Chapter Three-

Half an hour later, and Lawson was starting to see the effects of hypothermia setting in. Shannon's head started to dip down towards her chest, her breathing shallow.

"Shan, don't go to sleep," urged Lawson.

"But I'm tired," slurred Shannon.

"I know, but if you go to sleep, I don't know if I'll be able to wake you up," replied Lawson.

"I don't wanna wake up," whispered Shannon. Lawson got up from his corner and moved over to sit next to Shannon.

"Why don't you want to wake up?" Asked Lawson softly.

"Because then I'd have to tell you I don't love you anymore."

Kerry pulled up at the farmhouse, climbed out and slammed the door. Josh and Stella met her on the front porch of the main house.

"There are seven of you here, and you find it necessary to drag me away from a department meeting to show me what?" Asked Kerry. Stella handed her the sheaf of papers, then stepped away to meet the coroners van that pulled up behind Kerry. Kerry looked up at Josh.

"These guys are part of a bigger ring, aren't they," stated Kerry.

"It looks like it," replied Josh.

"How the hell are we supposed to get Anna back after this? What are we missing?" Asked Kerry.

"Well, for one thing, we're missing Shannon and Lawson," noticed Josh.

"Find them. I want this sorted out; we need to get to the bottom of this." Kerry walked into the house to speak to the coroner, and Stella and Jessie joined Josh.

"Has the coroner said anything interesting?" Asked Josh.

"Only that they seem to have died from a drug overdose. He reckons the drugs might have been tainted, but he won't know until he gets the bodies back to the morgue for an autopsy," answered Jessie.

"Hey, shouldn't Shan and Laws have finished by now?" Asked Stella.

"That's what Kerry said," stated Josh. He grabbed his radio off his shoulder.

"Shannon, Lawson. Time to check in guys. Kerry's here, and she's a little pissed," said Josh. The radio crackled static in response.

"Oh, that's not good," said Jessie, fretting a little.

"Where were they checking?" Asked Stella.

"The barn."

Lawson looked over at Shannon, who was quickly losing her usual pink hue to a new vampiric complexion. Her breathing was the most concerning though; her breaths were becoming more shallow as time went by, and Lawson had yet to be able to convince her that she should put more clothes.

She was fast becoming severely hypothermic, and Lawson was concerned at the fact that she didn't seem to want to save herself.

"I thought Andrew was the one," she whispered, breaking the silence.

"I thought you were the one," countered Lawson. Shannon scoffed a little at the statement.

"You thought I was the one? We were a relationship of convenience, with benefits. I was a broken person that was looking for someone to love me, and you just happened to be there. We didn't share anything other than sex, and you know it. We were going to get married without even knowing each other's favourite food, place, anything that normal couples would know. We were crazy to think things would change, and after we watched Stella lose Michael, we both felt like we should try and hold onto the relationship we had. Instead we pushed each other away. We were never right Lawson, and I think deep down, you knew that," said Shannon softly.

"And look at where I am now. In a fucking freezer, where I'm going to die, after I've been attacked by my ex-husband and had an abortion, and this is what I've wanted all along," added Shannon.

"You've wanted to be raped? You wanted to have an abortion? You want to die in a freezer?" Asked Lawson, trying to clarify.

"No! I didn't want to be raped, and I didn't want to have an abortion. Well, I thought I didn't want to have an abortion, but a child of Andrew's was not a baby I could raise. I want to die Lawson. I want to be able to never remember any of this again, to be able to forget the first time Andrew and Henry abused me, to forget when Frank raped me, to forget everything that's ever gone wrong in my life. I can't take it anymore Lawson. It's too hard," whispered Shannon. Lawson rocked back against the wall, unsure of what to say. Shannon had seen so much hardship in her life so far, and he understood where she was coming from, but she shouldn't feel the need to die.

"Look, you may not love me, but there are plenty of people in this team who love and care for you. Josh would go to the end of the earth to protect you, at any cost. Stella loves you like a sister, and if you'd let her, she'd happily move in to keep you company. Jessie, God, Jessie hasn't even known you that long yet she's crashing at your house every night so you're not alone. Christian's been driving by your house every night to make sure that everything looks okay, Leon's been checking the prison every night to make sure Andrew is still there, and Daniel's been the one making sure that Jessie is okay so she can keep looking after you. I still care for you Shannon, and so do the rest of the team, so there is no talk of dying today!" Exclaimed Lawson.

"But it would be so easy," replied Shannon quietly, shivering a little.

"It would be easy, but when have you taken the easy road? You, the girl who ran into the back of a car just so we could follow a suspect and gave herself a concussion instead of just following the guy? You, the girl who's always after the adrenaline rush, the reason why you're in TR instead of Riot Squad. Where's the rush in dying?" Asked Lawson. Shannon sighed, and closed her eyes, breathing slowly. As each breath became slower, Shannon slumped against the wall, clearly unconscious.

"Shannon? Shannon!"