Wrong Place, Wrong Time
String and Caitlin pulled into the parking garage of the local hospital to visit Dom who was recovering from back surgery. Caitlin was carrying a basket of goodies for her friend.
"I hope he's up for visitors," said Caitlin. "He sure was out of it last night."
"Oh, I'm sure he'll be more awake today," replied String. "He was still under the anesthesia when we were here last night."'
When they entered Dom's room they were surprised to find him wide awake and very alert.
"How are you feeling Dom?" asked Hawke. "You sure look a lot better."
"I'm a whole lot better," he replied. "Glad to see you." He eyed the basket Caitlin had in her hands "Is that for me? I'm starving and I can't take any more of that mush they gave me this morning."
Caitlin laughed. "Yeah, I checked and your doctor said it was okay for you to have this," she said as she handed him the basket of little muffins and fruit. "I stashed a little chocolate in the bottom."
Dom smiled. "That's my girl," he replied.
After visiting for a couple of hours, String and Caitlin had to head back to Santini Air to get ready for a stunt they were to shoot the next day. They took the elevator down to the first floor.
"I know a short cut to the parking garage," said String. "I use to date a nurse who works in emergency."
"Oh, okay," replied Caitlin as she followed him down a narrow corridor.
As they entered the emergency room area, they were surprised that it was so quiet.
"I don't see anyone around here," she said. "I thought this was the emergency wing?"
String looked around and shrugged. "It is," he replied. "And it's usually pretty busy."
As they turned the corner, String stopped in his tracks as he saw three bodies lying in the middle of the floor. "Cait," he said as he turned around to push her back. "Let's get out of here.
When he turned, a man yelled at them from down the hall. "Who are you?" he screamed.
As they tried to run, shots rang out. Hawke felt the searing pain of a bullet hitting him in his side. He stumbled for a moment and then managed to keep his forward momentum. The two kept on running until they got to a small exam room. They ran inside and locked the door behind him.
"What the hell is going on?" asked Caitlin as she grabbed Hawke by the arm. "I don't think we'll be safe in here for long if he's still chasing us."
The hospital suddenly went into an emergency lock down. A second lock was deployed on the door. "I guess the window is our only way out now," Hawke said.
Caitlin looked outside to see a walled in courtyard. "Well, it looks like there is an outer door across the courtyard," she said."But if we go out there we might be giving that guy some easy target practice. As she talked, she turned and looked at Hawke when he flipped on the lights in the room.
"Too late, he already made a hit," replied String.
"Oh my God Hawke," she said. "You've been shot."
"Uh, yeah, that's what I just said," he replied while staring at her. Suddenly the room stared spinning and he collapsed on the floor unconscious.
Caitlin quickly moved him to the exam table and began looking for supplies. She found some bandages and worked to stop the bleeding of his wound. She covered it with a thick pad and then wrapped another bandage around his waist to keep it in place.
Next, she began to search the room for an alternate way out. To her relief, she noticed a phone on the wall and called Michael.
"You're were?" he asked
"Damn it," he said. "I just got a call on that. This psycho has twenty people held hostage in the emergency room entrance and they think he killed seven others."
"Well, we are down a nearby hall and apparently locked in," she replied. "String was shot and he's out cold right now. There is a courtyard but there is no way I can get out and safely across there with String. I also think if we went that way we might be sitting ducks. From the angle of this hall, I believe we are facing the windows in the emergency room waiting area. He'll probably see us if we try to leave."
"I just got the hospital layout plans," said Michael. "What number do you see over the inside of your door?"
Caitlin looked up over the door. "It says 42A," she replied.
Michael checked the plans for that location. "You were right," he said. 'You are directly across from this guy. I wouldn't take a chance on that courtyard. Your odds of making it that way would be slim."
"Michael, String needs a doctor," she said while trying to remain calm. "I think I've stopped the blood but the bullet is still in him."
"Cait, I'm on my way out there," replied Michael. "I'll get with my people and see if there is any other way we can get to you."
"What about the air ducts?" she asked. "I see two intake ducts in this room. Can you find out where they connect to?"
"That's a good idea," replied Michael. "My people might be able to get to you and to the shooter through the ducts. Keep your phone line open. I'll be in touch.
"Hurry Michael," she said as she felt String's pulse.
Two hours later, Michael finally contacted Caitlin. His people as well as the local authorities had the hospital surrounded and Michael was the go between with the shooter and the police.
"Cait, he knows you two are held up in that room," said Michael. "He's considering you two as part of his hostages. He doesn't know if he wounded you or not though. How is Hawke doing?"
Caitlin frowned. "He's starting to regain consciousness but he's got a fever," she replied after placing her hand on his forehead. "What can I do to help Michael? We need to get him out of here soon."
"Just hold on," he replied. "I'm still getting the blueprints of the duct work. Apparently there was some work done this past summer and some changes were made. I'll let you know as soon as I have an updated copy. Until then, the safest thing to do is sit tight and wait. We are working on his demands now."
"Okay Michael," she replied. "Keep me posted."
As she hung up the phone, Hawke sat up on the examination table. "What's going on?" he asked. "How long was I out?"
Caitlin could see he was sweating profusely and shivering at the same time. "Take it easy Hawke," she said as she tried to get him to lie back down. "Michael is checking out the possibility of us getting out of here through the duct work. The courtyard out there is right across from where the guy is holding all the others. According to Michael, he's considering us part of his hostages."
String batted her hand away and refused to lie back down. "I'm okay," he said. "Quit mothering me."
"Damn it String, you are not okay," she replied while trying not to yell. "You are not indestructible you know. I'm just trying to help you."
String shook his head. "Well, no one ever asked you to help," he snapped at her. "Leave me alone and be quiet. I can't think straight as it is."
"It's because you're burning up with a fever," she stated trying again to get him to lie down.
String felt his anger growing. He wasn't sure if it was the fever or not but he found himself wanting to lash out at Caitlin. "I said leave me alone," he demanded. "Sometimes you just don't' know when to shut up!"
Caitlin stared at him. Trying to control her own anger, she walked towards the window to see if she could get a view of any movement from the gunman.
Suddenly several shots blew through the window shattering glass all around her. She dropped to the ground and lay still.
String, who had also dove down to avoid the gunshot slowly dragged himself up and over to her.
"Cait are you okay?" he asked.
Caitlin sat up and shook the glass off of her. She had several cuts on her face and she was bleeding from her left temple.
"You're hurt," he said while moving away from the window and slowly standing up.
She didn't respond to him. Instead she slid away from the window and stood up by the counter that was out of window view. She opened several drawers and took out a couple of bandages and some antiseptic that she had seen earlier when looking for bandages.
When Hawke tried to help her with her wounds, she pushed him away and refused to even speak to him. She could see he was growing weaker but his stubbornness kept him going. When Michael called again, he answered.
"What's going on Michael?" asked.
"I was going to ask you the same thing," replied Archangel. "We heard gunshots."
"Yeah, looks like he's been watching us and got trigger happy when Caitlin got too close to the window. If we are going to use the ducts to get out of here, it's going to have to be the ones on the south side of the room. That one is out of window view."
"It doesn't matter anyway," replied Michael. "Both of those ducts just lead to the hall outside your door. He's apparently keeping tabs on that hallway. You'd never make it out without some kind of weapon."
"So what now?" asked Hawke. "You have a plan?"
"We do," replied Michael. "You're going to have to sit still on this one Hawke. My men have found a way to get to him. We are hoping to have a resolution to this within the hour."
"Alright Michael," he replied. "We'll wait for your men."
Caitlin listened to Hawke's side of the conversation but didn't ask what Michael had said. She was still fuming over Hawke's comments to her so she just sat down in a chair by the door.
"Michael said his men found a way in and he wants us to wait it out here. The ducts only go out to the hall," he told her.
Caitlin didn't reply. She just sat there and stared at the floor.
Hawke felt the pain in his side increase. He was shivering more now and he figured that his wound was probably infected. Since he was feeling a bit woozy, he made his way to the exam table and sat back up on it. Slowly he lay down.
Caitlin knew it was only a matter of time before Hawke would pass out again from his wound. Once he was unconscious, she dragged her chair over to the south side air duct and pushed up on the metal vent. Slowly, she was able to pull herself up into it.
"I'm not going to sit around and do nothing," she said to herself as she slowly made her way over to the hallway opening. She looked down and listened for any movement. Carefully, she pulled the metal covering up and peered down into the hall. She waited until she heard the gunman coming. It seemed like an eternity but once she saw him, she knew she had to react. As he stood under her surveying the area, she jumped down on top of him, her whole body knocking him off of his feet. She quickly grabbed his gun and covered him but he was out cold.
Before she could turn around, she was surrounded by Michael's men. They looked at her and then at the gunman.
"Oh hi guys," she said with a smile. "Sorry, I got impatient and couldn't wait. He's all yours."
Michael's men took the gunman away and Caitlin directed the emergency room staff to where Hawke lay unconscious. They quickly placed him on a gurney and took him into emergency surgery.
"Cait!" yelled Michael as he entered the emergency room door. "I thought I told you two to wait and we'd take care of that guy."
Caitlin shrugged. "I figured I had a good shot at getting him," she said. "So I just had to try."
"You were lucky," said Michael. "How's Hawke?"
Caitlin looked down at the ground. "I don't know," she replied. "Look, I need to get out of here. Can one of your people give me a ride?"
Michael shot her a confused look. "Sure," he replied. "Don't you want to wait to find out about Hawke?"
"No," replied flatly. "I'm sure he's fine. He said he was."
Later that evening, Hawke woke up to find that he was sharing a room with Dom. Michael was there filling in Dom on the events of the afternoon.
"Can you believe that String?" he asked. "Caitlin took this guy out all on her own. That's our Cait."
"I couldn't believe it," said Michael. "Something sure lit a fire under her. It was a dangerous thing to do though."
Hawke didn't say much. He just laid still and listened to Michael's story.
"Where is Cait now?" asked Dom. "I figured she'd be here."
Michael shrugged. "I don't know," he replied. "She asked if one of my people could give her a ride. She left right after they took Hawke to surgery."
Both men looked at Hawke. "Is there something we're missing here?" asked Dom. "Why would she leave?"
Hawke sighed. "Okay, it's my fault," he finally said. "I guess I wasn't very nice to her when we were locked in that room. She was trying to mother me and I got upset."
"That's because she cares about you," replied Dom. "You're damn lucky that she does."
"I know," he replied before insisting they end that conversation.
By the end of the week, Dom and String were both out of the hospital. Caitlin had taken care of things at Santini Air and had even hired a friend to help with the movie stunt that they were contracted to complete. However, on the day of their return, she called and told Dom she was sick and wouldn't be coming in.
"I'm going to go and talk to her," said Hawke.
"I think that's a good idea," replied Dom. "But, be nice will ya."
Hawke tried to smile. "Always," he replied with a smirk.
"Humph," said Dom. "If it were always nice to her Caitlin would be here right now. You need to fix things between you two."
Hawke pulled up to Caitlin's apartment and walked up to her door. He heard the radio on inside so he knew she was home. He knocked and waited for her to answer.
She peeked through the security hole and hesitantly opened the door. "Can I come in?" he asked.
She backed up and let him inside before sitting back down on her couch.
Hawke looked around and noticed she had several suitcases sitting by the door. "Are you going somewhere?" he asked.
Caitlin shrugged. "I don't know," she finally replied. "I was going to go to Texas but I really don't belong there anymore. But, I don't feel like I belong here anymore either. I don't know what I'm going to do."
Hawke walked over and sat down beside her on the couch. "You belong here," he said firmly. "You're family remember?"
Caitlin shook her head and refused to look at him.
"I appreciate that you care so much," he finally said. "I'm just not use to having someone care like that. But the truth is I didn't like it much when you were hurt by the window glass and wouldn't let me help you either. I got how you felt. I was wrong. I'm really sorry."
"I can't help that I care so much," she replied. "Also, I'm not going to stop speaking my mind. It's who I am and I don't want to change that."
"I don't want you to change that either," he said. "It's one of the things I admire most about you."
Caitlin finally turned and looked him in the eyes. "Thanks," she replied.
Seizing the moment, he quickly pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly.
"So do you forgive me for acting like such an ass?" he asked.
Caitlin smiled. "Of course, that's what family does," she replied as she gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"Yeah," he replied softly. He wanted to tell her that his feelings for her were growing deeper. But, he knew that would have to wait for another place and another time.