Post-Scream (2022)

"Gale…?" Blinded by the bright lighting, Dewey instinctively squinted to try and force her into focus. "Got… too?"

"No." She stroked the sides of his face, her grin as big as she could get it. "You made it."

"Dying. I…"

He looked so damn miserable that it tore at her heart and made her furrow her brow to match. "You're not dying. Turns out you're the one with more lives than a cat."

"Wha…? How?"

"A miracle."

"Gale believes… miracle?"

Her whole face wrinkled up as she smiled. "Fine, because you're tough and a survivor, and brave enough to fight. And had a team of very good surgeons."

"S'bad right?"

"You might need more surgery, and it's definitely not going to be a quick recovery. But it could be a lot worse and I'm just glad you got one at all. I thought you were dead." Her voice cracked. "I saw you, the bag, they stopped me, they said… I'd lost you."

"Protection."

"What? No, we got them, they're dead, both of them. The police are still outside anyway."

"No… made protocol… fake, if critical. Protect."

"It was your plan? Then why the hell couldn't they have told us sooner?"

The already pained laugh he let out quickly turned into a groan. "Only wife… 'til caught."

"God, Dewey." Gale ran her thumb along his jaw, doing her best to ignore the way her eyes were stinging.

"You'd tell Sid."

"Of course. I just wish you'd put my name."

For a few seconds the fatigue won him over, until he pushed that down. "Dumb."

"No. Smart. That might have saved you. And us; Sid came, 'cause of you. If we'd known, it might have ended differently. You drove us."

"And you… I saw you, when…"

"When you passed out?" She felt ridiculous when that brought a smile to her face. "You did?"

"Picture."

Her eyes widened. "Your phone? No…" she breathed. "My call? I thought I was too late, that I'd missed you but that was when? No, no, no, no, no…"

"Gale."

"I did this? Distracted you? I'm so sorry."

Watching her watering eyes and increasing distress he made to shake his head, or reach up and touch her, but gave up when his muscles wouldn't comply with either. "Forgot the head. Was me. You comforted. Was scared."

Struggling to stifle her tears, she leant in to touch her forehead to his. "I'm sorry. My stupid timing. The past couple of years. I missed you so much, thought about you all the time, about reaching out, leaving and maybe getting the life I really wanted back."

"Hey." He drew it out as long as he could manage. "Maybe… I'm not meant… in Woodsboro."

Dewey got what he wanted in a smile, albeit a tiny one, even if she knew exactly what he was doing. "After what three murder attempts here you admit that? And they say that men can't take a hint."

"Not just here."

"True. I think Sid and Mark had the right idea."

His eyelids were growing heavy again, so she brushed her fingers through his hair.

"Don't worry about me, if you want to sleep then sleep. This can all wait until you're stronger."

"No… I… I… When I texted… I nearly…"

"I know." Gale caressed his cheek, nodding at him. "Trust me. I've been there."

"Wanted to say…"

Reaching for his hand, she gave it a squeeze. "I know. Please just rest."

"Still love you."

And yet hearing it took her breath away for a second. "I know. I love you."

"Don't."

"I do. I think I've made that pretty clear. When I heard… forgive the dark pun, it gutted me. I can't believe how close I came to getting my best friend killed with a stupid phone call."

"Wasn't you. I shouldn't have…"

"Can we try again? Please?"

"Don't do that just 'cause… this."

"I'm not. I never wanted you to leave, I should have come after you. I know that after this, after everything, we've got a lot of trauma to work through if we ever want to be okay, but I already lost you once."

His brow twitched as a substitute for shaking his head.

"For a while there I did, for real, body bag real. I'm not losing you again. I'm not letting you go again, okay?"

"Yeah," he mumbled. "M'sorry."

"It's okay." Gale leant down to press a light kiss to his lips and then his forehead. "You didn't ask for any of this. All you've got to worry about is rest and recovery. So rest."

"You…" Dewey raised his index finger towards her middle.

A quick glance down told her he could see the bandage, so with a smile, she gently curled the digit back up. "I'm fine, it's not the first time I've been shot. I'll be right here and I'm taking it easy so no excuses. You can stop fighting it."

"But…"

"The killers are dead, I'm here, you're being monitored, and I have doctors at the press of a button just in case. We're safe I promise." His hand flexed in hers, so she obliged and held it tighter. "I'm not going anywhere." Drawing her chair close again, she carefully shifted off the bed to return to it. "See?" Lifting her free hand to stroke his hair, she kept up the slow, gentle movement as he gradually lost consciousness. Then, leaning in, she brushed a kiss against his forehead, whispering, "I love you." And only when his eyes stayed shut and his breath deepened, stopped her caressing to let him sleep. "Thank you for not leaving me."

Hours later when Dewey woke again, the first thing he saw was Gale slumped against the bed, her hand still in his and head against the side of his shoulder. It looked like a very uncomfortable position to sleep in but he figured she was probably knackered too; wounded, injured and tired from the fight, not to mention emotionally drained. But she'd stayed and the gesture wasn't lost on him. In fact, it meant part of him still wasn't sure he was really alive. At any rate he was going to soak it up as long as he was allowed, to the point where he was so absorbed that it took several minutes for him to register the movement behind her.

"Sid?" he whispered.

"Hey." She smiled as she put her book down. "Still with us?"

"So I'm told. Thanks for coming, helping."

"Yeah, no one gets away with killing Dewey Riley on my watch."

He stifled a laugh to avoid the inevitable pain that would bring. "Might've got her too."

"Didn't though. Don't think about that. Still the dream team." Leaning on the arm of her chair, she studied him for a moment. "You don't have to talk about it if you can't, but what happened?"

"Knocked him down, made sure the kids were safe. Wanted to make sure he wouldn't get back up and then… this."

Her brow drew together. "Always remember the head, Dewey."

"That's why I went back."

"You what? Why hesitate?"

"Alright." Gale shifted her head against him. "I think he learned that lesson."

He dropped his voice even further. "Sorry."

"No, no." Placing a hand on her side, she carefully straightened herself. "Not you." She blew out a deep breath. "How are you feeling?"

"Lucky. Not much else… as long as I don't move. They've got me on the good stuff."

Offering him a smile, she pressed a kiss to his cheek; of course he would make light of such a terrifying and tenuous situation.

"Has she told you about her next book?" Sidney cut the silence with a little smirk.

"What? No." He didn't remember that announcement. "You have a new book planned?"

Gale shifted to make it easier to see her. "Not in any detail and she knows it."

"I don't understand."

Squeezing his hand, she rubbed her thumb across the back of it. "In the back of the ambulance, wondering how to face the future. I told her I'd write about a very brave former sheriff. That was before we knew."

His eyes watered as he watched her pushing down all the emotion wrapped in that memory. "So I don't get one now? I've gotta die to get a book?"

"Of course not." She blinked back some tears of her own. "You stay with us, you get better and you can have as many books as you want."

"Joking." Despite her best efforts, the smile she offered him didn't hide the shaking in her breath. So he tried to squeeze her hand. "They give you my stuff?"

She shook her head ever so slightly, mainly in an attempt to clear it. "What stuff?"

"My pockets."

"Oh… Yeah."

Sidney rose from her seat and opened the cupboard at the bedside. "Here." Grabbing the clear plastic bag from the top of the small pile, she dropped it onto the edge of the bed beside him.

Shifting his free arm slightly across him, he lifted a finger in its direction. "My wallet." Gale delved inside to retrieve it and bring it to his hand, but he let it drop away from her instead. "Open it."

"Wh—"

"Open."

Obeying, her eyes went straight to the clear window inside. The photo of her younger self grinning and leaning into his touch as he pressed a kiss to her temple. The engraved wedding band tucked in the corner.

"I know I messed everything up. But I never stopped being yours."

Gale didn't know if it was joy or heartache choking her, and given how shaky her smile felt, she couldn't be sure enough of the message came across. So she pulled the chain around her neck out from under her shirt to show him her matching ring.

She almost sobbed at the sheer disbelief on his face. Had they really been so stupid? Both reluctantly agreed to a divorce they thought the other wanted? And broken each other's hearts in the process.

"It was a hundred percent."

"What?"

"For you, the reason I came. I didn't give the studio a choice. I knew you'd be here and that meant you were in danger."

"Should've been with you."

She let out a broken laugh, offering a tiny nod. "We wasted so much time." Her breath caught in her throat. "You wouldn't have known—"

"Your call. I knew."

Cradling his head, she leant in to kiss his temple, making sure he knew now at the very least with a whispered, "I love you."

He closed his eyes, enjoying the affection from her, the stroking of his hair, her hand gripping his in a persistent reminder that this was all real.

Sid smiled at the sight. "Everyone knew, you know? We all wondered what the hell two people so in love were doing. I tried to tell both of you."

"Yeah, well, blame it on getting caught up in multiple killing sprees and repeatedly attacked by murderers," Gale countered.

She let out a low chuckle. "Yeah, I hear that will really mess you up."

Dewey choked out something between a laugh and a scoff. "You two have done great. You never let it hold you back."

"Dewey." Sid reached out to put a hand on his leg. "We wouldn't have got this far without you, you know? Go easy on yourself."

"Yeah, you're wonderful too." Shifting her hand back onto her side, Gale leant in closer. "You're our hero." She kissed his cheek and at the sight of growing moisture in his eyes, repeated the gesture more firmly. "No one expects you to never feel the impact of what you've been through. All you ever have to do is talk. We're here. I'm here; and I'm not going anywhere."

He offered her a weak smile, trying to fend off the welling emotion by turning a sob into a laugh. "You're always looking after me."

"Sorry, I'll make sure to be the one who nearly dies next time, shall I?"

"Please don't." His meek little voice had her fighting back tears too, so she pressed another kiss to his temple. After letting it linger, she straightened up with a slight hiss, flicking her gaze to where his hand squeezed hers.

Sidney caught it too and gingerly got up from her chair. "Let's hope there won't be a next time." She smiled at the not so optimistic nod she got in reply. "Anyway, let me go find a nurse, we're probably due some more pain relief."

"Thanks." As she left, Gale leant back in her chair, closing her eyes for a few seconds of measured breathing.

"I really am sorry you have to look after me."

She smiled even before meeting his gaze. "I'm not."

"Huh?"

"What's the alternative? Not having you to look after? That would mean not having you at all."