Title: Never Change Faces
Summary: Another AU-Jack-and-Nina-encounter and how things could have played out those hours in S3, down in Mexico and back at CTU.
Disclaimer: I don't own 24 or any of its characters, this is a work of fan fiction, I don't make any money with it. Original characters belong to me, please ask for permission in case you wanna borrow them. :-p
Author's note: Each chapter equals one sequence within an episode. While reading, keep in mind that there is a time gap of several minutes between the chapters.
Prologue
"We got two more coming in," Taylor heard the familiar call and with a sigh she looked up to the clock, realizing her shift had only started two hours ago. It felt like she had been here for days. She put on new gloves and got ready. Casting her eyes round the busy emergency room, she couldn't help but think: maybe she should have listened to her dad after all and gone into law school instead. Not that it was what she really wanted. Not now, not then. But sometimes dealing with legal issues just seemed so much more appealing when she found herself covered in other people's blood.
"Alright, what do we got?" she asked when the first stretcher was rolled in.
"Male, stabbed in the chest, but lucky. Seems the knife missed all the vital organs."
Quickly examining the man she listened to the status report of the medic and made her decision. "Get him in 2. Lewis?"
"Got it," her colleague nodded and was already on his way. They cleared the hallway just in time for the second team.
"Female, several gunshot wounds, severe blood loss. Looks pretty bad, we had to reanimate twice on the way."
"We're going into 3. What did you give her?" Taylor asked, hurrying alongside the stretcher and into the trauma room, noticing more people rushing after them, one of them even following them inside.
"Excuse me," she called over her shoulder but got no reaction. His clothes dirty, blood-stained, he seemed pretty shaken and not in the best shape himself. "Excuse me, Sir," she tried again, "you can't be in here."
Finally she managed to get his attention and make him tear his eyes off the stretcher they had just rolled in.
"Are you a relative?" she asked and he quickly shook his head in a somewhat shaky manner and swallowed.
"I'm a federal agent."
She interrupted her working on her patient for a second and gave him an inquiring look. He didn't exactly look like her image of a federal agent. Behind him, a second man entered the room, in uniform, looking like a Navy Seal or something in that style. But she didn't have the time to bother about what they were.
"You still can't be in here," she said, turning back to her patient. "Would you please wait outside?"
"No, you don't understand," the first guy insisted. "This woman is in my custody," he uttered hoarsely.
Taylor started getting annoyed with him. What was he thinking she was trying to do here? "Yeah, well, she's not going anywhere for the moment." Unless she goes for good.
He hesitated but then the guy in uniform cleared his throat and pointed with his head towards the door.
Reluctantly the first guy took a few steps back, his eyes focused on the woman in front of Taylor again.
"Alright," he muttered, "but we'll be right outside."
A moment later they had indeed left but when Taylor turned her head around the next time, she saw him standing outside in the hallway, peering in through the glass frame in the door.
She turned her eyes back to her patient. She wondered who she was and in what relation she stood to the man. This woman is in my custody. Something in the way he had looked at her when they had brought her in, and then again before he had left the room, had told her there was more to the story. Working in the ER, she had seen all kinds of things. Even in a little town like this. You didn't have to work in the city to see the dramas: worried husbands and wives, parents and children, lovers and siblings, perpetrators and victims. Sometimes all of them together, all at the same.
"Doesn't look like she'll talk to anyone anymore," Louise commented and Taylor looked up for a second. She was afraid the nurse was right. It didn't look good.
"Let's see what we can do. And can someone call security and have them check this out?" She still didn't know what to think of the whole thing.