"Where was she found?"
Brenda felt more anxious than ever before. The nurse being questioned didn't quite know what to make of the pacing blonde with the huge handbag.
"I'm not entirely sure but from what I could get out of the officers that brought her in, she was found in her car, a BMW, on the interstate just north from here, apparently she was in the drivers seat but she was unbuckled and unconscious with a severe laceration across her the right side of her face".
"Thanks"
Brenda walked away from the young nurse and headed back towards the rest of her team.
"What do we know?"
"Well they found her off Interstate 9 in her car; she was unconscious with a huge ass …"
"Lieutenant really"
"Sorry Chief, she was found injured and unconscious in her car, nice BMW by the way, and was brought straight here"
"Thank ya'll, I'm going to go see her now and see if she remembers anything"
"Do you want me to come with you?"
"No thanks Andy, I'll be back in a minute"
They all watched her walk towards the private room and enter, shutting the door behind her.
"What the hell happened to her?"
"I don't know, but I think we are going to find out"
…..
As she walked in she was shocked. She hadn't really known what to expect but what she saw was bad, very bad.
She was still unconscious, the cut to her face reaching from the corner of her mouth to the forehead. Her hair was matted and straggly, pushed back from her face.
She was covered in hospital blanket so Brenda couldn't see any other injuries.
"Dear lord"
She moved closer and stopped at the end of the bed and picked up the file perched on the sheets.
"What did they do to you" she whispered to herself as she read the list of drugs that had been found in her blood work.
"I'd like to know that as well"
She looked up at the figure, surprised to find her awake.
"How are you feeling?"
"Horrible"
"Well I wouldn't expect you to feel a million dollars, now would I?"
"Sometimes I'm not sure what you want me to feel"
Brenda moved closer and sat on the bed near her feet.
"Can you remember anything?"
"I can remember leaving my office after interviewing Officer Richards, I got to my car and remember putting my briefcase into the trunk but not much from then, there were footsteps and pain on the side of my face"
"That fits in with what we saw on the CCTV, what about after that, you'd been missing for over 72 hours"
"I think at one point I was in a building, I remember lights and a concrete floor but it's all hazy, like someone has thrown a blanket over everything"
"That'll be the drugs in your system, they found all sorts of drugs in your blood work, they really wanted you out"
"Does that surprise you?"
"Not anymore"
The two women sat looking at each other, neither saying a word for the next few minutes.
"How do you really feel?"
"Like I'm going to cry"
"Well at least we know you really are human"
"You are so humorous"
"I know, it's the southern in me"
"I want …"
Brenda leant forward.
"What do you want?"
"Andy"
"Lieutenant Flynn?"
"Yes"
"Well … okay … I guess"
Brenda stood and walked to the door. She leant out the door and waited for the silver haired lieutenant to look her way. When he finally looked over she waved a hand and jerked her head.
"What's up Chief?"
"She wants to talk to you"
"Is she okay?"
"She seems okay, but she doesn't really seem to want to talk about it"
"Is it okay if I have a few minutes with her?"
"Is there something you should be telling me Andy?"
"Not right now Chief, but I will … we will eventually"
With that he turned and walked into the private hospital room and she headed back to the other members of her team.
"Where's he gone now?" Lou grumbled as he looked up from the waiting chair he had plonked himself in when they had arrived.
"She wanted a word with him in private"
She looked down at him as he grumbled to himself.
"What don't I know?"
"Chief, to be fair to them I shouldn't tell you anything but to be truthful, there is more than just a friendship there"
"What … her … and him?"
"I'm afraid so, I asked him myself what the hell did he think he was doing but all I got was it was none of my business what they did"
"Well I think you'll find it is mine and I am going to find out what's going on"
She stormed back up the corridor and went to push the door when she stopped with a hand out. She could hear her crying inside, a sound that sounded so unnatural coming from a woman that scared the entire LAPD. She could hear Andy trying to comfort her. Knowing they wouldn't be able to see open the door, she pushed it open silently straining to hear what was being said.
"It's okay, your okay now"
"It might be fine now, but I can't remember anything, it's like the last 3 days are completely blank"
"What matters now is that you're back with us, with me"
"I didn't know what to say to Brenda, all I could think about was you"
"Please stop crying"
"I'm sorry … It's just … It's all too much at the moment… I just want to go home"
"I know, I'll find your doctor and see if I can persuade him to discharge you"
"Don't be too long"
"I wont I promise"
She back away from the door when she heard Andy get up from the bed. She let the door shut and lent against the wall opposite the trying to make it look like she had just been waiting there.
"I'm just … just going to talk to the doctor treating her"
"Go ahead Lieutenant; I just have a few more questions for her"
"Go easy on her Chief … she seems a little shaken"
"Don't worry, I'll leash myself"
She watched him walk away and pushed the door open, making sure she made her presence known.
"I have a few more …"
"Can I have a minute please?"
Brenda watched as she wiped the tears from her eyes and pulled her hair back trying to avoid the dressing on her face.
"Can you remember how that happened?"
She raised a hand gestured to her own cheek.
"Not really, there are brief flashes of voices but apart from that there is nothing, it's like someone's dug it all out"
"Don't worry about it … that's not what I wanted to ask"
She sat on the edge of the bed again and looked over her.
"What's going on with you and Andy?"
Sharon raised her head sharply and stiffened her jaw.
"Nothing"
"Don't push me Sharon, I know there is something, I just need to know if it is going to affect how we work this investigation"
"Why do you need to know anything?"
"Because I am Andy's friend and I care for his wellbeing as much as I want to help you"
"Andy … Andy and I have been in a relationship since '05 … and I moved in with him in '07"
"Why didn't either of you tell me this?"
"Because you didn't need to know"
"Well as both of your superiors I really should have been told"
"We informed Chief Delk when we moved in together and then informed Chief Pope when he took over"
Brenda stood and paced at the end of the bed.
"So all this time you have two have been laughing at me behind my back … why didn't you tell me?"
"BECAUSE IT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU"
Shocked at the sudden change in volume Brenda spun round with a retort on her lips. She stopped when she saw the tears in Sharon's eyes and the fact she was struggling to catch her breath.
"Sharon breathe"
"Why … couldn't … you… just… leave… it?"
"Forget that for now, just breathe"
"Can't … pain"
Brenda watched as her eyes swung back and her head dropped to the pillow before she started to thrash about on the bed. She rushed to door.
"SOMEONE GET A DOCTOR"
She hurried back into the room and could only watch before nurses, her doctor and Andy rushed back into the room.
"Sharon… Sharon I need you to breathe… can you do that for me?"
They both watched as the nurses checked monitors and attached IV's while the young doctor desperately tried to help Sharon breathe properly while supporting her head.
Finally he motioned for the nurses to stand still.
"Captain Raydor… I need you to breathe for me"
They waited, watching her.
"Captain Raydor, that's an order"
They waited for what felt like a lifetime when suddenly her body relaxed and the monitors attached to her started to beep normally again.
"What the hell was that?"
Andy spoke first as he rushed round the bed so that he could grab hold of her right hand. He paid no attention to the others.
"That was what we call a seizure, as far as I know Captain Raydor isn't an epileptic so I am going to have to run some tests before I can give you an accurate explanation as to what caused it"
"Before… we had a… disagreement"
Andy shot a glare towards the quiet blond.
"We were arguing over… a… over a man and she started to have issues breathing, and then suddenly she … kind of passed out"
"Well that sounds like a panic attack, that could be what caused the seizure, the fact that she couldn't breathe would have meant that her brain suffered a lack of oxygen prompting the seizure"
"How did you get her to … stop?"
"It's a trick I learnt when I was serving in Afghan, it works with wounded soldiers and soldiers suffering from PTSD so I figured it might work on an ex-reg and a cop"
"What do you mean an ex-reg?"
"Captain Raydor served as an intelligence officer in the 80's before retiring and joining the LAPD"
"How do you know this?"
"When they brought her in I had to get her full medical history…"
"Which included her military medical file"
Andy nodded, not quite believing what he was hearing.
"Is she going to be okay?"
"Well she's breathing so we won't have to intubate her, her IV's are still attached and we will monitor her for the next few hours but I think it's safe to say she should be okay, but normally after this sort of seizure people tend to sleep to let their brains recover, so I want her to be left alone for a while".
…..
"We've arrested Sam Richards for kidnapping, DUI, assault and bribery"
"Bribery Chief?"
"Yes Lieutenant, Officer Richards attempted to buy myself and Detective Sanchez off when we arrested him this morning"
"Well at least we have the bastard"
"I still think you should have let me shoot him ma'am"
"As much as I would have like that Julio, I really don't want to give her an excuse to slap another officer involved shooting case on my desk"
"How is she anyway?"
"Well … since our … disagreement … she hasn't had another seizure and she was discharged the day before yesterday"
"So where is Flynn, he should be working his butt off along with the rest of us"
"Lieutenant Flynn is currently at home with his partner after she was discharged from hospital"
"As long as they are both okay"
"Wait … you all knew?"
"Chief, do you really think Flynn could keep a secret like that from us, we are detectives after all"
"So I was the only one who didn't know"
"Chief to be fair, they didn't tell you because they knew you would react like this"
She stood from where she had perched herself on Buzz's desk and looked at her team. They all sat there looking at her innocently, not saying anything.
"I give up, just do what you want"
…..
"How are you feeling?"
Andy sank down onto the couch next to Sharon as she slowly munched her way through a granola bar.
"Sore, but otherwise I'm not too bad"
"What about your face, how's the scar healing?"
"Well according to Doctor Sheridan, but it is going to be one hell of a scar"
"I think it will make you look … distinguished"
"I think … you're full of crap"
He laughed and pushed her over so that she was lying down on the sofa and he was leaning over her. He ran a finger down the scar marring her face. It was still pink from where the stitches had been taken out a few days before but it was healing.
"It does suit you though"
"Really … The scarred lady"
"Well … it just helps make you slightly scarier"
"That's nice to know"
He leant down and placed a kiss on her forehead before he laid himself next to her.
"Just think, you really can be Darth Raydor now, all you need is the helmet"
