Title: Sleepy Hollow
Chapter 12 – The Brave

"Ed…Ed…Ed!" Donna shouts as instantly drops the gun to the floor and then hurries a few feet toward Ed's unmoving frame; dropping to her knees and quickly feeling for a pulse.

"Ed…please God…please…" she chants as her shaking fingers try to get a good line on his carotid artery…begging for a pulse, even a faint one.

Nothing.

"Ed!" Donna shouts once more as she leans in close, her mind racing between stopping the blood and getting him breathing again. "Ed! Come back to me!" She shouts as she tries to pump on his chest and keep the blood from flowing from the wound even further; her mind cursing her bound wrists.

"Help me!" She tries in a weak tone, her heart racing at top speed as she tries to pump down on his chest and then breathe into his mouth. "Ed!" She shouts once more; his eyes slightly fluttering, but only for a few seconds.

"Oh come on…Bill…no no…he can't get the last…Ed!"

"HELP US!" Donna calls out once more – this time the call would be answered. Help had arrived.

XXXXXXXX

Sam, Wordy and Greg hear Donna screaming and all three of them race toward the metal staircase to go up; a few uniformed cars coming to a screeching halt right outside. An ambulance arriving a few minutes later.

"Ed! Donna!" Wordy calls out as he bounds up the stairs – two at a time.

"Ed…come on…please," she chants as she looks down at Ed's gasping lips and then over at Bill's haunted expression. "HELP US!" She calls out loudly; hearing voices in the nearing distance. "Ed…you hafta hold on!...ED!" Donna shouts as his frame starts to go limp.

"Donna!"

"He's been stabbed in the chest!"

"Medics are just outside!"

Donna continues to work on Ed's frame; Wordy dropping to his knees a few seconds later and trying to help her keep his partner and best friend stable. Sam on the other side and trying to keep the blood from seeping from the critical wound.

"Unbelievable," Sam mutters as Donna's teary gaze lifts to see Sam kick the knife away a bit further from the body and then looking up at Greg in remorse.

"Ed…" Donna whispers as she breathes into Ed's cold lips once more. "Wordy…he's not…"

"Ed's a strong, stubborn SOB, he'll be okay," Wordy mentions in a tone that doesn't instill confidence in any one.

The medics arrive a few seconds later, Wordy having to literally pry Donna away from Ed's frame in order to let the medics work to get him stable enough to transport.

"He's crashing!"

"We're losing him!"

"Ed!" Donna gasps in torment as she tries to rush toward Ed, Wordy holding her fast as her mind wills her to swallow back some fluid emotion and let them work unhindered.

"Okay…got a pulse! It's faint but I've got one!"

"Let's go now!"

"Go with them," Greg directs Donna and Wordy; calling Spike a few seconds later with an update on his small team leader. "Spike…I know this is a tough thing for me to ask right now but…"

"You want me to find where Bill Kedrick came from," Spike answers with a small pause; trying to swallow back some incoming emotion.

"Just an address. I'll take Sam and Jules to check it out and then get Winnie to take you to the hospital. Ed's strong…he'll pull through. But you should be there for him."

"Okay boss."

Greg can't help but offer the mild-mannered electronics expert a small smirk before his expression turns dark; his eyes watching as the medical team, with Wordy and Donna in tow, disappears from view. The ambulance speeds away a few seconds; Greg giving directions to the uniformed officers to keep the crime scene in tact until all the evidence had been gathered for the completion of the case.

"Thank you doctor," Greg nods to the coroner, directing the team to transport Bill's body to the county morgue and he'd get the report as soon as it was complete.

"How the hell did he hide himself all this time…was he here the whole time? And why did he do all this?" Sam asks angrily as Greg's phone rings.

"Let's, find out. Spike…did you find where Bill came from?"

"I did…and it's almost right next door."

"What?"

"He's been here the whole time."

"Under what name?"

"Heddy."

"But…" Greg starts as Spike interjects in haste.

"Bill Kedrick's cabin was owned by Graham Heddy. The old man murdered on his farm on Halloween."

"Thanks Spike, Sam and I will take care of this. Go see Ed."

After that Greg texts Donna that it's really over, hoping that it'll bring her some comfort but after so long but not sure if any of them will find any kind of mental or emotional comfort for a while.

XXXXXXXX

"Greg?" Wordy asks as Donna looks up from her text and nods; her eyes watery and her expression flushed.

"He says…it's over. A bit more reassurance," she whispers as the ambulance comes to a halt. On the ride over, she had held Ed's cold hand in hers; silently begging him to open his eyes and look up at her. But her begging would go in vain this time as Ed's eyes remain closed; his face partially covered by the oxygen mask.

As soon as the ambulance stops, Ed's whisked away into emergency surgery and her and Wordy are force to stand back and watch in helpless remorse.

"This…this can't be," Donna manages with a soft gasp; her mind racing at top speed as she tries to process the fact that her old partner had been the killer all along and was now dead by her own hand. "I don't think I want to know what they find at his place."

"I'm sorry."

"Me too," Donna looks at Wordy before giving him a hug and then nearly collapsing onto the nearby bench.

XXXXXXXX

"He was here the whole time?" Sam asks in anger as Jules SUV comes to a halt and she gets out and hurries toward them.

"How's Ed?"

"We're going to see him right away. I have uni's on their way here but I want us to be first on the scene. Just do a quick once over. We can't do anything while Ed's in surgery but we can be there for when he gets out and wakes up."

"Can't believe it was Bill…" Jules shakes her head as the three of them head for the front door of the small, dark, quiet cabin. "Unassuming."

"Just how he wanted," Greg huffs. "So…we need the relation between Kedrick and Heddy."

"How about…he was adopted by Graham Heddy," Jules pipes up as both Greg and Sam hurry over to her.

"What?"

"Would explain why he killed Heddy. Adoptive father learns his serial killing adopted son is alive and threatens to go to the police," Sam surmises correctly.

"Sounds like a good motive," Greg states and then pauses as he looks around and then back to Sam and Jules. "And I'm sure if we look around here long enough we'll find a motive for all his kills."

"This is almost…" she starts and then stops as she flips on a small light and then utters a soft gasp; Sam and Greg looking in her direction once more. "This…is just creepy."

"Obviously his attention for Donna…this is something," Sam adds as they look at the crude shrine with various pictures of Donna in different settings.

"At the bottom….these are recent," Greg mentions.

"And personal," Jules interjects as she nods toward a few of Donna inside her cabin when she wasn't aware that she was being watched.

"And Ed…this is a few days ago," Sam pipes up as a few uniformed officers finally arrive. "What about Bill's real parents?"

"We might have to get Spike to check on that but again…it's probably in here….somewhere," Greg ponders as he pulls away from them and heads toward a small desk. He notices a large scrapbook on the small desk; a laptop beside it. Greg opens the scrapbook and then looks at the first page.

"Donald Riley," Greg reads the name aloud.

"That was the first death," Jules reminds them.

"He borrowed money from Bill. Never paid him back and Bill…he owed Bill one hundred thousand but wasn't going to pay him back."

"Seems like a good motive for murder," Sam states as Greg nods in agreement.

"Bill thought so too. We'll let the uni's keep this place under lock and key all night and we'll come back in the morning. Let's go see how Ed's doing. We need to be there as a team right now. This…this can wait. It really is over," Greg states softly as the turns and looks at his two officers with a strained smile. "It's over now. Bill Kedrick…he was a coward. Donna Sabine…Ed Lane, they were the brave. Let's go support the brave."

XXXXXXXX

"I hate this….hate this waiting," Donna mutters as she continues to pace outside the surgical room that Ed's being treated in; looking up at Wordy every few seconds and then looking back into the room where Ed's unconscious frame rests on the operating table.

She doesn't expect an answer from Wordy; who had already called his wife with the news, telling her he'd call her and the girls the second there was an update.

'He was my adopted father…I killed them…I enjoyed it! You'll be…my last kill… I enjoyed it!'

Donna feels her body shudder; her fingers fumbling for her phone, her mind in desperate need of something…anything than Bill's haunting words. She texts Greg, asking if they've found Bill's place and not to spare her any tormented details.

"Did they find Bill's place?" Wordy asks softly as she turns and nods; walking back to him with a rather angry expression.

"Was uh…almost right next door," she replies with a hiss as she shows him some of the pictures Jules had taken of his darkened cabin, the shrine and a few other disturbing pieces of evidence that confirmed Bill Kedrick as their grisly serial killer. "He was adopted by Graham Heddy."

"What? The old man that was killed on the farm?" Wordy asks in surprise as she nods. "Adopted?"

"I had no idea. He always just said that his father lived a few hours north but never elaborated. Always said he came from a strained household and it hurt too much to talk about. Bill…he was a master manipulator," her voice dies out to a sharp hiss once more as she shakes her head.

"He played everyone," Wordy states in torment.

"I don't even know if Bill is his real name…right now I don't think I want to know. But…" she starts as she pushes herself back up and slowly heads toward the large swinging doors, peering into the room and watching the medical team working on Ed. "At least he'll never hurt anyone again…for any reason."

"That's a good thing," Wordy agrees as he looks up to see his wife and daughters hurrying toward him.

Donna turns and watches the loving embrace and feels her stomach tighten for a few seconds; her mind wondering what Ed would be like as a father. Oh snap out of it! She scolds herself. After he recovers, he's going back to his world and you…to yours. There will be no happily ever after for you…

A small lump of emotion seizes her throat as Shelly approaches, the woman about her age giving her a hug and telling her that she knows Ed will pull through.

About twenty minutes later, Donna looks up to see Spike and Winnie entering through the main hospital doors. Spike gives her a brief hug and then Wordy before he pulls away to go and peer through the operating room doors to watch Ed's progress.

Winnie talks to Shelly and the girls as Spike heads back to Wordy and Donna; Donna thanking him for all his help in helping to wrap up the case in a rather timely manner…timing of course considered.

Marina arrives the same time as Greg, Sam and Jules and soon the waiting room is bustling with a real mixture of local officers and of course the out of towners; even some uniformed milling around but who had shown instant respect for Ed's leadership there to wait on word and then wish him well.

"This team has really made a difference in such a short time," Marina comments as she sits by Greg on one of the small benches.

"They have," Greg agrees as he looks at her with a small frown. "What?"

"You know the funding is still there. For the special task force."

Greg offers his wife a knowing smile, squeezing her hand before he turns his gaze to Donna and then sighs heavily. "Why stop at one?" He muses softly as Marina's blond brows arch in wonder.

But that discussion is put on hold; all conversation instantly halting as the doctor finally emerges from the ER operating room; his expression tense but somewhat…relieved.

"Family of Ed Lane?" He asks; this time his brows turn to arch in surprise when the whole ER waiting area stands up in solidarity. "Ok-ay…." He goes on to relate that it was touch and go…he had flatlined twice, had lost part of his spleen, a small puncture to his stomach and some internal bruising to his liver and kidneys but despite the stab wound had gotten off rather lucky, comparatively and was in a medically induced coma to give his body a chance to let the internal stitching get a head start on healing before a lot of physical and emotional commotion.

"It's great to see he has so much support," he concludes before he turns back and heads inside, getting Ed's frame ready for transport to a small, but private recovery room.

The core of the team talks to each other for about fifteen minutes before they slowly head up to the room where Ed is hooked up to the monitors, the nurses promising to check on him every few hours and then of course when he awakens fully from the coma.

Donna watches Wordy telling his wife and daughters to go with Marina and he'd see them in the morning; not wanting to leave his best friend's side until he had awoken.

"I'm glad you guys got there when you did," Donna tells Greg in a hushed tone. "It saved his life. I'm just so sorry that…"

"No," Greg quickly interjects, "none of this was your fault…nothing's on you. This was all Bill's twisted game and in the end he paid the ultimate price for his mistakes. He's the one to blame."

"What he said…none of it was…I try to justify it but I can't."

"You never will be able to," Greg reminds her solemnly. "Bill Kedrick's mind was warped and twisted long before he met you and I'm sure if we keep digging…well I'm not sure we'll like what we find but I'm sure it'll just add to his dark character," Greg concludes. "But it is over now. All the families can have some real closure and…"

"They'll be going back…everything returns to normal."

"We'll talk more in the morning," Greg states softly as his hand rests on her shoulder. "Goodnight."

Donna watches him leave and then turns back to the bed Ed is lying on; Wordy walking his wife and daughters down to the car. She approaches the bed with some hesitation, her heart rate rising with each pinched step. She reaches the bed and at first just remains frozen in place; unwilling or maybe unable to reach out and take his hand.

When she finally does take his cold limb in hers, her body feels a small shiver of cool zoom all different directions, her heart rate still on high. She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes, a small amount of warmth now starting to develop the longer their two limbs remain attached.

"I'm sorry Ed…" she finally whispers as her eyes slightly water. "Bill is dead and…yeah it's over," she adds in soft torment.

She holds his hand a bit longer, now almost afraid to let go for fear of never having the strength to pick it back up.

"I uh…I was afraid before…thanks to Bill about getting too complicated but now…now I'm afraid I'll never get complicated…and…" she pauses as her voice breaks. "Greg called me brave...but you were the brave one Ed. And…and now I wish you'd open your eyes and just let me say I'm sorry to your face so that I can have some peace and just…I want complicated."

She finally leans in and plants a soft kiss on his forehead, a stray tear escaping the corner of her eyes before she has time to flick it away, splashing on his cheek and then trying to escape. This time she's able to catch it, gently brushing it away but feeling her eyes water further when she looks down to see some Red on her skin; the tear had ventured into the small cut on his cheek.

'His blood will be on your hands…all of it will be!' Bill had charged. She frantically wipes it away and then quickly swallows looking up at Ed's heart monitors and feeling relief that nothing had changed. Her mind fearing her words might have actually reached his brain and caused some emotional distress.

She hears some shuffling and then turns back to see Wordy slowly approaching with a strained and weary expression.

"Any change?" He dares to inquire.

"No…I guess that's good since the doctor said he needed to rest."

"We all do. I'll take the first watch," Wordy nods toward the sleeping chair in the corner. "Any change and I promise I'll wake you."

Not really wanting to leave Ed's side but feeling fatigue pulling at her, Donna knows that Ed's watch is in good hands and so somewhat reluctantly pulls away and heads for the chair, slumping down and literally falling into a tormented slumber within minutes.

"Hey buddy…" Wordy starts as he eases himself down at Ed's side, looking at his friend in concern. "You'll be okay," he states simply and then gets himself a bit more comfortable. He glances over at Donna and then back at Ed's sleeping expression. "I think you're perfect for each other," he whispers.

Donna's lips twist upward in the dark and those few words settle her mind as it tries to push aside images of Bill's haunting expression. But it's not to be and she knows it. Sleep wouldn't be solid or restful for a while. Maybe ever again? So she lays still in the darkness, her eyes closed to just rest and her mind praying that she'll be able to get back to her regular routine. Like nothing ever happened? You know that's not possible.

Nothing would be the same again. For any of them. While Bill Kedrick's murdering rampage had certainly brought a city to its knees for a time, it also forced a small band of loyal officers to come together and create something even stronger – a team forged by loyal dedication, not city boundaries. Some good would still come of this.

Giving up on sleep a few hours later, Donna trades places with Wordy and then goes back to her vigil at Ed's bedside, taking his hand and giving it a tender squeeze.

An hour passes with no reaction.

Two hours pass with still no reaction.

The nurse had come and gone a few times; she had gotten up a few times. Everything else remained the same.

Until…one hour later, just before the dawn.

Ed's eyes slowly flutter open, his lips, now devoid of the breathing tube part and take his first real breath of fresh air on his own, in hours.

Donna feels some movement and quickly looks over at Ed who looks up at her with a tender glance. Then … before she can say anything or signal anyone he speaks…a soft, almost deft whisper but yet loud enough for her to hear and cherish.

"I want…complicated."

Then he slips back into darkness with a relieved and contented smile on his face.

A/N: So I do like to put a lot of twists into my stories but killing Ed was never one of those twists; but Bill…well he had to go. Yup lots of dark details but now its over and will Ed and Donna actually get their second chance. Will Greg get his wish about the teams? And how do they move on from here? Please do review before you go and thanks so much!