Hello Mz. Hyde (Andy Hurley)

Chapter 24- Old Scars/Future Hearts

Becca's POV

Time felt to have passed at a snail's pace. I fell asleep on Matt's shoulder, but I always woke up mentally and physically exhausted. After a while, I began to pace the waiting room which was empty except for the two of us and a small handful of other people that came and went.

"It's been a while." Matt grumbled, leaning forward in the tiny chair and covering the back of his neck and part of his jet black hair.

"Yea." I answered quietly out of exhaustion.

"What do you think is going on?" He wondered.

I shrugged and leaned against the wall for support. "I don't know."

Those three words had always terrified me. Back in New York, they were a shield, but sometimes they could be used against you. Those three words could either save or kill you. And now I wasn't afraid of withholding information. I was afraid of just not knowing.

"Have you ever dealt with anything like this before?" I wondered, trying to get my mind away from my fears.

Matt shrugged and shook his head. "No, I haven't. But Andy's been in my shoes before." He mumbled.

"What happened?"

Matt sighed. "Andy's partner before me, I think he told me his name was Jeremy Davis or something like that, was shot. Him and Andy were called in for a drug bust and one of the assholes shot him. He died during surgery as soon as they got him in the OR."

I felt panic begin to run through my body, so I started pacing again to try and calm myself. "When did that happen?"

"About three years ago, the same time he and Joanna got divorced." Matt mumbled. "After Jeremy died, Andy was given full custody of Clara. That's why he's really protective of her, his daughter was all he had after everything went to hell for him."

Matt's words kept playing in my head, but then the panic really set in. I took the seat next to him, by whole body shaking. I had completely forgotten about Clara. "Matt, what am I going to tell Clara? What if Andy doesn't make it?"

He leaned over and took my hand into his, my thin pale hand contrasting against his strong olive colored hands. "Becca, don't think about that. Andy is the toughest guy I know. He's going to be okay."

I shook my head. "You can't be sure of that."

"And you can't be sure he is going to die either." He answered.

Suddenly, someone called out our names, cutting off our conversation. I looked up to see Pete and Meagan in front of us. Pete had Clara piggybacking on him, falling asleep on his shoulder and holding onto her bear with one hand. Bronx was standing next to his father, rubbing his eyes to try and not fall asleep. I quickly checked the time, it was 4:15 AM. We had been here for 6 hours. Andy had been in surgery for 6 hours, or at least that's what I believed.

"Pete!" I shot up.

"Hey, have you heard anything yet?" He asked quietly.

I shook my head. "Last thing we heard was that he was still in surgery."

"What about you?" He asked again, concern etched into his face.

I shrugged, keeping my composure the best I could. "I don't know. I'm scared, mad, upset, everything. I just got Andy back, I can't lose him again."

I heard Clara stir. She opened her sleepy eyes and propped her chin on Pete's shoulder. "Uncle Pete. Where are we?"

My heart climbed into my throat. "We're at the hospital Bear."

Clara looked around in confusion. "What's a hospital?"

"It's where people go when they are sick or get hurt very bad." I explained.

"Am I sick?" She asked, fighting to stay awake.

That was when my heart dropped from my throat to the floor. "No sweetheart, you're not sick. Daddy got hurt and he's seeing a doctor right now to help him."

I could see her face begin to turn red and her ocean colored eyes began to form tears. "Is Daddy gonna be okay?"

I looked to Matt, then to Pete, then to Meagan, then back to Clara. I hated to lie to her, but she was so young I couldn't tell her that her father was dying. I took in a shaky breath. "Yes. Daddy is going to be okay."

"Can I go see Daddy?" She asked.

I took in another shaky breath and shook my head. "Not right now Bear. Daddy is still with the doctors."

"Can I see him after?" She mumbled, fighting to stay awake.

I laughed lightly at how cute she was. Clara was my ray of sunshine for now, just like she was for her father. "Yea. We can go see daddy when the doctors are done."

"Rebecca Hale?" I heard a familiar voice speak up from behind us. Matt and I snapped around and saw Joanna standing in front of us, a grave look on her face.

'No' The word summed up the thoughts in my mind and the expression on her face.

"Doctor Chase." I answered calmly, masking my fear. "Any news?"

Joanna looked down at her clipboard and took a deep breath. "He's out of surgery. The bullet was an inch away from hitting his heart or any major arteries, he's very lucky." I could tell there was something she was leaving out.

""And?" I added, knowing that there was more than she was telling us.

"Andy is in a coma." She answered bluntly.

Those five words shattered my world. My body went numb and my head became shot with novocaine. "What? Will he be okay? When is he going to wake up?"

Joanna scanned the papers in her hand and shook her head in disbelief. "We were able to remove the bullet and stop the bleeding, but he lost so much blood. We don't know when he will wake up, or if he even will wake up."

I felt my body go numb and my mind became blurry. I felt like my whole body was made of novocaine. Now I was just numb. But I couldn't show it. I had to stay strong. Not just for me, I had to stay strong for Clara, and for Andy. "Can I see him?"

Joanna sighed and put down her clipboard. "He's in Intensive Care for now so only family can see him. Follow me."

Joanna led me through the maze of the hospital to the ICU. The stinging smell of disinfectant slapped me in the face as I walked through the maze of hospital rooms and the lights stung my eyes. She stopped in front of a glass-walled room. There was a baby blue curtain drawn around part of the bed inside.

"Here's Andy's room. Do you want me to come in with you?" Joanna turned to me.

I shook my head. "No. I'll go alone."

She shrugged and opened the door. The harsh smell of disinfectant attacked me and the bright lights blinded me. The faint beeping of a heart monitor rang in my ears, and the only other sound echoing the room was my boots on the cold floor. I took a deep breath and stepped behind the baby blue curtain. I let out a gasp of shock.

"Andy." I let every sense of composure fall away. I ran to the side of his bed and let myself go. Andy laid motionless on the bed, his chest was bandaged and an array of tubes and wires were hooked up to him. He was hooked up to a ventilator and a tube was taped around his mouth. He was pale as death and the colors of his tattoos were faded.

"Oh my god Andy." I broke down in tears. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." I collapsed in the chair next to his bed. My mind broke. I couldn't think anymore. I promised myself this would never happen, and it did.

This was all my fault.