....

Albert walks Dorthy out of the room where the doctor was and straight to Sam, Sean, and Olivia. They all stood there anxiously waiting to see how Jessica was.

"Grandma, is Mom okay?" Sean says

Dorthy wipes her tears and shakes her head then she shrugs her shoulders.

Albert puts his one arm around Dorthy and put his other around Sean and Olivia. "We don't know right now. Your mom was shot in the chest, a few more inches and it could have hit her heart." Albert says

Hearing that Jessica had been shot made everyone silent. Never in a million years did anyone think that this would happen. It all seemed unreal, as if it was a nightmare.

"...she is undergoing major surgery right now to repair the damage from the bullet. The hardest part about this all is that they don't know how she'll be when she gets out. They don't know if she'll be able to breathe on her own... once she's stable they'll get X-rays to try to see if there is anymore damage. When she gets out she will be in the ICU." Albert finally finishes what he has to say. It was harder than ever to repeat what the doctor said.

"When will she get out of surgery?" Sam says

"It could be hours. We really don't know." Dorthy says in a shaky voice.

Sean turns away from everyone and stomps his feet. "She wasn't going to go to work today! We told her to stay home but she didn't!" He yells

Sam walks over to Sean and tries to calm him down. "I know it's tough, Sean. But all you can do is pray right now."

"What if she dies?" Olivia says

Dorthy takes Olivia's hands and shakes her head. "We can't think about that. We need to stay positive." Dorthy says softly

"Why don't we all just try to sit down and pray...." Albert takes the kids over to some chairs and Dorthy stays with Sam for a moment.

Once they all walk away Sam stops Dorthy and Albert for a moment. "If you guys don't mind I'd really like to stay." Sam says

Albert pats Sam on the back then hugs him. "Of course."

"I still can't get my head around all this." Sam says with discouragement

"I just hope they found the person that did this to our baby." Dorthy says

//

Many hours had passed, the kids refused to leave the hospital. They stayed put and just prayed. Everyone did. No one thought that Jessica's surgery would go on for so long. They went hours without hearing any updates. All of Jessica's family was at the hospital just waiting.

11 pm//

A while later Danny had walked into the waiting room where all of Jessica's family was. As much as Dorthy didn't want him showing up she knew it would be best for the kids. Dorthy and Albert didn't know if having the kids at the hospital would be best. If Jessica made it through surgery everything from there was a guessing game. They wanted to protect them and not put them through the grief of not being able to see her.

"Dad!" Olivia stands up from her chair and wraps her arms around Danny.

"Hey baby girl." He says softly

"Hey Dad." Sean says coming up to him. Danny gives him a hug as well then Sean just immediately breaks into tears.

No one had ever seen Sean so scared and upset. Everyone was a nervous wreck, only hoping for the Jessica to be okay.

"Anything new?" Danny says looking towards Dorthy and Albert.

They shake their heads. "Nothing yet."

Danny sighs then looks around the room. "Listen, kids, it's getting late and I-"

"No Dad, we can't leave." Sean says sternly

"I know you don't want to, but you need to get some rest. Come home with me and we can come back in the morning. Your mother will be out of surgery by then." Danny reassures them. He goes to put his hand on Olivia's shoulder but she pulls away.

"No!" She says

"Liv-" Danny says

"Dad we can't leave. We want to see her when she wakes up. She will want to see us." Sean says

Danny looks back at Dorthy and Albert who had their heads down. The kids knew that they wouldn't be able to see Jessica but they were both in denial.

"They won't let minors in the ICU..." Danny says

"That's bullshit!" Sean hisses

Sam watched as Danny and the kids went back and forth until he stood up and walked their way.

"Sean, Olivia, you should listen to your dad. It's getting late, and it could be hours until your mom gets out of surgery. When she does she'll only be resting. You need to be energized for tomorrow. Your mom would want you home." Sam says softly

The two of them suddenly become quite then sigh. "Okay." They both agree

Danny looks at Sam with wide eyes waiting for him to introduce himself.

"Sorry, hi I'm Sam." He says holding out his hands

"I'm Danny. You know Jessica I'm guessing."

Sam nods "I do. I know everyone here." He says with a chuckle

Danny grins

"Sam is the one who drove us here." Olivia says

"Oh really?" Danny says

"Yep." Sean adds

Danny holds out his hand "thank you."

//

3am//

All of Jessica's family was sleeping in uncomfortable positions on the waiting room chairs. There was still no update, it had been almost twelve hours.

As Dorthy and Albert sat next to each other and Jessica's siblings made beds out of the chairs, Sam sat up wide awake. Every time he'd hear a door open or someone talking he just hoped that it would be Jessica's Doctor.

As the waiting room door swung open for the hundredth time that night it was Jessica's team of doctors that walked in.

"Are you all Jessica Lange's family members?" He says looking at Sam.

Sam bounced up from his chair to wake the others.

Once they all woke up to see the doctors they all stood around them.

"Jessie... my daughter... is she okay?" Dorthy says

The doctor looks at her with no expression what so ever. It was hard to read him.

"Jessica is stable right now and in the ICU. The reason it took us so long is because we came across two gunshot wounds. One to the lower abdomen and the other was in the chest. She's very lucky, the one shot was only a few inches from her heart. Though it was so close to the heart it did damage lots of tissue, organs, and blood vessels. Jessica lost lots of blood as well, causing us to lose her on the table a few times. Luckily we gave her a blood transfusion to help. We weren't able to do an x-ray since she hasn't been stable but we plan to later on to spot any further damage. For right now Jessica has an intubation tube to help her breathe. We aren't sure if she'll need it in the future but for right now we just have to wait and hope she gets through the day."

Everyone surrounded by the doctors softly cried to themselves. As the doctor went on all they could really think about was if Jessica would ever be 'okay' or 'normal' again.

"Get through the day. Oh my god!" Dorthy cries

"Fuck! Who did this to her?" Sam says clenching his fist

"Will she wake up soon?" Albert asks trying to keep it all together

"Well since she went through such a major surgery it might be a while. She'll need time to recover. I can only allow two people to see her. But only for a bit since the icu has such strict visiting hours."

All of Jessica's siblings and Sam look around waiting to see who gets to go.

"I hope you all don't like if Mom and I go." Albert says talking Dorthy's hand.

"Of course Dad. Give Jessie a kiss for me." Ann says

"Tell her I love her." Jane adds

"Don't leave her side." George says

He nods then gives them all a hug.

"Give her a hug and kiss for me too." Sam says

"Of course."

//

Dorthy and Albert were taken to the ICU. Jessica laid in her bed hooked up to a machine and many iv's. The sight of seeing Jessica like this was frightening. They just wanted her to get through it all. They knew in the back of their heads that Jessica getting through the day would be a blessing.

Dorthy began to sob when she walked over to Jessica. Albert stayed near and held onto Dorthy.

"My sweet baby." Dorthy says caressing Jessica's cheek. She looks down at her lower body and sees a nurse fixing her bandages.

"It's gonna be okay, Jessie. You'll get through this." Albert grabs her hand and holds onto it tight.

"Everyone has been here for you. They all want you to be okay. And Sam... he's been here all day for you too. We all have. We've been praying for this moment just to see you, baby." Dorthy whispers

"... and the kids, gosh they just want their mom. That's why you have to push through Jessie."

//