Just Shoot Me

Stand By You

The day after

Dylan begins to wake up and, even before he is able to open his eyes, immediately recognizes the smell of the place he is at. The odor of chloride, of disinfectant, the stench of illness and injury. He is at the hospital.

He complains: "Ouch," putting a hand on his head, squeezing his eyes, and, suddenly, he remembers! He recalls the shooting, the explosion, trying to reach Yue to protect her, shielding her, being shot at and shooting back...

He opens his eyes wide and looks around in despair with blurry vision. Where is she? he keeps thinking over and over, but he cannot see her. There is an empty bed beside him that seems to have been occupied by someone who is not there anymore. And then he sees his 3 friends come in, talking, but he cannot tell if something is bothering them or not. Would they be bothered if something had happened to Yue? They did not even get a chance to meet her...

"Where is she?!" Dylan shouts with frustration. He needs to know where she is more than anything in this world. Why doesn't anyone tell him?

His friends look at one another for a second, but Dylan does not wait. He tears off the IV line from his arm and starts bleeding; still, he does not even notice the blood or the pain. All Dylan wants is to find his Moon, to see her, to touch her, to feel her. He stands up lightheaded and staggers towards the door.

"Dylan! Go back to bed!"

Dylan's head is about to explode from the pain, he still hears the buzz inside his ears, and he feels as though he could throw up, maybe from the anxiety of not knowing what has happened to her.

It all seems to go down slowly, but it has been nothing more than a minute or two since he opened his eyes.

"Where is she?" he asks again, leaning on Joe for support, with grief in his tone and hopelessness in his face. He fears the worst.

"Man, calm down..."

Joe points out the door and there she is, standing on the hallway, with a hospital gown, with her IV holder beside her and talking to the doctor. Dylan sighs of relief and feels alive again. When Yue hears noises coming from the room, she turns around, ecstatic to see that her beloved husband is finally awake.

"Dylan! You're up!"

With all his might, he runs to her and gives her the most heartfelt hug in history. He has never been this happy to see someone in his entire life. He cannot feel his hands, his eyes cannot stop pouring like a waterfall, and he squeezes her so, so tight that Yue begins to cough, suffocated by this deadlock embrace he cannot release. Because he does not want to let go, ever again. Yue's hands rub his back and reassure him that he's not dreaming; she is there, with him, safe and sound. He protected her. He made it. And now... He begins to faint...

"Help!" yells Yue as she tries not to let him fall to the ground, but, gosh, he is huge compared to her tiny self.

Dylan's friends instantly come to the rescue and drag him back to bed.

The doctor rushes in as soon as he sees what has happened.

"What is it?" Yue asks him, worried.

"It's probably the commotion. He seemed anxious to see you. But I will tell the nurse to run some tests just in case. We will keep him overnight for observation. However, you are free to go as soon as your discharge papers are ready."

"Oh, I'm not leaving. I'm staying until he stays."

A nurse comes and draws blood from Dylan's arm and replaces the IV he ripped off, medicating the wound he caused to himself.