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“Lily, you already have five of those dolls, you don’t need to get a new one every time we come to the store.” Mitchell reasons, his voice firm but kind.
They need to meet up with Cam in the shampoo aisle and should already be in the pet aisle looking for Larry’s new special cat food.
Instead, Mitchell and Lily are still in the toy department. Lily is fawning over another new Zarbie, trying her best to convince her daddy that she needs this one too.
It is pretty cool, with purple streaks in its hair and sparkly silver go-go boots, every five-year-old girl’s dream.
“I want to see her hair change color when she goes down the Zarbie dream house water slide.”
Lily tries to protest as Mitchell turns the shopping cart to leave the aisle.
POP! POP! POP! POP!
All of a sudden, the world comes to a screeching halt, their normal Sunday afternoon is turned upside down by the unmistakable sound of rapid gunfire ripping across the store.
Mitchell hears the blood curdling screams from only a few aisles away and knows he has to act.
He wastes no time pulling Lily to the floor and covering her with his own body as he slides out of the toy aisle, abandoning their cart.
He knows that Cam went to get shampoo and conditioner only a few aisles over, but he isn’t sure if he can get there safely.
Lily is terrified, she is crying, and Mitchell fights his own panic to help her keep quiet.
They make it to the end of the Zarbie aisle and they are almost out of the range, when Lily screams.
A masked figure is shooting at them from down the far end of aisle, spraying at will, not at them in particular.
Bullets spray randomly from his automatic weapon and Mitchell springs to his feet, bringing Lily with him as they try to sprint to relative safety.
They make it to the end of the toy section before a bullet catches Mitchell in the upper thigh. He cries out loudly, but tries to keep moving, the bullets still whizzing past and next to them.
There are several other parents and children in the area who are hit or maybe even dead. He refuses to let Lily be one of them if he can help it.
The shooter moves on, but not before spraying one last blast of bullets, one ricocheting off a shelf before striking Mitchell in the left upper abdomen.
He falls to the floor, agony erupting from his stomach and right upper thigh.
He can’t move, his brain is frozen.
All he knows is Lily.
“Lily!” he gasps, blood dripping from his mouth as he sputters for breath and words.
He has to know that she is okay. She has to be.
He doesn't know how long he lays there, in a pool of his own blood. The room spinning around him.
He tries to focus on breathing and not on the throbbing sharp pain lancing across his body.
His clothes are sticky and warm, he knows it is his own blood, and he fights a wave of nausea.
When he tries hard to focus, he can faintly hear someone crying and screaming.
Lily, he thinks hazily.
He has to keep her quiet or the shooter will come back and finish them off like the others.
Mitchell’s internal voice is screaming at him, he has to stay awake, Lily needs him.
“Lil’” he manages to gasp, in between ragged breaths.
“Daddy! Daddy!” Lily sobs as she clings to him.
He can feel her tears wetting through his shirt, he fights a whimper as she presses against the wound in his stomach.
“Shh…” he struggles to hiss, more bright blood springing from his lips at the effort.
He lays a finger against his lips and when Lily mimics, he knows she understands.
He is beginning to feel colder than he ever has in his whole life.
Lily needs me, he tells himself as he begins to lose the battle to keep his eyes open.
********
It's been so long, maybe ten minutes, maybe an hour, maybe a lifetime.
He doesn't know.
All he knows is he can't do this anymore.
He can’t do it anymore.
He can't.
“I’m s-s-s-ory” he tries to express to Lily as his body all but gives up on him.
He can’t even feel his wounds any longer and he knows that’s not a good sign.
Lily still clings to him, trying to press her hand to the wounds to stop the blood from flowing.
Both of their clothes are soaked with his blood and Mitchell would be thoroughly disgusted if he could spare a thought for anything other than sucking in his next stinging breath.
He knows he isn’t going to make it.
He is having hallucinations now.
He swears he can hear… Cam.
Then he can see him too.
Mitchell’s vision is swimming, and he can hear a different voice now.
It’s Cam’s.
His boyfriend, his forever.
Here. In this moment, when he would probably die.
What a comforting mirage, maybe the transition from life to death wouldn’t be so bad after all.
That hope is immediately dashed when he sees the horrified look on the faux Cam’s face.
The mirage is angry and yelling at him. Mitchell would cover his ears if he could get his brain to control his hands and arms.
*******
“Mitchell! Mitchell! Honey! Can you hear me?!” Cam is hollering and Mitchell wants to answer but he can’t find the words.
Maybe he isn’t dead yet?
This is the best CGI he has ever seen if this isn’t the real Cam.
He tries to answer but is forced to settle for a whimper that comes out long and strangled, but serves its purpose, nonetheless.
“Oh, thank god.” Cameron breathes as he cups Mitchell’s face in his hands.
He doesn’t seem to mind all the blood either.
Mitchell struggles to follow his words but is soothed by the very sound of his voice.
“Lily, Mitchell, everything is going to be okay.” Cam promises, sounding much more confident than he feels.
He wastes no time peeling off his shirt and wrapping it around the gushing bullet wound in Mitchell’s right thigh.
Mitchell hisses in pain as Cam tightens the makeshift tourniquet around his leg.
“I know, I know, sweetheart. I’m sorry.”
Cam doesn’t let up as he throws his body weight behind him as he presses both hands onto the large wound on Mitchell’s stomach.
Mitchell screams louder than Cam has ever heard and tries to writhe away from his touch. Cam won’t let him.
“Ow ow ow!” Mitchell tries to squirm away from the pressure of Cam’s strong hands, but he isn’t letting up.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, Mitchell.” Cam is teary eyed by now as well.
He hates to see anyone in distress, let alone the love of his life, and to know that he is causing that pain, is an agony he hopes he never has to experience again.
Mitchell is looking even more pale than usual, and the intense shaking and pallor of his face and bluish haze to his lips has Cam panicking.
He does the only thing he can, holds pressure on the wounds despite his boyfriend’s pleading to the contrary and offers comforting words, that he knows do little to help, but he has to try.
Lily is still crying hysterically; she is going to be sick if she doesn’t stop soon.
“She hurt?” Mitchell whispers to Cam and he scoops Lily from the floor and assesses her.
Mitchell is shaking from the cold tile floor and the blood loss as more blood gushes out in Cam's momentary absence.
“She is absolutely fine, just a bloody nose from the fall.” Cam reports, sounding extremely relieved.
Mitchell breathes a sigh of relief and Cam nudges Lily close to Mitchell’s chest, keeping her close, but away from most of the blood and especially his wounds.
Lily quiets a bit; she is shaking nearly as severely as Mitchell and her heart is racing inside her chest.
Cam knows he has to get them to safety, but he doesn't know how without further risking their lives.
As the light in Mitchell's eyes begins to fade, Cam knows it is a chance he has to take.
******
“Shh… shhh…” Cam soothes them both as he scoops Mitchell up bridal style and puts Lily on his back.
Mitchell bites his tongue to keep from crying out. He knows silence is their only hope of getting to safety.
The gunfire has subsided for the moment, and he is unsure if it is simply still ongoing but on the far end of the superstore or has ceased.
Either way, with any luck it will give them enough time to escape.
Mitchell is sobbing as his leg, stomach and entire body is jostled around, causing the pain to ripple through him in intense waves.
Cam leans his boyfriend’s head into his chest and moves even faster, booking it through the toiletry and pharmacy aisles on the way out of the store. Lily's hold around this throat is choking him, but he couldn’t care less.
As long as Mitchell is alive and Lily is healthy and they get free from this gun infested hellhole, Cam will be eternally grateful.
He sees more than enough bodies and wounded people for a lifetime as he sprints for the automatic doors. They are shot out and broken glass litters the floor, the elderly greeter lays sprawled on the floor, dead, along with several other employees from the registers and asset protection.
Cam fights the urge to simultaneously sob and retch at the sight.
He HAS to get his family to safety immediately.
He does.
Bursting through the main entrance and sprinting through the broken glass, being careful not to slip on the thick blood that flows in rivers across the once, off white tile floor.
Once they finally reach the parking lot, Cam runs straight for their Prius.
He orders Lily to get into the car and lay down. He tells her to close her eyes. It's all a bad dream.
For once, she listens without a word of protest.
Cam gets to work, snatching the blanket they use for fireworks and picnics along with several beach towels from the backseat of the car.
He lays the blanket down, rolls one of the towels into a makeshift pillow and gingerly lays Mitchell in the trunk.
He wraps the other towels tightly around Mitchell's middle and thigh, removing the blood-soaked hoodie and throwing it to the ground.
Mitchell barely fights him this time, his cries are much quieter too.
Cam sits on the tiny sliver of trunk space that remains and runs his hands along Mitchell's forehead and down one of his cheeks.
"I love you so much." He murmurs, placing a kiss against his temple.
"Don't you dare give up on us now. You've made it this far." He half orders, half begs as Mitchell's eyes begin to slip closed.
"mmmm...luv ooo" Mitchell tries, his strength all but gone, his stubbornness the only thing keeping him conscious.
Cam drapes another towel over Mitchell, and rubs his back carefully, his eyes locked on Mitchell's as they slip closed.
He isn’t sure how long they stay like that. All he knows is Mitchell is still breathing, the shallow rise and fall of his chest continues as the cool air surrounds them.
********
Cam breaks out of his daze when he hears the sirens in the distance. Growing closer and closer, and then the heavy foot falls of police and EMTs as they erupt into the store. He hears massive gunfire being exchanged and over one of the police radios he hears, " suspect is down." less than ninety seconds later.
Cam breathes a massive sigh of relief, and Mitchell stirs ever so slightly against him.
"Hey, there..." he whispers, brushing the tears and sweat from his boyfriend's face. "Help is here. You are so strong. I don't know what I would do without you." Cam continues to murmur reassurances in his partner's ear as the EMTs assess and triage him.
He is at the top of their list for immediate transport to the hospital.
Mitchell is in the ambulance and being rushed to the hospital before Cam can even blink.
He grabs Lily and they race to keep up with the ambulance as it flies through the city, lights and sirens blasting other drivers out of their way.
He is furious he isn’t allowed to be in the ambulance with him, but the EMTs were taking exactly zero shit and said either Mitchell could go alone, or they could all stay there, and they would move to the next victim.
Cam knew what had to happen, no matter how much it killed him to be away from his love at a moment like this.
********
It took two days for Mitchell to regain full consciousness after the shooting.
The gunman, a 22-year-old male, was shot and killed by police after committing a mass shooting at Swallmart, injuring 59, and killing 5.
Mitchell was one of the lucky ones, the most casualties and injuries had been in the toy, pet, and toiletries aisles, all three areas he was in or near at the time of the attack.
He had lost a significant amount of blood by the time he had arrived at the hospital and needed several blood transfusions to save his life.
Mitchell is type AB- which also happens to be Cam’s blood type and the rarest of them all.
Despite Cam’s horrendous phobia of needles, he was able to find the strength and bravery needed to donate.
He didn't have to look far to find it, just a glance at Mitchell's face, and it was done deal.
Mitchell ended up needing Cam's blood after all. Screw the standard testing protocols, this was literally life and death.
Cam wished they could take more, just in case.
He would give anything to make Mitchell well again. No matter what the personal cost.
Tied with Lily, Mitchell's life meant more to him than anything else on Earth.
Lily was checked out by the paramedics and then again at the hospital and determined to be perfectly healthy.
A child psychiatrist was recommended to Cam, and he agreed that they would all need to go see a mental health professional for a long time after this incident.
He vows to set up appointments for all three of them both together and individually as soon as Mitchell is in more stable condition.
*******
After an anxiety riddled forty-nine hours, Mitchell finally wakes to the sensation of Cam brushing his fingertips along his forehead.
It takes a while, but when he finally comes around, he feels as though he has been hit by a bus.
His entire body is sore and his right leg and left upper abdomen is excruciating.
He cries out and Cam is soothing him immediately.
“What hurts love? What can I do?” Cam floods him with love and support as he jams his thumb into the call button repeatedly.
His nurse rushes into his I.C.U. room and she and the doctors decide to raise his dose of fentanyl significantly.
Before long he is resting peacefully, Lily curled at his side.
From the waiting room comes his family, getting yelled at for breaking the two-family member rule.
As if they cared at a time like this.
Mitchell is overjoyed by their support and love.
He knows in that moment, with Lily sound asleep beside him, Cam kissing him gently, their fingers twined together, and his family surrounding him, that he would be okay.
They all would be.