What If

39. Fate

St Vincent Hospital East Pavilion
Portland, Oregon
3pm Sunday July 26th

I slowly came awake to the sound of machines beeping and a blood pressure cuff squeezing my right arm. I took a look around and realized I was in a hospital. The antiseptic smell was strong even though there was an oxygen tube in my nose.

"Try not to move," a familiar female voice said.

I looked over and saw Doc Sinclair reading my blood pressure results. What the hell happened? Just as the thought went through my brain, it all came back to me. The ransom drop going horribly wrong. Fucking James shooting me. And Lydia--

"Lydia?"

"She's right there," Doc Sinclair said, pointing to the cot in the corner.

I let out a sigh of relief when I saw her there. I didn't know how long it's been since I got shot; but she was in the same clothes as when she was taken. She was sleeping soundly and was facing me. I could clearly see her black eye and split lip and my anger started to spike. Fucking James.

Doctor Sinclair sat on the side of my bed as she looked over at Lydia. "She's a stubborn one. She was determined to not go to sleep until you woke up. She finally couldn't fight it anymore."

"Is she alright?"

The doc met my eyes. She knew what I meant. I wasn't talking about her injuries, I was talking about mentally. So much has happened over the past few weeks, I was worried how she was handling everything.

"She's...okay. She was more worried about you than anything else. I think worrying about you helped her not focus on what happened."

I would never forget what happened.

"She's strong," Doc Sinclair added as she started to leave the room. "I've got a surgery, but I'll be back to check on you guys."

"Thanks, doc. For everything."

I knew she understood what I meant when she looked st Lydia. She gave me a warm smile before she left the room.

I looked over at Lydia? and shook my head. Incredibly strong and stubborn. She was the strongest person I know. There weren't many people who could have taken what had happened to her and survived. Not only did she survive, but she had the biggest heart he had ever seen.

"Sean?" Lydia called in a sleepy voice.

Her eyes met mine and I couldn't hold back the smile that broke out on my face. "Hey, beautiful."

I had never seen her move so quickly. She hurled herself at me, throwing her arms around my neck and burying her face against my skin.

I groaned in pain, now realizing my left arm was in a sling. It hurt like a bitch, but I wasn't complaining.

She pulled back from me too soon, moving to get off the bed. "I hurt you! Im sorry."

I grabbed her with my good arm. "Hey, where are you going? Get back here."

She smiled as she sat back on the side of the bed. I couldn't do anything except stare at her. This is the first time I was really able to touch her since she was...taken. I didn't want her to go anywhere.

I reached out and tightly traced her split lip with my thumb at the same time I looked at her black eye.

"I'm okay," she said quietly. "Thanks to you."

"This happened because of me, Lydia. I'm so sorry, baby." She didn't know how sorry I was. Both PSYCHO Amy and James were connected to me. It was completely my fault.