She's The Boss

1. She Is Alive

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Xander slid down the wall in the hospital hallway and curled himself into a ball, desperately trying to stop his tears because he knew he needed to be strong for her. But how the hell was a man supposed to be strong when he had to see his wife fight for her life for the better part of their marriage?

What was he supposed to do... when all of this was his fault?

He should have come back sooner. No, he should not have left her in the first place. He was so busy being stubborn that he left a gap for the enemies to attack the woman who lived in his heart. His wife. Who just had surgery four months ago. Who was shot before that. Who was targeted time and again because she was born into the wrong family and then got married to the wrong one. He should have been there for her. He should have at least kept his phone next to him.

"Always have your phone on you, Joanne! What if something had happened to you?"
He remembered how he had gotten mad at her when he could not reach her after she had gone out.

"JO, IS YOUR PHONE FOR FUCKING DECORATION?" He remembered bellowing as he walked into their bedroom.

"IS YOUR PHONE FOR FUCKING DECORATION XANDER??" He screamed out loud. The nurse who was approaching him for filling out the patient details took a step back. He was unnerved by the man on the floor who looked like he would kill anyone at the moment.

"Sir..." He said, his voice timid as he slowly took his steps forward to him. "Sir?"

Xander looked up, his eyes bloodshot, his skin pale, his forehead beaded. "What?" His voice was cold, low and deadly.

"I need you to fill this out." He held the clipboard and pen forward.

"Joanne Xander King. Twenty-four years, nine months old. She was born with congenital unilateral renal agenesis. She was shot in the arm seven months ago and she had a renal transplant four months ago. She has no food or drug allergies. She eats healthy but I think she was drinking today. All other information you can find on her medical file here!" He screamed towards the end as the number of problems she went through ever since they got married flashed through his mind.

And despite it all, he had the audacity to push her away!

He was a fool and his wife was paying for his foolishness!

"This is not the first time that she has gotten shot?" The nurse asked. They needed to call the cops.

"Call the cops. Do all the paperwork. Do whatever you need to! Just save my Joanne!" Xander was now on his feet.

The nurse nodded taking a step back. He thought that either this man was one hell of an actor or this woman was the love of his life. There was no in between. Xander looked like he was losing his mind.

"And you are-"

"Xander King. Her husband."

"Xandy!" Gregory's voice had their attention. Leon and Anthony followed.

"How is she?" Leon asked the nurse.

"Anything but dead is fine." Xander croaked out.

"We are trying our best." The nurse said and left.

"Greg..." He turned to his brother. "Anything but dead is fine." He broke down, hugging him.

"Come on Xandy, this is Jo we are talking about. She is going to be fine." Anthony was saying this to his brother but these were the words that he wanted to believe so bad himself.

"I am scared that my baby has run out of all her luck." Xander mumbled.

"Xandy, she is going to be fine." Leon said firmly. "We will make sure she is fine."

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"She crashed twice but she made it through the surgery." Dr. Klein, Joanne's nephrologist, had come in. "But I am sorry to say that she is in a coma."

Xander bit his lips and turned to face away from everyone.

"She will wake up, right?" Anika was there as well. Stella had collapsed due to the shock of hearing about Joanne and Olivia and Anthony were with her.

"We can't say anything for now." Dr. Klein sighed and then gave her a reassuring smile. "She got through the worst. I am pretty sure she will fight this as well."

Anika nodded. Of course she would. She had to.

She looked over at Xander. Gregory had told her everything from Xander's perspective. She felt sorry for her brother-inlaw. She really did. But, she was obviously more worried about Joanne. And what Joanne must have felt when she collapsed.

Did she misunderstand? Did she think that no one loved her? That she was alone?

"Where's Rodney?" Anika suddenly asked, turning to Leon and Gregory. "Don't tell me she doesn't know yet."

"I can't reach her." Xander was worried for the mother as well.

Where was she?

Was Rodney attacked the same way Joanne was?

Because there is no other explanation for why she would not be here.

He didn't know where to start looking for her.

"Mr. King!" Samuel rushed in. He was in pajamas and he had forgotten to put on any footwear. "Olivia called me. What happened to my Joey?"

"She is alive." Leon said. "That's as good as it gets for the time being."

Samuel froze, clenching his jaw. He felt his eyes burn with unshed tears, but more than sorrow, he was filled with anger and dilemma. 

What was he supposed to do?

Should he call Melanie and Anderson? 

Should he let them know the condition their daughter was in?

Samuel was as mad at Melanie and Anderson as Joanne was for separating her from themselves, but the truth would always remain that everything they did, they did it for Joanne to be safe. They were scared of what would happen to their little girl after their little son was brutally murdered. 

No parent would want their kid taken away from them, but they would prefer to be away than to do their last rites, right? 

And Samuel too had his share of lies. He kept the truth of Joanne being back and prepping for the Mafia life from his sister. Of course it was because it was the one condition on which Joanne stayed in contact with him, but he too was overcome with anger and selfishness that he completely ignored the pain that his sister and brother-in-law went through. 

He let out a deep sigh. 

"Mr. King, I am calling her parents." 

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Hello my munchkin people. Sorry for not proofreading. I just want to update a chapter ASAP because well... starting trouble and then it gets better. 

So yeah, nothing to joke about or gush about right now but I promise everything will back to complete chaos and clownery in no time. 

XOXO