Cause Of Death - Regrets Chapter 3 PT 1

Previously on "Regrets" ... Natara and Oscar went to a fancy restaurant together to spend some time alone, but they were shortly interrupted by Mal and it all didn't go to plan, which ended badly. After Oscar left the restaurant, he paid Mal unexpected visit and threatened him to leave Natara alone and to leave San Francisco for good, or he would pay. But Mal didn't listen to his threats and they had a massive fight. Afterwards, Oscar left and contacted his mystery caller. Now his plans are in full motion.

And now...

It's the day you will never forget, that you will regret the most...

You are now Oscar Santos
.

It is early morning in San Francisco. The darkness of clouds loom over the grey skies as you wait in an abandoned, misty alleyway. You keep checking your watch nervously as you wait for someone to arrive. ''Come on, hurry up…" you say impatiently to yourself.

Five minutes later, a dark black car pulls up in the alleyway. You look over and see a familiar person step out of the car. You haven't seen this person for such a long time, but you still recognize who it is.

He walks over to you and smiles. "Oscar! It's been a long time since I've seen you. Are you ready to do this?" he says with that same harsh, husky voice.

You shake his hand, returning your signature, dashing smile. "I know, and it's good to see you again. Yes, I'm ready. Let's do this."

A couple of hours later...

You are now Mal Fallon.

You arrive at the precinct earlier than usual that morning. You walk through the station, feeling your head pounding where the glass cut into it from the fight you had with Oscar last night. Your heart is thumbing furiously because of the decision you have made, and how this is going to affect Natara. You reach the crime lab where Amy is sitting at her computer.

You close the door behind you and approach Amy, greeting her with a smile. "Hey, Amy. Did you search that person on our database?"

She spins around in her chair, and looks at you in utter shock. "Mal…you're never going believe this. What are we going to do? We need to tell Natara." She says in a panicking tone.

You look at her worriedly. "Amy, what is it…? What did you find out? "

Her face drops with sadness and tears form in her eyes."You were right, Mal. Take a look at this."

You follow her eyes to the computer screen. As you read the information, your face drops in horror. "Oh my God…it can't be. I knew something was odd about him…but not this…ah hell."

Amy worriedly looks at you again. "Mal, we need to tell Natara!"

You rub your chin thoughtfully, and then in a calm voice, you say: "Amy, listen to me. We're not going to do anything. You will print this out for me and act like nothing's happened. Okay?"

"B-but…Mal…she needs to know! We can't do nothing!" she protests.

"Amy, no buts. Do what I say…please, I need you to act like nothing's happened. Just print the information out for me and do your job as normal. Don't tell Natara or anyone else about this, got it?" you say firmly.

Amy sighs. "Okay, Mal. But what are we going to do now?"

"Just do your job and leave this to me," you smile and rise to your feet, beginning to walk towards the door. However, before you leave, Amy calls out.

"Erm, Mal…can I ask….what happened to your head?" she questions.

You pause before gulping: "Oh...I tripped over some old boxes this morning. It's nothing serious. Don't worry, I'll be fine." You grab the sheet from the printer and place it into your jacket pocket as you smile at Amy before leaving.

You walk back into the bullpen, where you see Captain Yeong entering the station. You approach her nervously. "Hey, Captain. Mind if I have a word?"

She looks at you, examining your head closely before answering: "Hello there, Detective Fallon. Yes of course, come into my office. But can I ask what you've done to your head?"

You walk over to Captain's office and smile. "Oh, this it's nothing. I just fell over and bumped my head, that's all," you say, reassuring Captain Yeong.

You both enter her office. She looks at you cautiously. "Detective Fallon, what seems to be the problem?"

You can feel your heart racing, thinking to yourself: Am I really going to this? But it's the only way Natara can be happy... You clear your throat as you begin to explain.

You are now Natara Williams.

You enter the precinct the next morning, feeling tired and sick to your stomach. You hardly slept a wink last night, thinking about Oscar and how bad you feel for not realizing that he had so much going on and for not being there for him.

You scan the station trying to look for Mal, but there is no sign of him anywhere. You both haven't been on the best of terms lately since that kiss. You've been avoiding him ever since and will only talk to him if it's about a case you're working on.

You feel bad for doing this, but you know if you talk to him, you are going to get lost in his eyes and do something that you will regret. Because deep down, you really care about him. It's killing you inside for not talking to him or listening to his funny jokes that always makes you smile. But it's the only way to stop you from blurting out your feelings that you have towards him.

You carry on walking through the station when Amy approaches you, tears streaming down her face. You look at her. "Amy, are you okay?" you ask her worriedly.

She shakes softly as she wipes her tears away, trying to keep calm. "Natara…I know I shouldn't have been listening, but…"

You notice Mal coming out of Captain Yeong's office. He looks at you softly as you meet with his eyes passionately for a moment. You look back at Amy. "What is it, Amy? Is everything okay?"

Amy looks at you and then to Mal. "No, Natara. I heard Mal and Captain talking and...Mal is...is..." she tries to say it but it's too painful for her to say those words.

You look at her, knowing something's not right, before calmly saying: "Amy, it's okay. You can always tell me. What's wrong?"

She lets out more floods of tears before regaining her composure. "Mal is…is leaving, Natara…he can't go…he just can't." She begins to cry again.

You freeze up as you hear the dreaded words ring in your ears before your heart goes numb. You try to speak, but nothing comes out as you feel tears fill up in your eyes. You gasp in shock: "What?"

Amy is about to talk, but it's too late. You've already walked away. You wipe a tear that was streaming down your face, as you think frantically: "Oh no. This is all my fault. He's leaving all because of me. What have I done? He can't go I need him...I love him." You wipe the tears away and regain your composure before walking over to Mal.

You approach him and let out a fake smile. "Hey, partner," you say, trying not to let your emotions burst out.

Mal turns around and notices you standing there. He smiles charmingly. "Hey, Nat."

You look at him and see he has a massive deep cut in his head surrounded by bruising, and look at him worriedly. "Mal, what have you done to your head? Are you okay?"

Mal gives you a reassuring smile. "Oh, I just tripped. I'll be fine. Don't worry about me; I'm tough," he says, playfully teasing you.

You look at him in a serious manner. "Erm, Mal…can I have a word in private, please?"

Mal looks at you deeply with his sparkling blue eyes that you keep getting lost in. "Yeah, sure. Of course. Ladies first. After you…" he says politely.

You lead Mal to an empty room and shut the door. He smiles. "So what's up, Nat? Is everything okay?"

You sigh, and then glare at him. "Mal, you tell me."

Mal looks at you in a puzzled way. "I dunno. What you mean?"

"Mal, don't lie. How did you really get that cut on your head?" you reply in a harsh tone.

He stutters. "I—I…told you…I tripped."

With sudden emotion, you splutter out: "Okay, how about this. Why the hell didn't you tell me you were leaving? This isn't like you, Mal. What's going on?"

Mal faces drops as he sighs deeply. "Oh. I guess you know, then. I'm really...really sorry. I was going to tell you."

"When, Mal? Tomorrow, when you don't show up for work? You were just going to go without saying anything to anyone. But especially not saying anything to me! I'm your partner!" you say with sudden rage.

Mal looks down; his face buried in sadness. "I'm sorry, Nat. I didn't want to make things harder than they have to be." He starts to walk to the door, but you block his way.

"You're not going anywhere until you tell what the hell is going on."

Mal stares at the ground. He can't bear to look at you. "Nothing, Natara. Maybe it's for the best."

Your heart beats quickly. You feel like you're going to lose the one and only person you truly love, and glare at him with sadness. "Mal, please don't go. This is so out of personality for you to do so. First, you have a deep cut on your head and now you're leaving suddenly. This seems too suspicious," you say concernedly. "I have a right to know, Mal. I'm your partner. I care about you. I've known you for a while and I know you wouldn't just leave for any reason. Please Mal tell me, let me help you."

Mal growls: "No! You can't help, Natara. Not this time. I just can't say it, okay? That's it."

"What do you mean you can't say it? I have a right to know!" you argue.

"I can't, okay? Just leave it, it doesn't matter." You can see Mal's eyes fill up with tears.

"Mal, if you're in danger, I need to know. Because you matter to me." You say sadly.

"Dammit, Natara! Just leave it, okay?" Mal shoves you to the side and goes to grab the door. You grab him by the arm before he can open it.

You gaze into his eyes deeply. "Mal, you know you can tell me anything, right? That what's I'm here for. Please. What are you hiding from me?"

Mal meets your gaze and grabs your hand, holding it tightly in his. "Natara, I would, but this time I can't. You need to understand that I'm only doing this to protect you."

You pull away his hand from yours and sigh. "So you think leaving me is protecting me? Fine! Don't tell me. I thought we were meant to be partners and friends who trust each other. I thought you cared." You say as anger builds up in your eyes.

Mal shoots you a glare. "Natara, I trust you with my life. Of course I care, you mean everything to me. But this will wreck our relationship, which I don't want to happen. So please let it go."

"How will it, Mal?" you beg. "Enlighten me."

Mal raises his voice with anger. "Fine, I'll tell you, but don't say I didn't try to protect you. And don't say that I don't care because I so care about you, more than you will ever know. This cut in my head is from having a fight last night. I'm leaving because I was threatened by the person I fought with. And if you wondering who it is, it's your prefect little Golden Boy boyfriend, Oscar!" he snarls.

You freeze for a moment before you take in what Mal has just said. With anger, you growl: "Oscar would never do anything like that! How dare you say that? The only reason you're blame Oscar is because you're jealous," you say defensively.

"Oh, that's what you think because he so goddamn perfect. He may seem so charming and perfect on the outside, but on the inside he's hiding some dark secrets from you," Mal groans.

You can't believe it. "What is that supposed to mean, Mal? I don't comment on your relationships, do I?"

"No..." he frowns. "But Natara, do you really know Oscar as well as you think you do?"

"Mal," you snarl. "I know a lot more about him than you do, so don't you dare penalize me. The truth is that you're simply jealous of what me and Oscar have that you and Sandra never had." Isn't that why she cheated on you, Mal? Because you were simply jealous of all the men admiring her, and that you never give her the same attention?"

You look over at Mal, whose face has turned to shock, and then sadness as he glances over to his marriage finger. As you realize what you've just said, you feel terrible. "Mal, I'm...s-so sorry…I didn't mean it."

Mal frowns at you as his sadness turns to rage. "Yeah, I am jealous of Oscar being with you, but I'm only jealous because I care about you. I don't want to see you get hurt. But I loved Sandra. Apparently, that wasn't good enough for her. I wasn't enough, and I just don't want you getting hurt like I did. But while we're on that topic, at least my lover wasn't a goddamn killer!"

You start to shake as that dreaded memory comes back to haunt you. You were on the roof of Alcatraz with Mal and Shawn. You knew he was a murderer. You tried to talk him down, but it was too late. Mal's bullet went into his shirt, turning crimson red as he fell off the edge.

You can't help but let tears run down your face as all the anger bottled inside of you floods out. With a swift movement, you slap Mal harshly across the face.

He is stunned. You feel your hand stinging because of the sharpness of the slap. You can see Mal's cheek redden. He lifts his hand and place's on top of his cheek, rubbing it tenderly as he gazes at you with guilt.

"Thank you, Mal, for reminding me that I have to live with that for the rest of my life knowing that Shawn killed innocent people," you snarl.

"Natara…" he pleads. "I—I'm sorry…I didn't mean it. Please don't leave like this."

"No, Mal. It's too late," you growl. "Do you know what? I regret meeting you. It was the worst mistake to even care about you. I don't want to ever see or hear from you again. Good riddance; I'm glad you're leaving. Don't bother calling or texting me again because I won't answer. We're over." You snap, tears streaming down you face as your heart begins to break.

Mal keeps that same guilty gaze trained on you. He starts to break down as he hears your words. A few tears escape his eyes, and they stream down his sore, reddened cheek.
"Natara you know you don't mean that. I didn't mean what I said. Please don't go…" he pleads.

You shove past him and leave the room in anger. You carry on walking through the station, noticing that everyone is watching and staring at you. You start to shake as your heart fills with sorrow, but you carry on walking. You don't even look back as you leave the station.

You are Now Oscar Santos.

You are sitting in a dark black car with your companion, waiting nervously for any signs of movement coming out of the police station. You feel sick to your stomach, as guilt builds up, knowing that you are going to do a very unforgivable thing that will change everyone's life. All that is on your mind is Natara and how beautiful she is, and how every time you try to spend time with her it's always ruined by Mal.

You can feel anger build up every time you mention his name, as you clench your fists tightly and bite on your lip.

The person in the car turns to you. "So did he accept the warning to leave town? Or do you think he's stupid enough to stay?"

"No. He's not leaving. He cares too much for Natara. He really pisses me off and deserves everything that is coming to him," you say, chewing hard on your burst lip, causing it to bleed.

"Ah, I know what you mean. I hate that pig," your partner growls. "Don't worry, Oscar. I'll make sure he'll pay."

You look out the blackened window and see the door opening from the Police station. You grin widely. "Okay, I see movement. Drive into position. My plan is working." You drive off, ready for the final step of your plan.

To be continued ...

A/N Hey guys really sorry about this but this chapter was to long to be one chapter so it has been split into two parts. Hope you like it and embrace yourself for part two and thank you so much for the support I really appreciated it :D