Back To Basics

by Snow'sLuckyCat

Kyle Montgomery didn't come to maim John Nolan for the death of his brother. He came to to kill John Nolan. So, can John successfully talk his way out of this one? Or will Lucy also get caught in the middle of this unscrupulous attack?

1. Deescalation

Title: Back To Basics (1/3)

This Part's Title: Deescalation

Author: Snow'sLuckyCat aka Sharma aka ME

Fandom: The Rookie (TV)

Genres: Hurt/Comfort. Whump, ahoy! Also? Angst and Drama. So, buckle up, guys and dolls! You all are in for a bumpy ride...

Characters: Just John Nolan, Lucy Chen, and Kyle Montgomery, for now. Alongside some minor OCs. With the additions of Sergeant Grey and Captain Anderson and Talia Bishop, coming a bit later on.

Spoilers: 1x08, "Time of Death." ...And HOW?! Plus, a couple of minor ones for some of the earlier episodes.

Summary: We all know that John Nolan can talk. But, he might have finally met his match. Can he successfully talk the surviving Montgomery brother out of enacting his revenge? And will John even be given the chance to explain himself in the first place? Or will Kyle's firearm aim remain true and his conscience remain blinded by the righteous hatred currently fueling him?

Disclaimer: I don't own The Rookie. Nor do I make any money off of this endeavor. So, please don't sue me. I simply love the characters therein and wanted to play around with them for a bit. The OCs, however, that you don't already recognize from the show are indeed mine (for example: Patrick). ABC Studios, Alexi Hawley, Nathan Fillion, etc. are the ones who really own a RL piece of this.

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Part One:

Deescalation

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Alex's brother is standing over me, gun cocked and ready. He's already broken into my house and hit me over the head with my own fuckin' baseball bat. Even as I'm now staring my own death down the sights of a revolver, my mind turns to the woman tucked away in my bathroom. Unarmed and sans clothing. Either still in the shower or fresh from it.

Lucy Chen had been a godsend to me. She had helped me through the roughest time in my life. Twice. And she'd bared that burden with little complaint. Only care and compassion and a rather great sense of humor, the time of our mutual breakup early last month notwithstanding.

With my death, however, would she be next? Or would this irate, inconsolable former brother and current only child take pity on her? After all, his quarrel was with me alone. Or would he treat Lucy as if she were just as guilty, simply because of her association with me?

This potential threat to her life quickly supersedes any thought of my own. I know I must act. Now.

Forcing my aching body to surge upwards and forwards surprises him. At least initially. But, he is still able to pull the trigger, although it's in a wild manner.

Red-hot pain splashes up from my right hip as the first bullet grazes my side before burying itself in the wall behind me. I refuse to be stunned however, refuse to alter my direction. Undeterred. Determined.

The second bullet strafes my left temple. Just barely. Another mere flesh wound. He will not get to shoot again, for, in the next instant, I am upon him, using my greater size and weight to topple him down onto the marbled floor. In fact, we almost go through the plate glass window he'd previously been standing in front of.

Instead, the back of his head bounces off the window, momentarily stunning him. I quickly take advantage, grabbing the gun and tossing it towards the hallway. It lands near the still-closed bathroom door. Now, we're both unarmed. An equal playing field. At last.

But, now, it's his turn to surprise me. Gone is the anger from before. Deflated. Drained away. Instead, there are hot tears in his eyes.

I quickly drop back to a safer distance as he starts to speak. Haltingly at first, but words begin tumbling out of his mouth at a rather alarming rate. "Why?! Why did you have to ruin everything?! Why'd you have to kill him? He was the good brother, the law-abiding one. I was the screw-up! I was the one that made him rob that store with me. It was my idea alone. My old partner had bailed on me. And I needed a new one. Fast. He just went along with it, only because I practically forced him to."

He looks at me, really looks at me, waiting. Expectant. Actually giving me a chance to respond.

This is the first time since Sergeant Grey, since Captain Anderson, that I can talk about this. Only more freely.

"Your brother. He was a good guy, you say. And I believe you. I didn't know him. I'd never seen him before that day. But, he knocked over a convenience store for money, with you. Right in front of me and my T.O. You're still alive and are attesting to that fact. So, I figured he'd just run away like you tried to do. Ditching the gun along the way. And my partner and I...We spilt up. I was the one chasing your brother. Somehow, he got into a house with a young son and daughter and their dad, all probably just getting home from school. He took the father captive, threatened to kill him, then sent him flying in my direction. I thought I could reason with him. Your brother. I thought I could talk him down. But, he still had his gun out, and I had mine. I know you won't believe me, but killing him was the absolutely last thing on my mind. Incapacitate, maybe. But never kill."

"You're right. I don't believe you."

"Sometimes, I don't believe me either. But, you could come down to the precinct, see the footage, maybe you'd understand the stress we were both under. The context. I was only trying to protect people. People your brother had unnecessarily put into grave danger."

The man before me, Kyle Montgomery, swallows, finally realizing the enormity of what he'd almost done. "Am I under arrest again?" he asks breathlessly.

"No. You can leave anytime you want. But, my offer stands. You didn't do anything that can't be undone. Come to the precinct, any time that you're ready. I'll arrange it myself. Or I could ask my captain to do so. She shouldn't have a major issue with it. And if she does, I'll deal with that."

"You'd do that for me? Even if it proves that you're the murdering son-of-a-bitch cop that I still think you are."

"Yes." It's immediate and honest. I have nothing to hide from this man, this man who'd just lost his younger brother. Nothing.

Kyle nods, accepting.

Slowly, he rises to his feet.

The uncomfortable weight of sudden utter exhaustion keeps me from doing likewise.

But, I needn't have bothered. He gives me a wide berth. On his way back to my home's entranceway. Retrieves the gun he'd lost...that I'd tossed...during our scuffle. Studies it for a minute. Considering.

For a second, I think he's really going to use it, despite our earlier agreement. But, he quickly pockets it, silently disappearing back out the way he'd come.

Distantly, I hear a car door slam. And an engine start up. And a sedan drive off.

I sit in silence for a few seconds, head bowed. Listless. Still trying to gather the strength to stand. But, my ribs and head really hurt. And I don't make a move yet. Convinced he'll turn around and come back to finish his wish for revenge.

Then, cutting through that dark fog, I hear Lucy's voice. Wafting in from the hallway. And getting inexorably closer. "Babe, who was that? A friend? I thought I heard gunshots and some weird banging noises and yelling. Were you watching an action film again?"

When I don't answer right away, she comes all the way into the room, sees me sitting on the ground and unable to move. Sees the blood dotting my temple. Sees the vivid bruise on my other temple. And the discarded baseball bat laying nearby.

"What in the hell happened out here, John?"

"I had a visitor. Kyle Montgomery. He's gone now. Wasn't happy with me though. Might've messed me up a bit..."

Everything's suddenly spinning. And I find myself slowly collapsing fully to the floor again, dizzy and nauseous and cold.

Lucy's worried face expands and contorts into one with funhouse dimensions, as she practically skids across the floor to my side.

My ribs, head, and side all ache. Fiercely.

I close my eyes, willing the dizziness to subside and for Lucy to stop looking so weirdly shaped. And then, I promptly lose some time.

When next I'm fully aware, a fully clothed Lucy is again bending over me. She's back on her knees, tears in her eyes, worry etched deeply on her face, fighting a losing battle to not outright cry.

"...John, c'mon, stay with me. Stay awake for me. I've called a bus. The medics should get here soon. You've lost a lot of blood. I think you might also have a concussion. Dammit! You need to stay awake..."

Wherein before the pain was sharp, now it's muted. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing though. My policemans' handbook might've said something about that...

I shake my head slightly, trying to dust the cobwebs from my brain. But, another wave of migraine answers my motion instead, and my eyes droop closed once more. More time is lost.

When next I am aware, there's a shaking sensation, only, this time, it's coming from the environment around me, not my own body.

I blearily open my eyes and shift slightly. That garners the attention of the unfamiliar person partially bent over me. Taking vitals, it looks like.

"Glad you could join us, Officer Nolan," the man says with a gentle smile. "I hear you've had quite the day."

"Who's us? Where are we?" My words are slurring together, but I think the guy can still understand what I'm saying.

I try to lift my head, my shoulders, trying to really suss out what's going on, trying to sit up, when he doesn't answer me right away. But, I feel lightheaded and get easily pushed back down onto the cot I'd been laying on, by the hands of the man from before.

"Whoa there, John! I don't think that's such a good idea right now. Just lie still. We've got ya."

"Who's we?" I mutter again, irritatingly exhausted from my little exertion.

"Me and your lovely lady friend here, John." The man motions across my blanketed chest to the other side of the gently jostling cot.

It's then I realize that Lucy is on my other side, eyes as wide as saucers, her hand clasping my fingers reflexively. That she'd come with me. That she's frightened. That I'd frightened her.

"Luce...Lucy, I'm fine. See? I'm right here."

"But, I couldn't wake you up. I thought I'd lost you again, John. Dammit."

I carefully slip my hand out of her grip, reaching up to cradle her cheek with it. It's the most intimate physical contact that we can share in such a small space. An ambulance I finally, belatedly surmise. But, the gesture's still enough to garner a watery smile from her.

"You could never lose me," I tell her.

We hold each other's gaze for a moment.

And then that moment is gone, when the medic, whose identification badge reads 'Patrick', verbally breaks in with "We're almost there."

"Hospital?" I ask.

Patrick nods. "Cedars-Sinai. They'll take good care of you there."

I nod, closing my eyes.

"John?" Patrick has a slight edge to his voice. Like he's losing me again. But, he's not.

"Yep. Still here. My eyes are just tired."

"Okay. Good. Just making sure. We're pulling up now though. So, there's gonna be some loud noises when we transfer you into the building. They might temporarily aggravate your headache and vertigo. Do you want some earplugs to help with that?"

"That'd be...awesome," I slur.

"Okay. Here ya go. I'm putting them in now. Don't worry. I won't go in too deep."

There's an odd pressure in my right ear, then my left. The earplugs are soft and squishy, and they tickle a bit, but, once they're in, I can barely hear anything at all.

I'm fairly sure that I give Lucy and Patrick a goofy thumbs-up. Because, in the next minute, I sense that we're all on the move. First, there's a distant bang, then the brief sensation that I'm falling, only I know I'm not. Then, there's suddenly a lot more talking and motion all around me. I sense it, but I'm not hearing what anyone is saying.

I open my eyes finally seemingly only a few minutes later, and realize that someone is now talking directly to me.

A nurse with long gray hair and tortoise shell eyeglasses is before me. And she looks like she's trying to assess me.

We're in a makeshift room off to one side of the main hospital corridor. A curtained-off area of the emergency room then. Patrick is gone though. As is Lucy. And it's just us.

If I have to talk to this women, I'm gonna need to be able to hear her. Carefully, I pluck the plugs from ears, and ball them up in my right hand. "Sorry, ma'am. Couldn't hear you before. What were you asking?"

The woman sighs, but dutifully asks again. "I'm Frankie. Short for Francesca. Your friend says this was a home invasion. So, were you hurt anywhere else other than the deep lacerations on your scalp and side, and the bruising on your temple?"

I hurriedly look down at myself. I'm still fully dressed in my ruined hoodie and bloodstained sweatpants. "I think I got hit in the solar plexus with the brunt end of a baseball bat. Wooden, not aluminum."

"Looks like you're gonna need a chest X-Ray and CT scan then. Having any trouble breathing?"

I shake my head. "No, I'm okay. I think they're just bruised."

The nurse isn't so easily convinced. "Mind if I have a look?"

"No. Go ahead."

Coming forward, she gently unzips my hoodie and tugs the shirt underneath it upwards, towards my shoulders, to reveal my newly multicolored ribcage.

Reds and yellows, blues and blacks, all meld together, creating an ugly mosaic that spotlights the aftermath of a moment of intense emotion and violence. I wince at the grand reveal.

"This is probably going to hurt," she says, just before she presses down, testing each rib's give. To make sure there are no obvious breaks. The resulting discomfort is hard to ignore.

She finishes, suitably satisfied, only a minute later. "You might have a hairline fracture, but you were right. No obvious breaks."

I nod, relieved this round of torture is over.

"It'll be a few minutes before we can get you on over to CT though. You want me to go get your friend? She can sit with you awhile if you'd like."

"Yeah, sure. Thanks."

The nurse finally leaves, and I'm left quietly panting at the renewed pain her medically-needed probing had caused. Almost patiently awaiting Lucy's welcome return.

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To be Continued...

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A/N: Okay, so this is my first ever written fic for The Rookie. How'd I do? I saw "Time of Death" and was immediately galvanized to write a continuation of that episode. I probably won't get it all up by the time the next actual episode, "The Standoff," arrives in January 2019. But, I guess my 3-part story, if it's actually any good, can tie you over for a bit until the 8th arrives. Here's to finding inspiration in strange places! ;c )