Divorced! Now what?
Chapter 163

Thomas

POV

The wedding was going so well. Judy was with the baby at the back, rocking it gently, and Nate was out front of us, looking pleased with himself for being part of the bridal party. He had always wanted to be part of something like this, and I was so glad when Bethany asked him to be the ring holder. She made it sound like it was super important, and he fell for it.

Then everything went south fast. I saw the red dot and looked up at the trees, but my man, Nate, understood what it meant. He acted in the selfless way he always did and put other people before him. I could not believe it when he suddenly covered the girls and pushed them to the ground. I screamed and rushed to him. Hank beat me there and took control as he should, being a doctor; I deferred to him, and together, we carried his limp body to the table in the kitchen, which for once was clear.

Hank used a knife and cut open his shirt to reveal the red hole in his chest. That blood was seeping out too fast for my liking. I could hear Judy crying in the background, but I was too focused on aiding Hank as he asked me to put pressure on a place, and he worked on his body. I heard the ambulance arrive, and one of the paramedics took over what I was doing as Hank explained what was happening. I stepped back, let the experts handle it, and turned to Judy.

'Will you stay here and rest up? I do not think the hospital is a place for the baby!' I almost begged her to say yes. She would stay.

'We have plenty of diapers and a change of clothes. I am coming. I cannot stay here and wait!

'I am going in an ambulance if they let me. Can you drive, okay?' I was now worried she would be so upset she could not drive.

I walked to the ambulance as they loaded him up. Hank turned to me, and my heart sank. I knew what he was going to tell me before he did.

'Sorry, not enough room, and I need to be in here more than you do. Hank tried to be nice, but time was of the essence. 'Go, I will follow. Where to?' After all, I will be taking Judy, and she will be thrilled I am.

'Private hospital. A paramedic called back and slammed the back door closed.

'Judy, honey, let's load up the car and get to the hospital. I helped strap the baby to the back and put the bag on the back seat, and Judy climbed in, tears still.

'We are right behind you, buddy! Theo called out as he started to reverse his car out of the driveway. Fortunately, the driveway was cleared for the ambulance, which made it easier for us to get out. Jacko was staying at the house, and he had a lot of police work to do. He called several carloads of police officers to come and help take statements and clean the place up.

The drive to the hospital felt like it took ages. I helped Judy and the baby out and grabbed the pram from the back. Robson met us as we entered the hospital and took us to a private waiting room.

'Nate is in the theater and is holding his own. So far, we expect this operation to be a few hours long. If you need anything, let the nurses know. The cafeteria is down the hall, and you can take your baby formula to them if you use it. They will heat the bottle. Bob will be here in about half an hour. He left us in the room and headed quickly down the hall. Dad is going to be here soon. I thought he would be stuck for ages chasing who did this to my husband. Judy is beside herself; our little family has been hurt in a way we did not think was possible, not on Dad's wedding day. I have yet to see Pam; maybe she is helping Jacko take statements from all the wedding guests. I do not think Kitty is going to like wasting all that food, and I wonder if she will send it all to the homeless shelter. Judy is settled on the bench, which is much nicer in this private waiting room. There is even a coffee machine, fridge, and microwave, so we would not need the cafeteria. Maybe Robson suggested it, so I would get out of this room and walk around a bit. It was his way of saying I was not stuck here waiting if I wanted to stay somewhere else without actually having to say it.

Dad arrived nearly an hour later. He rushed into the door and stared at me for a moment. Then, he came and pulled me to him. I rested my head on his shoulder, accepting his gesture; I needed a hug; I had been comforting Judy, but I needed comfort, too, and I guess Dad did.

'Any news?' He asked softly in my ear.

'No, Dr. Robson said it could take a while, and he was holding his own, but that was an hour ago. He nodded, and we walked over to Judy, who fed the baby. He squatted down beside her and looked into her eyes.

'How are you doing, sweetheart?' He asked gently, rubbing her arm as he spoke. She sniffed and looked up at him with red eyes.

'Trying to be strong and patient, but it is not easy, and I know it is affecting the baby, so I am trying. Dad, he looked so pale and lost so much blood, I am worried.' She sniffed again and looked back down at the baby, who had been a good boy through all of this. 'Do you want a coffee, Dad? We have a machine here?' I nodded to the corner.

'Love one, want me to make it?' he offered.

'I need something to do! I said, headed to the machine, and made all three of us a coffee.

'Dad, did you find the person who did this to my Nate?' I was unsure about asking in front of Judy, but she needed to know, too. So I went with it: either Dad could answer or couldn't. I will accept it if he cannot share.

'Yes, son, as everything happened so fast, you may not have noticed or maybe heard, but there were two shots fired. The one hit Nate from the sniper's rifle, and the second was from one of Scott's men, and he got the sniper. The sniper is in the theater, as we speak, also fighting for his life.' I was relieved that the man was caught, and I was not sad he was fighting to live, too; why should he live when my man is fighting for his life, too?

'Pity he was not killed; it would have saved us a court trial and taxpayers' money keeping the person behind bars! Judy spat. I had never heard her talk like this before; she was always so meek and mild. I think I like this change in her; it gives her a little spark she had been missing.

'I tend to agree with you. We tend to want vengeance when our emotions are thrown into the mix. It may not be the right way, but it would have been better for him not to have survived the fall from his position in the tree. Now we have money spent on him to save his life and make him well enough for us to take him to court, where we get to have our say and, hopefully, justice, and then incarcerated, and one day be free to be out on the streets again. All the while, our loved one keeps on suffering. We hear it all the time: people saying that the penalty does not fit the crime, and we are getting softer and softer with the sentencing of criminals. We, the police department, do the right thing and bring them to court, but from there, it is hard to see that justice is always fair. That is why our emotions get the better of us; we are hurting more than the person who committed the crime, as they rarely have an emotional attachment to the person or persons they have acted against. They keep sleeping at night, and we continue to have nightmares. Dad said as if he was detached from the conversation; he must have had this same conversation with a victim's family, and though what he says makes sense, it does not take away the hurt and pain. If Nate makes it, he will have a long journey to full recovery, and I will be there every step of the way. I hope our son will help him recover and not be too traumatized by the act of bravery he has just done.

'Dad, can Nate have a bravery award? Do they give them out for this type of heroism?' Judy asks with hope.

That is not up to me. I can put it forward to the committee handling that side of things, as I cannot be biased. Being the father-in-law, it might look like favoritism. But I agree what Nate did was a brave and selfless act!

'Hey Dad, any news?' Theo and Bethany, followed by Cindy, Margaret, Felicity, and Sam, walked in, and I wondered what took them so long to get here when they followed behind us.

'Not yet, son. Dad replied and pulled them both into his arms, giving them a loving hug like he had me.

'Coffee?' I offered, ready to have another myself; it had been hours.

'Yeah, sorry we took so long; I have Bethany checked out for my own peace of mind; I may have missed something!

'Is she alright? Is the baby fine?' I asked, having forgotten about the baby.

'Yes, she is as well as can be expected and was told to watch out for spotting.

'Good, we should hear soon. It has been a while. Just as I said that, a tired-looking Hank walked into the room, and I sprang to my feet and braced myself for the news.