Chapter Three: Fighting For You

Author's Note: Hi everyone. Here's the next chapter in my fic. As always, I don't own The Night Shift or any of its characters. The chapter title comes from Through by Britney Christian, which was the song that was used in the background of the season two promo.

Without fail, Jordan woke up the next morning a few minutes before her alarm would usually go off to start getting ready for work. But this time, it wasn't because she was anticipating her alarm going off. It was because she had a nightmare about her stalker.

"It was just a dream," she muttered to herself. She sat up and stretched her back, squinting slightly at the sunlight streaming into the living room from the sliver between the blinds.

She heard TC start to come down the stairs and sat up on the couch. "Thanks, T. For last night."

He blinked a few times and ran a hand through his hair. "I need coffee. Then we can talk."

Jordan swallowed thickly and followed him into the kitchen, watching him get the coffee ready. "Do you want any help?"

TC turned to look at Jordan and smiled. "Shouldn't you be hunched over a trashcan, throwing up because of how much you drank?"

"I never get sick from drinking. Except for a few times in college. But we don't talk about that."

"Well aren't you lucky?" He turned his attention back to the coffee maker, which was slowly making coffee they both needed. "But what happened?"

Jordan's eyes narrowed. "I was stressed out and mad at a professor. So I drank. A lot. And then threw up all over someone's apartment." Jordan chuckled slightly and shook her head. "I didn't even know the people who rented the apartment. It was a friend of one of my roommates."

TC started laughing when Jordan said that. "Not your shining moment."

"Definitely not my shining moment." She looked down at her hands and sighed. "You're going to tell the squad later, aren't you?"

"You really don't understand what needing coffee looks like, do you?" TC said in a teasing voice. He poured her a cup and a cup for himself. "Do you want anything to add?"

"Skim and sugar if you have it," she said, looking into her coffee cup.

TC nodded and set everything in front of her. He watched her with a careful eye, trying to figure out what to say to her. "So…this has been happening for a little while?"

"Just a couple of months. There hasn't been anything too threatening. Not yet at least. I thought about changing my cell phone number, but I haven't really had time to do that. Besides, this guy seems really determined."

"Determined?"

"Yeah. He was following me around town when Caroline was in town. And he took pictures. I got them one day at the station."

"Do you think it could be someone you arrested once who's out on parole?"

"That's what I was thinking. I'd been going in early and staying a little late at the station to look through old case files. I just haven't had any luck yet." She took a sip of her coffee and set the cup down on the counter. "If you want, you can start an investigation with the squad. I'll give you everything I have."

"That means IA is going to get involved. And move the case to another precinct. I'll talk to Toph, Drew and Kenny and see if they'd want to do something off the record." TC set his coffee cup on the counter and walked to where Jordan was standing and hugged her. "We're going to get this guy, Jordan. I promise."

She nodded and took a deep breath. "Thanks, T." She pulled away and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I guess I should get back to my place. I have massive plans with Netflix while I'm not working for the week."

"Do you think it's really safe to be at your place? You never know who's been in there or what's happened." TC thought to himself for a second. "I'll get one of the tech guys to comb through your apartment to see if it's been bugged. In the meantime, I'll take you to your place, you can grab some clothes and whatever else you'll need. Because you're going to stay here."

"I can't do that, T. I'll be fine."

"You're staying here. It'll only be for a few nights at the most. Besides, I've never had a girl roommate. It'll be fun." He noticed a strange look on Jordan's face. "Why do you have that look on your face?"

"I don't have a look on my face," Jordan said defensively.

"Jordan, I've known you for six years. I know almost everything about you. You're making a weird facial expression right now. What's with the weird face?"

Jordan rolled her eyes and sighed. "What would Landry say? I mean, I know you said she's not living here anymore and that the two of you aren't exactly together, but—"

"We're not together anymore. So it doesn't really matter. Come on, let's get your stuff from your place. I don't want you going stir crazy during the day because you don't have anything to do."

-X-

Later that morning, TC walked into the police station and bypassed stopping at his desk, instead going straight to Topher's office. He paused outside the door, trying to figure out what he was going to say to his boss. He took a deep breath and knocked once.

"It's open," Topher's voice said from the other side of the door.

"Hey, Toph, can we talk?" TC asked, opening the door. "It's important."

"Everything okay?" Topher asked, looking up from the report he was typing. He studied TC's face and frowned. "You didn't get in trouble with Internal Affairs did you?"

"No. Not yet at least," TC said, taking a seat on the other side of Topher's desk. "This isn't about me. It's about Jordan."

"Yeah, it's a shame the psychologist told her to take a week off. I have a case that she'd be good at," Topher said, gesturing to the many files on his desk.

"Listen, Toph, Jordan's in a bit of a…sticky situation right now." TC took the notes that Jordan gave him earlier and laid them out on the desk. He then started scrolling through his phone for the screen shots that Jordan sent him. "She has a stalker. She said it's been happening for a few months." He sat back in the chair as Topher glanced at the words from the texts and the notes.

"And she just told you about it?"

"Yeah. Look, she asked if we could investigate this. But she doesn't want IA involved. Especially since the case would be handled by someone else."

"We can do it off the books for a little bit. But as soon as IA gets a whiff of this, I'm going to have to cut it off." Topher looked up at TC. "Where should we start?"

"I want to make sure her apartment isn't bugged. And, for good measure, we should check out her car too. Earlier, Jordan said she'd started to go through some of her old case files to see if any of the perps have recently been paroled. I thought we could pick up there."

Topher nodded. "Send the new crime scene tech to Jordan's place. He's been itching for something to do. Just talk to O'Neill before you do anything."

"Got it. Thanks, Toph," TC said, getting up to fill Kenny and Drew in on what was happening.

-X-

Jordan was bored out of her mind. She looked at the clock on TC's wall and sighed. It was a little before noon and if she was at work, she'd be busy bugging Gwen for a victim's cause of death or pulling a prank on Kenny and Drew with TC if it was a light day.

But instead, she was on leave and was stuck at her partner's apartment because she didn't even know if it was safe for her to be in her own apartment.

And there was only so much Netflix she could watch before she felt her brain turn to goo.

She looked around TC's apartment, trying to find something she could read, or even look at, to keep her mind occupied. But all she could find were motorcycle magazines and sports books, which she wasn't remotely interested in.

She had just settled back into her spot on the couch when there was a knock on the door. "Finally, something that might give me something to do," Jordan muttered, pushing herself off the couch. She looked through the peephole and saw Landry standing on the other side. "Shit," Jordan muttered to herself.

She didn't have the energy to deal with this at that moment.

Taking a deep breath to prepare herself, she unlocked the door and opened it, a pleasant smile on her face. "Hi Landry," she said, trying to keep her voice airy and light.

"I should have known," Landry said, turning around to head back to the stairwell.

"Should have known what?" Jordan asked, crinkling her nose.

Landry paused at the top of the stairs and turned around to face Jordan. "I should have known that you'd be here. Especially given the conversation that TC and I had last night."

"I really need you to play catch up here because I have no idea what you're talking about."

Landry rolled her eyes and let out a puff of air through her nose. "Last night, TC and I got together to talk things over about the baby. And then you called." She shook her head. "I'm so tired of coming in second place to you."

"Okay, now I really don't know what you're talking about. I mean, I called TC yesterday but that's because I needed to talk to him."

"And now you're alone in his apartment. Which is strange, don't you think, since you're supposed to be working right now?"

Jordan scratched at a spot behind her ear. "It's a little more complicated than you'd think."

"Can you just let TC know I stopped by? And tell him to call me when he gets a chance? It's about the baby." Landry said as she walked away. She walked towards the stairs again and turned around to face Jordan again. "He's in love with you, you know?" She sighed and started down the stairs again.

Jordan flinched like she'd been slapped. There was no way TC was in love with her. Absolutely no way.

-X-

"Okay, so TC, what should I do while I'm in here?" Paul Cummings, a new CSI tech, said, looking around Jordan's apartment. "Was there a murder here? Or a kidnapping?"

"No. I need you to make sure that the place isn't bugged. Bag any evidence and deliver it to O'Neill as soon as possible. Try not to tell anyone what you're doing. This is important and you better not screw it up," TC said sternly. He felt his phone start to vibrate in his pocket and took it out, seeing a call from Kenny coming through. "I have to take this phone call. Don't start until I'm off the phone. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," Paul said, watching TC as he walked into a corner of the apartment.

"What's going on, Kenny?" TC asked.

"Drew and I have been looking over past cases of Jordan's where the perps have been paroled. Do you think we should narrow it down based on the crime committed or anything?"

"Definitely flag the cases where the victim was stalked. Time wise, I'd say within the last six months to a year ago on the parole date."

"Anything else we should be looking for?"

"Think you can look up the cases from the last two years where Jordan arrested him but he walked? That's certainly motive enough."

"You got it. Anything else?"

"I think that's it. I'm at Jordan's place now. When we're done here, I'm gonna stop by my place and update Jordan on what's going on."

"Stop by the station first. Drew and I can have some files for her to look over to see if anything catches her eye. God knows she's probably going insane right about now."

"That certainly wouldn't surprise me. I'm gonna go so we can start the search. I'll see you soon." TC hung up his phone and walked over to where Paul was standing. "Okay, kid. Start your search."

-X-

Jordan looked at the clock, counting down the minutes until she thought TC would be home. She had just gotten another text message from her stalker and it made her absolutely sick to her stomach.

She heard keys turning in the lock and turned her attention to the door. TC walked in, carrying a bunch of file folders in his hands. "I come bearing gifts," he said, setting his keys and the files down on the table by the door. "You don't look good."

"Because I'm not," she said, tapping her phone in her hand. "I got another text." She walked over to where he was and handed him her phone. "I think I need a new number. I can't keep freaking out every time my phone goes off."

"We're going to get the guy, Jordan, I promise," TC said, taking the phone away from her. He picked up a stack of folders and handed them to her. "These are some possible suspects that we pulled from the system today. I figured you and I could take a look at them tomorrow."

"Why not start now?"

"I'm starving. Let's go get something to eat. Are you in the mood for anything specific?"

"I could go for some sushi," she said, making TC start laugh. "What's so funny?"

"I don't go near anything with raw fish in it, near it or touching it. What's your next choice?"

Jordan looked at him as Landry's words from earlier echoed in her mind. "I don't care. Surprise me."

"Come on," he said, opening the door. "I know a great place," he said, holding it open for her.