Hello everyone. Thanks for continuing to read this story, for being patient with my slow updates, and for all of your reviews. I didn't reply individually to your reviews this time... I don't want to be annoying and keep flooding your inboxes with "thanks for reading!" messages... but I do really appreciate the reviews, so thank you all so much. :)

Someone reviewed my previous chapter asking why Harvey didn't leave when he knew the cops were coming. I think he figured since they knew his name (because they knew his second apartment's address) he knew they'd find him soon one way or another. He also seems somewhat well off financially (being able to buy a second apartment and all...) so he can probably afford a good lawyer, and may be thinking he might be able to get away with all of this without much punishment. Running from the cops would have just been another charge to add to the list. I know I basically created this character, since he wasn't really in the episode much, but I can still only guess at what he's thinking... People in general are freaking weird. I don't understand any of them.

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Chapter4

Doug's heart pounded in his chest as he made his way up the stairs of the run-down apartment building. Taking two steps at a time, he was up them twice as fast as Judy, who followed behind him as close as she could. They were both worried for their friend, of course. Tom had a habit of taking his cases too far, trying too hard at the expense of his own safety or health, but even so, it still terrified Doug each time his partner was in danger. One of these days, they weren't going to get there in time. He just hoped today wasn't going to be that day.

The two officers had been radioed by Ioki not too long ago. Fuller had relayed a message to Harry, who told Doug and Judy that Hanson needed backup, that the younger officer had found their suspect and needed help bringing him in. But Ioki also implied that Hanson might be hurt, and that they should try to get there as soon as possible.

Fortunately, Penhall and Hoffs had already been somewhat nearby, but it still seemed too far as they made their way over to the address. Doug hated knowing one of his friends was in danger, and he couldn't move fast enough.

As they reached the door to apartment twenty-six, Doug drew his gun and glanced back at Judy, making sure she was prepared to back him up as they entered the premises.

Surprisingly, the apartment's door was unlocked. Penhall didn't waste time dwelling on his gratefulness to that. Instead, he swung the door open and charged in, immediately noticing an older-looking man stooped down, hovering over Hanson, who was sitting on the floor with his back leaning against the wall.

"Police!" Penhall announced his presence, "Back away from him," Doug ordered, "hands up where I can see them. You have any weapons?" the officer barked as he kept his gun trained on the older man who slowly rose to his feet, "do you have any weapons!?" Doug yelled again after giving the man about a half-second to answer. He wasn't in the patient mood right now.

"No," the suspect shook his head as he turned to face the two officers, "your friend's gun is over on the floor," he gestured down toward Tom. Sure enough, Hanson's gun lay a few feet away from him. The suspect put his hands back in the air and raised his eyebrow at Doug, as if he were waiting on the officer to say or do something more.

Doug kept his gun trained on the older man as Judy holstered her gun and pulled out her handcuffs. She made her way over to the man, "turn around," she instructed. She didn't sound nearly as friendly and understanding as usual. In most case, Judy could be almost too nice to their suspects. Sometimes even if they had murdered someone, she'd act like she was their mother or something, letting them explain themselves and seeming genuinely interested to hear their rationales for their crimes. But not this guy. She regarded him like he was the scum of the earth. Judy didn't seem at all willing to hear this guy out. She wasn't gentle with the suspect either, as she pushed him forward against the wall, frisked him, and slapped the cuffs on him roughly. She recited his rights in a quick, rushed manner as she held him firmly against the wall.

Meanwhile, Penhall went to Hanson's aid, squatting down next to him and looking him over, "you alright, Tom?" Doug asked in a voice as gentle as he could manage. His partner didn't look well. Hanson had a cut and bruise on his cheek, and looked quite exhausted and out of breath. His breathing sounded frantic and pained, and his facial expression matched. The younger officer's eyes looked tired as he focused on the man squatting in front of him, "Fuller radioed and said he'd send an ambulance. I think Ioki and Fuller are both on their way over here," Penhall wasn't sure if Hanson cared about all these details, but he wanted his partner to know what was going on.

Tom breathed out a shaking breath and nodded, "I'm okay," he managed to say in an out-of-breath voice, but he still didn't look well. His eyes looked tired and unfocused, and the way his body just lay there, mostly limp, was unsettling. He didn't look like he was even contemplating standing up and leaving the apartment on his own. The younger officer's arms lie unmoving, one at his side, and the other on his lap. And his head was leaned back and resting against the wall. He looked like it was all he could do to even keep himself upright.

Doug put his hand softly against his partner's cheek and looked him in the eyes, "what did he do to you?" Penhall asked in a soft voice.

Tom shook his head, "he had a stick... a uh..." he shook his head again and closed his eyes as if he were trying to find the proper words, "like a... you know... A baton."

Penhall winced. He knew what this suspect had done to his other victims, and could make a good guess as to why Tom seemed so hurt right now, but he kept silent and let his partner continue to explain.

"He hit me with it," Tom frowned, "over and over."

"Where?" Penhall asked, trying to look his partner over for injuries. The younger officer's clothing covered most of his skin, so any injuries he had that weren't on his face would be hard to find.

"All over," Hanson sighed, "my arms, back, ribs, legs... Once on my cheek, but you can probably see that," he pouted up at his partner.

Doug put his hand lightly on Tom's shoulder, "are you okay to stay up here for a minute so I can walk with Hoffs down to the car?"

Tom nodded.

"You got him, Judy?" Doug looked over at the other officer.

"Yeah," Hoffs sounded and looked angry. All of the young cops who worked together at the chapel were good friends. Any time anyone hurt any one of them, every single other took it very personally. Hoffs was likely just as angry at this man as Doug was. Well, maybe not exactly... Doug considered Tom his best friend, and felt protective over him, just as though Tom were the younger brother he'd never had but always wanted... But they were all kind of best friends with each other on some level, and they all pretty much behaved as siblings would, arguing over little things, but caring more about each other than anyone else in the world.

Doug squeezed Tom's shoulder reassuringly and then stood, "I'll be right back," he promised. As much as he didn't want to leave Hanson alone in the younger man's current condition, he didn't want to leave Hoffs alone with the suspect either. The last thing they needed was for this pervert to overpower Judy and get away so he could hurt someone else.

As quickly as they could manage, Penhall and Hoffs took their suspect downstairs and placed him in the back of their police car. Fortunately, the old man didn't fight with them. In fact, he didn't say or do anything but allow them to push him into the back seat of the car. He must have known that anything he said now would just incriminate him further... Or maybe he'd been in legal trouble before and knew the drill. Doug hoped he didn't have some sly lawyer who could somehow get him out of this. He'd dealt with suspects before who seemed to allow themselves to be arrested too easily, and sometimes their lawyers patched everything up for them pretty neatly. Doug hoped this man wouldn't be one of those sorts... He'd at least be charged with what he did to Hanson, but that might not put him away for long. There wasn't much Penhall could do to control that though. The law worked itself out, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse.

"You okay to stay down here alone?" Penhall asked, glancing down at Hoffs. He knew the man wouldn't be able to escape the car easily, and he knew more back up would be arriving soon. As much as he didn't like the idea of leaving Judy alone down here, even with the suspect locked in the car, Doug was also itching to get back upstairs and make sure his partner was okay.

"I'll be fine," Judy offered a sympathetic smile, "go ahead and get back up there," she nodded toward the apartment building's main door, "make sure he's alright." Doug could see she was worried about Tom too.

Doug nodded at her, "I'll see if I can get him downstairs. Otherwise just send the paramedics up when they get here," he instructed as he turned and made his way back upstairs, taking two steps at a time.

When he walked back into the apartment, he was greeted by Tom's still-exhausted looking eyes staring up at him. Even though the younger officer looked tired and hurt, he had an expression of relief on his face. Hanson was still slumped against the wall as if moving even an inch was impossible for him. Penhall made his way back over to the younger man and squatted down in front of him again, "Do you think you can stand up and walk downstairs with me?" Penhall asked in a voice as gentle as he could manage.

Tom breathed out a pained sounding sigh and moved his hands down to the floor to push himself up. Doug grabbed his arms and helped him into a standing position.

"If you're in too much pain, it's okay," Doug assured him, feeling like Hanson may have been pushing himself too hard at this point, "I was just asking you if you thought you could... If it's too much, just say so. I won't want you to hurt yourself. We can have the paramedics meet us up here if you'd like."

Hanson shook his head, "I don't need a paramedic," he insisted, but with every tiny move the officer made, he grimaced and winced in pain.

Penhall frowned. The whimpers his partner was trying so hard to suppress gave away just how much he was hurting. It seemed to be all the younger officer could do to keep himself from crying, "come on, man," Doug offered, easily forcing his partner toward the bed on the other side of the room and sitting him down, "Judy's gonna send the paramedics up here, okay?"

When Doug brought his focus back to his partner's face, he noticed Tom's eyes looked wide and scared, but the younger cop didn't say anything.

"You okay?" Doug asked, sitting down next to Hanson and putting his arm gently around his partner's shoulders. He could feel Tom's shoulders lowering as the younger man tried to shrink down, presumably away from Doug's touch. Penhall pulled his arm away from its position around his partner's shoulders. He'd meant to comfort his friend, not make him feel worse. So instead of wrapping his whole arm around the other officer, Doug settled on just putting his hand on Tom's shoulder, squeezing it very lightly, "it shouldn't be long now," Doug informed Hanson, "I know you're in a lot of pain right now, but it won't last forever. You're going to be alright."

Tom breathed out a shaking breath. He still looked scared and was shaking slightly. For a moment he remained silent, his eyes settling on Doug's hand and then running up his arm and to his face. Tom's wide, dark eyes stared into Doug's until what looked like fear melted out of the younger man's eyes and was replaced with recognition "I know," he breathed tiredly, closing his eyes and leaning his head against his partner's shoulder.

Penhall frowned. It had almost seemed for a moment like Tom was afraid of Doug. Maybe he had been thinking about what could have been happening to him right now if Doug and Judy hadn't arrived. Or maybe was was reliving what did happen, his mind not quite present, yet not really too far away either. He noticed Tom's jeans weren't pulled up where they should have been.

"Did he do anything else to you, Tommy?" Doug felt fear in his heart as he asked. He knew their suspect did more to his victims than just beating them up. Doug hoped his partner had only been beaten, "you can tell me..." he added in a soft voice. He didn't want to hear that something like that had happened to his best friend, but if it did happen, Doug wanted to be there to help him through it.

Hanson straightened his composure a bit and shook his head, "No... But I think he would have," he whispered as he stared ahead again, presumably at nothing. Doug could see tears in his partner's eyes, "well... I know he would have..." he added, "if I hadn't gotten away and called Fuller..." Tom couldn't bring himself to finish that sentence.

"You're okay," Doug assured him, wrapping his arms around his Tom's trembling frame, hugging him, and rubbing his back gently. He was happy to find Tom didn't shrink away this time. Penhall wanted to hold his partner close, but didn't want to squeeze him too tightly, as he knew Tom's body was very likely heavily bruised and hurt. If their suspect really had hit him with that baton over and over, Hanson probably had broken bones, fractures, or at the very least, horribly painful bruises. Doug could hear sirens approaching, "Hear that?" he whispered with a calming tone in his voice as he continued rubbing gentle circles between his partner's shoulder blades, "the ambulance is almost here," he smiled.

He felt Hanson's body relaxing slightly in his arms. The younger officer must not have been as confident as he'd suggested. Tom knew he needed to go to the hospital; he must have just wanted to appear strong, but Doug could tell he was extremely relieved to know the ambulance was almost here, "let's meet them down stairs," Tom suggested, pulling himself out of Doug's embrace. Hanson's movements were weak, and Doug could have easily forced his partner to stay in his embrace. In fact, he almost wanted to, to prevent Tom from moving too much in his injured state, but instead Doug moved his arms and let Hanson move freely. Tom winced as he forced himself to stand.

"Are you sure you're okay to walk?" Doug asked as he quickly pulled himself up off the mattress to stand next to his injured partner, "they can come up here. It's no problem. I know you're in a lot of pain..."

"I don't want to sit up here any longer than I already have," Tom stared at him with a pained look in his eyes, "please just help me get down stairs?"

Doug frowned. He would have preferred that his partner stay up here so he wouldn't injure himself any further, but it looked like Hanson was going to get himself downstairs with or without the help of his partner, "fine," Doug agreed. He glanced down again, remembering that Tom's pants were still pulled half-way down his legs, "I'm going to help you with your pants, alright?" he offered. He knew Hanson probably wouldn't want to walk downstairs with his clothing falling off his body, but he also wanted to give Tom fair warning before moving to perform this favor.

Tom nodded, putting his hands on Doug's arms and gripping his shirt sleeves to help him keep his balance and to prevent himself from falling.

Doug carefully pulled the jeans upward, buttoned them, and zipped them up.

"Thanks, Doug," Tom still gripped Doug's sleeves tightly as he glanced down and watched Doug's movements carefully, "I don't..." he paused and stumbled a bit closer to Doug, "I'm not sure if I can make it downstairs..." he sounded frustrated and tired, "he hit me so many times... My entire body hurts..."

Penhall frowned, "why don't we just sit back down?" he suggested, pulling Tom back down onto the bed and sitting next to him. He knew Tom didn't want to spend any more time in this room, but he didn't want him trying to walk while he was already injured and making it worse. His long-term health was more important than his short-term comfort, "the paramedics should be here in no-time," Doug offered.

"That's the baton," Tom pointed toward a table next to the bed, "probably the same one he used to beat those kids nearly to death too."

Doug looked over where Tom was pointing and nodded his head, "we'll get it into evidence... Don't worry about the case right now," he suggested. His partner was leaning heavily against him and seemed like he was quite close to losing consciousness, "Judy and I can look through this place later. We'll make sure that creep doesn't get away with any of the stuff he's done," Doug assured him, "We've got more than enough evidence to convict him now. So don't you worry. We'll take care of it. You just worry about feeling better for now."

Hanson frowned, "I was so stupid to let him take me here all alone... I wanted so much to make sure I trapped him doing something incriminating... I didn't want to mess up the case and arrest him without solid evidence... I tried to time it right... It's not like I could have brought backup... I just didn't have this organized at all as well as I should have," Tom's voice was quiet as he spoke, "I hope Fuller's not too mad."

"You're right, Tommy," Doug looked down at his partner, "it was stupid of you to go with this guy all by yourself. None of us even knew where you were..." Penhall felt so conflicted. Tom's actions had caught their suspect, but this could have turned out way worse, and even right now it hadn't turned out the way they'd wanted, "you found the guy, and you didn't let him get away... and that's good... but you put yourself into such a dangerous situation..."

"I know," Tom pouted.

"He could have killed you," Penhall continued. He didn't want to make his partner feel any worse than he already did, but he cared about Tom so much; Tom was like a little brother to him, and knowing how dangerous of a situation he had gotten himself into made Doug angry and scared. Hanson needed to realize where he'd messed up so he could make sure to never do it again, "He's hurt other people pretty bad; he could have killed you even if he'd done it on accident by hitting you too many times... and he would have done terrible things to you if you hadn't gotten to the phone and called Fuller when you did. I know you're really hurting right now, but you're actually so lucky it's not even worse," Doug knew he was being harsh, but it just made him sick thinking about the awful things this man could have... and would have done to his partner if he'd had the chance, "he raped those boys, Tom..."

"I know that, Doug. I'm working on the same case you are," Hanson sounded a bit angry now as he stared up at Doug with his wide, dark eyes, "what do you think he was trying to do before you got here?"

Doug stared at his partner as he heard footsteps entering the room. It was the paramedics. Penhall didn't even have to look to know it was them. He kept his gaze on Tom, who was looking more and more exhausted by the second, "you've got to tell me what exactly happened here... and what exactly he did to you, Tom..." Doug demanded, trying to keep his worried voice calm and gentle enough to not make his partner feel any more stressed than he already did.

Tom shook his head, "I will," he mumbled as his shoulders slumped slightly. His eyes weren't so focused anymore, "later..." he added in a faint whisper. Doug could see Tom was ready to pass out again, and that's exactly what he did as the paramedics rushed to his side.

Doug laid Tom back on the bed gently as the paramedics approached. He stared down at his partner, hoping he was alright, but he knew the paramedics were better equipped to deal with this than he was...

"Stand back, sir," one of them ordered Penhall.

But Penhall felt he had information relevant to his partner's treatment, "he was beaten with a baton," Doug informed them, "he said the guy hit him with it all over his body. You should check for broken, fractured, or bruised ribs, and for additional bruising and internal bleeding," he offered.

"Thank you, Officer," one of the paramedics offered a sympathetic-looking smile as she shoved him lightly to the side, "we've got it under control."

"I'm coming with you in the ambulance," Doug insisted as the paramedics looked his partner over. No one objected, so as soon as Hanson was strapped down onto a gurney, Doug followed them downstairs and hopped into the back of the ambulance.

There wasn't much Penhall could do to help his partner at this point. The least he could do was to make sure he'd be there when Tom woke up.

xxxxxx

Only one chapter left. :)