Chapter Text
Two Months Later...
Shit started changing rapidly after I got out of the hospital. Mingus had stayed with me for two weeks but had to get back to his mother, the two of them having plans set in advance. Rob was a constant presence in my life as usual, as with Richard and Victoria, but Norman...
It was like something flipped inside of him when they started filming again, and suddenly I didn’t mean shit anymore.
“What the fuck do you mean can you bring your girlfriend to my fuckin’ baby shower, Norman!?” I screeched, my free hand fisting in my hair as I attempted to pull it all out at the root. Robbie and I were in his car on the way back to my place from a doctor’s appointment, and I was riding shotgun, “What the fuck, dude?”
“Oh please, your new boyfriend is gonna be there, Whis, why can’t I bring her?” Norman whined, a habit of his that he’d exhibited frequently as of late, “She got the baby a gift.”
“A gif- a gift?!” I scoffed, my head fuming as I turned my head to Rob, who was looking at me with a curiously lifted brow, “Some random ass bitch that you’ve been fucking for like a month suddenly buys your baby a gift?! And you want her to come to the fuckin’ baby shower, are you on fuckin’ meth?”
“Whiskey-” He started, but was abruptly cut off.
“No, fuck you, don’t fuckin’ call me that anymore!” I seethed, taking a deep breath before continuing, “Fuck you, Norman, seriously. You’re fucking ridiculous and if that’s the way you wanna be, then don’t even bother to come. I thought this was going to work but apparently it’s not.”
“You’re the one who’s being a cunt, Ky.” Norman huffed, refusing to back down.
“Once again, fuck you, Norman,” I sneered, “If you bring the bitch I can’t promise she won’t be bludgened to death. Remember, I know how to hide a body.”
The comment earned me a snort from Rob beside me, whom I smacked on the arm as I cracked a smile at him, ignoring the rant that Norman had erupted into. This is how most of our conversations had been recently, since he started ‘seeing other people’ or however he phrased it to the media when pictures of him and the perky-titted brunette surfaced. I’d been staying away from conventions and events with Misha, since it was already a task with the paparazzi and me being a pregnant whale made it ten times worse, but the cameras still followed Norman like vultures on roadkill.
“I said what I said, and I meant it, Norman. Don’t humiliate me, or yourself, more than you already have. I’m done with this conversation, goodbye,” I replied to something I hadn’t heard, not even trying to listen to anything that he had to say as I ended the call while he was mid sentence. I threw my phone back into my purse with a huff, rolling my eyes as Rob chuckled.
“Why is he such an ass, Rob?” I complained as I stomped my feet in the floorboard like a child, “I don’t get it.”
“I don’t know either, sweetheart,” He replied, sighing as he pulled into my parking lot and parked, “I’m sorry you’ve gotta deal with it, though.”
“I know,” I whined as I unbuckled my seat belt and heaved myself out of the car to head towards the stairs, “He just needs to stop.”
“Maybe once the baby’s born it’ll get better,” He offered as he extended his hand out to help me up the stair case, “Maybe he’s just having a bit of a crisis or something.”
“he needs to figure it out,” I concluded as he made it to the top, my body stiffening at who was standing out side my door as we rounded the corner.
An audible growl rumbled out of Rob’s chest as he stepped in front of me, receiving a bright smile from Jeff as he bit his tongue between his teeth and beamed, “Look. At. You, big momma.”
“Fuck you, prick!” I started with a shout, but Rob silenced me with a snap of his head neck towards me.
“Not worth it, Ky,” He explained before turning back to Jeffrey, “You’re violating the restraining order.”
“Who’s gonna tattle on me?”He snarked, raising an eyebrow and brushing his thick beard with his finger tips as he chuckled, “Ky? You gonna do that?”
Rob turned to see my reaction, which consisted of my eyes rolling and me asking, “What do you want, J?”
“That’s Mr. J to you, doll, and I actually came to talk to you about something that I received in the mail today,” He sneered, his arms crossing as he planted his feet, “I very interesting script from the show.”
“What does that have to do with Ky?” Rob interrupted, his brow furrowing.
“Well, normally nothing, except they pulled a Riggs on me all of a sudden,” He answered, his demeanor suddenly darkening, “Negan’s gettin’ Rick’s axe.”
“Yeah, well, that sucks to be you,” I replied sarcastically, pushing past Rob to step up the stairs and approach my front door. The facade of indifference to his intimidation tactics had worked so far, and I even brazenly pushed him out of my way with the tips of my fingers against his chest. As I slid my key into the lock, however, I felt his hands on my shoulders, his forearm pushing across the back of my neck and my face into the door.
“What the fuck!?” Rob barked and instantly went to launch himself at us, but halted in place when Jeffrey reached behind him and brandished a pistol, directed at his face.
“The fuck do you want, Jeff?” I grunted, struggling against him and not willing to give up, “Why can’t you just leave me alone?”
“Oh, princess, you act like you don’t know by now,” Jeffrey snarled, shoving me against the closed door harder. I whimpered as my protruding belly pressed into the wood, the baby kicking back aggressively.
I was able to wiggle my hand a bit and get the door unlocked before maneuvering it downwards so I could wrap my fingertips around the knob, the weight of us both pushing the wooden barrier open easily and we tumbled in. I was just barely able to keep my footing as I crossed into the apartment, lunching towards the table where my own gun was kept as Rob tackled Jeffrey to the ground.
Jeffrey used his size to his advantage and had made it on top of Rob, the two men wrestling for the weapon in his hand. I was standing in front of them, and had just went to pull the gun away from Jeffrey’s grasp when his finger hit the trigger.
“Rob!” I screeched, a smattering of crimson splashing across my hands as I grasped at Jeffrey.
The bullet landed in Robbie’s shoulder, blood instantly pooling to the surface as he groaned in agony, his face contorting as he tried to push Jeff off of him at the same time my hand wrapped around Jeffrey's, yanking the gun away from him. He pulled the trigger again, though, and three loud cracks sounded, my ears ringing from the proximity. before a burning sensation traveled through my body and the taste of copper filled my mouth.
I looked down at my hands as they clutched my stomach, my palms stained with red as I dropped to my knees. Both men in front of me were shouting, screaming, sobbing, but I could only look at them with a blank stare as I felt the life inside me die and my own light fading away.
‘Why does it always have to be that beeping noise?’ Was the only thought that came to my mind as my eyes fluttered open in the second hospital room I’d’ seen in a month. My head was foggy, but not hurting, and I blinked a couple of times in attempt to focus. My mother’s face was closest to me, her head rested on the side of the bed, her mouth open partially as she lightly snored. She looked terrible, like she’d been up for weeks on end.
“Mom,” I grumbled, my voice almost silent from my scratchy throat. I coughed slightly, attempting to clear it and tried again, “Mom.”
Her head shot up as she snorted, the deepness of her sleep making her take a second to gather herself before her eyes went wide and she shrieked, “Oh, shit, Alan! Josh! Get Jensen!”
My dad was at my beside instantly, my brother darting out of the room after giving me a pat on the foot and a “Welcome back.”
“Oh sugar, good to see you awake,” My father drawled, his eyes watering as he brushed the hair out of my eyes, “Missed you, darling.”
“What?” I started to question, my brows furrowing but I was interrupted by the sound of the door opening and the sight of Jensen’s worried face as he entered the room, followed by Josh and a doctor.
“Sissy! Oh, thank God!” He cried as he rushed to the opposite side of the bed as our parents, his large, heavy arms encasing my head as he hugged my neck ,”Thank god you’re back!”
“What’s all this missed you and back shit?” I questioned, looking from my family to the doctor standing at the end of the bed.
“Ms. Ackles, you’ve been in a coma for 97 days.” She said with a sigh, looking around at my family with somber eyes before meeting my gaze. An involuntary gasp left my lips as my eyebrows shot up, my hand covering my mouth as tears sprang to my eyes.
“The...the....?” I hiccuped, not being able to form the actual question.
The tears in my mothers eyes and the sight of my brother stepping away and walking to the window of the room with his hands clasped behind his head instantly told me all I needed to know.
“Wha-What happened?” I choked out, looking to my mom as my father grasped at my hands with his own streaks of pain running down his face.
The doctor’s voice was soft, almost a whisper, as if she was fighting back emotions herself, “Your son had to be delivered via emergency c-section upon arrival here, Ms. Ackles. The bullets did not hit him but they did rupture your uterine wall.-” She broke off, looking away from a moment before clearing her throat and giving me a weak smile, “While he was in NICU he developed a common infection in preemies, but his immune system wasn’t strong enough to fight it. Lucian lived for 36 days, Ms. Ackles, and was strong and loved and fought as hard as he could.”
“NO!” I screeched, my whole heart crumpling into tiny pieces. I gasped for air but couldn't catch a breath, my vision tunneling as I thrashed in the bed in agony. It felt as if my mind snapped in two, the pounding of my heart throbbing in my head the only distinguishable sound as I fought against everything around me, my parents, my brothers, the doctor. I faintly remember hearing over the over-com about someone needing assistance, but my own screams of agony drowned it out and surrounded me until a cooling feeling ran through my veins that numbed me the way I needed. My eyes drooped as what I could only think of was Heaven took me over, and I hoped the darkness that was encasing me was everlasting.
My head was groggy when I came too, and I tried to move my arms to rub the heavy feeling off my face but found them unable to move. Opening my blurry eyes, I attempted to move my wrist again, noticing at once the restraints that kept my hands immobile.
A groan left my throat as my head pounded again, my face wincing as I tried to shift positions, my back and hips and legs stiff. My rustling woke up Rob, who’s head was resting against my leg, his body hunched over in the chair next to the bed.
“Hey,” He rasped, his voice thick with sleep as he blinked his eyes a couple of times to gain focus. A soft smile curled his lips, his hand that his head been resting on moving to mine, his eyes flicking to the leather strap and making him frown as he went to remove it, “How’re you feeling?”
“Like death,” I answered, my eyes watering instantly as I let out a heavy breath as my wrists were released. I rubbed the raw joints as I looked up at him, managing a small smile despite my brokenness.
The sound of the door opening both turned out attention, and I wiped my dripping nose as Norman appeared. He stopped short when he looked up and saw both of us staring at him, a sarcastic snort leaving him as he removed his sunglasses and sat them on top the bill of his hat.
“I’ll give you two a minute,” Robbie offered, moving to stand but was stopped by Norman holding his hand up.
“Nah, dude, you’re good,” He assured, walking up to the foot of the bed on the opposite side of Rob as he sat back down. His fingertips wrapped around my ankle under the thin hospital blanket, and he gave it a soft squeeze as his cold eyes found mine and he rasped, “They tell you?”
I nodded my head as my face crumbled again, Robbie moving to comfort me as I sobbed against him. Norman snorted again and shook his head as I turned to look at him, confused about his off-putting demeanor.
“You know who’s fault this is, right?” Norman asked, his voice as thick as gravel as he bounced on his feet to fight the urge to pace the room, “You know how did this?”
“J-J-Jeffrey,” I whispered, meeting his arctic eyes as he rolled his eyes and wiped his beard with the palm of his hand.
“That’s what you think, huh?” He asked accusingly, stuffing his hand back in his pocket as he nodded his head, “Well, we won’t have to worry about him again.”
“What did you do?” I croaked out, anxiety spilling out as I clutched at Rob’s hand and glanced back and forth between the two men.
“What should have been done the moment he showed up at the hotel, Whiskey,” Norman jeered, his shoulders squaring, “I did what you wouldn’t.”
“So you’re blaming me?” I recoiled, my head jerking back like I’d been slapped as a new pain seared through my heart. Sobbing, I asked, “You blame me?”
“Of course I fucking do, stupid,” He growled, narrowing his eyes at me, “If you’d let me gut that pig after the first time he tried to fuck with you I wouldn’t have had to hold my son as he-” He broke off, angrily wiping his mouth as he let his own tears pour down his face, “-as he fucking died.”
“What the fuck, dude?” Robbie snarled, standing up and pushing the chair back with his thighs as he stalked the three steps into Norman's personal space, “Don’t fuckin’ talk to her like that.”
“Fuck you, Benedict,” Norman growled, bowing up to Robbie intimidatingly, “S’not like you did much to fucking help.”
Robert Benedict has never been a violent man. Unless it came to me. The punch that he threw at Norman’s face shattered bone, his knuckles cracking as he rocked him with enough force to make him stumble back and clutch his jaw, blood spraying onto the floor as he spat.
“Look, man. I get it, I get you’re hurting just as much as she is but this is not her fucking fault.” Rob huffed, shaking his hand as he winched, his breathing labored but not backing down, “You’re not the only one who just lost their fucking child.”
“At least you got to hold him,” I rasped quietly, the grogginess from the remaining drugs exhausting me quickly as I stared off past the two straining men. I didn’t have the energy to give a shit if they killed each other at that moment. I wasn’t even sure I’d said it out loud, but the change between the both of them was instantaneous, Norman backing down as he stared at me intently.
“Whiskey, Sweetheart, I-” Norman started, shame coating his voice as he wiped his mouth, but I cut him off.
“No, fuck you Norman,” I hissed, wiping the tears out of my eyes as I sniffed, “There isn’t any more to say. You made it clear how you feel. Go home to your girlfriend.”
“Whiskey, I don’t ha-”
“She said leave, Reedus,” Rob growled warningly, stepping in front of Norman protectively when he tried to move towards me.
“I’m not Whiskey, Sweetheart,” I hissed, my voice venomous as I glared at him, “I’m not anyone to you anymore, Norman.”
“You ready to go, Ky?” Rob asked as the door clicked closed softly, my head turning to be greeted by his dazzling smile, making the pain still resonating in my chest a little less intense.
“Yeah,” I replied back quietly, finishing placing a few things in my bag before zipping it up. Rob shuffled to my side instantly and picked the bag up. Smirking at him as I rolled my eyes, I jeered, “I’m not helpless, Rob.”
“You shouldn’t be lifting anything heavy, babe,” He replied, shaking his head and throwing the strap over his shoulder, “I got it. You ready?”
“I think so, I already signed all the paperwork,” I answered, taking a step forward slowly towards the wheelchair waiting for me to be carried out in. After helping me sit down in it, Rob wrapped his hands around the grips on the back of the chair and pushed me towards the elevator. The nurses at the station gave me sweet smiles as we past, wishing me well and waving good bye.
“Let’s get you home, Ky,” Rob said as the elevators opened and he wheeled me in.
“You gonna take care of me, Robbie?” I teased, smirking slightly as I looked up at him.
“Forever, Sweetheart.” He replied, leaning down to kiss my lips sweetly.