[NOT EDITED]

Katherine's POV

"We need you to come with us."

Cara gasped , "What ?" She asked her eyes widened.

"W-what happened ?" She asked again , her voice low and tears started forming in her eyes. Fear and panic rolled over her words making my chest tighten even more.

Ashton looked at me first then he looked back at her , "He got shot.", his words made her eyes widen even more ,her hand went and covered her mouth and in the moment the first tear escaped her eye.

My heart twisted in my chest knowing exactly how she is feeling right now.

Not wasting a second, i directly stepped toward her , throwing my arms around her , i hugged her tight.

Her body stiffened, more tears fell from her eyes , "Is h-he okay ?" She asked , her voice shaking , she is probably afraid to hear the answer to that question.

"We don't know yet." I said , my voice weak and muffled with my tears.

I shouldn't cry.

I have to be strong. I have to be strong for her.

I pulled away , my hand went and tried to wipe the tears on her cheek , "Let's go to the hospital now."

She nodded as more tears fell from her eyes , and i tried to not cry more , i tried to be positive , "He is going to be okay." I said even though i , myself , didn't believe in those words.

We went to the hospital after , i sat in the backseat with Cara , my heart aching whenever i look at her face , at the fear in her eyes.

Please Alex, be okay. We need you.

Please.

Cara placed her head on my shoulder and sobbed silently, I placed my arm around her giving her a side hug hoping maybe it will sooth her pain.

"How...how did this happen ?" She asked , the first words she muttered since we entered the car.

I swallowed hard , "Caleb." Was all i said.

Ashton looked at me from the rear-view mirror , his jaw ticked , his hand tightened over the steering wheel at the mention of his name.

Cara immediately pulled away , she looked at me with wide eyes , "C-caleb ?!" She asked , her tone showing her shock and confusion.

I nodded , the tears forming again in my eyes as i recalled everything happened few hours ago, as the image of Alex laying on the ground crossed my mind, how his shirt was covered with blood , how his face was so pale and his eyes looked almost lifeless , how his hand went slack , how maybe he .. he stopped breathing.

How there is a big possibility that he is not going to be fine.

When the car stopped , i was pulled out of my thoughts. I wiped my tears as i saw Cara rushing out of the car.

I immediately went down following her and Ashton probably following behind.

When i saw William still sitting there in the same place , his head in his hands , i knew that Alex is still in the operation room.

He probably heard our footsteps because he directly lifted his head and when he saw us he stood up.

"Did anything happen ?" Ashton was the first to ask, William just shook his head , "He is still inside." He said with a tired tone , "They're taking so long."

William's eyes traveled to Cara, and i saw them soften for a moment. I won't say I wasn't surprised when Cara suddenly stepped toward him and hugged him letting herself cry in his embrace.

Maybe she knows him from before.

He hugged her back , he closed his eyes as Cara's sobs became louder , "Shush, he is going to be okay." He said with a soft tone hugging her tightly stroking her back.

Cara pulled away sniffling , William directly wiped the tears on her cheek away , he gave her a small smile. "Alex is a strong man , he will be okay."

I hope you're right. I really do.

We sat down after that , and waited. For what felt like a century, we just waited.

I sat beside Cara , her tears would fall, she directly wipes them away but then they would fall over again.

I hated seeing her like this. I never actually saw her in this much pain.

I placed my hand over hers and squeezed gently. I just want her to know that she's not alone.

"Katherine." She said my name and looked at me , her voice pained, i nodded ushering her to continue.

"I am late." She said , i furrowed my eyebrows not understanding her , "What ? Late for- " , but when i registered her words my eyes widened in realization.

"You're sure ?" I asked still unable to digest the thought.

"I am afraid to take the test." She said sniffling then looked down at her lap.

I placed my hand on her chin and lifted up so she could meet my eyes , "Do you want to make sure now?" I asked.

"I do, but - but not now." She said , "Let's wait till I know if he is okay or - or not." Tears welled up in her eyes again as she muttered the last sentence.

"I want you to know that no matter what , i am always here for you." I said giving her the assurance but then cursed myself for lying.

I can't always be there for her.

I shook my head kicking those thoughts away for the time being. This not the time to think about it.

When the operation room's door was opened and the doctor stepped out, Cara was the first one to run toward him , "Is he okay ?" She asked , fear of what she may hear evident in her tone.

The doctor's expression wasn't sad and in the same time wasn't happy , "We were able to remove the bullets and stop the internal bleeding."

He said but it felt like there is more than just this , "But we can't do anything more , we just have to wait for him to wake up."

"What do you mean ?" I directly asked confused by his last words as my heart kept beating fast in my chest.

"We don't know when he is going to wake up." He said looking at us , "Actually , we don't know if he is really going to wake up."

My heart skipped a beat or maybe two due to his words, blood rushed fast in my veins as he continued talking further.

"There was a severe blood loss and he lost a lot of oxygen which in its turn was a shock for the brain and caused a damage that in the end resulted in him entering a coma." He added , "We've seen cases like this , some people take a week , others months but also there is people who take years and sometimes they don't ever wake up. So we just have to wait and hope for the best."

I tried to calm myself and look at the good side , which is that Alex is still with us and we didn't lose him. Yet.

I turned my head and looked at Cara , she shook her head as if not believing everything happening , more tears scrolled down her cheek. She pressed her palm against the wall beside her as if trying to steady herself.

I stepped closer, "Cara." I said , my voice so low , she looked at me and shook her head , agony and pain filling her eyes  , "No , no.."

I took her hand and ushered her to sit down, Ashton came from beside me and handed her a bottle of water.

"Calm down." He said looking at her, sympathy filling his eyes , "At least , he is okay. We just have to wait."

"What if.." Cara said , her voice shaking , "What if he didn't wake up."

"Don't say that !" I said, the thought alone scared me , "We can't lose hope. He will wake up , you heard the doctor , some people take just a week."

"And some take years." She said.She had a point. But i don't want her to lose hope.

"He is going to be okay , he will wake up , i am sure , you'll see that." Ashton said placing his hand over her shoulder. Cara nodded but said nothing else.

I looked at Ashton , he gave me a small smile and held my hand in his tightly.

I just love how he is trying to calm her and make her feel better. Try to assure us that it's gonna be okay at the end.

Even though he didn't believe in that , even though he , himself , wants someone to calm him and tell him that.

I hope it's really gonna be okay.

I hope that we're not just lying at ourselves.

********

Three days later..

Three days passed and still no progress, Alex hadn't woke up , he even hadn't moved a finger.

Cara , i never saw her devastated like this before , she just sit beside him all day waiting for a move , for a blink , for anything that would give her hope.

She took the test yesterday, and it was positive, she is pregnant.

When she saw the result , she burst into tears, she kept on crying till she fell asleep in my arms.

I don't know if the thought of having a child scared her or the thought that Alex may not wake up and know she is pregnant is what scared her the most.

But i am really worried at her , she is not eating , she barely sleeps , she barely even talk. I am just worried this will affect the pregnancy, she is stressing a lot and that's not good especially during the early stage.

Ashton is not good as well, Alex is his friend after all , and also his work partner. He goes to work for less than an hour every day and then comes back.

I can't say William is better , he is the same.

I am also the same.

We are all worried , we all need Alex.

I miss him. I really miss him. I miss his witty sarcastic comments. I miss his big smile , that alone , can brighten any mood.

I wiped the tear that fell from my eye as i saw Ashton walking toward me, he went to the company few hours ago. He didn't want to go but they kept on calling him and if he didn't do the work then who would , especially in the absence of Alex.

I looked at his face , he looks so tired, his face is drained of any color. He gave me a weak smile as he stepped closer, "Hey." He said.

I immediately stood up giving him a smile , he leaned closer and pecked my lips , his hand cupping my cheek.

"Did she accept to go home?" He asked with a sigh , i shook my head answering his question.

I asked Cara to go home for few hours just to rest but she didn't accept. She is afraid to leave and something would happen.

"I will try to talk with her." He said and i nodded , maybe he will be able to convince her.

He went inside the room. The room that I didn't enter yet , till now i am still scared to go inside , i am scared to see Alex laying down looking lifeless. I am afraid because i know he is in this state because of me. I am scared to feel all that guilt. Because if it wasn't for me , Caleb would've not shot him.

Caleb. How much i hate him now.

No, not just hate. I loath him.

The police is still searching for him and no one knows where he suddenly disappeared. I just hope they will find him, he deserves to be punished.

I kicked these thoughts when i saw Cara and Ashton coming out of the room , i was surprised for sure, "Katherine, You go with her , i will stay here." He said and i was so relieved that she finally accepted. I wonder how Ashton was able to convince her.

"But if anything happened , please call us immediately." Cara said , "Of course." Ashton said.

We went to her home after that, Cara directly went toward her room to take a shower while i went to the kitchen to prepare her something to eat.

I went toward her room to ask her where she puts the oil because I couldn't find it, but when i reached her door , I stopped.

I saw her sitting on the bed, a sweater in her hand- Alex's sweater i think. She buried her face inside it and smelled it , then she brought it to her chest and hugged it tight as more tears fell from her eyes, the sound of her sobs raised making my own tears fall.

I entered and sat beside her on the bed, i placed my hands around her shoulders and pulled her toward me , the voices of our cries mixed filling the silence in the room. I couldn't find the courage in me to stop myself from breaking down too.

But seeing her like this , i couldn't handle it because she was always the strong one , telling me to be strong.

"I am so scared Katherine." She said sniffling , still holding the sweater in her hands , "I never loved anyone like I love him."

"I can't handle the idea of losing him." She added , "I know , believe me I know." I said.

"I didn't know that it was that much hard on you." She said , her words made me tense , "Because It's really hard. I can't handle it. It's killing me from the inside."

"I am so sorry." She said , i directly pulled away and looked at her , "Why in hell you're apologizing?!" I asked her , my eyes widened

"Because i am reminding you with those days." She said , i directly shook my head , "This is not about me. I just can't handle seeing you like this. It breaks me more to see you like this."

"You're pregnant Cara , you should take more care of yourself. Everything happens to you will affect the baby as well." I said , hoping she will listen to my words. "Please don't do this to yourself."

She nodded her head,"You and Alex are the only family i have." She said , "Promise that you won't leave me too."

I swallowed past the lump in my throat , my heart accelerated as i knew i am going to lie to her again , "I promise." My voice was low , i was afraid that my tone would expose my lie.

"And don't say that , Alex didn't leave , he is still here and he will be okay , he will wake up and you will tell him that he is going to be a father." I said , "And he'll probably pass out after that."

She smiled making me smile in return , it was faint but i was glad that she at least stopped crying.

"Now go take a shower and i will prepare you food , then we will go back to the hospital .Okay."

Almost two hours later we finished and went back to the hospital. Ashton was there and so was William.

When we arrived , Ashton directly took me aside , "We need to go now , your doctor appointment is in hour." He said , "William will stay with Cara."

I told Cara that i'll be gone for a couple of hours , and then we went toward the doctors clinic. I was a little bit excited because maybe today we will know the gender of the baby.

We arrived before time but they directly let us in. The doctor greeted us and asked me to lay down.

My heart swelled with joy upon seeing my baby again and probably knowing if it's a girl or a boy.

Ashton's hand was holding mine tightly the whole time as the doctor dragged the wand on my stomach showing us our baby on the small screen.

The doctor started showing us where the hands are and where is the head , the legs and when i saw a big smile forming over his lips , the excitement in me grew even more.

"Well , do you want to know the gender of the baby ?" He asked looking at us.

I looked at Ashton , a genuine smile on his lips , the same on mine , his hold over my hand tightened and he nodded.

"Yes." I said , my voice came low as i looked at the screen and saw my small baby.

"Well you're going to have a small handsome boy." He said with a smile , and I couldn't handle the traitor tear that escaped my eye.

Happy tear. But in the same time sad one.

I looked at the screen again feeling a stung in my heart.

I won't be able to hold you in my arms baby boy , but you have to know that mommy loved you so much. More than anything.

When i felt Ashton hand brushing my tears away , i looked at him , "Shush." He whispered then pressed his lips over my forehead giving me a heart melting kiss.

The doctor excused himself giving us privacy. Ashton helped me stand up , then helped me fix my clothes.

He placed his hands around my waist and pulled me closer. I titled my head and looked at him, the stupid grin not leaving my face.

"I still can't believe that this is real." He said ,his tone so soft , "You know , you being my wife and me almost being a father."

He shook his head , "It scares me , but in the same time gives me a warming feeling i've never experienced before."

His lips curved into a smile as he brought his hand toward my baby bump , "Chase it is."

"You're sure ?" I asked , I didn't want him to do that just for me.

"I was never more certain." His smile and his tone showed that he really wants this.

"Then Chase it is." I said feeling my heart warm up as i placed my hand above Ashton's.

As if he felt our touches , little Chase kicked , one kick followed by another.

I bit my lip and Ashton's smile grew wider , i missed this smile.

"He knows his father is here." I said, "When you were away , he didn't even kick once."

"He knows that his parents are not frighting anymore and his father is not being a stupid jerk." Ashton said amused and i couldn't help but chuckle.

"His father will always be a jerk." I said and Ashton shrugged knowing for sure he can't argue in that matter.

"But he is my jerk." I said inching closer.

"Only yours." He whispered as he leaned closer and pressed his lips over mine making the flutter in my heart increase.

"I love you." I said against his lips. He pulled away and pressed his forehead over mine , he smiled , "I will never get bored of hearing this."

"I love you too." He whispered , then he locked his lips again with mine , "More than anything in this world."

"We should probably go." I said pulling apart , these words instead of relieving me always brings with them the thought of what's gonna happen later, "The doctor is waiting for us."

As we sat across the table , facing the doctor , Ashton started questioning him about my health and the baby's health, and whether everything is alright.

The doctor looked at me before answering , his eyes blaming me , but i was glad he didn't mention anything about my complications as he answered Ashton's questions.

When we finished, Ashton thanked the doctor and was about to leave , "Umm Ashton can you wait for me outside , i want to ask the doctor something." I said , my hand playing with the hem of my shirt nervously.

"Why ?" He said , his eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "Is there something wrong ? Are you okay ?"

"Yeah yeah , everything is fine." I said calming him , "It is just a girly thing , you know.." I trailed off. Ashton took the hint - or the lie ,and nodded in understanding , "I'll wait you outside."

Once he closed the door behind him , i turned and looked back at the doctor , "Thank you." I said.

"You should tell him Katherine." He said , looking at me with unsatisfied expression.

"I will." I said. I don't know when , but i should tell him.

He let out a sigh , then he took out few papers from his desk , "I prepared the papers for you to sign."

I inched closer and took a look at them , i was about to grab a pen to sign my name but he interrupted me.

"No , take them with you , read them , think about it more clearly, tell Ashton about it, then sign them and bring them to me." He said.

"Katherine he can sue me later for lying at him." He said , "You should tell him there will be complications during the delivery , he should know that giving birth to the child would.." he paused for a while and took a breath , "Would kill you."

My heart sank , even thought i knew this before but hearing it again makes it feel so real. Makes it feel that it's so close.

"Okay i will." I said , but deep inside i was still debating with myself whether i should tell him or not.

If I didn't tell him , it would be easier.

Easier on me. Not on him.

"Think about it more." He said , "You know you can solve this by just terminating the pregnancy."

My eyes widened and I directly shook my head , "No ,no way." I said , "Ashton and I get attached to this baby and i would never do that.. i would never kill my son."

There is no way i am doing that. I can't lose my baby. Never.

I don't care about my life as much as i care about his. It's a bond no one can understand , no one but a mother like me.

The doctor nodded in understanding, "Just tell him , okay."

"Okay." I said as i placed the papers in my purse , "Thank you doctor."

"It's my job." He said and with that i went out.

Ashton was waiting me outside. I tried to ignore what was said inside for the time being. There is more important things happening in our lives now.

"Let's go." I said faking a smile , Ashton smiled and was about to walk when his phone started ringing.

He took it from his pocket , his eyebrows knitted , "It's William." He said and i can sense he got worried.

He answered the phone and my heart raced in my chest thinking of the bad things that would happen to Alex or to Cara.

"What's wrong?" Ashton asked , and whatever William said is definitely not a good news from the way Ashton's face changed , he closed his eyes for a second , "We're on our way."

"Did anything happen to Alex ? " I directly asked , my whole body started trembling.

Ashton shook his head and my previous assumptions were proved right.

I brought my hand to my mouth , i gasped , "Cara !"

**********************************

I was planning on making this Chapter longer but my head started hurting and i couldn't continue. So this what i came up with.

I will try to update faster this time.

You will hate me at the beginning of the next chapter but then you will love me at the end😂 *lol just gave u a spoiler*

Stay tuned😊🤘🏼

Love ya all ❤️