Mac touched Eliza's bruised neck gingerly. "He did a number on you, didn't he?"

Eliza was taken to the hospital to check her over. Of course, she was fine except for the hole growing in the pit of her stomach. She didn't have any word on Ares' condition. Mac didn't know anything either, so he came and sat with her. Once they arrested a few of the Scorpions that gave themselves up at the sight of their dead leader, Mac's cops weren't allowed to help. A dead body meant the detectives had to come in and take over. Mac wasn't happy about it, but watching Eliza lose herself when they took Ares away put his irritation on the back burner.

"I'm fine," she muttered, clasping her hands in her lap.

"He'll be okay." Mac wrapped an arm around her and pulled her into his side. "He didn't give up trying to win you over and he's not going to give up now."

Eliza stared at the blood still on her hands and clothes. There was so much blood.

"I don't know what the bullet hit, Mac. He could bleed out if they can't stop it."

"Honey, he would have bled out before they got up there if the bullet hit the main artery. Last I heard, he was still breathing. Ares is going to come out of this."

The lady hunter leaned back in her seat and covered her face with her hands. She fought against the fear growing inside her, taking a few deep breaths to shun it away.

"He means a lot to you, huh?"

She sent him a watery expression of sarcasm. "I wonder what gave you that idea."

"Bear with me, Liz."

She sighed. "Yeah, he does."

"Do you think this is going to be different than before?"

"Yes. It's already different, Mac. He's not like Luke, never was... never will be."

The cop rubbed her shoulder. "I think you're right."

Eliza looked at the people passing, and her eyes landed on a familiar face. Before Mac knew what was going on, Eliza left her seat to pull a woman in an embrace. She started crying all over again into the woman's shoulder. Mac stood up and walked over.

"It's okay, sweetie," Katie said. "He's been through worse."

The young hunter stepped back to gaze at Ares' mother. "I'm glad you were able to get here."

Katie nodded and then looked at the cop who joined them. Eliza noticed and cleared her throat to speak.

"This is Mac Donovan. My stand-in father and the best damn cop around here. Mac, this is Katelyn Matthews, Ares' mom."

They shook hands, greeting each other. The lingering gazes they had on each other didn't go unnoticed. Neither did the way they held hands a little longer than necessary. Eliza inwardly cheered Mac forward.

"We haven't heard anything, yet," Eliza said, interrupting their short moment. "We're coming up on an hour."

"We should get news soon," Katie said, taking a seat in a chair. "How bad was it?"

Mac sat back down in his seat, "It looked worse than it was. Gunshot wound in the thigh. Eliza did what she could to stop the bleeding. He lost a lot of blood, but I think he'll be okay. Nothing too serious."

Katie looked at Eliza and pointed at her neck. "What happened there?"

Eliza rubbed her throat, still feeling the pressure of Ezra's hands. "He tried choking me out. Ares shot him before he could."

She nodded. Eliza could tell she wanted to ask about Ezra, but her mouth stayed shut. It was something Ares could tell her if he came out alive. It was his news to tell if his mom asked.

The hunter sat in between the two older adults. Silence filled the hall around them while they waited. It was torturous. Everything brightened a little when Dr. Lauren Stephens found them and hugged her friend.

"I just heard about it downstairs. Is he okay? Is it worse than the last time?"

Eliza shrugged, biting her lip to keep from crying again. "We don't know anything yet. And it seems worse than before. The last time, his wounds were in specific places to keep him alive. This wound wasn't as precise. I thought he was going to bleed out right there on the floor."

Lauren frowned. "I'm not on this floor, so I can't help get you information. But don't give up. I think he'll be fine especially if he didn't bleed out before help got to him. He didn't right?"

"No. He passed out, but he didn't bleed out. He just lost a lot of blood... from what I know."

"Keep me updated on him, okay? I wish I could stay here with you, but I need to get back downstairs. I wanted to see if you were okay."

Eliza nodded and let her friend go back to her job. As she turned around, the doctor caring for Ares came up to them. Mac and Katie stood up, awaiting the news.

Doctor Mason stopped in front of them, pulling off blue gloves that had some blood on them. His scrubs were also covered in red splotches. Eliza's eyes were glued to his every movement.

"He's doing okay," he finally said with a soft smile. "The bullet was close to the artery. But everything looks great. We removed the bullet and he's now resting. He can't have visitors right now, it's too late. You can come back during visiting hours tomorrow. If he starts healing up nicely, he should be out in a couple of days."

All three people visibly relaxed, the weight of the evening lifting significantly. Eliza had to sit down again to catch her breath. She felt like a mess holding off another bout of tears. Ares was going to be the death of her.

Eliza closed the apartment door after a quick goodbye to Donovan. He waved at Katie as the door shut and Eliza smirked at the woman behind her.

"Mac seems pretty smitten by you, Katie."

The red-head scoffed and set her travel bag on the ground. "I'm too old to be looking for another man in my life."

"No, you're not. You look fantastic and still have plenty of life ahead of you. I'd go for it."

"You only say that because he's your father-figure."

Eliza smiled and walked over to Ares' room. She hesitated a second before opening the door and flipping the light switch. It was cleaner than she thought, except for a drawer he left open and a few articles of clothing scattered on the floor. Eliza carefully folded his clothes and put them away. She continued to straighten up his room even after Katie walked in.

"Sorry the sheets aren't changed," she said. "We obviously weren't expecting any of this to happen."

Katie smiled. "Don't worry about it, Eliza. He's my son. Sleeping in his bed won't bother me at all."

"I would have offered my bed, but I also haven't had a chance to change my sheets."

"You'd sleep in here instead?"

She shrugged. "Or the couch."

Ares' mom smiled knowingly. "If you'd rather sleep in here, you're welcome to. I wouldn't be offended if you had me sleep in your room."

"Trust me, you don't want to do that." Eliza felt her whole body get hot. "You're going to be better off here."

"Things get a little wild in your room?"

The hunter tripped over her own feet and coughed. "What?"

"Well, I didn't mean like that, but that reaction is interesting. Did something happen between you two?"

"Uh, not something that I'd want to tell you... no offense." Katie raised an eyebrow. "I wouldn't tell Mac either. He's just too observant and can figure everything out with one sweep of the room."

The older woman chuckled. "I think I have a good idea of what happened. There's no need to explain yourself."

Eliza nodded awkwardly. "Sure. Thanks. This conversation is a nightmare, so I'm going to go to bed. If you need me, I'm the door across the way. Feel free to scavenge the kitchen if you need something to eat or drink. I'll see you in the morning."

"Sleep well, Eliza."

The hunter nodded, leaving the room and shutting the door behind her. She scampered into her own room, finding solace there. The click of the door closing her in brought more comfort than she could have imagined. Her fingers found her light switch, filling the room with a yellow glow. A long sigh left her lips.

Eliza stepped forward to get ready for bed when her eyes landed on the bundled sheets on her bed. A pillow was askew in the center while another was on the floor. She bent over to pick it up. Without changing, Eliza crawled into the bed and hugged a pillow to her stomach. So much happened in a single day and her body was finished. Her emotions still ran high and her brain couldn't handle it much longer. She closed her eyes, a few tears streaking down her cheeks, and left the real world for the night.