My miracle.
The silver lining in all of this.
Who knows nothing of the danger his parents had been in when his own grandfather tried to kill his father and ended up shooting his mother just mere hours ago.
Who didn’t get a chance to get to know his uncle who had done everything to protect him. My best friend who gave up his life to save ours.
I think back on all those nights when Ria and I would talk about starting a family.
We talked about wanting to have a boy, who we hoped looked just like me, and a girl that looked like her.
We wanted to give ourselves the family we never had.
Now, fear invades my being.
I’m unsteady and unsure.
What if Ria doesn’t survive?
My thoughts get sidelined when a soft, chubby hand finds its way to my line of sight. Then, my son grabs my nose in the most endearing of ways. His eyes shine and his lips form into another drooling smile.
A sudden, overwhelming surge of love fills me.
“Daaaa-daaa.”
That’s when I lose it.
“Family of Alessandria Thomas?”
I shoot up from my perch on the empty bed, almost dropping my sleeping son from my chest in my haste.
Mina and Ben are by my side instantly, and I gratefully place Adrian in Mina’s outstretched hands.
“I’m her husband,” I call out to the bespectacled man walking into the room in green scrubs.
A polite smile flashes over the doctor’s face for a moment before he nods at us grimly.
“Do you want the good news first or the bad?”
I grit my teeth in frustration, hating the formality in his tone. “Please just tell me how my wife is, Doctor.”
A sigh escapes the man as he removes his glasses.
“Alright. I’ve been informed of the situation and I understand I’m speaking to federal agents?”
I open my mouth to tell this man to shut up and tell me if my wife is alive or dead when Ben comes to stand beside me, gripping my shoulder. He gives it a reassuring squeeze before he turns to the doctor and addresses him.
“Yes, that is correct. Can you tell us about her condition and when we will be able to see her?”
The man nods, his gaze empathetic.
"Ballistic injuries are incredibly challenging, but she made it here in time. One of the bullets merely grazed her shoulder, and we were able to extract the other bullet lodged just beneath the initial graze. Luckily, it missed any vital organs, and the surgery was successful. The bad news is the bullet hit her shoulder muscles. She suffered from significant blood loss and coded on the table––" He cuts off when I hang on to the railing of the bed, feeling the blood drain from my face.
“Is she alive?” I cry out.
Ben grabs me by the shoulder once again, keeping me steady.
The doctor looks completely unfazed, like he expected that reaction all along.