Chapter Five
Emily walked with the stretcher that had Matt on it. Her hand clutching his tightly.
"Stay with me baby," Emily said, as Matt had more than once closed his eyes, and refused to open them.
"I...l-lo-lov-love...y-yo-you," Matt said, his teeth chattering, his hand turning numbingly cold.
"I love you too baby," Emily said.
Cheryl followed close behind, with Frank. He had long since lost concuciousness.
"Duff, call Frank's wife," Cheryl said, as she hopped into the back of the ambulance with Frank.
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Two Long Hours later
Emily fidgeted in her seat. Lia's hand lay comfortingly on her shoulder.
"He's tough, he'll be okay," Lia said, her tone low.
"I hope so," Emily said, tears gracing her eyes again.
He had saved her. He had asked Jacob to kill him, and not her.
Cheryl's hand was on Melissa's shoulder. She had quit crying, but she still sniffled a little bit. Cheryl's heart broke for her.
"Matthew Flannery," the doctor called coming from behind the surgery wing doors.
The entire group stood up, and Lia's hand never left Emily's shoulder.
"Okay, I have a Emily Lehman down as emergency contact," the doctor said.
Emily stepped forward just a bit, so she could hear what the doctor said.
"Emily, Matt had some artery damage. We had to go in, and drain the excess fluid that had built up. It would have caused less damage if the bullet hadn't gotten lodged. We were able to remove it cleanly though, but he's going to need physical therapy on his shoulder. He had to give him a small blood transfusion, to make up for the blood he lost. He will be perfectly fine, and he should make a full recovery," the doctor said, his hand on her shoulder.
Emily sighed in relief, she didn't know what she would do if Matt wouldn't have made it.
"Doctor," Cheryl called at the last minute.
"Yes ma'am," the doctor said, turning back towards Cheryl.
"Frank Rogers," Cheryl said.
"Was he brought in with Mr. Flannery?" the doctor asked.
"Yes," Cheryl answered.
"I'm not the doctor working on him, I'll see what I can find out," the doctor said, as he disappeared back behind the doors.
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Hour Later
"Rogers," a different doctor called.
The group stood up again, this time Cheryl and Emily's hands both on Melissa's shoulder.
"Is there a Melissa Rogers here?" the doctor asked.
Melissa raised her hand, but refused to move from the two women.
"Frank has had a great amount of damage done to his body. He is alive, and we expect him to pull through. Luckily the bullet just missed his lung, but it did get lodged into his ribcage. He lost a great deal of blood, and we had to give him a large blood transfusion. He's stable now, but he did code once during surgery. He is going to need a great deal of therapy before he can even think about returning to work," the doctor said, leaving the room soon after.
Melissa burst into tears, she didn't know if it was because she was so incredibly happy that Frank was alive, or if it was the thought that she had come so close to losing him.
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Cheryl negotiated with the doctor, to allow Emily to stay with Matt for the night. Emily sat in the very small, very uncomfortable chair, her head laying against Matt's hand.
"Hey," his voice croaked.
"Hey," she said, her head raising up fast, her eyes meeting his.
"You didn't get hurt did you?" Matt asked, his fingers running down her face.
"You get shot, and need surgery, and your worried about me," Emily said, taking his hand in both of hers.
"Of course, I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you," Matt said.
"I'm fine," Emily said, as she kissed his hand lightly.
"Good," Matt said.
"Matt do me a favor," Emily said.
"Anything," he said.
"Please try to not got shot from now on," she said, a single tear falling down her face.
"Deal," Matt said, wiping the tear away.
"I love you so much," she said.
"I love you too Em, will you do me a favor?" Matt asked, he knew it wasn't the right place, but he had to ask her.
"Anything," she said, her eyes never leaving his.
"Will you marry me?" Matt asked.
Emily eyes watered, as a smile graced her face.
"Yes," was all she could muster.
"Good, I was afraid you'd say no," Matt said, as he slid over so Emily could lay down beside him.
"Never," she said, as she nestled her head into the crook of his neck.
"How's Frank?" Matt asked.
"He's alive," Emily said.
"Good, can't get married without my best man," Matt said, as he tighten his grip on Emily.