The Importance of Moving On ↝ Marwani

 zero.

zero, her worst fear!

OUT OF ALL THE places in the hospital, Stella Strand hated the emergency room the most. She had numerous reasons really, and as much as she wanted to blame the chaos, that wasn't it; the worst part was the fear that one day she'd see her brother or father rushed through those doors after a call. Truly, that was the biggest fear of hers. Stella would rather work in the ICU or post-op recovery, anywhere away from the ER.

But the startled gasp that escaped her lips when she had received a text message from her father, everyone knew it was sign of nothing good. Stella gripped her coffee cup a bit tighter so she wouldn't drop it, it was only like her sixth cup since she worked the overnight shift. She sent a desperate glance to her boss, and without hesitation, he sent her off. Her shift was just minutes of being over, he promised to clock her out. Stella set her coffee on the desk- still left untouched.

She had slid her phone into the pocket of her coat and spun around, taking off like it was a code blue.

Stella avoided the elevators, it was too slow, and she opted for the stairs, they were empty. It was common to see a nurse, or a doctor, to burst out of random doors and run through the hallways. Citizens were pretty good about staying clear of those staff who were in a rush. Stella took each turn with grace, like muscle memory to her journey to the ER.

When she reached the emergency room, another nurse had pointed her in the direction she needed to go. Stella thanked the nurse silently, and took off again. Maybe it was rude, but when she got to the room, she burst through the door and fought to breathe. Her chest felt constricted and she knew her heart rate was high.

The sight of her brother in a bed, with wires and IVs hooked to him and his skin a sickly pale color, it made her sick to her stomach. Her father was still dressed in his uniform, and Stella thought her biggest fear was coming alive, but then she realized the lack of one particular person. Her father moved forward, and wrapped his arms around his daughter tightly. Stella rested her chin against her father's shoulder, but her eyes remained on TK, despite that he avoided her gaze.

After a long moment, her dad let her go and took a step back. Stella looked away from TK, and towards her dad.

"What the hell happened?" She wanted to shout, to be angry, to be sad. Instead it came out softly, and she swore she watched her father's heart break again. "And where the hell is Alex?"

TK finally looked up, and when she saw her brother's expression, she knew. Stella was the first to know that he was planning to propose, and now that Alex wasn't here, she knew it didn't happen.

"He overdosed," her father answered, and her attention snapped towards him again. "He relapsed this morning, he's just here for observation."

Stella scoffed and shook her head, her hands pulling at the stethoscope that hung around her neck as she scooted past her dad. TK shivered as his sister placed the chest piece on her skin. He didn't say anything- he knew better, and just let her listen. He didn't dare meet her eyes as she checked his vitals, but she forced him to look at her when she shined a small light in his eyes.

"Your vitals are stable," Stella muttered as she took a seat on the edge of his bed. Her hand rested on top of his, and her expression was soft as she finally calmed down a bit. "What did he do? I thought you two were in love."

TK scoffed, and he rolled his eyes. He held a sad smile, "He's in love with someone else. He's moving in with his trainer."

"Thank god neither one of you are cops," Stella chuckled as she glanced between the two men, but then her features hardened again. "When I first met him, he swore to me he wasn't going to hurt you, and he did. I'm going to kill him, he hurt you."

"SJ, don't do that," TK sighed, and he ignored the glare he received for using that nickname. "You can't help who you fall in love with. Besides, he doesn't know. I never got the chance to ask."

Owen watched his kids; the twins always had a special relationship, protective of one another and made fun of each other. He, and their mother, did a good job of raising them, even when the two were complete handfuls. He felt a sense of pride in his heart. His twins were his world.

Stella took a deep breath, and smiled softly. "Doesn't matter; he doesn't deserve you anyway. You deserve an awesome man, and he deserves a piece of sh*t for a partner."

Owen laughed, because his daughter was the one to be more protective. He didn't totally disagree either, but he was totally biased too.

"I love you, SJ." TK cracked a smile, and he laughed, but it still didn't help the heartache.

a/n → tyler kennedy and stella jane are my favorite siblings ever 🥰