AN: Jo, Henry and Lucas get attacked in the morgue and it doesn't end well for Henry. This is a one-shot with lots of hurt and a little bit of comfort. I actually have no idea how well-equipped is a morgue and all my medical knowledge comes from reading H/C fanfics, so please excuse any inaccuracies. It's my first (and possibly last) fanfic ever, so I hope you will enjoy it. Warnings: blood and violence
Whatever Lucas Wahl expected when he got out of bed on one not so terribly hot Sunday in the middle of the summer, it was definitely not to be called to work right away. Apparently a corpse was found and Henry concluded that it was a murder.
The building was unusually empty as it was weekend and most people were away on summer holidays. Lucas hoped to take his girlfriend to some nice place this summer. If he had one. He changed into his work clothes and entered the morgue. He prepared the tools and the body for the upcoming autopsy. The victim was a young man, no ID, but from the looks of it, he wasn't even thirty. He was heavily tattooed and shoved signs of repeated drug usage. There was quite a large stab wound in his chest that most probably hit the heart and killed him.
They were about to start the autopsy, when detective Martinez walked in. "Detective," Henry greeted her with his usual smile.
"Good morning, Henry, Lucas," she responded.
"Morning, detective" Lucas said and looked first at his boss and then at the female detective.
They were smiling, apparently enjoying staring at each other. They should really get together already. Lucas shipped them right from the start. "So what can you tell me?" Jo finally broke the silence.
"Not much, actually. We were just about to get started," Henry replied, still not taking his eyes off the detective.
Lucas stood up inconspicuously to get some coffee, which he didn't have time for in the morning. He figured it would be a while before those two stopped hypnotizing each other.
Another thing which Lucas didn't expect that day to happen, after he got out of bed was to be held at gunpoint by a masked man in a black hoodie who entered the morgue. He wrapped his arm around Lucas' shoulders and pressed a gun against his temple. "Don't move!" he shouted.
Henry's eyes widened in horror and detective Martinez quickly reached for her own gun. "Don't try anything funny!" he warned her and then added: "Kick your gun towards me or I'll shoot his brains out!"
To emphasise his point, he pressed the tip of the gun even harder against Lucas' skull. Jo swore under her breath silently as she did what the attacker wanted. Now they were unarmed against a man with a gun and a hostage. Great. "Lock this place down and give me your cell phones! Also cut the phone lines! I don't want any communication with the outside! Am I clear?" he shouted again.
Lucas whimpered slightly as the gun dug more into his temple when Jo and Henry didn't spur into action right away. He hated the fact that he was at a mercy of a random guy with a gun but he would be lying if he said that he didn't enjoy the action at all. With no other choice than to obey, Jo slid her phone towards the gunman. In landed right next to her gun. Perhaps she would be good at curling. "He doesn't have a cell phone," she pointed towards Henry who was disconnecting the telephones at the moment.
He then pressed a button to issue a biological hazard alarm. It would lock all the doors so no one could get into and out of the morgue until the cause has been checked and everything deemed safe. The immortal doubted that there would be someone looking out for a biohazard alarm on a Sunday morning so it would take a while for anyone to notice and another while to actually disable the lockdown. "Alright, everything is locked up. We are all alone here," Henry announced.
"Good. Just keep your hands above your heads," the criminal said and seemed to be thinking about his next move.
"Hey you!" he said towards Lucas.
"Get rid of your cell too," he growled into his ear.
Lucas reached inside his pants pocket and took out his cell phone with a shaking hand. It landed with thud as he dropped it on the floor. Everything was quiet for a moment until Henry spoke: "Whatever it is that you desire, I'm sure that there are more peaceful ways to get it."
He took two steps towards the attacker. "Stay away or I will shoot him!" he hissed.
Henry seemed to ignore him and took another step towards him. "Henry, what are you doing? Stop!" Jo whispered at him angrily.
He never listened to her. But for Lucas' sake, she really wished that he would today. "I mean no harm," Henry claimed and raised his hands a bit further up to demonstrate it.
"I simply wish to know why did you come here today," he added in a calming voice.
"I want my drugs back. That guy on the table has my drugs inside his gut!" the man holding Lucas shouted.
"So you want me to cut him open and take out the drugs?" Henry asked and took one more step forward.
Jo really wished she could just hold Henry down or something but sudden movements didn't seem like a good idea in this situation. "Yes, exactly. So stop creeping over here and get to work! He will get hurt unless you do it!" the criminal threatened.
"I'm afraid I can't do that without my assistant. I need him for it," he lied and truly wished it would work.
"Stop bullshitting! How hard is it to cut open a human?"
"It takes quite a lot of skill to cut open a human properly. And Lucas here is very skillful," Henry said as he stepped forward once more.
This one, however proved to be a mistake since the criminal lost his nerves and aimed his gun at Henry. Without warning he shot. Henry registered intense pain in his shoulder and before he could find anything to break his fall, he found himself lying on the ground, now with his head also hurting a lot too. He faintly heard the someone grunt and then he heard a sound of something landing on the ground, but he paid it no attention as he was completely focused on not losing consciousness. Dark spot dances in his vision and he was starting to feel a bit nauseous. He probably had a concussion. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth against the pain. Getting shot hurt like hell. He heard someone calling his name, possibly Jo, but he didn't have enough energy to respond. He registered someone kneeling beside him and touching his face.
Shooting Henry provided enough distraction for Lucas to somehow instinctively elbow the criminal to into his stomach which in return proved to be distracting enough for Jo to tackle him to the ground, wrestle his gun away and handcuff him. Lucas was just standing and trying to process all that happened. The attacker was dealt with. Dr. Morgan was bleeding out on the floor. Detective Martinez was already kneeling beside him trying to get some reaction out of the doctor. Lucas' brain finally seemed to start working and he joined them on the floor promptly. "We- we need something to stop the bl-blood flow," he stammered out looking around in panic.
Jo handed him his jacket and moved so he could apply pressure to the wound better. Jo was looked at her partner worriedly since she had yet to get more than a soft moan out of him. She would have preferred nothing to the pain-filled scream he let out as Lucas pushed the jacket against his bleeding shoulder. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, doc," Lucas repeated in a shaky voice.
At least the pain seemed to bring Henry back to full consciousness. "Lucas," he whispered.
"Yes, I'm right here," the assistant medical examiner quickly replied.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
If detective Martinez wasn't busy with calling the ambulance, she would have rolled her eyes at the question. Leave it to Henry to always worry about others first. "Yes, I am fine," came the reply.
"Lucas, you have to get the bullet out," Henry said.
"W-what? I have to do what?" Lucas' eyes widened in surprise and his mouth dropped open.
"The paramedics won't get inside here in time. You have to extract the bullet and suture the wound shut."
Speaking seemed to drain a lot of energy from Henry and he had to close his eyes for a moment again. "B-b-but I can't do that. That-that is impossible," Lucas protested and subconsciously pressed harder on the wound making Henry moan from the intense pain again.
"I called the 911. They are on their way," Jo announced as she kneeled down next to Henry again. She watched the creases in his forehead from shutting his eyes tightly against the pain and the way he gritted his teeth to stop himself from screaming out.
"Lucas, do it. There's no other way," Henry said weakly.
"Do what? What is he talking about," Jo turned towards the young man.
"He wants me to take the bullet out," Lucas answered, his voice as weak as his boss'.
"What? Henry are you out of your mind? The ambulance-"
"Won't be here on time. We have to do it now," he cut her off.
"O-okay. I will do it. I w-will take it out," Lucas declared and tried to keep his voice steady, failing miserably.
"Thank you," Henry offered him a small smile.
Jo ran a hand through her hair, frustrated, angry at worried. Why couldn't she just have one nice, peaceful Sunday morning? "There's no need to be afraid. It will be just like taking out a bullet from a dead body, except I will be alive" Henry assured Lucas.
"Just help me lie down on one of the slabs and dress me down," he instructed them.
It was rather an agonizing process for Henry but he didn't let out any sounds except a few sharp intakes of breath. When he was finally lying down, Jo looked at him worriedly again. His eyes were half-closed and his face and upper body was already cover in a sheen of sweat. He looked much paler than before. And much more vulnerable than she'd ever seen him. "Disinfect it and get started, Lucas," Henry whispered.
"Wait! What about anesthesia?" Jo remarked.
"She's right, doc. I can't just dig in the hole in your shoulder while you're conscious," Lucas agreed.
"Don't have any down here. Just do it. I can handle it," came the doctor's reply.
"You are absolutely crazy! I won't allow this! Can't we at least knock you out?"
"I'm afraid that that is not a good idea as I am already suffering a concussion, detective. I will manage. I promise. I just need you to hold me down. Please," Henry said in a weak desperate voice and the detective's heart broke for him.
What kind of a cop was she to let this happen? Why was she on the verge of losing a person she cared about again? She felt her eyes fill with tears but she didn't let any of them spill. She silently nodded her acquiesce. "Thank you," he said again as she put her hand on his naked torso and the other one on his arm to limit his potential movement.
Lucas started with disinfecting the wound. His hands were shaking terribly. Maybe his whole body was shaking. He was glad that the doctor managed to keep most of his screams in until now but he still saw that he was causing him great pain. He took the forceps but they fell out of his grasp because of the trembling. "I'm sorry," he apologised again.
How was he supposed to operate like this? "Lucas, relax. You can do this. And I promise you that I will definitely survive," Henry said much more resolutely and strongly than before.
It calmed Lucas' nerves the tiniest bit. "Right," he said and took the forceps again. He took a deep breath and even managed to stop the trembling. Mostly. "Sorry again, Dr. Morgan," he said as he dug the forceps into the wound in search of the bullet.
Henry's back arched of the table and his lips parted in voiceless agony. Luckily, detective Martinez was there to hold him down enough for Lucas to continue his work. Even as immortal, Henry was not immune to pain and he let out a whimper as Lucas went deeper into the wound. "I'm-I'm sorry, but the bullet is quite deep inside you," Lucas said apologetically but his eyes never strayed from the wound.
"Just stop apologising already," Henry shot back breathlessly.
It was obvious from his voice in how much pain was he. His eyes were shut even tighter than before, if possible, and he was biting hard on his bottom lip to quell any more sounds for Lucas and Jo' sake. This proved to be quite impossible and he involuntarily let out a blood-curdling scream as Lucas moved the bullet inside him. It echoed in the silent room. A few tears managed to escape through his closed eyes. Jo noticed and would have loved to wipe them away if she wasn't busy holding him in place.
For Henry it felt like hours until Lucas finally managed to get the bullet out of his body, but it has been less than twenty minutes. His throat was hoarse from screaming and his cheeks were wet with tears and sweat. Now came the horrible process of suturing the wound. He wanted it to be over already. He wanted the pain to be gone. It took all self-control he had to stop himself from saying he wanted to be killed rather than this. The searing pain in his shoulder and the now dull throb in his head were driving him crazy. How he hated gunshots! "Okay, it's almost over, doc. I just have to suture it," Lucas whispered trying to calm all of them.
He sounded exhausted and his voice was still unsteady. Nonetheless, he took the needle and the thread and started to work. It was torture, but Henry managed to stay silent this time. He felt too weak to even scream and he knew that he would fall unconscious soon enough. He did manage to say a very quiet "thank you" as Lucas finished and then he passed out.
Lucas dressed the wound with bandages and looked ready to pass out himself by the time he was done. He collapsed on one of the chairs and covered his face with a shaky hand. The detective was ready to break down herself from witnessing the man she loved crying helplessly in pain but she knew that she needed to be stronger just a second longer. For Lucas. She walked over to him and put her hand on his shoulder. He jerked visibly at her touch, apparently completely oblivious to her presence. "Detective. I-I hurt him so much," he let out.
She noticed that his eyes were glistening with unshed tears. "I made him scream and cry and-"
"You saved his life," she cut him off.
"You saved his life today," she repeated looking straight into his eyes.
His bottom lip trembled and Jo pulled him to a hug. At first he stiffed, quite surprised, but he relaxed after a moment and returned the hug. He buried his face in her shoulder and let the tears finally fall freely. Today was just way too much for him to handle. He was now totally sure that he preferred working with dead bodies. The detective also let a few tears slip by her defenses. Before any of them could say anymore, the door to the morgue opened and the paramedics rushed in to take care of Henry. Detective Hanson walked in right after them, to take away the shooter. He raised an eyebrow at the sight of Jo practically jumping away from Lucas and him just turning away on the rotating chair to face the opposite direction while sniffling a bit. One hell of a dramatic thing must have transpired down here but looking at Henry's ghastly pale face, Jo and Lucas' clearly distressed expressions and the amount of blood, Hanson was glad he was not a part of it.