oOo
Will instinctively closed his eyes, waiting for the knife to ram down into his shoulder, but it never did.
He could hear a faint cry over the rushing in his ears and the weight that had been pinning him down lifted. His curiosity piqued, Will opened his eyes and found himself staring up at a cloudy sky. His attacker was nowhere to be seen. Will was starting to push himself up when Dan stepped into his field of vision. Will gratefully accepted the offered hand and got to his feet. The sudden shift in position combined with the adrenaline rush made him feel intensively dizzy, and if it hadn't been for Dan's steadying grip, he would have fallen flat on his face.
"You okay mate?" Dan asked.
Will took a moment to answer. "Yeah, yeah. Just a bit dizzy," he admitted. For the first time since Dan had helped him to his feet, he looked around.
"Where'd he go?" Will asked, referring to the man who had nearly stabbed him.
"He heard me calling for you and he ran. I...I saw the knife and thought he'd gotten to you..." Dan explained. "I know I shouldn't have let him get away, but I saw the blood..."
Blood? Will looked down on himself. His vest was glistening with wetness and there was blood splatter on his sleeves as well.
"It's not mine," he reassured Dan. "I owe you one!"
"You don't know the best thing yet," Dan grinned. "They found Emma and she's alive! That's why I came looking for you in the first place."
The news took a moment to sink in, then Will broke into a splitting grin. Suddenly, it didn't matter anymore that he was cold, wet and covered in someone else's blood, Emma was alive and that was all that mattered for the moment.
oOo
"I'm not dead, am I?"
Sam lowered the magazine she was reading to see Phil gazing at her with tired eyes, but still smiling weakly.
"No, you aren't, even though you sure tried hard enough." It came out harsher than Sam had intended, as the tension that had had her in its grip ever since she had heard the shot coming from inside the house slowly eased.
"I'm sorry if I worried you," Phil apologized.
"Nice try," Sam smiled despite herself. After all these years, Phil knew exactly how to get to her.
"I doubt that's going to work on the DCI, though."
"How mad is he?" Phil asked.
"Not too bad, considering you broke pretty much every rule in the book. But he'll get over it. You probably did save the life of Susan's birth mother. That's going to count for something."
"Mhm." Phil's eyes had closed while she had spoken. Sam thought at first that Phil had fallen asleep again, but his eyes suddenly shot open, a look of worry on his face.
"What about Emma? Was she..."?
"No, she wasn't in the house. She managed to get away from them back at the abandoned apartment."
"So you found her? Where?"
"She was dropped of at A&E here sometime last night. We don't know who found her," Sam explained.
Phil looked confused.
"Go back to sleep, Phil," Sam advised, seeing that he had a hard time keeping his eyes open. She squeezed his hand, but he was already asleep.
oOo
Three floors down, Will was hovering in the doorway of the cubicle where Emma was being cared for. Mickey had warned him about it not being a pretty sight, but still, seeing her like this, drove a knife right into his gut. All the happiness and relief he had felt when Dan had told him that she was still alive faded as it sank in that he might still lose her. In a way he already had. Will turned his head away, his eyes burning. As much as he'd wanted to do this, he couldn't. Without another look, he turned around and left.
oOo
Even though the case of Matt's and Emma's shooting remained open, life went on in and around Sun Hill. Though he was officially wanted, Susan Allen's accomplice seemed to have vanished off the face of the earth. When Superintendent Heaton decided to involve the media, they received numerous tips from well meaning citizens, but three months later, all leads had been exhausted and they were still no closer to finding their man and the case, while still open, was moved to the back burner. A wave of home invasions was having Sun Hill's citizens living in fear and both uniform and CID had their hands full.
After Will had seen Emma for the last time in hospital the day after she was found, he'd gotten so drunk that he'd been hung over for days afterwards and had gotten a formal reprimand from the inspector. After that he'd taken a few days leave that he'd saved up, and after his return he seemed to have turned the page. To those who knew him well, he seemed a little quieter than before, but not enough to cause them to worry.
It was purely by chance that Will ran into Emma again almost six months after the shooting.
A shoplifter had suddenly pulled a knife when he and Dan had tried to arrest him and had stabbed Will in the shoulder. The injury hadn't been life-threatening, but had still required surgery to repair the ligament damage. The surgery had gone very well, and Will was already back home, but he would still need to complete several weeks of physiotherapy to regain his full range of motion. It was at the office of a local physiotherapist that they met again.
"Emma!" Will exclaimed. He'd never expected to run into her just like this. He'd worked so hard to banish her from his thoughts, because the alternative would have hurt too much, and now there she was smiling brightly at him.
"Will! I haven't seen you in ages. Is everything all right?"
Will regarded her in surprise. He hadn't even been sure she would recognize him, let alone recall his name, but there she was talking to him as if he'd never abandoned her.
"Yeah, little accident at work." He motioned to his shoulder. "I'll be okay, but it will be a few weeks of physiotherapy," Will answered. He felt very uncomfortable with the situation.
"You picked a good one. Dr. Careford is excellent—well, demanding but excellent," she added wryly. "She's done wonders for me."
Will must have looked at her in surprise, because she added, "I've had some trouble with my left side since...you know, but Dr. Careford has done some fantastic work."
"She's exaggerating. I don't often encounter patients as motivated as Miss Hinckley." A middle-aged woman, who had to be Dr. Careford, joined them.
"Are you here to pick up Miss Hinckley?" she asked him.
"No, no." Will shook his head. "I'm here for an appointment; we just met by chance, I mean..." Will floundered, as the chance encounter with Emma had shaken him up.
"We used to work together," Emma supplied helpfully, and turning to the therapist, she answered, "I'll be taking the bus home today."
"That's good, that's very good to hear," Dr. Careford said.
"Bye, Dr. Careford, bye,Will. We should get in touch."
Emma turned and walked out of the office.
Will stared after her, puzzled by her behavior towards him. They hadn't had any contact in months and he'd never been to visit her in hospital either. He'd heard she was doing much better now and apparently it was true. He felt a stab of regret, but pushed the thought aside immediately. It would hurt too much to go there. He'd made the decision to turn the page, to leave her behind and now he had to live with it.
"Now, you are?" she turned to Will.
"Will Fletcher, I had an appointment at 10," Will managed, his mind still trying to process the surprise encounter.
The therapist pulled out a notebook. "Yes, I have you here for 10 o 'clock?" She handed him a form. "Please fill this out."
oOo
Will was exhausted by the time he returned home. Dr. Careford had worked him hard and the slight headache he had woken up with that morning had transformed into a raging migraine. All he wanted to do was lie down somewhere dark and quiet, but it was not to be. Hardly inside his apartment, he could already see the red light blink on his answering machine, indicating that there were messages waiting for him. Will pressed the button and listened as he went to get himself a glass of water and an aspirin tablet. The machine announced that he had two messages. The first was a hang-up. The second, to his great surprise, was from Emma.
"Hi, Will, it's Emma. I know it's the middle of the week and you're probably busy...but I didn't really thank you this morning, and...what about dinner, tonight? Please call me back."
Stunned, Will rewound the message and listened again. Thank him for what? He hadn't even been to see her at the hospital, not after she'd been kidnapped. He was the last person he expected her to thank. He knew that quite a few of uniform and even CID had been regular visitors while Emma was in hospital, so why would she thank him of all people? Will was confused and unsure what to do. He was over Emma. What had been between them was over. As far as Emma was concerned, it hadn't even happened, or so he'd tried hard telling himself for the last six months.
Will sank down on the sofa, burying his head in his hands. He'd been an awful friend, because if he was honest with himself, he hadn't wanted to get hurt again, hadn't wanted to hurt her again. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know how to behave around her, when he had all those memories that she didn't have. But he couldn't just ignore her either. Will sighed and got up again. Emma's number was still on his speed dial and less than five minutes later, they'd agreed to meet at a pub near Emma's apartment later that night.
oOo
Will was more nervous about meeting Emma than he had been before his very first date. It wasn't even a date, he reminded himself. They were just going to share a meal, as friends—friends who hadn't seen each other in a while. Emma hadn't told him much new on the phone, only that she would love to catch up and that she finally wanted to thank him. Will just hoped that he wasn't making a big mistake in accepting the invitation. Will once again scanned the small pub, looking for Emma. He had arrived a few minutes early and had chosen a table near the back. Still, he didn't have to wait long for Emma. The limp was clearly noticeable when she walked, but as soon as she saw him, she waved and smiled.
"Hope I didn't keep you waiting for too long." Emma slipped out of her coat and pulled up the chair with her right arm. Will couldn't help but notice that her left arm remained hanging limply at her side.
"Listen, Will, I didn't invite you to make you feel uncomfortable. I know we haven't seen each other in a long time and a lot has changed. I understand that people have moved on," she explained. "But...I'm starting to remember things, about the time when I was at Sun Hill, and I miss you guys," Emma admitted with a sad smile. "Plus, all the cards you sent me while I was in hospital, they really...I know it sounds stupid..."
"Wait," Will interrupted. This was awkward. "I didn't send you any cards."
Emma stared at him in shock.
TBC