Megan watched as the scene in front of her dissolved. Their target stood in front of them, unaware of the two FBI agents calculating the end of his operation. The talk of the drug trade continued, with Megan and Don quietly absorbing the details, Megan aware Don was already picturing the raid in his head.
They were undercover as couple, an excuse that allowed them to spend time together outside the trade room, passing information and planning.
The talk continued for another few minutes before a man approached the boss and whispered in his ear. The boss held a neutral expression for only a second before he shot a look in Don's direction. At that glance, Megan felt her heart fell. That glance could mean any number of things, but most likely that their cover was blown and the next couple minutes would end with bullets in their heads. After having imagined the worst case scenario, Megan was surprised when the boss addressed Don by his cover name. Watching Don hide his surprise and seeing the familiar twitch of his jaw as he worked to maintain his cover, both settled Megan's nerves and threw her investigative mind into high gear.
Still watching the movement of his face, Megan saw the exact moment Don's cover broke and his fear shone brightly on his face. It was a second before a wave of pain across his face and two seconds before his eyes dropped closed and he fell, hitting his knees before he collapsed onto his side.
Every muscle in her body wanted to scream his name, but a small part of her mind knew she would follow him if she broke cover and she rushed to his side without uttering a word.
As his girlfriend, she was permitted to pull him into her lap as blood ran down his chest and into her clothes.
The warmth of it shocked her and simultaneously disgusted her. Never in her life did Megan want to be drenched in this much blood, but here she sat, watched by half dozen criminals as her cover boyfriend bled out.
But really he was so much more that than and she knew that only law enforcement could understand her sentiment. Guilt rushed through her even though Don's eyes held no blame. She felt vulnerable, in a way she had not felt since she was assigned as Don's permanent partner. She ached inside for the loss of someone understood and responded to her every move, the jerk of her hand and tilt of her head. She wanted someone who had her back. Megan was an agent; she lived in fear and almost anticipation of being killed, but the deep fear had vanished. Don had her six, hell he had the whole dozen. Being his partner was to be treasured and protected and understood. The years of emotions overwhelmed her as she held in this man in her arms, one hand applying pressure to his wound, one hand holding his head so she could see his eyes. His eyes; they sent another wave of tears through her eyes and another wave of pain through her chest. They reflected fear and panic. She wanted so badly to erase that unsettling fear from his eyes, but she knew, in her rational mind, that he was going to die here. This incredible selflessly person was going to die under the eyes of criminals. He was not even to be granted the honor of dying under his own name, as himself; her partner, an invaluable person, was going to die as a criminal, sacrificing every bit of his life and even the honor of his death to his country and to achieving this justice.
Through her tears, Megan caught Don's lips moving but the words were quiet, just for her. Megan could only think of Don wanted to say, what he wanted his parting message to be, but watching him struggle proved more than Megan could handle at the moment. So she talked him into a silence and let go of his chest to hold his hand. A flash of pain lit in his eyes, but she felt his cooling fingers fumble in hers, so Megan tried not to feel to guilty; that she was giving up, that she was not fighting, that she was passively playing a role in his death. But she kept staring at Don, and his eyes would not let her carry the guilt. For someone so close to being gone, he looked so solid, so present and Megan smiled down at him. Only when he saw her starting to recover, did the stoic look vanish from his eyes and did he allow the despair to crept. Megan understood what was happening; Don was passing the torch. He was trusting her to finish the case, to led his team, to tell his family, to catch the killer, to let all the victims, which now included him, have justice. Megan felt a huge weight of responsibility settle on her and that burden would never cease. But she shoved her emotions back; it was no longer about her. For weeks after this it would be about her and their team. But this was Don's last moment, his last chance to be seen, to be understood. And in this final moment, his flawlessly trust floored her and she memorized the emotion in his eyes, touched he let her see them.
But even Don could not hold on for forever and slowly the light faded and Megan ground her teeth together, trapping her agony inside and muttering nonsense under her breath, holding his hand and listening to his breath force itself out of his body. At the last second, she put her head on his chest, in a show of intimacy one might expect from a couple. The feeling of Don's chest sinking and not rising almost stalled her own.
The world grayed out for a minute after that, and Megan almost can't breathe through the havoc in her chest. Suddenly, the world seemed too big, dangerous and unforgiving. Her place in it seemed uncertain and more than anything Megan wanted Don back.
Before a second wave of awareness could hit her and Megan folded completely, she moved to untangled his hand from hers. Sliding out from under his body, Megan barely noticed the blood that now covered most of her body. Struggling to her feet, her resolve started to return, only to take another hit when Don remained so still on the ground. But Don had given her a mission and he had trusted her with a responsibility; she could not bear to let him down again, so she forced herself to turn away from her partner for the last time and met the eyes of the man who had killed him.