Chapter 1: Strong But Broken
A/N: I don't own anything but my own characters. Also this isn't going to be a romantic story.
Scrubbed white walls and countless white tiles glared at the seasoned FBI agent as she sat with broken nerves on a hard gurney. Beeping sounds escaped from machines around her that fit in perfect harmony with the busy sounds that came from the hallway of the hospital.
Salome Ashwood sat upon the gurney, blood stained her white button up shirt, as she waited for a doctor or a nurse to check in on her. Blood had dried from her broken upper lip and the white taut skin around her bloodshot right cerulean eye was now turning a dark purple. Her long dark brunette hair fell in ringlets from her pony tail and bunched around her neck as she looked down at the waxed white floor.
"Ms. Ashwood," a mousy voice said from the doorway.
Salome looked up to see a woman in bright green scrubs slowly walking into her room with a large aging man moving closely behind her. Jack Crawford looked over her with sympathy in his eyes as he took in the wounds that she had suffered from a horrible incident.
"The doctor wants me to sew that nasty gash on your wrist," the nurse informed her as she moved to sit in the doctor's rolling chair and scooted toward her. The wheels cut across the floor producing an annoying, metallic upon plastic sound to enter the room and finally ending when the nurse reached a suitable space to perform the simple procedure.
"I know you hate when I ask," Jack Crawford said as he looked down at the tools at the nurses' side then up to his agent to see the ugly bruises that formed from the effects of a man's hand, "But are you okay?"
"It's fine," she said to the nurse, with a slight Southern drawl that she had never been able to keep hidden, she looked over Crawford and added with a forced smile to hide the shame and embarrassment that gripped tightly inside her chest, "I'm peachy, Jack. How 'bout you?"
Crawford smiled as he watched the nurse pull his agent's newly cleaned arm up on a clean table and watched as the needle and thread moved closer to the open gash on her wrist.
"Not too good Sally," he replied with a shake of his head as he looked over the seemingly cool headed woman that sat proudly as the silver needle pierced her thin skin.
She turned her attention away from her arm and bit at her bottom lip as an uncomfortable pain entered her body as the anesthetic slowly entered her body, blood from her lip wound slowly oozed out and stained her white teeth as she bit down. A hiss escaped her as the nurse pulled two pieces of flesh closer and closer together. She took a deep breath as tears filled her eyes as she thought of the events that had occurred in her home only a short time ago.
'Whatever you do, don't let them see you cry,' the voice of an older female agent had told her when she first came to the Bureau. It was something that had stuck with her. It was how she behaved in her career. She never let her fellow agents or superiors see her in such a vulnerable state, whether it was physical or emotional. It was something that she had to keep to as she thought of his hands coming down upon her. She may have been beaten, but she would never be a victim.
"How's Rick," she asked softly, referring to her fiancée that had caused the injuries. Salome looked over to Crawford and gave him a soft, sympathetic smile though her one blue eye glared at him with dangerous knowledge that lurked within the battered frame that her soul inhabited. She watched as he moved up and down on the balls of his feet in slight nervousness.
"You are in hot shit for this Sally," he informed her in a hushed tone as he looked over to the nurse who was busy sewing his agent's pale skin together, "He's in ICU."
Salome rolled her eyes at her boss and replied, "What was I supposed to do? Just let him kill me? I did what I did in the moment…and I don't regret it. Would you let it happen to-"
"You shot him in the chest," Crawford answered in a hurried tone, "He could die and then-"
"He's not going to die," she interrupted quickly as a slight hiss of pain escaped her from the sudden jerk as the stitching came closer to an end.
"Sorry," the young nurse peeped up as she looked up to the dark haired agent with soft, apologetic brown eyes. Salome only acknowledged the young nurse for a moment before placing her attentions back upon her superior.
"And what makes you so sure," he asked quickly.
She smiled at him and replied smugly, "Because I was trained by the best on how to take down a suspect."
"Sally," he whispered, exasperated by the situation that they were facing, "The Tattler is going to get ahold of this, they will-"
"I don't care," she said with a harshness that she had rarely had to use against her superior, "I don't give a flying rat's ass about Freddie Lounds or any other of the slime balls from that paper. My fiancée came at me with a knife after a long night of drinking and drug use. He pinned me on the ground and beat me repeatedly when I got the knife from him. I shot him. End of story."
Jack Crawford shook his head at his agent, an agent that had left the FBI for a job with the CIA, but for some unknown reason had come back to him after her celebrated infiltration of a terror cell in India. To say that Salome Ashwood was anything less than a great agent was a gross lie; she was one of the best agents that he had the privilege in taking under his wing so long ago. She had been one of a great few that he had placed in his pack. Salome Ashwood reminded him of his missing agent and because of that fact, he was protective over her.
"The doctor wants me to do a rape kit," the nurse announced as she cut the medical thread and patched her arm up with clean cotton bandages and medical tape.
"He didn't rape me," Salome answered quickly as she glared down at the young nurse, a dark smile crossed her face, "I shot him before he had the chance. Haven't you been keeping up?"
"Salome," Crawford said with a tone that reminded her of the tone a father would use when reprimanding his young child, "This is serious."
"And I'm telling you that-"
"I want you to go in for a psych evaluation," he informed her quickly with harsh eyes as he looked her over. He ignored the disbelief that radiated within her eyes as she glared up at him. He watched as the nurse quickened her pace to escape the oncoming battle of wills that soon would begin within the white walls of the hospital room.
"What," she asked quickly in disbelief. "I'm not crazy, Jack."
"This has happened before Sal," he informed her in a matter of fact tone, "You already shot a man in front of school children."
Salome shook her head and smiled in slight annoyance as she reminded him, "They were in a school bus that had no business being there at that time."
"I can't have you shooting people left and right, Salome," he informed her loudly in order to get his point across. He watched as her face sat stern and level as she pondered his words.
"Please," he said as he looked at her bruised face, "For me. I would like to have a decent night's sleep without the higher ups and the Tattler calling me all night for information about the mental health of my best agent. I need my beauty sleep."
She rolled her eyes at his words and finally gave in with his request with a shrug of her shoulders.
"My wife would greatly appreciate it as well," he added with a knowing smile as he watched Salome slowly giving into his request.
"So who are you sending me to Jack," she asked as her eyes moved away from him and towards the cleaned wound on her wrist, "I can't see Doctor-"
"No," he informed her with a slight chuckle, "Dr. Chilton has made me very aware of the situation."
She closed her eyes at the man's name. She quickly looked back up to her boss and asked with a level tone, "What's his name, Jack?"
Crawford smile faded as he watched the beaten Salome rip the silver diamond engagement ring from her finger and place it upon the counter near the trash cans and sterling silver sink. He smiled at the strength that his agent possessed. He knew of her past and to say that she was a weak person was a lie. A young woman that must care for her teenaged sister all on her own after troubling family issues and have a stressful career at the same time is a woman that contains a great strength inside. But he knew that she was human, and she had been broken a few times before.
"A Dr. Hannibal Lecter," he informed her.
"Lecter," she asked as her brows furrowed slightly, she looked around the room as she tossed the name around in her mind, "Where have I heard that name from? Sounds familiar."
"It should," he replied curtly, "He's a consultant. He's working alongside Will Graham right now."
"Oh," she said with a slight nod of her head in acknowledgement as she walked through the door frame, "Make me an appointment with this Dr. Lecter then, Jack," she smiled at him, "Now if you excuse me, I have a house to clean up and locks to change."
"We'll have uniforms surrounding your house Sally," he called after her as he watched her hurrying toward the nurses' station to retrieve her discharge papers. He shook his head at the level headed agent. He knew her well. He knew that the incident was eating inside of her like a parasite; he knew that it would soon manifest itself in a nasty way just as he had experienced with her before, and he wanted to get a handle on it before he had a mess to clean up.
Dr. Lecter was doing a fine job with Will and he had the utmost faith that he could help Salome through this crisis.
I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. It's more of an introduction. Reviews are always amazing
