Blinking a few times, Emmett takes a breath, wincing slightly as he inhales. Thereâs a seriousness in his dadâs voice that worries him, but after an experimental wiggle of his fingers and toes, he figures the news canât be too bad. He had been shot, he knew that much. Emmett vaguely remembered hitting his head on his way down too, so he was probably slightly concussed, but in all honesty, everything hurt so he wasnât really trying to figure out what was causing what pain. âYeah, yeah. Okay.â Emmett finally murmurs, taking a couple of careful sips from the cup Matty offers him. His papa was usually the one who fussed over him like this, his eyes closing for a moment at the feeling of his dadâs fingers brushing through his hair. âDid theyâŚâ Emmett starts to ask, pausing after a moment. He didnât remember hearing a second shot, but his memory was so fuzzy that he wasnât entirely sure. Licking his lips, he hesitates before he continues, unsure if he wants to hear the answer but knowing he has to. âBrad. What happened?â Emmett asks, his gaze moving to the doorway to see if he could see if there was any security standing on the other side. He doesnât see anyone though so he quickly looks back to his dad for confirmation that Brad was either arrested or shot and killed by the cops, chewing on the inside of his cheek lightly. âWe were due for a family reunion anyways, right?â Emmett asks, though the laugh that leaves his lips dies pretty quickly, wincing at the pain that shoots through his chest. âAh, shit. Donât make me laugh.â He didnât have to say that it hurt because Mattyâs eyes were practically glued to the monitors beside him, watching every little uptick.. âYeahâŚIâm sorry about that. I know itâs not exactly my fault. butâŚâ He kind of felt like it was. He was the one who had dated Brad, brought him into their lives. Emmett never thought his ex would have gone that far though. He had done everything right, gone though all of the proper channels to keep him away from him, and in the end it didnât matter. He had still showed up at the station and fucking shot him. It didnât matter that he probably hadnât meant to or that it likely wasnât his intention when he showed up there. It was what happened and Emmett knew that he was very, very lucky to still be alive. âIâm okay, all things considered. Everything kinda hurts though, but I feel like thatâs kind of to be expected. I wouldnât hate it though if someone talked to the doctor about a little more pain medicine.â Emmett admits, a slight, defeated frown tugging at his lips. âI mostly just feel tired.â
Matty knew his son would have questions, and there would be a time for those but, right now, he just wanted to make sure he knew exactly what he needed to know. He had been hurt and it was serious, but he would be okay. He was okay. He was awake and he was alert. They were in the same line of work. They knew the risks they took every day they put their uniforms on. As a father, and as his Captain, Matty worried every time they got a call, but this wasnât supposed to happen to Emmett. This wasnât supposed to happen at their Station. His son was supposed to be safe that day. Matty brings the water hoping itâll make Emmettâs throat hurt a little less as he talks, knowing what his son was about to ask even before he said the words. He takes a deep breath, trying to remain calm. âSouza and DĂaz apprehended him at the scene at took him into custody. No bail. Weâre going to make sure he doesnât get away this time. Heâs not going to hurt you again, Em.â They had failed Emmett once already. Him as a parent. The system. They had already reached out to friends and family who could help take on this case to court, or at least, he thought Brooks had. Matty didnât really have a chance to do much else than being there for Milo, taking turns to stay with Emmett in case he woke up. Matty knew he should go tell his husband their son was okay, and he was going to. He just needed to make sure of it himself first too, watching Emmettâs every move carefully, taking in the stats on the screens. If nothing else, his sonâs attempt at a joke reassured him, ruffling Emâs hair carefully. âI donât know if there will be enough food left at the grocery stores for when they come back for Thanksgiving at this rate!â He added, though having his family there, even if it was stressful, was also comforting. They werenât alone. They would get through this, together. The love they showed for his son, for him, Matty knew they were blessed to have them.  âHey, donât do that. Donât blame yourself for this.â Even if he was blaming himself, too, thatâs the last thing he wanted Em to be doing right now. âIâll see what I can do for you but you know itâs better to take it easy with the pain meds while we can manage the pain. So, from 1 to 10, in how much pain do you think you are right now?â Refilling his sonâs cup with more water, he grabbed some of the pills left by the nurse earlier. It was a small dose but it would help for now. âTake thee for now. They might make you go back to sleep soon so Iâm going to go get your papa before I get in trouble for not letting him know you woke up and I didnât tell him.â Matty waited a moment before he started walking to the door, leaning in to kiss his sonâs forehead as if he was still a child and he was tucking him in for the night. âI love you so much, Emmett, and Iâm so proud of you. I donât know if I say it enough and today I didnât know there for a second if I would have the chance to tell you again.â