Chapter Six

The car ride there was quiet, Annie Blaisdell had given her statement to Skalany and remained fairly quiet the ride there, no doubt worrying about her only son. They arrived at the hospital moments before the ambulance pulled in. As Alex stepped out of the car she spotted Kermit stepping out of the ambulance, looking a little paler than normal, his glasses removed as he gripped Peter's hand, which was lying on a gurney, covered in blood. Alex felt her breath hitch, a lump in her throat.

Kermit, also covered in blood—Peter's most likely, reached out with his other hand and grabbed Alex, pulling her close. Alex looked down to see hazel eyes staring up at her, he smiled sadly, "Didn't mean it," he whispered softly as he let go of Kermit's hand.

Alex tried not to cry as she grabbed his hand, she squeezed Peter's hand and nodded, "We'll start over," she whispered, not quite trusting her voice.

"We've got to take him into the ER now, you'll have to stay here; we'll have someone come alert you when we know more."

Kermit didn't hesitate, he let go of the side of the stretcher and grabbed Alex in a hug, pulling her into his arms as she buried her head in his chest, "He's going to be fine Al, the EMTs said it missed all vital organs."

He led her carefully back into the waiting room and smiled as he saw Annie, she seemed to be patiently waiting for them, "Al, I'd like you to meet a very special lady, this is Peter's mother, Annie Blaisdell, Annie, this is Alex Campbell."

Alex forced a smile and a light chuckle, "Wish we were meeting under better circumstances" she offered holding out her hand.

Peter had said that Annie was an amazing woman, a moment later Alex found herself in the arms of Annie Blaisdell, and she realized everything Peter had said was true. Completely true. The woman simply emanated an aura of love. Alex clung to her, and felt her dam finally shatter as all her memories came flooding back.

"Baby?" He called out as he stepped out of the bathroom, "Do I look okay in this?"

She laughed as he stood there with a pair of old baggy jeans and a shirt that was far too tight for him. "Doug! You can't go out like that! Now come on, tell you what, when you get home tonight I'll have meat loaf on the table waiting."

He grinned as he moved closer and pulled her into his arms, flushed against his body, "I love you," he whispered as he lowered his lips to hers.

Her arms naturally slid around his waist as she began to run them up and down, aware the material was thing and he was getting goose bumps. "Ooh woman don't toy with me, I've got to go to work."

"Hey," she said pull him back as he tried to get away, "Be careful and I love you," she pressed a quick kiss to his lips.

"Always beautiful!"

She stood in the kitchen, humming to music when she saw the red SUV pull in front of her house, her stomach rolled, she knew what that meant, "God—" she whispered as she went to answer the door.

"Alex," began John Thorpe, he sighed a she looked at the ground, he'd known Alex since she first met Doug three years earlier, "I'm so sorry," he whispered.

She shook her head, tears poured into her eyes as she tried to cover her face, "Please no!" she sobbed.

o0o

Karen stepped into the waiting room to find Alex curled up in a chair, silently leaning into Kermit's shoulder. Annie was seated on her other side holding her hand, Frank had left, but several other detectives and friends now littered the area.

Dr. Sabourin stepped out of the ER, smiling at the familiar family she'd come to know and love. "Mrs. Blaisdell," she spoke lightly, so not to startle anyone.

Annie stood, still holding Alex's hand. Kermit reached out for Karen's hand as they faced the doctor. "How's my baby?"

"It was a clean wound. A few more inches and he probably wouldn't be with us anymore. He's going to need some physical therapy, but he'll be fine. We're taking him to surgery which will last about two hours barring any serious complications. If you'd like you're more than welcome to wait here, but I encourage you to get cleaned up and grab something to eat. I'll have you paged when he's in recovery."

"Thank you Doctor," Annie whispered in relief.

Kermit smiled as he pulled Karen into a hug, "He's going to be fine," Karen whispered in his ear. He nodded against his shoulder, unwilling to show the tears that had begun to form in his own brown eyes.

o0o

Kermit stepped into the hospital room two and a half hours later and sighed, he'd spent the past few hours answering questions, comforting Alex and Annie. He'd changed from his usual suit that had been covered in Peter's blood to a pair of green scrubs, which looked strange to him. He felt completely exhausted, and now here he stood feet from his best friend who had cut it close yet again. The doctor said the bullet hadn't caused any serious damage, but few inches lower and he would have died. They'd gotten damn lucky on this one.

"Stupid kid," he mumbled as he stepped forward and gripped Peter's arm. "You've effectively scared the shit out of everyone kid. Worst part is you did your job perfectly. Everyone else but the gunman is alive. We even found the third perp. Nice job Pete."

"Thanks," came the weak reply from the bed.

Kermit looked up in surprise, wiping off his glasses he met Peter's hazel green with his own brown ones, "How you doing?"

"Hurt like hell—I'll live. Oh god, is mom okay?"

"Yeah, she's a little freaked out, but she'll live. I've also been told by a certain lady to remind you…and I quote: Give me a call when they've removed the burr, because I find myself still wanting to see you."

Peter chuckled softly, "And we caught everyone?"

"The third guy got away, and we were able to track him down to his apartment, and all the money they stole. Case solved and closed my friend."

""Nice—how?" He managed from his croaked voice.

"There were three guys, and as you could see guy number three was twitchy, stood over by the countertops. Guy number two, the one who I killed, would steal the money quickly then ask to see the vault about half way through his collecting process. He'd point a gun and twitchy and they'd go into the vault, twitchy still acting like a prisoner rather than a thief. Once inside he'd lock the door and by this time the SWAT team has come in, and to everyone's surprise the TWO bank robbers are gone, no one suspected Twitchy for a minute."

"Wow, that makes my head hurt," he joked, "—I'm tired," he whispered.

Kermit leaned close, squeezing Peter's hand, "Get some rest kid. We'll be here when you wake up."

o0o

Alex took a deep breath, standing in the doorway twenty-four hours later, she caught her first glimpse of him; she felt her heart ache it hurt to see him like this. In nearly a week that she'd known him, she knew he was the type of guy who was constantly on the move. Now he was just laying there, on the bed, his right arm in a sling. How close had that bullet come, he'd been in surgery for two hours, the doctor had said another three inches lower and he'd be dead.

She couldn't quite fathom it, sure she knew the dangers of police work, her fiancé had died and he was a fireman. But as she looked at him now, she found herself shaking with fear. It wasn't like she was looking at Doug all over again, this was different. Sure she'd loved Doug, you don't spend three years with someone almost get married and not love them…usually. No, her heart had started truly beating for the first time when she'd met Peter.

Hazel green eyes fluttered open, she watched him as he oriented himself for a moment, he must have felt a shift in the atmosphere because he slowly turned his head to look at her. She stood there, her eyes red and blood shot from crying on Kermit and Annie's shoulder. Her face pale with fear, "Alex" he whispered.

She felt a half sob half laugh break from her mouth as she slowly stepped into the room, closing the door behind her. "I—" she shook her head, she forced her eyes shut to stave off the tears and leaned her head back, she had to gain control.

He decided to break the ice a little, "I hear they found a burr…appears it was pretty deep," he sat up slowly, trying to bit back the pain in his right side. She half laughed half sobbed again as she moved closer to his side, helping him raise the bed.

"I—" this wasn't how she wanted to start this conversation, "When Doug died, we'd never really been through near death experiences. He went on runs all the time, and I knew I could lose him but…yesterday was different."

He sighed; he understood exactly what she was going through, because he'd gone through it with his mother and Paul. He'd watched his mother suffer through it every time she got a phone call. "Sweetie I'm going to be fine." She felt her face crumble again. "What?" He asked holding her hand.

She shook her head, trying to gain control, "I'm sorry—that's the first time you've called me anything but Alex." She nodded, "But there will always be a next time…and right now I need some time to think this over. Because I'm not sure I'm ready to lose another man I…I just need a little space right now, to decide if I'm ready to be in another relationship like this."

Peter watched her for a moment and nodded, "As long as you need," he whispered softly as he held her hand. "But make me a promise?"

"Anything," she whimpered through a new onslaught of tears.

"Talk to my mom, I know you've probably just met, but she'll understand and maybe she can help you make the decision, one way or another."

She nodded slowly as the tears began to fall down her face, "I'm sorry," she began to cry.

He sighed and pulled her close, scooting over he made room for her, and held onto her tight as she curled against his side, burying her face in the shoulder. Riding out the fear and terror she'd spent the last twenty-four hours in. He just held her, aware this could be the last time, and if it was he was going to cherish the time he had. He pressed a kiss to her, taking in the scent of her beautiful hair as his heart ached. He wasn't sure what he'd do if she decided the price wasn't worth the reward. But he'd live with her decision, he was a cop and that's who he was.