Bishop rushed inside the ER reception area, Isabella still in his arms, Marcus and Riz just behind him.

"I need help!" he yelled out.

Doctors and nurses came rushing in his direction with a gurney.

"She's been shot and is losing a lot of blood," he said as he placed her delicately down on it.

"The town shooting?" asked one of the doctors.

Bishop nodded and followed them as they headed for the ER. "Yes, please save her."

A nurse put her hand up as they reached the bay doors. "Sir, you need to stay here. We'll come find you when we can."

As the doors closed his eyes teared up. "Just save her," he whispered, shock finally settling in.

Marcus put his hand on Bishop's shoulder. "She's in good hands, hermano. Come on, you need to get cleaned up."

Bishop looked down at his hand that was smeared in blood and sticky.

"You'll only be gone for a few minutes," said Marcus seeing that Bishop was looking back at the doors. Riz and I will be right here if they come looking for you."

Bishop nodded and Marcus exchanged looks with Riz as Bishop walked toward the restroom in slow motion.

The doctors and nurses worked around Isabella.

"She's hypotensive from all the blood loss," said one of the ER doctors. "If we don't get her to the OR right away, she'll go into multiple organ shock."

"I need to know what I'm going into," said the surgeon as he grabbed the portable ultrasound. "I've got blood in the peritoneum, massively coming in from the upper left side. The bullet most have hit the spleen. Call the OR floor and tell them to prep stat!"

Just as they were ready to take the gurney, the monitors started beeping. "She's bradycardic" said one of the nurses as Isabella's heartrate dropped below 60.

"Inject her 1mg of atropine," said the doctor.

"I need to get her up to the OR, if she keeps bleeding out, she's going to go into cardiac arrest. Advise the OR to start the massive transfusion protocol."

Once her heart rate stabilized, they rushed to the elevator.

Bishop stared at the whisps of blood trickling from his hand into the sink. He had seen blood, even covered in it, from killing people before, but this was different, this was the blood of the woman he loved.

When he walked out, the other crewmembers were walking through the door.

"How is she?" asked Taza.

"I don't know. They must still be working on her," replied Bishop as he sat down in a waiting room chair in slow motion. He lowered his head in his hands.

EZ walked over to him and put his hand on his shoulder. "She's tough, Bish, she'll make it."

Bishop removed his head from his hands and lifted it to the ceiling. "I hope you're right, EZ. I can't lose her."

A doctor walked through the bay doors and walked in their direction. Bishop stood up immediately recognizing him.

"How is she?" asked Bishop.

"She's lost a lot of blood. The bullet appears to have lodged itself in the spleen causing massive damage. They took her up to the OR to remove it."

"She's going to make it, right?" asked EZ.

"With the quantity of blood she's lost, the prognosis is uncertain."

"What does that mean?" asked Bishop.

"With this much blood loss comes low blood pressure. Her heart rate that was high is now too low, meaning it could lead to cardiac arrest. There is also the risk of hypovolemic shock, that means there isn't enough blood for the heart to pump to the rest of the body, she could go into multiple organ failure."

Bishop staggered a few steps back and EZ grabbed him.

"I wish I had better news, I'm sorry. I'll come let you know when she's out of surgery."

"Thank you doctor," said Marcus seeing that Bishop was staring into the void.

EZ brought Bishop back to a chair and stayed with him while the others regrouped just as Coco, Letti, Angel, Adelita, and others walked in, along with other gurneys coming on from town.

Angel's eyes landed on Bishop then connected with EZ's who shook his head to indicate the gravity of the situation.

"She's in surgery," said Marcus to the group. "It's too early to tell."

"Shit," said Angel as he passed a hand through his hair.

Coco watched as Letti walked over to Bishop.

"I'm sorry Bishop, I'm so sorry."

Bishop stood and took her in his arms. "It's not your fault. I know Isabella, she would never have been able to forgive herself if anything had happened to you."

"I don't want her to die," said Letti crying in his arms.

"I know. None of us do."

The first hour and a half dragged by; each minute passing making everyone tense and nervous. Some tried to talk to get their minds of it, others remained quiet staring at the clock on the wall and some, more religious, prayed silently. Along with the concern for Isabella, more and more people were being brought in from town, some mildly wounded, others more and some no longer there.

Antonia walked inside and talked to some citizens before seeing Bishop and the others. She headed in their direction and stopped in front of him.

"I heard about Isabella. Do you have any news?"

"We're still waiting," he answered, his voice raspy.

She nodded. "Witness testimony indicates that she took down two assailants. She's a hero. As for you," she said looking around the room at all of them, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but thanks for your help. Am I right in assuming that they are now locked up in a secure location?"

Bishop nodded.

"Good. I'll never be able to say it in public, but this town and its people owe you a lot."

"Yeah," replied Bishop. "It's our home."

"Please, keep me posted."

"I will, thank you mayor."

"Should we be calling Samuel?" asked Angel.

"Not yet. I don't want to unless I can tell him something."

"This is bound to be all over the news," said Angel.

"I know, but I can't call him now."

"Best we wait," said Marcus backing up Bishop's point of view.

A doctor walked over to the nurse's desk and the nurse pointed at Bishop. "His name is Bishop Losa," she said as the doctor nodded.

"Mister Losa?" said the doctor as he walked up to him.

"Yes," said Bishop standing as well as all the others.

"It was touch and go for a while and we had to transfuse her throughout the surgery. She's in recovery and stable."

Bishop let out a long sigh of relief.

"We couldn't salvage the spleen as the damage was too extensive and had to remove it. If she remains stable, she should be able to leave the hospital in a couple of days. There will be some post-surgery care and follow ups, but she's out of the woods."

Bishop took the doctors hand shook it. "Thank you for everything."

"I'm not one to say this kind of thing, but she's got one hell of a guardian angel watching over her. The nurse will come get you when she's settled into her room. I assume you'll be staying with her?"

"Yes."

"I'll make sure they are aware and accommodate you accordingly."

"Thank you."

When the doctor walked away, Bishop let tears of relief flow from his eyes as EZ hugged him. "Told you she was strong. God would not put her on your life journey to take her away from you this soon, brother."

"I need to call Samuel," said Bishop as he took his phone and stepped away.

Bishop sat in the armchair next to the bed, holding Isabella's hand in his, caressing it as well as her hair every so often. He preferred seeing her like this with more color and warm, then cold and ashen when in Letti's arms, then his.

She moved slightly her head and hand and he looked up. She moaned and her eyes started to flicker.

"I'm right here, mi amor."

"Bishop," she said in an exhausted barely audible whisper as she opened her eyes slowly and progressively focused on him.

"Gracias a Dios," he said as he kissed her hand, then leaned over and kissed her forehead.

She passed her tongue over her dried chapped lips. "Did you get the son of a bitch that shot me?"

He couldn't help but smile before getting serious. "We got him, mi amor. We got all of them."

"Good. I love you," she said before closing her eyes and falling back asleep still impacted by the anesthetic.

"Ti amo, mi alma, mi vida," he replied as he stood and kissed her lips, something he feared he'd never be able to do again.

Even though he was exhausted, he hardly slept that night, more than eager to share a few words with her when she woke up before falling back into an abyss. The nurses told him it was normal and that by morning the effects of the anesthesia would have worn off. He had told her that Samuel was on his way, driven over by Lorenzo and Gunner. Whether she remembered or not he wasn't sure.

Angel knocked gently on the door and pushed it open. Bishop was slumped against the back of the armchair, his hand holding Bella's. She too was sound asleep.

He delicately walked over to Bishop and patted his shoulder gently, as to not make him jump in a startle. He opened his eyes and first looked at Isabella to make sure she was fine, before looking at Angel.

"Sorry to wake you, but Lorenzo is fifteen minutes out."

Bishop sat up and rubbed his face before letting go of Isabella's hand and standing. He straightened his black t-shirt, not having recuperated his button-down shirt, not that he wanted to keep a memory of what had happened.

"Thanks. Would you mind staying with her while I go down to get Samuel? I don't want her to wake up to an empty room."

"Sure, no problem," said Angel as he took Bishop's spot in the armchair and Bishop walked out of the room.