As the gunshots sounded, time appeared to just slow down. Giovanni had hit the ground right as the first bullet pierced Tate’s skin. His ears burned hot and his head, for a moment, felt like it was swimming as everything went fuzzy. Suddenly he’d forgotten how to breathe, as he watched his once best friend fall down. A pang of hope throbbed through his chest once he remembered that Tate had deflected bullets with just his hand the first day Gio discovered that he’d been Spitfire, but it was quickly snuffed out as he saw the blood. It wasn’t a little bit either, it was clear that all three of the shots had hit Tate.
Tana’s and Nia’s voices were both so far away. Muffled echoes he could hardly hear as he yanked Tate’s jacket open to try and see where he’d been hit before yanking his mask off. Twice in the chest and once in the upper abdomen, blood sputtered from his mouth as he tried to take a breath and his eyes began to flutter closed. Gio took his hands off Tate’s chest and grabbed his face, trying desperately to make him stay awake. When the gravity finally hit him and everything came rushing forward, it felt as though his own body was just seconds from caving in.
“An ambulance is already on the way. Someone reported the explosions and gunshots about three minutes ago.” Nia’s voice sounded louder than usual to Gio, and his ears were throbbing. Tana had pulled her own mask off. Tears were streaming down her face as she tried to keep pressure on one of the chest wounds. “You two go, I’ll stay here and deal with the police. Put your mask back on before they get here.”
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Gio didn’t know what else to do other than scoop Tate up, letting Tana grab his jacket and mask. Without those on he looked like just any other civilian. Hopefully the paramedics and EMTs wouldn’t question it, but getting him closer to the road and out of the rubble would help. Despite the fact Tate was smaller in stature, just carrying him was causing Gio’s arms to tremble from the strain. Tana made kicking and throwing rubble out of the way look easy. She even lifted half of a twisted storage container over her head and held it for Gio to duck under. They could hear the sirens blaring towards them, and see the lights bouncing off the walls of buildings as all the emergency services came speeding towards what they only knew to be the sight of explosions and a massive gunfight.
Tana was the first out into the street, waving her arms as she saw the ambulance down the road. She’d put her mask back on like Nia had told her to, and waited until a paramedic opened the back of the ambulance before she immediately dove into a frantic explanation of everything that had happened. Gio reached the street right as they unloaded a stretcher, laying Tate down onto it just as he was told to do.
“H-, his name is Tate Crawford and he was shot.” Tana managed to get out, looking back at Gio as the paramedic addressed him. It was no surprise since Sentinel often worked with the police and had plenty of police contacts.
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“We’ll get him to the emergency room. He may need surgery. Does his family need to be notified?” The paramedic was already examining Tate as they loaded him into the back. Tana shook her head, immediately telling them she would contact his family. “Alright, he’s unresponsive so we need to leave. There’s massive internal bleeding and trauma from the looks of these wounds. Tell his family they can find him at St. Astrid’s Atrium Hospital.” As soon as the EMT was done speaking they slammed the back doors, and Tana pulled Gio away as the ambulance sped off.
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Gio continued to stare after the ambulance even as it turned the corner and police cars came flying towards the scene. Again it felt like everything was slowed. It felt like the air had been sucked from his lungs and he couldn’t remember how to inhale at all. Tana had to pull him away, forcing his feet to move as she guided him towards his motorcycle. He was stuck in a daze, as if he were back in that apartment with the young boy who had taken his sister and her kids as hostages. All of them died by gunfire that night. He’d begged for the woman to stay with him, tried to stop the bleeding, and she’d died right beside her children as her little brother was gunned down by the police. He was back trying to get a gun away from a robber, wrestling the man before he pulled the trigger thinking he could shoot Sentinel in the head — but the gun slipped at the last second and Gio had wound up covered in that man’s brain matter. He was talking down a girl not much younger than himself who was standing on the edge of a bridge, determined to take her own life, and right as he thought he’d succeeded in talking her down she slipped and fell. She died only a few hours later from the head trauma she received from hitting the shallow water below them.
Each time Giovanni lost a person he was trying to save it affected him. Every time he lost someone he was trying to bring to justice, it also cut him deep. He wanted less death and destruction. He wanted his time spent as Sentinel to leave a lasting impression, one that wasn’t looked back upon and shunned for all the lives lost. But the thought of losing Tate? Of losing someone that he cared for so deeply? It nearly brought him to his knees. He couldn’t imagine how Tana felt at that moment. She’d already lost one father figure, as had her younger siblings, but now they had the chance of losing another. The thought of watching the brother that had stepped up and raised you fall to the ground, not knowing if he’d get back up, it must have been traumatizing.
Though Gio didn’t have much time to fully process what he was experiencing, nor dwell for long on his thoughts, as Tana had yanked off his mask and slapped his face. It worked to get him out of the trance-like state of pure panic he’d succumbed to, but when he came back he noticed Tana stripping and shoving clothes into a duffel bag. She already had his change of clothes pulled out and was waiting for him to begin changing in the partially secluded alleyway as well. “Put these on. The sooner you change the sooner we can get to the hospital.” She watched as he hesitantly took them, frowning at him. “Giovanni, listen, I’m as freaked out as you right now. Are you gonna be okay to ride? I’ve never driven a motorcycle before but if I have to I-”
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“No, I can do it.” He finally spoke. Trying his best to regain his footing and calm himself. Anxiety had always been an issue for him, but he hadn’t had a panic attack in a few years. What he’d just experienced was definitely edging on one, but Tana had very literally slapped him out of it. He changed as quickly as he could, putting his own gear into the duffel bag she’d shoved her and Tate’s pieces of suits into. “I can get us there, just be sure to put on your helmet.”
She listened, putting it on and pulling the visor down entirely. She secured the duffel bag over her shoulder and held on tightly to Gio as he started up the motorcycle. He’d uncovered the license plate, hoping that they wouldn’t get pulled over or questioned as he tore off out of the alleyway. Speeding the entire way, weaving in and out of traffic in an attempt to get to the hospital faster. He could feel just how tense Tana was as she huddled against his back, probably trying to keep herself warm from the chill of the early winter night air. He avoided the majority of traffic lights, nearly running one as he sped through. They got to the hospital in probably the same amount of time as the ambulance did, parking and making a mad sprint for the emergency room. Tana nearly took the doors off the hinges as she charged in, running straight for the front desk and almost knocking a pregnant woman over while in the process. Gio was hot on her heels, but it didn’t make much of a difference as she started in with a flurry of questions.
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“Where’s Tate Crawford? He just came in not long ago with multiple gunshots. Is he okay? Where is he at? How long has he been here? Is he going to need surgery? Is he already in surgery?” Tana didn’t even give the poor woman time to type, nearly climbing over the desk in an attempt to see the computer screen for herself. Gio had to grab her and pull her back. Holding her in place even though she could easily just break out of his grip.
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“I… uh, okay. I understand you’re panicked ma’am, but please try to take a deep breath. You said the name Tate Crawford and that he had multiple gunshot wounds?” The receptionist looked up from her computer to a nodding Tana. “Alright, I see here that it appears he was admitted about five minutes ago. I believe he is currently being prepared for emergency surgery.” She watched as Tana reached up to yank on her own hair, clearly unsure of what to do in such a stressful situation. “May I ask what is your relation to the patient?”
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“He’s my brother.” Tana replied, and as soon as the receptionist looked at Gio she piped up again with a, “he’s our brother.” When that elicited a raised eyebrow and suspicious look from the woman, as clearly the tall and tanned white man did not look related to the two Koreans, Tana cleared her throat to add on yet another lie to that one. “Gio’s adopted.”
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“I see…” She clicked away on the computer for a moment longer before speaking again. “Alright, ma’am, if you could please just give me your name and then I’ll give you some forms to fill out while you sit and wait. A doctor will be out to explain to you the situation shortly.”
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“Oh, uh, Montana Crawford…”
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As Tana spoke and gathered the clipboard with pen and paper, Gio’s mind began to drift again. He went and found a seat, Tana sitting down right next to him, and listened to her as she babbled about the information she was having to fill out. He didn’t even realize he was responding to her whenever she asked questions, giving her correct answers to things about his information that was needed as well. He watched as the doctor eventually came out, and Tana nearly turned the chair over to stand up as the woman came towards them.
Three gunshot wounds, and none of the bullets had an exit wound. At least seven broken bones, mostly ribs, one shattered and had ripped holes in his right lung. The left ventricle of his heart had been perforated, leading to a rupture meaning that he would die from that alone without immediate surgery. His stomach and pancreas were also ruptured, and that was all they knew about the extent of damage done. His chances didn’t look good, but one of their best surgeons was going to handle his surgery. She wanted to give them an idealistic outlook, though, and said that even should he survive through the surgery that he wouldn’t be out of recovery for a while still. It appeared that the bullets he was shot with broke apart inside of him, causing worse damage than any normal bullet would have.
Watching as she walked away, Gio slowly sunk back into his seat. He put his head in his hands and just… waited. Thankful that he’d had on his suit’s gloves when he tried to stop Tate’s bleeding, as otherwise he’d have been covered in blood. Listening to all the bustle around them of the hospital. Watching as other injured people were wheeled in, usually bleeding or with something broken, and taken back behind the doors that automatically locked from the other side. Again, Tana was talking to him. Trying to comfort him, tell him that this wasn’t his fault, and spoke about how strong Tate was. He would pull through because he just had to, according to her. He wished that was how things worked.
As the hours stretched on and people came and went, Gio’s mind had drifted again. He thought about all the things he and Tate had done while growing up. From the day they first met in the park all the way until the day he graduated and they parted ways on bad terms. He thought about every time Tate would meet him after a football game, standing off to the side because he probably showed up right after halftime just to watch the last half of the game. How he’d throw an arm around Tate’s shoulder and rub his sweaty face against his friend’s. It would always end with Tate shoving Gio’s head away as hard as he could, but he always laughed afterwards. He thought about every time they’d gone to the diner for milkshakes and fries. They’d sit in the same place for hours, sometimes until closing time, just enjoying each other’s company. Doing homework together, talking about things that had happened in school, or complaining about life to each other. He’d always known Tate was a huge shaping point of who he was as a person, but it was all very clear to him now.
There was no one else in his life that seemed so sure of who he was, so confident in himself despite everything that had been thrown at him, than Tate. For a long time Gio had pretended to be the same and was praised for something fake that Tate had really had all along. In many ways, even after their friendship came to a bitter end, that short ball of anger was a role model to Giovanni. It’d taken him years to finally work up the courage to stop trying to make everyone around him happy. He wanted to be himself and only himself, and Tate was to thank for helping with that. He still needed to thank him. He still had so much he needed to say.
Time continued to drag on. Tana had long since fallen silent. She’d texted Ky and told them what had happened, but knew that she’d need to return home soon. She was terrified because she knew there was no way they could afford any of these hospital bills, not wanting to lose their home because they’d never be able to pay for them. Even though Tate would kill him for it, Gio was going to pay for them. He didn’t want them worrying about that at all, especially now. He could listen to Tate yell at him for tapping into his “multi-million dollar trust fund”, as long as it meant Tate survived to yell.
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Whenever the doctor re-emerged, this time both Gio and Tana nearly knocked their seats over. Her expression was unreadable, but as she spoke there was clear relief in her voice. He’d made it out of surgery and was in a room, however he wasn’t out of the woodwork yet. He could still take a turn and would need to be monitored closely in the ICU for the next few days at least, but they could both go back and visit him. He wasn’t awake and he probably wouldn’t be for a few hours at minimum. As she led them back Tana was right on her heels, practically holding her breath the entire way until the door opened and she saw Tate lying in the hospital bed.
The heart monitor was indicator enough that he was alive, beeping steadily. He had IVs hooked into him and oxygen, but he was alive. Both of them stood beside his bed for a while quietly. The doctor had left them after saying nurses would be in and out to check on things, and it was several minutes later before Tana said she needed to get home. Without Tate she was left to make sure their mother and baby sister got their medication on her own. She’d also have to cover for Tate, make up excuses about why he wasn’t around until he was back home. Gio told her he’d stay with Tate. It’d give him time to get some rest and tell Isaiah everything that had happened, along with checking on Nia. She left after threatening his life if he didn’t keep her updated, too.
After he was left alone, sitting in a chair beside Tate’s bed, Gio rested his hand on top of Tate’s. Slightly smaller than his own and cold compared to his, which felt like they were on fire and clammy. He gently gripped that hand as he chewed on his lower lip, looking up at Tate and over his features. He looked so much younger than just twenty at that moment. In a deep sleep and breathing softly. Gio could live with Tate not speaking to him as long as he was still out there exploring the world, but the thought of him dying? That terrified Gio more than he could even put into words.
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“Don’t risk your life like that for me ever again, you asshole. You’d have already knocked my head off my shoulders if I’d done this shit for you.” He clenched his teeth, which caused his jaw to flex, before adding, “especially not when I have so much wasted time to make up for between us, Tay.”
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Did you really think the main character of this story could be killed off so easily? He does have plot armor, after all. Not only that, but Tate still has so much of his story and life left ahead of him. He still must settle his score with his father, and Gio must finally admit the feelings that have taken him so long to figure out.
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