Black and Blue and Red All Over
Author's Note: Well, I've read a million fanfics but this is the first one I've actually written here, so I hope you'll be kind. I loved the episode "Black and Blue" but as soon as it was over, I couldn't stop thinking about missing and alternate scenes that would have been neat to see. So, here's me taking a shot at a few. I hope you enjoy and review! I own nothing, of course! Also, it's worth noting that I have no law enforcement experience, so if there are wild inaccuracies in some of this, I apologize.
Missing Scene #1 - Just how did Jamie and Renzulli get out of that building in one piece?
Logically, Jamie knew that nobody had taken a Louisville Slugger to the side of his head, even though his ears were ringing so badly he could barely think. He knew there had been no steel-toed boots digging into his temple, either, but he was still half-convinced that if he probed too hard at the raw, bloody skin there, he might feel bone shift under his fingertips. It was hard to push past the blinding pain in his head.
What in the hell had just happened?
Gritting his teeth, Jamie dared to press the heel of his hand against his forehead anyway, wincing as he curled his fingers around the source of the pain. He felt jarred, his body knocked out of alignment at the joints, his bones rattled. Even his breaths seemed jittery, pulled out of lungs that weren't quite as attached as they had been just a few minutes ago, when…
…what?
He wasn't a hundred percent sure he hadn't taken the Wool Sock Slip, the term Joe had coined after Jamie's graceless and klutzy habit of taking the stairs at double-time in his favorite elephant socks had resulted in three trips to the ER and at least twice as many Dumbo band-aids before his sixth birthday. The Wool Sock Slip felt pretty much like this after it was all said and done, although the floor beneath him was colder and harder than the smooth boards of the living room floor at home, and he didn't see his horrified mother or his smirking older brother bending over him this time.
It was about then that he remembered that he was a cop and was sprawled on the floor of a building in Washington Heights, his cracked head aching like it had been split in half, the lights around him suddenly overbright and burning into his eyes. The world was swimming despite the solid marble floor beneath him, but he could see enough to make out the two broad-shouldered men standing on high ground above him, peering down at him and his sprawled sergeant.
Shit, the Sarge. Jamie struggled up, forcing out a breath from between clenched teeth as the walls tilted dangerously with his sudden movement. "Sarge," he gasped, and managed to get himself vertical, bending over his dazed partner. "Sarge, are you all right?"
Renzulli's eyes were open, but as soon as Jamie caught them, he realized with a sinking dread that his sergeant wasn't exactly home. Renzulli's gaze was blurry and dazed, and though he blinked up at Jamie blearily when Jamie laid one hand against his chest, there was no recognition - not of him, not of the fact that they had just toppled down a flight of stairs together, and not, it seemed, of the red smears against the bottom marble step. Jamie quickly cupped the back of Renzulli's head in his free hand, and blood seeped through his fingers.
Movement fluttered at the edges of his vision, and Jamie looked up, sucking in another tight breath as his head pounded from the sudden twist. The two guards were sauntering towards him now, their expressions blank, descending the steps with a measured ease and detachment that reminded Jamie of someone going to take out the trash.
And perhaps that's exactly what they were about to do.
Adrenaline surged, racing through his veins like fire, and in a rush, instinct overcame shock. Jamie snatched his weapon from the holder on his hip without hesitation, and brought the gun to bear on the two men. His hands were shaking, but he barely noticed. There wasn't time to consider it; there was time for nothing but action. "Hey, back up! Back up," he warned, his voice sounding weak and distant to his own ears. The men stopped but didn't exactly retreat, pausing there on the steps above to watch Jamie carefully. At that point, though, Jamie didn't care if they sat down and had a smoke, so long as they stopped. His heart was about to hammer straight through his ribcage, and he tasted a sharp, bitter flavor on the back of his tongue. He wondered if it was fear.
There was no time to be afraid. He looked quickly back down at the Sarge, who was still half-curled on the floor, hands protecting his head. Awkwardly, Jamie gripped his shoulder and shifted his stance, instinctively trying to put himself between his injured officer and the menacing presence, still looming just a few long strides away from them both. There were more men behind them now; more security in neatly pressed suits with grim faces and huge hands, and Jamie swallowed, pushing past the pain from his bruised body. "Stay back," he warned them, and fumbled for the radio on his left shoulder.
"All right, kid, now I'm gonna see how well they grilled you at the academy. What's a 10-80?"
"Uh…"
"Ya gotta be quick, kid! You're out there in the boondocks and you need to make a call, you can't be hesitatin' and fumblin' around! Dispatch needs to know what's goin' on out there; now what's a 10-80?"
"Cancel, Sarge. And specify the cancelled service."
"Right. How about a 10-84?"
"Arrived at scene."
"Very good! Ya know, your brother once blanked out when I asked him what a 10-4 was."
"Really?"
"Sometime s the easiest ones are the hardest to remember. 10-13."
"That's officer in need of assistance."
"Right, and you better remember that one, kid. You ever get yourself into a world of trouble, that's the code you're gonna want to use to get some friends around ya forthwith."
"What's the difference between that and a 10-85?"
"You call a 10-13, that means your head's already been knocked off and is in the process of getting kicked down the street. You only call that one if you're bad off, and I mean bad off. 10-85 means it's heading that way, but you've still got a chance of getting outta there in one piece. What's with the face?"
"Neither of those sound that good to me."
"Well, that's why ya got me, kid. I'm here to make sure you stay in one piece. Two, tops."
"Thanks, Sarge."
Jamie grabbed the radio clipped to his shoulder. His fingers were slippery with blood. "10-85, forthwith," he snapped, not bothering to check the channel for other traffic first. "Uh… one two two Lenox… I need a bus."
He swallowed, eyes flicking back up to the guards as his radio crackled with acknowledgement from dispatch. It wouldn't be long, he knew, before help would be on the way. In the meantime…
Danny's hands came down hard on his shoulders; gripped them. "You ready for today's rule, kid?"
Jamie sighed, wishing he could twist out from under his brother's bruising grip but knowing better. "What are we up to now, seventy-five?"
"We're up to as many as I want. So long as you're wearing the blue, kid, you're gonna learn from the best and I'm going to have you eating, sleeping and crapping this stuff, you got it?"
"I got it."
"Today's rule." Danny released one shoulder; lifted one finger in the air. "You get in trouble, right? You're in a bad situation; some dark alley somewhere. You need to make a quick decision. What do you do?"
"Uh… follow the lead of my training officer?"
"No."
"Follow my instinct?"
"No."
He twisted a corner of his mouth. "Ask dispatch to have you call me on the radio for a briefing."
Danny smiled. "Four letters."
"Hit me."
"WWDD."
Jamie laughed before he could help it. "Are you kidding me?"
Danny looked pleased with himself. "I am not. And you remember that, kid."
What WOULD Danny do?
Protect his partner. Control the situation. Get to safety.
The security guard with the gold earring took another step closer, and Jamie snapped his gun to aim on center mass without thought. "I told you to stay back!"
Earring raised his hands in a non-threatening gesture, though his expression didn't change. "We warned you, didn't we?"
Jamie clenched his teeth, keeping one hand locked firmly around Renzulli's shoulder. "What part of obeying an order from a police officer was too much for you?"
"This is private property," Earring seethed. "You were warned, and you chose to ignore that warning. We're doing our jobs… officer."
"That job include assault?" he snapped.
Earring drew himself up, his face twisting. "It's unfortunate you both lost your balance and fell down the stairs."
Jamie narrowed his eyes. A thousand responses crowded for space on his tongue, but he was in the uniform, and blood was running into his ear now, and it was almost impossible to think past the pounding of his growing headache. "I need you and your friends to back off. Right now."
Earring's eyes narrowed, too, but he remained where he was, posture going ramrod-straight.
"Now!" Jamie's voice boomed off the marble walls, and with a scowl, Earring and the other security guards backed up a few steps, their defiant glares still fixed on Jamie and Renzulli.
It would have to do for now. Jamie ducked his head, eyes skating over Renzulli's dazed figure, and he jumped when he felt a sudden spill of warmth down his cheekbone. Swiping at it with the back of his hand, he was only mildly surprised to see the smear of his own blood against his skin. Head wounds bled a lot. He remembered that from a childhood largely spent careening off the sharp edges of two older brothers. "Sarge, can you hear me? I've got help on the way."
Renzulli groaned and shifted under Jamie's hold. After a quick glance up to make sure Earring and his goons remained a safe distance away, Jamie slid his weapon back into its holder and used both hands to grip his sergeant's arms. "Sarge? Do you hear me?"
"I hear you," he muttered. "What the hell happened?"
"Close encounter with a flight of stairs. Help's on the way," Jamie added. "Do you want to sit up?"
Renzulli grunted something in the affirmative, and Jamie knelt, helping to brace him as he pulled himself slowly, painfully, to a sitting position. The sergeant kept one hand wrapped protectively against the back of his head, hissing with pain. "God, kid, what happened?"
"Stairs," Jamie said absently, putting an arm around his sergeant's shoulders to brace him up.
Renzulli turned his head gingerly to squint at Jamie, then blinked in surprise, his eyes widening comically. It might have been funny in any other circumstance. "Are you bleeding, kid?"
"A little." Actually, the entire right side of his face felt damp now, but there wasn't much use dwelling on it. "You are, too."
"What happened?"
"Same thing that happened to you," he remarked wryly, and would have smiled if not for another sudden shadow in the corner of his eye.
And before he knew what was happening, a massive hand had snatched him by the collar, hauling him to his feet like a doll. Jamie lashed out without thought, driving his bruised elbow into the man's midsection. He heard a surprised grunt, but the painful grip didn't release. "You need to exit this property - now!"
Sirens were wailing outside, and a dozen or more black men in suits were filling the lobby, jostling as they rushed into the space. For a moment Jamie's heart clawed up into his throat, seizing at the sudden and desperate thought that they were being ambushed now, set upon like prey. But the burly men were moving past them to the doors, and to the police officers who were now shouting on the other side of the glass.
Jamie managed to jerk free of Earring's grasp with a sharp twist, tucking his narrow frame low to avoid the follow-up swipe. "Give us room," he snapped, though he knew such orders were paper-thin now.
Rough hands grasped him by the shoulders-
Danny's hands came down hard on his shoulders; gripped them. "You ready for today's rule, kid?"
-but Jamie moved with them, getting his arms tightly around Renzulli's listing body and using Earring's muscle to get them both on their feet. "Back off!" he snapped, and fisted his own hands in Renzulli's uniform, yanking him close. The heavy bodies of the security guards were all around them now, and Jamie moved with their momentum, struggling forward. "Police officers! Get back!" he yelled, trying to use his voice to clear the path. The voices were louder, more heated, and Jamie gripped Renzulli fiercely as he wobbled.
A voice outside cried out, "There they are!"
And, blinking blood out of his eyes, Jamie lurched forward with Renzulli tucked safely beside him, stumbling out into the light.
Hey, hope you enjoyed it. Read and review! Next up tomorrow…
Missing Scene #2 - Danny takes care of Jamie in the frantic moments following the escape from the church.
If you have any missing scenes or prompts you'd like me to do, let me know!