A/N: Hey guys! Thanks for reviewing… I wasn't sure if I'd ever get any. :p I was looking around in the Miscellaneous Movie section, and I couldn't find any Itallian Job fics! How'd that happen? Maybe they're there and I just didn't see them. Anyways, I know what the basic plot of this is gonna be but I don't wanna just dive right in – not yet – so for now I guess I'm just stalling, lol. Oh, and I've noticed that whenever I try to do breaks they don't work and I apologize profusely for that. I've tried asterisks, these dilly-bobbers , and just a bunch of 'enter's and nothing works. So I guess I'll just make the first part bold for now, and hopefully that'll work. Next chapter:
"Hey, Charlie, there's a call for you in the lounge," one of Charlie's co-workers told him.
Charlie stopped pushing keys on the keyboard and turned to him, rather annoyed. "I'm working, here. Is it important?"
"It's your wife, and she sounds freaked out."
All annoyance that Charlie felt instantly vanished. The first thing that came to his mind was Maria. Was she okay? Did something happen? Where was Stella calling from?
He didn't even reply to the guy who told him; he quickly left his position at the cash register, climbed up the stairs in the back and opened the door to the lounge. There were two people in there taking their lunch breaks. He looked to the phone and noticed line one had a flashing green light. It had a caller on hold. He picked up the phone and pressed it.
"Stella?" he asked.
"Charlie!" she said, sounding relieved. "You won't believe what happened!"
"Is Maria okay?"
"Maria's fine; she's alright. Do you remember Kevin?"
Charlie blinked. He didn't know whether to be relieved or surprised that Maria was fine, curious at why Stella would mention Kevin, or worried because she still sounded scared. "Um… he has an office by yours, right?"
"Right. His wife – Julie – she was shot. She's in the emergency room."
Charlie sat down on the chair near him. "Is she okay?"
"I don't know." Stella sounded like she was going to cry. "They said her condition is serious."
"What happened?"
"Can you come to the hospital?"
Charlie sighed and looked around. If he really wanted to go, his boss would let him. Yet, he didn't know Julie – he barely knew Kevin – and he thought it may be silly to take off work for someone he didn't know, and it would be less money that they earned. On the other hand, his wife was sitting somewhere crying and all he could think about was the money.
"I'll try," he told her. "My boss'll probably let me go."
"Good. I need you here."
"Where's Maria?"
"I'm at the payphone in the hospital – Maria's sleeping over by Kevin. She's okay, Charlie."
The man smiled. Stella knew how much she meant to him, and she knew that he would worry about her as long as she was alive, whether or not there was a reason to. That was how Stella felt, too.
"I'm coming over. Give me ten minutes."
"Okay."
Charlie walked into the hospital, now out of his work clothes. He'd put on some dark kahkis and a grey button-down shirt. He smiled when he saw Stella, and she ran up to him and hugged him.
"They don't think she's going to make it," Stella told him softly. Charlie rubbed her back with his hand.
"It's okay," he said. "She'll be okay." He didn't think his words could comfort her, but he didn't know what more to say. What more could he say? His wife's friend was dying and he barely knew her. He didn't know what else to do.
Stella pulled out of the hug. Charlie tried to give her a weak smile, but it didn't accomplish anything. She turned in the direction that Kevin was sitting, Maria in her carrier beside him. Kevin was leaning forward, head bowed, hands folded, eyes closed.
"He looks good, considering," Charlie said. Stella nodded.
"Probably better than me."
"Where's their son?"
"Declan? He's still at preschool. Kevin didn't want to tell him until he knew if she was okay or not."
"Makes sense."
The two of them walked over to Kevin. Stella put the carrier down on the floor and put her hand on his back, letting him know she was there. Charlie couldn't help but take Maria out of her spot and hold her in his arms. He'd been so worried about her, and was so glad that she was alright.
"How are you?" Stella asked Kevin quietly. For a moment he had no reaction, but after a pause he sat up and looked at her.
"I don't know," he admitted. "It's such a terrible feeling, knowing that someone you love is so close to you, yet you have no power to protect them anymore."
"I'm so sorry. Maybe the do-"
Kevin stood up when a nurse came in. He recognized her from the previous times she'd come out to talk to them. "How is she?" he asked right away. Charlie and Stella both looked to the nurse with interest, curiosity, and dread.
"We're doing everything we can," she told him. "but we don't think she'll make it."
Kevin took in a deep breath. "Alright."
"The doctors are trying one last thing. If it doesn't show results within ten minutes, it never will. And you'll be able to come in and say goodbye."
"I'm not burying my wife," he told the nurse. From his tone, he sounded very serious and determined. "I'm not saying goodbye."
The nurse didn't know how to respond, so she simply gave a small smile and walked away. Kevin sighed and sat back down.
"More prayer," he told Stella quietly. Then he resumed his original position – head bowed, hands folded, eyes closed.