“I wasn’t unconscious. I heard it all, Hannah.”
“Really?” She lifts her head, turning to look me in the eyes. Her bright blue eyes are glimmering with tears, and with how swollen and red they are, she must have been crying a lot.
“I did. Remember that surprise I had planned?”
She nods.
“I love you, Hannah. I was going to tell you last night. Obviously, life had other plans for us, but it doesn’t change how much I love you.”
Hannah whimpers in my arms, leaning forward to kiss me. “I love you too, Thomas.”
“If I have it my way, you’ll never have to live without me.”
“I’d like that.” Hannah smiles, then scrunches her nose, pointing to the corner of the room where a plastic bag sits with my uniform in it. “We need to throw out every pair of your superhero underwear though. They aren’t lucky anymore.”
“What?” I bellow, coughing against the scratch of pain in my throat from the tube. “Yes they are.”
“No, they’re not! Thomas, the night of our first date, we saw Henry get shot. Then, you were wearing them yesterday for some reason, and you get shot. We’re throwing them out.”
“They are lucky,” I say stubbornly. “Sure, some bad things have happened when I was wearing them. I can agree to that. But, even better things have happened because of them. That night, I got to take you on the best first date I’ve ever been on, my last first date to be honest. If I weren’t wearing them, maybe Elena wouldn’t have let you come with me. Then we wouldn’t have had all that time together at Ron and Dottie’s alone. I probably would have come home after six weeks to find you dating some guy named Luke or something.”
Hannah scoffs. “Right.”
“I’m serious, baby. I wore them the night we made love the first time. I knew that taking you on that date in the truck was going to be pivotal in our relationship. I didn’t know how pivotal it would be, but still. I wore them yesterday because I planned to tell you I love you.”
“How is where we are now, good luck though?” she asks, her voice filled with sass.
“I’m not saying it is. But, who knows. Maybe megetting shot pushed you into telling me you loved me first, unconscious or not,” I say with a shrug.
“You’re ridiculous,” Hannah breathes.
“Ridiculously in love,” I croon. I tilt her head up to meet mine. “I love you, Hannah. I’ll say it as many times as it takes to make you believe it. I’ve loved you for a long time, but I knew you weren’t ready to hear it, so I showed you instead. I will continue to show you how much I love you until the day I die. Fake fiancée or not, I intend to make it real someday, and after that, you will be my wife. The person I choose to love and show up for, no matter what.”
Hannah leans forward, kissing me deeply. Her hand cups my cheeks gently, and I know she’s afraid to hurt me, and I desperately wish we were home right now.
“Thank you for loving me, even when I was too scared to accept your love the way you deserved,” she replies, kissing me again. “I will love you forever, Thomas.”
Her words are better than any medicine that they could give me. A balm over the painful wound on my thigh, I sink into the uncomfortable bed, pulling her onto my chest. I run my fingers over her hair, twirling little pieces between my fingers.
No, this wasn’t the way I planned it, but then again, nothing about our relationship has been normal.
THOMAS
ONE YEAR LATER
“Baby, we have to leave in five!” I call from the living room.
“I know, I’m almost ready,” Hannah yells from the bathroom.
In the year since I was shot, things have been a whirlwind in the best way. It’s taken a long time to heal from the GSW, but I have, and I am officially off desk duty starting Monday.
Hannah’s nervous for me to go back out in the field, and I get it. To be honest, I’m nervous too. But, we both have been in therapy since it happened, and it’s helped a lot.
I also went through many months of physical therapy to help repair my leg. It gets sore and tires easily, but all things considered, I’m lucky. The bullet missed any major nerves or arteries, so most of my rehab was spent trying to get my muscle strength back up to the best it could be.
Two months after I was shot, Hannah officially moved in with me, and we haven’t looked back. My brothers had to help with the move since I was still not putting much weight on my leg at the time, but we made it a fun time.
Things between us have been incredible. We make time to go on dates and spend time together with the two of us, but also with our families. Hannah has gotten close to all my sisters-in-law, and seeing her interact with my nieces and nephews is one of my favorite things.
