Worth fighting for
Another Friday at the precinct, Hunter sitting at his desk thinking about what to do with the weekend lying ahead and McCall doing paperwork. "Thinking about your hot date for the weekend Hunter?" she said snapping him out of his dream world. "As a matter of fact I was McCall. Thanks for ruining my dream. How about you, are you and that bank manager of yours going out?" "Yeah, Paul and I are going out," she said with a playful smile. "He's taking me to dinner and a play." "Ah, a cultural evening, nice." "And what are you and." "Mickey." "Oh yeah, Mickey. What are you going to do?" "Hang out I guess. Maybe dinner and a movie." "Sounds good." "Hunter, McCall, O'Hern and Navarro in here now!" Charlie's voice echoed through the squad room. The four of them did as they were told and gathered around his desk. "I got a call from the rescue squad, a group of people went missing. They were exploring some caves when they collapsed and trapped them." "What's this gotta do with us, we're homicide cops," McCall wanted to know. "They are shorthanded that's why. Every department was asked if they could spare a few officers to help out, I'm sending you." After some further instructions they went back to their desks. "I guess that means no date, this might take all weekend," McCall said as she picked up the phone to call Paul. "I think you're right," Hunter replied as he did the same, or so it seemed. McCall noticed he wasn't dialing a phone number, he just pushed some numbers. Did he really have a date to cancel she wondered. She didn't give it any more attention when she got Paul on the phone and explained why she couldn't make it. After she hung up she looked at Hunter. "How did Mickey take it?" "She didn't, I got the answering machine so I left a message." "Typical, canceling a date over the answering machine." Hunter replied by giving her a dirty look.
When they arrived at the rescue site it was like stepping into another world. There was mud everywhere due to the heavy rain. Tents had been set up, a command post, somewhere to eat and one where rescue teams could rest.
"I'm glad I changed into some old clothes," McCall said to Hunter. "So do I, what a mess." The four of them had to report to the man in charge, Capt. McPherson. "Call me Mac, everyone else does." Navarro and Hunter were assigned to the communication unit, McCall and O'Hern to the kitchen. Hunter intervened, "Mac, if you want to keep your men in good shape I wouldn't send her to the kitchen." motioning at McCall. "Why?" "Well how can I say this. I wouldn't eat what she brews even if it was the last food on earth." McCall knew what he was trying and had a hard time keeping a straight face. Brad and Kitty nodded in agreement. "Ok, Navarro you go with O'Hern and McCall can join Hunter." "Thanks for saving me," she said when they were out of reach. "Saving you? Saving us you mean. I wasn't joking you know." This time it was her turn to give Hunter a dirty look.
Their job at the communication unit was to supply every team with the necessary equipment to stay in touch with base camp and also retrieve the equipment from teams coming back up. The returning teams told them about collapsed and flooded caves. Evening fell, Hunter and McCall were on a break having something to eat. "I just hope they can find these people in time," McCall said worried. Hunter looked at her, "This is getting to you am I right?" "Yeah I guess it is." "They've got a better chance now the rain stopped." Before she could answer him something happened, "Someone's been found, he's being brought up now." Mac said. Together they walked to the entrance of the cave, a group of rescue workers came out carrying a person. One of them yelled at Mac, "Hey Mac, It's Cooper the guide. He came floating past us in chamber 4." Mac went to the map he had put up, "That's here," he pointed out. "But where did he come from." The guy who yelled at him, Davids, joined him. "There was an entrance from chamber 4 to 5 but it collapsed. There is a hole but only a small person would fit trough it, making it bigger would cause it to collapse completely." "A small person huh. Where am I gonna find a small person?" he said as his eye fell on McCall. "Maybe, just maybe it night work," he said to Davids and went over to where Hunter and McCall were standing. "Sgt. McCall, can I have a word?" He explained the situation to her and asked if she could help out. "No problem, tell me what to do," she said to Mac knowing Hunter wasn't thrilled about this. "Just one thing, I want Hunter on the other end of the radio." "Fine with me." Mac got her a rescue outfit and the necessary equipment. "I still don't like you doing this Dee Dee," Hunter said with a serious tone. "I'll be fine, besides we are keeping contact over the radio." The look on his face scared her, he wasn't someone who showed his emotions but now he did. "I have to do this Rick," she said softly. "I can't sit here doing nothing, you know I'll be careful." "I know but I don't have to like it." Mac took her down to chamber 4. "Test, test 123," came through the radio, "Reading you loud and clear," McCall answered. Mac gave her a copy of his map, "We are here," he pointed out to her. "And when you get through the hole you end up here, in chamber 5. There should be a way through to chamber 6 and 7. I want you to check out if they are still there. Don't take any risks and if you have any doubt ask, okay?" "Okay." She crawled through the small hole, Mac handed her the gear and went back to Hunter. The light of her flashlight lit the chamber, it looked beautiful and spooky at the same time. McCall understood why people wanted to explore these caves. Looking at the map she went to find the first way through to the next chamber. It was still there so she entered and looked for the next way through but there wasn't any. She radioed Hunter, "L56 this is L57." Mac looked at Hunter not understanding what that was about, Hunter ignored him. "Go ahead L57," "I am in chamber 6 but there's no passage to chamber 7." "Tell her to go back to 5 and try from there." "Mac says go back to 5 and try from there." "Okay." She went back, looked at the map again and took another good look around the chamber. In a corner there was a small pile of rocks, she walked over there and found the partially collapsed entrance. "Found it L56, it's partially collapsed but I should be able to get in." "Be careful huh." "I will." She climbed over the rocks into the next chamber. "More water in here," she radioed. "Can you see where it's coming from?" Outside it started to drizzle, McCall could feel it walking through the chamber so she looked up. "I do, there's a big hole in the ceiling. It's raining through it now." Mac had taken the radio from Hunter, "There should be an entrance to the next chamber." "Nothing so far. Oh wait a minute, found it. Going through now. Looks like part of this chamber collapsed, there's a lot of rocks here." "Yeah it did, some time ago. It's a dead end." Mac turned to Davids, who had joined them. "She's in 8 now, still no one. Where are those people." "L56." Hunter took the radio. "Go ahead." "I'm hearing something that sounds like voices from the other side of the pile." The three men looked at each other in surprise. "Are you sure? Mac just said it's a dead end." "Some of these rocks look kinda "fresh" to me if you know what I mean. Maybe they forced themselves in and it collapsed again." "That's possible." McCall climbed onto the pile, shifted some rocks and made a little hole. "Hello, anyone in there?" "Hello," she heard coming from the other side. "L56, I think I found them." A big roar went through the tent, "Roger L57, can you ask them if they are okay and with how many they are?" Hunter dictated Mac's words. "Are you okay in there?" she asked. "We're holding up." How many of you are there?" "Six." "L56, six persons and holding up as well as they can. I think they have to get out of here fast, it's getting pretty cold." "Roger L57." McCall introduced herself to the woman she was talking to. The woman introduced herself as Jenny Howard. During their conversation McCall tried to make the hole big enough for them to crawl through. "We got separated from our guide," Jenny told her. "When we got to this chamber the way out was blocked and then the way in collapsed. We were trapped." "I'm gonna try to make this hole big enough for you to get through. It's your only way out." Just as McCall removed a piece of rock the pile started to shift and a deafening roar began. She grabbed the radio, "Hunter, It's coming down!!!!" "McCall, McCall!!!" Hunter yelled. Mac and Davids came running to him, "What's happening?" "I don't know. She said it was coming down." A horrific sound made them look to the entrance of the cave, a big cloud of dust came out. They all looked at each other, "Something collapsed," Davids said and looked at a dumbstruck Hunter. "Get a team together and go in," Mac ordered him. "On my way." "I'm coming too," Hunter said and stood up. "No you're not. I don't need another officer missing in there. Besides I need you here in case she radios in." "I don't think you understand, I am going. That's my partner down there." "Right, another reason why I don't want you down there. You're emotionally involved." Deep down Hunter knew that he was right and slowly sat back down again. Both Brad and Kitty saw what happened and rushed to the tent where they found a devastated Hunter. "She cried out, but I couldn't do anything. I couldn't help her," he said to them. Kitty put her hand on his shoulder, "The teams will find her, they do this all the time." Her comforting words didn't seem to have any effect on him, he kept staring at the cave's entrance. "I've got to find her," he rose from his chair again, grabbed a helmet and a radio. Mac walked passed and saw what he was doing. "Sgt. Hunter you are not going down there and that's an order!" "You can't expect me to sit here and just do nothing!" "I need you here by the radio, I told you. Let us do our job or I'll have you removed from here." Reluctantly Hunter gave in. At that moment Davids radioed in to give his first report, "As far as we can tell part of the ceiling collapsed in chamber 5, there's water everywhere. It looks pretty unstable, we need to stabilize first before we can move anything." "How long will that take?" Mac asked him. "Hard to say, we'll do our best. I'm sending out a team to see if there's another way in." "Good idea. Keep me posted." Mac looked at Hunter, Hunter looked at Mac. Those looks said more than a thousand words could have.
Half an hour later Charlie had arrived and so had Paul, they heard on the news that a LAPD homicide officer was trapped during a rescue attempt. When Charlie entered the tent he saw Hunter sitting on one side clutching a radio, Brad and Kitty sitting on the other side staring into space and Mac trying to run this operation. "Captain McPherson, I believe we have a problem." "Captain Devane, we sure do. I have my men working hard to get everyone out." "I won't keep you from your job then." He turned to Hunter, "How did she get down there Hunter?" Hunter looked up with anger in his eyes, "Because she wanted to Charlie. There was nothing I could do to stop her. They needed a small person to get in and she said yes." Paul was standing within hearing distance, heard every word that was said and saw the look on his face. He was just about to turn around and leave when Hinter spotted him. He stood up and walked towards him. "Paul, what are you doing here?" "I saw it on the news and had to know if it was Dee Dee." "It is. Come on let's have a coffee and talk." Sitting across from each other, the two men were sipping from their cups in silence. "You really like her huh," Hunter broke the silence. "I think I'm not the only one," Paul replied. "She's my partner, we have to be close. It's part of our job." "She talks about you all the time you know." "She does?" he looked surprised. "I think you mean more to her then she wants to admit." "She talks about you too. About the nice evenings she had with you." "Well I try." Paul sighed. "But I can't keep kidding myself. I've watched you just now, I see something when you are talking about her. The same thing I see when Dee Dee talks about you, love. I'll never be the guy for her, I'm nice for the company, but I'm not you." Hunter looked shocked to hear that, but knew there was some truth to it. He cared for her in a way he never had for anyone else, but love? He never dares to look at it that way. "I think I'm going home now," Paul put his cup down. "You don't want to stick around?" Hunter asked him. "No, I don't think that's a good idea. Besides she needs you more than she needs me." "I'll give you a call when they find her." "That's okay, thanks." Hunter watched Paul leave the site. "Sgt. Hunter," Mac was calling for him. "I just had a word with Max, he and his team found another entrance into chamber 8. They are checking it out now."
Meanwhile McCall had woken up underneath a pile of rocks and rubble, she wasn't able to move. Breathing hurt because she had broken her ribs. Her memory of what happened came back to her slowly, 'I was looking for someone,' she thought. Suddenly it hit her, Jenny. She tried to call out but the sharp pain from her ribs stopped her. Her body felt numb from the cold and it was hard to stay awake. She was drifting in and out of consciousness. 'Please don't let me suffer to much,' she thought. 'If this is the end, let it be quick.' To tired to fight she closed her eyes again until a thump woke her. 'More rocks coming down,' was her first thought but then she heard a voice, "Hello, anyone here?" it sounded far away. McCall gathered all her strength and screamed as loud as she could, "Help me!"
The rescue team had found the spot where the ceiling of chamber 8 had come down. There was a gaping hole. They decided one of them had to be lowered down on a rope and look for McCall and the others, Boogie volunteered. When he reached the bottom he detached himself from the rope, called out and listened for a response. Boogie heard the cry for help from under the rocks, "She's alive," he called up to Max. More men were lowered down and they started to clear away the pile, rock by rock. Max radioed to Mac that they had found her alive but didn't know what kind of condition she was in until they freed her. Hunter, Kitty, Brad and Charlie all let out a sigh of relief when Mac told them, "She's not out of the woods yet, we don't know how bad her injuries are." Charlie saw the look in Hunter's eyes and took him aside, "She's a fighter Hunter, we both know that." "Yeah you are right." A little while later Hunter was sitting by himself thinking, 'Paul is a smart guy, he made me see what she really means to me, more than just a work partner. I guess I've loved her for so long it's become a part of me. She has to make it, I have to tell her how I feel even if it means risking our friendship.' It took the team a long time to get to her but they finally did. "Hey are you okay?" Boogie asked McCall. She opened her eyes slowly, smiled, shook her head no and drifted off again. Davids and his team had managed to stabilize the other chambers and joined them to help. "We need some EMT's in here, she's not doing well," Boogie said to Davids who radioed for them to get down there. Two EMT's came and checked her over. "She's stable now but you need to get her out fast," one of them said to Davids. "We'll be as fast as possible, we don't want this to come down on us." The men went back to freeing McCall, rock by rock. It took them another hour to clear away enough of the rocks that buried her to get her out. Very gently she was put on a board and strapped in, it woke her up. "The others," she said whispering and breathing heavily. "We'll keep on digging until we've found them," Boogie promised her. "You did great, just hang in there." She managed to get out another smile before an oxygen mask was put on her face to help her breath. "Hunter, she's coming up!" Mac yelled across the site, they all rushed to the entrance. Hunter was shocked to see her, wrapped in foil and blankets to get her temperature up, an oxygen mask, her pale face and the pain in her eyes. He walked to the ambulance with her, "I'm riding with her." he said firmly to Charlie. "Okay, I'll meet you at the hospital." Mac saw him get into the ambulance, "Hunter," he yelled and gave him a thumbs up for good luck. Hunter understood and gave him a thumbs up back, then the doors closed. During the ride he held her hand, stroked her head and talked to her. One time she opened her eyes, "Rick, don't leave me," she said wearily. "I won't."
When they arrived at the hospital she was rushed into the ER, Hunter had to wait and a nurse brought him to a waiting room. Not long after Charlie, Kitty and Brad arrived, "Anything yet?" "No, they are still examining her. What's taking them so long," he stood up, paced around the room and sat down again. After a while the doctor entered, the four stood up and looked at him. "She's in surgery now. Most of her ribs were broken and one punctured a lung, that's why she was having difficulty breathing. For the rest it's cuts and bruises, she's a lucky lady. I'll let you know when you can see her." "Thanks doctor." There was a sigh of relief going through the room. "We should be going back there," Brad said to Kitty. "Do you mind?" he asked Hunter. "No, let me know when they find the others." "We'll do." Hunter looked at Charlie, "I've got nowhere to go so I'll stay if you don't mind. Want some coffee?" "Yeah thanks, that would be great." Hunter sat down, put his head in his hands and cried. Charlie returned with the coffee and saw one of his toughest detectives cry like a little boy. He put the cups down on the table and sat across from Hunter, "You really love her don't you?" he said. Hunter looked up, he hadn't noticed Charlie walking in, still filled with tears. "Yes I do Charlie. She means so much to me. " "I should have seen it coming. Does McCall know?" "No." "Are you going to tell her?" "I don't want to ruin what we have." "If you don't you are gonna put a lot of strain on your friendship and you could lose her." "The same thing could happen if I do." "Follow your heart Hunter." Charlie's words made sense, he was gonna follow his heart.
The waiting took forever, it seemed like hours, when the doctor finally walked in. "She's out of surgery, it went well. You can see her for a minute but she's still drowsy and might not respond to you." He brought them to the ICU, when they passed the nurses station one of them stopped them. "Are you Sgt. Hunter?" "Yes." "There's a phone call for you." He took the phone. "Hello?" "Rick, It's Brad. They just found the others, all six of them alive and not badly injured." "Thanks Brad, that's great news." "How's McCall?" "She just got out of surgery, we are going to see her now." "Give her our love." "I will. Thanks again." Hunter entered her room, Charlie was already standing by the side of her bed. Like the doctor had said she didn't respond much to them being there. Hunter searched her face for signs that she knew they were there. Carefully he took her hand, he got a response, she squeezed it gently. "Hey Dee Dee, I thought you'd like to know that Brad called. The others were rescued an hour ago, they are all fine." She squeezed his hand again, he knew she'd understood. "I'm going home now," Charlie said to her. "I'll stop by tomorrow." "I'll walk with you," Hunter said to him and turned to McCall, "Back before you know it." They walked to Charlie's car, "You are staying here?" "Yeah, I am. I don't want to leave her right now." "Make sure you get some rest and think about what I said." "Yes dad." Charlie gave him a dirty look, got into his car and left. When Hunter got back to her room McCall had opened her eyes. "Hi, how are you feeling?" "Sore and tired," she said with a whispering voice. "Go back to sleep, I'll be here when you wake." Her eyes closed and she fell asleep almost immediately. Hunter made himself comfortable in one of the chairs and dozed off too.
The next morning McCall woke up from the nurse checking her IV. "Good morning, did you sleep well?" the nurse asked her. "Yes I did." "I hope he did as well," motioning at Hunter who was still sleeping. McCall turned her head and saw him slumped in the small chair. She couldn't help but smile at this sight, he looked adorable. "Is he your husband?" the nurse wanted to know. "No, he is my work partner. We're police officers." "You must be really special to him." "I guess, he's a special guy." "Okay, I'm done. The doctor will be here soon to see if you can be moved to a private room." After the nurse left McCall moved herself into a position so she could watch him and still lie comfortable. It wasn't long before he woke up, stretching his long legs and arms. "Good morning sleepyhead," McCall said with a huge grin on her face. "I guess that means you are feeling better?" "Well I know how your arms and legs are feeling now," she joked. At that moment the doctor walked in to check he over. He read the chart, did some tests and was pleased with the result. She was ready to leave the ICU and was brought to a private room. "This looks good." Hunter took a good look around. "Even the chairs look a lot more comfortable." "You don't have to stay another night." McCall said. He looked at her in a way that she knew her words had come out the wrong way. "Sorry, I didn't mean for it to sound the way it did," she said softly. Before he could answer the door opened and Paul walked in carrying a big bouquet of flowers. Hunter had called him the night before as promised. "Am I interrupting something?" he asked. "No, I was just going to get some breakfast anyway, see you later." McCall rolled her eyes. "Did you two have an argument?" Paul wanted to know. "Not really. Oh you brought flowers thank you," she changed the subject. "I thought they might put a smile on your face. I'm not staying long, I thought I'd drop in before work. I just wanted to know if you were alright." McCall looked at him not really understanding what he meant. "Hunter didn't tell you about our talk?" "No, what did he do?" Paul told her about the night before. An hour later Hunter returned, Paul had left for work and McCall was asleep. He sat down and opened the paper he had brought. He was reading the sports section when he heard his name, "Rick?" He lowered the paper so he could see over it, "Yeah." "I need to tell you something, about last night." He put the paper down and moved the chair closer to the bed. "When I was lying there under this pile of rocks I gave up. I was so tired and in so much pain the only thing I wished for was the end, I wanted to die. My mind didn't want my body to fight anymore. If it hadn't been for those rescue workers I don't know." tears rolled down her cheeks, Hunter carefully wiped the away. "Shhh, you did fight. You let them know where you were. You were doing the thing people do in these kinds of situations, you survived." "Paul told me about the conversation you two had," she reached for his hand and he took it. "I think he's right. I'll always be looking for a second you even though I know I'll never find him." When I was waiting for you to be found I had plenty of time to think," Hunter told her. "I promised myself if you would get out alive I would tell you how I feel about you even if it meant losing what we have." They looked each other in the eye for a moment. "You're not losing what we have Rick. We are making it stronger." A big smile appeared on his face, "Stronger, I like that." "Deep down I knew there was something worth fighting for," McCall said. Hunter stood up, sat down on her bed, bend over and kissed her lightly on the lips. She answered with a light kiss and a soft moan. It made him sit up. "Did I hurt you?" "No you didn't. Come over here and do it again," she ordered. They kissed again, a beautiful beginning of a beautiful life together.
Another Friday at the precinct, Hunter sitting at his desk thinking about what to do with the weekend lying ahead and McCall doing paperwork. "Thinking about your hot date for the weekend Hunter?" she said snapping him out of his dream world. "As a matter of fact I was McCall. Thanks for ruining my dream. How about you, are you and that bank manager of yours going out?" "Yeah, Paul and I are going out," she said with a playful smile. "He's taking me to dinner and a play." "Ah, a cultural evening, nice." "And what are you and." "Mickey." "Oh yeah, Mickey. What are you going to do?" "Hang out I guess. Maybe dinner and a movie." "Sounds good." "Hunter, McCall, O'Hern and Navarro in here now!" Charlie's voice echoed through the squad room. The four of them did as they were told and gathered around his desk. "I got a call from the rescue squad, a group of people went missing. They were exploring some caves when they collapsed and trapped them." "What's this gotta do with us, we're homicide cops," McCall wanted to know. "They are shorthanded that's why. Every department was asked if they could spare a few officers to help out, I'm sending you." After some further instructions they went back to their desks. "I guess that means no date, this might take all weekend," McCall said as she picked up the phone to call Paul. "I think you're right," Hunter replied as he did the same, or so it seemed. McCall noticed he wasn't dialing a phone number, he just pushed some numbers. Did he really have a date to cancel she wondered. She didn't give it any more attention when she got Paul on the phone and explained why she couldn't make it. After she hung up she looked at Hunter. "How did Mickey take it?" "She didn't, I got the answering machine so I left a message." "Typical, canceling a date over the answering machine." Hunter replied by giving her a dirty look.
When they arrived at the rescue site it was like stepping into another world. There was mud everywhere due to the heavy rain. Tents had been set up, a command post, somewhere to eat and one where rescue teams could rest.
"I'm glad I changed into some old clothes," McCall said to Hunter. "So do I, what a mess." The four of them had to report to the man in charge, Capt. McPherson. "Call me Mac, everyone else does." Navarro and Hunter were assigned to the communication unit, McCall and O'Hern to the kitchen. Hunter intervened, "Mac, if you want to keep your men in good shape I wouldn't send her to the kitchen." motioning at McCall. "Why?" "Well how can I say this. I wouldn't eat what she brews even if it was the last food on earth." McCall knew what he was trying and had a hard time keeping a straight face. Brad and Kitty nodded in agreement. "Ok, Navarro you go with O'Hern and McCall can join Hunter." "Thanks for saving me," she said when they were out of reach. "Saving you? Saving us you mean. I wasn't joking you know." This time it was her turn to give Hunter a dirty look.
Their job at the communication unit was to supply every team with the necessary equipment to stay in touch with base camp and also retrieve the equipment from teams coming back up. The returning teams told them about collapsed and flooded caves. Evening fell, Hunter and McCall were on a break having something to eat. "I just hope they can find these people in time," McCall said worried. Hunter looked at her, "This is getting to you am I right?" "Yeah I guess it is." "They've got a better chance now the rain stopped." Before she could answer him something happened, "Someone's been found, he's being brought up now." Mac said. Together they walked to the entrance of the cave, a group of rescue workers came out carrying a person. One of them yelled at Mac, "Hey Mac, It's Cooper the guide. He came floating past us in chamber 4." Mac went to the map he had put up, "That's here," he pointed out. "But where did he come from." The guy who yelled at him, Davids, joined him. "There was an entrance from chamber 4 to 5 but it collapsed. There is a hole but only a small person would fit trough it, making it bigger would cause it to collapse completely." "A small person huh. Where am I gonna find a small person?" he said as his eye fell on McCall. "Maybe, just maybe it night work," he said to Davids and went over to where Hunter and McCall were standing. "Sgt. McCall, can I have a word?" He explained the situation to her and asked if she could help out. "No problem, tell me what to do," she said to Mac knowing Hunter wasn't thrilled about this. "Just one thing, I want Hunter on the other end of the radio." "Fine with me." Mac got her a rescue outfit and the necessary equipment. "I still don't like you doing this Dee Dee," Hunter said with a serious tone. "I'll be fine, besides we are keeping contact over the radio." The look on his face scared her, he wasn't someone who showed his emotions but now he did. "I have to do this Rick," she said softly. "I can't sit here doing nothing, you know I'll be careful." "I know but I don't have to like it." Mac took her down to chamber 4. "Test, test 123," came through the radio, "Reading you loud and clear," McCall answered. Mac gave her a copy of his map, "We are here," he pointed out to her. "And when you get through the hole you end up here, in chamber 5. There should be a way through to chamber 6 and 7. I want you to check out if they are still there. Don't take any risks and if you have any doubt ask, okay?" "Okay." She crawled through the small hole, Mac handed her the gear and went back to Hunter. The light of her flashlight lit the chamber, it looked beautiful and spooky at the same time. McCall understood why people wanted to explore these caves. Looking at the map she went to find the first way through to the next chamber. It was still there so she entered and looked for the next way through but there wasn't any. She radioed Hunter, "L56 this is L57." Mac looked at Hunter not understanding what that was about, Hunter ignored him. "Go ahead L57," "I am in chamber 6 but there's no passage to chamber 7." "Tell her to go back to 5 and try from there." "Mac says go back to 5 and try from there." "Okay." She went back, looked at the map again and took another good look around the chamber. In a corner there was a small pile of rocks, she walked over there and found the partially collapsed entrance. "Found it L56, it's partially collapsed but I should be able to get in." "Be careful huh." "I will." She climbed over the rocks into the next chamber. "More water in here," she radioed. "Can you see where it's coming from?" Outside it started to drizzle, McCall could feel it walking through the chamber so she looked up. "I do, there's a big hole in the ceiling. It's raining through it now." Mac had taken the radio from Hunter, "There should be an entrance to the next chamber." "Nothing so far. Oh wait a minute, found it. Going through now. Looks like part of this chamber collapsed, there's a lot of rocks here." "Yeah it did, some time ago. It's a dead end." Mac turned to Davids, who had joined them. "She's in 8 now, still no one. Where are those people." "L56." Hunter took the radio. "Go ahead." "I'm hearing something that sounds like voices from the other side of the pile." The three men looked at each other in surprise. "Are you sure? Mac just said it's a dead end." "Some of these rocks look kinda "fresh" to me if you know what I mean. Maybe they forced themselves in and it collapsed again." "That's possible." McCall climbed onto the pile, shifted some rocks and made a little hole. "Hello, anyone in there?" "Hello," she heard coming from the other side. "L56, I think I found them." A big roar went through the tent, "Roger L57, can you ask them if they are okay and with how many they are?" Hunter dictated Mac's words. "Are you okay in there?" she asked. "We're holding up." How many of you are there?" "Six." "L56, six persons and holding up as well as they can. I think they have to get out of here fast, it's getting pretty cold." "Roger L57." McCall introduced herself to the woman she was talking to. The woman introduced herself as Jenny Howard. During their conversation McCall tried to make the hole big enough for them to crawl through. "We got separated from our guide," Jenny told her. "When we got to this chamber the way out was blocked and then the way in collapsed. We were trapped." "I'm gonna try to make this hole big enough for you to get through. It's your only way out." Just as McCall removed a piece of rock the pile started to shift and a deafening roar began. She grabbed the radio, "Hunter, It's coming down!!!!" "McCall, McCall!!!" Hunter yelled. Mac and Davids came running to him, "What's happening?" "I don't know. She said it was coming down." A horrific sound made them look to the entrance of the cave, a big cloud of dust came out. They all looked at each other, "Something collapsed," Davids said and looked at a dumbstruck Hunter. "Get a team together and go in," Mac ordered him. "On my way." "I'm coming too," Hunter said and stood up. "No you're not. I don't need another officer missing in there. Besides I need you here in case she radios in." "I don't think you understand, I am going. That's my partner down there." "Right, another reason why I don't want you down there. You're emotionally involved." Deep down Hunter knew that he was right and slowly sat back down again. Both Brad and Kitty saw what happened and rushed to the tent where they found a devastated Hunter. "She cried out, but I couldn't do anything. I couldn't help her," he said to them. Kitty put her hand on his shoulder, "The teams will find her, they do this all the time." Her comforting words didn't seem to have any effect on him, he kept staring at the cave's entrance. "I've got to find her," he rose from his chair again, grabbed a helmet and a radio. Mac walked passed and saw what he was doing. "Sgt. Hunter you are not going down there and that's an order!" "You can't expect me to sit here and just do nothing!" "I need you here by the radio, I told you. Let us do our job or I'll have you removed from here." Reluctantly Hunter gave in. At that moment Davids radioed in to give his first report, "As far as we can tell part of the ceiling collapsed in chamber 5, there's water everywhere. It looks pretty unstable, we need to stabilize first before we can move anything." "How long will that take?" Mac asked him. "Hard to say, we'll do our best. I'm sending out a team to see if there's another way in." "Good idea. Keep me posted." Mac looked at Hunter, Hunter looked at Mac. Those looks said more than a thousand words could have.
Half an hour later Charlie had arrived and so had Paul, they heard on the news that a LAPD homicide officer was trapped during a rescue attempt. When Charlie entered the tent he saw Hunter sitting on one side clutching a radio, Brad and Kitty sitting on the other side staring into space and Mac trying to run this operation. "Captain McPherson, I believe we have a problem." "Captain Devane, we sure do. I have my men working hard to get everyone out." "I won't keep you from your job then." He turned to Hunter, "How did she get down there Hunter?" Hunter looked up with anger in his eyes, "Because she wanted to Charlie. There was nothing I could do to stop her. They needed a small person to get in and she said yes." Paul was standing within hearing distance, heard every word that was said and saw the look on his face. He was just about to turn around and leave when Hinter spotted him. He stood up and walked towards him. "Paul, what are you doing here?" "I saw it on the news and had to know if it was Dee Dee." "It is. Come on let's have a coffee and talk." Sitting across from each other, the two men were sipping from their cups in silence. "You really like her huh," Hunter broke the silence. "I think I'm not the only one," Paul replied. "She's my partner, we have to be close. It's part of our job." "She talks about you all the time you know." "She does?" he looked surprised. "I think you mean more to her then she wants to admit." "She talks about you too. About the nice evenings she had with you." "Well I try." Paul sighed. "But I can't keep kidding myself. I've watched you just now, I see something when you are talking about her. The same thing I see when Dee Dee talks about you, love. I'll never be the guy for her, I'm nice for the company, but I'm not you." Hunter looked shocked to hear that, but knew there was some truth to it. He cared for her in a way he never had for anyone else, but love? He never dares to look at it that way. "I think I'm going home now," Paul put his cup down. "You don't want to stick around?" Hunter asked him. "No, I don't think that's a good idea. Besides she needs you more than she needs me." "I'll give you a call when they find her." "That's okay, thanks." Hunter watched Paul leave the site. "Sgt. Hunter," Mac was calling for him. "I just had a word with Max, he and his team found another entrance into chamber 8. They are checking it out now."
Meanwhile McCall had woken up underneath a pile of rocks and rubble, she wasn't able to move. Breathing hurt because she had broken her ribs. Her memory of what happened came back to her slowly, 'I was looking for someone,' she thought. Suddenly it hit her, Jenny. She tried to call out but the sharp pain from her ribs stopped her. Her body felt numb from the cold and it was hard to stay awake. She was drifting in and out of consciousness. 'Please don't let me suffer to much,' she thought. 'If this is the end, let it be quick.' To tired to fight she closed her eyes again until a thump woke her. 'More rocks coming down,' was her first thought but then she heard a voice, "Hello, anyone here?" it sounded far away. McCall gathered all her strength and screamed as loud as she could, "Help me!"
The rescue team had found the spot where the ceiling of chamber 8 had come down. There was a gaping hole. They decided one of them had to be lowered down on a rope and look for McCall and the others, Boogie volunteered. When he reached the bottom he detached himself from the rope, called out and listened for a response. Boogie heard the cry for help from under the rocks, "She's alive," he called up to Max. More men were lowered down and they started to clear away the pile, rock by rock. Max radioed to Mac that they had found her alive but didn't know what kind of condition she was in until they freed her. Hunter, Kitty, Brad and Charlie all let out a sigh of relief when Mac told them, "She's not out of the woods yet, we don't know how bad her injuries are." Charlie saw the look in Hunter's eyes and took him aside, "She's a fighter Hunter, we both know that." "Yeah you are right." A little while later Hunter was sitting by himself thinking, 'Paul is a smart guy, he made me see what she really means to me, more than just a work partner. I guess I've loved her for so long it's become a part of me. She has to make it, I have to tell her how I feel even if it means risking our friendship.' It took the team a long time to get to her but they finally did. "Hey are you okay?" Boogie asked McCall. She opened her eyes slowly, smiled, shook her head no and drifted off again. Davids and his team had managed to stabilize the other chambers and joined them to help. "We need some EMT's in here, she's not doing well," Boogie said to Davids who radioed for them to get down there. Two EMT's came and checked her over. "She's stable now but you need to get her out fast," one of them said to Davids. "We'll be as fast as possible, we don't want this to come down on us." The men went back to freeing McCall, rock by rock. It took them another hour to clear away enough of the rocks that buried her to get her out. Very gently she was put on a board and strapped in, it woke her up. "The others," she said whispering and breathing heavily. "We'll keep on digging until we've found them," Boogie promised her. "You did great, just hang in there." She managed to get out another smile before an oxygen mask was put on her face to help her breath. "Hunter, she's coming up!" Mac yelled across the site, they all rushed to the entrance. Hunter was shocked to see her, wrapped in foil and blankets to get her temperature up, an oxygen mask, her pale face and the pain in her eyes. He walked to the ambulance with her, "I'm riding with her." he said firmly to Charlie. "Okay, I'll meet you at the hospital." Mac saw him get into the ambulance, "Hunter," he yelled and gave him a thumbs up for good luck. Hunter understood and gave him a thumbs up back, then the doors closed. During the ride he held her hand, stroked her head and talked to her. One time she opened her eyes, "Rick, don't leave me," she said wearily. "I won't."
When they arrived at the hospital she was rushed into the ER, Hunter had to wait and a nurse brought him to a waiting room. Not long after Charlie, Kitty and Brad arrived, "Anything yet?" "No, they are still examining her. What's taking them so long," he stood up, paced around the room and sat down again. After a while the doctor entered, the four stood up and looked at him. "She's in surgery now. Most of her ribs were broken and one punctured a lung, that's why she was having difficulty breathing. For the rest it's cuts and bruises, she's a lucky lady. I'll let you know when you can see her." "Thanks doctor." There was a sigh of relief going through the room. "We should be going back there," Brad said to Kitty. "Do you mind?" he asked Hunter. "No, let me know when they find the others." "We'll do." Hunter looked at Charlie, "I've got nowhere to go so I'll stay if you don't mind. Want some coffee?" "Yeah thanks, that would be great." Hunter sat down, put his head in his hands and cried. Charlie returned with the coffee and saw one of his toughest detectives cry like a little boy. He put the cups down on the table and sat across from Hunter, "You really love her don't you?" he said. Hunter looked up, he hadn't noticed Charlie walking in, still filled with tears. "Yes I do Charlie. She means so much to me. " "I should have seen it coming. Does McCall know?" "No." "Are you going to tell her?" "I don't want to ruin what we have." "If you don't you are gonna put a lot of strain on your friendship and you could lose her." "The same thing could happen if I do." "Follow your heart Hunter." Charlie's words made sense, he was gonna follow his heart.
The waiting took forever, it seemed like hours, when the doctor finally walked in. "She's out of surgery, it went well. You can see her for a minute but she's still drowsy and might not respond to you." He brought them to the ICU, when they passed the nurses station one of them stopped them. "Are you Sgt. Hunter?" "Yes." "There's a phone call for you." He took the phone. "Hello?" "Rick, It's Brad. They just found the others, all six of them alive and not badly injured." "Thanks Brad, that's great news." "How's McCall?" "She just got out of surgery, we are going to see her now." "Give her our love." "I will. Thanks again." Hunter entered her room, Charlie was already standing by the side of her bed. Like the doctor had said she didn't respond much to them being there. Hunter searched her face for signs that she knew they were there. Carefully he took her hand, he got a response, she squeezed it gently. "Hey Dee Dee, I thought you'd like to know that Brad called. The others were rescued an hour ago, they are all fine." She squeezed his hand again, he knew she'd understood. "I'm going home now," Charlie said to her. "I'll stop by tomorrow." "I'll walk with you," Hunter said to him and turned to McCall, "Back before you know it." They walked to Charlie's car, "You are staying here?" "Yeah, I am. I don't want to leave her right now." "Make sure you get some rest and think about what I said." "Yes dad." Charlie gave him a dirty look, got into his car and left. When Hunter got back to her room McCall had opened her eyes. "Hi, how are you feeling?" "Sore and tired," she said with a whispering voice. "Go back to sleep, I'll be here when you wake." Her eyes closed and she fell asleep almost immediately. Hunter made himself comfortable in one of the chairs and dozed off too.
The next morning McCall woke up from the nurse checking her IV. "Good morning, did you sleep well?" the nurse asked her. "Yes I did." "I hope he did as well," motioning at Hunter who was still sleeping. McCall turned her head and saw him slumped in the small chair. She couldn't help but smile at this sight, he looked adorable. "Is he your husband?" the nurse wanted to know. "No, he is my work partner. We're police officers." "You must be really special to him." "I guess, he's a special guy." "Okay, I'm done. The doctor will be here soon to see if you can be moved to a private room." After the nurse left McCall moved herself into a position so she could watch him and still lie comfortable. It wasn't long before he woke up, stretching his long legs and arms. "Good morning sleepyhead," McCall said with a huge grin on her face. "I guess that means you are feeling better?" "Well I know how your arms and legs are feeling now," she joked. At that moment the doctor walked in to check he over. He read the chart, did some tests and was pleased with the result. She was ready to leave the ICU and was brought to a private room. "This looks good." Hunter took a good look around. "Even the chairs look a lot more comfortable." "You don't have to stay another night." McCall said. He looked at her in a way that she knew her words had come out the wrong way. "Sorry, I didn't mean for it to sound the way it did," she said softly. Before he could answer the door opened and Paul walked in carrying a big bouquet of flowers. Hunter had called him the night before as promised. "Am I interrupting something?" he asked. "No, I was just going to get some breakfast anyway, see you later." McCall rolled her eyes. "Did you two have an argument?" Paul wanted to know. "Not really. Oh you brought flowers thank you," she changed the subject. "I thought they might put a smile on your face. I'm not staying long, I thought I'd drop in before work. I just wanted to know if you were alright." McCall looked at him not really understanding what he meant. "Hunter didn't tell you about our talk?" "No, what did he do?" Paul told her about the night before. An hour later Hunter returned, Paul had left for work and McCall was asleep. He sat down and opened the paper he had brought. He was reading the sports section when he heard his name, "Rick?" He lowered the paper so he could see over it, "Yeah." "I need to tell you something, about last night." He put the paper down and moved the chair closer to the bed. "When I was lying there under this pile of rocks I gave up. I was so tired and in so much pain the only thing I wished for was the end, I wanted to die. My mind didn't want my body to fight anymore. If it hadn't been for those rescue workers I don't know." tears rolled down her cheeks, Hunter carefully wiped the away. "Shhh, you did fight. You let them know where you were. You were doing the thing people do in these kinds of situations, you survived." "Paul told me about the conversation you two had," she reached for his hand and he took it. "I think he's right. I'll always be looking for a second you even though I know I'll never find him." When I was waiting for you to be found I had plenty of time to think," Hunter told her. "I promised myself if you would get out alive I would tell you how I feel about you even if it meant losing what we have." They looked each other in the eye for a moment. "You're not losing what we have Rick. We are making it stronger." A big smile appeared on his face, "Stronger, I like that." "Deep down I knew there was something worth fighting for," McCall said. Hunter stood up, sat down on her bed, bend over and kissed her lightly on the lips. She answered with a light kiss and a soft moan. It made him sit up. "Did I hurt you?" "No you didn't. Come over here and do it again," she ordered. They kissed again, a beautiful beginning of a beautiful life together.