You ran, pushing past the pain in your side as you bundled up your skirts and fled as fast as you could towards town. Behind you, the flaming form of the ranch you’d called home for so many years burned with such anger. Timbers snapped and groaned.
Barefoot, bleeding, and stumbling in the still-damp mud, you manage to get into town despite it being the dead of night. Two of the sheriff’s men stand guard at the edge of town, stiffening and coming towards you when they notice you approach. At first they’re suspicious, but then recognize you before drawing their weapons.
“Miss Y/N! Is that blood?”
“What happened to-?”
“I need the doctor! Please! I need help!” You cry, unable to form any other words as you push your way past them, desperate to get to your destination. You need help, and they are simply in your way.
They agree to split up, one sweeping you into his arms to rush to the doctor’s office, the other rushing to his horse to investigate your home, where you’d fled here from.
“Don’t you worry, Y/N, we’ll get you some help.” The deputy said in reassurance. “Doc’ll fix you right up.”
You squeeze your eyes shut, just wishing this whole nightmare would be over.
Thankfully, the doctor lived above his infirmary, and the deputy was quick to rouse him from sleep once he gently placed you on the examination bed. You sat, hugging your arms together as Marco sat before you, sleeves rolled up to his elbows.
“Where are you injured, Y/N?” He asked first, wasting no time, despite looking a little restless from being woken up only minutes before.
“My side…” You state, hovering a hand over the wound. “I was…shot.”
“By who?” The deputy stood just behind the doctor, looking remarkably concerned, his hands on his belt. “Who attacked ya? And is John alright?”
You wince at your husband’s name, looking away. “I don’t know…it happened so fast…they might still be at the house…”
That prompted the deputy into action. “Damn it, my partner’s out there alone when those bastards could still be hangin’ around. I’m goin’ to back him up.”
And with that, the man burst out the door, leaving you alone with Marco in the silent little clinic room.
“I’m afraid you’ll have to remove the top of your dress so I can take a look at the wound.” Marco said quietly, keeping professional yet gentle, seeing as you were in such a fragile state. “Do you need me to assist?”
“N-no…I can manage it myself.” You say, pushing past the pain and embarrassment as you begin unbuttoning your garment. Marco looks away respectfully as you begin shrugging off the top.
The two of you have been good friends for years, but it still felt like some boundary was being overstepped here. You’d always suspected the man was sweet on you, even knowing you had married another man. Still, there was no one else you’d trust to keep their decency given the situation. Marco was a good man, and an even better doctor.
Your arms wrap themselves around your exposed breasts, and he turns back at your signal to take a look at the wound. His gentle fingers poked and prodded, never causing pain. He grabbed a cloth and began to wipe away the blood to reveal it further. You sat there, watching the candle lit lamp on the edge of the desk flicker. You heard him click his tongue.
“Hmm…no exit wound for the bullet. It’s still in there, yoi…” He muttered quietly, leaning back to reach for something in his drawer of equipment. “We’ll have to dig it out.”
“That’s gonna hurt, isn’t it?” You ask, eyes staring at the pair of metal tweezers he produced from the drawer.
“Sorry, Y/N.” He said, flashing you a sympathetic smile. Then he reached for a bottle of whiskey and a thick cloth, handing you both. “Here, something for the pain. And something to bite down on.”
Steeling your nerves, you lift one arm from your chest to grab the bottle and take a long swig. It burns the back of your throat on the way down, but you gulp back as much as you can, hoping it would take effect sooner rather than later. Handing the jug back to him, you accept the cloth and put it between your teeth, preparing yourself for whatever would come-
“Nnnghh!” You tense, feeling the metal tweezers digging into your body as Marco’s hand steadies you by your shoulder. Your muffled moans of pain aren’t nearly as loud as they otherwise would be, thanks to the cloth in your mouth. Your hands clench into tight fists, nails digging into the flesh of your palms.
“Almost got it…” He reassures, voice steady and even as he continues searching for the bullet in your body.
It feels like forever before you finally feel the tweezers leave your wound. You hear the quiet tink as the bullet is dropped onto a small glass dish Marco had set up on the table beside you.
“You held up pretty well, considering. I’m just glad you’re alright, yoi.” He said with a small smile, wiping his bloodied hands clean before taking the cloth from your mouth. You’re panting as it’s removed, the pain having taken a lot of your energy.
He expertly wraps your side with a bandage, tying it in place in no time at all.
He turns away again to give you the privacy to dress your upper half, before giving you a patient and relieved smile. “You should be all-”
He stops mid-sentence, eyes taking in the state of your face. You try looking away but his fingers gently turn your head slightly so he could see you better, his smile completely vanished as he noticed the darkening bruises on your face. His touch was light, but the stormy expression on his face showed you just how much he was restraining his strength.
“Marco, it’s not-”
“These are from John, aren’t they?”
You’d always known Marco suspected the abuse you endured, but you’d been careful to hide any and all evidence up until now. But with events as they’d unfolded, you figured there was no point in doing so now.
Still, you can’t look him in the eye, and he takes your silence for the truth. He huffs a breath out, anger coming off him in waves as he leans back further in his chair.
“I’ll kill that bastard myself-”
“He’s already dead.” You state, spitting it out as if it were poison. “Had his head caved in with a shovel…”
Marco’s brows raised in shock, your certainty catching him off guard. Several heartbeats thumped in your chest, time enough for him to put the pieces together, before he spoke. “Y/N, you-?”
“I couldn’t take it anymore. He was…real mean tonight. Belligerent and ragin’ drunk. Worse than usual.” Your hands ball up in fists again, and you can’t look up at the doctor. “Didn’t think I could. I didn’t…want to. Until I wanted to. And then…it just happened.” You say, voice gaining losing confidence as reality set in.
“I couldn’t stop…and I knocked the lantern over, and the house caught fire and…I didn’t know what else to do…I ran…I didn’t even look back…I just left him there to burn.”
A heavy silence permeates the air as Marco thinks about the admission you’d just laid at his feet. Your eyes become blurry with tears, and they drip down your face. You startle, feeling hands cradle your face and lift it so that you look at him.
“He was gonna kill me, Marco…” You sob, letting go of your grief as his thumbs brush away the tear tracks from your cheeks.
“It’s alright…” His eyes have lost the bitterness, replaced instead by concern for you. “Any man who beats his wife is better off dead. You had every right to protect yourself.”
“They’re gonna come after me.” You sniffle, grabbing onto his shirt and pulling him closer. “They’re gonna kill me for killin’ John.”
“I won’t let that happen.” He said, leaning closer to draw your attention. “You hear me, Y/N? I won’t. Not after all you’ve been through. They’ll have to go through me if they want to try throwing you in jail.”
His forehead leans into yours, providing you with such comfort.
“You’re too important to me to lose. I lost you once to that bastard…I’m not going to watch the sheriff take you away from me too.”
You look up at him, so close, and seeing such dedication, you know you would believe anything he told you, would follow him to the ends of the earth. His voice is thick with emotion, gaze intense. And you feel your heart swell because something you should have realized all along finally clicked in your mind.
“Marco…I love you…always have, but I was too blind to see it.” His expression turned hopeful, eyes falling to look at your lips. “I’m sorry I married John, instead of you.”
“Y/N…” He whispered, caving to the urge to kiss you.
You savor the way his soft lips move against yours, in a way John’s never did. The outpouring of love and tenderness from his fingertips, and sigh of content that left his lips as he kissed you was…nearly too much. Your fingers gripped his shirt as if he would turn to dust at any moment.
He pulled away, straightening up suddenly. “We have to leave before they realize what actually happened, yoi.”
“Where are we supposed to go?” You ask, watching as he already began to pack up his equipment and threw it into his doctor’s bag that sat in the corner of the room.
“Anywhere that isn’t here. I don’t care where we are, so long as we’re away from this place.” He said confidently. When you didn’t respond, he looked back at you, grabbing a hold of your hands. “Y/N…do you trust me?”
“Yes.” You say with no hesitation. “I do.”
“Then go saddle the horse behind the clinic. I’ll finish gathering my things and we’ll ride away from here, as far as we need to go to keep you safe. We’ll live happily wherever we happen to be. I promise you that, yoi.”
You nod, excitement and confidence growing as the prospect of running away with Marco became more of a possibility. He swept in with another kiss, and help you stand from the bed. You hurried out the door, determined not to let this terrible night mar the beginning of a life with the man of your dreams.
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