Chapter 2
The Hospital
John knew in his brain that running after his former partner, or whoever the girl really was, was a bad idea. But his heart had other ideas. "Slow down or we are going to end up getting a ticket." His partner said looking over at the speedometer. It had said that they were going 50 in a 35-mile per hour area, and the cops in LA were never nice with the FBI Agents. The car started to slow down to the proper speed as a cop car sped past.
Looking over at his partner John apologizes for the speeding and will try to keep his eye on the speed. Markus just nodded. He had only seen John act like this once before in the whole year that they had worked together and it had been when Assistant Director Skinner had been put into the hospital for a heart attack a few months prior to this. John went back to staring out the windshield, and his thoughts drifted back to the last moments he had seen Ashley
"Listen to me John, Everything will be fine. I promise you, it will be ok, if not you can personally kick my ass." Ashley had said confidently and quietly as she and John worked on a compromise with Robby Garza. "I can't let you just let them have you. Everyone would be personally kicking my ass, including myself." He paused to look over his shoulder at Robby, then continued. "I love you to much to let them have you."
Ashley could not believe it. Had he really said what I thought he had said, after all these years no less? She slapped John on the arm, like he had just mentioned a horrible curse word. "Damn it, John! Why could you have said this months ago, when we were not in this mess?" Ashley turns her chair to face Robby, and then says, "It's a deal." John just stared at Ashley for what she had just said. Did she just seal a deal that he knew neither of them wanted? His mind raced as he tried to find a way to stop the deal and keep the woman sitting next to him. "It is final then, Miss Spender please come this way." Robby Garza said standing and walking towards the door closest to him. Ashley stands and looks at John, then leans down to kiss John on the lips. John pulled her closer as they kissed, hoping that he would never have to let go. Ashley pulled away as she could sense that one of Robby's goons was coming closer to pull them apart. She started to walk off, then turns her head to look back at John and gives a reassuring smile. Then walks out the door behind Robby. And that was the last he had seen of her, till now.
Markus looks at his partner and shook his head. Men these days, he thought. Wait, I need to rephrase that, John these days. "The silence is killing me, so talk to me." He paused as John turned his head slightly to look at him. "Don't you think this is maybe what that Garza person wants you to do?" John grinned then said. "Do I look like a total idiot? I have thought about these things way before now."
"I was going to say you did look like an idiot or so my sister says. But I somewhat knew that you had thought about this before." Markus said glancing over at his partner before facing the forward. The car started to slow again as they entered the Hospital parking lot. John found a spot as close to the front as possible and shut off the car. They entered the building after the short 5-minute walk up to it. The information area was buzzing with activity, the kind that Falls Church, VA had never seen before. After about an hour of convincing one the nurses that Lauren Wheaton was actually a friend of theirs. She showed them the way to where her room was in the ICU.
As they entered the room, they noticed how full it was with monitors and other instruments that were helping her live. John had all he could do to keep himself from just breaking down and crying in hopes that would help her wake. He had all he could do to see Ashley's limp body like this. "Nurse can I speak with you outside for a moment." Markus asked while he stood in the doorway as he watched his partner keep from collapsing in front of him. "May I ask why?" The nursed asked as she walked out the door behind him. "Because, I need to be reassured that girl lying there will be alright. And no one has access to this room but her doctor, his staff and now us, right?" The nursed looked at him like he was crazy. "Correct." She replied as her face turned to a frown. She knew that he would want to know what her stats were, but she did not want to say. "Miss are you going to tell me how she is doing or am I going to have to read the charts myself." Markus said in a smart ass tone. Markus knew she didn't want to tell him, he could see it in her eyes. "Uhh.." Her eyes started to well up with tears. "There is little chance of her surviving this, the bullet was to close to her heart and during surgery she lost so much blood, she my not make it through the night." She finished while wiping her eyes.
Markus was shocked, he didn't know what to say. He knew if John would find out, he would freak out. "Please do not tell my partner any of this, it would be bad for any of us." Marcus said as he watched her look through the door window. John was holding Ashley's hand begging for god to let her wake up. "I can understand, he looks like this is rough on him." She had said turning her attention back on Marcus. Marcus smiled slightly, then said, "I should tell you that the womans name is not Laren Wheaton but Ashley Spender. She was taken away by the Garza Gang, about a year ago. Its seem she may have gotten away from them and thats why we are all here." Marcus continued to continued to explain about Ashley and the nurse took it all in. After a few minutes the nurse asked, "Do you want me to change the name on the charts? Also would you like me to get some of the guys in blue to come in and guard her?" Marcus thought about it for a minute and replied, "Leave the name on the charts the way they are, at least until we talk to the doctor. And about the guys in blue, yeah I think we should have a couple stand outside and guard the door. We can take care of it from the inside." She smiled and simply said "ok" then she walked over to the nurses station to take care of everything. Marcus just sat outside the room in hopes that John would calm down soon.
The night came with a flash of lightning as Markus and John left the hospital to get some dinner at a small café down the street. "Damn it, friggin California weather." Markus paused as it started to rain. He had lived in California almost all of his life. "I hate the rain" He finished as they started to run across the parking lot to the cross walk. "I would rather have it this way than sunny and hot any day." John admitted. They crossed the busy street and walked quickly down the sidewalk towards the dinner. After a few moments of silence they entered the diner and sat down at a table near the back.
One of the waitresses came out from behind the counter and walked down to them, then said. "I am Candy, I will be your waitress this evening. What would you like to drink?" She said laying out the menu's for the agent's. "I would like a coke, and for my partner I have no idea." Markus said looking over to his partner. "And I would like the same." John said looking into the nearly sad eyes of their waitress. "I shall be right back to take your order." Candy said before walking off. John and Markus spent nearly two hours after this just talking and taking their time on eating before their waitress came to tell them that they would be closing in ten minutes. So John got up and paid while Markus headed for the door. John was shortly behind him. By the time they came outside the rain had stopped and the clouds had disappeared. " 'Bout damn time." Markus said looking up towards the sky. "That is the truth. But did you see how sad the waitress looked?" John asked pressing the crossing light button. For the moments it took to get back into the hospital and enter Ashley's room, they talked of the waitress and what they thought her problem could be.
As night went on slowly, and Dr. Mathews had checked in a few times through out the night, to make sure the agents were fine. But boy's had not gotten to sleep till about one in the morning or shortly after, because there had been some signs of improvement on Ashley's monitors. The next morning the John arose to see a confident Dr. Mathews and a couple of L.A.'s finest standing behind him. "What into hell is going on?" John asked as his suspicion grew. "We are needing to speak with you on, the matter of the person who did this to the girl." One of the cops had said looking at John as he stood up. "I do not see why, we have no idea of who had done this, even though I have some ideas of who could have the power to have it done." John said noticing the uneasiness in the tone of the cop that spoke.
"Dr., will you please step outside with me for a moment." The second cop asked as he held the door open. Dr. Mathews stepped out the door, hoping none of this would end up in a fight. The door closed quickly and loudly behind the second cop as he went out the door. "I see. But as Dr. Mathews had told us last night. Your fellow agent told a nurse that this was not Lauren Wheaton, but a fellow agent of yours named Ashley Spender. Why would she claim that she was this actress without a good enough reason too?" The cop paused to feel out the agent standing before him. "By the way I am Det. Spender."
"That is a good question, you should ask her yourself when she wakes up." John paused for a moment to think of what the Detective had just said. "What did you say your first name was?" John wanted to see if it possibly could be Ashley's brother. He had seen pictures of Jeffery before his face had become disfigured, but he thought there is no way that anyone could repair it. "If you must know, it is Jeffery." He waited to continue to see what the reaction of John was.
John wanted to scream, this did not look like the same Jeffery Spender he had seen just a few years ago in D.C. with Agent's Reyes and Scully. "This is a stupid question but are you her brother?" Jeffery laughed, the secret was out. "Yes, I am unfortunately. Why do you think I did not ask for your name when Dr. Mathews left?" John shook his head. "I thought it was because Dr. Mathews had pointed us out when we were still asleep. But what happened with your face?" John paused as he looked to see at his partner waking up. "Good, morning." Jeffery said his hello to Markus, before telling them of the horrendous amount of surgery he had to endure to make his face look normal again.
They continued the conversation all through out breakfast in the cafeteria. Until Jeffery said he needed to get back to the precinct to attend they're daily meeting. They said their goodbye's and John said that needed ask him something when he came back later in the day. Markus and John started to walk back to Ashley's room a short time later. Markus nagged John to tell him what he was going to talk to Jeffery about later in the day. But all that John would say is you will find out later.. "John I am going to go find Ashley's nurse and see if she wants to go to lunch or something. See ya later." Markus said going off before John could say no. John walked back into Ashley's room and what he saw what shocking to him. Ashley was awake, still pale but awake. John ran over to her bed and put his arms around her. Ashley just took it all in, she had missed him so much. After about ten minutes of John holding her she had to blurt out, "You can let go now, it hurts." John let go quickly and sat down on the bed. He was so happy that she was awake and talking. "I'm sorry, I was just so happy to see you awake." John took her hand and kissed it gently.