Undercover

32. Let Her Live

They made me stay in the hospital to keep an eye on my arm. Infection, they said. They didn't want to risk an infection and they were keeping me here to be safe rather than sorry. I guess I didn't mind. I didn't have anything else to do for now. And since I wasn't family, I couldn't get any information out of the doctors as to what Natalia's condition was.

It was eating at me on the inside. I always made sure to leave the room at night, so I could go look for her room. But I had never had a successful attempt. It didn't help that the nurses would escort me back to my room if they caught me wandering. They always had the excuse that there was nothing that I needed to do out here. No matter how much I tried to convince her, she wouldn't budge. It frustrated the hell out of me but rules were rules. It wasn't until I caught Ingrid out in the hallway that I knew what was happening to her.

She had told me that they had her in the operating room, and were extracting the bullet. They hadn't told her anything else, but she said that she would come by and tell me when she had more information. I told her the room that they were making me stay in and then she went on her way. I would see the receptionist looking at me like I had grown a second head or something. I didn't understand why it was so hard to give me any information about her. After all, she had almost been my wife. But I guess that almost never really counts in the real world.

Eventually, I was forced to go back to my room and stay in bed. This was completely unnecessary, I just wanted to be discharged so that I could go see her, but that wasn't an option. I knew that she probably had to stay here a little bit longer so maybe instead of focusing on getting discharged now, I should focus on getting discharged later. So that I could still be here when there was news. I just wanted to see her. I wanted to wrap my arms around her. I wanted to touch her face, her hand. I just wanted time alone with her so that I could convince myself that she was real and not just a figment of my imagination. I could wake up right now and see that this was actually a dream and not the real thing. I could have been in bed right now, dreaming about finding her, while in actuality Daniels was dumping her body in the same place where he had taken her from.

I shook my head and tried to think about something else, but as more and more time passed, that was the only thought in my head. I felt like no matter what I tried to distract myself with, the same thought kept coming back to haunt me. I was driving myself insane and I didn't know how the hell to stop it.

Thankfully, Finn came to visit at a certain point. And it was then that I had to ask him if this was real or if it was just my dream.

"Aiden, I think you've absolutely lost it. You found her. Daniels is dead. They have his body and have confirmed his identity." He said to me.

"Are you sure?" I asked him. I had to make sure that what he was saying was true. I didn't want any surprises.

"Yes, I'm positive. If you want I can pinch you and punch you a few times just so that you're convinced that this is all real and not a part of your dream."

"Okay, okay. I'm convinced."

"Aww...you're no fun."

"Thanks, Finn."

His face grew serious as he approached me and sat down in the chair that was available. "You did good, man. She's alive. Now you just have to wait."

"What if she doesn't make it, Finn? What am I supposed to do then?"

Finn smacked his lips. "Stop being a douche. You have to think positively, Aiden. It took us this long to find her. There is no way that she's going to die after we worked so hard. She's not going to die. She's going to be fine and you'll be able to go and kiss her any time you want."