Disclaimer: Takers doesn't belong to me.
Chapter Two
Mia didn't like entertaining the blonde for a second time and had thought the first had been enough to prove that she didn't want anything to do with him. Seeing the blood on his jacket, she quickly ushered him and his two friends in without a second hesitation. The blood came from his friend from earlier and the young woman with them seemed to be related to the guy Brian brought with him.
Not Brian, she reminded herself savagely. He wasn't even a cop but was a thief playing a cop that played with her entire family. She should have known something was up but he was so good at what he did and what was more, he had Dom's trust. A feat that said something about the blonde.
"Why is it the more I see you the more I see people with gun shot wounds?"
The blonde just patted the other man's shoulder before coming up to her slowly. He obviously remembered the slap earlier and probably knew that she had no qualms about doing so again.
"I forget your name," She decided to say instead of what she intended. She wasn't cruel. There was a man bleeding and she had to get the bullet out or it would be another friend lost. She was mad but she wasn't heartless anyway.
"John."
"Well John, since you're no longer playing Brian Spilner the gear head or Brian O'Connor the cop, I think it's a little better. A step up actually or a step down depending on where you put it. My brother may have been stealing from trucks but you are the real criminal, just remember that."
She got to work on removing the bullet and sewing the man up and even then she wondered if her brother would have thought this a good idea. The cops were probably onto them by now and with that amount of blood she knew she was going to be getting a great deal of practice with I.V's tonight. Maybe give the woman one too, she thought as an afterthought. She looked like she could use one. Glancing back at John when she was finished sewing the man's wound closed, she quickly bandaged it and headed back over to him.
"What's the game plan?"
"Game plan? I just needed the favor," he moistened his lips and quickly took a seat by the man and she had to keep herself from physically shaking him until he got what she was trying to ask.
Brian the cop and Brian the gear head were both the same warm person with a heart of gold. The same person that wouldn't hesitate to put himself in danger if it kept someone from getting hurt. John was a different matter and she had a hard time reading him. He wasn't the same person as Brian. He didn't have that larger than life smile nor did he seem to have this light that attracted people to him like a beacon. No, Johnny was not Brian, he just pretended to be a sweet caring person but he wasn't underneath. He didn't seem that way anyways. There was only one thought on her mind though.
"Why'd you let my brother go all those years ago?" She wondered aloud.
"You wanted him to go to jail?" John asked from where he was seated.
He had his head on the other man's shoulder and Mia was starting to feel bad about not knowing his name. She quickly readied two and began a line on the sister first seeing she was closest.
"He had a code he lives by, even now I could see it," John started out and Mia nodded understandably. "He's not a bad person and everyone makes mistakes. He paid for it already in Lompoc. Seemed ridiculous to have him go back when he wasn't hurting anybody. He learned his lesson too when Vince got hurt."
"I didn't like that undercover gig of yours Johnny," the other man finally spoke up after a bout of silence. "We saw even less of each other than the time you decided to go to Hawaii without telling anybody."
"You would've gone too," Was John's only reply.
Mia smiled a little.
She missed friendly banter in the house and she missed the team. Even now, she knew that she would give anything to have it back and have it be different. She should have told her brother no. They shouldn't have done those truck jackings. If John was right about one thing, it had been that her brother had definitely paid for a lot of things by going to Lompoc. He changed afterwards though and that was when he began to live for the risks. It cost them Jesse and now everyone she loved was stuck in countries without extradition laws back to the US.
"He took to you, Dom did," She commented as she began hooking up the man to the I.V line next. "He doesn't trust easy but you got past everything and he would have done anything for you. How did you do it? How could you easily pretend like that?"
The man snorted.
"Can't remember a time that Johnny wasn't a manipulative bastard."
"You like him anyways," Mia added for the thing left unsaid and he smiled in agreement.
"I'm Gordon. I don't think John meant to be rude but I don't want you to think that I would purposely leave out introductions like this if I had been in the right mind. That's my sister Naomi. Johnny if you're going to zonk out, be mindful of the hole."
Mia wanted to laugh but straightened up instead and turned to the blonde that did seem to be falling further and further into his shoulder. This was not how she had planned to meet up with him five years later but all things considered, she wanted to start off on the right foot this time and it seemed that he was done lying for the most part anyways.
"I'm gonna head to bed. If you need anything come get me. Uh, John, can I have a word with you please?"
She had debated telling him all this from the beginning but she made no more heads or tails anymore and saw no reason to hide it. Seeing the mussed up hair from just about falling asleep, she did feel a little bit of guilt run through her. She knew it was getting late and he turned to the only one he knew that would help him at this hour. The cops were going to be a problem for any hospital they chose to stop at and had to remain under the radar so she got that. She really did.
"Letty's dead," She began. Not noticing a difference, she continued as though she didn't pause. "She tried to get Dom freed but being undercover probably wasn't her thing after all. She tried because she wanted Dom to come home. I just wanted to let you know that things may be difficult right now but it's not always going to be this way. Maybe you could pass a message if you ever see him?"
"Letty went on an undercover assignment," he finally repeated. "What's the message you wanted me to leave him if I did see him?"
"Just that I love him and there's always a place for him at home."
He nodded and before he started back to the couch, she shot out and grabbed a hold of his arm.
"I haven't always been grateful but thank you for keeping my brother out of jail. I'm sorry I couldn't do more for your other friend."
Something passed through his eyes but before she could even begin to think about what it could be, he nodded as though it wasn't a big deal. She didn't know the real him but knew it wasn't something that would be thrown away. The kid was someone he cared about, he took him to her so he had to be. The other two that left were devastated and she wished she could have saved him for them, if not then for her own piece of mind. The kid seemed to be really good person, reminded her of Jesse. She knew he thought that but was thankful he didn't say anything about it. Instead, he shook her hold off, and gave a nod before heading off back to the couch.
Crossing her arms, she was glad that he shown some emotion the first time he was staying here, even if it was as Brian. Brian may have been the punk that always caused her brother's blood pressure to sky rocket, but he always left them with something to laugh about and it was nice seeing that big for life smile on his face. Not like the cold smiles he gave now.
Brian was full of life and was loving. John didn't know how to be that, their personalities were so different and she wished she knew the fun loving John but a part of her realized she probably met all that she would see of John.
"We alright brother?"
If Gordon was surprised by the question, it didn't show. The ride to the airport had taken some time and John wouldn't have been surprised to see the news alert showing their faces to everyone in the country but there hadn't been any alerts, only the rehashing of the young woman found dead in the hotel. Then there was Ghost. He was dead and gone but everything was still so fresh. He knew it was only luck that he got there in time to keep Gordon from dying.
"All signs point to it."
He nodded in acknowledgment and turned back to facing the window. He was still dead on his feet even with the amount of sleep he had which was unusual in itself but put it to the whole mess they were barely able to escape. Probably was the stress causing this, he thought. Naomi was sleeping on the other side and he knew she must have been just glad to get out of the country. That was what she wanted in the beginning and why she couldn't get past her habit no matter how many attempts to get clean. He glanced at Gordon who was watching with amusement now and his brow shot up in askance.
"You probably haven't noticed yet but you're getting rather pudgy."
Managing a smile of his own, he ignored him in favor for the flight attendant now explaining the usual about safety if the plane were to crash and all that. He snuck a look out of the corner of his eye and saw that Gordon was still amused. He really seemed to be given this much thought and now that he thought about it, he did gain a little within the last month. Not the month before that though. He honestly had thought he had caught something and barely had anything to put in his stomach that wouldn't come back out. He was glad it seemed to be settling down now though.
"Not like you care either way though."
Seeing Gordon shoot him a surprised glance, a huge smile graced his lips.
"G you'd love me if I were fat, admit it."
"Nope. I got nothing to admit and you better find out what is causing the pudgy little beer belly or you'll be on the couch."
John snorted.
"Can't keep your hands offa me even if you wanted to. I mean come on, you tried and look how well that happened. You seduced me remember?"
Gordon's eyes were mixed with humor and frustration now and seeing this, John's smile turned into a smirk. He didn't even have to hear anything else to know how much he would deny this and it usually turned into something fun.
"I remember it was you that did the seducing. You aren't that innocent little boy that you seem to keep convincing people of."
"Part of my charm."
He dared for Gordon to deny that fact and when he hadn't, he continued to lean his head back until he was against his shoulder and then gingerly wrapped his arms around him. He was still dead tired and after hearing about Letty's death, he felt for Mia. It wasn't like he wanted the girl to die. She wasn't even particularly hostile with him. She wasn't welcoming either but he understood and to hear of her death was a little saddening. After shooting Ghost dead, he had been so relieved when Gordon was up and about even if he was shot because if he had been too late, he didn't think he would have gone on and as much Shakespearean as it was, it was all too true.
"You have no charm," Gordon bantered back. "Just be lucky you're cute although you get any bigger around the middle and someone may think you don't care about your looks anymore."
"Will you love me if I became fat?"
It was something he didn't spend too much thinking about and even now, the gut was just that right now, a little bit of fat that he could deal with. Nothing else was effected and if it turned Gordon into a mushy romantic then there was a plus because the Brit loved to remind him how much he was his.
"I'll love you if you gained two hundred pounds, lost your designer suits, and decided to live in the wild. Just don't do that," he added seeing John's triumphant grin.
"Wouldn't dream of it darling," he drawled, fighting back a laugh. Watching the other man roll his eyes, he leaned in closer and smiled, seeing that Gordon was smiling back. "Just so you know if you gained two hundred pounds, lost your suits, and decided to live in the wild, I'll still love you too."
With that he crashed his lips against Gordon's without worrying who would see them. Most seemed to be asleep anyways and if the stewardess who had been eying his man from the corner of his eyes all this time glared, then it was a bonus for him because Gordon was his and no one else's. Seeming to catch up to what John was doing and why, Gordon deepened the kiss, making a small moan escape from John's mouth. There were so many things that he had wanted to do then but nothing that was appropriate on an airplane. Seeing as how they would soon be out of America and out abroad, he couldn't help but think it would be different.
Gordon seemed to share the same thought on the matter. He started to give little kisses all over his face and while he was a little aggravated by not being able to do more, he calmly laid his head back onto Gordon's shoulder with a satisfied grin anyways. This was a promise of a future of a lifetime and he wasn't going to lose the chance. Gordon had to have thought the same thing.
"Sleep would be wise right now. We have time and you aren't very alert right now," he added.
John didn't answer him and instead snuggled for the long ride. He didn't have to. Whatever was passed had been understood and closing his eyes, he trusted the man with the rest.