Bay's POV

Someone had broken in. That's what the police were saying, anyway. I hadn't had time to check the house, hadn't been inside since I left earlier today with Mom. Now the steady beeping beside me just annoyed me, though at the same time it assured me he was alright. I didn't care how many times he tried to tell me himself that he felt just fine, just a headache and a few bruises. He kept saying that, and he was perfectly calm, and it was driving me crazy.

The police also said that he was fine, that he was lucky. Lucky! He was 'lucky' that he had 'only' been knocked out. They ignored what looked like multiple kicks on his stomach. A small, logical voice told me that they were right. It could have been a lot worse. Whoever had done this, they could have seriously hurt him. They could have been an extremely violent individual... he could be dead. But he wasn't, he was in front of me, and he just kept saying the same thing.

'Bay, I'm fine. Look at me. They're letting me go now that they know I don't have brain damage. We'll be able to go home tonight. I'm just fine, Bay. I'll be healed up by the end of the week. I'm fine.'

He was holding my hand, and my tears came and went depending on what I was thinking of, depending on where my hormones were. Somehow, when I had found him, I had remained tear-free.

The music shut off when Mom cut the engine. I got out and frowned slightly. Toby's garage was open, no one in it. Something felt... wrong.

I slowly made my way to the garage. "Hello?" I called hesitantly, freezing when I saw Emmett. He was just... laying there, headphones in his hand. "Emmett?" slipped out, despite knowing he couldn't hear me. I felt like I blinked, and I was by his side. I didn't remember making the journey. I shook him, still calling his name. "Emmett, come on, you need to wake up! Please, Emmett, come on..."

He had been unresponsive.

I carefully cradled his head in my lap, Mom talking on the phone behind me, calling for help. I lightly rested my hand on his chest, the reassuring beating of his heart keeping me grounded. I lightly stroked his cheek with my other hand. "Come on, Emmett, wake up..."

Waiting for the ambulance had been the longest few minutes of my life. I had insisted that I be allowed to ride with him. On the way to the hospital, he had woken up.

It was only when I had been sitting in the waiting room, waiting for his tests to finish, that I had heard about the break in.

Kathryn had left to help the police figure out what had been stolen. Melody sat on the other side of his bed, as unconvinced as I was.

I didn't like that I kept crying in front of her, but after the first three times, I deemed there was no point in hiding it. She never judged me, holding me in the waiting room while she tried to hold back her own tears. She had also failed.

Going based off of their suddenly blurry appearances, the tears were starting again. Emmett reached out and squeezed my hand, brushing my knuckles across his lips. His other hand gently rested on my stomach. I don't know what it was about it, but it calmed me down. I'm not sure how he knew it would, but that's what he did, every time I started crying. My only guess was that touch was strong enough to convince me that I wasn't still in that garage, strong enough to convince my body that he was alright.

After a couple minutes, I took a deep, shaky breath. "Thank you..."

He nodded and pulled his hands away. 'I'm fine. Whoever did this broke in. They'll get him. Ok?'

"Yeah... Yeah, ok..."

Exhaustion hit me like a freight train, but I had no intention of leaving him. I gently took one of his hands, lacing my fingers through his on the bed before laying my head down next to them. His nearness, and the soft movement of the bed as he lopsidedly signed to his mother, comforted me enough that I was asleep nearly instantly.

...

Despite my doubts, the hospital discharged Emmett fairly quickly, and I led the way out to my car. Regina had driven my car to the hospital and got a ride back home with Kathryn. I stopped before I got in and turned to him. "I don't want to go home yet."

'Ok. Let's get something to eat. You're probably hungry.'

I nodded agreeably. "Ok."

'We'll go somewhere salty.'

I laughed and smiled. If I had like salty foods before the baby, I liked them even more now. And while I appreciated what he was doing, I wasn't the one that had gotten attacked. "What do you want?"

'I want something salty.'

"Really? Or are you just saying that?"

'You'll never know. Let's go.' He got into the passenger side, not allowed to drive for a couple days on doctor's orders, just in case.

I got into the driver's seat and pulled away, quickly coming to a small restaurant. They had horribly unhealthy food, that normally I wasn't able to handle too often. It was salty, and greasy, and since I got pregnant, it was my favorite food in the world.

Once there, we went inside and were quickly seated. I didn't even bother looking at the menu, though Emmett glanced through it briefly. I often ordered on the phone, and Emmett would pick it up for me.

He soon set his menu down and looked up. 'So how was your morning? Did you have fun shopping?'

It took me a moment to remember anything before I found him in the garage. Mom had taken me to a few stores for their Veterans' Day sales, and I did have fun. I had gotten several maternity clothes, and had even given in and bought my first baby onesie. "I did. I got something I think you'll like."

He raised his eyebrows. 'Oh, really? What did you get?'

"It's a surprise. What about you? What did you do this morning?"

'I made something. For you and the baby.'

"Do I get to know what it is?"

'Not yet. Soon, though.'

The waiter came shortly after. I imagined the wait time was so short because of how often they dealt with us. I ordered my usual heap of food, and Emmett pointed to his choice. We handed over the menus before sitting in silence. Emmett was trying to get my mind off of the attack, I knew that... but no matter how hard I tried, my mind kept drifting.

He could tell, reaching over the table and taking hold of my hand. He didn't say anything, but I heard it anyway. I'm fine.

Our food came soon after, and we ate in further silence, back in the car and going home within the hour. The food had helped to calm me, but I still stiffened at the sight of the house. I turned off the car and we got out, making our way inside.

Everything was a mess. It looked like whoever had broken in had gone through everything. He had stolen mostly smaller things, it looked like, all of them valuable. Emmett wrapped an arm around my waist and just led me past everything, taking me upstairs.

'Just get some sleep, ok?'

"Yeah... Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Good night."

He let go of me and I went into my room. It had remained untouched, to my relief. I got into my pajamas and quickly turned out the lights, laying in my bed.

I'm not sure how long I tossed and turned before I fell asleep.

"Emmett?" My voice sounded far away, distorted. My movements were jerky as I went into the garage, looking almost like a video that was skipping every few seconds. I saw Emmett laying on the ground, his face bruised and bloodied, the same as his hands. He had clearly been in a fight. I dropped to my knees and tried shaking him, but he was cold. He was...

"No!" My eyes snapped open, my heart pounding. I did my best to calm my breathing, but gave up after a couple minutes. I glanced over, and my clock read 2:34 AM. I turned over and tried to go to sleep again, but it was useless.

I slowly got out of bed, leaving my room and shutting it behind me. I took a few steps down the hall and pressed my ear to his door. I heard nothing, and saw no light under the door crack. The door creaked when I opened it, and I peaked in. He was definitely asleep. I stepped in and shut the door behind me, slowly going to his side and reaching out, lightly touching his shoulder.

It didn't take much to wake him, and he quickly turned over and turned on the lamp, relaxing when he saw me. 'Are you ok?'

I raised my hands, only then realizing they were shaking. 'Can I sleep in here tonight?'

His eyes softened and he pulled back the covers, moving over to make room, waving me over. I crawled in, pulling the covers over myself. He shut off the light, and held me close.

I didn't have another nightmare that night.