******IMPORTANT NOTE*******
If you liked the ending of this story and wish to keep it that way, I don't recommend reading this bonus part.
Seriously.
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In her whole relationship with Alex, Kelsey knew that getting married to him was one of the easier things. They'd had a rocky relationship. Right from the start, there were doubts and worries between them, but one thing that had stayed consistent was their trust for each other. Kelsey trusted Alex with everything she had.
He'd saved her from vanishing. She knew she would have if he hadn't entered her life with his gun pointed.
But instead, he gave her everything. He gave her a family. He gave her brothers and sisters. He gave her two beautiful children. Kelsey loved Lana and Aaron with all her heart. But he also gave her a lifetime of worry.
Despite giving her so much, staying married to someone like Alex Diaz was hard. It wasn't that he didn't have enough time for his family. Kelsey knew that Alex would spend every spare second with his family if he could. It wasn't that they didn't have enough time for each other, either. They managed.
No, it was going through the day, jumping every time the phone rang. Wondering if he was okay, and not being able to call him because she didn't want to be a hurtle between him and his work. It was waiting for that one phone call telling her that he'd been hurt.
Waiting every day for him to come home, so she could breathe in his scent and she could let out a breath of relief that he was safe in her arms again.
Worrying that one day, he wouldn't be.
Most of the time, it felt like a loop for Kelsey. She knew that Alex was a good agent. She knew he worked so hard so that the people around them would be safer. He worked to keep the bad guys off the streets so that the streets would be safer for the innocent people.
Yet, she also knew that she was living in a loop, when she wasn't living life's moments. Since Aaron had been born, she'd cut down her classes so she could spend time raising her children. And they were wonderful children. They were so different from her and Alex, though.
Lana was a daddy's girl all around. She was brave, courageous, and smart, having all of the qualities Alex had that made Kelsey worry. Lana wasn't scared of a challenge. Ever since she was a little girl, she'd been taking risks. Alex and Kelsey worried about her, often, but they couldn't do anything about it. Lana wasn't going to take no for an answer. And she was only eight years old.
Aaron was completely different from his older sister. He was only three years younger than Lana but he was more like Kelsey. He was a calm, and collected child. Nothing like how Lana was when she was his age. Kelsey supposed that Aaron figured out quite early on that his older sister would demand attention and was happy to stay in the sidelines. It was a trait that Kelsey possessed as well.
Kelsey took a deep breath.
Late nights like this one kept Kelsey worrying the most. She knew she was being irrational. Alex would come home and everything would be fine. She'd realize she was worrying over nothing. But Alex and Kelsey talked to each other, and Alex shared more with her than he should. Kelsey knew that they'd just caught a big break in the case they were working on and that Alex was planning on making arrests, though she didn't know many details about this case. Only that it was big.
It wouldn't be the first time she worried about her husband's well-being. She wasn't going to let it be the last. Besides, she remembered the first time she had news for her husband. She'd waited for him then, too.
And she was waiting for him now.
Kelsey had already put Lana and Aaron to sleep. Now that they were older, their sleeping patterns were regulated and they also both had school tomorrow.
There was silence throughout the house. Usually, Kelsey enjoyed the quiet. She liked it. But tonight, it made her nervous. She was sure it was just her emotions. They were out of control, lately, but still. This type of nervousness could never be good.
She wanted to call Alex and made sure he was okay, but she didn't want to do it often, and she'd already called him once earlier today. He'd told her he would be late coming home, but she couldn't help her nervousness.
Kelsey often had days like this, and every time Alex would come home. She just had to convince herself that this was one of those days.
And Kelsey was just in the process of doing that when her cell phone rang. A breath of relief escaped her. That must be Alex to let her know everything was fine. He knew she would be worried. She hurried over to the phone and saw that it was a call from the FBI office. She frowned. Why was Alex calling her from the office?
A jolt of anxiety hit her, and she forced herself to press the button. "H-Hello?"
"Mrs. Kelsey Alex Diaz?" A robotic, boring sounding voice inquired from the other end of the line.
Kelsey's breath hitched. "Speaking."
There was a long pause from the other end of the line. "This is Agent Patrick Wynn speaking from the FBI. I work with your husband, and I am calling to inform you that Special Agent Diaz has been shot. He is being taken to the Keck Medical Center."
Kelsey was frozen. It felt like the breath inside of her had been knocked out. After that, she'd stopped listening.
She'd imagined this scenario hundreds of times and she'd scolded herself for being so negative. But now, it wasn't just a scene. It was really happening and all those plans in her head about it happening flew through her mind. She was knocked out.
She was frozen.
It felt like a part of her inside was crushed. She needed to do something. Anything. But her emotions left her unable to do anything.
All she knew is that her husband needed her at this moment, and she was going to be there for him.