So I'm back, and with a new story. It's been a while since I have posted or updated, and even longer since a Josh and Shannon Story.

I'm lacking the motivation to write so I thought it was time to use change characters, and get that motivation back so I can update my other stories.

This takes place just over two years after the taxi incident in episode 13 of Season 2, which actually gave me the idea.

Disclaimer: I obviously don't own Rush.

Enjoy

….

After having a hard day on the job, especially with the arrest of two teenage boys father for growing a marijuana crop and selling it, as well as multiple domestics and brawls, Shannon was more than relieved to go home to collect some things before heading over to Josh's.

Having put her mail in her travel bag along with some other belongings, Shannon grabbed her keys off the hook and walked out of the door.

Heading towards the back of her car, her phone begins to ring, so she places her bag into the boot and answers the phone, seeing it flashing with Josh's name.

"Hey Shan, how long til you get here?" Josh asked

"About 15 to 20 tops, I'm just leaving home now." Shannon responded.

"Hurry up will ya, I'm starving." Josh said light-heartedly.

"Order some pizza and I'll be there soon, okay?" Shannon asked.

"Okay, I love you." Josh said.

"Love you too, I'll see you soon." She said before hanging up and shutting the boot.

Having been distracted by her conversation, Shannon didn't realise anyone standing behind her, until she felt a pair of hands pull her down by her hair before she was punched in the face.

As Shannon lay on the driveway trying to fight off the offenders, she hoped it would soon stop.

Hearing a car pulling up into the driveway, they planted one last kick into her ribs before running off.

"Shannon, Shannon, can you hear me?"

"Yeah." Shannon managed to get out breathlessly.

"I'm going to call the ambulance and police, just stay with me." The unrecognisable voice said.

Not being able to see who it is but having a feeling she was in safe hands, Shannon nodded her head and laid there trying her best to see through her closed over eyes.

….

Looking at the time, Josh see's Shannon is 20 minutes later than her estimated time, and the pizza had arrived 10 minutes before that.

Starting to worry, Josh picks up the house phone and dials the number that is so familiar to him. Standing there and hearing it ring out to message bank, he assumes that she is driving but decides to leave a message.

"Hey Shan, I hope you have a good reason as to why your 20 minutes late, you got some making up to do for it, I'll see you soon." He says cheekily before hanging up and sitting down on his sofa, cracking open a beer and having a slice of pizza, deciding that Shannon wouldn't mind if he started without her.

Twenty minutes after that, Josh starts to panic, knowing it's unlike her to be forty minutes late without calling or smsing him to let him know why she is delayed.

Picking up the phone, he hits redial and gets message bank again.

"Shannon, I'm really worried about you now, it's been an hour since I last spoke to you and your forty minutes later than what you said you would be, I'm leaving home now and heading to your place, give me a call once you get this, to let me know you're okay at least." Josh says hanging up the phone, grabbing his keys, wallet and mobile and heading out of his apartment.

As Josh gets into his car, he receives a call from Kerry, which meant she either wanted him to come into work or something serious was going on.

"Kerry, what's up?" He asked, hooking in his earpiece to his handset and starting the car.

"Josh, I need you to get to the Royal Melbourne." Kerry said.

"Why, what's happened, that's near Shannon's." Josh stated.

"There has been an incident Josh, you need to get here when you can, we will be in the emergency department." Kerry said.

"I'll be there in ten." Josh says before hanging up.

…

"Kerry, what's going on?" Josh asked.

"Shannon's having some tests done and then some detectives are waiting to ask her some questions, take some photos and samples…" Kerry began explaining.

"What, she was raped?" Josh asked shocked.

"Oh god no, no, they want to take some samples from her clothes and fingernails, she put up a fight, so they want to see if she has some skin scrapings under her nails, you know the drill Josh." Kerry said as the others stood there.

"Do you know what happened?" He asked angrily.

"Not yet, all we know is that she was attacked in her driveway, and one of her neighbours found her, the detectives are talking to the neighbour now, with her appearance it seems there was more than one attacker so she is lucky, I got the call at headquarters from TR base as her neighbour called base when she was in transit, as she knew Shannon worked for TR." Kerry said.

"I should have been there." Josh said angrily.

"Josh, you couldn't predict this happening." Stella said.

"She said she would be at my place within 20 minutes, and forty minutes later I called her, just thinking she was late, I should have left home sooner." Josh said.

"Josh, don't go blaming yourself, Shannon needs you right now, you just need to calm down, and we will catch them." Stella said placing her hand reassuringly on his arm.

"I'm going to wring their necks out when we do." Josh says beginning to pace.

"You and me both Josh, you and me both." Stella said taking a seat in between Kerry and Lawson.

…

"Greg, what happened?" Kerry asked rising out of her seat.

"Sargent Henry is unsure of it herself, one minute she was on the phone talking to Senior Sargent Joshua, next she is on the floor fighting off what she suspects were two offenders, apart from that, the details are hazy as it was dark so she couldn't see much, she is in a bad way, the doctor has said she has a few broken ribs, suspected bruising on her fibula, tibia and femur, a dislocated shoulder and a cheekbone fracture and just some severe swelling of the eye sockets which will subside, the registrar is attempting to put her shoulder back into place, but she can have one visitor at a time in room 21, floor two." He said.

"Thanks heaps Greg, Josh do you want to go up, we will be up in a minute." Kerry said.

Nodding his head, Josh placed his hands in his jacket pockets and headed towards the stairs, needing the time to try and mentally prepare for the extent of Shannon's injuries, and to try and calm his anger down as much as possible before seeing her as Stella had a point, Shannon needed him.

"So was she raped?" Kerry asked once Josh was out of earshot.

"Definitely not, they ran a rape kit test anyway just to be on the safe side, but her clothes were on at the time and she doesn't remember being raped, just being repeatedly punched and kicked, she will most likely need counselling, and we will need to reinterview her again, but once we have more from the scraping of her fingernails and clothes, we should hopefully be able to track down the attackers, but otherwise it would be a long list of people that may want to harm her, this job doesn't earn you nowhere near as many friends as it does enemies." Greg says.

"Well thanks for everything, keep me informed yeah." Kerry says shaking his hand.

"Definitely, take care of her Inspector Blake." Greg says shaking his hand before leaving.

…

Finding Shannon's room, Josh takes a deep breath before knocking on the door softly and walking in to find the registrar and doctor examining Shannon and discussing her shoulder with her, while a nurse gave her a mask.

"You must be her partner." The registrar said.

"Yeah, Josh." He said shaking the Registrars extended hand.

"Matthew, we are about to pop her shoulder back in, so we are just giving her some sedation and pain relief through the mask, there will be some slight discomfort, but she knows what she is in for." He said as he started to get ready.

"Josh." Shannon murmured.

"I'm right here Shan, I'm right here with you." Josh said standing at the top of her head and stroking her hair softly while taking in her physical appearance.

"I'm sorry." Shannon said.

"What have you got to be sorry for?" Josh asked looking down at her and seeing she couldn't see through her swollen eyes.

"For not paying attention to my surroundings." She said as the registrar began to pull while the doctor pushed and Shannon squeezed his hand tightly with her other hand.

"Shhh, its okay Shan, its okay, and it's not your fault, I called you, I distracted you, and I don't want you to feel like it's your fault." Josh said.

"It's back in." Matthew said while placing her arm in a sling.

"I'm sorry." She said again

"Don't be, I'm just glad you're a fighter and your safe now." Josh said while smoothing her hair over and talking to her softly until she started to fall asleep.

"We have given her some morphine, and we will be monitoring her for the next 48 hours, if she seems well enough we will send her home with you, otherwise it will be a longer stay." Matthew said.

"Thank you." Josh said shaking Matthew's hand again and turning his attention back to Shannon, vowing to get his hands on the people that did this to her and making them pay for hurting her.