Review replies: LilaGrace: No problem XD Awesome ep, by the way... Yup... And he might get hurt again... Oops, did I type that? Yup, I agree XD
rubydoo: Lol... Thanks, me too XD You're welcome XD Glad you like it XD
I own nothing...
"Tom?" Doug called out as he descended the wooden staircase, gripping the railing tightly as yet another board creaked and moved underneath his feet. "Tom, you still here?"
"Yeah, just waiting for you," Tom replied, his voice quiet and low. Emotionless.
"Sorry 'bout that," Doug answered as he stepped onto the cement ground and thanked God for its solidity. "Just had to get that guy's name."
"Oh," Tom mumbled, chewing on his bottom lip. He was sitting in one of the shabby chairs, the cheap material fraying and hanging loosely off of the corners, his injured arm pulled tightly against his chest in protection. "Did you get it?" he added, looking up at Doug, his curiosity peaked. Of course he would want to know the name of the bastard who had just tried to kill himself and his best friend.
"Nope," Doug replied. "I got his wallet, though, so I'll know it soon enough." Doug waved the wallet through the air as he said this and Tom smiled weakly. Soon enough... Not as soon as he had thought, he realized, when Doug shoved the leather wallet into the pocket of his coat, hiding it and any unanswered questions inside the worn material. Tom sighed; he didn't really care about the man upstairs, but he felt inclined to at least know his name.
"Yeah." Tom stood now, swaying slightly as a wave of nausea passed through him, causing his head to spin and his vision to blur. It passed almost as quickly as it had come and he shook his head to rid his mind of any remaining uneasiness.
"You okay?" Doug's concerned voice broke in, stopping Tom in his head-shaking actions.
"Uh-huh," Hanson mumbled. "Arm just hurts. Well, my shoulder. Ah, I don't know, but my whole fuckin' arm hurts."
Doug wasn't sure if Tom was playing around or if he was angry so he just let the comment fade away like a morning fog.
"Where's Ioki? Hoffs?" Tom questioned suddenly, looking at his partner suspiciously. "Isn't this Ioki's end of town too? And Booker's?"
"Yeah, I, uh, I couldn't find them," Doug replied nervously. He had never actually looked for the other two officers, just noticed that they weren't where he needed them to be.
"Okay," Tom muttered, not quite believing the other man. "What about Hoffs? She was working with you, right? Shouldn't she be here as well?"
"No," Doug answered slowly. "I was supposed to be meeting you, remember? But then you weren't there. So I looked for you."
"Oh, right," the younger man agreed. "Yeah, I forgot. Sorry. But Booker and Ioki shoulda been somewhere down there, and you shoulda brought 'em with you."
"Well I was worried about you," Doug replied with a slight chuckle. "I mean, you're my partner, and when you didn't show up, I got worried."
"Oh..." Tom mumbled, trailing off and averting his gaze towards the floor.
"C'mon Tommy, you always show up. And you're almost never late. I had a reason to be worried." Doug laughed again, and Tom smiled. Doug was right, and he had made a pretty good point.
"Speaking of," Doug spoke up, cutting through his own bout of joy with a sudden jolt of seriousness. "I'm still worried about you; I think that idiot dislocated your shoulder."
"Which idiot?" Tom questioned. "I'm the one who dived offa the bed, remember?"
"Yeah, but you wouldn't of even been up there if weren't for that idiot upstairs, so..."
"Alright, alright," Hanson muttered. "I get it. Can we just go? My fucking arm hurts."
"As you've already stated," Penhall replied with a smirk, turning towards the door and walking that way. "Alright," he agreed, reaching for the metal knob and letting his hand rest on it gently. "Let's go get some back-up in here to haul that 'idiot's' ass outta here then we can get you to the hospital."
"Will I get a sucker?" tom asked, jutting out his lower lip like a small child who wanted candy. Except Tom was not a small child and he shouldn't have been able to do that look so well. Especially since all he wanted was a sucker.
"Are you serious?" Doug asked, pulling open the wooden door and holding it against the wall so Tom could get outside without jarring his arm and injuring himself any further.
"Course I'm serious, Doug. I wanna sucker," Tom replied harshly, smiling slightly although he was trying to hide it. He wanted to be taken seriously because if he wasn't then he would never get a sucker.
Harsh wind whipped against Doug's face as he stepped outside and he shivered slightly against the sudden cold. It hadn't been heated inside, but at least it had been warmer than out here. It wasn't even that cold outside, it was mostly just the wind. However, the sudden temperature change had triggered something in Doug's mind and he had reacted by shivering.
"Fine, you can get a sucker. Happy?" Doug spoke up, falling prey to Tom's pout. He usually did and Tom had known it well.
"It's cold out here," Tom replied, completely ignoring Doug's statement. He would have rubbed his hands together but knew that that action would most likely cause pain.
"You want my coat?" Doug offered. He only felt cold when the wind whipped against his bare skin, and besides, he had a sweater on underneath it. He knew he could survive without his coat. Tom on the other hand was shivering under his layers and the wind wasn't even whipping against them anymore.
"Naw, you need it," Tom muttered, trying to blow warm air onto his hands. The warmth only stayed for a few seconds, however, and warming up his fingertips didn't do much at helping out the rest of his body.
"Actually I don't," Doug replied, stopping as Tom once again attempted to warm up, this time blowing the air into his cupped hands instead. "Damn it," he muttered, shivering again as the wind picked up speed and whipped at his face and bare hands harsher than before. "And of course you need your coat, Doug - ya ain't a freaking polar bear."
"No, I'm not that cold. And my skin's thicker than yours, so you feel colder 'cause you're so damn skinny."
"Yeah nice try," Tom muttered harshly, not believing Doug. What he had said hadn't even made since. "You're not getting a damn cold because I'm too thin to-" Tom stopped as something heavy was draped over his shoulders and he looked at Doug, bewilderment in his eyes. "Doug, I don't need your coat."
"You're shivering like crazy, man. If anybody was gonna catch a cold it was you. Now just wear the damn thing and let's go."
"Fine," Tom said, sighing dramatically and grinning stupidly before looking at Doug, his facial features suddenly serious. "But I'm only wearing it to shut you up. You talk once more about my health, I swear this jacket goes in the garbage."
Tom pulled on the worn jacket, carefully pulling it over his injured arm and wincing as he stretched his arm too far and pulled at the wounded shoulder. He wasn't entirely sure whether or not Doug would care if he threw it out. He had never seen Doug wear the trench coat except for on cases and figured that it probably wasn't really that important. That meant tossing it in the trash would result in Doug's coat in the garbage and nothing else. Well, at least he had tried, and maybe Doug would shut up anyways.
"Whatever," Doug replied, "Don't care about it that much," he added with a grin, confirming Tom's thoughts. They continued walking down the street, back the way Doug had previously come from, with the hopes of finding Booker and Ioki where they should be.
"So you didn't see them earlier?"
"Nope; I went to that video store and didn't see you, and they weren't around there, either."
"They didn't hang out there," Tom replied. "They were just down the street, about a block away."
"You were out here alone?" Doug asked in a tone that made Tom feel guilty. Maybe he shouldn't have said anything...
"Uh, yeah..." Tom mumbled, trailing off slowly and refusing to look at the other man.
"Why the Hell would you do that?" Doug chastised, anger evident in his tone. He knew Tom; he knew that the younger man would never do something as stupid as that. Except that he had.
"Because you and Hoffs were already together, and Booker and Ioki were-"
Doug quickly Tom off, not caring too much about his explanation, "You coulda hung with me and Hoffs, or Booker and Ioki. Why the Hell would you come out here alone?"
"I-I'm sorry," Tom replied, starting to walk away. He didn't care for what Doug had to say, knowing full well that he would get the same form of rant from Fuller once he found out what had happened. And he was only intent on hearing it once. With Doug he had a choice at listening; Fuller would tie him to a chair if he had to to make him listen.
"Tom! Aw, c'mon!" Penhall yelled. He hadn't meant to push Tom away; all he wanted was a reason for his actions. "Damn it Hanson," he muttered angrily, setting off at a run to catch up with the younger man who had, surprisingly, already made it across the street. And he continued to walk away, ignoring the distressed man running after him and calling his name.
"Damn it Hanson," Doug repeated, slowing down to catch his breath. He hoped the younger man was going to look for Dennis and Harry, because at least then Doug would have a general idea of where to find him. Because there was no way he was leaving Tom out here alone; not after what had happened last time Tom had been.
Shaking his head angrily, Penhall set off at a quickened pace, opting to walk fast instead of running this time; it would take longer but at least he wouldn't have to stop to catch his breath every five minutes.
Tom walked fast, trying to get as far away from Doug as possible. He knew he should be staying with the other man, but at the moment he just wanted to be alone. He heard Doug calling out at him and he sighed angrily; why couldn't Doug just leave him alone? All he wanted right now was a friend but instead the only friend he had felt intent on lecturing him. And he didn't want that. He hurried across the street, jumping at the car horn that sounded too close for comfort. He waved at the car in apology and decided to run the rest of the way across the street. At least now it would take awhile for Doug to catch up with him. Knowing that they both, whether separated or not, needed to find Dennis and Harry, Tom set off in that direction; it wasn't that hard, considering he just had to keep going straight. Once he found them, he could quickly fill them in and wait for Doug. He figured he would have blown off enough steam by then. Until then, he planned on keeping as far away from his partner as possible.
