When you saw the news, you nearly dropped the remote. You knew he had been doing something stupid to be getting all of that money, but this? No… no, this never crossed your mind.

Robbing banks? Really, Luke?

Fucking Christ… Now he's in the hospital with a gunshot wound to the chest, a major concussion, and a few fractured vertebrae.

Jesus.

Only problem now was getting into the hospital to see him. On the news, you saw that the cop who nearly killed him and Luke were put in different hospitals.

From your position a block away from the hospital Luke was in, you saw a few cop cars in the parking lot. You didn't think you'd have trouble walking into the front doors, the problem you were going to have was getting into the room to see him.

You needed to know what the fuck happened before you did anything stupid. You were already seething and impatient as it was, already at the hospital just 7 hours after he was taken in.

You sighed as turned the key in the ignition of your car. You checked your clothes, making sure for the 100th time that it was indistinct and like anyone else's- unidentifiable. God only knows what you're going to do, so you figured it'd be safer to be incognito for this trip.

You opened the door, taking only the keys to your car and one of the wallets with an I.D. that wasn't really you and placing them in the pocket of your jacket. Better to keep everything closer just in case.

You walked with your hands bunched into the pockets of your jacket, keeping your head forward and moving purposefully- but not too fast.

You reached the doors of the hospital within a minute and pulled one of them open and made your way inside easily.

No one turned to look at you, and you made your way over to the receptionist desk. You didn't know the floor or room Luke was in so you needed to find that out.

"Excuse me," you spoke up politely with a little smile to the receptionist, "I'm looking for someone."

The woman turned her head up at you, she looked tired but appreciative of your calm and polite demeanor. It was all a facade of course, you were barely restraining yourself from sweeping every floor and room like you owned the place, or grabbing someone and making them show you where Luke was.

"'Course! What's the name?" She said as she looked down at her computer and began typing and moving her mouse around its place-mat.

"Glanton." You said plainly.

She looked up at you a moment, clearly she had seen the news of what happened with him. She typed in the name after another moment of deliberation. "Third floor… but you aren't allowed to see him- he's being watched." She said with a little shrug, pretending to be sympathetic but you could see through it.

"There any way I can get into the room?" You asked, "He's…" You paused, fake thinking over what to say next.

The receptionist only waited, intrigued by your presence and story.

You sighed, "He's a dumbass, but he's my husband." You looked at her with a little wistful smile, like you were thinking back on memories of the two of you. "Any way I can see him because I'm his spouse?"

The woman's eyes widened, now very engrossed in your story. "How long you two been married?"

"Few years now," You said without missing a beat, "Just at the court house- couldn't do anything fancy living paycheck to paycheck, but it was enough for us." You nodded to yourself as you spoke to her.

She looked you over, asked for your I.D. and you handed it to her. It had Glanton as the surname which you tried not to laugh at- as if you'd take his last name.

She looked it over for a moment and then handed it back to you. "I'll see what I can do."

It wasn't a yes or a no, but it was more than you thought you'd get.

You thanked the receptionist and walked over to the waiting room, figuring that being casual about literally visiting a criminal who's in the hospital was the best course of action.

A few minutes passed and you watched people come and go, trying to keep an eye out for any officers that could enter or exit the building.

Luke's last name was called out and you walked back over to the woman, and she gave a little nod. "You can speak to him, but only for a few minutes… they're not happy about this, but they'll give you some space." She gave a little wink and smile- oh, you liked her.

You thanked her genuinely and strided over to the elevator after she handed you a visitation sticker and told you what room Luke was in.

You looked down at the sticker, debating on actually wearing it as you waited for the elevator to come down. You figured it'd be better to comply with hospital rules to not draw attention, so you stuck it to your jacket and put your hands back in your pockets.

The elevator came down, a few people walked out and you walked in. You stood alone and pressed the button to the third floor.

As the doors closed, you leaned against the wall and wondered what you'd say to him… and what you'd do after.

You pushed yourself off the wall as the doors opened and walked through them right as they opened enough. You walked down the hallway, scanning left and right for the room you were looking for.

You didn't have to wait long and you don't think you'd have missed it with a cop standing in front of the door.

The man in uniform looked over at you, seemingly already understanding who you were before motioning you towards him and then opening the door to the room for you.

It was… nice of him to do that. Probably just wanted you out of his way sooner.

You thanked him quietly and walked into the room.

It was quiet inside. The main lights were off so the only light was from the earning morning sun outside and the lights of the medical machines.

Luke looked tired even as he slept. He looked liked he had been put through the fucking ringer, and you had to stop yourself from going back out to the hallway to beat answers out of the officer.

Luke looked small, and that was terrifying.

You glanced over your shoulder to check that the cop had closed the door and was looking away before you silently walked over to the bed.

You stood to the side of Luke as he slept, looking over his bandaged body. His torso especially. You knew he was shot in the chest, they said so on TV, but seeing the state of him after the fact? It looked so much worse than it sounded.

He looked frail and you hated it.

You took a chair from the corner of the room and dragged it over to his bed. You hoped the sound would cause him to stir, and your hoping was rewarded when his eyelids flickered.

"Come on, man," You whispered as you sat down and leaned forward in the chair, "Gotta wake up now." You hoped you sounded confident and sure, because you didn't feel that way at all.

Luke's fingers twitched a bit and then he gave a small groan. His eyes opened a little and he squinted as he looked around the room. Too bright.

You stood and walked to the curtains, bringing the shades down to stop as much of the light as you could from seeping into the room.

You glanced at him to check that he wasn't squinting anymore before making your way back to the chair and sitting down again. "Better?"

Luke answered with a little hum that cracked in the middle. You didn't have any water to give him, and you highly doubted you could get the officer to help… He'd just have to wait for now.

You tapped your foot on the ground as you waited for him to say or do something- anything.

Luke looked at you after a minute of gathering himself and then said, "What's wrong?"

You bit your tongue hard to stop yourself from yelling. He must have just had spine surgery, he has a major concussion, and he was shot. You didn't need to yell at him now. Just get answers and then leave… you could do that, right?

"Luke," You started quietly, "You remember how you got here?" Start from the beginning, see what he remembers, go from there. That's the plan.

Luke furrowed his brows at you as he thought, he was clearly still feeling the effects of whatever anesthesia he had been under and he was on some good pain meds, so he took a minute to respond.

"Got shot." He said simply. He breathed in and then out once and then repeated, "Got shot."

Oh great, he's going to cry now, isn't he? You thought. You forgot people sometimes get more emotional on the type of meds he's on. Shit… You didn't want to upset him, you just wanted to know what happened.

"Luke, it's okay." You said and reached your hand out and brushed your fingers against the back of his. "I'll take care of it."

Luke looked down at your hands and then up at you, eyes glassy. "Take care of what?"

You smiled at him, it felt fake but you hoped it looked real, "You." You meant your words though. You'll take care of him.

Luke sniffled and tried to squeeze his eyes shut to stop himself from crying, but his body won and so a few tears fell from his eyelids. "Sorry."

"Stop it, it's okay." You reassured and squeezed his hand. "Tell me when you're ready."

You looked up at the door again to make sure you weren't being watched. You weren't, thank God, and so you turned back to look at Luke.

"Tire blew and I ran," He shrugged as much as his body and bandages let him, "Was stupid… ran for a bit and into a house." His voice faded out at the end. His eyes welled up again and more tears fell.

"Thought I was gonna die." He whispered to you as he looked down at your joined hands. He couldn't even look at you. He was embarrassed and ashamed of what happened, of himself most of all.

You exhaled sharply before responding, "You're gonna be okay, I promise." You couldn't make many promises in your life, but you could make this one.

Luke looked at you confused, but didn't say anything, brain still addled from concussion and medicine.

"What happened in the house?" You asked as you interlaced your fingers with his. He was going to need something more to tell this part, you could feel it.

"He found me… I made a call-" He stopped and then started again after he cleared his throat, "He shot me right after opening the door… I went down."

Luke looked down at the rest of himself, noticing the layers of bandages and his inability to truly feel most of his body. "I went down…" He trailed off and let out a sob he couldn't stop.

Shit. You rose from your seat to take your hand out of his. When he looked up at you, you brought both of your hands to his face to wipe his tears. "He shot first." You whispered to yourself and then to him, "That's all I need to know, okay? Just recover now, I'll take care of the rest." You brushed his face gently as you spoke to him. He looked confused again, wondering what you were 'taking care of' but didn't have the energy to question it.

"Get some sleep now," You said and kissed his forehead, "I'll see you later." You pulled your hands away from his face slowly, looking into his eyes so softly as if you were saying goodbye and walked out of the room before he could reply.

Luke tried to call for you but no one answered. The door shut again as you left and he was left in the room you darkened for him. He was exhausted from crying and talking, and although he tried to fight it, he lost to his tiredness and he fell asleep just moments after you left.

You walked down the hallway, took the elevator down to the ground floor, strided out of the hospital and to your car all within a few minutes. You knew where you were going next. What patient you'd be visiting next…

Avery Cross. That was the cop mentioned on the news that shot Luke. That couldn't run some cop-hero story with Luke still breathing, and you couldn't let anyone stop Luke from telling the truth… so you were going to intervene. Take the problem and solve it.

You drove to the hospital you had planned to visit after seeing Luke, it was was where this cop was recovering from his own gunshot wound after all. You checked… twice.

You pulled into the parking lot of the hospital this time, getting out of your car and ripping off the sticker from the other hospital and throwing it in the back pocket of your pants.

You took a different I.D. with you this time and your keys like before and walked into the hospital.

You spoke to the receptionist at this hospital the same way you did to the one at the hospital Luke was in- polite and awkward. She spoke to you nearly the same way, asked for who you needed to see, and you said Cross. She looked up at you with sympathy and asked for your I.D.

The I.D. on you was that of his mother's so you said that Avery was your cousin and you had heard what happened so you rushed down to see him. She nodded along to your story and checked the I.D. and when she verified it real, she handed it back to you with a visitation sticker and told you which room and floor he was on.

Avery Cross was on the third floor of this hospital and so you called the elevator, and impatiently paced the hallway as the elevator descended to the ground floor.

When it arrived, you rushed in, pressed the button to the third floor and made the doors close early.

You stood straight up with clenched hands in the center of the elevator, trying to measure your breathing to restrain yourself from doing something incredibly stupid.

The doors opened, you rushed out and down the hall, scanning the doors and when you found the room you were looking for, gently opened the door and closed it softly behind you.

You saw Avery propped up in bed, his leg in a cast. Unlike Luke, he was awake and alert… that could be a problem, but you could improvise.

"Avery Cross?" You asked calmly. You stood by the door, not really entering the room to give him the illusion of choice and power.

Avery stared up at you, scanned you head to toe and then nodded with a little, "Yes?"

You gave him a small smile and asked, "May I speak to you?" You put your hands together in front of your stomach, making yourself look awkward and out of place.

Avery looked from you to the door, seeing if anyone else was with you. He started to respond, stopped, and then said, "Sure."

You thanked him softly and moved closer to him, grabbing a chair and dragging it close to the bed. You sat down with a huff and looked up at the man who shot Luke.

"When do you get out?" You asked as you eyed the cast on his leg.

"Uhh… I think a couple weeks." He replied with a little shrug. "I'd like to leave sooner…"

You thought for a moment and then nodded to yourself. "I could get you out now. You'll need the cast though."

He eyed you with suspicion now. How could you do that? "How?" He asked you with his arms crossed.

"We just walk out." You shrugged at him, "It's easy, promise." You smiled a little at him as you said 'promise'.

"Who are you again?" Avery finally asked you.

"Someone who can help." You replied. You stood from your chair and questioned him, "You wanna leave now?"

Avery looked at you with suspicion but eventually his impatience and want to get out won, "Alright, fine."

You exhaled a sigh of relief, good he's stupid. You went back out into the hallway, got a wheelchair for him and brought it into the room.

You helped him situate himself into the chair before strolling down the hallway towards the elevator, pushing the chair with your quarry in it easily.

You called the elevator and tapped your fingers on the handles of the chair, Avery readjusting himself in the chair as you did so.

You couldn't wait to get out of here.

The travel down the elevator was silent, and you walked down the hallway towards the entrance of the hospital confidently.

If you were stopped now, you were fucked and you'd have to find another time and place to do what you needed to do.

Thankfully, you were a shadow to the world. Everyone was busy with their own worries and jobs to see you exit the hospital with an injured police officer who had just been shot 7 hours ago.

You smiled to yourself, Thank God that worked.

You brought Avery over to your car, helped him into the passenger seat and left the wheelchair close to the door of the hospital- no need to make someone's job difficult.

You got into your car, sighed as you turned the key in the ignition, and drove off. "So… there's just one place I want to stop, that okay?" You weren't really asking, but conversation would help Avery stay calm enough to not try to escape or fight.

"Uhh… okay?" Avery said back, looking back and forth across the street as you pulled to a stop in front of a red light.

"Thanks," You said kindly, "Been meaning to do this a while, but everything's been getting in the way."

Avery nodded in reply, sinking back into the seat. He was still tired from surgery and his meds made him a little loopy… maybe that's why he was making bad decisions.

Before he knew it, Avery was nodding off in your car and he slept for 30 minutes as you drove from the town and into the woods just outside of the border of town.

You drove deep into the woods as the sun rose higher into the sky. It was a clear day with a nice breeze, maybe that was a good sign…

You pulled your car to a stop, startling Avery awake.

You reached over him and into your glove box, pulling something metallic out. Avery didn't get a good glimpse at it before it disappeared under your jacket… strange.

You killed the engine and pulled your key out of the ignition.

Avery finally looked outside of the car, noticing now that he was in the middle of the woods… with someone he didn't even know the name of.

You pulled the visitation sticker off your shirt, and shoved it into the same pocket as the other sticker.

You looked at Avery a moment before getting out of the car and moving to the passenger side of the car.

You pulled his door open faster than he could comprehend, and you yanked him from the seat and onto the ground.

The door to the car slammed shut as he fell. The pain meds were certainly still in his system, but it was excruciating to land on his wounded leg.

He tried to crawl away but you stopped him with a foot on his back. "Don't."

He turned his head to look up and back at you. You looked enraged now, but focused. Your sharp eyes looked into his, and he felt like you knew something he wouldn't like.

"Why'd you do it, Avery?" You asked as you pulled what he now saw was a gun from your jacket. "Why'd you shoot Luke?"

Avery gawked at you, "Luke?" A sudden realization of what was about to happen washed over him.

He tried to move away from you, but you just pressed harder into his back and he didn't have the energy or strength to fight against you.

"I need an answer." You spoke a bit louder, trying to restrain your anger. No need to do something stupid before you're given a reason to.

The gun sat easily in your hand, like you've held one and executed someone in the woods before. Avery felt chills rush through him and sweat begin to build on his brow.

"I… I- I didn't-" Avery stuttered and shook his head furiously, "I didn't do anything!"

You huffed in frustration and shook your head, "You're lying, and you suck at it." You brought the gun up and towards his cast-less leg. "Honesty, please."

"I fucked up!" He shouted at you. "Okay!? Is that what you want to hear?" He was panicking now, using all of his energy in trying to try and crawl away from you.

You pushed your foot off of him and brought it back down on his cast. "Fucked up how?"

Avery yelped and the sound echoed across the trees. "I-I… fuck! I shot him, alright?" He pulled his leg free from you as you absorbed his confession.

Now you have a reason. You thought and pulled the trigger.

The shot echoed through the woods, and then there was silence.

Avery screamed. You had put a bullet through his free leg. Now he really couldn't run… even though he so desperately wanted to.

He was going to die in these woods. That was his punishment for shooting that man.

"Who is he to you…?" Avery asked in between wheezed breaths. "You're gonna kill me for him, right? He must be special."

You looked at him like he had lost his mid. He's asking questions now?

You thought about not responding, but you felt that if this man was going to die, he may as well know why.

"He's the only thing I care about," You said near silently. The gun in your hand shook a bit- Avery wasn't sure if it was from rage or something else. "You shot someone I love."

You paused to gather yourself, "You tried to kill him." You pulled the gun up higher, aiming at his chest now.

Avery sobbed. You were right, he did try to kill Luke. Maybe dying was okay… You cared so much about Luke, maybe dying by your hand was true justice.

Avery didn't beg like you thought he would. Instead, he dropped his head down on the ground and said, "I'm sorry."

Your face scrunched up, "I don't care." If anything, hearing that angered you more.

You looked down at his chest, trying to find the spot where he had shot Luke before pulling the trigger again.

Avery didn't feel the pain immediately. For a moment, he had energy so he pushed himself backwards, away from you, and then suddenly he dropped back down with a grunt.

The blood blooming out of his chest and across his clothes felt warm. It almost felt like a blanket enveloping him… He was growing tired too, maybe he could sleep under this new cloak you had given him. Maybe he could be forgiven in another life. Maybe he couldn't be. But he wouldn't fight anymore, he didn't deserve to.

You looked at him, scanning Avery from head to toe. His leg was bleeding slower than his chest. His chest was rising and falling rapidly but his breathing was short and stilted. His eyes were glazing over as tears filled them, and his lips were parted as he breathed.

You almost felt bad for him… but all you saw in your head was Luke lying in a hospital bed, telling you he had been shot and thought he was going to die. You thought about Luke's son, Jason, you thought about how you needed to see Luke be a father. Even if the only view you ever had of him again was from behind a pane of plexiglass in a prison, you needed him to be safe.

You resigned yourself to pulling the trigger one last time and before you did Avery's head rose up a bit and he said, "Thank you."

You weren't sure why he'd say such a thing, but you nodded to him with a confused look on your face before pulling the trigger for the third and final time.

The bullet pierced his skull and his head fell backwards into the grass. His eyes had been closed when you had shot him… he had accepted his fate.

You sighed as you looked over the cop's now dead body. You decided to leave him here- in the woods. He was close enough to the town line that a search party could find him easily. You'll need to switch out your car but you've done that before.

You turned back to your car, got in, started it, and pulled out of the woods and towards town again. You threw the gun back in the glove box as you thought of what to do next.

Maybe you'll visit Luke before you had to disappear… Even if the law didn't catch up to you, left this murder a cold case, you weren't sure you'd be able to face Luke again. You also weren't sure Luke would be able to look at you.

Fuck.

You did this to protect him. Protect the truth. That's all that mattered.

He got to be a father now, got to right his wrongs, make amends, whatever he wanted… You could watch from the sidelines. You could live with that.

You felt tears well up in your eyes as you drove. He's all that matters. You repeated that over and over in your head as you drove through town, formulating a plan as you went.