Did I not die?
"Jules." Colby said as tears fell down my cheeks. The amount of relief that was in his voice as he caressed my cheek gently sent my heart into overdrive.
Didn't he hate me for lying to him? I couldn't remember much about how I got so hurt, but I remembered lying to his face.
Surely, he hated me now.
"Don't cry, sweetheart. You did good." Colby hummed before wiping my tears and gently kissing my forehead.
I whimpered and looked over at the equipment I was hooked up to, trying to figure out what literally any of it could mean.
Everything was very confusing and the pain was leaving me overwhelmed.
"Is the baby okay?" I whispered, my voice hoarse. There was a sharp pain when I spoke, as if there was something around my neck, squeezing it.
"What, darling?" Colby asked as tears rapidly made their way down my cheeks. "Is she okay?" I asked and looked up at him.
I watched as a small smile crept onto his face. "The baby is just fine, Jules. You're already such a good mom. You protected her." He said as I brought my hand to my belly.
It was a little bigger than I remembered it being, which caught me by surprise.
"Yeah, she grew." Colby said gently as he smoothed my hair down. "How are you feeling?" Nate asked causing me to burst into tears.
"Oh...oh shit." He said as I closed my eyes. "Let's give them a minute." Sam said then led the way out of the room.
"I know this is a lot, sweetheart. I am so fucking proud of you though." Colby hummed as I brought my hand to my cheek, wiping the tears as best as I could.
I was extremely weak and my body was not cooperating with me all that much.
"You're not mad?" I asked as he shook his head. "You should be the angry one." He said with a sigh, taking my hand.
"I'm sorry for thinking you could betray me like that. I should have known it was all a lie and I should have worked together with you not against you." Colby explained as my head spun.
I remembered him being angry with me. The look of hatred on his face as he pulled his gun on me.
Surely he had some anger for me still.
"Did I hurt anyone?" I asked, watching as his face fell. "Do you not remember what happened?" He asked as I shook my head, gasping at the pain in my neck.
"Be careful sweetheart. Your wounds are still healing." Colby said gently. "Did I?" I asked as he sighed. "We'll talk about it more in a little while. Did you want to see your brothers and sisters?" He asked as I frowned.
"They're here?" I croaked out. "Yeah. They're with Jeremy right now. I didn't know if this was a bad call or a good call so I kept them away." He explained.
"Are they hurt?" I asked as he shook his head. "Not at all. They're going to be so happy to see you." He said and pulled his phone out.
"Do you hate me?" I whispered as he shook his head. "Not at all, sweetheart. Not even a little bit." He said then leaned down and gave me a gentle kiss.
I shook my head and put my hand on my belly, finally feeling her kick and roll.
"How long was I out?" I asked quietly. "Two and a half weeks. You were really tired." He said as I nodded.
"I need to go on a walk." I said as he chuckled. "Let's take it slow, okay?" He asked as the door opened.
"JULE!!" Little Sam cried out as all four of the kids came running over to me.
"Careful, guys. She's still fragile." Colby warned as I smiled at them. "Sissy! We missed you." Juniper said and jumped up and down happily.
"I missed you too, love." I said quietly as Colby picked her up. "How are you feeling?" Jenna asked as I painted a smile on my face.
I was in such an extreme amount of pain but I wasn't going to let my siblings see that.
They've been through enough.
"I'm tired but alright." I said quietly, rubbing at my belly. "Did Colby give you kissies and ice cream?" She asked as I breathed a laugh.
"No ice cream yet." I said with a sigh. "He probably ate it." Carter teased as Colby laughed.
"Yeah, exactly." He said with a laugh. "Do you feel okay? Surely she needs to eat or pee or walk around?" Jenna asked with concern.
"We'll get her situated. It's getting late so I'll have you guys go back to the hotel with Sam and Nate." Colby explained as all of the kids frowned.
"We wanna stay here with Jule." Carter said as I frowned. I was already losing stamina as far as talking went so I struggled to tell them it was okay to go.
"Are you okay?" Jenna asked with concern as I nodded. "Tired." I whispered as Juniper huffed out a breath.
"You slept for so long! Time to wake up!" She pouted as I frowned.
"Her body has been through so much. Let her get adjusted over night then we can see how's she's doing in the morning." Colby explained gently.
It was sweet seeing him with my siblings again. He was always so gentle and kind but explained to them what was happening like they were adults.
It wasn't like he was trying to baby them, he was just protecting me while keeping them as happy and understanding as possible.
"Okay. But we're coming back first thing in the morning." Little Sam said as I smiled and raised my hand holding out a pinky.
"Love you, Jule." He said then linked his pinky through mine.
"Love you, too." I whispered, looking at the kids I missed so fucking much.
