Chapter Twenty-Two

A shot rang out and blood splattered, and then more blood came and continued to seep through her shirt.

Shadow's blood ran cold as Lorenzo's unmoving body slumped to the right, dragging the blade out of Kiera's abdomen. The blood just kept coming and coming. He dropped his gun to the floor, and quickly applied direct pressure on her stomach.

"You're going to be okay, baby, I promise you. I got you." He kept repeating to her, hoping that she would stay awake and hang on for dear life. It became more of a plea on his part, he wanted her to live. He wanted her to stay. He wanted her stay with him. He wanted her to live with him. He wanted her to love with him, she was is everything to him. There was no way in hell he could live without her now.

She's his family.

His home.

"Silver! Get the ties!" He ordered, and his friend rushed past him and cut the ties that held and bound her to the chair.

Shadow looked over at Silver. "We need to get her to the car and to the hospital."

"The tunnel takes too long, we need to up through the house, it's faster but there's stairs." Silver looked to Kiera, not sure she'll make it up the stairs.

Kiera used what little strength she had and used her finger tips to graze the buckle of Shadow's belt. "Use that… for a makeshift tourniquet." She spoke softly through all the pain.

"Your girl is a genius." Silver quickly took his own belt and slipped it around the back of her middle, he ripped a piece of Lorenzo's shirt and stuffed her wound before applying the tourniquet.

She cried out and whimpered as they picked her up and quickly made it up the stairs of the basement. The sound of her in pain is killing him inside, it's the worst sound humanly possible for him. He never wanted to hear that sound again.

The three of them got out of the burnt ruins of her childhood home only to be greeted with a gun pointed at them. "You've got to be kidding me." Silver muttered.

There Alistair stood. "She has to die."

"No, I don't. Enzo is dead." Kiera managed to get out. They needed to get to that car, they didn't have time for this.

He clocked and aimed his hand gun at her. "Liar." His hands were shaking. He didn't know anything else other than to follow Lorenzo in his tyrannical path. He was lost without him. Silver felt his own handgun leave the back of his pants before Alistair could even attempt to shoot her.

She shot him.

"I always wanted to do that." Shadow kissed her forehead.

Silver helped her into the back of their car. "I'll drive, you stay with her and keep her awake." He told Shadow as he got into the driver's seat, putting the key into the ignition, turning it and revving the engine. As soon as he got off the dirt road, he would speed down the roads to the hospital.

Kiera gripped at Shadow's hand, trying to maintain eye contact with him. "Please, stay awake. I need you to stay awake. Baby, don't close your eyes. Please." He begged her as he softly stroking his thumb over the top of her hand he was holding.

Her skin was slowly going pale and blue. "I'm trying…it's just so hard."

"I know, I know. Please, for me, fight for me. Keep your eyes on me."

She slowly blinked.

"Keep your eyes open, Kiera."

Another blink, even slower.

"Kiera."

They closed.

"Kiera!"

When she opened them again it was days later and the room she was in just screamed hospital. It was nothing but cream, magnolia and beige colours. At first, she thought it was hell but then she felt a squeeze to her left hand. Her eyes travelled down her bruised arm which was also hooked up to an IV. Her eyes found two sets of eyes that she adored.

Tails.

Shadow.

"There you are, gorgeous." She was very happy to hear his voice and then another.

Tails smiled at her. "You gave us all quite a scare."

"What is this? A Grey's Anatomy episode?" A chuckle from another followed her first words since coming back from the brink of death.

Her eyes caught Knuckles in the corner. "She's fine."

"Quite the turn out, just for little old me?" Her eyes scanned the room, she recognised some faces and others she didn't.

Shadow softly rubbed the palm of her hand. "Yes."

"The last thing I remember was your voice and I was in the car – what happened after that?" Kiera asked whoever in the room, inviting anyone to answer.

Rouge spoke up and made her way to the other side of her hospital bed. "More like, what didn't happen, sweetie." She chuckled.

"I'm 'sweetie' now?" She raised an eyebrow and held a smirk.

Rouge rolled her eyes. "You make my best friend and partner insanely happy. Literally. Not even I could stand in the way of that and I don't want to."

"Did someone have an epiphany while I was being tortured?"

Shadow squeezed her hand. "Hey." He gave her look.

"Something like that, sweetie and we were all praying and hoping you'd come back to us." Rouge smiled softly down at her.

She bit the inside of her a little while considering what she said. "I think that's the only nice thing you've ever said to me."

"Yeah, about that-" She got cut off by Kiera.

"Don't worry about that, water under the bridge." She returned a smile to Rouge.

Near the door, Sonic leaned to Knuckles. "Is this a blossoming friendship?"

He looked back at his friend. "Shut up."

"Love you too, Knuckie."

Their attention went back to Kiera by the sound of her voice with followed with laughter by the others. "Are we keeping you two from something?"

"This is why nobody invites to anything." Knuckles moved over to where Rouge was standing.

Sonic dramatically placed a hand on his chest. "I thought our love was real." The feigned hurt on his face really made Kiera laugh then he thought he did something wrong when he saw tears in his eyes.

"Oh, crap. Please, don't cry." He begged awkwardly, trying to save himself.

Kiera wiped her tears with her fingers and caught the sight of her hands and then her arms. "It's fine, you just reminded me of one of my brothers but god, he really did a number on me, didn't he?"

That was rhetorical, but Tails pushed past it before Shadow could. "You're the strongest woman I know. He's gone, and they can't hurt you anymore."

Silver added to his notion. "You'll heal up, and everything will be back to normal."

"Since when are things normal with you guys?" She laughed, and Shadow kissed the back of her hand. She looked over at him and smiled softly.

Rouge brought her hands to her chest in a prayer-like form. "Not to be a downer or anything but that bungalow and everything in it is dust and ashes."

Shadow brought up the plan of action he talked to her doctor about. "I had a chat with your doctor about the whole ordeal and situation. They're going to have you transferred to Station Square Medical Centre as soon you're able to and once you're better you'll be with me."

Rouge scoffed. "In that dark, stingy poor excuse of an apartment? Fat chance. There's more than enough room on Angel Island – isn't there, Knuckles?" She turned to him, giving him one of her 'looks' and he cleared his throat.

"Of course, they can. Kiera seemed to enjoy there when you two visited and that apartment is horrifying."

Sonic laughed. "So, I don't have to offer my place? Sweet. Ow." He rubbed his side after Blaze elbowed him.

Tails pulled out his phone. "I'm going to work my ass off to pay for these medical bills." He mumbled as he began to search the internet.

Kiera rolled her eyes. "Don't worry about that, Tails. I have more than enough money."

"Since when?" Shadow raised an eyebrow at her.

All eyes were on her. "I'm intrigued." Blaze said.

"My family fortune was left in the hands of Lorenzo but since I'm the-"

Tails put the pieces together like a jigsaw, now everything came into the light. "The last surviving member of your family, inheriting all that money now belongs to you. All of it?" She nodded.

Shadow looked between her and Tails before asking this. "If you don't mind me asking, love, how much?"

She exhaled. "Let's just say that my great, great grandfather struck oil."

As if on que. "Holy shit."

"Holy shit, indeed."

She had an idea brewing up. "How do you feel about building our new home?"

"From scratch?" Tails asked.

Kiera nodded. "Yes."

"Will I be living in said house, love?" Shadow held her hand.

Another nod from her. "Yes, I'm tired of being without you."

"I love you, Kiera."

She smiled at him. "I love you, too, Shadow."

A/N: The very last chapter of Mother Knows Best! Four or more years in the making. I remember sitting at the back of Science lessons writing this instead of doing actual work. There will be an epilogue after this so stayed tuned! Remember to review. Much love x