Ramadan Mubarak everyone! May Allah swt fill this month with blessings and accept from us our prayers, fasting, Duaa and good deeds. Don't forget to keep all of your brothers and sisters around the world in your thoughts and prayers!

She hadn't even been wearing a vest.

Yes Hudayfah had heard that getting shot even with a vest on hurt like heck.

But it prevented bullets from doing any damage.

And she hadn't even been wearing one.

The family waiting area of the surgical ward in the hospital was quiet, no one really having the energy to say anything, though once in a while, eyes would flicker over Hudayfah to make sure he was still sitting upright.

While Hudayfah knew that his family and friends were just trying to be supportive, right now, he wished he was alone. Jenna had been in emergency surgery for almost six hours now, with no updates.

He was going crazy.

"Hudayfah? Can I get you anything?" Rana asked as she took a seat next to him, and he shook his head.

"I'm fine." He whispered, though he wouldn't truly be fine until Jenna was out safely.

After Jamaal had pulled the trigger, it had happened too fast for anyone to stop him, Hudayfah had fully understood the phrase 'all hell broke loose'. Some of the men jumped on Jamaal, some of Jamaal's men tried to make a break for it, there was yelling and screaming, the neighbors started to come out, someone called the police, Laith called an ambulance, and Hudayfah had stood there frozen in shock, staring at his wife from where Muhsin held her, watching as blood started to soak the front of her clothes.

He hadn't been able to move, fearing it was a nightmare he just couldn't wake up from. It wasn't until he heard the sirens of the ambulance, and the paramedics rushed in that he realized what was happening.

It's a good thing Sami and Issam had been there to stop him because he would probably be in jail right now for killing Jamaal. Nonetheless, between him and Jafar, they had managed to beat him up so badly that instead of taking him into custody, they had to bring him to the hospital as well.

"Water maybe? Some coffee?" his sister spoke again, interrupting his thoughts.

"Barak Allahu Feeki habibti, but I'm okay for now. I'll let you know if I need anything." He said, and she nodded, before patting his cheek, and standing up, rejoining where Emma and Maria were sitting.

"Wow. You've had quite the day haven't you?" Rami asked, plopping down next to him, and Hudayfah sighed.

"No kidding." He shook his head. "I'm still hoping that it will turn out to be a horrible, terrible, awful dream."

"She will be okay InshaAllah. She's tough." Rami said reassuringly, and Hudayfah gave a small smile.

"InshaAllah." He said with another sigh, before he leaned back against the chair. "So do you know what's going on right now?"

Rami leaned back against his chair as well, crossing his arms.

"Well let's see. Sami, Muhsin and Jafar came back to headquarters and told us we needed to get down to the hospital right away. Jafar, by the way, was in trouble with Issam who was yelling his head off about 'staying in control'. What's that about?"

"Jafar and I almost killed Jamaal. Literally with our bare hands."

"Wow. Teaming up huh?" Rami said in amusement, and Hudayfah rolled his eyes.

"Well it's a good thing Issam and Laith were there to stop us. He was screaming like a little girl."

"Please tell me someone recorded it?!" Rami exclaimed with a snort of laughter and Hudayfah shook his head, smiling slightly.

"So are all the other men in custody?"

Rami nodded.

"I think so."

"Alhamdulillah." Hudayfah said a bit distractedly, before he glanced back down at his watch.

It had now officially been six hours since she had been taken in...

"Mr. Sulayman?"

Hudayfah spun around at the sound of his name being called, and as he saw Jenna's doctor walking towards him, he felt his heart speed up anxiously.

"Yes?" he asked standing up, as the doctor approached still wearing his scrubs.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting for so long. We just got out of the operating room."

"It's fine. Is everything okay?" Hudayfah asked, barely aware that everyone had stood up at the doctor's entrance.

"Well, the good news is that the surgery was successful."

A murmur of 'Alhamdulillah' went around the room.

"Is she okay?" he asked as Rana put a hand on his arm.

"We will have to keep her in ICU for the next few days, and it's going to be a while before she is back to normal. But for now she is in stable condition. She's having a little trouble coming off of the anesthesia, but maybe if you go in and talk to her it will wake her up."

Hudayfah nodded, before rubbing a hand over his face wearily.

"Yes of course. I'll go right now. But um, doctor, what's the bad news?" he asked.

"Excuse me?" the doctor asked.

"You said the good news was that the surgery was successful. Well what was the bad news?"

*** As Hudayfah stepped into Jenna's hospital room, he practically dashed across the way, stopping just at the edge of her bed to stare at her. She had tubes in her nose, coming off of her chest and arms, and he let out a deep breath.

His darling wife looked so fragile and helpless.

It broke his heart.

He could kill Jamaal!

Good thing he had an officer guarding his door, otherwise he would be in trouble.

"Jenna?" he said quietly as he took a seat next to her on the bed, and when she didn't stir, he pushed her hair back from her face. "Darling wake up." He whispered, before leaning forward and placing his lips against hers. Much to his amusement, she started to kiss him back before she even opened her eyes. "Hello habibti." He said with a small laugh as her eyes focused on him, and there were a few moments of silence as she looked around the room, taking in her surroundings, before she spoke.

"What happened?" she asked a bit groggily, and as she tried to sit up, he hurriedly stood, supporting her back with a pillow, before sitting back down, his face grim.

"You're in the hospital habibti." He said softly, and she leaned her head against her pillow sleepily.

"Why?" she murmured, and he took her hand in his.

"Jamaal shot you darling." He said softly, and she blinked a few times in confusion.

"What?"

He nodded.

"You don't remember?"

"Um, I remember him pointing the gun at me," she gave a small yawn, "but from there it's a bit hazy."

He brought her hand up, kissing it gently.

"I was so worried about you." He shook his head. "You don't know how crazy I was going. I don't think I've ever prayed so hard in my life."

"Why were you going crazy?"

"You were in surgery for six hours."

Her eyes widened.

"Really?"

He nodded.

"Yeah. I was so scared Jenna." He whispered and she sat forward, reaching out to touch his cheek but letting out a shriek of pain instead.

"Oh my God!" she exclaimed, grasping her stomach in agony, and Hudayfah stood up in alarm.

"Jenna? Jenna what is it!?"

She shook her head, before leaning back and breathing heavily. After a few moments she pushed away her blanket, and as she lifted up her hospital gown, she gasped as she looked at her stomach. It looked like she had been cut open in great haste, and then had been stapled back together.

"This happened just from one bullet!?" she asked in horror, and his face took on a pained expression before he took her hands in his.

"Well, not exactly."

"What do you mean?" she asked in concern, and he closed his eyes for a second before opening them, the sorrow evident on his face.

"Darling. I wish I didn't have to tell you this." He cleared his throat, before tightening his hold on her. "I don't know if you knew this, but you were pregnant."

A heavy silence descended upon them.

"I was pregnant?" she asked finally, and he nodded.

"Yeah. When he shot your stomach, the baby," he paused, swallowing deeply, "you lost the baby."

"Oh." She put her hands on the top part of her stomach for a few seconds, before looking up at him. "I didn't know I was pregnant." She whispered, and as she looked up at him, her eyes filling with tears, he put a hand on her cheek.

"Oh darling."

He leaned forward, being careful not to touch her stomach, before he let her put her arms around his neck, drawing him into a tight embrace. As she pulled away a few moments later, she rubbed at her eyes, wiping away tears.

"So what does this mean? Can I not have children now?" she asked in a scared voice, and it took a few moments before he shook his head.

"The doctor said there is no way to be certain. You had a lot of damage done to you inside, by the bullet, and by losing the baby. He said that if you had been a few more weeks along, you would have died on the spot. I," he paused, rubbing a hand over his face, "I just," as he stopped again, and she realized how hard he was trying to compose himself, she opened up her arms, trying to keep the tears from escaping down her cheeks.

"Come here."

"I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't." she said pulling him against her again.

"I almost lost you too." He whispered in her ear, his voice thick with emotion. "I wouldn't have been able to handle that Jenna. Just the thought of it scares me so much." He said fading off.

"You didn't lose me Alhamdulillah." She whispered back, a sob escaping her. "I'm right here." She put a hand in his hair soothingly, and he kissed her before leaning his forehead against hers.

"May Allah always protect you so I never lose you." He held her tighter, trying to control his emotions as she broke down crying. They didn't speak, both of them holding onto the other, grieving for what they didn't know they once had, for what they might never have now. A few minutes later, he pulled away, brushing her tears off of her face.

"Did they know if it was a boy or girl?" she asked quietly.

He shook his head.

"No, it was too early to tell."

She gave a small smile.

"I'd like to think it was a girl."

"Why is that?"

"Because I can just imagine the Daddy's little girl she would have been. She would have had you wrapped around her finger before she was even born!" she said with a small laugh, a tear escaping down her cheek.

Hudayfah smiled, brushing it away.

"She would have." He said softly, leaning forward to kiss her.

"I know that this is big, but can we talk about something else?" she whispered, and he nodded.

"Of course darling. Your parents should be here soon."

"So my mom knows what's been going on?"

"Um, I think your dad told her some of it, so I would go easy on her when she comes, she probably will be in shock."

"Okay." She said with a nod. She picked up his hand, fingering his wedding ring. "So what happened to Jamaal?"

"Oh, well he's here."

"Here!?" she exclaimed in a panic, and he hurriedly put his hands on her shoulders to keep her down.

"No! No calm down! Sorry, wrong choice of words!"

She slowly lowered herself onto the bed again.

"So he's not here?"

"Well he is in the hospital, but handcuffed to his bed, and heavily guarded. But the rest of his men are locked up without bail."

"Why isn't Jamaal with them?"

"He um, got injured, and by law they have to attend to him even if he is under arrest."

"How did he get injured?"

He waved a hand in the air.

"You know, he's such a klutz."

She was quiet for a moment, before she looked into his face with concern.

"What about Ali?"

He flinched, running a hand through his hair.

"Um, he got taken as well. According to Issam, he won't get life, but he will do time."

"I'm sorry habibi." She said softly, and he shrugged.

"It is what it is."

"Will Jamaal get life?"

"I think so. They may try to do an insanity plea, but honestly at this point, I don't think it will work."

"Don't get mad at me for saying this, but is there a chance he is a bit off?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, he had to deal with his sister and father dying. He's been out for revenge for like six years. Isn't there a chance that he is a bit insane?"

"He could be. But that doesn't pardon what he did. Let's never speak of him again." He said firmly, and she nodded, not wanting to upset him.

"Okay."

He pushed her hair back from her forehead, before cupping her cheek.

"You should rest darling. You've been through a lot."

"No, don't leave me! Please!" She protested, though her eyes were slowly fluttering closed, and he laughed.

"I'm not going to leave you," he paused to tuck the blanket back over her, "I'm just saying for you to go to sleep. Everyone is going to come in and see you once the doctor gives the okay, and I want you to have your strength for that. Okay?"

She nodded, yawning slightly.

"Okay."

He leaned forward, dropping a kiss on her forehead.

"I love you darling."

"I love you too habibi."

***

Jafar stepped into the hospital, stuck his visitor's sticker to his shirt, and began to walk towards the elevators. He had been at headquarters all day filling out reports and giving his account of what happened, before going down to the prison to talk with his brother.

That had been hard.

Seeing Ali in his orange jumpsuit, being led into the waiting room by a guard, his hands handcuffed together.

Ya Allah what a mess all of this had turned out to be. Ali had been shocked that Jafar was in on the bust. He hadn't seen it coming, and was now mad that Jafar hadn't warned him of what was to come. No matter how much Jafar pointed out that it was his job and he couldn't do that, Ali wouldn't listen...

"You should have told me about the bust!" Ali exclaimed angrily, and Jafar sighed for the twentieth time since had had sat down with his brother.

"Like I told you before, I couldn't. It's my job. I took an oath. I couldn't reveal to you what was going to happen!"

"I'm your brother! I thought we were supposed to tell each other things!"

"So did I!" Jafar shot back, his temper rising, "and you didn't tell me anything that was going on with you. I guess two can play that game!"

Ali's mouth had dropped a fraction at Jafar's words, before his face hardened.

"Is Baba coming?"

Jafar winced.

When Jafar had informed his parents of what was going on, his dad, a lawyer, had been so shocked and hurt by what Ali had done, that he had refused to come to the city or take on his son's case.

"No, he's not."

"Why not?"

"Because he's mad at you."

Ali scoffed.

"Wow, father of the year award right there!"

"Be quiet Ali! He has a right to be upset with you! Don't try to pretend that you didn't do anything! That you were some poor guy that got roped into things by Jamaal! You did all of this with your own free will!" Jafar exclaimed, and Ali rolled his eyes.

"Whatever."

Jafar sighed, putting a hand to his face.

"I talked to Issam, and you won't get life like the rest of them, but you will do some time. He estimates around ten years, early release if you have good behavior."

"Whoop de doo for me!" Ali exclaimed sarcastically, and Jafar clenched his jaw, swallowing back down a retort. He knew his brother was just scared, and that's why he was acting like a jerk.

A total jerk.

"I've been trying to get a hold of Mark, maybe he will take on your case." Jafar said, referring to one of his father's collegues at his law firm.

Ali shrugged.

"Fine, just hurry up."

"You know what, I'm going to go. I've had a rough day. I'll be back when I can find a lawyer for you." Jafar said standing up and leaving before his brother could say anything else...

It had been a hard day.

As the elevator opened on Jenna's floor, he stepped out, coming to a halt as he walked into the waiting room. Emma, Maria and Rana were laying across multiple chairs sleeping, Rami was sitting in a chair looking at the television, but a closer look found him asleep as well. A strange man was standing over the girls, draping a blanket over Emma, and naturally, he concluded that it was her father. As if he could sense Jafar's gaze, the man turned around, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Can I help you?" he asked in a slightly territorial tone, and Jafar smiled inwardly to know how protective he was.

"Oh um, Salaam. You must be Jenna's father." Jafar said, stepping forward and extending his hand.

"Yes I am." He replied, shaking Jafar's hand.

"I'm Hudayfah's cousin, Jafar."

To Jafar's surprise, the man's eyes lit up with recognition.

"Oh! You're Jafar?! Well it's a pleasure to meet you, I feel like I've known you all my life! Please, take a seat!" he exclaimed, motioning with a hand, and Jafar slowly lowered himself into a chair.

How did he know about Jafar?

"It's nice to meet you as well Abu Muhsin. Of course I wish it were under better circumstances."

"Please call me Adam." He said with a smile. "And yes, unfortunately if only it was a happier occasion."

"How is Jenna doing?"

"Not great at the moment, but InshaAllah she will pull through. My wife is in with her now, otherwise I am sure she would love to meet you. We've heard so much about you."

Jafar shifted a bit uncomfortably.

"I didn't realize I had made such an impact on Jenna."

Adam laughed.

"No my dear boy, we did not hear of your amazing heroics and fantastic persona from Jenna. It came from a much more excitable source." He said, and as Jafar's eyes flickered over to Emma's sleeping form, he smiled.

"I see. Well, I hope it was all good she had to report?"

"Yes, very good." They sat in silence for the next few minutes, staring absently at the game that was playing on the television, before Adam leaned forward, a smile on his face.

"I know that you deserve so much more, but I must thank you for all you did for my girls. I was talking to Emma earlier, and she told me of how you broke her out of Jamaal's house, and how you've secretly been an agent this whole time. I must say that is quite admirable in my eyes!"

Jafar flushed slightly.

"That is very kind of you to say, but it was my duty and pleasure to help. They are family now, and I would do anything for them."

Adam smiled.

"Well then please allow me to wholeheartedly welcome you into our family!"

"Thank you sir." Jafar said with a small smile.

"Please, none of that formality, I insist you call me Adam."

"Very well, Adam it is."

"You aren't tired? Maybe you should head home and get some rest, it's been a long and difficult time for all of us." Adam said, leaning back in his seat, and putting his feet up.

"I will in a bit," Jafar said with a nod of his head, "I just wasn't able to stop by the hospital earlier, and wanted to check in on Jenna. Is Hudayfah around?"

"He went down to get some coffee. It took a lot to tear him away from Jenna, but after my wife threatened him with bodily harm, he agreed." Adam let out a booming laugh, causing Jafar to smile at the sound.

"My cousin loves your daughter very much."

"I'm glad to hear it. As a father, the only thing you want in life is to see your children happy. And I hope one day to see all of them as happy as possible."

"InshaAllah." Jafar added with another look at Emma, and Adam smiled knowingly.

"InshaAllah."

The sound of footsteps approaching caused them both to turn around, and as a woman came into view, Adam stood, extending an arm.

"Habibti, this is Hudayfah's cousin Jafar. Jafar, this is my wife Yasmin."

Jafar stood, bowing slightly in the direction where Jenna's mom stood.

"Oh Jafar!" she exclaimed. "It's so nice to meet you at last!" she said, coming up to where Adam was, and leaning against him.

"The pleasure is all mine, I assure you." Jafar said, slightly amused that everyone seemed to know all about him. Obviously Emma spoke very highly of him.

It was quite flattering.

"How is Jenna doing habibti?" Adam asked, putting an arm around his wife.

Yasmin sighed, pushing her glasses onto her head.

"She's as good as she could possibly be in this situation. They just gave her some pain medication so she's getting drowsy, but she wanted Hudayfah." She gave a slight smile. "It was quite adorable honestly, she kept asking when he was going to come back. Has he come back from the cafeteria yet?"

Adam shook his head.

"Not yet, but I will go get him if you'd like."

"I'll do it." Jafar quickly offered. "Can I bring you two anything?"

"Thank you dear, but we are fine for now." Yasmin said with a smile, and Jafar bowed again, before heading towards the elevators, smiling as Adam's voice reached him.

"Emma was right. I like him."