A/N: The first time Ned was shot in the line of duty and definitely not the last time. Enjoy xx Mariah

Katie was on her way back into the school with Hannah after lunch when her phone rang. It wasn't until the third ring when she finally pulled it free from her purse to see it was LeTrai, her husband Ned's police captain.

"Who is it?" Hannah asked as she scanned her teacher's badge to open the side door.

"Ned's boss, I have to take it. He wouldn't call without a reason," she explained, pressing her phone to her ear. She waved at her friend to go on without her. The school had terrible service the moment you stepped inside. "Hey, Josh, what's up?"

"Hello Katie, I wish I was calling for better reasons." Josh's voice was muffled, surrounded by other voices and an intercom voice in the background. "Are you alone?"

"Yes, but I have to get back to my classroom soon because my lunch is over in like ten minutes." She stepped away from the school a bit, trying to keep her conversation as discreet as she could. "Is something wrong? Are you at the hospital?"

"You need to get over here as soon as you can, Katie, can you do that?" LeTrai's voice was the only thing she heard on the other end now.

She went numb, grabbing hold of the nearby railing that leads up the wheelchair ramp. "What's happened, Josh?" She could barely remember how to breathe or think, but she needed to know what had happened to Ned.

A cold chill had spread over her body before LeTrai even spoke. She had assumed the worst. Ned was dead or dying and she was going to be alone for the rest of her life to raise their children.

Oh god. She didn't ever want to think about that.

That's when she heard Josh sigh on the other end. "I need you to take a breath, Katie, okay?" LeTrai said softly and slowly to her. "There was a situation at the bank and Ned was shot in the leg."

"Oh, God." She cried, leaning against the ramp. Her heart was racing now, and she fell to her knees. "Do you need me to come to drive you over to the hospital?"

Katie thought the worst thing she'd ever felt was losing her son, but things had only gotten worse now. She couldn't lose Ned too.

She wouldn't survive it. She couldn't.

"I don't think I can drive, Josh," she whispered.

"I'll be right there," and then he hung up.

Katie clutched her phone to her chest and felt her tears spill over her cheeks.

What was she going to do?

She knew she should call Delia or her mother, but didn't have the strength to. She couldn't remember much of what happened after that. The next thing she knew LeTrai was there trying to get her attention.

"Katie?" Josh snapped in front of her face and that bounced her back. "Hey, I called the principal on the way. He's covered your classes and is going to bring anything you left from your classroom to the station."

She nodded slowly and rose to her feet as he helped her up. "I need to call my mother-in-law she's watching the kids," she whispered as LeTrai opened the front passenger door for her.

"We already had someone sent over to Delia's. I had sent someone to come by the school but they said you were out so that I called you myself." Josh helped her in and put a sympathetic hand on her upper arm as she buckled herself in. "I wish I could tell you more but they had just put Ned in the ambulance when I called you."

Katie was going to try and keep positive. She nodded and smiled softly at him. "We should get going," she pulled the door closed.

Once they got to the hospital, LeTrai helped Katie out of the car and they walked in through the emergency room doors. Katie already could see the number of cops that were here and spilling out of the waiting room. Her heart nearly stopped from how beloved her husband was on the force. At least he wasn't alone in all of this.

She came around the corner to see Delia holding her one-year-old daughter while four-year-old Asher was sitting on Scott's lap playing on his phone. She scooped Willow out of Delia's arms and plopped into the chair next to Scott as she held her close to her chest. "My beautiful girl," she whispered and looked over at her son to rub her hand on his head because he was still occupied by his game. "And my sweet boy."

"Ma," the girl cooed and snuggled closer to her.

The surgery took several hours and there wasn't much of anything Katie could do but pray for her husband. It wasn't long before her mother arrived and prayed with her.

Finally, the dad came out and after seeing how much blood was on his scrub pants Katie felt like her heart had stopped and she'd stopped breathing. She held her breath until Jim said, "Sweetheart, Ned's okay. He was shot in his upper right thigh but survived the surgery. While the bullet did knick hit his femoral artery, we were able to repair the damage because of a field tourniquet that Officer O'Neill placed on his leg. It will be risky for the next few days and we'll need to keep an eye on him, but we are hopeful." Her dad's smile was big as he took his scrub cap off and turned back toward where he'd come out. "It should only be a couple more minutes before he is awake and you can see him. I'll be right back."

Melinda and Delia both cheered beside her, along with every other cop around them, and Katie thanked God while finally taking her first real breath since LeTrai called her. All the pressure and stress of the past few hours, of the whole day, drained out of her and she felt exhausted. Tears started streaming down her face, then she hugged her dad quickly and then Scott, who she knew had felt guilty form the pained look on his face the past several hours. He had also avoided her gaze at all possible moments.

"Katie, I'm so sorry. It's all my fault." Scott gulped, sighing.

"You saved him, Scott." She whispered and squeezed him tightly. "You heard what my dad said. He might not have made it if you hadn't applied pressure to the wound. I can't ever repay you for that." She pressed an eager kiss to his cheek before he turned around and held her children tightly. Asher, who was only four hugged her back, seemingly sensing his mother's stress.

"Oh, Katie, I'm so happy. But why did this happen?" Melinda asked, her face pale. She sat down and kissed her cheek, then Willow who was in her arms.

"All I know is there was a situation at the bank. I just don't know. This awful stuff keeps happening to us over and over," she said, shaking her head.

"It was all my fault. The suspect was armed and dangerous," Scott muttered under his breath. "Ned and I went in, but were ordered to stay back, but I saw someone… she was pregnant and bleeding. The robber saw me and when I tried to dive for her Ned ran out to pull me back and that's when the guy started shooting. Ned was down a second later and then he fired back at the suspect and I just froze. It's all my fault."

"I'm just thankful he is okay, and you put pressure on the wound. Nothing else matters, Scott." She reassured him but could tell it hadn't helped him much.

She looked back at her mother, who shrugged and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "It'll take time. He'll realize it soon."

Katie so badly wanted to say something to Scott, to make him feel better because she didn't like to see him in pain. He was a good guy. Something was off, but she was too tired and stressed to worry about it if Scott wasn't going to.

"Good night, Katie. I'll be back in the morning," Scott said, slightly startling her out of her thoughts. "Let me know if you need anything."

"Good night, Scott. I really hope you take in what I said," she explained and grabbed hold of his hand to keep him there for another second. "It's not your fault."

Scott tried to smile for her and nodded before he left. It wasn't long before her dad came back to tell her that Ned was up and she could see him. Jim didn't have to tell Katie twice. She knew it wasn't the right time for their children to see their father in a hospital bed and pressed a kiss to both of their heads as she left them with her mother.

Katie nearly ran down the hallway with Delia, eager to get there. Nothing else mattered to her right now. Just her husband. She needed to see Ned. Touch him. Feel him. Reassure herself that he was going to be okay.

He was indeed awake and a lot more alert than she thought he'd be with a nurse poking and prodding at his body to get an IV drip in his arm after just getting out surgery. She could tell the moment he saw her, through the glass wall; his eyes widen and he almost tried to up straighter.

He smiled just as she walked through the sliding glass doors and then she was in his arms. She thought she would have had the perfect words to say, but instead, she broke down. She cried noisily against his shoulder, her arms squeezing him so tightly she was sure he couldn't breathe.

Ned, however, said nothing, his own face buried in her hair.

It's not until he heard a soft, choked sob that she realized he was crying, too. She pulled her head back slightly and met her husband's eyes, wet and red and swollen. "This isn't how I wanted this to go," she said, stumbling over the words.

Ned managed a small, watery smile. "What did you want to happen?" He asked groggily.

"I was so scared I was going to lose you," she whispered, cupping his cheek. "Just – kiss me."

And he did.

It was ten minutes before Delia cleared her throat and she reluctantly moved to sit beside him so Delia could have a moment with her son. She hadn't wanted to let Ned go yet.

When her dad came back, he said he needed to check Ned for less obvious damages and had to clear the room for obvious reasons. Ned tried to brush them off, telling Jim that he felt better for now or Katie could stay, but it's non-negotiable.

"It's policy, Ned," Jim said softly.

"It's okay," she told him quietly. "I'll be right back. I'm gonna go fill my mom in and maybe you can say goodnight to the kids once my dad is done."

"That sounds nice." Ned smiled at her and nodded. "I guess I can agree to that, not that I really have a choice."

She rolled her eyes at his antics, even in this situation, and kissed his cheek. "Yeah, I'll be back in twenty minutes."

Melinda took the kids home about an hour later once they all realized how late it had gotten and that Asher and Willow needed to get to bed. Once her mom left, Katie and Ned were finally alone as she pulled the door to his private room closed.

They had managed to find a comfortable way to lay together, even with Ned's leg propped up and in a cast. Katie's head leaned against his shoulder and said nothing. A man in gray kitchen clothes appeared with a tray for Ned, who accepted it with a thank you.

The greasy grilled cheese sandwich wasn't much and didn't look too tasty, but she'd never seen anyone slurp down the kitchen's thin, watery tomato soup so quickly.

Ned finished the soup in record time and sighed as he dropped his spoon into the empty bowl with a clatter. He ate the sandwich despite the grease the dripped off it and sighed as he licked his fingers. "I'm still hungry. You think they'd give me more if I asked your dad?"

She shook her head sadly. "They're really strict about food with patients here. They'll give you exactly what is prescribed per your weight, no more, no less."

He sighed again. "Great."

She smiled. "But I can have Aaron run us over a free pizza. He's working deliver tonight," she pulled her phone out and moved out of the bed.

He cheered excitedly, but it wasn't for long as the door opened. A man in a suit came in and Ned outwardly groaned. "Great. Rat squad is here," he muttered. "What do you want Hank?"

"I need to talk to you about the hostage situation," the man in the suit said gruffly.

"What? Why?" Katie grabbed her husband's hand. "Questioning him about what? How he nearly died saving his partner?"

Usually, she wouldn't have even talked to one of Ned's superior officers or whoever the hell this guy was.

The old guy scoffed and turned to talk to both of them. "We're not accusing him of anything," Hank said, lowering his voice. "We just need to make sure that if he knows any more about what happened tonight, we know it too."

"It's nearly midnight in the morning," Katie snapped, loud enough to catch someone's attention like a nurse. "My husband needs his rest."

Hank sighed and turned as there was a knock on the ajar door. "What's going on?" It was her father.

She didn't trust the Hank. She didn't need to know who he was to tell he could possibly have bad intentions at this time of night. But she knew she needed someone to back her up. She looked back at Ned, questioning him without words.

He was staring Hank head on, not afraid, and so she knew she didn't have to be either.

"This guy wants to question Ned. I think it's too late," Katie whispered.

"I agree with my daughter here. Ned needs his rest. You'll have plenty of time over the next few days he will be here." Her father said, moving to show Hank out of the room.

"I'll be back on Monday," Hank muttered and left without another word.

"I'll give you two the room. Sleep well," her dad said, pulling the door closed.

As soon as Jim left, Katie moved back toward the bed with Ned. "My brother said he'll try and make a stop by if he can. They're pretty slammed."

"It's fine. Are you staying?" he croaked softly, his eyes already half-closed.

"Yeah," she said, leaning down to kiss his forehead "Of course, I'm staying."

"Can you…can I lay with you?" he asked quietly.

Without a second thought, she crawled in under the covers beside him carefully. She curled up against him, relaxing as his arms wrap around her, warm and secure despite how tired and weak he was from the surgery. "This doesn't feel real. It's like a dream," he whispered against her hair as he breathed her in. "I thought I was gonna die."

"It's not a dream, baby," she whispered back, lightly rubbing his sides. "You're gonna be okay."

Katie had no idea what time it was when she woke to her brother, Aaron, tapping her on the shoulder, but it was a nice surprise.

"Sorry it took so long," Aaron sighed, setting the pizza down on the tray table and bringing it over. "How is he?"

She twisted her head to look up at Ned who was thankfully sleeping. "He's doing better than I expected, but he's probably just trying to look macho to me."

Aaron nodded and gave her a squeeze before he took a step back."Probably. He looks like crap, but that's okay considering. I should get home though before mom gets worried." He took a step toward the door then, turning away but turning to look back. "I'm glad you texted. I was pretty worried when I heard about all this on the news."

"I'm glad you came by too. What kind of pizza?" She asked.

"Half cheese, half pepperoni. You and Ned's usual." He sighed and waved. "I'll stop by again soon."

She waved goodbye and smiled at knowing her brother still knew her pizza order. She turned in Ned's arms to look at his face. In sleep, her husband looked peaceful, healthy and better than he had the night before. She wondered if it's because she was here. She hoped it was.

Just then, Ned's eyes flutter open. She could see the recognition in his gaze as he slowly realized that she was here and then the pizza with a smile. "Yes, did Aaron come by then?"

"You just missed him,"

"I'm okay with that," he buried his face in her neck and kissed it, squeezing her tight against him. "That means we're alone and have pizza."

A smile cracked over her face. "Sleep okay?" She laughed, finding the clock above the door. It was nearly three in the morning, usual for Aaron getting off work on a Saturday and for Ned's restless sleeping habits. "You got a good three hours, but we should try and get some more after the pizza."

She could feel him nodding. He moved his head back a fraction to speak. "I still feel like I got hit by a truck," he said, his voice gravelly.

She ran her fingers through his hair, scratching at his scalp lightly. He looked up at her, so much love and content in his eyes and she flushed slightly but didn't stop the repetitive motion. He closed his eyes again, breathing deeply through his nose. "I wish we were in our bed, so we could stay there forever."

"Me too," she said, reaching to open the pizza and grab a slice of pepperoni for him. "But at least we have pizza."

He laughed and took a bite as she held it up to his mouth, nodding in agreement. He always loved pizza.