The Best of Intentions
DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING BUT THE CHARACTER OF LAUREN,JACK AND THE STORYLINE.
Author's Note: It has been so long since I've written I do not even know if I still can, but I'll try my best. I've fallen hard for a man by the name of Pete Malloy, and I do not know what to do about it. Since I'm still looking for my Pete, I might as well write about al the things I wish could happen. I'm not an Adam-1al the things I wish could happen. I'm not an Adam-12 expert by any means, so please feel free to call me out on inaccuracies and help me better this story. Hope you enjoy!
He parked the car in front of his apartment building and waited. It finally begun to sink in, Tom Porter was dead. His partner. His friend. He had just finished the job of informing Tom's wife of the news, a job he never wanted or expected to have to do. He knew she wasn't going to take the news well, what woman would? The man she loved, the father of her children, was dead, killed while chasing a suspect.
He glanced in his apartment window and saw a figure standing in his kitchen. She must have saw the news he thought. Every time something new worthy happened with the LAPD, she would always show up to his apartment, and he would always arrive home to a hot meal. It didn't matter if his shift ended at six a.m. or at five p.m., food would be on the table and she would be standing there, arms open, and ready to hear the events of the shift.
The thought that he had been trying to conceal in the back of his mind began to creep up again, what if it had been me tonight? What if I had been killed? What would happen to her? He couldn't help but consider the worst. She was his everything, and he knew he was her rock. He knew she could never make it if something happened to him.
He knew she knew the danger that was involved with his job. He made it perfectly clear three years ago when they first became involved. She accepted it, even though he knew it scared her. Every time a news report came on, every time sirens went by, and every time a night like tonight happened, he would always see the mix of fear and relief in her eyes when he walked through the door. She would wait up until all hours of night just to make sure he was ok, heck, she even got him to make her a spare key to his apartment so she could wait there. She begged for that key and he initially refused, after all she lived one floor below him, but like usual she won.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't shake the look in Mrs. Porter's eyes out of his head. He had never seen someone in so much pain. It was like all the air left the room when he delivered the news. He couldn't imagine how she would handle the news if something ever happened to him. That thought plagued his mind every day. It consumed him, it scared him. "Pete's a confirmed bachelor! He'll never marry her!" the guys would always joke. It wasn't that he didn't love her, or that he didn't want to marry her, it was the fear that someday she would have to go through what Mrs. Porter went through tonight that always stopped him cold in his tracks when the though of marriage crossed his mind. I can't put her through that. I have to do this. He got out of the car and made his way into the building, his mind made up on what he had to do.
"Pete, I heard the news, I'm so sorry. Have you talked to Marge yet?" She said greeting him at the door, and kissing his cheek.
"I just went over there. She's devastated. I can't believe he's gone. One minute we were making plans for a party they were having this weekend, the next I'm helping a helpless Marge up the stairs. Lauren, he's really gone." He said, sitting at the table to a meal he had no appetite for. He was trying to keep it together, but even Lauren could tell he was devastated. She walked over to where he was, wrapped her arms around him and whispered, "Pete I'm so sorry."
"He had two kids at home too. What's going to happen to them?"
"I don't know Pete, I really don't." She said quietly. Pete's heart sank knowing what he was about to do, but he knew it was for the best, it was what was best for her.
"This could have happened to any one of us. Do you understand that Lauren? Any one of you girls could have become a widow tonight."
"Pete I understand. It's part of the job. It's a dangerous job." She replied, wondering what he was getting at.
"In all the years I'll live, I will never forget the look of pain on her face. Lauren, I can't stand the idea of that happening to you. I can't stand to think about you someday having to hear that. I can't stand to think about you hurting."
"Pete, what are you getting at?"
"Lauren, I want you to go out there and find someone else, I want you to go find someone with a safe job. I want you to forget about me, and meet someone else who can make you happy. I don't want you to have to go through this someday." Pete said, occasionally glancing up to look into her tear filled brown eyes. She has the most beautiful brown eyes, he thought, wondering why he would be the reason behind their pain.
"But Pete, I don't want anyone else but you. I don't care how dangerous your job is, I want you. Pete I love you, more than anything. Why are you doing this?" She said between sobs.
"Because it's what's best for you. You deserve the world, and I hope you find someone who will give it to you. I love you so much, and that is why I am saying this. Go find someone to make you happy."
"How can you say you love me when all you want me to do is leave?" She said angrily, grabbing her purse and keys.
"Lauren, calm down and listen, this is what's for the best-"
"No it's not. It's what you think is for the best. Goodbye Pete." She said slamming the door. It immediately sank in that he may have made the wrong decision, but he knew that he was doing the right thing. He made his way to his bedroom and attempted to sleep, turning over every picture of him and Lauren along the way.
After ten hours without any sleep, staring at the ceiling, and tossing and turning, he knew what he had to do. He had to get her back. Peter J. Malloy you are nothing but a fool if you think losing her is what's best for you. Now go and get her back.
He hurried down the stairs, braced himself, and knocked on her door. He knew it would be difficult, but he had to win her back, she was the love of his life, the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Suddenly, he heard their land lord coming towards him.
"Hey Pete! What are you doing? Didn't you know Lauren left in the middle of the night? She seemed upset." He said. Pete's heart sank. He knew he had lost her, all because he thought he was doing the right thing.
"Did she say where she was going? How long ago did she leave?" Pete had a plan, he's was going to have a road block set up and was going to catch her and get her back. He needed her, he didn't know it then, but he needed her.
"I think she said she was going back home to Virginia. She left about six hours ago." Pete instantly knew he was too late to stop her, she was gone. He walked away, not saying a word to the land lord. He knew everything he had ever wanted was gone, and wasn't coming back.
THREE WEEKS LATER
Pete knew he was being assigned a new rookie to work with today, but he knew his was his last day. He was going to resign at the end of the shift, he couldn't take it anymore. He was burned out. The job had cost him everything that was important to him, his best friend, his girl, and slowly was going to take his sanity.
"Hi I'm Jim Reed , I'm your new rookie partner." Jim said, extending his hand, Pete shook it, knowing this was going to be a short lived deal. The other guys came from all around the locker room and congregated around the new rookies, each asking questions.
"So Jim, are you married?" One asked.
"Yes, I'm married. My wife's name is Jean , we're expecting our first soon." HE replied as the crowd thinned out, leaving just a few officers standing around.
"What about you Pete, are you married?" Jim asked. The other officers roared with laughter at the thought.
"Pete? Married? That's a joke. Pete is a confirmed bachelor, he ain't ever getting married. Ain't that right Pete?" One of the other officers, Officer Jack Rory said, between fits of laughter. Pete shot him a look filled with anger.
"What's the matter Malloy? It's the truth. Didn't you just dump that fine looking thing a couple weeks back? A man is either stupid or doesn't want to commit to get rid of something that looks as good as she did. Pete, you wouldn't mind since now that you're done with her?" Jack taunted. Pete was beyond angry, but knew I he wanted to keep his job long enough to resign; he couldn't do anything about it. He gathered his things and lead Jim to the door.
Resigning was beginning to look better and better.