A/N: I'm not dead yet! I've been so damn busy lately I haven't had time to sit down and punch out any chapters, but I've finally finished the final chapter for this fic! I hope you guys think this ending is adequate! I just want to thank everyone who has enjoyed my fics, also. It makes me feel great that I'm bringing you some entertainment during hiatus! ENJOY!

Rafael woke three days later in a dimly lit hospital room and a major headache pounding away.

He looked around, bleary eyed and in so much pain it was almost unfathomable. He licked his dry lips and brought a hand up to rub his eye, noticing the IV line running up his arm and the attached to the pole next to his bed.

The top of his wife's head caught his attention next and his fingers lightly traced down the side of her face, wanting to see her face but not wanting to wake her up. If he knew his wife, she had more than likely hadn't been home and, judging by her dirty, bloody clothes and greasy hair, his guess was true.

He sighed heavily, the pounding of his headache shooting down through his teeth. He licked his lips again and trailed his eyes across the room, seeing all the usual hospital décor he'd grown familiar with over his years of hospital visits.

In the corner of the room sat an overwhelming pile of flowers, cards and balloons, half-eaten chocolate and a familiar duffel bag Liv took to the office as a back-up when she needed to hit the gym with Rollins or was pulling a double shift in the office. Someone must have packed it for her…

Maybe his mother? God, where was his son?

Rafael pressed his head back into the pillow, his fingers tangling into Liv's hair; the action took a lot of energy out of his already depleted sources. He was careful, resting his hand on her head, glad it hadn't woken her up. He wanted her to sleep, even if the position she was in wasn't the most comfortable, but he needed some time to process what he'd just been through.

It was a blur in his mind's eye, but he remembered the look on his wife's bruised face, the chaos erupting around them and the unbelievable pain inflicting every corner of his body. It all happened so fast, he couldn't even remember what he was thinking when he bum rushed that fucker that had his wife backed into a corner.

He closed his eyes against the terrified crying of his son still echoing in his head; it was a sound that wasn't going to leave him anytime soon and he hated himself for it. It was his fault to begin with, no matter what anyone was going to say.

He didn't lock the door. He didn't lock the door and look what happened because of it. His son and wife were going to be scarred from this and he was lying in a hospital bed with bullet wounds and a serious migraine. Half the NYPD had been parked outside of his home, his wife had been damn near…he didn't even want to think about it…

All because he didn't lock the fucking door...

He cursed softly to himself, partially because the pain in his head was getting worse the longer he stayed in his own head. He didn't know how long had passed before he felt Liv's head lifting off the bed, his hand sliding out of her hair. Their eyes met and everything got so suddenly still for the few seconds it took Liv to fully wake up from her sleepy haze.

"Rafi," she breathed, getting up from the chair and coming to sit by his side. She leaned down and kissed him, not giving him the chance to say anything. She pressed both of her hands to his face, inspecting him as if she hadn't had the opportunity before.

"Hey," he grinned, hands coming up to her sides. He felt the frenzy of emotions he worked through earlier start to calm at the just the feeling of her body in his hands and her lips on his skin.

"God, you scared me," she whispered, pressing her forehead to his briefly before she scattered a few kisses across his face.

"How long was I out?"

"Two days. You were in surgery for six hours…one of the bullets nearly pierced your lung," she recited back to him, like she was reading off a paper. He could feel her hands shaking as she pulled back from him and sat up, getting off the bed and putting distance between them.

He stared at her back, missing the contact and was about to ask what was wrong when she rounded on him, fury in her eyes and her body rigid and tensed. He wisely kept his mouth shut, knowing it wouldn't do him any good to try and keep her calm. She was ready to say something to him and had likely been sitting on it since he'd been out.

"You came this close to dying," she ground out, a small space left between her thumb and forefinger. Rafael didn't say anything, but he could feel the air being sucked out of the room the closer she moved to the bed. For the first time, he was a bit afraid of her. Honestly, he couldn't blame her for being that angry, though. What she had to go through out there…he couldn't imagine. It would break a weaker person.

"This close…and because you decided to be stupid."

She hissed the words at him, leaving him a bit taken aback about what she was saying.

"You took bullets for me, you idiot."

"And?"

Liv rounded on him, looking disgusted and burned, "And?! You almost died! Died, Raf! You came this close to not being with us anymore because you decided to play hero at the worst possible fucking second!"

Her voice strained and broke it was so hysterical, her anger flowing out of her in waves that washed over him like ice cold water. He knew he came close. Far closer to death than he'd ever come before in his life, but he felt no regret in the way things went down. Those bullets weren't meant for either one of them, but he would be damned if he was going to stand by and let the love of his life be gunned down in front of him.

"I wasn't playing hero- "

"Oh?! Then why the fuck did you push me out of the way? I'm the cop, you're not. It's my job to protect innocent people."

"And it's my job to protect you," he pointed out, crossing his arms over his chest, straining to keep his pained moan from escaping his lips. He didn't want to give the point she was making any more strength.

"Please," she snorted and waved her had dismissively, moving hair behind her ear, "I don't need protecting. I know how to use a gun. I've been fighting off people like this for decades and you're supposed to protect me?"

"Yes," he answered immediately, giving her a look that all but dared her to try and get him to back down. She had another thing coming if she thought he was going to give-in and tell her she was right. Because she wasn't.

"Barba," her voice flattened and became firm. She only ever used the last name when she was well and truly pissed anymore, "I have half a mind to walk out of here and let you suffer for that shit you pulled."

"You won't."

"Wanna bet?"

Liv stomped towards the door and gave her his back, one hand poised over the handle. Rafael watched her, eyes soft and understanding as they both remained completely quiet. He could see her shoulders slowly deflate, sinking along with her head and he just knew those brown eyes of hers were searching the floor for something only she knew she wouldn't find.

Answers? Like why he was choosing now to be so stubborn? Her claims weren't unfounded. She had been dealing with deadly situations and criminals for so long, he truly had no extent of the shit she'd seen and been through in the time before he arrived in Manhattan.

He didn't even want to. The thought of her in any dangerous situation sent his blood pressure shooting through the roof. He had to deal with that plenty of times, before they were together and after.

"Livy."

"Don't call me that," she said, annoyed but her voice was thick and he knew she was trying not to cry. Tears stung at his eyes, burning and warm as the slipped down his cheeks and neck. He sniffled, making her turn and take in his pathetic display.

"Come here," he waved her over, wiping away some of the tears blurring his vision. Liv bit her lip, keeping her post by the door for nearly a full minute before she complied. Her shoulders were still slumped in defeat, but her feet shuffled towards him, her worn boots scuffing against the tiled floor.

He patted the spot next to him and looped an arm around her waist, forcing her to rest against his chest despite her apprehension about his wounds. He was hurting like crazy, but he would deal with it if it meant having her next to him.

"I'm sorry I put you through that. I really am. But, I won't apologize for pushing you out of the way."

"Raf…"

"No," he leaned back and caught her eyes, moving a stray strand of hair behind her ear that had fallen across her face, "Just listen to me."

She nodded, pursing her lips as she rested her face into his neck, taking deep breaths of his scent like she always did, every night before they fell asleep.

"I love you and Noah more than you could ever imagine. I would move mountains for you if I could. When I saw that gun aimed at you…I didn't even think. I just moved. And it saved you. And I would do it again in a heartbeat, no questions asked."

He pulled her even tighter, ignoring the stinging in his abdomen and his still pounding migraine. There was nothing that was going to force him to let this woman go, ever.

"You may not understand and you may be pissed at me, but you can stay pissed at me, because I won't apologize for what I did. I love you, baby."

Liv shook her head and pressed her lips to the underside of his chin, leaving her fingers to trail over the stubble on his face. They passed over his lips and he kissed them, feeling her smile against his skin.

"I hate you sometimes," she finally whispered after a few minutes of total silence. He chuckled, hands rubbing up and down her back. She shifted and sat up, kissing him and making him effectively forget about everything that had happened in the past couple of days. This incident wasn't going to ever fully leave him, not by a long shot, but at least she had the ability to make him forget for the time being.

"Where's Noah?"

"Your mom has him," she leaned against him again, playing with a loose string on the collar of the gown, "She was here all day yesterday with him. He kept wanting to wake you up and I had to keep telling him that he couldn't and he was a crying mess…eventually she took him home around dinner time."

"I want to see him…is he ok?"

Liv knew what he was talking about if the sad smile she gave him meant anything, "I think he is. I talked to him about it yesterday…but I think when he sees you he'll feel a lot better. All he could talk about yesterday was his daddy."

Rafael laughed and rubbed at his eyes, wincing at the intensifying pain. Liv took notice and hit the call nurse button on the side of his face. They probably should have notified a doctor when he first woke up, but priorities needed to be taken care of first.

"I'm going to call Lucia…let her know you're awake."

He nodded as she left him with a parting kiss as soon as a nurse showed up to assess him. The fond smile didn't leave his face at just the thought of seeing his boy in just a few short hours.

It was a few hours later that Noah came bursting through the door, Liv hot on his heels, trying and failing to gather his attention before he could climb up the side of the bed.

"Daddy!"

Rafael smiled and welcomed the five-year-old with open arms. He powered through the unbelievable pain that encompassed his body like fire when his little man threw his body on his torso.

"Noah, baby, be careful," Liv gently tried to pry Noah off him, but to no avail. Rafael just shook his head, forcing a wink her way. He didn't want to let go of him and Noah had no plans to do so either.

"I was so scared, daddy," Noah sniffled and Rafael noticed the hot tears spilling from the toddler's eyes and into the fabric of the hospital gown. Rafael closed his eyes and rested his nose in the soft, shaggy hair of his son's head.

Liv smiled a bit as she joined the fray, lying down next to her husband and joining his hand in rubbing comforting circles on Noah's back. She leaned down and kissed him when he looked up at her, and rested her head on top of his as he softly whispered to their son, telling him everything was going to be ok.

It was going to be ok, because they were alive and so was he. Above everything, that was what was most important to him. The child in his arms wasn't going to have to ever feel that fear again, as long as Rafael and Liv were around to keep him safe.

"I love you. I love you both, so much."

He felt Liv's lips press against his temple, her left-hand resting on his cheek as a few of her own fell through his mused hair and wet his scalp. He didn't mind, though. Noah repeated the words back to him, snuggling further into his chest. In that moment, the only thing that mattered were the two most important people in his life, cuddled into his chest and side, safe and alive.

Everything was going to be ok.