Like Coming Home-Chapter 10
Damn it, no cookies, only lots and lots of EZ-Mac and the microwave is all the way downstairs...Enough of my whining though. Hope you're enjoying the story. I think this is going to be the last real chapter, real meaning on scene. There might be another short one after this to sum things up. Good, now that that's decided let's move on. You guys still liking this? I don't know, I loved the idea but I'm not liking the follow through on my part. Okay, I still don't own Flashpoint and I'd really appreciate your reviews.
"Get out of here." Alan said softly after hanging up the phone. Wordy watched him carefully and was worried about the sudden changes in his affect and body language. "Get out of here." He said again, a bit firmer. Wordy nodded slightly as he moved towards the other hostages. He spoke first to the two adults.
"Go straight to the black SUVs, someone will show you." He said as he instructed Kelly to help Mr. Bryant up. "Girls," He said softly as he got on his knees near them. Go with Mr. Bryant and Kelly. You girls go straight to Uncle Greg or Uncle Ed and they'll take you to Mommy. Tell me what you have to do." Wordy asked softly.
"Go to Uncle Greg and Uncle Ed." Claire said through teary eyes. Wordy smiled.
"Good girl." He leaned forward and kissed both of their foreheads.
"Daddy, aren't you coming with us?" Danielle whispered shakily.
"I'm going to make sure everyone is safe and then I'll come see you girls, okay?" He said with a smile.
"But Daddy, I don't want to leave without you." Danielle whispered again, renewed tears coming to her eyes. Wordy saw Mr. Bryant standing and he knew that they needed to move.
"Girls, can you do one more thing to help me?" He asked as they nodded their heads. "Mr. Bryant and Kelly don't know who Uncle Ed and Uncle Greg are. I need you to show them. Can you girls do that?" He asked as they nodded again. "Good. Hold your sister's hand. I love you girls so much." He said as he nodded to Kelly. He watched the four of them walk out of the store from his spot about ten feet from Alan.
"Go." He said simply in a sad voice.
"I don't think that's a good idea Alan. Can you tell me what you're thinking about?" Wordy prompted as he tried to roll his stiff shoulders, his hands still restrained behind his back. Alan looked at him coldly.
"Just get out of here, I'm letting you go." He said, partially angry, partially confused.
"I'm going to stay as long as it takes for you to walk out of here with me Alan." He considered what to say next before speaking again. "You're thinking about a permeant solution to a temporary problem and I don't want you to make a mistake you can't take back." Wordy said sincerely. Alan looked at him carefully for a few minutes before looking at the gun in his hands.
"My problem isn't temporary though. There's no way out of the debt, the disease..."
"Alan, you don't know that. I know that right now it's tough to find hope but you need to hang on. Not just for yourself, but your wife and your son." Wordy shook his head a bit as he stepped closer. "Alan, Aidan needs a Dad, he needs you no matter what." Wordy said passionately. Alan shook his head subtly. The lines in his face seemed to have deepened over the past hours and he looked as though he had aged. Wordy looked at him with a small smile as he raised his gaze. Wordy's deep brown eyes met Alan's dead green ones as he started to slowly speak.
"My son is better off this way. Tell my wife, I'm sorry." Alan said as he raised the gun to his temple.
"No! Alan, no!" Wordy said as new sounds surrounded them. Wordy saw Sam at the end of the aisle out of the corner of his eye before a flash bang shattered a window and emitted it's loud explosion. Most people, including Alan, were disoriented by the sudden loud explosion but Wordy has spent so much time on entry teams that he barley noticed the grenade. He charged forward and tackled Alan to the ground, knocking the gun from his hands as Sam and Ed both approached, yelling over the confusion.
"Hands! Let me see your hands! Stay there." Sam yelled as he stepped up and kept his gun trained on Alan.
"Wordy, you okay?" Ed said in a tone of carefully masked panic. He holstered his gun and helped Wordy roll off of Alan.
"I'm fine, Ed. Get my wrists?" He asked as he held his restrained arms up. Ed quickly grabbed his pocket knife and cut through the bandages. Wordy rolled his shoulders and bent his arms while massaging his wrists as he got to his feet and let Ed help Sam get Alan to his feet. When he was standing Wordy walked into his line of sight.
"Why didn't you just let me die?" He asked, first softly but growing louder. "Why didn't you just let me die on my own terms! I just want to die, let me go!" He yelled at Sam, who held one of his arms tightly. Tears were in Alan's eyes as he looked at Wordy coldly. "I just want to die now, on my own terms! Why didn't you let me die?" Wordy stood and took the verbal outburst with downcast eyes before Sam led Alan out of the store, still yelling.
"You alright, buddy?" Ed asked as he placed a gentle hand on Wordy's shoulder. He was looking at his sore wrists and trying to regain circulation as he saw his hands shake a bit. Adrenaline is pumping. He thought as he rolled his shoulders again.
"I'm good, Ed. Thanks." He said sincerely as he looked up and met the clear blue eyes.
"Anytime, Wordy." He smiled and put his hand on Wordy's shoulder again to lead him out of the store. Wordy noticed himself being led towards an ambulance before ducking out from under Ed's grip. "Wordy..." Ed started but was quickly interrupted.
"Ed, I'm fine. I told the girls I'd find them as soon as I came out, where are they? Where's Shelly?" He asked as he felt jarred back into his reality. Three girls, a mortgage he could barley afford, a job that he loved but he went to every day knowing it could be his last. He shook his head quickly to clear his mind as he saw the glint of blonde hair in the window of one of the SUVs. He found himself running over before he even listened to or comprehended Ed's answer to his question. He ran up and flung open the door only to nearly be knocked down by Danielle and Claire jumping into his arms.
"Hey, hey," Wordy said softly as he held them in tight hugs, both girls crying onto his shoulders. "Shhh. I'm so proud of both you girls. You were so brave and I'm so proud of you." He whispered into their ears as tears came to his eyes as well. "Shhh, everything's okay now. Shhh." He knelt on the cool pavement and comforted them until he felt them both heavy in his arms with sleep. He stood and put them in the backseat of one of the SUVs before quietly closing the door. Shelly had been standing nearby and Wordy approached her with open arms and an apologetic look.
"Shel-" He started but was cut off by a smothering hug. He stood a few minutes in the embrace before he spoke again. "Shel, we're all okay now honey. I'm sorry. We're all okay." He said again before he felt her take a step back and wipe her face. "We're okay." He said again, looking into her eyes. She nodded with teary eyes as Greg and Ed approached them. Wordy nodded in their direction before letting out a deep sigh.
"Thanks, Boss." He said as he looked towards Greg's warm eyes. He nodded.
"No problem, Wordy. You did great today." He saw Wordy's gaze drift away from his and saw the bits of disbelief in his features but he also saw the deep bags forming under his eyes. "Go home and get some sleep. You weren't technically on scene or on shift so you don't need to debrief tonight," Wordy smiled a bit before Greg continued. "but after the vacation, which you are taking starting tomorrow," Greg's tone left no room for argument as he continued. "we're going to talk about this." Wordy nodded as Shelly moved forward and put her arm around his waist. "Eddie, why don't you go with them? You can drop Clark off at home and then swing back to HQ to wrap things up." Ed nodded as he, Wordy and Shelly walked towards the SUV where Claire and Danielle slept.
"Oh and Wordy," Greg called as he stopped in the street and turned towards the SUV. "I think you'll need this." He said as he tossed a rectangular box in his direction. Wordy caught it and turned it over in his hands as he smiled. "Cherry flavor is the way to go." Greg said with a smile as he nodded his head and continued towards the van. Wordy put the medicine in his pocket as went and sat in the front seat with Ed and Shelly got into the back.
The drive back to the house was silent as the girls slept in the back seat, Ed careful to avoid bumps and pot holes. As they pulled into the driveway Wordy and Ed went to the backseat and each took one of the girls in their arms as Shelly opened the front door. Ed and Wordy went straight up stairs and Wordy nodded his head towards Claire's room, an unspoken sign for Ed to put her in bed. Wordy stood outside the room Danielle and Allie shared and waited for Ed to come back to open the door for him. When Ed returned, he slowly opened the door, hoping that Allie was asleep and trying not to disturb her. They were surprised to see Clark with a textbook and a flashlight in hand, reading aloud in a high pitched, story like voice.
"The early years of the Roman Republic were marked by an attempt on the part of patrician families to achieve a monopoly of secular and sacred office. The fall of the monarchy also meant the partial loss..." He saw Wordy and Ed walk in and a blush rose in his checks. Allie stirred slightly and he spoke again in the story telling voice. "If I stop talking like this, she wakes up. My throat is killing me. I read all the books you had but had to resort to Roman history...it always knocks me out." Clark smiled as Ed walked over and patted his shoulder.
"Come on downstairs, we'll get you something to drink." Wordy whispered as he pulled the covers up over Danielle and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. Clark gathered his books and followed Ed and Wordy softly down the stairs and into the kitchen. Shelly poured him a glass of water and he took large gulps of it before yawning.
"We've got to get going, Clark. I've got to get you home then I need to get back to HQ." Ed said as he stood from the table. Clark nodded and went to put his glass in the sink.
"Clark, we can't thank you enough." Shelly said as she hugged him tightly.
"It's no problem Mrs. Wordsworth." He said nonchalantly. Wordy reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet (which Ed had had the clear mind to grab before leaving the scene) and he pulled out a few bills.
"Clark, thank you." Wordy said as held out the money for Clark. He shook his head.
"I...I can't, this was an emergency...I didn't want to be paid..." Clark looked to his father.
"Wordy,"
"No, Clark please, you deserve this." He said firmly as he put the money in Clark's hand. He nodded and smiled.
"Thank you." Clark looked Wordy over carefully again as Clark got his coat on.
"Wordy, get some sleep. You look exhausted." Ed said as he put his hand on his shoulder.
"Will do. Thanks again." He said as he walked them to the door. He plopped down at the kitchen table as Shelly offered to make him something to eat.
"Nah. I'm not hungry, thanks though." Wordy added a smile as she walked over and sat next to him.
"Are you okay honey?" She asked, concern in her eyes.
"I'm fine, just thinking." Wordy said softly. She nodded and yawned.
"I'm going to check on Allie and then I'm going to bed." She got up form the table and checked that the backdoor was locked. "You coming upstairs?" She asked as she stood in the door frame between the rooms.
"I'll be up in a few minutes." He said with a smile. "I love you honey." He said softly. She came over and gave him a kiss before leaving the room and dimming the lights.
Wordy sat at the table in silence until he heard their bedroom door close. He took a few deep breaths as silent tears came to his eyes. He looked at the family photos hanging on the wall and felt himself get chills as he thought about two of his girls being hostages. He reached towards his wallet which he'd left on the table and went to put it in his pocket before pausing for a moment. He held it out and pulled the remaining cash out of the section. Damn, I have to go to the bank. He though as he vaguely wondered if Greg would let him come in after two or three days instead of waiting the whole week, he needed to save those vacation days incase he ever needed them. As he put his wallet in his pocket again he felt his fingers twitch ever so slightly. He blinked his eyes a few times as he felt the exhaustion overcoming him. He held his hands out in front of him and watched carefully as his right hand quivered a bit. God, I'm more exhausted than I thought. He tried to convince himself.
Is that a cruel ending? I'm sorry, it is isn't it? Well, sorry, but that's it for this story. Tell me what you think, do you hate me for leaving it like that? Well at least you got four updates in one night, I'm back in action! I've got some one-shots coming up next, maybe tomorrow. It's bed time now. Thanks for reading (and reviewing, right?)