Chapter 3: The Shot

The next day, Eric was driving the truck when he looked over to see Taylor looking out the window. He reached over and grabbed her hand. Taylor looked over and placed her free hand over his. Just then, a call came over the radio. "We need all available Silver Guardians to come to the downtown area," the caller announced. Taylor let his hand go and looked forward. Eric then put the truck to full speed and they went to the downtown area.

When they arrived at the site, Eric and Taylor grabbed their blasters and jumped out of the truck. They ran over and aimed their blasters. "Drop your weapons," Eric ordered. The gang turned and looked at them.

"Look who's here. It's Commander Myers and his pretty girlfriend," the leader laughed.

"Put down your weapons or we will be forced to shoot," Taylor cautioned.

Just then, blasts came out of nowhere. "OPEN FIRE!" Eric shouted. They started firing at the gang and the guys shooting at them. Taylor did a roll and fired at a gang member. She didn't even notice the leader pointed a gun at her back.

Eric was fighting off the rest of the gang members when he saw the leader. "TAYLOR!" He shouted.

Taylor heard Eric call her name and looked over her shoulder to see the gang member. She closed her eyes waiting for the shot, but it never came. She opened her eyes and she gasped in horror. "ERIC!" She screamed. Eric had ran in front of the gun to protect Taylor and he was shot instead of her. She hurried over to him and rolled him onto his back. (AN: You know when Jen turned Alex over?) "Eric, wake up, answer me," she begged. She looked down to see the blood. She saw blood falling from his head and she feared of what that could mean. She looked up and looked around frantically. "I NEED A PARAMEDIC HERE NOW!" She screamed. Nobody answered her. She pulled her radio up to her mouth. "Headquarters, I need a paramedic here immediately. We have a Guardian down, I repeat, we have a Guardian down," she instructed. She held him in her arms and tears fell down her face. "Eric, don't you dare leave me now," she whispered.

At the hospital, Taylor was sitting in the waiting room with Eric's hat in her hands. For the first time in years, tears were falling down her face. She quickly wiped her tears away when the doctor came out. "How is he?" She asked.

"Well, we were able to stop the bleeding. Thankfully the bullet had missed his heart. The second bullet just grazed his head. However..." he trailed off.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Well, during surgery, Commander Myers had fallen into a coma," he replied.

Taylor sat down trying to breathe. Wes, who was sitting with her, had her put her head between her knees and rubbed her back as she cried. "When will he wake up?" He asked.

"He may never wake up," the doctor replied.

She wiped her tears away and stood up. "May I see him?" She asked. He nodded and led Taylor to Eric's room.

Taylor entered his room and tears welled up in her eyes when she saw Eric's appearance.

He had bandages going over his chest and his head. He had an I.V. in his arm, a face mask, a heart monitor, and a respirator.

She sat next to his bed and held his hand. "Oh, Eric, why did you have to do that?" She asked. She kissed the top of his hand. "Don't you dare leave me like this, Myers. Don't you dare," she whispered. She touched his cheek and choked back a sob. "Please wake up, I need you," she added.

Wes was standing in the hall listening to Taylor. He could tell she was going to be miserable for awhile. He had to tell her the worse. The gang leader had escaped along with some of the other gang members. However, he wasn't going to tell her right away. He was going to let her visit Eric for awhile. He looked up when Mrs. Earhardt hurried over to him. "Is she okay? What happened?" She asked frantically.

"Mrs. Earhardt, Taylor's okay, she's in there visiting Eric right now," he replied.

"What happened?" She asked.

"Well, there was an attack downtown and we were called to take care of it. Apparently, the leader of the gang was getting ready to shoot Taylor in the back when Eric got in the way. He got shot twice."

"So, it wasn't Taylor that was shot?"

"No, whatever gave you that idea?"

"Well, the news report said that a Silver Guardian had been shot. I asked Headquarters and all they told me was that she was in the hospital. I was afraid that she was the one shot."

"No, she wasn't the one shot. However, she does need support right now."

Mrs. Earhardt was about to answer when she heard Taylor let out a sob. She looked into the room and saw Taylor with her head down by the bed crying. "I haven't seen her cry like that her whole life," she commented.

"That's because the doctor had informed us that Eric had fallen into a coma during surgery. Eric may never wake up," he informed.

Mrs. Earhardt knew that her husband would care less if Eric wouldn't wake up. He hated Eric, he wanted something different for Taylor. Now, he was going to get his chance to have Taylor to let Eric go and try to see someone he wanted her to see.

Taylor lifted her head up from the bed and touched his face. "I'll be back, I'll be here everyday," she whispered. She placed a kiss on his cheek before leaving.

When Taylor got home, she sat down on the couch and wiped her tears away furiously. She was going to kill the man that did this to her and Eric. She wasn't going to let them get away without punishment. She pulled out the necklace and played with the heart. She jumped when she felt someone place their hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see her mother standing there. "Mom, I didn't see you," she admitted. Mrs. Earhardt sat next to her daughter and held her hand.

"Sweet heart, I saw you at the hospital," Mrs. Earhardt informed.

"What were you doing there?" She asked.

"Well, I had heard that a Silver Guardian had been shot. I called Headquarters and asked for you, but they told me that you were at the hospital. I thought that it was you that was shot so I went to the hospital to find out what happened."

"Then you found Wes and he told you what really happened."

"Yes, I'm so sorry about what happened to Eric."

Taylor played with the necklace some more with a heavy sigh. "Mom, what am I going to do? I can't live without him. I love him," she murmured. Mrs. Earhardt stroked her daughter's hair and pulled her into her arms.

"I know you do, sweetie. I know you do," she assured her.

Taylor cried against her mother and hugged her tight. Mr. Earhardt came into the house and found his daughter sobbing in his wife's arms. Mrs. Earhardt gestured for him to leave as she stroked her daughter's hair. "Everything's going to be okay," she whispered.

Taylor had fallen asleep on the couch and Mrs. Earhardt was speaking with her husband. "What was going on out there?" He asked.

"Eric had been shot today during a fight," she replied.

"I heard that a Silver Guardian had been shot, but I didn't think it would be Eric."

"It was Eric, he saved our daughter doing so."

"That's his loss. Somebody else is bound to find her."

"You just don't get it, do you, Ben?"

"What is there to get, Tina? Our baby is allowed to date somebody better than him."

"She doesn't want somebody different, Ben. She wants Eric. She loves Eric. Her heart is set on him. Just like how his heart is set on her. They are supposed to be together. You have to see that, Ben."

"No, I just see the perfect opportunity."

Tina watched her husband leave and leaned against the counter with tears in her own eyes.