"Colby, why don't you take the day off and spend it with Hannah?" Don said gently into the phone. "Robin and Megan are going to organize something so that there'll be someone with her most of the time."
"Thanks, Don. Hannah's sister, Anneliese is here, with her husband. I don't know how long they can stay, they have two kids. Willow and Kayla called, they're on their way, but they have families too, so I don't know how long they'll stay," Colby was rambling, but Don let him. His heart ached for the younger man. He had been so happy with Hannah. "Olivia's going to be discharged today. I think David's here to get her." Colby trailed off.
"Okay. You hang in there. I'll stop by later this evening." Don hung up, and looked at Megan. "He's not doing very well."
"I think he's doing well enough, under the circumstances," Megan said quietly. "But I'll talk to him after a day or so, if it doesn't get any better."
Don nodded, "My dad said to include him on your list, Megan. And Charlie too."
"Okay. Robin and I will work out some kind of roster."
-----
"Colby," a familiar voice spoke his name.
He looked up startled, "Rilla! Weren't you leaving... um..."
"Yesterday," she supplied, her voice soft with sympathy. "How are you holding up, son?"
Colby struggled to control the emotions that raced across him, tearing him apart. The gentle tone, and the loving endearment almost brought him to his knees. He swallowed hard, "It's been the longest day of my life." He paused again, clearing his throat. "You didn't have to stay, Rilla."
She looked quietly at him, "I thought you could use the help with Hannah's health insurance."
He looked at her in sudden fear, "I don't think she has any."
"She didn't. But I talked her into getting a small business owner's policy. It went into effect a week or so ago," tears suddenly sprang into Rilla's eyes. "Ah, I'm sorry. She's become special to me too."
He hugged her. Tightly. Then sat back wearily.
She sat down next to him, suddenly exhausted too. "How is Olivia?"
"Single gunshot wound, outer thigh. Luckily for her, a through and through. She was discharged today, although she's going to have to stay home for a couple of weeks."
Rilla nodded, "How is David?"
"He's fussing over her like a mother hen. I'm sure he's fine." Colby sounded a little bitter.
She patted him on the hand. "There was a pregnant woman sitting with Hannah earlier. Looked just like Hannah. Her sister?"
"Yes. Anneliese, and her husband Rick Stephanson. They came in last night. They're staying at Hannah's. I..." Colby trailed off. And swallowed hard. He hadn't been able to stay. There were too many memories of her in that apartment.
"Oh, Colby!" Rilla patted him on the hand again, struggling to hold back the tears. "What does the doctor say?"
He looked at her quietly, "Anneliese talked to the doctor this morning. Hannah's going to live, but the doctor can't tell us what degree of mobility she will have. The bullet went through her side and went very close to the spinal cord before exiting. She also hit her head against a rock or something when she fell. He thinks she has a mild concussion, which is why she hasn't regained consciousness."
Rilla was silent.
Colby sighed, "I keep going over it in my mind, trying to think if there was anything I could have done differently, anything I could have added to make it safer..."
"It wasn't your fault, Colby," Rilla said fiercely, "And Hannah would be the last person to blame you for it."
He nodded, but she could tell he wasn't entirely convinced.
"She'll come out of it, and she'll come out of it fighting. She'll need you to be there to support her, to push her through that physical therapy. There may be times when she'll feel like giving up, and you'll have to be strong enough to make sure she doesn't. There's a reason why she loves you, and it isn't for your pretty face, Granger. You'll have to be strong like you've never been strong before. You'll have to know when to coddle her and when to make her angry, because you'll need to do both. She might even hate you at some point in all of it, but if that's what it takes to pull her through it, by God, you'll need to be strong enough to do it." Rilla was a relieved to see him set his jaw. She thought he might make it through this after all.
"Thank you," was all he said.
She squeezed his hand, "I'm flying home in a few hours. I'll call you every so often to see how you're both doing."
He smiled at her, "Tell Jared 'Hi' from me." He hugged her again, and she left.
-----
"How is she, Anneliese? And how is he holding up?" Kayla asked anxiously. Rick and Anneliese had just picked her and Willow up at the airport.
"She's going to live. But whether or not she'll be able to walk or anything like that still remains to be seen," Anneliese struggled to keep her tears in check.
Willow squeezed her shoulder, trying to comfort her.
Anneliese sighed, "The poor man seems to be adrift in a sea of agony. I think he blames himself."
There was silence in the car for a few minutes.
"What about the jewelry store? Is there someone who can keep it running till Hannah gets back on her feet?" Kayla eventually asked. She got a look from Rick. "What? I have absolutely no doubt that she'll be back on her feet. It's just a question of when."
"You have such faith in her," Rick said quietly.
Kayla and Willow both shrugged. They knew her better than he did.
"She mentioned once that she had a great assistant. We'll see what we have to do," Willow said quietly.
-----
He looked different, Anneliese thought in surprise when they arrived at the hospital. Sharper, more alert.
Colby looked up from his conversation with Robin and saw Kayla and Willow. "Well, if it isn't the rest of the Three Musketeers," he said dryly.
Rick grinned, "I see you've met."
"A day which will live in infamy," Colby quoted, mockingly. He smiled to soften the sarcasm.
"Yeah, yeah, good to see you too, Granger," Kayla replied, rolling her eyes. Willow grinned.
"This is Robin Brooks, Assistant District Attorney. These two nuts are Hannah's best friends. And you met Hannah's sister and brother-in-law earlier."
Robin acknowledged everyone, "I was just trying to find out from Colby if anyone had a power of attorney. We'll need something like that to keep the store going."
"A power of attorney won't be necessary, Robin. I'm a partner in that store," Anneliese said quietly. Rick looked at his wife in stunned surprise. She smiled gently at him. "It was a precaution, since she was alone. She insisted on paying me, but I had her set up a college fund for the kids instead."
Robin smiled, "I figured Hannah would have something in place. We'll talk about what needs to be done. She's going to need the income."
"Oh, no! Health insurance!" Anneliese gasped suddenly.
"It's okay," Colby said gently, "Rilla talked her into getting insurance. She's covered."
Robin looked at him, "Did Rilla stop by?"
"Yeah," Colby said wryly, "And put the fear of God in me."
Robin laughed, "Well, that explains it."
"Explains what?" Colby looked surprised.
"Explains why you seem to have your act together today. You looked like a lost soul yesterday."
"Yeah. I was. Still am, mostly."
It was quiet for a few minutes, no one quite knew how to respond to that. Willow plunged into the silence, "I'm going to sit with her for a few minutes. Read to her or something."
"Read the play-by-play from yesterday's Cardinals ballgame," Colby suggested.
She looked at him in disgust.
"What? She loves the Cardinals!"
Kayla laughed, "Willow hates baseball. Come on, we'll find something to read to her."