The scene Oakley was met with at the house was bloody.
A body, whom Oakley assumed was Marcus, was dead, lying face down across the back door entrance. There was a large pool of blood underneath him and three bullet holes in his back. Oakley held onto the porch railing as she took in the sight.
"Call the pilot!"
Oakley's head snapped up and she forced herself to move, stepping over the body and walking into the kitchen area. Sitting on the ground, leaning back against the counter was Kayce. Rip was kneeling next to him, holding his shoulder, and John was standing with his cell phone in his hand.
"Baby," Kayce breathed out as he saw Oakley.
Oakley's eyes moved down to the real reason why Rip was holding Kayce's shoulder. Blood was slowly seeping through Kayce's shirt from where Rip's hand was. Kayce's face was pale and his eyes full.
It was as if Oakley's heart was pounding in her head as her legs carried her over to Kayce. She fell to her knees in front of him, her hands hovering over as though she didn't know what she could and couldn't touch. Her eyes glanced at Rip and she saw fear in the man's eyes. Rip was never afraid. Oakley's lip began to tremble.
"Kacye..." Oakley leaned closer to him, resting one of her hands on his bent knee. "H-Hold on...we're gonna...gonna get you to the hospital."
"Ten minutes," John snapped from above them.
"See?" Oakley nodded. "Ten minutes, Kayce."
"Fuck," Kayce closed his eyes and Oakley saw his stained shirt darken more.
"We need more pressure," Oakley stood up and grabbed a towel from the counter. "Here, press as hard as you can."
Rip moved and Oakley quickly placed the towel over where Kayce had been shot. She could smell the blood when she did and it made Oakley feel faint for a second. Kayce groaned, kicking his leg out.
"Easy!" Rip told him.
"Kayce, look at me," Oakley held both sides of Kayce's head. "L-Look at me."
Kayce's eyes met hers.
"Dad!"
Tate was right next to Oakley's side.
"Tate," Oakley held onto his shoulder with one of her hands.
"Dad?" Tate choked out with a sob.
"He's okay," Oakley breathed in harshly. "We're gonna get him in the helicopter soon."
"What happened?" Tate asked.
"They're landing," John walked back over from the window. "Rip, help me get him up."
Oakley stood up with them, watching Kayce's face show just how much pain he was in. Rip and John half carried Kayce out, Oakley following along with all the towels she could grab. Tate ran after her.
"You stay here," Oakley yelled over the sound of the blades.
"I'm coming!" Tate cried.
"No!" Oakley snapped. "You stay here, with your siblings. You watch over them. You protect them. Okay? Please, Tate...please do this for me?"
Tate was breathing hard but he stopped moving forward. Oakley turned and Rip stepped aside as she climbed in with John and Kayce, who was lying on the floor.
"Go!" John hollered and Oakley felt the helicopter pull up fast.
She was on her knees over Kayce, pressing down on his shoulder. He was in pain, wincing with each movement of the helicopter as it flew. Oakley looked up at John.
"What happened?" She yelled.
"He came through the back," John said. "I guess they met each other?"
"I wasn't there!" Oakley shook her head.
"Oakley..." Kayce said quietly.
"He must have thought you were!" John said.
"He shot Kayce?" Oakley asked, tears welling up in her eyes now.
"I came back when I heard the gunfire," John shook his head.
"Oakley..."
"Did Kayce shoot him?" Oakley asked John.
"I don't know, Oakley!" John yelled.
"Oaks!" Kayce grunted.
Oakley looked back down and saw Kayce with half-lidded eyes looking up at her. She leaned her head closer to him.
"Save your strength," Oakley told him. "Just keep breathing...in and out."
"Oakley," Kayce wheezed.
"What did I just say?" Oakley sniffed, glancing at her blood-stained hands now. "How much longer?"
"Fifteen minutes out!" The pilot called back.
"Look at me," Oakley told Kayce. "Focus on me...and focus on..."
Oakley thought for a minute.
"Focus on all we will do this summer...at camp," Oakley said. "You still owe me a hot springs trip...and we need to take all the kids riding..."
A tear dropped from Oakley's nose onto Kayce's cheek. His eyes were heavy as he looked up at her. Oakley noticed his muscles weren't as strained as they had been. He wasn't fighting back as much.
"A-And we need to go swimming," Oakley said. "And more fishing for the boys...and fuck, you so owe me the biggest night out of dancing in your life!"
Kayce's blinks were getting longer.
"Kayce!" Oakley said. "Look at me."
His dull eyes opened slightly.
"K-Kayce..." Oakley was crying now. "Please...Kayce, please stay with me. Please don't leave me...please...I-I can't..."
John reached out and held Oakley's shoulder while he reached down with his other and helped her apply pressure on Kayce's wound. She felt her stomach drop as the helicopter descended.
"I love you," Oakley whispered out. "I love you, Kayce."
When they touched the ground, Kayce shut his eyes and didn't open them back.
**
Oakley's head rested against her fist as she sat in the chair. John was right next to her as they waited in the hallway. They could have gone down to Beth's room, but Oakley wasn't moving from the door they rushed Kayce through two hours ago. Oakley knew she had Kayce's blood all over her, but refused the nurses to look her over when they pressed. She wasn't the one who had been shot.
John's phone dinged and he pulled it out of his vest. His fingers typed away at the screen as Oakley's eyes looked down at the floor again. She didn't have her phone with her and Oakley's mind went to Tate and the twins. She knew she had scared Tate, but she wouldn't have been able to handle him and Kaye at the same time...and she needed someone with the twins. Her mom might be there, but knew this lifestyle.
"Do you want a coffee?" John asked gruffly.
Oakley looked over at him as he stood up. He waited, looking down at Oakley. She shook her head back and forth, not feeling like she could keep anything down right now. John walked slowly down the hall. As Oakley watched him, she thought about the fact he now had two children in this hospital.
"Are you okay, ma'am?"
Oakley looked up at a nurse who was looking at her.
"Fine," Oakley cleared her throat. "It's not mine."
The nurse nodded and continued walking, pushing past the double doors where they had taken Kayce. Oakley took a shaky breath as the doors swung back and forth. A few minutes later, John was walking back with his phone out again.
"It's Tate," John handed the phone to Oakley.
She grabbed it quickly.
"Tate?" Oakley leaned up in her seat.
"Oakley?" Tate's voice was scared. "Where's Dad? What happened?"
"We're at the hospital, sweetheart," Oakley rubbed her face. "They took your dad back for surgery...he's still back there."
"He got shot?" Tate's voice sounded younger.
"He did," Oakley said. "Tate..are you okay?"
"Is he gonna make it?" Tate ignored her question.
Oakley opened her mouth to answer but no words came out. It was like her body was telling her not to lie to Tate if she didn't know the facts.
"They're doing everything they can," Oakley said. "We just need to pray and hope that the doctors can fix him."
She didn't hear anything from Tate and pulled the phone back to make sure the line was still connected.
"Tate?" Oakley asked.
"...Mom..." Tate sobbed.
"It's alright," Oakley felt warm tears roll down her cheeks. "It's gonna be okay. He's gonna be just fine."
John sat down next to Oakley and reached over to hold her free hand. Oakley squeezed back as she stayed on the phone with Tate for a few minutes. She was thankful her mom was there with the kids at least. Tate had told her they were all in the living room with Rip and Ryan, waiting on news from Oakley and John. She hung up with him with a promise to call him as soon as she heard something.
"Fuck," Oakley whispered, holding her face in both hands after she hung up.
John squeezed Oakley's shoulder.
"Dutton?"
Oakley looked up at a doctor walking toward them in scrubs. She stood up fast, John along with her, and met the doctor halfway.
"Is he alive?" Oakley asked.
"Are you his wife?" The doctor asked.
"Is he fucking alive?" Oakley yelled.
"He's alive," The doctor said. "But we're doing another blood transfusion on him...he lost too much blood."
"But he's alive?" Oakley choked back a sob, feeling John's hand on her back.
"We're hoping this transfusion sticks," The doctor nodded. "We got the bullet out and repaired the muscle as best we could...now we need him to take the blood and get his system cycling again...then we need him to heal."
"Can I see him?" Oakley asked.
"Not right now," The doctor shook his head. "The transfusion will take some time but I wanted to update you...I'll come back in an hour and if he's taken to the new blood...then we'll move him onto the recovery floor and then you'll be able to see him."
"B-But he's gonna make it," Oakley nodded. "Right? He's gonna live?"
"Signs are looking good right now for him to live, yes," The doctor nodded. "But he's not out of the woods yet...I'll come back in an hour."
Oakley nodded as the doctor walked away. She turned back to John and felt everything rush down her. John's arms wrapped around Oakley as she cried into his shoulder. Kayce wasn't done yet, but he was alive.
**
"All of that sounds promising," Erin said to Oakley through the phone.
"Thank God," Oakley sighed, standing next to the receptionist's counter.
"Honey...can I do anything for you?" Erin asked.
"How are the kids?" Oakley asked instead of answering.
"Everyone here is fine," Erin said. "Twins are a little curious, Tate's been pretty quiet...but we're all just fine here."
"Thank you," Oakley pushed back more tears.
"Oakley...I don't understand what all has happened, but I need you to focus on Kayce," Erin said. "Don't worry about the kids, don't worry about me...hell, don't worry about the house. I've got enough hands around us right now that I might see if they know how to dust."
Oakley felt a laugh escape her lips and it felt foreign to her.
"I don't know how to repay you," Oakley said softly.
"Nothing to repay," Erin told her. "This is a grandmother's job...now I need you to do your job as a wife and just be with Kayce."
"They took him back to the recovery floor but he wasn't settling with the medication so they've changed his does," Oakley said. "Hopefully they'll come get me soon."
"Is John still with you?" Erin asked.
"He went to go look after Beth," Oakley said. "They're supposed to wake her up today so I know he wants to be there and here at the same time."
"So much going on," Erin mumbled.
"Yeah," Oakley sighed. "Mom...I can't imagine what you're thinking right now about me and this life we live, but-"
"But, nothing," Erin interrupted Oakley. "I told you, Oakley. We are fine here...I need you and Kayce to be fine now. That's all you need to focus on right now."
"Okay," Oakley said.
"Honey..." Erin cooed and Oakley felt herself almost break again.
"He's gonna be fine," Oakley cried. "He has too...M-Mom, he's...I can't..."
"Hush," Erin said. "You are exactly where you need to be."
Oakley took a deep, shaky breath.
"Alright," Erin replied. "I'm going to see if I can't make some lunch around here for people."
"I'll call you later when I can get back to Kayce," Oakley said before hanging up.
She handed the phone back to the receptionists with a small thanks. Oakley walked back over to her seat and sat down with a sigh.
Now that it was known Kayce was going to survive, a wave of exhaustion passed over Oakley. Her back aches from sitting in the chair for hours. She had a dull headache behind her eye and there were three places she wanted to be all at once. Kayce. Beth. Her children.
"Mrs. Dutton?" The doctor came back to her.
"Can I see him?" Oakley stood up instantly.
"I'll take you back," He nodded and Oakley followed him down the hall and to the left.
They stopped at a door and the doctor turned to her.
"He does not look good," The doctor said. "He's bruised, pale, has wires coming in and out from all sides...I just want to warn you."
"I just need to see him," Oakley whispered.
"He still under," The doctor continued. "He might be able to hear you, but I want him to have a day or so to heal as best he can so we're going to keep him under."
"Okay," Oakley was antsy.
The doctor nodded and opened the door for Oakley. She walked in and stopped, looking at Kayce.
He was alive.
For now, that's all that mattered. Oakley slowly walked over to the side of Kayce's bed. He had wires coming out of him, monitors were beeping around them. Oakley reached out and slid her fingers through his hair over his forehead, running them down his cheek. She swallowed hard, her eyes moving across his body.
His shoulder was bandaged up tight, the rest of his chest bare. The blankets were pulled up as high as they could go in the cooler room. He had oxygen around his nose. Oakley's hand moved down Kayce's good arm and held his hand in hers. She moved the hand slightly so she could sit down next to him on the bed. Oakley felt a few tears roll silently down her cheek.
Footsteps walked up behind her and she knew John was in the room. He cleared his throat, standing right next to Oakley. Oakley covered her and Kayce's hands with her other one.
"John?" Oakley asked.
"M'here," John mumbled behind her.
"I don't care..." Oakley sniffed, blinking back tears.
"What?" John asked.
"I don't care what you have to do," Oakley looked over her shoulder at John. "But this needs to be done. Please, end this...now."
John looked at Oakley for a few seconds. He reached out and held onto her shoulder as Oakley looked back at Kayce. The beeping faded into the background as Oakley's finger traced circles against Kayce's hand in hers.
"Please end this," Oakley whispered out.
**
Oakley tightened the blanket around her shoulders in the room. It was freezing, but the doctors said Kayce needed to be in a colder room for right now to help. It had been two hours since she had been able to see him and she hadn't left his side. John walked back in and this time, when he offered Oakley some coffee, she took it.
"Thank you," Oakley whispered.
"I spoke with Haskell," John said.
Oakley's eyes looked away from Kayce and up at John.
"It was Marcus," John nodded.
Oakley frowned.
"Right now, they're saying Marcus stumbled upon Kayce..." John cleared his throat. "And a shootout took place."
"Marcus hit Kayce once," Oakley said. "Kayce got three into Marcus."
"Didn't say it was an even shootout," John said.
Oakley looked back at Kayce. She hated how pale he looked right now. It was the middle of June, and all of them were supposed to have nice tans from being out in the sun all day. Kayce looked like some vampire in a crypt somewhere. Oakley held Kayce's hand again.
"You told me to end this, Oakley," John said.
"I did," Oakley's eyes didn't leave Kayce.
"Marcus had two cousins in Idaho," John said. "Both had records. Both had contact with him only days ago."
Oakley looked back at him again.
"Had?" Oakley asked.
John didn't say anything. Had Oakley not already been freezing, she would have felt the cold drip down her back at what John was implying.
"Any more?" Oakley asked.
"His real father," John cleared his throat. "A misstep in the prison he was being held in...gang fights...turned deadly and he ended up passing in the night."
"Guess no one's left," Oakley mumbled.
"No," John said. "There are no Andersons left in that family."
Oakley took a deep breath.
"And Jamie?" Oakley asked.
"Rip's picking him up as we speak," John said. "Kayce told us that Marcus had confessed to the killings before he died."
Oakley narrowed her eyes. Kayce didn't say that at all, but once again the story had already been written without her.
"And now there's no one to say otherwise," Oakley spoke softly.
"It's done, Oakley," John said.
Oakley looked back down at Kayce. Her eyes watered as she brought his hand up to her lips. Oakley felt the tears fall as she cried. John reached down and took her coffee from her that she had yet to taste. Oakley leaned her head down against the bed, her shoulders shaking.
"Oakley," John said.
"Enough," Oakley looked up at him. "Please...I said end it and you did...so c-can w-we stop talking about it? Can we just...enough, please!"
John's eyes were red as he looked back at Oakley.
"Can you just leave us alone, now...please?" Oakley asked, glancing at Kayce.
John sniffed, nodding his head slowly. Oakley swallowed, but then the monitors around Kayce started going off. She looked at them, as John stepped back. Soon, three nurses rushed into the room, one of them pulling Oakley away from Kayce's bed. They were all shouting things Oakley couldn't understand.
"What's happening?" Oakley asked.
"Hey!" John snapped at them.
"Step back," The nurse said to Oakley.
"Kayce?" Oakley gripped the blanket around her shoulders.
"We need to take him down," The nurse said.
Two more doctors rushed into the room. They lowered Kayce's bed so he was lying flat against it. Oakley looked between all of them, as they assessed Kayce. A few more seconds passed and they were pushing Kayce's bed out of the room and down the hall.
"What's happening?" John asked.
"Sir, we will update you," The nurse said. "But his blood pressure dropped and his heart isn't strong enough to pump the blood at a normal speed since the transfusion so we're going to see if there's something internal we can do to assist.
"John?" Oakley asked.
The nurse ran off after the others. Oakley's eyes looked to where Kayce's bed had just been. She had just been holding his hand. He had just been here with her.
And now he wasn't.