AN: Ahhh, this story is coming to a close very, VERY soon…. A big thank you to Silver who reviewed the last chapter as well. Onward!

Chapter 11

Viper looked herself in the tiny mirror that was attached to her locker door. She had her uniform on as she did every day, Glenn's necklace seemed to make it seem that much more drab as it glittered with every move she made.

"That's nice."

Viper jumped slightly as she shifted her gaze in the mirror to see Nancy standing behind her. Nancy gave her a wry look as she turned around, "Didn't mean to scare you."

"It's fine," Viper shrugged as she closed her locker. "My mind isn't really here anyway. What's up?"

"Your necklace is very nice," Nancy said.

"Thank you," Viper said, feeling the heat begin to rise to her face as Nancy stepped closer and took the small pendant in her hand. Nancy was smirking when she looked back at Viper.

"Glenn gave it to you, didn't he?"

"Uh-huh," Viper squeaked as she nodded, realizing a moment too late that her voice had left her. Nancy laughed when she heard Viper's voice and rolled her eyes.

"You act like the fact that you're in love is a bad thing, Vipe," Nancy said, releasing the pendant. "You should have seen Glenn while you were gone. He was like a lost little puppy…."

Viper cleared her throat as she laughed, "Seriously? He did not mention that. Good to know…."

"How's Hayley doing as your partner?" Nancy asked.

"It's only been one day," Viper said with a shrug. "So far so good. We'll see what today has to offer. Hey, can I ask you something?"

Nancy nodded, "Sure, go ahead."

"How are things with you and Rabbit?" Viper asked as she pinned her badge on.

"They're good," Nancy said. "He was worried about you, you know, that night after your house burned down."

Viper shrugged, "He's got one hell of a way of showing it; chewing my ass for my slip-up yesterday. I thought he was going to go crazy when he saw me as out of it as I was."

"You still thinking about that?" Nancy asked. "I'll admit, Rabbit was a jerk to you yesterday from what I heard afterwards, but Vipe, why are you letting him get to you?"

Viper hesitated, "I'm not letting him get to me." She blinked, "Am I?"

Nancy's eyebrows rose, What do you think, Viper? You and Rabbit used to have a lot of fun chewing each other out."

"Yeah, but I'm not the same person I was when I was dating him," Viper said for what felt like the thousandth time. "As much as people like to think that I am, I'm not, and I probably never will be again. Being with Glenn has changed me, and I actually think I like it."

"Well I'm happy for you," Nancy said honestly. "You deserve to be happy, especially after working so hard for so long."

Viper sighed, "Do I now?"

Nancy rolled her eyes, "Yes, Viper, even you get to be happy. What do you say you and I hang out tonight without either of our guys? We can just hang by my house, no guys, no work, just catching up."

Viper smiled, "That sounds amazing, actually. But it will have to be at your house, seeing as I have no house of my own."

"What's going on with your home insurance, anyways?" Nancy asked as she opened her own locker to look herself in the mirror as she pulled her hair up.

Viper groaned as she closed her locker, "I honestly forgot to call Luke yesterday. My mind was god knows where… I got nine days now to get all the information to them. Damn it."

"You'll get everything," Nancy said positively. "You always come through for yourself."

Viper smiled grimly as she ran her fingers through her hair, Of course I do, because if I don't, who else would?

"One bull crap job after another," Hayley groaned, leaning back in her seat. Their shift was half over and they were sitting at Viper's favorite stand-by spot near the Golden Gate Bridge. From where they sat they could see the on-going reconstruction from the accident. Viper was mildly surprised that it was taking so long. But she had to agree that Hayley was right. They had been doing nothing but simple jobs all morning, one chest pain, one broken nose compliments of a brotherly boxing match, and one very messy attempted suicide. The rig was definitely going to need a good clean up by the end of the day.

"Hey, do you mind going to the Starbucks a few blocks up?" Hayley asked. "I'm craving a passion fruit tea…."

Viper laughed as she started up the rig, "Are you sure you want to go near another Starbucks so soon?"

"Are you kidding me?" Hayley grinned. "Please, Vipe, I was back in Starbucks last night. I am obsessed with Starbucks teas!"

"Well, at least now I know what to get you for Christmas," Viper said. She pulled the rig onto the streets and drove up a few blocks to the desired Starbucks. She parked the rig outside and grabbed for her phone as it chimed.

"Do you want anything for after you answer your lover?"

Viper rolled her eyes, "No thanks, Hayley. And how did you know it was Glenn?"

"You have a different tone for when he texts you," Hayley said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"I know that, but how did you know that one is Glenn's?"

"Oh," Hayley laughed. "From the way your eyes light up every time that chime sounds. So, do you want anything?"

"Coffee, please," Viper said. "Otherwise I'm going to fall asleep on my steering wheel from lack of interesting jobs."

"You really gotta get off that coffee addiction," Hayley said.

"Bite me," Viper mumbled as she entered her password and Glenn's message popped up.

You going to Nancy's tonight?

That took a while, Viper mused. The news usually traveled much faster between the two partners. She was surprised that Glenn hadn't messaged her earlier.

What took you so long to ask?

She pressed the send button and sat back, lacing her fingers behind her head. She waited only a few seconds before Glenn answered.

Had a busy morning.
Glad you going to Nancy's.

Viper smiled. She knew Glenn was worried about her. Hell, if going to Nancy's would take away some of his worries, she would have gone to Nancy even if she didn't want to. She yawned and stretched as she got ready to type something back. Before she could though, her door, which she had been leaning against, opened and she fell backwards. She had a glimpse of something red, a shock of pain, and her world went black before she could say or do anything.

Nancy closed the laptop she had been typing on as she finished her report. She was ready to get back out on the road.

"Good morning, good morning."

Nancy smiled as she turned around and saw Rabbit. But then she noticed the blood that covered his flight suit and her smile faltered, "Do I want to know what happened to you?"

"I'm a paramedic," Rabbit grinned. "It's an off day when I don't get blood on my flight suit." He leaned over and kissed her cheek, "How are you doing, my dear?"

"I'm good, actually," Nancy smiled.

"So," Rabbit began. "What do you say to a nice dinner tonight? Just you, me, my apartment, candles…."

Nancy smile turned grim, "That sounds great, but I already have plans tonight. Sorry, Rabbit."

"Plans?" Rabbit blinked as if he had never heard such a thing. "With who?"

"Your favorite person in the world."

Rabbit groaned, "With Viper? Why?"

"Because, like it or not, she's one of my best friends, Rabbit," Nancy said. "We've been through this, many times."

"No chance at getting you to blow her off, huh?"

Nancy laughed, "Not unless you want a very annoyed Viper and Glenn coming after you."

"Glenn I can handle," Rabbit said. "But Viper…." He shuddered. "Is it true he gave her a necklace?"

"Very true," Nancy nodded. "But strangely, he isn't off his game at all, considering he's in love. I've seen love do some strange things to EMTs and paramedics, but Glenn's not letting it interfere at all with his work."

"Good to hear," Rabbit grinned. "Cause god knows you need Glenn acting like a love-sick puppy like you need a hole in the head."

"I can't even tell you how true that is," Nancy smiled. "I should get back to work."

"Alright," Rabbit kissed her forehead. "Have a good day then."

"You too," Nancy responded. She gathered up her things and walked out to the ambulance bay just as Glenn was closing the back of one-one-four.

Glenn smiled at her, "Ready to go?"

"More than ready," Nancy nodded as she walked around to the passenger side. She sighed as Glenn got in the driver's side and started up the rig, "I cannot even begin to tell you how much gossip there is flying around that ER right now. And I thought the base was bad when it came to gossip…."

"The docs are gossiping about medics?" Glenn asked.

"More me and Rabbit than anything," Nancy said. "But you and Viper pop up in conversations too, don't worry."

"Just what I needed to hear," Glenn laughed. "You would think the docs and nurses would have something more interesting to talk about."

"Oh, they have their own gossip," Nancy assured him. "But it never ceases to amaze me how much you can pick up your name in conversations around you."

"So, what are you and Viper going to do tonight?" Glenn asked.

"Oh, I don't know," Nancy shrugged. "Probably going to make her do all of those girly things she hates doing; give her a facial, do her nails, get her to do mine…."

Glenn laughed as his phone began ringing, "You better not tell her that in advance, you'll never get her to your house." He glanced at the screen of his iPhone, "It's Hayley. I wonder what she wants…. Hello?"

"Glenn," Hayley sounded close to hysterical. "Please, tell me you know where Viper is."

Glenn's heart skipped a painful beat as he pressed the brakes a little harder than he meant to and the rig lurched forward and back simultaneously.

"What do you mean?" Glenn asked, shooting Nancy an apologetic, yet slightly worried look. "She's working with you, isn't she?"

"She was!" Hayley exclaimed. "I went into Starbucks to get a tea and when I got back to the rig, she was gone! I've been calling her phone for fifteen minutes, but she doesn't answer!"

"How long has it been?" Glenn felt his heart begin to pound. He held his phone away from his mouth and looked at Nancy, "Do me a favor, call Viper."

"Sure," Nancy nodded. "But isn't she with Hayley?"

Glenn shook his head, feeling as if something was stabbing him in the heart as he did, "Hayley doesn't know where she is. She just… disappeared."

Viper was in agony. She felt as if someone was piercing ever pore in her body with hot needles. She couldn't open her eyes, nor were any of her other senses functioning. She could do nothing but writhe in pain, hot tears streaming down her face as she did. It had taken her a while to realize that the main reason it was so hard for her to move was not only because of the pain, but because she was bound as well. She had only felt that way once before, and she was more than certain she knew why her body was reacting that way.

"Aww," A mocking voice said from nearby. "You're suffering something terrible, aren't you? Well, I need to talk to you, so maybe I can give you some relief, at least for a little while."

Viper was already in so much pain, she didn't feel when another needle was inserted into her skin and something else was injected into her body. Slowly, her burning body began to cool. Within a few minutes, her entire body relaxed. She couldn't bring her body to move though as her breathing slowed as well.

"Well, that's better, isn't it?"

Viper forced her eyes open, "Bitch," she spat as Amanda appeared above her. She had gotten over her initial reaction to Amanda kidnapping her before she had been injected with what had made her burn. "How the hell did you know I'm allergic to morphine, and how the hell did you even get your grubby hands on it?"

"I borrowed some from your rig, along with the epinephrine," Amanda smirked. "Before I took you. I must say, Viper, I always admired your beauty, but you aren't looking so beautiful right now."

"Bite me, you jackass," Viper snarled. She looked at her hands and her legs, both were bound tight with strong plastic wires.

"No, you wont be getting out of those any time soon," Amanda said.

"You're insane," Viper said. "What idiot in their right mind gave you an EMT certificate?"

Amanda smirked, "Getting that certificate was one of the proudest days of my life. But you ruined everything."

"In case you forgot, you're the one that started with me," Viper said weakly. She really had no fight in her. The morphine had been circling her system for too long for her to be thinking about even sitting up. "If you wouldn't have sent me that picture of Glenn, I wouldn't have punched you in front of everyone and you wouldn't have been so embarrassed. You were one useless partner to begin with…."

"Bitch!" Amanda stomped down on Viper's abdomen, forcing all the breath out of her lungs and pain to jolt through her once again. Viper rolled over, trying to regain her breath, but as she tried, her entire body shook.

"I've had harder hits from little old ladies," Viper managed to growl.

"Not so tough now, huh?" Amanda asked. "I gotta say, to your credit, my jaw was hurting me for a good two weeks after you punched me. I thought you dislocated it or something."

"No, that would have been the smart thing to do," Viper said. "So, let me ask you; you burned my house down, why the hell fuck with me even more? You know that the morphine can kill me." Her eyes widened as she said it, "No…."

"You think I'm stupid enough to kill you, Viper?" Amanda asked. "Vengeful I may be, but I'm not entirely stupid. If I kill you I'll have to stand trial, no matter where I run. That's why I have the epinephrine as well, so you won't die on me."

"So, that's your grand plan?" Viper asked. "Cause me as much pain and then run?"

"Something like that," Amanda said. "You ruined my career, now I'll ruin you." She grinned evilly, "How about some morphine to take away some of the pain?"

Viper's eyes widened and she felt her heart begin an irregular rhythm, "Like hell…." She gathered up all her energy and swung her legs around, knocking Amanda off her feet. Amanda hit the floor with a loud thud and a growl. Viper pulled her legs closer to her body, ready to strike again, but she truly wasn't certain she had the energy to do strike again.

"You bitch!" Amanda snarled. Moving fasted than Viper could react, Amanda slammed her jaw. Viper tasted blood in her mouth and gagged. Taking advantage of Viper's distraction, she injected more morphine into Viper's system.

Viper felt the affects spreading instantly. She was burning again, the world around her fading, all except for the reality of the pain she felt.

"Glenn," She managed to whimper. "Glenn, help me."

Glenn could not focus. It was getting later and later, and he felt like nothing was happening. Viper really was missing, and the S.F.P.D. was now involved. Though he was wary of them, his misadventures with Lyons still fresh in his mind, he was thankful that Viper's ex, Ben Truehart, was leading the case. He and Nancy had gone back to the base with Hayley, Boone and Tyler covering their calls, while Basra questioned Hayley, Glenn had found himself restless. But now, hours later, he was close to cracking.

Nancy had long since given up trying to help Glenn calm down. She was worried as well, but no where as anxious as Glenn was. After a few hours Rabbit had turned up as well in between calls to ask if there was anything he could do, but he was turned away, Truehart was working hard with his team, and until they had any certainty, they said waiting around would just be wasteful. Not that Nancy and Glenn heeded his advice, Basra having told them to stay around.

As the sun went down, so did Glenn's hope of seeing Viper that night.

"We're at a stand-still," Truehart said around nine o'clock that night. Glenn's heart sank with his words. He could only imagine what Viper was going through…. "We're trying everything we can, but there's not much else we can do tonight. We're waiting on her cell phone signal being tracked, but it's taking some time. And since she hasn't been missing for twenty-four hours yet…."

"You're kidding me," Glenn said, his voice slightly hoarse from lack of use. "I would think, considering she's an S.F.F.D. paramedic that the standard rules wouldn't apply to her."

"I can't go over our rules," Truehart said, dropping his voice. "Not this time."

"The hell you can't!" Glenn hissed. "You're primary on this case! You can do whatever the hell you want! Viper is your friend! You're just going to leave her high and dry like that?"

"Glenn, I can't," Truehart said. "There are some things more important than friendship."

"Are there?" Glenn asked. "Because I know, sure as hell, if the positions were reversed, Viper wouldn't rest until she was certain you were safe."

"Ben," Nancy said, speaking up at last. "Why are you so reluctant to go farther with this tonight? I've known you for a long time, you've never hesitated in the past when someone from the S.F.F.D. has needed your help."

"Because my ass is on the line right now," Truehart said at last, his face burning somewhat. "I'm being watched for a promotion, one that will make my family's life a hell of a lot more comfortable."

"You're shitting me," Glenn's normally calm blue eyes blazed angrily. "You would risk one of your friend's life for a job?!"

"Glenn, calm down," Nancy stood in between her partner and the police Lieutenant, her feet planted, her arms crossed, and her blue eyes determined. "Getting pissed at him won't do anything but lead to you doing something you'll regret."

"Whoa, what's going on?"

Nancy looked over Glenn's shoulder to see Boone and Tyler, apparently just getting off their shift. They both looked tired, but curious about the unusual poses of their two co-workers and the well-known officer.

"This friend of Viper's won't push the boundaries because he's worried about getting a promotion," Glenn said disgustedly. He stepped away from Nancy and resumed his earlier pacing. He was fuming. He felt that every moment they wasted, Viper had a greater and greater chance of being hurt fatally.

"Truehart, is he serious?" Tyler asked.

Truehart looked away, "It's not something I'm proud of. My wife is pregnant with our first child. I need this promotion so I can give my kid everything I didn't have."

"But at the risk of Viper's safety?" Tyler asked. "Okay, I could understand if it was me, or Rabbit, or even Boone, but Viper? C'mon, you two dated. Married or not, can you honestly say that you don't care about her."

"Whether or not I care about her is not the issue," Truehart said. "I can't--"

"What are you going to say if we wind up being too late?" Tyler cut him off. "What if we can't save her? Then what, Truehart? You're going to sit nice and pretty up in your office and not look back?"

"You're going to far," Truehart snarled.

"Am I?" Tyler asked. He was never one to lose his temper, but Truehart was hitting the one nerve that was not smart to hit. "Think about it, Truehart; you and all the other officers in your precinct are like one big family. You look after one another and have each other's backs. How the hell do you think we all are? The relationship she has with Glenn aside, most of us have known her since the beginning of our careers. She's part of Boone's family, at every single event that they have on the weekends, even when none of us can go. She and Nancy are like sisters outside of these walls. And yes, I do think of her as my sister as well. She has never once passed a judgment on me for being gay."

He paused, allowing Truehart a moment to digest what he had said so far. But he was fired up and ready to go, "Oh yeah, and Glenn? He's in love with her. Anyone with half a brain could see that. He may not be as experienced as the rest of us, but if you think for a second that if he's too late to help her because of you that he'll let you get away with hesitating now, you have one hell of an awakening coming to you."

"You have a point there, Tyler," A new voice spoke up. Rabbit appeared along with Marisa. He too was eyeing Truehart carefully. He may not have been around to hear the entire conversation, but he pretty much understood from what he had heard. "Ben, I think I can sum it all up for you very simply: We're S.F.F.D. medics, and we're a family, no matter what shit we all go through together. You mess with any of that, you're going to have to answer to all of us."

"Threatening a cop is a federal offense!" Truehart snarled.

"I didn't hear a threat," Marisa said innocently. "Did you, Tyler?"

"No, not at all," Tyler shook his head. "Boone?"

"Threat? What threat?" Boone smirked at Nancy.

"Rabbit, you threatened Truehart?" Nancy asked cluelessly. "Wow, Glenn, did you hear something threatening?"

Glenn grinned, "Rabbit's possible of threatening someone?"

"Now get out of here," Rabbit rolled his eyes at the Lieutenant. "Listen to your heart for once instead of your cop mind. Maybe you'll actually do the right thing."

With a huff of angry air, Truehart stormed from the S.F.F.D. building. The six who remained behind couldn't help but laugh. They had needed some relief in the tense situation. But the question remained; what next?

TBC!