21; Not All Heroes Wear Capes
Minutes later, Noelle rushed inside the hospital, her shoes slapping against the floor as she made her way toward the front desk. She came to a quick stop, her hands slamming against the front of the desk as she fell against it. She pulled in a deep breath, trying to keep her voice steady as she asked for the room number of the patient they called her about.
She repeated the number to herself after hearing it, then nodded her head in thanks, before taking off down the hallway- reading each number that she came across until she found the one she was looking for.
Easing the door open, she slipped inside the room, seeing Spencer laying back in the bed. His eyes were up toward the ceiling as he flipped through the channels on the television, trying to find something good to watch with no luck. This was why he never bothered to watch anything and the main reason he didn't even own a television- work kept him busy anyways.
Hearing the door creak open, followed by a small gasp, he turned his head toward the door and felt his heart begin to race when he saw Noelle standing in front of the door. It had been several months since he had seen her, they had talked on the phone some here and there, but it wasn't the same as seeing her in person.
"You idiot," Noelle breathed out, a pained look on her face as she saw him laying in a hospital bed. She knew it wasn't the nicest greeting, but she knew how he was.
He was a jump first and question later kinda cop. He was the type that ran toward danger, not away from it. She remembered not long after he saved her from Jimmie, he was hit by a car from chasing down a drug dealer- thankfully he walked away from that with some cuts and bruises.
She still fussed at him though, telling him he needed to be more careful and reminded him he wasn't a superhero. He had given her a cheeky grin and told her she had nothing to worry about- yet here she was standing in a hospital room while he was laid in a bed hurt.
"Well, hello to you too, Elle," Spencer said back, his voice gruff. He tried to sit up, his face scrunched up in pain as he tried to hold back a groan when a sharp pain shot through his side.
"I'm sorry," she softly said as she walked closer to the bed. "I just...what happened? They said on the phone you were stabbed."
"Yeah." Leaning back, he curled his arm around himself and laid a hand on his side where the wound was. "Guess we have matching scars now."
"That's not funny, Spence."
"It's a little funny," he said back with a smirk on his face. After she shook her head at him, he sighed. "Okay, you're right, it's not funny. I'm sorry, Elle."
"What happened?" she asked again as she sank down onto a chair by the bed. "Was it... It was Jimmie, right?" she added, her voice going out as tears filled her eyes. She couldn't believe this was happening- the thing she feared the most has happened- Jimmie went after someone close to her.
"Actually, it wasn't," he answered.
"What?" she questioned, a shocked look appeared on her face. "Who was it then?"
"I don't know." He shrugged. "Some guy. He was a few inches shorter than me, brown hair...definitely a junkie. He was messed up on something bad. He was convinced I had taken something from him and he wouldn't back off, then he pulled out a knife and I'm sure you can guess the rest."
"And it wasn't Jimmie? I mean, are you sure?" she asked again. After getting the call about him, she was sure it was Jimmie that had attacked him.
"No, it wasn't him," he said. "I've never seen this guy before."
"He's out, you know?" she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
"I know," he said back, his tone matching hers. "That's why I'm here, Elle."
"Why haven't you called me? I mean before? I was so worried-"
"Nice to hear you're worried about me," Spencer said, shooting her a smirk.
"I'm serious, Spence," Noelle said, her face falling. "I've been calling and texting-"
"I know, I'm sorry," he said sincerely. "I wasn't ignoring you or anything, you should know by now I wouldn't do that, Elle."
He blew out a breath. "I was undercover…deep undercover. It was weeks before I could even check my phone. When the case was over, I saw all of your messages, but there was one message I didn't have and I needed that before I could talk to you."
When she shot him a confused look, he added, "The mental hospital."
"You called them?" she asked surprised. Since she never heard from him, she assumed he never saw her text about calling the place.
"Yeah." He nodded. "Before the case started I called...actually before your text I had called. I just wanted to make sure- for you, Elle."
"I appreciate that, Spence," she said, giving him a small smile. "And let me guess, you called them again and that is when they told you he was out."
"No. The next time, I didn't bother with a call. I walked right into the building and demanded answers- demanded to see him or something." An angry look appeared on his face. "They tried to give me the runaround at first until I threatened to haul them in for questioning. That's when I found out; new worker, similar names and now the creep is out."
"You didn't have to come here. You could have just called," she pointed out. "I mean, not that I'm not grateful for you coming here, but considering what happened..." Her voice trailed off as she motioned toward him, referring to the fact that he was stabbed.
"Yeah, your city is not being very welcoming, Elle," he joked, earning a small chuckle from her. Growing serious, he added, "I know I could have called, but this was news I didn't want to give over the phone."
She nodded her head in understanding. "So, did your sergeant assign you to this case or something?"
Spencer didn't say anything for a moment as he thought back to when he approached his boss with the idea of going to New York to look for Jimmie and protect Noelle. He wanted to react a lot quicker this time, he wasn't going to just sit back while she was terrorized again. He was not gonna let what happened last time, happen this time.
- Flashback -
"He's out." Spencer scoffed, still having a hard time believing this was happening. After talking to the director at the mental hospital and finding out Jimmie was released, he stomped out of the building and drove in a rage back to the precinct and went right into his boss' office.
"That freaky creep is out. They let him out," he added as he paced back and forth, his anger getting the best of him.
"I heard you twice the first time, Detective Hayes," his sergeant, Gary Edwards, said with an annoyed sigh. He grabbed a stack of folders from his desk, trying to get his work done so he could maybe go home at a decent hour for once.
He dropped the folders in front of him, then pointed to the door. "Now get back to work."
"You want me to get back to work when he's out there!" Spencer exclaimed. "When he's already in New York!"
"You don't know that he is," Gary argued.
"Not for a fact, but, Elle has already told me about things happening...just like before, and I told her she was safe," he said back.
As those words hit him, he stumbled back for a moment, realizing what that meant. He had lied to her. He told her it was over and she was safe, but she's not. Her worst nightmare was free and he was stuck states away.
Spencer was quiet for a moment, then raised his head to look at his boss. "Sir, I would like permission to go to New York."
"Permission denied," Gary said as he flipped through paperwork in one of the folders, never looking up from the desk.
"Okay," Spencer breathed out. "Well, I would like permission to take a few days off."
"Permission denied," Gary repeated.
"With all due respect, sir, I have vacation days saved up...if I wanted to take a few days off-"
"I said denied," Gary said harshly as he finally raised his head to look at him. "You have several cases here that need your attention-
"This case needs my attention!" Spencer snapped. "You know what happened last time, he almost killed her-"
"Calm down, Detective," Gary cut him off. "You're getting emotional."
"I'm not," Spencer lied.
"Yes, you are," Gary said back. "And, frankly, you're too close to this. You've made it too personal."
Spencer shook his head at his words as he reached into his jacket pocket to pull out his badge and dropped it on the desk. His sergeant let out a sigh as he leaned back in his chair and motioned toward the badge. "What is this? Don't do what I think you are about to do."
"Maybe I am too close to this...maybe I did make it too personal," Spencer began to say, ignoring his comment. He grabbed his police-issued gun and took out the clip before setting both down on the desk. "All I know is, last time, I hesitated and a girl almost died. I'm not letting that happen again."
"Don't do this, Detective. You're making a huge mistake," Gary stated. When Spencer ignored him and turned to walk out of the office, he stood from his chair as he called out, "Hayes? Spencer!"
Spencer heard him let out a string of expletives, followed by the sound of folders and papers being swept off the desk, but he ignored it all as he kept walking forward. Gary was an old friend and a damn good boss, but he had to do what he thought was right- he had to protect Noelle at all cost.
- End Flashback -
"Something like that," Spencer said, answering her previous question.
He didn't want to tell her the truth, because honestly, it didn't matter. Nothing was going to stop him from coming to New York and protecting her from Jimmie. He was going to keep his promise to her; the promise he made her in the hospital after saving her- the one when he told her nothing like this would happen again, that she was safe. He would always keep her safe.
"I am glad you're here, Spence," she softly said as she flashed him a genuine smile.
"Well, I did make you a promise," he said, smiling back at her.
The two looked at each other for a moment, until her smile faded and she wrapped her arms around herself, almost as if she was trying to protect herself.
"I just can't believe this is happening again," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
"I'm sorry, Elle-"
"It's not your fault," she cut him off.
"It is," he argued. "I should have been on top of this from the beginning; the first time you walked into my precinct and said you needed help."
Noelle blew out a breath as she leaned toward the bed and took her friend's hand. "Spence, you have to forgive yourself for that."
"For what?" He scoffed. "For not doing my job? I'm supposed to protect and serve the people of my city and I didn't do that. I just turned you away; how am I supposed to forgive myself for that?"
She gave him a soft smile. "Because I forgive you," she quietly said.
"Don't..." He shook his head.
"I'm serious, Spence," she stated as she grabbed his chin to turn his head back to look at her. "I don't blame you for any of this. Plus, I'll never forget that you were there when it counts."
She gave him a genuine smile. "You saved me, Spence. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be here; back at home, with my family and friends. None of this would have been possible if you didn't show up when you did- if you didn't save my life. I can never thank you enough for that."
For a moment, he didn't say anything back, just looked at her and noticed how different she seemed since he last saw her.
The first time he ever saw her when she came into the precinct, she was worried and a little scared, but hopeful- hopeful that the harassment will stop and that she was just being paranoid. Each time he saw her after that, the hopeful look in her eyes began to fade and was replaced with fear and she became frantic...for good reason since by then Jimmie had stepped up with his harassment on her.
There was still a hint of fear in her eyes now, but there was something else there too- she was stronger and more sure of herself than before. He couldn't help but think she definitely looked better than that time he busted into the house Jimmie had her held captive in. The look in her eyes that day was one he never wanted to see again; to see the life in them begin to fade away as she bled out on the floor and his hands, still haunted him to this day.
Laying his head back against the pillow and changing the mood from serious to a joking one, he gave her a short nod. "Just doing my job, ma'am."
"Don't be modest." She laughed. "You did a great job that day, Spence."
"Well, I am good at what I do," he said, shooting her a wink and causing her to laugh out loud.
"Don't be cocky either. You're not Superman," she joked, a comment she had told him often.
"Not all heroes wear capes, sweetheart," he said back with his trademark smirk on his face.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." She rolled her eyes. "One of these days, I'll find your kryptonite and you won't be so big and bad anymore, Hayes."
At her comment he laughed, but was pleased to know that she didn't realize she was already in possession of his kryptonite; it was her- she was his weakness.
"You wound me, Elle," he joked.
After the laughter died down, she reached into her bag and brought out a pen and notebook. "So, tic-tac-toe or hangman?"
He smiled at the question, remembering he used to ask her the same one when he would visit her in the hospital while she was recovering from her injuries from Jimmie.
"Hangman," he answered. "As long as you don't cheat."
"I've told you before, Spence, being able to spell is not cheating." She laughed as she began to write out dashes for each letter of the phrase she thought of.
"Well, either way, take it easy on me. I've been stabbed, you know?" he reminded her.
"Are you really gonna milk that in order to win?" she questioned with raised eyebrows as she pointed the pen toward his side where he had been stabbed.
"You bet I am," he said, causing her to shake her head as a chuckle escaped her lips.
"You are a cop- a detective, you have a badge, yet you would cheat," she said, laying a hand on her chest and pulling in a dramatic gasp. "I am shocked and appalled."
"No, you're dramatic and crazy," he joked, causing her to slap his shoulder with the notebook. "Hey, injured man here!"
"You were stabbed on the other side," she pointed out.
"Yeah, but still, no need being all violent," he said back, acting offended until she shot him a look, causing him to crack a smile and let out a laugh with her.
"Okay, it is game time," she announced as she laid the notebook down for him to see. "I made it extra hard for you, good luck," she added sarcastically.
He looked at her for a second, then playfully shook his head at her as he looked down at the notebook. In this moment he couldn't help but think of the similarities between last time and this time. When she was in the hospital, this was basically how their days went- the only difference was he was plagued with guilt before.
There was still a lot he felt guilty for now, but he had to admit after her words earlier, he felt a little of that fade away. He still wished he would have helped her sooner, but she was right- he was there when it really counted and he would be there until he knew she was safe for good.
•••
After playing hangman with Spencer for a couple of hours, Noelle walked out of the hospital and into the dark night. She paused right outside the door and wrapped her arms around herself, latching onto the fabric of her coat as she nervously glanced around the parking lot.
There were a few cars pulling in and out of the parking lot, along with several different groups of people walking toward or away from the building, but nothing looked unusual. She still tried to search each face though, making sure none of the faces was the one she saw in her nightmares.
She blew out a breath, wishing she would have left before the sun went down, but she didn't want to leave Spencer alone in a new city while injured. Knowing she couldn't stand there forever, she began to walk toward where she parked the car, the further away she got from the hospital, the quicker she began to walk.
Now she was wishing she didn't park so far away from the building, but at the time she wasn't thinking about that- she just wanted to get to Spencer; the nurse who called her didn't say much and she had already started thinking worst case scenarios after she heard the word 'stabbed'.
Hearing a noise behind her, she came to a quick stop and spun around as a gasp left her lips. She blew out a relieved breath when she saw it was only a piece of trash skipping across the pavement because of a light breeze blowing.
She tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear, getting it out of her face, then turned to begin walking again, her pace faster this time. Getting closer to her car, her eyes widen when she saw the silhouette of a man standing next to it- of course, she had to park in the spot where the overhead light had burned out.
With her heart beating in her chest, she came to a quick stop again and slipped a hand into her bag, grabbing the taser she recently bought and put in there. She pulled it out and took a step back as the person turned around and threw up their hands when they saw how terrified she looked.
"Hey, Nol, it's only me," she heard Jamie say, causing her to blow out a sigh of relief.
"You scared the crap out of me, Jamie!" Noelle exclaimed as she walked toward him. She punched him in the arm to make herself feel better, then held up the taser. "You almost made me use this."
"Wait, what is that?" he questioned as he took a step closer to her to get a better look at the device in her hand. His eyes slightly widen when he saw what it was. "A taser? When did you buy a taser?"
"Recently." She shrugged like it was no big deal.
He blew out a breath and shook his head, he hated what he was about to do. He held out his hand and saw her shoot him a confused look.
"I can't let you keep that, Nol." When she hesitated, he added, "I'm sorry, baby, but you know they're illegal to carry."
"So is kidnapping and attempted murder, but that doesn't stop some people." She scoffed and slapped the device in his hand.
She felt a sense of guilt when she saw the look on his face. She knew how badly he hated doing this- he wanted her to be able to protect herself, but he had to follow the law.
With a soft sigh, she said, "I'm sorry, Jamie. It's been a long day and I'm tired, I don't mean to take it out of you."
"You don't have to apologize, Nol. I'm sorry for scaring you." He reached out to lay a hand on the side of her face.
Her eyes fluttered shut as she leaned against his hand and blew out a breath, feeling her heart rate slow down and a sense of calm washing over her now that he was there.
As much as she was glad he was in front of her, there was one question running through her head.
"Wait, how did you know I was here?" Noelle asked as she lifted her head and opened her eyes to look at him.
Jamie swallowed hard, worried she was going to blow up at what he was about to say. "I put in a trace on your phone-"
"You tracked my phone?" she interrupted with a surprised look on her face.
"You just left, Nol! I have no idea what happened or where you were going! What the hell was I supposed to do-" he began to explain before she could yell at him, but was surprised when she rushed forward and threw her arms around his middle to hold him close.
He wrapped an arm around her waist and laid his other hand on the back of her head as he pressed his lips against the side of her head, blowing out a sigh of relief. When she left earlier without a word, he had no idea where she was going or who had been on the other end of the phone.
As the rest of his tour went on, he became more and more concern until he had no choice but to track her down by her cell phone. Knowing she was at a hospital didn't ease his mind much either, but once he saw her coming across the parking lot unharmed he felt like he could finally breathe easy.
"I'm a little mad that you went behind my back and tracked my phone..." She began to say, her voice muffled by his shirt. Pulling back to look at him, she added, "But I'm glad you're here and I understand why you did it. With everything going on and I just took off like that...I'm sorry."
He nodded his head, accepting the apology, then laid his hands on either side of her face before leaning forward and softly kissing her lips- he was just relieved she was okay and in front of him. He was curious about what was going on though.
"So why are you here at the hospital? What was the phone call earlier about?"
"Spencer is here-"
"Spencer as in your friend Spencer from Florida? He's here in New York?" he questioned, earning a head nod from her as an answer. He lowered his eyebrows for a moment, a twinge of jealousy hitting him, but he quickly told himself he had nothing to worry about. She said there was nothing between her and Spencer; he had to trust that and believe her.
"Why is he at a hospital in New York?"
"He found out that Jimmie was released," she answered his question. "He didn't want to give me that news over the phone, so he came here, but he was stabbed. The hospital called me after they found a card with my name and number in his pocket."
"Was it Jimmie?" he asked with wide eyes, coming to the same conclusion she had earlier.
"No." She shook her head. "He said it wasn't him, it was some other guy. So I guess some random robbery?" she added with a shrug- at least that's what he had told her he suspected it was.
"What if it wasn't random?" Jamie questioned. "Could Jimmie have someone working with him or for him?"
"I don't know," she mumbled as she thought more about his question; could it be possible he had someone helping him now?
He claimed he didn't make friends easily, but what if he found someone as messed up like him? Someone- like a druggie; who wouldn't be in their right mind and could be manipulated.
She took a step closer to Jamie, feeling him fold his arms around her and hold her close, but she still felt a chill down her spine at the thought of him having a partner now. Now she was going to be even more paranoid when she crossed paths with someone.
"I'm sorry about your friend," Jamie said sincerely. Pulling back slightly to look at her, he asked, "Is he gonna be okay?"
"Yeah." Noelle nodded. "But they want to keep him for a couple of days."
"How long is he staying here?" he questioned. "I mean, he just came to tell you Jimmie was out, right? And now you know."
"Right, but I don't know. He didn't really say." She shrugged causing him to nod his head. He wanted to ask more questions, but he didn't want to come off as a jealous boyfriend.
"So, I take it your tour is over?" she guessed, noticing he was in jeans and a dark t-shirt instead of his uniform. After he nodded his head to answer her, she added, "I was thinking of heading home for a little bit before visiting your dad, you wanna go with me or just meet at the hospital?"
Between Frank being shot and Spencer being stabbed, she had spent most of the previous night and that day in a hospital. She desperately needed a shower and food to even feel human again. After that, she figured she would head back to one of the other hospitals to visit with Frank.
"I'll meet you at the hospital. I got some things to do," he said vaguely.
"Is everything okay?" she asked with a worried look on her face.
"Yeah," he mouthed as he nodded his head.
Noelle looked at him closely, feeling like he wasn't telling her something or maybe he was just tired. After a long night at the hospital then a full shift at work, it would make sense that he would be. At least she hoped that was the reason, she would hate to think he would lie to her.
After a few silent minutes, she gave him a short nod, followed by a quick kiss on the lips before walking over to the driver side of her car. He followed along behind her and opened the door for her, telling he would see her soon. He stood still as she backed out of the parking spot and began to drive away, making sure no one unusual was following her.
Once her car was out of sight, he walked over to his car and slide behind the wheel, then made a call to make sure someone was stationed outside of her apartment when she arrived. After ending that call, he made another call.
As the phone rang in his ear, his eyes cut over to the passenger side seat, where a yellow rose sat; a rose he just removed from her car before she came out of the hospital.
"He left another rose," Jamie said as soon as his brother Danny answered his phone.
"Different color?" Danny asked.
"Different color," Jamie answered. "This one is yellow."
"Why different colors?" the older Reagan questioned out loud.
"I don't know, but I had a theory."
"Which is?"
"What if it's supposed to be the colors of the rainbow," Jamie suggested. "I mean, the guy has problems, right? So maybe it's something he has to do in certain numbers or colors. But in this incident he's using different colors, so far; red, orange and now yellow- which happen to be the first three colors of the rainbow."
"Meaning there's what, three or four more colors to go?" Danny guessed.
"Yeah, four. Which makes sense since each rose also has a word and he's trying to say something," Jamie said.
He didn't know why Jimmie would use a rainbow since Noelle hated them. But this was someone who thought he was having a relationship with her; it just proved Jimmie knew absolutely nothing about the woman he's obsessed with.
"What word does this one have?" Danny asked, pulling him out of his thoughts.
"Be," Jamie answered. "So now we have; We Will Be."
Danny let out a sigh. "If you're right, we have four more roses and words to receive."
"And there's something else," Jamie began to say. "Nol's friend Spencer is in town and was stabbed. He's in the hospital, but he says it wasn't Jimmie that stabbed him. It got me thinking; what if he has a partner now?"
"Damn it," Danny softly swore. "It would make sense if he does. He has to know we're looking for him; so sending in someone else to do his dirty work will make it harder on us."
Jamie nodded his head. "And now instead of looking for just him, we need to look for anyone who comes in close contact to her."
"I'll make some calls," Danny stated as he sat up in his desk chair. Grabbing a small notebook and pen, he began to write down the things Jamie told him earlier as well as his own thoughts.
"I'll check to see if anyone else was released when he was or if he had any friends or pen pals. I'll also have a chat with her Florida buddy, see what all he remembers about his attacker in case the two are related."
"What do you need me to do?" Jamie questioned.
"Keep an eye on her," Danny answered.
"Come on, Danny, I can do more than that. I have to do more than that," Jamie argued, feeling helpless. He would watch over her- he would always do that, but he also needed to do something else. He felt like he was sitting on the sidelines and all he could do was wait for tragedy to strike.
"You are doing more. You can also keep me informed when something happens," Danny answered. Noticing how quiet his brother got, he raised his eyebrows. "Did something else happen?"
Jamie blew out a breath and looked over at the passenger seat again, spying a picture he would recognize from anywhere since it used to be in his bedroom.
He reached out to pick it up and looked at the happy smile on Noelle's face as she had an arm wrapped around him and was pressed against his side. The picture was taken a few days before they left for college, that day they decided to explore the city and hit all of their favorite places they were going to miss. He knew he had an identical smile on his face, but it was hard to see now since his face was blacked out.
"Jamie?" His brother questioned, getting his attention.
"Nol's not the only one who had something on their car," he stated. "When I left work, there was a picture on my windshield. It's a picture that was in my room, I guess he took it that time he broke in. I haven't even noticed it was missing..."
"Is there anything on it?" Danny asked when his voice trailed off.
"He blacked out my face." He flipped the picture over, seeing the two familiar words he left him before. "And on the back, he wrote; 'She's mine'."
"I need you to get me that picture and rose."
"I doubt there are any prints. He never leaves prints."
"I don't care!" Danny snapped, then took a deep breath to hold on to his temper. This guy was really starting to piss him off. "Bring me the rose and picture, okay?" he added his tone a little nicer.
"Okay."
"How's she doing with all of this?" Danny asked. He could only imagine how stressed and worried all of this was making Noelle- so much was happening at once it made his own head spin.
"I haven't told her." Jamie sighed, his guilt eating at him. He hated keeping something like this from her, but he knew how scared she was already with everything going on, he didn't want to add to that.
"I don't like it, but I kinda agree," Danny said, feeling torn on the matter. Like Jamie, he hated lying to the younger girl, but she was like a sister to him and he hated seeing how all of this was affecting her. If they could give her a little peace of mind; make her think the gifts have stopped, wouldn't that be worth it in the end?
"I don't like it either," Jamie quietly said as he ran a hand through his hair, feeling like the world's worst boyfriend.
Seeing his partner, Jackie, coming toward him and knowing she had information about one of their other cases, he held up a finger to her- letting her know he was coming.
"Look, I gotta go, but I'll check out some things and keep you updated. In the meantime, be careful out there."
"I'm more worried about Nol. She's the one this creep wants," Jamie pointed out.
"Yeah, but the guy is delusional and thinks Noelle is his, right?" After Jamie agreed, he added, "So what do you think he's gonna do to the guy he thinks is taking her from him?"
When Jamie became silent over the phone, he continued, "Like I said, kid, you need to be careful."
•••
A/N; Hey all! So now you know the phone call was about Spencer. I'm excited to have him in NYC!
Thank you to everyone for reading and adding the story. Big thank to werks, BLBLF, emmy72, High Gaurdian, jlmayer, mcgeeksgirl, traceyaudette, Guest, Daniel Reagan, Charlottarosa, Rasiel Hasu, Eddie Reagan, Love. Fiction. 2016, Guest- Anica, lilnightmare17, Guest, jobosfan and Sage Londyn for reviewing.
Also, thank you all so so much for getting this story to over 300 reviews. I am honestly speechless that so many of you love this story as much as I do. I'll go ahead and end this note now before I get too sappy lol, but seriously, it means the world to me. Thank you all!
Happy reading!
xx