Which is my parent?

Chapter 23: Maria Kelly

A pounding made me wake. Who did construction in the morning? 
After a solid minute of listening I came to the conclusion it wasn't construction, just my head pounding. 
My eyes wouldn't open. My body hurt. Why did my whole body hurt? 
Everything came back to me like a slap in the face. Dex had a gun pointed at TT, I ran in front, took the bullet for him. I remembered everything. The van full of my family traveling blocks away as I shook people down for information. All of it. 
Holy shit! I should be dead! Am I dead? I can't breathe, why can't I breathe? 
My lungs seared, like there was a bolder sitting on my chest. 
My eyes shot open and took a much needed breath, I was gasping, moving around, what in the holy hell was going on? 
"Maria? Maria stop, you're okay, Maria you're okay." Someone said. 
"I'll go get the doctor." Someone panically said and ran out of the room. 
I couldn't make sense of anything going on around me, all I knew was that I was shot and I couldn't take a deep breath and I was probably dead.

"Maria.  Maria you need to calm down, can you hear me? Can you speak?" Someone was shining a flashlight in my eyes. "Maria, you can breathe, you have to take a deep breath, take a deep breath, breathe." The man with the flashlight kept repeating, showing me with his own chest. 
Suddenly I took a huge gulp of much needed oxygen, then another, I was gasping, but at least the blurry vision and pounding in my head was subsiding.
I tried to get up but pain shot threw my body like a million spears, I slammed back down on the bed. "Jesus." I muttered looking around for the first time.
The room was filled with men. Men I knew, men with very very concerned looks on their face. "Maria?" A face came into view.
"Tyrone?" I gasped out, my voice was horsed. 
"Hey, hey, yeah, I'm right here."
Then I looked at the doctor. "Am I in Hell?" I was so peaceful a minute ago, no pain, no anger or resentment, no hate or despair, I was free and it was peaceful. This sure as hell isn't peaceful.
"I am afraid not. Welcome back to the land of the living Miss. Kelly."
I groaned. "What just happened?" 
"You had a panic attack. Do you get those often?" The doctor asked. 
"No, not anymore, only when I was really young. So what's going on with... this?" I gestured to my general body with my hand.
"Well you did flat line twice - that means you died, twice. The bullet collapsed your lung and ripped apart your stomach and liver. We were able to repair both. We are optimistic you will make a full recovery." The doctor explained.
"I have a wicked bad headache. Like a construction team took site in there."
He smiled. "As to be expected, it's a side effect to losing over half the blood in your body and being under in surgery for close to six hours."
"Well damn," I remarked.
"Indeed. You are a very, very lucky young lady, anyone else in your situation would be dead right now. It was a miracle you lived, someone must be watching out for you up there." He pointed to the sky. I thought of mom. Thank you mom.
He said he would check me out later and left. 

"How do you feel other than the headache?" TT asked.
"Like I've been shot." I laughed, but it hurt like a mofo, I winced. 
"What you did was incredibly stupid." Hank said. I shrugged. To late to do anything about it now. Haha.
I looked at the man sitting beside TT. I knew him from somewhere. I never forget a handsome face. A light bulb went off in the construction of my brain. "Bar boy. Justin?" I pointed to him. 
"That'd be me." He smiled. 
I guess he saw the confusion on my face as to why he was at my bedside and elaborated. "I am Hank's Son. Justin Voight. He made me spy on you." He laughed. 
Figures. "Well damn, I liked you. Now I gotta hate you." I joked, wiggling a finger at him. 
"Well you are going to get to know me really well soon enough. You're stuck with me now." 
I turned my head like a dog trying to decipher what was being said. "Huh?" 
Hank cleared his throat and I turned my head to him. "Well the Paternity test came back while you were in surgery. You're my daughter." 
I was so happy I had a father and Hank seemed like a good - strict as crap - but a good dad. 
Antonio will just have to be my best friend or something, he ain't getting rid of me that easy. 
"Should start calling you dad?" I asked smiling from ear to ear. 
"You call me what you want." 
"Dad. It has a ring to it you know?" We laughed. 
Then a question popped into my head. "Did I kill him?" I asked. Everyone went silent. It was a solid minute before someone spoke. 
"Yes, you did. point blank in between the eyes." TT said squeezing my hand. "You never miss." 
I stared right at him. Everyone's eyes where on me. Like expecting me to snap or cry or go into a fit of rage or something. I don't know what they were expecting me to do, but they weren't anticipating what I did next.
I laughed, killed myself laughing actually, it hurt so bad and I thought I was going to rip my stitches but I didn't care. I laughed. 
I whipped the tears of laughter from my eyes, taking a deep breath. "That bitch had it coming." 
They all laughed but it was a 'okay she is taking this good, let's laugh at the not-so-funny-thing' kinda laugh. 
"Seriously, I'm not going to lash out because I killed him. He would have killed everyone I loved, almost killed Tyrone, he actually killed me. He had it coming. Sooner or later, me, or someone else would have done it." 
Jay spoke for the first time. "Are you sure?" 
"Yes. I'm okay, I promise." Like honestly, I probably should feel bad for taking a life - even if it was Dex's but I didn't, like at all. It was probably the drugs they gave me. TT kissed my hand. 
All of them hugged me. The doctor came back in. 
"Can I ask you some things? Just for your chart." 
"Absolutely. Quiz me up doc." 
"What month and year is it?" He stood at the end of my bed. 
"October, 2018." 
"What are the colours of the rainbow?" 
"Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, purple." 
"Who's our president?" 
"Don't remind me." I rolled my eyes. 
The doctor smiled at me, checking off on my chart. 
"Last thing. I heard you sing." 
I nodded. 
"Can you sing something so we know that your diaphragm wasn't affected and lungs are working perfectly fine?" 
"Okay. Like something high or something low key?" 
"As much as you can." 

I thought for a minute. When people put me on the spot like that I forget everything. 
Then I thought of a part in a song where it tested all the low, middle and high notes and was relating to me right now. 
"No hope, just lies and you're taught to cry in your pillow." I started a little bit weak but with every word I got stronger, I was singing like my old self by the chorus. "But I'll survive. I'm still breathing, I'm still breathing. I'm still breathing, I'm still breathing." I couldn't hit the I'm alive as high as Sia so I always took it a note or two lower, but I still nailed it from a hospital bed. "I'm alive, I'm alive. I'm alive, I'm alive." I closed my eyes for the last part, a tear slipped out as I sung the verse with passion. Finally I realized something, sitting in this bed being lucky to live with a shot that should have been fatal, surrounded by people who actually love me. I want to live. I am alive. And finally, I'm happy to be alive.
"Perfect. You are good. You have a beautiful voice Maria." The doctor said. 
"Thank you. How long until I can get out of here?" 
"If everything goes good and there's no complication. You can go home in a few days, a week at most and be on house arrest for three weeks to a month. Lifting nothing, doing the bare minimum of everything." I let out a groan, yeah that wasn't going to happen. I think my face gave that away. Bugger.
"We'll make sure she doesn't do anything." Jay said, squeezing my thigh. Well good to know my hormones are still intact. Sucks I can't use them for a long while. 
"Let's let her get some rest. We'll be back. Promise." TT kissed my cheek. Jay kissed my lips and everyone left. 
Hank was the last one to leave. I called after him "hey dad?" He froze in the doorway for a moment - probably getting used to me calling him dad, then he turned around. It felt good to call someone that. "Thank you. I'm happy I have a father." 
"I'm happy to have a daughter." He walked up and kissed my forehead. 
"Stay with me until I fall asleep?" I asked him. 
"Of course." He sat down and held my hand. I close my eyes and let sleep take me. 

The few days in the hospital and the house arrest was horrible - dreadful actually. I hated having to have people wait on me, doing everything for me. That ain't my style. I hated being useless and doing absolutely nothing. I feel like a house wife. It had been three weeks and I'm pretty sure I have caught up on every TV show on television and learned how to cook a meal for seven. 
I stayed with Jay. Sleeping in his arms every night was perfection. He was always careful to not touch my stomach and was always on me about not lifting anything or God for bid, walking down the stairs by myself. It was cute though, him being so caring and protective. I could get used to that part. Only that part. Will had even taught Jay how to change a dressing so he can change my bandaged stomach. 
He pulled off the tape and checked the healing bullet hole. "How is it today?" 
"Good, only hurts when I touch it." 
"Good." He put the ointment on it and re bandaged my abdomen. "Are you ready for tonight?" 
"Hell ya." I said. Anna was still working and told Boss Man that I was recovering from being shot and he kept my spot. Tonight is my first night back and I get to sing a whole set. Everyone is coming, the PD and everyone from Chicago med. The paramedics that brought me in were Sylvie Brett and Gabby Dawson - Antonio's sister, my almost aunt. So they're coming and bring the Fire House too apparently. Jay, Hailey, Kim, Adam, Kevin, Alvin, Antonio, and my father from PD.
 Antonio never left my side, he was with me threw this whole bed-bound thing, and we decided to be best friends, that just because he wasn't my father doesn't mean he can't be in my life. Since the accident, Antonio and I have been very close. It makes me super happy. Having all these people. I never would have thought I could love - or trust for that matter - so many people. I always thought it was always just going to me TT, Anna and me. 
Trudy Platt is coming as well, her husband too, who also works at Fire House 51. 
Connor Rhodes, Will Halstead, Ethan Choi, Natalie Manning, Maggie and April, from Chicago Med, and of course my brother Justin Voight, and TT were coming too. 
That was a lot of friggen people coming for me.