TW: Mentions of blood
"Hands up!"
Katherine turned to Jack, her heart pounding in her chest as she saw who was at the door.
Clyde Barrow.
She hesitantly placed her hands up, her heart in her throat. "Jack." She whispered, calming ever so slightly when Jack grabbed her hand.
He squeezed it tightly, hoping for it to be reassuring. "It's ok." He whispered, looking at the door when a red head walked in, a gun in her hand.
Bonnie Parker.
"Now, sugars, just put the money in the bag. And nobody has to get hurt." Bonnie said, her voice dripping with sickly sweetness. She marched forward, the gun slung over her shoulder.
Jack moved towards Katherine, putting both of their hands down. He kissed her temple, "We'll be ok." He looked around the bank, seeing they were the only people in there bar the two bank tellers. "There's only four of us, nothing is gonna happen."
"Shut it!" Clyde shouted, turning the gun on the couple. He glared at them. He didn't want to hurt them, or anyone in this bank, but if someone called the police- well, he would have to.
Katherine's eyes filled with tears as one of the bank tellers disappeared, probably to call the police. She knew that was a bad idea. She tightened her hold on Jack's hand as Bonnie began stuffing money into the bag.
"I've called the police!" The bank teller said, walking back into the room. "They'll be here soon."
Bonnie sighed, looking over at Clyde. "Such a shame."
Clyde smirked, pulling the gun, rounding it on the bank tellers.
Jack squeezed Katherine's hand, "Wes have ta go now." He whispered, slowly wrapping an arm around her waist.
"But."
"Ace, please, come on." Jack said, starting to pull her out of the bank.
"Bad idea." Clyde said, rounding on them.
Everything happened in seconds. A gun shot. Katherine screamed. Two more shots. And then Bonnie and Clyde were gone.
Jack turned to Katherine as she let out a strangled sob, her hand flying to her stomach. "Oh God Ace." He exclaimed, helping her drop down.
Katherine stared up at him, her eyes glossy with tears. "Jack." She whispered weakly, her voice breaking as blood began to pool on her stomach. "It hurts."
Jack shrugged off his waistcoat, pressing it against her stomach. "Youse is gonna be ok." He whispered, letting her grip his hand as tightly as she could. He pressed his lips against her temple, debating whether he should pick her up and carry her to the hospital or wait for the police.
Katherine moved her hands to rest on top of his, her eyes shutting momentarily. "I think I need to go to the hospital." She said between pained gasps, her heart hammering in her chest.
Jack let out a shaky sigh, tears beginning to drip down his face. "Ok, ok. I'll have ta pick youse up." He whispered, scooping her into his arms, ignoring her hiss of pain.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." He whispered again, trying to keep the both of them calm.
"I'm ok." She groaned out, pressing the now blood soaked cloth harder against the bullet hole. She wrapped one arm around his waist when he stood up. Tears streamed down her face as the pain became unbearable.
"Ace, ya gonna be ok. Youse is gonna be fine." He whispered in her ear. He kissed her hair before beginning to run towards the hospital.
"I'm so sorry Jack." She whispered weakly, her face growing pale as tears continued to stream down her face. She rested her head limply against his chest as she failed to keep her eyes open.
"Hey, come on." Jack said, looking down at her. He ignored the stares he got from passers-by and kissing her hair as he continued to run. "Stay awake."
"I'm sorry." She mumbled, her words slurring as she continued to bleed.
"Wes gonna get ta the hospital, and youse is gonna be fine." He said, letting out a small sigh of relief when he saw the hospital at the end of the street. "And youse is gonna write all about ya encounter with Bonnie and Clyde, ok Ace?"
Katherine nodded softly, feeling her heart slow and her hand fell from his neck.
Jack let out a small shout as he pushed open the hospital doors. He looked up from her face when a nurse ran up to him. "She got shot. By Bonnie and Clyde."
He let go of her reluctantly as a gurney was rolled over to him. "Look after her!" He called after them, sinking down against the wall and burying his head in his hands, finally letting himself cry.
----
"Mr Kelly?" The same nurse as before asked as she walked into the waiting room.
Jack looked up, preparing for the worst. "How is she?" He managed to choke out, his heart pounding.
"She's stable." The nurse said, a ghost of a smile spreading across her lips when Jack let out a sigh of relief. "We had a few complications, but she will be fine."
"Can I see her?" He asked, relief washing over his entire body as the nurse nodded. She'd been stuck in the hospital for eighteen hours, and those had been the worst of his life.
"She's asleep, and needs her rest." The nurse said, "But as long as you're quite, follow me."
Jack let out another breath of relief, following the nurse down the hall. He thanked the nurse as he pushed open the door to her hospital room.
His heart dropped in his chest when he saw his Ace, pale and sleeping. He walked over to her, sitting down on the chair next to her bed. "Heya Ace." He whispered, stroking some hair out of her face.
He reached over and gently grabbed her hand, lacing their fingers together. "I'm so sorry sweetheart." He murmured, fiddling with her fingers as he began to cry softly. "I should never have tried ta pull youse outta there. I thought, if wes could make it out, theys wouldn't try ta shoot us."
He wiped his eyes with one hand and squeezed hers gently with the other. He stroked hair out of her face and leaned forward to kiss her temple. "I'm so sorry Ace, I never wanted youse ta get hurt. I'm sorry youse got shot instead of me."
He pulled his chair closer to hers and rested his head against her bed. "I'm so sorry angel. I'm sorry."
----
Katherine blinked her eyes open, the pain in her stomach just about bearable. She looked around, the white lights hurting her eyes.
She looked down, smiling softly when she saw Jack asleep on her bed. She ran her hands gently through his hair, trying not to wake him up.
She squeezed the hand that was laced with hers and gently brought it up to her mouth, pressing a light kiss to his fingers. She rested her head back against the pillows and waited for him to wake up.
About five minutes later, Jack woke up and began pressing kisses to her fingers. He looked up at her and smiled when his eyes met hers. "Hey, sweetheart."
"Hi." She rasped out, her throat dry. She smiled as he handed her some water, "How are you?" She whispered once she'd taken a sip from the water.
"I'm more worried about youse." He said, his voice shaky. "Youse got shot."
"I know, I can feel it." She whispered jokingly, running a hand gently through his hair.
"I'm so sorry Ace." Jack whispered, tears weeklong in his eyes. He shut his eyes and felt her cup his cheeks.
"It wasn't your fault. Now come sit up next to me." She said, shuffling over and letting him sit next to her.
Jack gently pulled her towards him, careful of the obvious bullet wound. He buried his head in her hair, gently letting his tears fall. "I'm sorry Ace."
"It's not your fault." Katherine whispered, grabbing his hand and wrapping it around her waist.
"Youse got shot cos of me."
She twisted as best she could and cupped his face. "Listen to me." She said sternly, rubbing her thumb over his cheek bone. "It is not your fault. I do not want you to blame yourself."
"But."
"No buts sweetheart. You tried your best to save and don't you dare beat yourself up about this. And look at me, I'm fine." She said, pulling his lips down to hers and kissing him softly. "And anyways, I can't wait to write about it."
Jack chuckled, gently pulling her into his lap. "Of course youse would think bout that." He said, running his fingers up and down her arms.
"Well, once a reporter always a reporter." She said with a grin, placing a hand on the bandages wrapped around her stomach.
"I love you Ace." He said, kissing the back of her head.
"I love you too Jack."