*glances at title* i apologize in advance for all of the references in this chapter

"I have some bad news about Bennett..."

My heart immediately sunk as Declan put his arms around me, but Jordan leapt up.

"What did you say?!" he cried. "Tell us! What news!" He jumped up from the chair and shook the lady by the collar.

People were starting to stare. "Calm, down, Mr. Wallace, or we may have to remove you from the premises."

"Is he trying to get thrown out just so he can prove me wrong?" muttered Declan, but his voice was quiet and subdued.

"Just tell us the news," Bentley spat, in that cold, monotone voice that he shared with his brother. "What happened?"

"He's alive... but barely."

Everyone let out a sigh of relief and Jordan sank back into his chair, his hands on his forehead. He's not dead. He's not dead. He's still alive.

But barely.

"Let's go see him, so I can order him to stay alive," Declan suggested, standing up from his chair. "What room is he in?"

"Room 1776," the lady said as we stood up. Declan took the lead, followed by Jordan and I, and Bentley at the back, looking solemn.

Bentley carefully stepped away from us. "I never caught your name," he said to the lady, who gave him a look.

"Angelica Schuyler," she told him carefully.

"Would that be Mrs. Schuyler or Miss Schuyler?" Bentley asked with a faint smirk, stepping closer to the lady.

Declan stopped abruptly to glare at him. "Are you serious? Your brother was just shot and you're flirting with the secretary?"

Bentley snorted. "I'm one of the richest teens in the world right now. No one would turn me down."

"Frazier, you disgust me," she muttered, stalking off to the head of the group.

We arrived at Room 1776 and I was instantly nervous, but the Musketeers put their hands on my shoulders to steady me. I wasn't sure that I would be able to face Bennett, because all of this was my fault.

Carefully, the secretary lady opened the door to reveal a doctor and two nurses standing over the bed, blocking the patient from view. The secretary stepped in.

"Alex, John, Eliza, get out of the way, the patient's visitors are here."

"Make me," said one of the nurses, a guy with freckles and really curly hair. He stuck out his tongue as the other two moved away.

The secretary rolled her eyes. "John, get out of the way or I'll tell the entire hospital staff that you're seeing one of your co-workers."

The freckled nurse turned red and the doctor, who had unruly dark hair and a tired face, grabbed him by the collar and yanked him away from the bed.

And then I saw Bennett.

He didn't even look like Bennett anymore. His face was paler than usual, which was a feat, considering how pale he was to begin with. His eyes were closed, and his dark hair was spread out on the pillow.

As we rushed up to the bed, I saw needles sticking out of his left arm, but I didn't see any wounds. "Where did the bullet hit him?" I asked, my voice trembling.

The tired-looking doctor spoke up. "The bullet entered just above his hip and lodged in his right arm." He gestured to Bennett's sleeping form and I noticed a lump where I guess the bandages were.

"Is he breathing? Is he going to be okay?" I blurted, panicking.

The other nurse, a dark-haired woman, came over to me and started to pat my back. "He'll be fine. I promise. He just lost a lot of blood. He'll wake up soon."

I felt hot tears slipping down my cheeks as I looked at him. This is all my fault. He looked so peaceful sleeping, and I wondered what he was dreaming about.

"While you're waiting, let me introduce you to the people that'll be watching over him for the next few days," the secretary suggested.

"This idiot over here is John," she said, jabbing her finger towards the curly-haired guy. "John Laurens."

She nodded to the tired-looking man. "That's Alexander, or Dr. Hamilton. Don't worry, he's a good doctor, he'll take care of Mr. Frazier."

"And this is Eliza." She pointed at the dark-haired woman. "Eliza Schuyler."

Bentley perked up. "Schuyler?"

"My sister. And don't you get any ideas, Frazier, she's happily married."

They all laughed, especially the John guy, who seemed really fun-loving. Another thing I noticed was the way his arm was subtly wrapped around the doctor.

Soon the four hospital staff started a conversation. The Eliza girl had just left to go and get some more medicine for Bennett when I heard a voice.

"Naomi..."

I immediately looked down to see that Bennett's eyes were opened, and Jordan, Declan, Bentley and I all turned to look at him.

"Bennett!" I cried, and the conversation between the hospital staff ceased. "You're alive!"

"Of course I am," he muttered gruffly, smiling.

I didn't smile back. How could I? It was all my fault, all my fault that he had been shot, I should have told him, I should have made sure he knew I would stay with him—

"What's wrong?" he asked, sounding worried.

"Bennett, this is all my fault!" I shouted, and now tears were streaming down my face. "I didn't know, I should have known—"

"No, no, no, Naomi, shhh, this isn't your fault, it isn't your fault at all," be whispered to me. "It's my fault, I should have told you what was going on."

"Actually it's our fault," Declan and Jordan said. "None of this would have happened if it wasn't for us."

"But it's still my fault," Bennett said, their previous animosity forgotten. "I should have told her."

"But we shouldn't have—"

"The point is, Naomi, that's it's not your fault. I don't want you to ever think that it's your fault. It's my fault. And their fault."

"Actually," Bentley pointed out, "it's nobody's fault. The only person to blame is the person who actually shot you."

"We'll figure that out later," I said. "For right now, the fact that you're alive is a miracle. Just stay alive. That would be enough."

Bennett smiled at me and pulled me in for a kiss—we probably weren't allowed to do that, but I didn't really care. His lips tasted slightly like medicine, but like I said, I didn't really care.

Bentley, who had struck up a chat with the secretary, had finally managed to get her number, and he leaned over and kissed her cheek. I suppose she liked it, because she pulled him in for more.

It was only a few seconds before the John guy shouted, "Screw it!" and grabbed the doctor, Alexander, by the face. They, too, started making out.

"What is this?!" Declan screeched, looking around at the couples. "Is this just the room where it happens?!"

"Heyyy," Jordan said slyly, sneaking up behind Declan with a crooked smirk on his face. "Did you notice that we're the only people in the room that aren't—"

"Absolutely not," Declan growled, pushing him away.

We heard footsteps and everyone suddenly broke apart. The door opened to reveal Eliza, holding some medicine in her arms.

"So... what'd I miss?"

"Nothing," everyone said at the same time, and Eliza looked around the room, confused, but didn't say anything. She set the medicine down on a counter.

"I see the patient's awake," she said, smiling at Bennett.

Bennett nodded the best he could from the hospital bed. "Awake and alive," he confirmed.

Just stay alive. That's all I need.

• • •

I'm dying this chapter had so many references

anyways

this is probably the end of the whole "Bennett got shot" prompt, and the next one's gonna involve Naomi getting drunk, so look out for that ;)

anyone who doesn't know what Hamilton is is probably so confused right now

I'm so sorry

~glorytsunami