The soft music played while he watched her spin away from him then came back and she smiled at him. He loved the fact she was wearing the gold silk ballgown as she slid her arms around his waist and he looked deeply into her blue eyes.
"Belle," he whispered while she moved closer and he felt her lips on his. She deepened the kiss as his knees grew weak and a soft tingle moved through him. He watched her move back when she cupped his cheek in her hand and his heart thumped hard in his chest.
"Weaver?" broke the dream as Weaver opened his eyes and swallowed the lump in his throat. He had been having dreams about Belle since he had been shot and knew she was a constant reminder of his real mission.
He wasn't suicidal, but knowing there was someone waiting for him when he finally died made getting out of bed easier.
"Weaver, are you in there?!" the voice asked as he sighed and slowly sat up. A small ache moved up his chest while he reached for the black wood cane lying on the floor near the couch and he carefully rose to his feet. He had been cleared to go back to work, but the chief decided it would be best if he was on desk duty for a while and he had spent the early part of the day sleeping on the couch. He walked to the door when he opened it and looked at Rogers standing in the hallway.
"What do you want?" Weaver asked, leaning against the handle of the black wood cane.
"They're here."
"Who's here?" he asked, scrunching his nose.
"The kids from Miss Welch's class."
"Damn. I forgot about the fieldtrip."
"Well, seeing as you were assigned as the tour guide, you better get your ass out there."
"Sorry, but I can't do it."
"Why not?"
"Did you forget I was put on desk duty?"
"Then who's going to do it?"
"You are!" Weaver said as he made a soft high-pitched giggle and closed the door. He headed back to the couch when the soft pinging from the desk stopped him and he turned, looking at the cell phone. Sighing, he walked to the desk when he picked the phone up and looked at the screen. The photo of him and his recently discovered great-granddaughter, Lucy, smiled at him as he arched his eyebrows up and moved his thumb over the screen. He had given her his text number, but told her to only text him if it was an emergency and he carefully sat down on the couch.
Hi! Are you at home or at the police station?! – Lucy
He looked at the screen when he leaned back against the cushion and placed the black wood cane against the edge of the couch.
I'm at the police station.
Cool! My class is there for a fieldtrip. Mind if I hang out with you?
No!
Why not?!
He could just see her pouting and giving her a sad look his son, Baelfire, used to give him and he softly smiled.
For one thing, your grandmother will have your teacher fired because you took off.
But it's going to be boring!
Lucy….
He tried to project an angry look through the screen in hope she saw it then the phone made a soft pinging sound.
Are you going to be the one showing us around?
Sorry, but I'm on desk duty.
Does that mean you can't do anything, but read files all day?
Yeah.
That sounds just as boring as doing this.
He looked at the screen when he silently agreed with her and sighed.
You're right, but sometime we have to do boring things.
Who's going to take us on the tour then?
I told Detective Rogers to do it.
No! Not him! He's creepy!
You think he's creepy?
Yeah! Don't you remember who he is?!
Weaver did have a suspicion about who Roger really was as he sighed and gently rubbed the small ache moving across his chest.
I have an idea who he is, but I'm not sure.
Can you at least come out and say hi?
Sure.
Ending the call, Weaver put the phone in his jeans pocket then took hold of the handle of the black wood cane, slowly got up and headed for the door. Opening the door, he headed down the hallway when he saw Rogers standing next to Lucy's teacher and Lucy gave him a small smile.
"Hello," Weaver said and Lucy's teacher gave him a startled look after she turned to look at him.
"Ah, Detective Weaver. I thought Detective Rogers was going to take us on the tour," Miss Anna Welch said and he looked at Rogers.
"He is. I just came to say hello," he said and Miss Welch nodded.
"Shall we get going?" Rogers asked as he pointed with his hands toward the doors to his left and Weaver watched them walking away. Suddenly, a chill moved through him as Weaver wrapped his fingers around the handle of the black wood cane and he went to catch up with them.
"Boring," Lucy whispered while walking next to Weaver and he smiled down at her. Rogers didn't seem to mind having him along as he showed Miss Welch and the other kids around the police station and the kids seemed to enjoy the complimentary mug shots and being fingerprinted. Weaver had hoped no one noticed he was holding Lucy's hand as they went around the corner and headed for the interrogation rooms.
"Rogers, hold up for a second," Weaver said as he leaned against the wall and Rogers walked to him.
"You ok?" Rogers asked.
"Just getting tired."
"Why don't you go back to your office then? I can handle this."
"I'll go with him!" Lucy said and Miss Welch gave her a slightly angry look.
"No, you're staying right here," Miss Welch said.
"What if he passes out and no one finds him?" Lucy asked and Weaver gave her shocked look.
"Thanks a lot," Weaver whispered and she lightly squeezed his fingers then he looked at Rogers. "I just need to sit down."
They watched him walk to the chrome chairs with the green cushions as he sat down and placed the black wood cane next to the wall. Nodding, Rogers led Miss Welch and the kids into the first interrogation room and the door closed behind them. Weaver noticed that Lucy hadn't gone in the room as she walked closer and sat on the chair next to him.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm here to make sure you don't pass out," Lucy said, giving him a smile.
"Ok," he said with a small laugh and she lightly nudged him. "Thing is we're not supposed to really know each other. If your grandmother finds out who I really am, she might…."
"She might try to turn me against you or use me to hurt you," Lucy said with a nod.
"Yeah," he said and she placed her hand top of his then looked at the black wood cane.
"I remember my dad mentioning you used to use a cane in his book."
"He did?" he asked and she nodded. A few minutes later, the door opened and Rogers led the others out into the hallway and Miss Welch looked at Lucy.
"Lucy, what are you doing out here?!" Miss Welch asked.
"Just keeping Detective Weaver company," Lucy said, getting up and walked to the group.
"Thanks for staying with me," Weaver said as he looked at Miss Welch and smiled. "She's a great kid."
"Well, let's get going," Rogers said as they headed down the hallway and Weaver titled his head to one side. The chill returned as Weaver took hold of the handle of the black wood cane, stood up and headed down the hallway.
Officer Jack Bean knew he was supposed to empty the holding cells because there were kids looking around the station, but the large drunk in the cell was still asleep and he thought the kids would be gone by the time he woke up. He walked back to the desk when he sat down and placed his feet on the top of the desk. The door opened as Rogers led Miss Welch and the class in the room and Rogers glared at him
"Bean, what are you doing?" Rogers asked as Jack placed his feet down then stood up and made a little cough.
"Sorry," Jack said, walking toward them and looked at Lucy and the rest of her class.
"Hey, who's that?" one of the boys asked, looking at the large man in the holding cell.
"It's one of the other cops," the other boy said. "They wouldn't let us in here if he was really a bad guy."
"Uh…," Jack said and Rogers sighed.
"Are you kidding me," Rogers whispered and Jack heard the growl in his voice. "You were supposed to move him."
"I thought you guys were coming later."
"Is there a problem?" Miss Welch asked as she walked closer and Rogers gave her a wide smile after turning to look at her.
"Yeah, there's a problem!" came from the holding cell as the large man rolled over and looked at them. "You woke me up."
"Oh, this is going to be good," the boy to Lucy's left said, but Lucy had a feeling this wasn't a part of the tour. She looked behind her for Weaver, but didn't see him and she slowly inched back toward the door.
"Keep it down," Jack said as he walked to the holding cell and the large man got off the bunk. He had military cropped black hair and green eyes and his nose looked like it had been broken a few times. He wore a leather jacket, a black t-shirt, jeans and black leather boots and he balled his fingers into tight fists.
"Want to come in here and make me?!" the large man demanded then laughed.
"I think we've seen enough," Miss Welch said to Rogers as he nodded and the large man looked at them.
"Oh, I'm just getting started," the large man said when he shot his arm out and grabbed onto Jack's shirt. He pulled Jack against the bars while Jack tried to make him let go and the large man removed the gun from his holster.
"Alright, everyone, let's slowly move…," Miss Welsh said when the large man pointed the gun at her and she felt like she was going to faint.
"What you are going to do is stay where you are," he said, but didn't notice Rogers hitting the silent alarm or Lucy leaving the room.
"Easy, Mate, there's no need for violence," Rogers said, holding his hands up in surrender.
"Then open the door to this cell," the large man said and slammed Jack hard into the iron bars, knocking him out. He let Jack fall to the floor as Rogers looked at him then at the large man and the large man pointed the gun at him. "Now!"
"Fine! Just don't do anything stupid," Rogers said as he knelt down next to Jack and was relieved to see Jack was still breathing. Rogers searched through Jack's pockets for the keys then sighed and sat back on his legs. "He doesn't have them on him."
"You better find them or one of these kids are going to the hospital," the large man said, pointing the gun at the kids.
Lucy ran down the hallway as she tried to figure where Weaver was when she turned the corner and ran right into him.
"Easy," Weaver said as she looked at him and he saw the fear in her eyes.
"Where were you?!" Lucy asked.
"I had to go to the bathroom," Weaver said then looked down the hallway. "What happened?"
"Rogers took us down to the holding cells and there was this guy in one of the cells."
"Maybe it was just one of the other officers…"
"He grabbed hold of the guard and took his gun," Lucy interrupted and Weaver felt his heart slamming in his chest. A small pain moved through his chest as he blinked and leaned against the wall.
"Bloody hell," he whispered as the sound the people coming and he looked at Lucy. He gently took her hand as they headed down the hallway and Lucy looked up at him.
"Where are we going?"
"One of the things I did when I came here was find all the ins and outs. There are two ways to get into the holding cells."
"And we're going to use the in no one knows about," Lucy said with a nod.
"No, I'm going to use it. You are going to my office and stay there until it's over."
"But…"
"Are you disobeying me, Dearie?" he asked and arched an eyebrow. She tightened her fingers around his when she stopped and he titled his head to one side.
"No, I'm not disobeying you, but I don't want you to get hurt."
"If I do this right, I won't get hurt."
"He has a gun."
"So?"
"He could shoot you," she said and he could see the tears in the corner of her eyes. "Why do you keep trying to get killed?"
Weaver felt his heart jump in his chest as he sighed and carefully pulled her against him. He slowly knelt down when she wrapped her arms around his neck and placed her head against his.
"Weaver," made him move back then slowly stand up as the captain and several police officers in SWAT gear came closer and Weaver held of the handle of the black wood cane tightly in his right hand.
"Has there been any word from Holding?" Weaver asked, pulling Lucy against his side.
"No, not yet," the captain said then looked at Lucy. "Aren't you Victoria Belfrey's granddaughter?"
"Yeah," Lucy said and gave the captain a sad look.
"Great. That's all I need," the captain said with a sigh, looking at Weaver. "And what are you doing here? You're on desk duty."
"My doctor said I should take walks. It helps with my recovery," Weaver said with a smug look and Lucy tried hard not to smile.
"Well, go take her to your office. We'll handle this," the captain said as he and the police officers went down the hallway and Lucy looked up at Weaver. He gave her a sly smile as they headed down the other hallway and he placed the black wood cane against his shoulder.
Rogers walked to the desk when he opened the top drawer and found the keyring with keys to the cells. He removed the keyring when he walked to the cell and the large man pointed the gun at him.
"Don't even think it," the large man said and Rogers nodded. He unlocked the cell door when he opened the cell door and the large man walked out of the cell while Rogers walked backwards.
"Do something!" Miss Welch whimpered and the large man smiled at Rogers.
"Yeah, do something," he said and pointed the gun at Rogers' forehead. Sighing, Rogers kept walking backwards until he stood next to Miss Welch and the large man smiled. "Now, all of you, get in the cell."
Rogers nodded his head toward the cell as they slowly walked toward the cell and the large man held the gun tightly in his hands. Rogers was the last one in when the large man looked at him and held his left hand out.
"Toss me the keys!" the large man said and Rogers nodded, tossing him the keyring. He had planned to tackle the large man, but he caught the keyring while still looking at Rogers and Rogers sighed. "Move."
Rogers moved back as the large man closed then locked the cell door, but didn't notice Weaver silently opening the fire exit door and enter the room. Rogers had just seen Lucy as the door closed as Weaver walked closer and Rogers noticed the slight strut in Weaver's walk.
"What are you looking at?" the large man asked when he felt something tap him on the back as he turned and Weaver smiled at him.
"That would be me," Weaver said, arching his eyebrows slightly. "Tell me something. Have you ever been impaled on a cane?"
Before the large man could answer, Weaver raised the black wood cane as he used the black wood cane to knock the gun out of the large man's hand, rammed the tip of the black wood cane into the large man's stomach and the large man doubled over. Weaver slammed the black wood cane down across the large man's back and shoulders as the large man fell to the floor and Weaver pressed the tip of the black cane against the back of the large man's neck.
"Weaver, stand down!" the captain shouted as Weaver looked at him and breathed hard and fast through his nose. A sharp pain moved up his chest as the black wood cane clattered to the ground and Weaver sat down hard on the ground. One of the officers ran to him as the officer handcuffed the large man and the exit door opened. Lucy ran into the room when she ran to Weaver and sat down next to him. Weaver gave her a small grin when the world started spinning and the soft pounding sound filled his ears. He remembered the last time he heard that sound as he frowned and his eyelids started drooping. Sighing, Weaver slowly slid onto his back as his eyes closed and he drifted into the darkness.
The curtains gently moved in the breeze while he rested on the couch and smelt the sweet scent of honey tea. He opened his eyes when Belle walked closer and the chipped teacup sat on a saucer on top of a small tray. She placed the tray down on the floor then knelt down and picked up the chipped teacup.
"Feeling better?" Belle asked, helping him take a drink of the honey tea.
"Much better," he said and she placed the chipped teacup on the saucer. The sound of the door opening made them look to the left and he smiled, seeing Lucy coming in. Gideon and Henry were right behind her when someone else appeared in the doorway and the bright sunlight made it hard to see who it was.
"Grandpa, look who we found!" Lucy said as the figure came closer and he blinked his eyes a few times.
"Hello, Papa," Baelfire said as he smiled and tears trickled at the corners of his eyes.
"What are you smiling like that?" Victoria Belfrey's voice asked as his mind cleared and Weaver slowly opened his eyes. He saw he was back in his hospital room as he glanced over at the heart monitor and blinked.
"I was having a good dream," he said with a sleepy tone to his voice and looked at her.
"Well, according to your doctor, that little stunt you pulled tore something open. You nearly died…again," she said and he looked at the pulse monitor clip on his right index finger.
"That little stunt saved lives," he said and titled his head to one side. "Including your granddaughter."
"And I thank you for that. But I have heard rumors that you and Lucy are becoming…friends," she said and gave him a cold look. "Stay away from her."
"Alright," he said and watched her turn on her high heels and leave the room. He looked at the ceiling when a small grin spread across his lips and he looked toward the bathroom door. "You can come out now, Dearie."
The bathroom door opened as Lucy came out and headed for the bed. She carefully knelt on the chair when she reached over and took hold of his left hand.
"How did you know I was here?" Lucy asked.
"Just a hunch," he said with a smile and wrapped their fingers together. "I never did answer your question."
"What question?"
"Why do I keep trying to get killed," he said and she looked at their hands. "It's not like I'm trying as much as it happens. There have been a lot of people who want to kill me and some of them have come pretty close. But right now? Right now, I'm just trying to find someone who will make it easier for me to be with Belle."
"What does that mean exactly?"
"Once I find this person, my curse will be broken and I'll be mortal again. After that, it's just a matter of time before my body just gives out. Until then, I guess I just have to wait."
"But doing something like….," Lucy said then sighed and Weaver lightly squeezed her fingers.
"That's a part of my job," he said with a small grin and she nodded.
"Sorry if I made you feel bad," she said and he rolled his eyes as he made a soft laugh.
"You didn't," he said and she looked at him. "Now, you better get going."
Nodding, she carefully leaned closer as she placed her head against his shoulder while resting her hand on his chest and he lightly patted her head. Lucy got off the chair when she headed for the doorway, looked out into the hallway and he nodded as she looked back at him. He watched her leave then he sighed, closed his eyes and drifted off back to sleep.