chapter 29

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Thursday, 16th July:

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"Okay, those were the rest of the boxes.", Amelia told James' parents, who had been surprisingly kind and civil with her. Owen had left shortly before they had arrived to get some files from the hospital. He had taken Leo and Logan with him, since the boy hadn't wanted to see his former "grandparents". Layla was being good and playing on the carpet in the living room.

"Alright! Tom will put them in the car after we said our goodbyes. I can close the door behind us.", Stella offered softly, making her son's ex-girlfriend smile. "I am a little sad that we didn't get to see our Logan-baby."

"I know, I'm sorry. He's just in a mood because he's starting puberty.", the brunette lied. "Well, I have to look after my little daughter now, but it was so great to see you guys. I'm sorry for what we had to go through. Have a safe flight!", she said before turning away since the older woman was going to close the door.

"Oh, you bitch, you are not! If you were, you wouldn't have broken our son's heart and moved on to having a family with another man just like this. And now it's time to get justice and to destroy yours.", James' mother announced, causing Amelia to slowly turn back around. "Aim for the heart!", she told her husband.

"Someone tried to kill my mama. She's dying.", was the next thing the neurosurgeon was able to hear before she passed out again. The only thing that she felt besides the pain, was her daughter's tiny hand holding on to hers and the feeling of death.

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"Layla, baby, go home to grandma with Auntie Meg!", Owen ordered. He and Derek were going to wait in Amelia's room for her to wake up after surgery. She had crashed two times, so it was kind of a miracle that she was alive. Luckily, the shooter had missed her heart by a few centimeters, otherwise she'd be long gone since she had been shot twice.

The three-year-old just shook her head again, like she had done for the past twenty minutes that her father had tried to convince her to leave. Her aunt was carrying Leo, and Logan and his sister held hands without ever letting go.

"Well, I guess this is useless and you get to stay here with me. Do you want an out, buddy?", the redhead now addressed his ten-year-old son, who looked like he didn't want to be here and couldn't be blamed for it.

"Nope! I am staying with Layla, whatever it takes.", he replied, causing their dad to sigh and take them back into their mother's room, where Derek was glancing at them in surprise. "We are not leaving her!"

"Hi, sweeties!", Teddy greeted the kids when she walked into her patient's room. It was a miracle that she was living in Seattle again since Maggie wasn't allowed to work on family and Cristina had been gone for months. "I can't tell you anything new, I'm sorry. We have to wait for her to wake up.", she told the men, who stared at her, desperate for answers. "I don't have any other patients. Can I stay here with you? I want her to wake up just as badly."

"I doubt it. You didn't help your mom clean your baby-sister's behind when she was only a toddler and didn't know how to.", the neurosurgeon answered. "But of course, you can stay.", he said, not meaning any harm but hating it when others compared themselves to him and Amelia. There was no stronger bond than theirs. Or actually, their bond seemed to get repeated, which he noticed when he looked at his nephew and niece.

"My poor girl!", Evelyn stormed into the room past everyone to gently cup the brunette's face and stroke her cheek before she walked over to her grandkids to hug them tightly. "Layla, honey, I know you don't want to relive it, but you have to tell us what happened.", she said, caressing the toddler's head while holding Logan's hand.

"Mom, what are you doing here? I thought you are with Leo and Megan.", Owen questioned. "Don't even try, she's not going to talk.", he explained to his mother. "The only thing we know is that it must have been James' parents and the police are looking for them now."

"Aim for the heart...", the three-year-old mumbled, staring through her grandma at her mama, causing everyone to look at her in surprise. "She said that and then it banged two times and I watched mama fall. I asked her if she was alive, but she didn't answer, so I grabbed her phone and called 911. I am sorry for using a phone, I know I am not awowed to.", Layla started crying.

"Oh, angel, you did perfect! In such situations, when you have to call for help, you always get to use a phone.", her father reassured her softly, switching positions with his mom. "You saved your mama. She wouldn't be here without you."

"You are a heroine, Layls.", Logan told his younger sister, tightly hugging her now, still holding her hand with his other one. "You are the bravest person I know. I would have sobbed and not done anything helpful. But you decided to put your fear behind and to get mommy the help she needed."

"Ouch...", Amelia mumbled, slowly waking up and opening her eyes. "What happened?", she asked, not able to remember yet but feeling a strong pain in her chest. "Wait, where's Layla? Where's my child?", she questioned, trying to sit up.

"I'm here, mommy.", the toddler informed her mother, nervously playing with her hands. "You not dead?", she wondered softly, reaching for her mama, who looked at Owen for help, causing him to pick up their daughter and sit on the end of the bed with her.

"No, I'm okay.", the brunette lied and faked a smile. "Hey, buddy!", she addressed her son, who was shyly standing behind his grandma, glancing at his mom. "Come here!", she told him, holding her hand out for him to grab. "I finally understand why you didn't tell me about your wound from the shooting.", she said to her brother. "Hurts like a bi-"

"Bitcoin.", her friend finished for her, making her giggle, which hurt her chest even more, so she stopped again. Teddy, Evelyn, and Derek shared a confused glance, since bitcoins didn't actually hurt.

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