A/N Thanks for all the great reviews for these stories so far! This story deals with the shooting from episode 1.09, so it is following those story lines but with a few extra moments that weren't in the episode. Let me know what you think!

Bullet

When the bullet hit her, the sheer force of it knocked her flat on her back. She felt as though the wind had been knocked out of her completely, and she gasped for air as she struggled to move herself off the ground. She tilted her head up, trying to get a better look at her attacker. She couldn't seem to move at all, instead scrambling along the ground on her back trying to get as far away as she possibly could. She felt around the floor beside her, her hand grasping around her own weapon, but she could see the guy's gun on the ground beside him. He was in shock, he wasn't going to shoot her again.

Before she could think anything else, she heard Mike burst into the room, the sound of the gunshot piercing through her whole body. The man slumped to the ground, and she felt Mike drop down beside her. She could feel his hand on her side, could hear his voice, but no matter how hard she tried she just couldn't seem to get any words out.

And then, out of nowhere the burning began. It was as if the bullet had somehow caught on fire, and was now burning her from the inside out. She could feel the burning deep in her abdomen, could feel it twisting and turning throughout the rest of her body. She tried again to speak, but Mike quietened her. She vaguely heard him calling someone on his radio, then heard the soothing sound of his voice as he told her to relax, told her that she was going to be fine.

All she could do was pray that he was right before she lost consciousness all together.

When Lena's phone rang and she saw Mike's name she didn't even think anything of it. Stef would often call from her partner's phone, or Mike would call Lena to let her know that Stef was caught up, or running late or whatever. So when she answered the phone, she was completely unprepared for what was on the other end.

"Hey Mike, is Stef with you?" she asked casually.

"Listen Lena..."

She heard the nervousness in his voice, the uncertainty of the words he was saying. She had known Mike for long enough, and knew him well enough to be able to pick up that something was very, very wrong.

When she hung up the phone, she turned the engine off in the car and let out a short sob.

"Mama, what's wrong?" she heard Marianna ask softly from the seat next to her.

She had forgotten she wasn't alone, that she had the twins right there in the car. Lena took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. She had known that one day, there was a very real possibility that she was going to receive a call like this. It was one of the first things she had thought of when she realised that she was head over heels in love with the blonde cop many years ago. She shook herself out of her thoughts to bring herself back to the present. She had the kids with her, flipping out was only going to frighten them. She quickly wiped at her eyes, turning to face both of the concerned teens gazes.

"Something happened at Ana's house; something's happened to Mom." she said slowly, her own mind barely able to wrap around the words she was speaking.

"What do you mean, what happened?" Jesus said loudly, the panic evident in his voice.

"She's been shot"

When Stef came to she could hear buzzing sounds, like someone was holding something over her ears and she couldn't hear properly. Her eyes fluttered open, but everything seemed like a blur. She still couldn't see anything properly. She tried to open her mouth to speak, but she couldn't. It felt like there was something inside her mouth, stopping her from opening it. She felt confused, like she had been drugged or something. What the hell was going on?

And then she felt it, that burning pain inside of her abdomen; and it all came flooding back. She had been shot, she had been lying on her back in that house, but now she was somewhere else.

All of a sudden voices became clearer and she could hear people speaking over the top of her.

"Officer Stefanie Foster, gunshot wound to the abdomen, she lost a lot of blood in the ambulance..."

She was at the hospital. She felt a slight sense of relief that she had made it here at least. Stef felt people touching her, could something sharp being put into her arm.

Lena. Brandon. The twins. Callie and Jude. Her family. She couldn't leave them, not like this.

Something flashed through her mind, something that made her heart ache and her whole body shudder.

The last time she saw Lena they were fighting. When she stormed out of the house to get Jesus she was mad at Lena. And it wasn't just a little disagreement, when Stef left she was angry at her partner. Angry that she had kept something so personal to herself for almost 10 years. Angry and embarrassed at herself for not bothering to learn that about Lena, the woman that was the love of her life. Guilt washed over her, and she frowned at the painful thought. The pain in her abdomen was nothing compared to the pain in her heart right now.

And then the buzzing noise around her seemed to stop, and she heard nothing but silence in the room around her. Was she dead, was that it? Was that why it was so quiet all of a sudden?

And then she heard it, a voice cutting through the silence,a voice that she definitely recognized.

"Stef, Stef I'm here..."

She felt Lena's hand grip her own, and she fought hard against her closing eyelids. She needed to see her. Needed to she Lena to know that she was still here. Her eyes opened briefly, and she saw the face that she needed to see most. Looking back at her own, her eyes filed with worry, concern and fear. She tried to grip Lena's hand back, but she didn't think anything was happening. She tried to speak, she needed to tell Lena that she loved her. She needed to ask if the kids were ok? Had she managed to find Jesus, was he safe?

As if reading her partners mind, Lena began speaking. Telling her that they were all here, that Jesus was safe. That all the kids were there waiting for her. She felt instantly relieved, but the pain in her stomach was still there, and it was still rampant. Her eyes fluttered closed, and she could feel herself frowning in protest. She just wanted to keep her eyes open for a little bit longer, she wanted to see Lena again. She felt Lena's hand on her head, brushing through her hair and feeling her fingers on her forehead. She felt soothed. She needed to fight this, she needed to get back to Lena and the kids. Her family needed her.