Sorry it took so long to post! I hope this makes up for my absence!

Lotte- Love you, as always.

Chapter 11

Kate's mind slowly registered her surroundings as she woke up, the heat of Jack's body beside her causing a smile to appear on her face. Opening her eyes she found herself using his chest as a pillow, his arm wrapped around her waist, his hand laying gently on her hipbone.

"Jack?" She lifted her head, despite her bodies distaste. The clock by her nightstand was blank, its plug somehow pulled from the wall. Jack groaned as she shook him slightly, the sun light illuminating the whole room. "Jack, wake up." She got up off the bed, wrapping one of the top blankets around her body, as she did voices wafered up through the floor, they were yelling.

She recognized one of the voices to be Jerry. "Fuck."

"What's wrong?" Jack sat up looking at her through sleep-ridden eyes.

"Jerry's here." She fumbled through her closet to find the first set of clothes she could, dropping the blanket to start pulling on what she had ripped from the closet.

"So?" The dots weren't connecting in his head, but he thought it best to follow her action, only throwing on the clothes he had worn the night before, he had yet to pull all of his from his old room, Kerri's room.

"So Jerry was bringing Kerri home this morning." She shot at him, buttoning up her jeans. "And listen, they're fighting down stairs-" She paused for a moment to pull her shirt over her head. "You might not remember but when our brothers fight, its never a good-" She was cut off when the bedroom's door burst open, admitting the tiny running figure of Kerri. He attached himself to Kate, who luckily had just thrown on enough clothes to be considered decent.

"Baby, you're home." She loosened his grip just enough to sink to her knees to fully embrace him. He seemed so small to her, so fragile at that moment. She couldn't get enough of him, the longer she help him the more she never wanted to let her son go. Their son, she thought, tearing her gaze away to look at Jack, whose gaze was fixed on what he was sure was the most beautiful sight in the world.

"Kerri baby." Gently she withdrew herself from Kerri, to turn him towards Jack. "aren't you going to say hello to your daddy?" The word sounded so perfect to her, daddy. Thats what something she knew Jack could be, no matter how flawed he was, she knew he could be a great father.

Kerri stood stiller than a stone simply looking at Jack, his gaze traveling up and down him like he was inspecting him. Fear shot through Jack's heart, what if Kerri didn't accept him as a father? What if he blamed him for not being there? His heart raced in his chest as he looked at the little boy. Ending Jack's terror, Kerri grinned happily, hugging Jack tightly like he had just hugged his mother. When the father and son finally drew apart, Kerri remembered why he had rushed into his mother's room.

"They are fighting Ma, Uncle Jerry and Uncle Bobby." He pouted as he looked at his mother, remembering how he stood quite frightened as they screamed at each other, and how he ran when Bobby pinned Jerry to the ground, speaking words his mother did not allow.

"I'll go tell them to stop darling, why don't you stay here with your daddy while I straighten them up? Some times they act like children." She flashed a fake smile to comfort him, before revealing to Jack he true worry with a glance.

"You got in bed with them Jerry, you paid them." Bobby's voice hit her as she descended down the stairs, finding Angel, Bobby and Jerry in the living room.

"No no no! I didn't pay them. Thats how they fucking shut me down." Jerry shot back, His gaze leaping to see Kate.

"What's going on boys?" She questioned, but neither Bobby nor Angel tore there attention away from Jerry.

"I thought the city cut you off?" It was Angel's time to speak.

"Come on this is Detroit! Sweet owns Douglas! He ain't nothing but a gangsta in a suit!" As Jerry spoke someone rapped on the front door. Finding herself being ignored, she tore herself away from the men to answer the door.

"Your mother was a whore!" The man she assumed had knocked spoke as he walked away from the house, flipping her off as he did so.

"Fucking grow up asshole!" She shot back at them, enraged that anyone could say such a thing about Ms. Evelyn. She stormed out of the house towards the man, intending to give him a piece of her mind. "How dare you say something like that! Turn around and face me." She commanded.

The figure snickered, and did was she said. Kate gasped. Time seemed to stop as she looked at the man, a hockey mask covering his face, and a silver pistol in his hand. What seemed like forever took less than a second, the man fired.

Her scream carried into the house, causing Bobby, Angel, and Jerry to end their fighting, and run out of the house.

"Kate!" Bobby, gun in hand, screamed out as he saw her clutching her chest, red liquid spilling between her fingers. The gun man approached her, disappointed that his first shot had not killed her quick enough, determined to finish the job right. His intentions were foiled as Bobby took aim, leaving a bullet between his eyes.

The world seemed to faded off as Kate crawled towards the show covered lawn, the sound the gun shots drowned out by her heart. Two words repeated in her mind when she collapsed done on the ground, Kerri and Jack.

Jack clung to Kerri desperately, Covering him from anything that could possibly harm the child. When the first shot hit his ear, he ran to the window to see what the commotion was about, only to have his heart shatter at the sight of Kate. His world, the woman had loved since he was thirteen was crawling across the pavement in agony, and he couldn't move. He was frozen by fear seeing Bobby exchange shots with a van who had driven up towards the house, a hand full of gun men exiting, their target the house.

As Kerri shook with fear Jack couldn't keep his mind off of Kate, every fiber of his body longing to go to her, but he knew he couldn't. He had to protect Kerri. It almost surprised him how he acted when the first bullet hit the second floor of the house, how quickly he grabbed Kerri and took him to the only shelter he could think of, the bathtub. He wasn't too sure why he thought of it, but as the wall next to them was pelted with lead, he was thankful for his decision.

"Kate? Kate, come on open you're eyes." Bobby's voice brought her back. He was leaning over her, his hands on each side of her face.

"Jack? And Kerri?" She cringed in pain as she spoke. Even ten hours of labor couldn't compare to the pain coursing through her body. It wasn't the physical pain from the wound she felt, but the realization that she was covered in her own blood. That her chest stung every time she attempted a ragged breath.

"They're safe Kate." Bobby chocked back tears watching relief spread through her features. She gave him a pained smile before her eyelids fell, plummeting her into darkness. "Don't you die on my Kitten" He shook her, but she fell limp in his arms. "Kate." A single sob emitted from Bobby before he drew himself from her, grabbing his gun and storming to the one last man alive, the driver of the van. Ripping the door open he pointed the barrel of the gun in the already wounded man's face.

"Is this Victor Sweets doing?"

"Yeah, Sweet. Victor Sweet." He lowered the barrel of the gun, sighing.

"Thank God." Bobby Cocked his head.

"Thank God? He killed my mother and baby sister! Thank Victor Sweet." The final gun shot echoed around them all.

Detective Green approached Bobby, Angel and Jerry as they sat on the stoop of their mother's home, looking over the the police filling the Bodies into black bags.

"Any word from the Hospital yet?" He asked, truly concerned.

"Jack just called, She's in surgery. But the doctors don't think she's going to make it." Angel spoke up, his voice cracking as they did.

"She'll pull through. She is a Mercer after all."