Falling In Love With Her

Chapter Eight

*Jen's POV*
After getting to the hospital, they took Lana to ICU. I won't be able to see her for a while. This is all my fault. If I hadn't left her or told her to come meet me, this wouldn't have happened. After sitting in the waiting room for 45 minutes, my phone began vibrating. I answered it quietly. "hello?" I said, trying not to make it obvious that I was crying. "Jennifer. This is Fred. Don't hang up." He said. "Why the fuck are you calling me?" I spit. "Jennifer, I'm so sorry. I was released from jail for a week. One week. And I didn't take my meds. I'm sorry. I'm never getting out of here and I know you probably will never forgive me and I understand that. But, seeing her so happy with someone else, it made me mad. And I wanted to be the one to make her happy. I just want you to know that nothing like this will ever happen again." He said. "Good. Because you hurt the love of my life. Goodbye Fred." I said and hung up. I sighed as tears fell from my eyes. My phone began vibrating again. "Hello?" I asked. "Jen! We just saw on the news that Lana was shot! Is she okay?!" Ginny shouted. "She's in ICU. I haven't heard anything yet." I said in a shaky voice. "We're on our way." She said. I raised an eyebrow. "You're in New York?" I asked. "Yeah. We were visiting. We'll be there soon." She said and hung up. I sighed and leaned against the back of the chair. An hour passed. "Ms. Morrison?" A voice called out. I opened my eyes and looked at the doctor. "Would you like to see her?" He asked. I nodded and stood up. He walked me to her room and I walked in. She's in a hospital gown and she's asleep. I sighed and sat down beside my sleeping girlfriend. I grabbed her hand in mine and rubbed the back of it with my thumb. "I'm so sorry Lana." I said and tears fell from my eyes. All the tubes and IV's attached to her body looked terrifying. The only noise in the room was the quiet beeping of the heart monitor and Lana's shallow breaths, letting me know she's still alive. Lana is the love of my life. I can't live without her. This accident made me realize how much I love her and how much I need her in my life. I will not lose her. Around 1 am, the door swung open and Josh and Ginny walked in. "How are you doing?" Ginny asked and looked at me. I sighed. "The love of my life is possibly dying." Was all I could say. Ginny closed her eyes. "She'll wake up. She'll live. Don't worry." Josh said. I looked at Lana's face. It was blank. A doctor walked in with a weird expression. "Ms. Morrison, we need to speak with you." He said. I nodded and stood up, following him into the hall. "Ms. Parrilla is struggling. Her heart rate has been fluctuating. If, and this is a big if, if she makes it through the night, she'll need a small operation to remove the bullet. But as of now, there's only a small chance of that. We can't do the operation now, because of her unsteady heart rate." He said. I closed my eyes. "So, she'll most likely die." I said quietly. He nodded sadly. I walked back into her room and looked at her. "You guys will need to leave soon.. Visiting hours are almost over." A nurse said. I leaned down and kissed Lana's forehead, then Ginny, Josh and I left. "I'm staying here. I'll see you guys whenever." I said. "Call us if you need anything. Anything at all." Josh said. I nodded and sat down in the waiting room. I couldn't sleep. I kept seeing nurses and doctors moving towards Lana's room and it scared me. 8 am rolled around and I stood up. "Can I see her?" I asked. The receptionist nodded. I walked to Lana's room and there was a doctor in there. "She did just fine over night. Her heart rate is back to normal. We're going to do the operation." He said. I nodded. "Where is the bullet?" I asked. "Well, he shot her in the back. The jacket she was wearing was thick and it slowed the bullet down. It's in her back, but it will be a very small operation and recovery time is only a few days. She'll be completely back to normal." He said. I smiled and nodded. "Thank you." I said. He smiled. "We're going to take her in now." He said. I nodded. "Feel free to stay in here." He said and walked out, rolling Lana away. My heart began beating extremely fast. I'm terrified for Lana. She is my world and if something happens to her, my life is over. I called Lana's mom and sister last night. They don't want to come see her because they're scared of losing her. 4 hours passed. Noon. I sighed. Then, a doctor rolled Lana back in. I smiled. "She did wonderful. She'll wake up soon." He said. I nodded and he walked out. Another hour passed. "J-Jen." I heard a quiet voice say. I snapped my head towards Lana, who was now awake. "Lana!" I shouted. I ran over to her bed and kissed her passionately. I pulled away and we were both panting from the long kiss. There were tears flowing down both of our cheeks. "Jen, I thought I was dead." She said and looked into my eyes. "I told you you'd be fine." I said and laughed lightly. Our tears are tears of joy. "Lana, I love you so much. I love you. I love you. I love you." I said. Lana smiled. "Oh Jen. I love you too." She said and cupped my cheek in her hand. "Lana, when you say you love me, know I love you more. And when you say you need me, know I need you more." I said. She smiled. "Jen, you're so amazing." She said. "I thought I lost you." I said quietly. She nodded. "You will never lose me. I promise." She said. I kissed her again. "Lana.. Will you marry me?" I asked. She looked into my eyes and creased her eyebrows together. "I know I don't have a ring yet, but I'll get one. This accident made me realize that you are the one. You are the one. You are my other half." I said with a shaky voice. "Jen... I've known you were the one for years." She said and smiled weakly. "So? Will you?" I asked. "Jen, of course I will." She said. I kissed her again. She smiled as I pulled away. "I love you. So much." She said quietly. I smiled. "So. How are you feeling?" I asked. She shrugged. "My back hurts. But, I'm okay." She said. I smiled. "Lana, Fred called me.." I said. Her face twisted in fear. "He got a life sentence." I said. She nodded. "Good." She said. "He told me why he did it." I said. "He Uh.. He was angry that you were happy with me. He wanted to be the one to make you happy. He got out of jail for one week and he didn't take his meds. He says nothing like this will ever happen again." I said. She nodded. "Fred didn't make me happy, even before I met you." She said. I rubbed the back of her hand with my thumb and she smiled. A doctor walked in and smiled at us. "Ms. Parrilla, you'll be released next Saturday." He said. "So, a week from today? Even though I feel better?" She asked. He nodded. "We have to monitor you." He said. She sighed. He looked at me and frowned. "Ms. Morrison, I hate to tell you this, but, you're not going to be allowed in here. Immediate family only and you're not immediate family." He said. "But, I'm her fiancée." I said. He shrugged. "I'm sorry." He said. "After today, you won't be allowed in here. I'm very sorry." He said and walked out. "Jen.. I don't want to be alone." Lana said and squeezed my hand. I frowned. "I know baby girl. But, we'll text everyday and I'll call you." I said. She nodded. "I love you." She said. I smiled. "I love you too." I said and kissed her. She held my hand in hers and squeezed it. I sat on the edge of her bed and she sat up slightly, before hissing in pain. "It's okay. Lay back down." I said. She sighed. "But I want to hold you." She said. I smiled. "Maybe I should hold you." I said. She smiled weakly. She moved over. "Lay with me." She said. I chuckled and laid down beside her. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and she smiled, then nuzzled her head against my chest. "Let's take a picture. Your Evil Regals are worried." I said. She smiled and nodded. I took a picture of us. Lana's holding up the Evil Regal sign, but leaning against my chest still. I began typing a post. "Look who's awake after her surgery! She'll get to leave next Saturday. Much love to all of you. -Jen & Lana. 💘💋" I typed, then tagged Lana. Retweets, favorites and quotes started immediately. "I'm gonna go get us some coffee. I'll be back soon baby girl." I said and kissed her head. She smiled as I walked to the door. I walked out of her room and towards the bathroom. I pushed the door opened and I heard crying. It sounded like a kid. "Hello?" I called out. There's only one other person in here and I see her feet under the stall. "A-are you okay?" I asked from outside the stall door. "I-I'm f-fine." She said. "Are you sure?" I asked. "W-wait... A-are you.. J-Jennifer Morrison?" She asked. "Yeah." I said quietly. "Shit." The girl whispered. After about a minute, the stall door opened. The girl had makeup running down her cheeks and was wearing a baggy sweatshirt. She put her bag over her shoulder and walked past me to the sinks. She has long, blonde, wavy hair and grey eyes. She began washing her hands and I noticed blood. Lots of it, washing off her hands. "What happened?" I asked. Her face turned pale. "N-nothing." She said. After washing and drying her hands, she looked at me. "I-I'm a really big fan. Of yours and Lana's." She said. I smiled. "What's your name?" I asked. She frowned. "Nina Foster." She said. "How old are you, Nina?" I asked. "12." She said. I smiled. "Why are you here?" I asked. "M-my dad was shot and I was here with him. But, he died. And now, his wife, my step-mother, is putting me in the foster care system." She said. My heart dropped. "I'm so sorry." I said. She nodded. "Nina... What was that blood from?" I asked. She looked at her feet and shrugged. "You can tell me." I said. She looked up at me, then looked in the mirror. She wiped off all her makeup, then looked at me again. "You'll think I'm crazy." She said. I shook my head. "Try me." I said. Tears fell from her eyes and she rolled up her sleeve. There were several deep cuts. I was completely taken aback. "W-why?" I asked, looking at the cuts. "Because I'm losing everything. My life is being taken away from me. I don't have anything anymore." She said and began crying again. I pulled her into a hug. "Nina. Don't hurt yourself. That won't make anything better." I said. She nodded. "Why don't you come with me. I'm going to get coffee for Lana and I. Then, you can talk with us for a while." I said. She nodded and wiped her eyes. We walked out of the bathroom and towards the cafeteria. I got two hot chocolates with whipped cream and cinnamon, something Lana and I picked up from the show. "Do you want one?" I asked. She shrugged. "Make that three." I said to the woman. She handed me two of the cups and Nina grabbed the other one and she followed me as we walked back to Lana's room. I opened the door and Lana smiled at me. I walked in and she raised an eyebrow at Nina. Nina walked in and looked at the ground. I closed the door behind her. "Lana, this is Nina. Nina, Lana." I said. Lana smiled at her. "Hi Nina." Lana said. Nina smiled and waved. "Nina is 12. Her dad was just shot and killed and her step-mom is putting her in the foster system." I said. Lana frowned. "I'm sorry." Lana said. Nina shrugged. "It's fine I guess." Nina said. "I saw on Twitter and on the news that you got shot too.. I'm sorry." Nina said. Lana shrugged. "It's okay." Lana said and smiled. Nina looked down at her phone and frowned. "My Uh.. My step-mom is calling me. I have to go.." Nina said. "I'll walk you back." I said. She nodded and we walked out of Lana's room. "So, Nina. Why don't I give you my number, and you give me yours. Then, whenever you need to talk, just call me or text me." I said. Nina looked up at me. "Really?" She asked. I smiled and nodded. She smiled and I handed her my phone. She handed me hers. We both have iPhone 6's. I added a contact for myself and handed her back her phone. She handed me mine and I smiled. I sent her a text that said 'hey', to make sure I got the right number. Nina laughed lightly. "Thank you. If you hadn't talked to me... I don't know what I would've done." Nina said. I smiled at her and hugged her. "Well, here's where I stop. I'll call you later." Nina said. I nodded. Nina walked into a room and I walked back to Lana's room. I smiled at her and she raised an eyebrow. "I know that face.." Lana said. I chuckled lightly. "Lana.. I want to-" I started, but she cut me off. "We should adopt her. Or, foster her until we can adopt her." Lana said. I smiled. "That's what i was going to say, baby girl." I said. Lana smiled. "I love you." she said. I smiled. Lana looked into my eyes and smiled. "Now. Go get our daughter."