protecting her. Not him. His love for her could have killed him. More tears flowed.
"Hey, stop that." A faint, raspy voice was heard.
She looked up. Jed's head was turned toward her and his eyes were partially opened.
She leaned forward. "You awake?"
"Well. I'm not talking in my sleep," a faint smile crossed his face.
"How do you feel?"
"Groggy. My arm hurts a little."
"That's all normal. Why don't you go back to sleep?"
"Because I want to look at you."
"I'll leave if you don't. Leo has left and gone back to Mallory's. He still needs his rest. But he said to call him if you need anything. He wants to work part-time for the next few weeks. I told him you'll talk with him later about it."
"Yeah. We'll talk."
Abbey noticed that his lids were getting heavier. She put her hand on his forehead. "You need to sleep now. It's okay. I'm here and I'm not going to leave."
"Oka…" His lids closed and his breathing evened out.
She stood and kissed him on his forehead. Unconsciously, she wiped it off and sat back down. Whispering, she swore an oath. "If I have my way, no one will ever use you or me for target practice ever again. Never again."