I will love again

Part 44 - Hope

The weakened female nodded. "What about.."

"Your ex husband?", Gabriel inhaled deeply.

"Yes, is he alright?", she asked further.

The designer shook his head. "He threw himself in front of you and the bullet went right through his abdomen before it hit your chest. It hit a major artery and he bled out within minutes. I have hired a mortician to take care of his funeral, if that is okay with you. I feel like I have to, because despite everything, that he has done to you, I owe him both your lives..."

"Thank you. That's good." She closed her eyes but stroked the back of his hand with her thumb.

"Is Marinette alright? How is she coping? I pushed her away and told her to run before I heard the shot....then I fell and felt that weight on me....and he said something to her....but...I", she needed to pause. Speaking tired her rather quickly.

Gabriel squeezed her hand in a comforting manner as he answered her questions:

"Marinette is still a little shocked and Adrien brought her home, but she wasn't hurt. If it had not been for her, you maybe wouldn't still be here right now. He told her to tell you, he was sorry for being too slow, to stop your father. Then he collapsed and Marinette rolled him off of you and tried to stop the bleeding with her bare hands. The doctors told me, if she had not done that, you wouldn't have had a chance to survive." Tears had started to run down his cheeks again, when he imagined how close he had been to loosing her, how close he still might be.

"I need to thank her, next time I see her", Nathalie mumbled sleepily. "Please don't be mad, but I think I'm gonna take another nap, okay?"

"Of course, my love, get as much rest as you need. Why should I be mad? I am so happy that you're better, I will never be mad at anyone again!"

He bent over to kiss her once again. "Sleep well, my dear. I love you."

"I love you too", she hummed and pulled his hand onto her chest. Grunting, because she felt a short pain, she drifted asleep anyway, yet without loosening her hold on him.

Relieved the exhausted man leaned his head carefully against her left shoulder. He wasn't going to leave her side ever again. But he pressed the button, that called for a nurse, to let the doctors know, that she had woken up for a short time. 

Though he had asked them, to let her get some rest, they had immediately started to do several tests on her, until he couldn't stand her desperate look anymore and started yelling:

"Would you let her get some sleep now please? I asked you kindly before, but you had to start doing all those things. How is my wife supposed to get any better, if you can't give her the piece and quiet for that?"

His eyes were glistening dangerously, while he stared each doctor and nurse down with his gaze and pushed them out of the room. 

"Don't you even dare coming back inside, if it's not necessary or urgent!", he then shouted after them.

Gabriel now walked back to Nathalie's side taking both her hands, careful to not hurt her by pulling on everything, she was connected with.

The injured, pregnant woman looked at him gratefully.

"Thank you", she whispered, "I already thought my dream would come true!"

"Your dream?", he asked, "what kind of dream?"

And then she told him, that she had seen him suffer, that she had seen their little daughter on that video.

"You didn't even name her!", she said accusingly. "But when you noticed that, you got cleaned up and went to see her and held her and then I felt this unbearable pain and first I thought it was my heart that was breaking. But then I noticed, my heart wasn't here."