The second ding makes her run for cover - knowing Jay is far enough away that he's safe. She only has milliseconds to try and get to the side of the house, but she doesn't make it that far. Her arms wrap as tight as they can around her abdomen - an attempt to lessen the impact there as she's thrown into the garage door. She stumbles for a moment before falling backwards, her head immediately begins to pound before everything fades to black.
Her heart is hammering in her chest as she wakes with a start. She looks over at the alarm clock and panics even more - knowing that she should have woken up almost two hours ago. The now melted ice packs fall from her chest to the bed in light thuds - the blue liquid splashing about in its silicone confines. She jumps to her feet and runs for the door - not even noticing that her husband wasn't lying beside her. Her feet carry her down the hall to the room next to theirs, and her panic intensifies upon finding it vacant.
She can hear him before she sees him, and it causes her heart rate to slow until it returns to normal. His cooing soothes her in a way that she reckons isn't much different than it does the one he's talking to. Her whole body aches in a good way as she finally sets her eyes on him - on them. She feels a throbbing of sorts as she drinks him in - standing shirtless with his arms cradling their tiny, precious bundle. It still robs her of her breath seeing them together. The way he's taken on this new role so seamlessly is nothing short of awe-inspiring. And she's grateful every day that he came back to her - to them when he did. Because she couldn't imagine being here - living this life with their beautiful baby without him. She wipes away the tears she didn't even realize started to fall as she moves to stand beside him, but before she gets the chance another woman seemingly rushes right through her. The sensation takes Erin by surprise and she takes a step back to process it. She looks down at her hands and attempts to grab the closet thing to her - a pacifier. Her hand wraps around the green newborn binky, but it remains unmoved on the entryway table. Then the question of who the random woman is falls from Erin's lips, yet it remains silent as the couple before her leans in toward each other and lock lips.
Her heart begins to race again - it throbs and aches as she tries to make sense of this as she looks up at them again. The pain subsides then, seeing him happy with the family that he deserves.
"What's wrong, Babe?" He asks when they break for air and she smiles down at the little one falling asleep against his chest. She shakes her head at his question even if she knows that's not an appropriate way to answer that query. The raven haired woman doesn't bring up the scare she had just moments ago when she woke and realized that the baby hadn't woken her up to be fed at the usual time. Or the way she panicked when she found the nursery and crib empty. She just leans against his shoulder, addressing both Jay and their baby as she whispers "I love you."
"I love you too" He says back as he tucks the baby into the crook of his right arm and wraps his left around his wife before leaning in to place a lingering kiss to her head.
"I love you too." He repeats to her just before he feels an aching in his chest.
It hurts to breathe - like there's a ton of bricks on his chest. The ringing in his ears is almost deafening. He feels dizzy as he opens his eyes and moves to sit up more.
"Shit." He mutters to himself as he staggers to his feet - using the railing he was just thrown into to help pull himself up. His left arm is cradled gingerly at his side as if it'll ease the pain his body recognizes is coming from his ribs. There's movement in his peripheral, but it takes him a moment to register it. He turns his head to the side and points back to the house.
"Get back inside." He attempts to yell, but it comes out a little choked. His mom hesitates for a moment before she hears Hailey tell her the same thing as her son. She goes back in and picks up Prue to console. Kevin ensures that his wife, children, and mother-in-law are ok while he calls dispatch. He already has the bomb squad and his sergeant on the way before he even steps outside.
Jay continues forward to where he last saw his wife - not even realizing that his brother-in-law has joined him in his efforts. His heart races as he makes his way towards what's left of his wife's Jeep and doesn't see her. The sight of one of her shoes lying haphazardly on the pavement of the driveway causes his blood to run cold despite the heat emitting from the fiery wreckage just behind him. He begins to shake and feel weak - dark thoughts beginning to consume him the longer it takes for him to find her. His feet seem to take over - moving of their own volition to the garage. And that's where he finds her lying between the closed garage door and Hailey's car.
"Erin." He says as he rushes to her and brushes off the aluminum, plastic and glass that's sprinkled all over her unconscious form.
"Jay." She murmurs as she stirs, and he immediately kneels down beside her.
"Hey...Hey, Babe. You're ok." His eyes travel her body to assess her for injuries, finding a couple cuts on her face and hands along with blood coming from her ears. His mind is racing so much that he doesn't register the blood coming from the back of her head where his hand is holding her still. Before he gets to her belly, he closes his eyes to try and rid himself of the tears that are gathering.
"Just stay still until the paramedics get here." He thinks he tells her, but he can't be sure. The sirens blaring as they approach cause the ringing in his ears to get louder, but somehow, through all the painful noise, he can hear her faint words. "Promise me that you'll be happy after I'm gone."
"I told you that I'm not leaving you ever again, and that means you can't go without taking me, ok?"
"And promise that you'll-" She trails off and Jay gently cups her cheek - unintentionally smearing her blood on her skin.
"Erin." He voices as she stays quiet.
"Promise to become a dad, because I know you'll be your kids favorite par-"
"No, that's you, remember? You're going to be our baby's favorite person." He tries to smile through the tears, but he can't with how badly his heart is breaking.
"Hey, stay with me, Erin." He yells as he sees her eyes slowly roll back.
"Don't do this to me, Babe." He pleads when she doesn't respond again - finding a sliver of relief in the slow rise and fall of her chest. "I…I can't do this - I can't live life without you, Erin."
He sniffles as looks down at her - feeling helpless as she seemingly slips through his fingers.
"I need help over here." He yells out, not knowing that Kevin was trying to get the paramedics through to them, but knowing that the bomb squad has to clear the area before letting the other first responders through. Even in his distraugh state, Jay recognizes that he - that she can't wait for help to come to them. So he picks her up - the adrenaline coursing through his veins, allowing him to block out the pain coming from his ribs so that he can get her to the ambulance himself. He keeps talking to her as she remains limp in his arms - her arms and legs swaying with every step he takes. Finally, after what feels like hours, he reaches the ambulance with his wife. He watches as they get her set up on the gurney, straping her in and slipping an oxygen mask over her nose. The appearance of the fog that almost instantly fills the clear mask as she breathes makes him take a deep breath of his own.
She's going to be ok. They're both going to make it through this. He thinks to himself as Violet gets various cords hooked up to Erin, and then the beeping of machines starts along with the image of different colored lines moving up and down in sharp waves on the screen. It lets them know that Erin's heart is still beating and that brings forth another breath of relief from him.
"They're both going to be ok." He repeats, this time out loud, but not very loudly at all.
xxxxxx
He's got his head in his head in his hands - stained with her blood. His elbows are resting on his knees as they bounce vigorously as he anxiously waits to hear about his wife and unborn child. He doesn't even notice his mom rejoin him followed by his brother.
"Have you gotten yourself checked out, yet?" Will asks, the older brother having been called to the hospital almost as soon as he and Natalie's flight from Seattle landed
Jay doesn't even acknowledge his brother - partially because he didn't really hear him.
"Jay, you need to get your injuries looked at. You avoiding it, isn't going to help-"
"I don't need a lecture from you right now, Will."
"Jay, he's right. You should get checked out now so you-"
He doesn't wait to hear the rest of his sister's statement, instead heading towards what he thought was the nearest exit. He stops in his tracks for a moment when he realizes that he walked into the hospital's chapel, but to his own surprise he continues towards one of the front pews and has a seat - finding a much needed reprieve in the peaceful space. He hasn't been in a church of any sort in years - not since he joined the army. It makes him uneasy for a moment as he thinks of why that is, but he's broken from those thoughts as someone sits next to him. He can tell that she's thinking of what to say or maybe praying as she looks straight ahead.
"I know that you're going to tell me I need to get checked out, but I can't without knowing how she - how they are. I don't want to be laid up in some hospital when she wakes up." He explains to her, but she doesn't say anything back - at least not right away.
"Amen." She sighs first, before turning towards her younger son.
"Sounds like something your wife would say if the roles were reversed." She tells him and it actually gets him to smile sadly.
"But I think you'll worry her even more when she wakes and sees you covered in blood - even if it's hers and not yours." She adds and Jay nods, knowing that to be true too.
"I will as soon as we hear something." He agrees and his mom looks like she wants to refute but before she gets the chance Hailey walks into the chapel.
"Will just went to get an update and they said Erin's getting set up in a room now." She announces, and it instantly lifts a heavy weight off his shoulders. He thinks of going back on his word to get examined himself, so he can go see his girl, but he shakes the thought as his mom poses the very question he was too afraid to ask.
"And what about the baby?"
"They did an ultrasound when Erin first got here…" Hailey pauses to sniffle and shrug. Both gestures that make her mom and brother nervous, and anxious to hear the rest of the answer.
"Fetal heart rate was good, and the placenta was still intact. The scar tissue in Erin's uterus isn't impacting the pregnancy like the doctors thought it would." Hailey finishes and they all take deep breaths.
"So she's ok. They're both ok?" Jay asks rhetorically and Hailey simply nods with tears still trailing down her face.
He stands up as his mom goes to hug his sister. He's about to exit the chapel, but suddenly feels drained and his chest pain returns with a new intensity just before he collapses to the floor.
Her head is pounding as she starts to come to. Her eyes remain shut - her lids too heavy to lift even just a little. She struggles to move her hand, but eventually manages to get it to her belly and registers the feeling of some wires adhered to her slightly stretched skin there. And even in her groggy state she recognizes that as a good sign - that the little life is still growing inside of her and is being monitored closely. She takes a few minutes to gather the strength to open her eyes, but when she does she doesn't see who she was expecting or rather hoping was sitting at her bedside.
"Hailey?" She murmurs as she tries to clear her throat of the lump forming there with the idea that her husband wasn't safe when the car bomb detonated.
"Hey - Hey. I'm here, you're ok."
"Where's - Where's Jay?" She's terrified to hear the answer - afraid that she's going to get the news that her whole world has been taken away. That the dream she had wasn't what it seemed and that he won't be moving on in the way she imagined.
"He's ok too. He's actually in the room next door." She answers rather quickly, but not before Erin was able to conjure up the worst of outcomes in her head. She apologizes when she registers the fear and anguish in her sister-in-law's eyes.
"He was so worried about you that he refused to get checked out until he got word on how you and the baby were."
"But he's ok?" Erin asks again and Hailey nods as she sends a text to her family to let them know that Erin's awake.
"Yes, he's got a concussion and couple broken ribs, but he's good. He's already trying to get discharged so he can be with you."
"I know how he feels." Erin replies, and Hailey chuckles at that while she looks down at her phone as it dings again.
"Why didn't you answer?" Will asks as he rushes into the room, seemingly out of breath as if he just finished running a marathon.
"You literally just sent it." Hailey shakes her head at him.
"Well, Mom, got the ok for the lovebirds, to share a room. So, I was instructed to round up you and my little nephews."
"Nephews?" Erin raises an eyebrow at her brother-in-law, feeling herself become angry if he just revealed the gender of her unborn child.
"Don't listen to him. He doesn't know the gender of my baby or yours." Hailey rolls her eyes at her oldest brother as the doctor and a nurse come in to check on Erin before lifting the bed railings and rolling the bed out into the hall.
She starts crying as soon as she sets her eyes on her husband. He's always a beautiful sight to behold, but seeing him now is breathtaking. As soon as the wheels of the bed are locked, she hops out - being mindful of the IV in her hand and the cords keeping track of their baby's vitals.
She ignores the doctor's orders for her to get back in bed as she cautiously cups her husband's jaw. Her thumb runs beneath his naturally puckered lips before leaning in towards him - pausing for a brief moment to look into his green eyes up close. Then she presses her lips against his - not caring in the slightest about having an audience.
"I love you." She tells him. There's no need for any other words - no apologies or mention of how scared they were to lose one another. It's crystal clear in their eyes and just one look lets them know everything they've felt over the last couple months up until that bomb went off last night and every excruciating minute over the last several hours.
She rests her forehead on his - her tears fall to his face and mix with his. Then she heeds to the doctor's demands and goes to lie back down.
The sight of her sleeping so peaceful in the bed next to his, calms him. Every steady beep coming from the machine - one for her and the other the fetal monitor - puts his mind at ease. He knows they're not out of danger and that they won't be until the bounty is dropped. But he feels, for the time being, that they're safe. It's that thought has him thinking about how he can keep them safe from this crew.
He continues to think that over as someone walks into the room. The knowledge that there's officers standing guard both down the hall and at the door tells him it's someone they know. So he keeps admiring his wife as they stand at the foot of his bed.
"We got the bomber. Kid by the name of Robert Peterson." Kevin says to him and that, after a moment, get Jay to look at him.
He just nods before looking back to his wife and then down at his hands resting on his lap. "Peterson, huh?"
"You know him?" Kevin asks with his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"No, but there was a low-level drug dealer that worked under Johnny, with the same last name. There's a lot of family connections which is ironic since they have no problem taking out families." Jay sighs with his eyes still on his pregnant wife.
"Yeah, well it ain't gonna happen with our family." Kevin argues and Jay nods, because he's not about to let these guys get away with their attempted murder of his wife and baby.
"I know, but they still tried to kill her - to rob me of both of them. I can't just let that go." Jay counters, causing Kevin to pull his hand slowly down face and over his thick, black beard.
"I can't say I blame you, but there's nothing else that you can do. They put out a bounty, because they made you."
"There's only one way to ensure our entire family's safety." Jay announces as he looks from his sleeping wife up to his brother-in-law - knowing exactly how he's going to get back in with the crew that tried to take his life.
"I have to go back." He adds and it's Kevin's turn to shake his head as he looks from Erin back to Jay.