Chapter 52

Cassidy stared at Doctor Magma in shock, the same one who treated her after her attack from Tyler Black and felt her mouth drop open. "Are you sure?" She managed to ask in a whisper, tears filling her eyes.

Doctor Magma nodded, placing a hand on Cassidy's shoulder. "Yes. I know it's sudden, but you've healed well from the previous injuries, including your ribs. You should have no issues with this."

Covering her mouth with her hand, Cassidy silently hoped he was right and winced while the doctor proceeded to treat a small laceration across her cheek. "This feels like déjà vu, only I was unconscious the last time." She half-joked, staying still and hissed when he applied some cream to her split lower lip. Once patched up, Cassidy walked out of the examination room to the waiting lobby, instantly being clobbered with a hug from Peyton. "Damn Pey…" She grunted, holding her best friend close and could feel her shaking. "I'm alright."

"You've got to stop doing this!" Peyton cried, pulling back to stare into Cassidy's eyes. "You're going to end up giving me a heart attack!"

"Well geez, not like I planned on being kidnapped again." Cassidy retorted wryly, feeling Peyton's arm wrap around her shoulders to guide her to a chair. "Has anyone heard anything about Jon?"

Jon was taken straight to emergency surgery to remove the bullet from his back while Cassidy was treated and examined. That was over an hour ago and Cassidy hadn't heard anything, hoping the doctor would've at least given them an update. Looking around the room at everyone, Cassidy suddenly became overwhelmed with emotion and covered her face with her hands, crying. Jon was loved by everyone in this room, even with his overbearing ways and attitude.

"He's gonna be fine." Joe walked over to sit beside Cassidy and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Jon is a tough son of a bitch. He's not gonna let a bullet bring him down or end him, Cassidy."

"I know that, it's just – he doesn't realize how loved he is. He doesn't comprehend he has people who care about him. Take you for instance. You should be with Trista comforting her over…her brother's death." Cassidy had a hard time saying those last few words for obvious reasons and hated how raw her emotions were. Given everything that happened in recent months, she had a right to have a small breakdown.

Joe still had a hard time wrapping his mind around what happened with Colby – Tyler – whoever the man was. "She needs time alone and I'm giving that to her right now. But you're wrong about what you said and let me tell you why. Earlier this morning, I had a talk with Jon and he called me his brother. I said we were practically brothers and he corrected me. He said we ARE brothers, even with how he treats me. Jon has never said something like that before and I know it's because of you. Ever since he's met you, he's changed and it's a good thing. I think he's starting to realize he does have a family, even if it's not blood. Don't have to be blood to be family after all."

"Have – um – you heard anything from Trista about…?" She couldn't bring herself to say his name and felt Peyton squeeze her hand, lending as much support as she could.

"No." His deep voice was somber and remained low, grey eyes lowering to the floor. "I'm sure the story will come out and everyone will know the truth. I'm just…I'm glad he didn't accomplish what he wanted to with you, Cassidy. I don't know where Jon would be right now without you in his life." As worried as he was for Trista, Joe had to be there for the only person who had been there for him through thick and thin since they were kids.

"Everything will be fine, Sidy. You just have to hang in there and try not to think about anything or anyone besides Jon." Peyton piped in softly, wrapping an arm around Cassidy's shoulders and held her close. "I'm always here for you."

"I know…"

"When you and Jon get married…" Peyton decided a change of subject was in order, feeling nauseous at the mere thought of Colby Lopez/Tyler Black.

Cassidy shook her head, eyes growing wide. "We're not even CLOSE to ready for that." Though, if Jon did propose to her, Cassidy already knew she would accept and demand they elope.

Everyone in the room suddenly grew silent as Cassidy felt fresh tears sting her eyes, the memory of Trish's death hitting her full force. She hadn't chosen between Trish and Madelyn, but Trish had sacrificed herself to save her daughter. Madelyn was currently with child protective services until they either contacted Trish's relatives or Trista decided to step up to the plate to take care of the little girl. She was the godmother and Trish had no siblings, just a decrepit mother living in the Rocky Mountains.

"Trish was supposed to be a bridesmaid…"

Everyone looked up at the sound of Trista's soft voice, her face one big blotchy red mess and Joe instantly stood up to pull her in his arms. All she could do was break down against Joe, burying her face in his chest and felt his fingers slide through her hair, trying to calm her down. He couldn't imagine how hard this was for her, not to mention Elissa and the kids. So much death had happened along with finding out what kind of person Colby really was, if Colby was even his real name since the news referred to him as Tyler Black. It was all very confusing and a huge investigation would have to be done before anyone received the truth.

"Trista, have you decided?" Peyton asked quietly a little while later, after Joe managed to stop her from crying. "If you can't…"

"I haven't talked to Joe about it yet." Trista looked up at Joe with tear-filled hazel eyes and knew there was no time like the present.

"Talk to me about what?"

Trista explained the situation to Joe, having spoken to the caseworker responsible for placing Madelyn in a home. Randy contacted her immediately and Trista did her best not to break down at finding out that, not only was her only sibling and brother a murderer, but her best friend had been shot to death. They couldn't waste any time, not when it came to children though and Trista understood that. Joe listened intently, not saying a word and could tell how much Trista loved Madelyn. Even though they hadn't discussed it in depth about having children in general, Joe wouldn't deny anything Trista wanted to do.

"I'll start looking for a house." They both had one bedroom apartments, which wasn't efficient for Madelyn and Joe had been thinking about getting a house for a while anyway. "I have one in mind, just waiting to hear back from the guy if it's available and then they have to run my credit."

"You already checked into it?" That was news to Trista, though she knew they needed a bigger place since they were getting married. "We're really doing this?" Trista whispered, not sure if she'd be able to take care of a 6 year old, but she couldn't let Madelyn go into the foster care system either.

Joe laced his fingers with hers and brought her hand up to kiss the back of it. "Yeah, we're doing this."

He couldn't wait to make Trista his wife and start knocking her up with a bunch of munchkins to run around. Unlike Jon, Joe knew what he wanted and wasn't afraid to show emotion. Madelyn was a sweet little girl and Joe would be proud to be her adopted father. They would have to go through the hoops of child protective services to make that happen, but Joe already knew they would win hands down. Trista was a brilliant teacher and had known Trish for years, so she already had a personal investment in Madelyn's life, especially being the little girl's godmother.

"Thank god." Peyton breathed a huge sigh of relief, wiping a few stray tears away. "She can always be homeschooled if you want, Trista."

Trista didn't want Madelyn attending public schooling after everything that happened to her. "I think that'd be best."

She'd have to start planning Trish's funeral since they were all the family she had. Adam and Joe already offered to chip in to pay for it, wanting all of Trish's savings and whatnot to go into a college fund for Madelyn. Cassidy would chip in as well, though she hadn't told them about it yet, her mind too focused on Jon to worry about anything else. The fact Trista and Joe were taking Madelyn into their home warmed Cassidy's heart more than words could say. Trish had told her to take care of Madelyn right before Levesque pulled the trigger, so she already planned on taking the little girl if they didn't. An hour later, a woman with chestnut colored hair stepped into the waiting room with a white coat on, a stethoscope around her neck.

"Family of Jonathan Good?" She called out, smiling as every head turned to face her.

"I'm Jon's girlfriend." Cassidy said instantly, standing up to walk over to the doctor and glanced at the nametag on her white coat, swallowing hard. "Is he…okay, Doctor Hughes?"

Doctor Hughes nodded with sparkling brown eyes. "Yes, the surgery was a success. Luckily, the gun Levesque used wasn't very powerful and the bullet lodged in Jon's right shoulder blade. The bone was thick enough to where it didn't pierce any major organs. He's resting comfortably in his own room and has asked for you." She assumed Cassidy was Jon's girlfriend, finding it sweet how worried he'd been about her when he'd been the one needing surgery.

"Thank god." Cassidy whispered, relief flooding her and hugged the doctor, tears spilling from her eyes. "Thank you so much."

Doctor Hughes chuckled, patting the woman's back affectionately and pulled back. "He needs to rest for a few weeks. No strenuous work or activity and his arm needs to be kept in a sling to alleviate the pressure in his shoulder. Other than that, he's good to go. We're keeping him overnight for observation since it was a bullet wound."

"What room is he in?"

Cassidy had to see Jon with her own eyes and walked away as soon as Doctor Hughes gave her the information. A few minutes later, Cassidy stood outside of Jon's room and pushed the door open, frowning at the sight of him lying in the hospital bed. His right arm was in a thick white sling and his eyes were closed, chest rising and falling evenly with a heart monitor beeping behind him. Somehow, they managed to fit a hospital gown on him and Cassidy knew he'd hate that, already planning on having Peyton run to the house to grab him some clothes to change into.

"What are you standing there for?" Jon's deep voice resonated around the room, eyes slowly opening to stare back at the beautiful strawberry blonde. "Come here, darlin'."

"I thought you were sleeping." She murmured quietly, walking over to take his outstretched hand and immediately pressed it to her cheek, tears falling again. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore as fuck." Jon replied gruffly, frowning at the sling and shifted a little to get more comfortable. "What about you? Your face…"

"I'm fine." Cassidy assured him, pulling his hand away from her face to hold it on the bed and stroked his hair tenderly with her free one. "Everyone is out in the lobby. Joe, Trista, Peyton…Randy said he'd stop by later after the slew of paperwork he has to fill out."

Jon raised a brow, wondering why everyone was here and looked genuinely confused. "Why are they here? What about the station?" Besides Windham, there were a select few at work who knew what the hell they were doing.

"Isn't it obvious, Jon?" Cassidy shook her head, not believing he still didn't see it and leaned down to brush her mouth against his. "They care about you and love you. They're your friends and family, people who will be there for you no matter what. Just like me."

Jon hated seeing her cry, wishing he could pull her into his arms, but the sling prevented that from happening. "Cass…"

"There's something I need to tell you and I need to do it before I lose my nerve." Cassidy carefully sat on the space available on the hospital bed, never releasing his hand.

Jon didn't like the sound of this. "What's wrong, Cassidy?" He demanded, not sure he could take any more horrible news today. It was bad enough he'd have to do grunt work at the fire station until his shoulder blade healed. "Out with it, woman."

Looking up at him with tears shining in her eyes, Cassidy simply placed his hand against her flat stomach and let out a shaky breath. "I'm pregnant." She whispered, still not believing it happened so fast, but then again they'd been sexing it up worse than bunnies ever since Cassidy was medically cleared. "Doctor Magma said I'm about 6 weeks along and so far, everything looks fine. He's scheduling me to have an ultrasound sometime next week."

Jon could only stare at her with wide eyes, his warm hand not moving from her stomach and had to learn how to breathe. Cassidy was pregnant again with his child and could've lost it had he not arrived at the warehouse when he did. It was obvious what Levesque planned on doing and that made Jon's blood boil all over again, his heart rate picking up forcing the machine to start beeping faster in the room.

"Jon, say something please." Cassidy pleaded, hating that he'd gone completely silent with just heavy breathing and an apparent rapid heartbeat.

"I love you." Jon finally admitted, eyes meeting hers and ignored his shoulder, sitting up in the hospital bed. "And I swear to you, nothing will ever happen to you or this baby as long as I'm alive."

Cassidy couldn't believe what she just heard, staring at him in complete shock and covered her mouth with her hand, crying openly squeezing his hand. He said it. He actually admitted how he felt and said he loved her. Her heart completely melted and Cassidy brought Jon's hand up to rest over her heart, smiling widely.

"I love you too, Jon."

Not caring what the doctor said, Jon scooted over as much as he could and pulled Cassidy to lay beside him in the hospital bed, wanting her in his arms. His left arm wrapped around her awkwardly, splaying his hand against her stomach and nuzzled her neck lovingly.

Trish's funeral was morbidly beautiful with the whole city of Tampa coming out to celebrate her life. Madelyn had remained quiet throughout the ceremony, only speaking when she had to give a eulogy for her mother, with surprisingly Jon's help. She didn't want anyone else to do it and Jon stood beside her the whole time, holding her hand while the little girl friend over talking about her mother. The burial followed with everyone tossing colorful carnations on top of the casket and saying goodbye to their fallen friend. Cassidy and Jon had a small gathering at their house with food afterwards, but only their circle of friends showed up while everyone else gave the family time to grieve. Trista and Joe took Madelyn to their new place they'd moved in the previous day before the funeral, wanting her to relax as much as possible.

The day after Elissa found out who Colby Lopez really was, she packed her things along with the triplets and took off to stay with her parents for a while. Elissa did not have the heart or mindset to stick around and nobody blamed them. Tabloids tried blaming her for not knowing her husband well enough, for not noticing what he was doing and basically castrated her in every way possible. They couldn't even have a proper funeral for the man they had called husband and father. Elissa was broken and she couldn't face anyone, her life being solely for her children – nobody else.

Months passed as Cassidy blossomed into a beautiful pregnant woman with Jon's child growing inside of her. It took 6 months to figure out the truth regarding who Tyler Black/Colby Lopez was. Turns out, Colby Lopez had been murdered by Tyler Black and Black took his identity for his own. He was an ex-marine gone rogue and needed a fresh start. They never found Colby's body, Tyler did his job well for sure, but it all changed after Tyler was killed by Randy Orton. He went back to the abandoned house and found an unmarked grave in the backyard that ended up belonging to Colby Lopez. They had no idea how long he'd been buried there, but testing from forensics proved it was him.

3 months after finding out the truth regarding Colby Lopez/Tyler Black, Cassidy went into labor, delivering a beautiful healthy baby girl named Holly Stratus Good. Cassidy wanted her daughter to have a piece of Trish with her always and figured making the middle name Trish and Madelyn's last name, was the best thing to do. Holly Trish Good didn't sound appealing, but Stratus certainly did. Jon had no qualms about it, doing whatever made Cassidy happy and held his daughter close to him while his beautiful wife slept peacefully. Jon had proposed to Cassidy right after the news broke about Colby/Tyler and they eloped to Las Vegas, where they currently lived now. After everything that happened with the Levesque's and Colby/Tyler, they needed to get away and start the next chapter of their lives together. Joe remained in Tampa with Trista and Madelyn, though they still kept in contact, talking on a daily basis. Looking over at Cassidy, Jon pressed a soft kiss to her mouth and then one to Holly's forehead, setting her down in the bassinet by the bed the hospital provided.

Somehow, this woman had brought him out of the temerarious place he'd been in and into a life worth living. He owed Cassidy everything and more, vowing to give her whatever she wanted until they both passed on. Even in death, he would never stop loving her.

Simply put, Cassidy was his cold fire.

Cold when she had to teach him a lesson.

Fiery because of how strong and penetrating her unconditional love was for him.

The End.

**And that's it. Thank you all who have stuck with me through reposting this and I hope you enjoyed it even more than the first time. :) Much love from this fellow writer and stay tuned for more fics to come!**