Just a warning, this chapter is pretty intense. I hope you enjoy! Let me know!

Gillian was sitting on the couch in Cal's office, typing up the last few names and addresses on the wedding invitations. He was at his desk, analyzing video from the trial he was consulting on. He was supposed to help the DA know how he thought the jurors were swaying. He was going to a lot more jury selection hearings as a consultant. This was a new and interesting way that they had decided to us him.

They both looked at each other when they heard the sound of heels running frantically toward them. Ria barreled into the office and right up to Cal's desk. She slammed her hand down. "Don't tell me you did this to me again, Lightman. If you did, I swear I'm through!" She yelled it at him. She was shaking all over, and had obviously been crying earlier. Gillian got up and walked toward her friend, grabbing her shoulders and trying to guide her toward the couch. Ria pulled away from Gillian's touch. "And you. You let him pull this shit! Why should I trust either of you?" Cal and Gillian looked at each other, unsure of what exactly was going on.

Eli came running into the room. He swallowed. "You guys need to turn on the news." He told them. He glanced at Ria, and back at them. "Now." He enforced. Cal pressed a button on his remote, and the trial he had been viewing was changed to the news. The headline at the bottom flickered. There was a hostage situation at the Capital One, and shots had been fired. Ria was devastated, and was bent over sobbing. Gillian tried to pull her back up, but she pulled away again.

Cal got up from his desk, and walked around to where Ria was standing, crouched over. He knelt down so that his head was where hers was.

"Listen, Ria, I need you to look at me." He put his finger on her chin and lifted it. "This is not another Karl situation, luv. I didn't know about this. But, I am going to do my best to help you. You can see that I'm not lying, right?" He reassured the younger woman. She nodded at him, and collapsed into his embrace. Gillian breathed a sigh of relief, at least she trusted them. Cal stood Ria up. "Alright then. Let's go to the police. They will help us figure out what to do." He led her to the door, and Gillian followed. Eli looked on like a lost puppy, not sure what to do. Cal turned his head toward Eli. "You coming, Loker?"

When Cal got there, he quickly took over the police station, handling the video feed and arguing with the negotiator. Gillian stayed with Ria, not wanting to leave her side. She wasn't surprised to see how quickly Cal took control, but she was worried he wouldn't be able to stay impartial. He was dealing with two of their friends.

She rubbed Ria's back and held her hand, reassuring the woman that all would be fine. Ria rocked her body back and forth, trying not to cry. Cal came over to them. "Gill, there is a point across the street from the bank where a lot of the family members of the other hostages are waiting. How about you guys wait there for Alex." Gillian nodded, knowing it was probably best. He had Eli there to help him if he needed it. She grabbed Ria by the arm and helped her up. The poor woman was in a fog, she had no clue what was going on. Gillian led her out of the building.

Cal went back to the room with all the televisions. The IT squad had hacked into the ban's security feeds. There wasn't any sound, but just seeing them would help. People were huddled under tables. No one looked injured, as far as Cal could tell. He tapped the negotiator on the shoulder. "Has anyone tried to contact the people in the bank yet?

The negotiator shook his head. "I was just about to, though. Want to watch?"

Cal nodded. The negotiator dialed a number, and waited. Cal watched the video feed.

"Hello. My name is Detective Verock, and I am a hostage negotiator. Is anyone there hurt" There was silence. "I'm sure we can figure that out. What's your name?" Cal watched the feed as the young man shouted something, and hung up the phone. Cal turned toward the negotiator.

"What are his demands?"

"$100,000. And a ride to Georgetown Hospital."

Cal was worried. "Is he hurt? He doesn't look like he's in pain."

"No one is hurt. He fired shots, but I guess they didn't hit anyone."

Cal watched the young man on the cameras some more. "Look at him. He really doesn't want to shoot that gun." Cal pointed at the screen. "His finger isn't even on the trigger. He's pointing it, but not with intent. He doesn't want to hurt a fly." Verock came over to acknowledge what Cal had seen.

"I can see that, but he went into a bank with a gun. That has to mean something."

"It does. He wants to make a statement. To shock. But not to kill anyone." Cal picked up the phone and hit the redial button.

"What are you doing?"

"Calling the man of the hour." Cal watched as the young man picked up the phone again.

"Hello?" The gruff voice on the other end of the line made Cal's hair stand up. He was talking to the person holding those people hostage.

"My name is Dr. Lightman. I know you don't want to hurt those people. Now, I can get you your money, but I need you to help me out. What is your name, son?"

"No." The voice answered on the other end. "I want my money now. I'm not giving you my name."

"Well, we need to know who to write the check out to. Let's go."

"Kyle Freem." The line went dead. Cal looked at Detective Verock.

"His name is Kyle Freem. Do whatever you need to do with that information." Cal picked up the phone to dial again, but it was Eli that stopped him.

"Lightman, wait, look at this guy. He is pacing, and he looks like he's about to go off. Wait a few minutes before you call." Loker grabbed the older man's shoulder. "I know you want to get Alex out of there, so do we. But you need to look at this objectively, another call so soon and this guy will lose it." Cal sighed and put the phone back on the receiver. He pulled out his cell instead.

Gillian and Ria had just arrived across the street from the bank. There were ambulances lined up, just in case. Ria sat and stared at the door to the bank, waiting for her boyfriend to come through. She couldn't believe it. Last week they were at Fourth of July cookouts and dancing with Gill and Lightman. Everything was good. Now, he was being held hostage by a gunman.

Gillian let go of her hand and reached for her buzzing phone. She typed a quick reply, and put it back into her pocket. She grabbed Ria's hand again.

"Who was that?" Ria asked, knowing the answer, but just wanting to break the agonizing silence while she waited for Alex to come through those doors.

"It was Cal, he was checking up on you. You know, he is doing everything he can to get Alex out safely."

Ria nodded. "I know." For someone who could be so stoic, Cal had quickly showed her so much compassion, and she knew he was working his ass off. Alex was his friend too.

"You know," Gillian started, "I have never seen him take over a police station quicker than he did today. I think it was a new record." The women shared some nervous laughter. It wasn't normal, but it was something.

Cal picked up the phone, and hit the redial button again. Kyle picked up quickly. "Where is my money?" He asked.

"I know about your daughter." Cal replied. He watched the shock and fear come across Kyle's face. "I have a daughter too, so I get where you're coming from." He continued.

"That has nothing to do with anything." Kyle countered.

"Oh, I don't believe that. You need the money so they will do her transplant operation. Does your family have health insurance?"

"They won't cover her, it's a preexisting condition. If Jara doesn't get that lung, she will die." Kyle answered. "I need that money so that they will do her operation."

"Well, today is your lucky day. I happen to be personal friends with the branch manager. And I will tell him to give you the money if you let all the women and children go free."

"Fine. But you better talk to him."

Ria's heart leapt when she saw those doors open, and a flood of people came pouring out. She scanned the crowd as they ran over and hugged their family members. They all got checked by the EMTs, although none of them looked hurt. Ria began to sob again. "Gill, they just released everybody, Alex isn't here, he's dead, I just know it!" She collapsed again into Gillian's embrace, and Gillian fought back tears of her own. That was not something they would be allowed to think.

"Ria, think back to the crowd. It's normal, he released the women and children first. Alex isn't a woman or a child. None of them were hurt, so we have to believe that Alex is okay too. Don't give up just yet."

"Okay, all the women and children are free. Now what's his name?"

"I need you to do me a favor. Yell out that Cal Lightman is on the phone for Alex Duncan. I will tell him what to do. Cal heard Kyle repeat his words, and watched on the monitor as Alex stood and walked slowly toward Kyle. He grabbed the phone.

"Cal? How's Ria, is she Okay?" He heard his friend's familiar voice.

"Yes, Ria is okay, Gill is with her. Listen. He needs $100,000 for his daughter's operation. You need to bring him to the safe and give him that money. I am going to tell him that you won't give him the money unless the rest of the hostages are free to go when you guys leave the room. You will be the only one left with him."

"Okay." Cal watched as Alex handed the phone back to Kyle.

"Will I get my money?"

"Only if you promise that the other hostages are free to go after the two of you leave the room."

"I don't want to do that." Kyle answered.

"Well then you won't get your money, and Jara won't get her operation."

"Okay. So I guess this is goodbye." Kyle hung up the phone. Cal saw him talking to the other hostages, and Alex leading him out of the room. It was almost over.

Ria was glad when she saw that the men were coming out. They ran across the street to see their wives, who were waiting with open arms. But once again, Alex wasn't in this wave. Her stomach fell, and her blood ran cold. Something bad had happened, she just knew it. She saw one of Alex's co-workers, Brendan, and she ran up to him. "Where is Alex? Is he okay?"

"Last I knew, yes. He was leading the man into the safe room, probably to get him cash. Hopefully, this is almost over." Ria smiled and hugged Brendan.

But then, shots rang out. Her heart stopped, and she screamed. Gillian was there to catch her, and they were both crying hysterically into each other's shoulders. Ria watched, as the door opened, and Alex and a young man came out. Alex had blood spurting out of his leg, and the man was holding a gun, pointing at an ambulance. "I will accompany this man in that ambulance to Georgetown." Alex was to close to this man, needing to lean on him to walk. The police couldn't get a shot on the assailant. They were loaded into the ambulance, which drove off. Gillian pulled out her phone and called Cal.

"Cal, I'm filling you in quick. Alex got shot, the shooter is still holding him hostage in an ambulance to Georgetown. I'm taking Ria there now." She hung up, and pulled Ria toward her car.

Alex was wheeled in on a gurney. He had lost too much blood, he was fading in and out. The man who shot him once in each leg was walking right beside him, gun still raised, saying that Alex didn't get treatment until his daughter was prepped for surgery. He had money now. That's the last thing he remembered when it all went black.

When Gillian and Ria got there, the police were swarming. They had trouble getting inside. Ria lied, and said she was Alex's wife so they would keep her up to date. She waited in the waiting room like everyone else, except unlike everyone else, she was numb. She couldn't remember a thing, she had no sense of time, and couldn't even feel Gillian's hand in hers anymore. Neither of them had any idea how much time had passes when they saw the assailant being led out in handcuffs. All she remembered of the doctor talking to her was the words surgery and blood loss. When Cal joined them, she barely acknowledged him. Just looked straight ahead at the wall in front of her, praying to a God she had stopped believing in years ago, to save her love.

When Alex opened his eyes, Ria's face was the first thing he saw. "Hey, baby. I'm glad you're okay." He told her.

She startled, and held back tears. She hadn't noticed he woke up. "You're glad I'm okay?" She joked, leaning in to kiss him hard. They both smiled and cried, happy tears. "You needed a few blood transfusions, but in all you will be fine. That Kyle guy wouldn't let anyone touch you until his daughter was prepped for surgery, so she will get a new lung. And he will go away to jail." She filled him in on what he had missed. She pulled out her phone to send a quick message to the people who had helped them so much today. ALEX IS AWAKE. I'M GONNA STAY HERE TONIGHT. THANK YOU BOTH. She put her phone away and grabbed his hand again, never wanting to let it go. "I was so worried, baby. I love you." She kissed him again.

He pulled away for a second, looking her right in the eyes. "Ria, let's get that puppy." She smiled and laughed, letting the tears flow down her face.

When Ria left them to go be with Alex after his surgery, Gillian pulled Cal into the tightest embrace ever. She kissed him, hard. He kissed her with the same passion that she did. She couldn't imagine coming that close to losing him. This brought back all sorts of feelings from that incident with Eric Matheson. Back when she loved Cal but couldn't admit it, when she had almost lost him. This was all too close to home. "Cal, I'm ready to go home. I've had enough of this already."

He stroked her cheek tenderly. "Me too, luv. Let's go."

They both slept terribly that night. They each had awful nightmares where someone had been shot. Every hour or so, Gillian would sit straight up in bed, and Cal would grab her and hold her against him until they fell asleep again. They couldn't wait for the night to be over, either.