A/N: The information Boris shares about the courts and various other things (mostly involving medical reasonings) were all found on Google again, so I apologize if it is inaccurate.

One Wrong Turn- A Long Recovery….All Thanks to One Wrong Turn

'Am I dead?" was the first thought that Tucker's mind processed when he started to gain consciousness again. The blinding light he was seeing, the feeling of a familiar female hand stroking his hair, the sounds of buzzing machines and codes being called…

'I'm in a hospital; damn, that's disappointing.' He thought. 'Wait, that's supposed to be a good thing- means I'm alive, I think. Wait- why am I here in the first place? Oh right, my dad shot me. That's it- I'm taking his 'World's Best Father' mug away. And maybe his alcohol. Yeah, that seems fair. Waaaait, he shot his hemophilic son; he's going to jail for that. Oh! And the whole reason why I'm in this mess in the first place- the cops will arrest him for that too.'

"Tucker. Tucker, are you awake?" a fuzzy sound asked.

'Go the hell away! Can't you see I was just shot? It's not that fun-especially if you have hemophilia…

"Hank!" the voice shouted again.

'Libby just won't give up, will she? That's it! Libby! I wonder who told her…?' he commented in his head.

"I think he's awake." She said, wiping back happy tears.

"Yeah, he's awake." Hank agreed, smiling. Suddenly, Tucker felt Hank's familiar hands running over his forehead and his cheeks. "He still has a slight fever, but he'll be okay." He assessed. "Tucker, can you hear me?" Tucker attempted to respond, but the only sound that came out was a series of coughs. "Tucker." Hank sighed, obviously relieved. "It's good to have you back- well, almost back. You gave us quite a scare there, you know. We kept losing you on the operation table, but you've always been a fighter. The bullet-wound was stitched up, and, miraculously, you're going to be okay."

"Did you hear that Tucker? You'll be fine." Libby cheered silently. She placed her hands over Tucker's, and looked hopefully at him, praying that he would be able to recover soon.

"Divya and Evan are fine." Libby added. "The bombs were removed safely, and your father confessed to everything."

"B…B-oris?" Tucker choked out.

"Yeah, he's okay, too." Hank reassured.

"What… What now?" Tucker asked.

"Now, you rest. Everyone's okay, and they'll have a long road to recover just like you."

"All thanks to one wrong turn." Libby muttered under her breath, obviously talking about Marshal Bryant, the reason her boyfriend- her hemophilic boyfriend, nonetheless- was shot and resting in a hospital bed barely-coherent and aware of the real world.

"Dad's going away, right?" Tucker asked flatly. He wasn't stupid. There was only way this was going to play out.

Hank and Libby exchanged concerned glances, wondering if there was some way to delay this conversation.

"Of course, Tucker. He can't hurt anyone anymore…including you," a firm confident voice from behind them said. Boris smiled down at Tucker, who had just managed to open his eyes.. "For the longest time, I thought you were going to die, and I wasn't the only one. We were all scared, Tucker, just like you were. But there's no need to be afraid anymore. Marshal has been arrested on the charges of murder, attempted murder, endangering a child, 'disrupting' an on-going police investigation, and a page-full of other, more minor, charges."

"How long?" Libby asked.

"At the very minimum, Marshal will have 20 years with no parole." Boris replied. "He's lost custody of you, obviously, but the courts are working a deal that allows you to continue living where you are as long as someone checks in on you at least three times a week, preferably more. Since you practically lived on your own beforehand, you're 17 years old, and you have a maid who can keep an eye on you as well as willing adults, the officers I talked to said that there is a very good chance that the deal will go through. Either way, I wouldn't worry about it." Boris added.

"Thanks- Boris, Hank, everyone. You've all helped to make sure that Tucker was okay, and you're both following him through 'til the end. It's… it's nice having someone else care about him, especially since his family never was there for him." Libby stuttered, obviously fighting off tears.

"It's no problem, Libby. I think it's safe to say that there are a lot of people in the Hamptons who are quite fond of Tucker." Boris smiled.

"Are these 'quite fond' people the same ones who will be looking after me until I graduate high school?" Tucker asked.

"I'd have to say 'yes'." Hank nodded as he patted Tucker on the shoulder.

"You should know that you've made the news, and I've received quite a few phone calls. I've already gotten offers too take care of you from Ms. Newberg, Alan Ryder, Jill Casey, and about a dozen more names that I can't hardly even remember. The Hamptons will be crowding you for a while, and if you would like, Libby and yourself can stay with me until the media spectacle calms down a bit. I don't want an answer now; I just want you to know that you have that option." Boris explained.

"Thanks, Boris; I really appreciate that." Tucker nodded.

Just as Boris was about to respond, a knock on the door diverted everyone's attention.

"Hey Tucker, we heard you were awake." Divya said as she walked with a pale Evan who was sitting in a wheel chair.

"Yeah, he just woke up." Libby nodded. "He was out for a long time…"

"Are you feeling better?" Hank whispered to his brother not wanting to interrupt the rest of the group.

"I'll be fine." Evan reassured him brushing off his injuries as inconsequential as he took in the vast array of dangly and beeping equipment surrounding that young patient. "What about Tucker-what happened?"

"No one told you?" Hank asked, obviously surprised.

"Well, I'm sure they did, but I just got up about three hours ago, so don't remember much from the last few hours."

"His dad was going to shoot Divya, but Tucker ran in front of her." Seeing the confused and angry look on his younger brother's face, he continued. "It's a long story; I'll explain it later."

"You better." Evan muttered. He dismissed his brother and wheeled up carefully to Tucker and Libby, who were both on the hospital bed. "Hey guys." He greeted. "Are we feeling better?"

"Yeah, it still hurts a little, but I'll be okay." Tucker said.

"If you need anything, anything at all, just let me or Hank know and we'll take care of you, okay?"

"You're the fifth person who's said that to me today…and yeah, I appreciate that." Tucker smiled.

"All right man," Evan said, finding that he was finally able to smile. He looked around the room to see if anyone was listening to them, and once he was reassured no one was, he scooted in closer to Tucker. "I don't know what went on back there, but from what I've heard, you saved Divya's life. I appreciate that. She's a…fantastic person…. and she doesn't deserve death. What you did back there? It makes you a hero in my book. You willingly and knowingly jeopardized your life for her, and even though you shouldn't have been forced into that situation to begin with, you did a brave, if not even ridiculously dumb thing, and I'm proud of you."

Tucker's eyes diverted down to his hospital gown for a brief second as a tear rolled down his face. He quickly wiped it away and looked back up at Evan. Evan just smiled at the teenager who had been through so much, and he prayed that things would look up for him. He patted Tucker's shoulder as Divya bustled up to wheel him away so Tucker could rest, leaving Libby and him alone.

"He's right, Tucker." She said. "We're all proud of you." Tucker smiled at her and planted a quick kiss on her lips.

"I love you." He whispered.

"I love you too."

Tucker Bryant closed his eyes, knowing that everything would be all right. He pulled up his blanket and nuzzled Libby closer to him. He swallowed his thoughts and his doubts and he shoved them aside. With his heart on his sleeve and his hand intertwined with Libby's, he forced himself to sleep and pretended to be as brave as everyone thought he was.

A/N: Yes, there will be an epilogue: ). Thnx everyone for reading; we're both glad you stuck with this until the very end!