The Flame with a Choice

Bloody Mess

     I opened my eyes and saw a bright light above my head.

     "Am I dead?" I asked. I felt a hand touch mine and then a kiss.

"You better not be." Marcus said with tears. I looked to my left and saw him by my side. I noticed IV lines and looked down at a hospital gown.

"What happened?" I asked as Nathan walked in with Rose and Blake.

"Chris threw his last knife at you. You almost hit the ground. PJ have him shit for disobeying his orders. You've been out for two days." Nathan stated as he stood at the foot of the bed. I immediately touched my stomach, hoping I didn't lose our baby.

"Don't worry, baby. She's in the nursery. If I didn't catch you in time, then you would've definitely lost her. I got you here as fast as I could. They won't bother us anymore. Nathan is going to let us retire until further notice. We lost a few good people." Marcus said. Rose took a deep breath as Blake held her.

"Devon was a good friend. We couldn't lose you, too." Rose said. I tried to sit up but Marcus laid his right hand on my shoulder.

"It's best that you don't try to move right now. You have ten stitches in your back and a good amount of them on your stomach. They had to do an emergency cesarean when you got here." He said as I laid still in bed.

"So, I was right. We have a girl." I said and Marcus smiled.

"We have a beautiful baby girl." He said. Nathan chuckled.

"You had to doubt her gut. What is the cost of you losing that bet?" Nathan asked and Blake bursted into laughter as I smiled. Marcus took a deep breath.

"I get to do all of the chores for a month." He said in defeat.

"It looks like you will be doing them longer than a month until Abs is fully healed. She's got a long road of recovery ahead of her." Nathan said. I looked up at Marcus.

"You told Chris that it was a girl that day, didn't you?" I asked and he looked at me with sadness.

"Yes, I did. I trusted your gut, even though I wished you were wrong. I should have protected you better, baby. I'm sorry that I failed." He said.

"No one failed in that fight. Chris decided to get ballsy all over again. Things would have ended a lot worse." Blake said as Rose sat down. I glanced over at them. Everyone had at least one wound bandaged up. I took a deep breath and decided that the rest of my questions could wait.

"You guys don't have to stay here. Go home and get some rest." I said and everyone shook their heads.

"We aren't leaving you unprotected. Chris is still out there. Once he finds out that you survived, he will come after you again." Nathan said.

"Try to get some rest. I'll see if the nurse will bring our baby in, when you wake back up." Marcus said and I slowly nodded. I closed my eyes and tried to relax.