Disclaimer: Still don't own anything. At all. Read, review, and let me know if you want Caitlin to stick around in Santa Barbara. And if you want her to work with the guys or the police.
Fueled by anger and the desperate desire to save his sister, Shawn tried to grab the chain the hook suspended from so he could pull himself up, only to nearly pass out from the pain. A cry of frustration escaped him.
"What the hell are you doing?" Perez demanded, turning his attention to Shawn. Caitlin shook uncontrollably as she wondered if there was any way out of this for her and Shawn.
The door burst open and Lassiter and O'Hara came storming through, their guns drawn. "Drop the gun, Perez," Carlton said in his intimidating voice.
Perez stood, pulling Caitlin up with him, pinning her against his chest with the gun at her temple once more.
A memory flitted through Caitlin's mind. She was playing cops and robbers with Shawn and Gus, and Gus had decided to use her as hostage. Shawn had shouted at her to go limp. She wondered if it would work in this situation. She really had nothing to lose if it didn't.
She knew nothing about the head detective with O'Hara, other than he had worked with Shawn frequently. Caitlin saw the steely determination in his eyes and she had to give him a clear shot.
Closing her eyes, Caitlin commanded her body to go completely limp, as if she were boneless. "What the hell?" Perez shouted as she slumped and started sliding toward the floor. Carlton fired off a shot, striking Perez in the chest as soon as Caitlin was out of the line of fire.
Lassiter ran over and kicked the gun clear of Perez' hand while Juliet gathered up Caitlin who was trying really hard to not fall apart.
"Where's the switch for the pulley?" Lassiter asked Shawn, who indicated with a nod. He nearly screamed when Carlton pulled his arms down. "Easy there, Spencer," he said, gently sitting Shawn on the floor. "Get that ambulance in here!" he ordered.
"Caitlin!" Shawn cried out, trying to get closer to his sister.
"She's fine. O'Hara has her," Carlton assured him.
Holding her shoulder to try to not only ease the pain but also staunch the flow of pain, Caitlin came over to him. "Oh, Shawn. I never meant to bring danger to you."
"Hey, danger is my middle name," Shawn joked, wincing when he laughed. "I just have to know…did you just use my going limp move?"
"I did. I remembered you telling me about it one day when we were all playing. I wasn't certain it would work as well on Perez as it did Gus, but I had to give this nice detective here a clear shot.
"Nice? I'm going to have to give you lessons about Lassie."
"Spencer…" Carlton said warningly as the paramedics wheeled up with two gurneys. As the siblings were loaded on the ambulance, Carlton called Henry and Gus to let them know to go the hospital.
The two worried men nearly wore the carpet out in the waiting room with their pacing while awaiting word on the surgeries. Thankfully they hade been able to speak with Caitlin and Shawn beforehand or it would have been much worse.
"Mr. Spencer? Mr. Guster?" They turned to find two doctors standing there. "Caitlin and Shawn are going to be fine. As soon as they wake up in recovery, they'll be taken to their room which is number 506, if you'd like to wait there for them."
"Thank you very much." The two men headed for the room.
Some time later, Shawn was the first one to wake. "Dad."
"Hey son. How are you feeling?"
"Anyone get the number of the truck that ran me over?"
Henry gave him a gentle smile. "Shawn. I think I may have been doing you a great disservice all of these years."
Shawn arched an eyebrow. "In what way?"
"Carlton told me how he was finally able to take Perez out, and he said it was because Caitlin did something you taught her years ago."
Shawn managed a sleepy smile. "Yeah. I taught her how to go limp when she was captured. Of course, Gus was only 10 and, well, he's Gus…"
"I heard that Shawn."
"Sorry, buddy. But it turns out it works equally well in escaping a hit man. Thanks for helping to train her, Gus."
"Thank you for teaching her that, Shawn. I…erm…" Henry always had a difficult time expressing emotions.
"That's all right, Dad. I know what you're trying to say. I do hate to tell you this though, I think she has my propensity for talking."
"What?" Henry demanded.
"She kind of ticked Perez off when she announced how he was going to try to disappear and how it wouldn't work." Shawn smiled again. "I was proud of her."
"Geez," Henry said. "I was thinking…once she's fully recovered, I might give her the training lessons I gave you."
"I think she'd like that, Dad. And…well…I haven't thanked you enough for what you taught me." Shawn glanced at his father. "I know I resented it at the time."
Henry smiled then glanced over his shoulder when he heard Caitlin talking in a low voice to Gus. "Be right back, son." Shawn nodded and glanced over to his sister's bed. Now it felt like everything was right with the world. Now could he convince her to come work with him and Gus? He wondered how she was with computer work.
"Hey Doodlebug. How are you feeling?" Henry asked sitting down next to the bed while Gus went over to speak with Shawn.
"Hey, Gus," Shawn said, giving him a fist bump. "I wanted to ask you if you would mind if I asked Cait to join the team?"
"Works for me. I bet she knows computers. We could use a computer person. And a receptionist…maybe you'll stop losing the cordless phone."
"Gus, don't be a maniacal ring tailed lemur," Shawn scoffed.
"Anyway," Gus dragged out. "A third person will be good to help you out when I'm on my route too."
"I still wish you'd give up that part time pharmaceutical sales job," Shawn went on, ignoring Gus' stare. "We're getting busier all of the time."
"You're right about one thing. My full-time job is now my part-time. I'm not complaining though."
"Caitlin Spencer, it's not safe for you to do that," Henry said loudly. "I told you I'd take care of it."
Shawn and Gus shared a glance. "Oh oh. I thought that voice was reserved for me," Shawn said.
"Shawn, Gus, I'll be back in a few days. I'm going to New York to pack up Caitlin's things. I'm also talking to Vicks' niece on the force and we're going to make it appear that Perez got Caitlin out here. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm depending on the two of you to keep her out of trouble."
"We've got it covered, Dad." Shawn looked worried. "Be careful, Dad."
"I will, son."
