Hey guys! Thank you for all of your interest and lovely reviews, I'm so glad you're enjoying this little fic. I will be in Germany for a month, so future updates may be a bit sporadic. I'll try to update as often as I possibly can though. Here's the court case for you, and just to warn you: a lot of my fics get quite melodramatic, and this one is no exception. I only hope you forgive me and that I haven't made everyone too OOC. Hope you enjoy :) Dray xx
"Jury, how do you find the defendant?"
Zack could feel his heart pounding in his head. He looked at his friends all sitting along one bench, Hodgins with Angela, Booth with Brennan... And Sweets, sitting next to Booth but apart from the group. At that moment, Zack realized that this whole trial had become no longer about him. Zack wanted to be free, not for himself, but so that Sweets would have someone who could be there for him, to share experiences with, to run to when he was scared. Zack Addy had discovered a new reason for being, and it was Lance Sweets.
"Not guilty"
His head spun and he couldn't move. They had done it: Zack was free. Brennan was beaming, Angela was clapping, and Hodgins made such a racket that he had to be asked to leave the courtroom. Booth gave him a wink and a nod, and Zack felt more accepted than he had ever been in his whole life. He got shakily to his feet and stumbled outside into the corridor to be enveloped in a hug from the entire group.
They left the courthouse chatting and enthusing about how well the case had gone and how happy everyone was to have Zack back. The sun was out and beating down on the front of the building...
"MURDERER!" a woman's voice rang out and a shot was heard. Panic descended as civilians screamed and ran for cover. The group dropped to the ground. Zack opened his eyes that he'd closed automatically, and saw Sweets lying on the floor, bleeding from a wound on his shoulder. Later he would look back on it as irrational, but Zack felt as if his whole world had fallen away from under his feet. He dropped to his knees beside the counsellor and assessed the damage. Flesh wound, bullet still inside. Not deep... medium-range shooter, but Booth was taking care of that. Stem the flow of blood. Zack ripped open Sweets' shirt. He took his $300 designer jacket off and pressed it to the wound.
"Lance!"
"Zack..." Sweets was wincing in pain but grabbed a hold of Zack's hand and forced his eyes open. The pool of crimson on the sidewalk around him was getting larger. Moments later, sirens filled the air and paramedics rushed to the scene.
"Scuse me sir, outta the way please."
Zack moved, but sat on his heels watching the paramedics nervously. When they got Sweets onto a stretcher, Zack stood.
"Who's riding with him?" a paramedic asked.
Zack leapt forwards. "I am."
They got in the ambulance and Zack looked back at the group in time to see the truth dawn on Angela's face before the doors closed.
At the hospital Zack sat outside the ER, biting his fingernails and waiting. After about 45 minutes, a doctor came out and looked around. Upon seeing Zack, he went over to him.
"How is he?" Zack demanded, before looking sheepish. "I apologize, that was overly emotional."
The doctor shook his head good-naturedly. "That's alright, Dr Addy. You're entitled to worry. He'll be fine with some rest. We've extracted the projectile and patched him up. He's in a bad way, but with a few weeks and some TLC - not to mention bed rest and time off work - he'll heal quickly. My name is Dr. Malkovich and I'll be responsible for his care until tomorrow, when Dr. Walker will take over. We'll look after him, Dr. Addy, don't you worry."
Zack nodded. "Thank you. Could you send the projectile to Agent Seeley Booth of the FBI, please?"
"Sure. You can go in and see him if you want."
The doctor led him to the door and let him in, before closing it behind him and leaving them alone.
Zack tentatively approached the bed where Sweets was asleep, bandaged up and tucked into the pristine sheets.
"Lance, it's... It's Zack." the young doctor didn't know what to say. He normally found it irrational to talk to unconscious patients. He had seen others do it, and he couldn't understand their motivation. Now, all he wanted to do was to make sure that Sweets knew that someone who cared about him was there with him.
"Hi." He said, sitting on the edge of the bed, "I... You were in front of me. The shooter was aiming for me, but you... It should be me in that bed. I'm... I'm sorry." Zack's voice trailed off and he sat in silence with a hand on Sweets' arm. It was proving to be a very long day.