I woke up at 4am and couldn't get back to sleep…this is the result! It's a short one- shot set at the end of 'Endgame' and contains spoilers for various episodes from seasons 1,2 &3. Sorry for any glaring mistakes, but it was the middle of the night!
Questions.
"Agent Malone, how many people in total are in the FBI missing persons unit?"
That was one of the first questions they asked him. Reporters, journalist, bloodhounds, there were dozens of them waiting outside the hospital. They surrounded him as he made his way out of the emergency unit towards his car.
Samantha had stayed, waited for information, but he needed to give a statement, to find out what happened. To keep it together.
"…..how many people in total?"
Danny, Vivian, Samantha, Martin. And Jack.
Five people, one team. A good team, maybe the best he'd ever worked with.
Until Samantha got shot… and for a while, it had been touch and go. No-one knew what was happening, until they got her out, brought her to the hospital. She was so pale and had lost a lot of blood. He'd felt guilty, even though he knew guilt was useless, she wanted to be there, she'd volunteered. She knew what she was getting herself in for. But it had also been the end, the very end of them, of their relationship.
Danny, Vivian, Martin. And Jack.
It quickly became clear though, that Samantha would be ok, the bullet wound was deep, but hadn't touched anything vital. And she recovered really quickly, all things considered. Samantha was tough, Jack knew that when he hired her and after some initial awkwardness, she was back and things went back to normal.
Danny, Vivian, Samantha, Martin. And Jack.
Again.
Then Vivian got sick. At first nobody noticed. She hid it well, dismissing all questions about tablets and doctors appointments. Until Samantha asked her directly what was wrong, and she had to tell her.
Then everyone else realised, knew that something was wrong, and each person was concerned, Vivian was important to them all, maybe for different reasons, but she was the one that they all trusted the most, the one they knew would never betray their secrets.
So they were worried but typical Viv, she tried to pass it off, said it was nothing serious.
She knew herself though that something was badly wrong. When she found out that it was her heart, that she was indeed really sick, she took it in her usual manner. Stoic, Keeping a brave face for her husband, for Reggie. For herself, because she couldn't think about the alternative.
Brushing off all offers of help, all concerns that she was overdoing it. Not because she wasn't grateful but because it was simply the only way that she could deal with it at the time.
When she collapsed behind the car that day for a split second Jack thought the worst. He was genuinely scared. And later on, when she went in to the operating theatre they all went about their work, but every one of them prayed silently, each in their own way.
Danny, Samantha Martin. And Jack.
So they carried on, they had missing persons to find and they couldn't spend all their time waiting to hear if Vivian was ok.
They solved the case, but it wasn't the happiest of endings and as Danny and Martin brought Teno into custody, Jack slipped away quietly.
He wasn't going to go in at first, he didn't want to be there if…well if anything happened, to be in the way of family and friends.
And even though he wouldn't admit it to himself, he didn't want to face her husband, to see the fear in Reggie's eyes. That was his Mom in the operating theatre after all.
But in the end he did go because Vivian Johnson was his right hand 'man' and he knew his team wasn't the same without her.
And because she was a friend.
So Jack went the hospital, waited in the corridor until after the operation and felt a surge of relief when he was told the good news. He wanted to tell the others, knew that they were worried too.
Fist Sam, then Danny.
"Her husband said that it was touch and go for a while."
That's what he told Danny on the phone, she was ok, she was going to make it. Relief. Silent prayers of thanks. But it was going to take a while to recover, heart operations were serious things.
But she'd be back. He knew it. Soon they would be back to full strength.
Danny, Vivian, Samantha, Martin. And Jack.
Five persons, a team.
But only for a little while. Only for about 15 minutes. Because fifteen minutes later, still standing in that hospital corridor a call came though for him.
"….A shooting…..3 victims, one black male and two FBI officers… one Caucasian, one Hispanic…Jack, it's Taylor and Fitzgerald……no further information…not official but we thought you'd like to know…emergency vehicles on the scene…keep you informed."
No further information. None needed. He knew. And for a moment Jack thought this his own heart had stopped.
Samantha was walking down the hall, calling in to see if Viv was ok, just like Jack had, not telling anyone she was going, just arriving on her way home, on the spur of the moment.
Jack stood, the phone in his hand, the line disconnected. Standing in front of the window, looking in on Vivian lying there asleep. Turning to see Samantha walking down the corridor. Looking at the phone again, the information registering itself in his mind.
"Jack, what's wrong. Is Viv ok?"
Viv? Of course Viv, who else could it be. The operation had been serious, It was likely that something could have gone wrong. But it hadn't, it wasn't Vivian. Not this time.
Vivian, Samantha. And Jack.
Samantha had a right to know. They were her fellow officers, her friends, her former… lover?...boyfriend? Jack knew that it was over now, but he didn't know how long.
"There's been a shooting. Danny & Martin were involved. I don't know any more. They didn't tell me anything else."
Even as he spoke, as he said the words to Samantha, standing there in the hospital corridor looking at Agent Johnson asleep in the Post-Op room, it sounded surreal, like someone else was saying the words.
A shooting…Danny…Martin…
Vivian, Samantha. And Jack…..
"Agent Malone, how many people in total are in the FBI missing persons unit?"……….