It felt almost like a first kiss when it hit you. Unexpected, unsettling, knocking everything off its axis. The warmth spread through your body, ripping through you in waves. Red. That was all you could see. Droplets forming at your feet, spreading across your shirt. Shock. You were frozen, staring down at your stomach. Your fingers were sticky. Your mouth tasted like pennies.

Rafe’s eyes went wide, his mouth yelling out something you couldn’t quite hear. There was so much screaming. So much noise. So much pain. None of it felt real. You stumbled backwards, your feet scrambling for purchase as the reality of your situation hit you.

I just wanna be by your side, if these wings could fly

Before you could hit the ground, Rafe caught you, cradling you in his strong arms. His large hands covered the gunshot wound on your stomach, as he searched your face for a reaction. He’d never felt panic like this before in his life. He thought he knew darkness and pain. He’d thought he had already lost anything that mattered to him, but as he grappled with his panic, he knew that wasn’t true anymore. Losing you would be worse than anything else he’d experienced. Losing you would be a pain he wouldn’t survive.

“Stay with me, princess” Rafe said, his voice cracking as he spoke. He’d never been good with words, and it dawned on him that you didn’t know the depths of his feelings for you. He heard JJ yelling that the ambulance was coming, and he held onto that. Help was coming.

“Rafe…I need to tell you something” your breathing was laboured, every word took a Herculean effort. “I need you to know that…”He cut you off, his heart pounding violently as he watched your face.

oh, lights go down. In the moment, we’re lost and found

“Save it. Anything you need to tell me, you can tell me tomorrow. Because you will be here tomorrow, do you understand me?” His grip on you tightened as he spoke, as if he was trying to keep you with him the only way he knew how.