Protecting my own

Disclaimer: Nope. Genuine.

A/N: This one-shot is Hector's POV as Steph gets shot. Dedicated to Babe love-MM love…hope this is to your liking, hun!

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Hector POV

When we got Angelita and her friends out, a feeling of dread curled up inside me. Surviving a gang as long as I had, meant that I never ignored these instincts when they came, and now they were telling me to protect my little angel. I cast my eyes out over the parking lot, finding her quickly. She was nodding at Ranger and after a minute, they began to move to el jefe's car. Against my better judgement, I decided to leave her be and cover the perimeter around her instead.

My lapse in judgement would prove to be critical.

I heard el jefe over the comms, asking us to bring him in alive, and I knew then that I wasn't the only one who thought Jackson Louw might be making an appearance tonight.

"Si," I agreed, letting him know I had heard and acknowledged his command. I stalked forward, checking around me as I walked, until I heard a shot ring out. My heart stopped, and then picked up double time. I sprinted to the lot, barely aware of where I was going, and the sight that met me knocked the very air from my lungs.

Angelita was standing there with the bossman, looking terrified as Louw aimed his gun at them one more time. I just barely fought down the urge to steal her away and protect from all this. I knew that if I tried to charge in, as I wanted to, that it would only result in spooking the pendejo and then he would shoot, and there would be a 33.3% chance of that bullet hitting mi angelita. Then again, if I didn't act, there was a chance he would shoot el jefe.

Hello rock; meet hard place.

I inched toward them, trying to get a proper target on him, my hands on the handles of my knives.

Then everything happened at once. I heard Louw claim to have no problem eliminating el jefe and I heard Angelita gasp. Somehow, I knew what was going to happen before it did; I just knew my little one that well.

Spinning around faster than he could have expected, Angelita twisted herself around and wrapped her body around Ranger's front. A split second after that, two shots rang out. Triumph and dread filled me, before I even realised the scene that was rapidly unfolding in front of me. I saw Louw ricochet backward as my bullet hit his shoulder, and Santos reacted instantly, tackling him to the floor. That explained the triumph…

…and el jefe's scream explained the dread. I turned and watched, horrified at the sight that met me. Angelita was sprawled across Ranger's lap, limp, blood staining her lavender V-neck. Terror rooted me to the spot as Bobby ran to her and Ranger tried to stop the rapid blood flow. As if stuck in my greatest nightmare, I saw Bobby run his hands over her after screaming for an ambulance. Only when the sounds of wailing sirens penetrated my fog of despair and fear, did I react. I sprinted to the SUV, Cal close on my heels, and we followed the ambulance to the hospital. I was annoyed at how slowly they were going; didn't they know how important this was? How important she was? At that moment, I swore that the paramedics would meet hell early if anything happened to my angelita.

We all burst into the hospital like a SWAT team infiltrating a bank heist. It took every bit of my energy not to follow them into the theatre; I felt like I needed to be around her, needed to protect her from everything, and I hated that it couldn't be the case.

Now that I had time to reflect, guilt began to eat up at my insides. Why hadn't I listened to my instincts? I knew something was going to happen; why had I walked away from her still? I scrubbed my face in frustration. Why was the time ticking so slowly? Did it always take this long for what seemed to only be a flesh wound? Or was it more than a flesh wound? Was she okay? Had Brown missed something?

The questions zinged through my head, making it pound relentlessly. When the doctor came out of surgery, all of us stood up, as a unit. He looked tired and I worried immediately; if he looked weary, did it mean that it took him time, but she's okay, or did it mean he took so much of time, but he couldn't do anything?

"She's stable," he announced tiredly. Just two words and all my fear that had been building crashed down. I wanted to drop to my knees at the power of the sheer relief that coursed through my veins. While he was explaining the technical terms to el jefe and the men, I snuck past him to the room he had alluded she was in. I stood next to her bed, looking at her prone form. She was pale and still and it ripped me to shreds on the inside. I took her limp hand in mine and brought it to my lips in a soft kiss. Tenderly, I brushed some of her hair away from her face, grateful that no-one was here to witness my drop from badass to marshmallow.

"Angelita?" I whispered, aware that she couldn't hear me, but needing to tell her this nonetheless. "I am so sorry, angelita. I failed you, but never again, little one, I swear it. Never again, as long as I am around. Te quiero hermanita."

I heard Ranger come in behind me as I pressed one last kiss to her knuckles and her forehead and tucked the blanket around her snugly. I nodded at Ranger once, and I saw understanding in his eyes.

As I left the room I began to prepare in my mind. I meant what I had said…

…as long as I was breathing and as long as it was in my power, I would not allow her to be hurt anymore.

This was my promise.

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A/N: Aw, we love Hector and his Angelita! Hope it was to your liking, Babe love- MM love! Thanks for the continuous reviews!