Take a Bite of This Slice of Life

What If

¨Maria,¨ Hayley gave her sister, who was actually her cousin, a stern but fond look.

¨Nico is fine with me for the day, you just go and do what you have to do; it'll be fine.¨ The older woman didn't doubt this, but she still worried. Finally, she nodded.

¨OK,¨ She relented. ¨But call if you need anything; I'm just going for a check up, and I'll be done quickly.¨ She cajoled.

Hayley rolled her eyes, but nodded, hiking her nephew further up her hip. Maria kissed her son goodbye, murmuring her love into his forehead, and then gave her little sister/cousin a small hug. She called her goodbyes to the small group of Hayley's friends in the apartment, who responded in kind. Luke stepped up behind Hayley to grab something from his jacket on the coat rack.

She stepped out the door, sliding on her overcoat, and made for the stairs, since the building's Super hadn't fixed the elevator yet. Maybe what happened next wouldn't have occurred, if Maria hadn't taken the stairs.

Hayley and Nicolas watched, with content smiles, as Maria stood at the top of the flight of stairs and turned back to smile at them one last time. Their smiles grew and they waved. This would be the last time they saw Maria smile.

It seemed to happen in slow motion; they heard the gunshot, that echoed for what felt like eternity. They saw it hit the mark, entering the back of the target's skull and exit from between her eyes. They saw the jolt from the impact jerk Maria's head forward. They saw first the confusion, then pain, and then nothing in her eyes.

Maria Gonzalez died with a frozen smile on her face and a bullet wound in her brain.

Hayley, for second, thought she was seeing things. Then, Maria's corpse started to teeter backwards down the stairs.

She jumped, shoving her stunned nephew- her godson, who had just seen his mother die, Dios Mio- into an equal stunned Luke's arms. Luke would have dropped the boy with his nerveless fingers had he not such fast reflexes.

Hayley ran to the banister, and leaned over just in time to see Maria's- her sister, her family, oh God she's dead- body hit the landing.

She saw the weapon that had done it, laying there next to the body.

She saw the end of the culprit's coat. She met his cold icy blue eyes with her own horrified sherry orbs as he turned back, who stared her in the face with no remorse for his crime, and then the man who had killed her sister in cold blood was gone.

She turned around, numb and shaking, to see Luke standing in the doorway of her apartment, holding her now quietly sobbing nephew- the boy who was practically her own, one of the lights of her life, who deserved all the love and happiness in the world, whose mother was dead dead dead- in his arms. Her roommate and his siblings were all crowded behind him, jostling in the small entry hall as they tried to see what had happened- a murder happened, her sister was dead- and calling out in concern.

¨Hayley?¨ She had never heard Luke Wilson sound so shaken. This seemed to stir her nephew, her godson who would need his next of kin, his legal guardian in place of his dead dead dead mother. Nico lifted his face from where he had planted it in Luke's shoulder.

¨T-tía?¨ He sobbed, reaching out to her desperately. She surged forward on autopilot, her hands soothing over his splotchy red cheeks and soft, wavy dark hair, wiping away his tears that were instantly replaced by new ones, murmuring nonsense words of love and comfort in a mix of Spanish and Portuguese.

¨Tía, why did Mamá f-fall?¨ He asked in a tremulous manner, and Hayley felt her heart try to rip out of her chest anew. Luke had set to gently rocking the little three year old- too young to not have his mother, dear God, WHY- in his arms, expertly bouncing him, and rubbing a large hand down his little back, up and down in comfort, but he halted when the boy asked this. His eyes flicked to her, but she simply gazed back, hopelessly lost.

The others had finally made it around the barricade that was Luke's muscular girth, and other neighbors had trickled out into the hall as well from the commotion. Jane approached her, and then glanced behind her at the blood splatter from the bullet and pale.

¨Is that blood?¨ Jane asked, but it was like Hayley was hearing things from the other side of a waterfall. She had eyes only for her nephew. She reached out to him, and Luke gently deposited him in her arms.

Nico clung to her, burying his head in her throat, sobbing and murmuring for his mother, and she could only rock him and hold him. People had seen the blood, had gone to the banister and seen the body at the bottom, were making noises of alarm, but Hayley could do nothing more but hold her nephew, her boy, close, and wish for the nightmare to end.

Luke was next to her again, holding her shoulder gently, trying to get her to look at him, but she looked like she was staring right through him.

¨Hayley, what do you need me to do?¨ He asked. She turned her head, and blinked at him.

¨Hayley, I know that this is an awful situation, but we need to do something.¨ He made his voice gentle, as to not startle her or Nico. Hayley blinked again.

¨She's dead.¨ Hayley's voice broke, and Luke's expression went grim. He took firmer hold of her shoulders, making her look him in the eye.

¨Hayley.¨ His voice was grave, but his touch was soft, and all she could see was steel gray eyes that were so full of fear and concern for her. ¨I can help you with all the arrangements, if you'll let me.¨ She tried to breathe and found it stuck on the knot in her throat. She choked slightly, and Luke directed her to a nearby bench, glaring at anyone that was not her or their friends. He kept eye contact with her.

¨You need to breathe.¨ He said quietly.

I would if I could.

¨Just do what I do.¨ He gently, oh so carefully, lifted her hand that wasn't holding her boy, and placed it on his chest. He breathed in, and she could feel the skin expand, could feel the steady beat beneath her palm.

Maria's heart isn't beating any more. She thought, and that nearly made her spiral again. She tried to copy him; it didn't work, so she tried again, a little more successfully.

He breathed out, smiling at her encouragingly, and she breathed out. They repeated this a few more times until her head no longer felt so fuzzy.

¨Luke.¨ She croaked. He tilted his head, his hand rubbing soothing circles into the back of her hand.

¨I don't know what to do.¨ She admitted, and it ripped her heart out to do so. Hayley Santos was always in control, always had a plan, a backup plan, and a backup backup plan. But she had no idea what to do in a situation like this.

He gave her a sad smile, and she held onto it like a lifeline, selfishly, tightly. She scrabbled for his hand, and he caught hers in his, squeezing comfortingly.

¨If you'll let me, I will help in any way I can.¨ He told her. She hesitated, but nodded shakily. He smiled again and slowly reached out, drawing both her and Nico against his chest in a big warm hug that blocked everything else out, nothing but his warmth and steady, strong heart beat, and the dam broke.

She broke down against his chest, her shoulders convulsing with sobs as she clung to both him and her nephew like the only lifelines she had in the storm, and for the moment it was enough.

Later, she would have to talk to the police, call her mother, and start making arrangements with Maria's lawyer over a number of things, like about the will, and getting custody of Nico, but for now, this little circle of warmth was here, and she knew that it would hurt, and be harder than almost anything, but it would get better.

And that was enough.

Fin.