The Night That Changed Everything

It's Over?

Rick caught Drew before his head hit the floor. "Help!" He screamed as Bri wet a washcloth and handed it to her dad. An officer ran in and helped Rick carry Drew to their bed. The paramedics walked in and placed Drew on a gurney before they wheeled him away. Rick and Bri tried to follow but they were stopped. "We need to question you guys." He told them. "You can ask me questions at the hospital." Rick told them as he grabbed Bri's hand and walked out of the door. When they walked into the hospital, Drew was starting to wake up. He tensed up when he saw the fluorescent lights. "Why did you bring me here?" He asked sleepily. "Babe you collapsed." Rick told him as he grabbed his hand. His eyes shot open as he remembered what happened. "Where's Bri?" He said panicked. "I'm right here." She said as she grabbed Drew's hand. He laid back and let the nurse place an IV in his hand. "I'm fine." He said annoyed. "You are not fine." Rick replied with a small chuckle.

A day-shift doctor walked into the room. "Hi I'm Dr. Cameron. I'm going to ask you a few questions. Is that ok?" She asked. "Yeah that's fine. I'm a doctor so I know the routine." Drew said with a smile. "Ok. Do you know where you are?" "SAMH." "Ok, do you know these people standing next to you?" "My husband and my daughter." "Alright, do you remember what happened?" Drew froze. "The shooter was at our house and I went into shock." He said quietly. The doctor looked at Rick and he nodded. "Ok. I think you just need some fluids and you'll be on your way." She said as she left the room. "I went into shock." Drew told Rick. "I know babe. I know." He replied. Brianna sat on the edge of the bed. "Are you ok?" He asked her. She shook her head. "No but I will be." She said with a forced smile. Rick placed a comforting hand on her back.

The sweet moment was stopped by Rick's phone ringing. "Rick, are you guys ok? I saw on the news that they killed the guy at your house." TC said worriedly. "We're fine. Wait, what do you mean they killed him?" Rick asked as he stepped away from Drew. "Yeah. They shot him. They tried to revive him but he was DOA." TC replied. "He's dead?" Rick asked, not believing what was being said to him. "He's dead." TC told him. Rick hung up the phone. "He's dead." Rick said as he put the phone in his pocket. "Who is?" Drew asked confused. "The um the guy. They shot him in our room." Rick said as he sat in the chair next to Drew. Rick's eyes filled with tears. Relieved tears. "It's over?" Drew asked. "It's over." Rick said as he placed a kiss to Drew's lips. Drew let out a relieved sob.

An officer walked into the room and pulled the curtain closed. "Captain Lincoln, SWAT." Rick said as he held out his hand. "Officer Charles, SAPD." The man said, returning the handshake. "I need to ask you a few questions if that's ok." He said cautiously. Drew nodded. "Did you know your attacker?" They both shook their heads. "Do you believe this attack was premeditated?" "Yeah. He attacked us a few months ago." Drew said, tensing at the memory. "We're you injured in either attacks?" "Both of us were shot in the first one, she had emotional trauma, and no injuries from the second one." Rick told him. "Did any of you undergo surgery because of the first attack?" They all nodded. "All three of you?" He asked confused. "I had a bullet in my chest, he suffered a brain bleed due to PTSD, and she had torn blood vessels in her arm from cuts." Rick told him. "Oh. I'm so sorry. One last question. Did you identify your attacker?" "Yeah, earlier today actually." Drew told him. "Ok. Thank you." He said as he walked out of the room.

Drew's IV finished and the nurse brought him discharge papers. They went home to a crime scene. They weren't going to be sleeping in their room anytime soon, even after they cleaned the blood up. A few days later, Rick and Drew went to court. "So please explain why Brianna Alister-Lincoln has missed more than a month of school in such a short time frame. "Your honor, me and my husband were shot in a attack. We had to stay in the hospital until he woke up, which was about a week. Then when we were allowed to go home, I had a breakdown and would only let Brianna comfort me. Then I had a brain bleed and had to have surgery. This put a lot of pressure on her, and she resorted to self-harm. She went too deep, and a doctor thought my husband was abusing her and had him arrested. She freaked out and stabbed herself with a scalpel. Then we found out that they had meningitis. So we had to stay in the hospital for almost a month. When we returned home, we were attacked again. We don't  feel comfortable sending her back yet. We will send her back to school once she is ready. She has been completing her assignments, but she isn't mentally ready to return." Drew said shakily as the judge watched them. "Ok. That is a reasonable explanation. I'm very sorry this happened to you. Case dismissed." She said as she stood up and left.

Everything was finally back to normal. Well, almost. Bri had returned to school, and Rick and Drew returned to work. They were doing fine, but loud noises reminded them of what happened. Brianna was getting a lot of attention because she was on the news. She didn't mind it though. Most of Drew's patients recognized him from the news. He didn't like the attention as much as Bri did. They had to replace the floor in their bedroom because it was stained with blood. They were happy again. They were able to leave the house and go places without worrying. Everything was how it should be, perfect.

The End