Diclaimer: I do not own 21 Jump Street or its characters. They belong to Stephen J. Cannell and Patrick Hasburgh. I'm just borrowing them.

Thanks for reading and reviewing! Thanks for waiting!

Chapter 28

Penhall sat perpendicular to the hospital bed in the navy blue tweed upholstered chair. He hunched over, resting his elbows on his thighs, while studying the light grey tiled floor below him, in deep thought. His hands slowly rolled around each other as the steady beeping of the nearby vitals machine filled his eardrum. His head popped up at the sudden clicking, followed by the measured inflation of the blood pressure cuff tightening around the arm of the man lying on the bed before him. The man whom he had loved, respected, and trusted for so many years. Penhall nervously inhaled as he shifted in his seat, before exhaling, lowering his head. A warm sensation inched across the palms of Doug's hands and into his fingertips, before tiny beads of sweat cooled them, when thoughts about what he wanted to say to this man swirled around his head. Doug smoothed his hands against each other, playing back the recent memory of finding Hanson and Clavo slumped down on the ground behind the limo when he, Harry, and Judy arrived at the shootout.

***** Three doors of Judy's vehicle violently swung open behind the brown plume of dust circling the car. The three officers rushed to their feet with their guns drawn and aimed at their respective targets, as they emerged from the dusty cloud. Harry fired the first shot, hitting one of the grave diggers in the leg. The man threw his hands in the air while falling to his knees. "STOP!...PLEASE!...I'm unarmed!" He continued to beg from across the field. "PLEASE!"

"POLICE!...LIE DOWN!" Ioki carefully approached with his sights locked on him. "DON'T MOVE!"

Judy broke left while firing a warning shot at the other gravediggers who immediately dropped to their knees with their hands in the air. "We're down!...We're down!" They shouted as she cautiously approached them.

"LIE DOWN AND PUT YOUR HANDS BEHIND YOUR BACK!"Judy narrowed her brows as her vision shifted between the men. "How many more are they?"

"We're it!" One man nervously replied. "I SWEAR!" He locked his hands behind his back, allowing Judy to cuff him.

"Ah..ah…ah…" Penhall caught Anthony by the throat when he tried to sneak away. "Where do you think you're going?" He growled as Anthony's body stiffened.

"Nowhere?" Anthony's eyes widened when he met Penhall's infuriated stare.

It took every ounce of self control to keep Penhall from choking Anthony for putting his son in danger. He clinched his jaw and asked with all of the calm he could muster. "Where's Everett?"

"Ever…" Anthony frowned in mock confusion. "Ever…who?"

"You're either really dumb," Penhall squeezed Anthony's neck, before gritting his teeth. "Or, really stupid" He yanked Anthony closer to him. "Which is it?" His voice rumbled with vengeance.

"He's…" Anthony's shoulders popped up, hitting his ears as he squinted in pain. "I don't…know…(cough)…I've be..been…under…" He pointed under the truck.

Penhall continued to hold Anthony by his neck while allowing gravity to pull his head in the direction of the ground underneath the truck. He could see occasional peeks of shiny black dress shoes through the low lying floating dust cloud. His scowled deepened as his attention moved back to Anthony. "Friend of yours?" He threw Anthony against the four-door, one ton pick-up with great force before sticking his finger into Anthony's face. "Staaaay." Penhall squatted down and quickly grabbed the ankles connected to the mysterious shoes. He snatched the reluctant body from under the car. He heard the loud 'thunk' of the Senator's head as he forced him out. "Well….well…well..."

"We could work something out." Bryce forced his hands up in defense as he lie on his back. "I heard that you and you're brother aren't that close." He propped himself up by his elbows as Doug's face angrily trembled. "I could pay you a lot of…"

"Where's Everett?" Penhall balled his fists as his breathing became increasingly labored from fury that intensified within him.

"DOUG!...COME QUICK!" The fear in Judy's voice cut him like a knife. "IT'S CLAVO!...He's…"

Doug raced over to his son, only to breakdown when he saw his barely conscious little boy slumped over against the car surrounded by small puddles of blood. ******

Doug was startled by the movement of the gentle tapping of fingers on the bed. He studied the rumba of movement taking place under the lids of his best friend, which only increased as he fought to awaken from his post-surgery slumber.

"Baby," Hanson softly whispered while his eyes were still shut. "Baby?" He called out once more while fanning his fingers out to accept her hand.

Doug sat in silence, listening to Tom call out to his wife for comfort. Penhall found himself suddenly wishing that he hadn't snuck into Hanson's recovery room before Judy knew he was out of surgery. He'd only begged Rachel to pull some strings, so he could talk to Hanson before the doctors spoke with Judy, because he knew that it would be days before Judy would leave Tom's side long enough for he and Doug to talk privately. But, seeing Tom trying to wake up had filled Doug's mind with regret. 'This can wait.' He thought as he rose to his feet, shoved his hands into his pockets, and turned his back to his weak friend.

"Is she okay?" Hanson whispered making Penhall stop dead in his tracks.

Doug slowly turned to Hanson and offered a curious look. "Who?"

"Jude." Hanson grimaced at the burning sensation ripping through the right side of his abdomen, during his failed attempt at sitting up. "If she's not here," He paused in pain after trying to use his right arm to push himself up. "Something's wrong with…Agh!…her…Agh!…damn, that hurts,…Doug, what happened?" He held his side while inching back down to lie on his back while excruciating pain filled the right side of his body. "Where is…umpf… she?"

"You took a bullet in your side and..." Penhall's head gradually moved side to side as he moved toward Hanson. "She doesn't know you're out of surgery yet." He pulled the warm blanket up to Hanson's chest, careful not to overlap any of the wires stemming from Tom's body.

"As much as I enjoy your company…uh, Doug." Hanson growled when he tried to lift his hand to run his fingers through his locks. "Oh, my God!" He rolled his eyes and slowly lowered his hand. "Somebody get my wife in here!"

"She's on her way, Mr. Hanson. Just relax." A nurse emerged from behind Penhall, and began checking his vitals. "How are we doing?"

Hanson looked at the nurse as if she'd lost her mind. "I've been better."

"How about we increase your meds a bit, huh?" She asked rhetorically while pushing the button to release more medication into his I.V.

"Thanks" Hanson flatly stated while cutting his eyes away from her until they landed on Doug. "So, why are you?..." He frowned in confusion. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing" Penhall shook his head. He'd decided to save their talk for another time. "Why would you think something's wrong?"

"Your eyes are red and swollen and you look pissed." Hanson started to feel relax from the medication working its way through his system. "You're here and Jude isn't." He kicked his head up in Doug's direction. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Tom," Penhall burrowed his brows, feeling terrible for saying what he was going to say. "Clavo,"

"Awe man, Doug" A proud smile spread across Hanson's face. "You'd be so proud of him. He did such a great job out there. He…"

"He's in surgery and, um…" Doug looked up toward the ceiling, pushing back the welling up of tears from falling. "He's not…"

Hanson frowned in confusion as he visually searched the walls, as if the answers were written on them. "When?...He was just…"

"Sometime…(sniff)… before..we got there…" Penhall's voice trailed off, before clearing his throat. "He lost a lot of blood and he was barely conscious when we…." He exhaled while glancing at the ceiling. "If he makes…"

"When he makes it." Tears began stinging Tom's eyes. He struggled to keep them at bay, so he could be strong for his friend. His heart seemed to jump into his throat as guilt crept up inside of him.

Penhall nodded. "When he makes it…" He could feel his heart sinking into his gut as he closed his eyes. "When he…makes …it." He nodded once more. "I want…No," Doug shifted his weight while using his hand in a chopping manner. "I need for you to tell him that he can't work for you anymore."

Tom whipped his head in Penhall's direction. He tried to pull himself up, but the overwhelming pain in his side reminded him that was not going to be possible. "Look, Doug I know how you feel but…."

"You know how I…" Shock engulfed Doug's face as he slapped his hand to his chest and raised his voice. "How the hell could you know how I feel?"

Tom's expression mirrored Doug's. "I know, because I've been there every day of Clavo's life that you have!"

"No…it's not the same!" Doug clinched jaw and spoke through his teeth. "You didn't raise him!"

"That's bullshit and you know it!" Hanson snapped before scrunching his face through the stabbing pain radiating from his right side. "What?...You had him five days a week and I had him on the weekends, and you think that means I love him less than you do?"

"I'm his father!" Penhall shouted as he jabbed his thumb into his chest.

Hanson lowered his tone in hopes that Penhall would do the same. "I'm his Godfather, Doug I love him too."

"I was there for him when he was sick," Doug leaned forward to stress his points. "When he couldn't sleep, made sure that he went to school, bathed him, fed him, made sure he studied…."

"And what do you think we did?" Tom sized him up and down in disgust. "Let him play on the freakin' freeway on the weekends we had him?" He adrenaline allowed him to prop himself up on his elbows without much discomfort. "Judy helped him study for test. She helped him with his projects, and I…."

"And you supported his decision to be a cop after, knowing how I felt about it." Penhall scoffed. "All because you don't wanna be the bad guy." He smoothed his hand over his mouth while glancing at the ceiling. "My son could've died tonight, because you didn't want to be the bad guy."

"He's a grown man, he's not a little boy anymore Doug," Hanson sympathetically reminded him in a soothing tone. "I know you've had a hard time handling the fact that he's an adult now, but you can't blame me for supporting his decision to follow his heart."

"That's my little boy lying on the table in there!" Doug pointed to the door. "He's being poked, prodded, and cut open because of you!"

"He's a man now!" Hanson shouted. "He was gonna be a cop whether we wanted him to be one or not! Don't blame me, because he got hurt. This is the life he chose!" He could feel his blood boiling just as the machine began beeping wildly. "Don't put this shit on me! I protected him as much as I could!…He's a son to me too!"

"Whoa guys!" Judy entered the room after overhearing the shouting while making her way down the hall.

"Let's say the tables are turned and it's Tommy instead of Clavo." Penhall venomously suggested. "I bet you'd try to protect him then, and he'd be in the waiting room right now without a scratch!"

"I protected Clavo as much as I could!" Hanson bit back, now extremely offended. "Same as I would if it were Tommy out there with me!"

"HEY!" Judy spread her hands while using the left side of her body to push Penhall aside. "Take it down a thousand guys." Her attention shifted between Doug and Hanson. "You're in here arguing, while" She rotated her index finger in a circular manner between her, Tom and Doug before pointing to the door. "Our son is fighting for his life in there and you're in here acting like children."

Hanson met his eyes with Judy's. "But, baby, he…"

"I don't want to hear it!" She dabbed the corner of her watery eyes with a crumbled tissue. "The only thing want to hear out of you two is… (sniff)…silence." She pointed to the nearby chair while looking at Penhall. "Sit down and cool off."

Penhall shook his head and stepped back. "I don't want to…"

She narrowed her eyes, clinched her jaw and spoke through her teeth. "SIT…DOWN"

"Fine" Penhall plopped down and bowed his head.

"Penhall," She slowly exhaled to keep her from crying again. "We…(sigh)…We all love Clavo. Hanson would never intentionally put him in danger, and you know that." She watched as he nodded. "I didn't want him to be a cop either. I tried…" She paused while glancing at the floor before looking back at Penhall. "I tried to talk him out of it too. But, he told me that if we didn't support him…."

"He'd go back to El Salvador to finish his mother's work." Penhall softly stated. "Yeah, he told me that the day after him and Hanson told me he wanted to be a cop."

"You raised him to be a good kid, Penhall" A small smile tugged at the corner of Judy's mouth. "And now he's a good man. Be proud of that….I am."

Penhall looked up a Judy. "I don't know what I'd do if he doesn't make it."

"I honestly don't know if my heart could take it." Judy sniffled.

"Don't count him out," Hanson confidently added. "He's a tough kid."

Penhall was reminded of some of the hurtful things he'd said out of anger and was feeling slightly remorseful now that he was calming down a bit. "Listen, Hanson…"

"Piss on you Penhall," Hanson grumbled, still upset about Penhall's words.

Penhall squinted in disbelief. "I'm trying to…"

"Save that shit for another day." Hanson huffed. "I'm in pain, I'm worried about Clavo, I miss my wife and kids…And you're in here accusing me of trying to put Clavo in danger?" He scoffed. "Go away."

"Don't be like that, baby," Judy traced Tom's jaw line with the tips of her fingers. "He's upset and needs to blame someone."

"Okay, so he's the only one who's upset?" Hanson frowned in irritation. "You can leave too."

Judy threw her hand to her hip as she glared at Hanson. "How much medication did they give you? Because now, you're just talking crazy." She checked the automatic drip of medicine that went into his I.V.

"I'm gonna go check on Booker." Penhall slowly rose to his feet. He pushed his eight fingers through his short cut mane before turning and walking away, feeling about two inches tall and still mad at the situation, at himself for blaming his best friend for Clavo getting hurt especially when he was injured too. Doug was mad at Clavo's decision and ultimatum. All he wanted at this moment was to get Clavo home, and talk him into leaving Jump Street for a safer profession. He followed the path lined in burgundy tiles on the floor until he reached blue ones. He stopped cold when he spotted signs hanging over hallway entrances that seemed to go on for miles. His eyes were suddenly drawn to a range of numbers that he couldn't resist. He strolled down the aisle, turning into the hallway of both occupied and vacant rooms. He froze in front of a closed wooden door for several minutes before placing his hand over the brushed silver handle. He pulled the door open as the butterflies in his stomach began to do back-flips. His eyes began to sting as his temperature rose to the sight of Jackie leaning over the hospital bed, kissing Booker in a way that only a woman in love could. Penhall narrowed his brows as he angrily looked on. "My boy is fighting for his life and you're kissing the person who put him here?"

Jackie whipped around as Booker sat straight up. "She didn't pull the trigger."

Penhall bowed his chest as he shot a fiery glare at Jackie. "She might as well have."

"Don't blame me for what's happening to Clavo, Doug…please." Jackie sniffled. "I never meant for any of this to happen."

"Oh, well…she didn't mean it!" Doug threw his hands up before slapping them down to his thighs. "Well, as long as you didn't mean it, then none of this is really happening to my son and we can all go home…right?"

Jackie tilted her head to the side, offering a sympathetic look. "I didn't mean…"

"FIND ANOTHER PHRASE!" Penhall shouted louder than he intended. He took a deep breath before gradually releasing it. "He's my son." He softly stated while fighting back tears. "All the games….all the lies…everything…." His head shook with subtly. "My son is paying for it, and for what?"

Booker turned his body until his legs were hanging over the bed. "Penhall, listen…"

"And you…" The hurt in Doug's eyes ate at Booker's heart. "You're taking her back? After everything she put us all through?...You're…" He scoffed while stepping back.

"Penhall," Booker rubbed his forehead while watching Doug exit the room. "Penhall!"

"I'll get him." Jackie offered as she turned toward the door, but Booker grabbed her arm to stop her.

"I wouldn't." Booker lightly scratched underneath his chin. "Come here, so we can finish this before you change your mind."

"I told you…" Jackie flashed a faint smile. "I won't." She promised as she stood between his legs.

Booker stared into her eyes, looking for any indication of her backing down. "If you do…"

"I know." She quickly answered. "Don't worry."