**I'm going to be completely honest. I have stared at this chapter for over a month now, trying to figure out how to write it. Everytime I type sentence, it gets deleted. With that being said, I've decided to just go with it. I've tried working on other chapters while waiting to figure this one out, but it's been way too long. It seems decent enough, and will be reshaped in the rewrite, but for now I hope you all enjoy it!**

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I twisted the end of Hunter's hoodie in my hands as we walked down the blinding white hallway, wincing as my shoe squeaked against the floor.

It had been three days since the rescue and three days of begging Hunter to bring me to see Jackson. Thankfully Mak was on my side, assuring him that I would be fine to make the trip if I applied the medicine on my back four times a day and took it easy.

"You ok there, darlin?" I blinked up at Hunter's concerned face. His eyes darted to the sleeve of the hoodie I was wearing before moving back up to mine.

"What if he hates me?" I whispered, wringing the hoodie sleeve tighter. His face softened, a reassuring smile lifting on his lips.

"Trust me." He began, pulling the hoodie from my hands and taking them into his own. "Hate is the last thing he feels."

"But he got shot. Because of me." The guilt in my stomach grew the more I thought about it.

I blinked as Hunter lifted my hands up, his beard rubbing against them as he placed soft kisses along my knuckles.

A soft chuckle escaped him. "Although that is true, he's definitely been using it to his advantage."

I tilted my head slightly. "What does that mean?"

"It means he's already gotten five nurses phone numbers." I glanced behind me at Ace's voice. "Apparenlty chicks dig a wounded hero." He shrugged with an amused grin.

I went to glance back at Hunter, pausing as I noticed two giggling nurses leaving a room. Amusement began to replace the guilt.

I looked up at Hunter, nodding my head towards the door. "I assume that's his room?"

"Did you bring giggles? Because if not, you can just walk your happy self right back out that door." My gaze went back to the door in question, a small smile lifting on my face.

Hunter sent me an amused grin. "We should get in there before he starts accusing Ace of lying." I glanced around to notice he was no longer beside us.

Worry began building in my stomach as we got closer to the door. I tightened my grip on Hunter's hand, glancing up as he squeezed mine back, a reassuring look on his face.

I took a deep breath, attempting to calm my nerves, before stepping inside. My gaze automatically went to the bed stationed in the middle of the room. My footsteps faltered as i noticed the glaring man sitting on top of it.

"Three days." He stated, his tone heavy with offence. "It's been three days." I couldn't help but shrink back slightly, wincing as my back knocked into Hunter's stomach.

"Hey now, you know that's not her fault." Ace defended, glancing at me in concern before turning to glare at Jackson.

Jackson scoffed in disbelief. "You think I'm blaming her?" He turned his glare to Ace. "Oh no. I'm blaming you, and that brooding mountain of a man behind her."

My heartbeat settled slightly as I craned my head back to glance at Hunter, who rolled his eyes at Jackson's words. "She had to rest."

Jackson's gaze moved back to us, I let out a sigh of relief as he sent me a playful wink, before glaring up at Hunter. "There's this thing called a phone, that has this thing called facetime." He accused.

"He's not wrong." A voice spoke, causing me to jump slightly. My gaze moved around, barely noticing Arthur who was hidden in the back corner of the room, his hair barely showing over his laptop.

"There's this thing, called rest, which is what people use to heal faster." Hunter replied, I couldn't stop my laughter from escaping at Jackson's offended face.

"There ain't no rest for the wicked." He sang, causing Ace to let out a groan.

Hunter slowly moved us forward, pulling a chair over beside the bed for me to sit in. I sent him a grateful smile, blushing slightly as he leaned down and softly pressed his lips against my forehead.

"Umm, this is me time, not Hunter time." Hunter rolled his eyes as he pulled away, I smiled sheepishly as I glanced at Jackson's disgusted face.

I moved my gaze over his body. Guilt flooded my body as I took in the hospital gown and the IV attached to his hand.

"Uh uh, nope. What we're not gonna do is start crying." I glanced back at him in confusion. His brows were furrowed, a small frown on his face. "I'm serious, Rose. Wipe those tears."

I wiped my cheeks, frowning as I felt liquid. I cleared my throat, shaking my head slightly. "Ew, emotions."

Jackson let out a laugh, nodding his head. "They're the worst."

"So," I awkwardly started. "How have you been."

"To be honest, I should save people more often." Jackson replied, a huge grin taking over his face. "You wouldn't believe the amount of numbers I've racked up, plus I've got an awesome little battle scar to prove it."

I winced slightly at the thought of more bullets penetrating his skin.

"Yeah, I think we should look for another way to score phone numbers." Ace's tone was sarcastic, yet stern.

Jackson pouted slightly before his eyes lit up, his gaze running over Hunter and I.

"Babies." He snapped his fingers, another grin taking over. "Chicks dig babies. Y'all should jump on that, well technically Rose here should jump on that."

Jackson snickered as heat blossomed across my face, even Ace and Arthur, whose head was now popped around the laptop, had amused grins.

"Maybe we should give that a little bit more time." My eyes met Hunter's, a small pout forming at his amused face. He sent me a quick wink, causing my gaze to cast downwards as more heat traveled across my cheeks.

"Would you all leave that poor girl alone?" My head snapped around, causing me to wince slightly at the movement, my gaze connecting with Mak and Jai's figures. I sent them a pleading, yet grateful, look.

"How you feeling, honey?" Mak asked as he came to my left side.

"Much better, thank you." I responded with a soft smile.

I glanced around the room, my gaze taking in all of the guys. A small smile forming on my face as I watched them all interacting with one another. I wish there was some way I could repay them all for everything they've done for me.

My gaze moved over to Hunter, pausing as I noticed he was already staring at me. A soft look on his face, barely hiding the light concern in his eyes. He tilted his head to the side in question, I couldn't stop the butterflies that erupted in my stomach at the motion.

I shook my head slightly in answer, sending him a soft, reassuring, smile. His gaze moved up and down my body, the concern in his eyes still lingering, before hesitantly glancing back to Jai.

I paused as an idea popped in my head. I knew exactly what I could do for them. It wouldn't be payback for everything, but it would certainly be a start. A giddy grin pulled on my lips as I began planning out the details in my head.

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I started this chapter about 2 weeks ago, with the intent of posting it then, but things got so hectic. I'm so so sorry for the wait! 🙈

We're almost finished guys! I'm torn between being sad, yet relieved. It's way more stressful to write than I thought it would be. It goes great for a while, but at one point I lost inspiration and confidence...and it was so so hard to gain it back. Not to mention finding the time to sit and focus on just the story.

I am very excited to start a new chapter for this group, as well as rewrite this book to give it more of it's full potential. Thank you so much to everyone who has stuck it out with me though, and for all of the votes and comments! 💕