Chapter 4
"What do you mean we can't let the doctor's near him?" Linda asked, and Erin sighed.
"If we let the doctor's near Clark, what do you think is going to happen the second they put a needle in his arm? It will break off, and his secret will be found out. He won't take that well when he wakes up."
"Well if we don't find some way to help him he may not wake up." Linda shot back, instantly regretting her words as she saw tears well up in Erin's eyes.
"That's where I come in. Dr. Emil Hamilton, at your service. How's my patient?" He asked Linda. She didn't respond, unable to comprehend that one of the best medical doctor's in the world was standing in front of her. This man treated billionaire's and President's not rookie beat cops.
"Thank God you're here Emil." Erin said, and the doctor smiled.
"Well when the boss got your call he had our impulsive friend run me down here. Now Mrs. Reagan, where is my patient?" He asked Linda, who shook her head and lead him down to the OR.
"No one's touched him yet, but he just got here and..."
Linda's voice faded as they went through the doors leading to the operating room, leaving Erin alone with her fears and prayers.
A few moments later that quiet was broken as Jonathan and Martha Kent, Lex, Lana, Chloe, Lois, Ryan, Jamie and what looked like every cop in the five-four came into the hospital. Before anyone could say anything, the doors opened again and Commissioner Frank Reagan came in, with his father and Nikki behind him.
"I want officers here on the clock. Whoever started this is not about to finish it. Double tours. No one goes home until we find who did this." Frank told the officers before walking over to Clark's family.
"Frank, what the hell happened?" Jonathan demanded.
"I can answer that Senator." Erin said, walking over to him. Her last three years at law school and Nikki's hand in hers were the only things keeping her from breaking down.
"Can we go somewhere more quiet?" Martha asked, and Frank nodded.
"We'll keep watch Mr. Kent." Lex said, and Jonathan nodded before walking off with Martha, Frank, Nikki and Erin Ryan followed behind at a nod from his father.
"Jamie called me, told me Clark had missed roll call this morning. So I went over to his apartment to see what was going on and he...he was on the ground. There was a kryptonite needle beside him. I called an ambulance, and then I called Emil. Bart ran him down here but-"
Her voice broke off as sobs began to rack her body.
"He'll be okay Erin. He's a damn good cop and a better man." Frank said, embracing his daughter.
"Senator...Jonathan, I swear to you we will find who did this, and they will pay for what they have done." Frank told him, and Jonathan nodded. No one said anything else, the group choosing to join the vigil in the waiting room. For more than six hours there was silence as they all waited for news, the silence only broken by Danny calling to say he had gotten the case.
"Erin, Mr. and Mrs. Kent...I think you should come with me."
The three were on their feet and following Emil before anyone else could get a word in edgewise. Erin was tearing through the hallway so fast she nearly hit orderlies doing their rounds, with Martha and Jonathan following at a pace much faster than would be considered appropriate for a United States Senator and his wife.
When Erin got to Clark's room with Emil at her side her heart nearly stopped as she saw Clark's empty hospital bed.
"Did I ever tell you how much I hate hospitals?" Clark spoke up from where he was sitting in the chair on the other side of the room. A moment later a sobbing Erin Reagan was in his arms, her face buried in his chest.
"I...I thought-"
"It's going to take a whole lot more than some crazy bitch with a needle to take me away from you. Now when can I get out of here Emil?"
"Officialy, a couple days. Unofficialy, whenever you want. I just have to be sure to keep visitors to a minimum."
"Thanks. Looks like I owe you one."
"Technically you owe Oliver seeing as he pays my salary."
"He's a billionare, he can put it on my tab." He replied before looking down at Erin.
"As much as I would like to keep you in my arms forever, I need to hug my parents before they faint." He said, and she smiled before releasing him, the young man walking over to embrace his parents a moment later.
"Well I guess I don't have to ask how my officer is. You gave us quite the scare son." Frank said from behind the young man's parents.
"I like to keep things interesting. Now when can I get back to work. I have a criminal to catch."
"No you don't. You will get back in that bed, and in a minute Emil will come out and say you are in recovery. Then Detective Danny Reagan will come and take your statement and we will show this 'crazy bitch' I believe you called her, exactly what happens when you try to kill a New York City cop."
"Frank-"
"Do as he says Clark. Please for me...do as he says." Erin said softly, and he nodded, albeit reluctantly.
"Mr. and Mrs. Kent, can Erin and I have a minute alone with Clark?" Frank asked, and the two nodded, leaving the three alone.
"What's your problem Clark?"
"Well I was almost killed and now I'm stuck in a hospital."
"That's not what I mean. What I mean is why are you so determined to refuse the help of your fellow officers? You're brother's and sister's in blue, your family?"
"Because I can't trust them not to get hurt."
"What about your friend Oliver, and his team?"
"Let me tell you something about Oliver and his team...Oliver can hit a man with an arrow from a thousand yards. My friend Bart can run faster than I can, and there isn't a piece of technology on this planet Victor can't find his way into. Dinah can fight like nobody's business and her scream can shatter glass. AC can swim through water as fast as I can run, and Zatanna can turn a man's bones to fire with a single word. In short, they can take care of themselves. I don't have to worry about them not going home to their families ever night!"
"Maybe you're right. Maybe your friends are better trained, maybe they've got a few more tricks...but I don't see them standing in this hospital making sure whoever tried to kill you dosen't get another chance. I don't see them working nonstop to catch this monster. Now I understand that relying on other people is hard for you, and while I admire your reasons there is an unwritten law in my city. You target one of us, we come back thirty-five thousand strong. And that deserves some respect." Frank told him before walking out of the room.
"Is he right Erin?" Clark asked softly.
"I think you are the most selfless, stubborn man I have ever met. But you're so determined to save everyone else that you refuse to let someone else save you."
"That's not an answer."
"Every single person who puts on that shield yourself included knows the risk. And no matter how fast you are, you can't save everyone."
"But I can try."
"You could...but to be honest, I'd rather you not. Because if you spend all your time trying to be a hero, then what kind of life will you have? Maybe I sound selfish, but I want to be able to go out to dinner on a Saturday night or church on Sunday morning. I want to have family dinners on Sunday afternoon, and know that I'll wake up in bed on Monday morning with you laying next to me."
"That dosen't sound selfish Erin. It sounds kind of perfect."
"Well then, maybe you'd like to tell me who did this?" Danny asked from the doorway.
"I think I would. It was Amanda Ross."
"The judge who convicted Morgan Edge?" Erin asked, and Clark nodded.
"She's also Pete Ross's mother. She came by my apartment just before I was about to leave, said she had been told about what happened to Pete. She thanked me, asked if she could come in and talk. I said sure, long as it was quick. I turned to go get some coffee and then everything went black."
"How did she know about the meteor rock?"
"Officialy it's because she knew I was allergic to the stuff. She didn't know anything else."
"You're sure?" Danny asked, and Clark nodded.
"Fine. And Clark...don't do something stupid like that again huh?"
"You got it."
Danny just grinned before walking out of the room.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Judge Ross asked as Danny, Jackie and at least twenty other officers swarmed into her courtroom.
"You tried to kill a cop. In this city, that means you go down hard. Now put your hands behind your back before I put a bullet in you for trying to kill my partner." Jamie spoke up from beside Danny.
"You think just because you're the PC's brat-"
"Shut up." Jamie said, pulling her from her chair and pushing her into a wall.
"Well, well if it isn't the gangster's bitch. Tell me, how long is it going to take the scum who killed my son to wake up?" Amanda asked when Erin walked into the interrogation room.
"That sounded an awful lot like a confession, don't you think Clark?"
"Well I'm not a lawyer, but it sure sounds like one." Clark said as he walked into the room. It was well after visiting hours at the hospital were over so he had been able to slip out, and a quick call from Frank to Renzulli about needing the precienct empty for an hour for 'classified police work' saw the place empty except for Erin, Frank, Danny and unbenowenst to Renzulli, Clark.
"One thing I don't understand is why? I could have had your son carted off to Ryker's, and if it had been anyone else I would have. Clark convinced me not to, begged my office to give Pete witness protection. So why turn around and try to kill him?"
"Because Smallville isn't the only place with connections...or an interest in your boyfriend."
Her words made a shiver run down Clark's spine. Those words were almost identical to the ones Tim Robert's had used when Clark had arrested him. It couldn't be a coincidence.
"Who do you answer to? Tell me right now or I will break you. NOW!" Clark yelled when she didn't answer.
"I...I don't know. I swear I don't know! They met me at a bar near the courthouse...Garry's I think. It was about eleven o'clock...I never saw his face. He just gave me Pete's new name and the syringe...that's all I know I swear!"
"It had better be. Because if I found out you're lying-"
Clark didn't bother finishing the threat. He didn't need to. One look in her eyes told the young man that Amanda Ross understood the consequences of lying to him.
A moment later Clark and Erin walking out of the interrogation room, the ADA whirling on her boyfriend as soon as the door shut behind them.
"What the hell was that all about?!"
"Her words about someone else having an interest in me. Tim Roberts said something similar when I arrested him."
"And you're just telling me this now because..."
"I didn't want to worry you. I thought they were desperate words from a desperate man."
"You're a bad liar."
"What do you want to say Erin? That he warned me that stopping him was just the start? That I'm scared because I have an enemy who knows everything about me but I know nothing about them? That I'm terrified that I may not be able to protect you the next time someone comes after you because of me?!"
By this point he was yelling, but he didn't care. He had just put the one person he loved most in this world in danger and for the first time in his his life, the most powerful man in the world was completely helpless. The realization hit him like a ton of bricks, and the next thing he knew he was embracing Erin feeling tears roll down his cheeks, clinging to her as though she would be ripped from him at any moment.
"It'll be okay Clark. We'll get them, whoever they are. Just have a little faith." She told him.
"You totally stole that from Scofield." He told her and she laughed. The two of them had recently gotten addicted to Prison Break, which was ironic considering they both put people in jail as opposed to getting them out.
"If it can work for a guy on death row, I think it can work for a cop from New York." She told him.
"I suppose so. Now what do you say we get out of here?"
"You read my mind." She replied, and the two left the precienct, unaware that their every move was being watched.
A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please review and the next chapter will be up soon!