AN: Apologies for any typos, this was all done on my phone again! X

CHAPTER 35

It had been an uneventful day for Hecate, her only highlight being her morning spent with a juice before he had to depart. She'd spent the rest of the morning tidying around the house to keep herself occupied, and had participated in a home work out in her back yard. It was now approaching 4pm and Cate had driven into town to buy some groceries. With a spring in her step, Cate wondered around the store with a basket in hand, collecting just a few bits she needed for her pantry. She felt happy and content which was unusual for Cate, but she was riding the high for now and allowing herself to enjoy it.. happiness was something that had abandoned Cate over the years, left her alone and victim to her demons. But now, she had a chance to remember what it felt like to experience happiness and it made her feel so much lighter, as if her shoulders weren't so heavy anymore with the weight of all of her burdens.

"Cate?" She heard from behind and she turned around to see none other than Wayne, suited and booted in his uniform, standing at the end of an aisle. He had a small smile on his lips and his thumbs hooked behind us utility belt.

"Hey Wayne.." she greeted, completing her turn and shifting her weight to rest on her better leg. "How're you doing?" She asked, watching as the Chief took a few steps closer to her to close the distance between them. If she'd been in a worse mood, she probably would have been upset at Wayne for keeping information from her about Juice. But after her conversation with Juice last night, she understood why secrets had been kept and she decided she wouldn't confront Wayne about it. Not yet anyway.

"I'm not doing too bad, sweetheart.." he answered in his gruff voice. His illness was no secret to her, she'd seen him in passing in the hospital a few times for his consultations. "What about you?" He returned, his eyes narrowing slightly as he looked over at her. He cleared his throat then and rolled his shoulders. "I mean.. I didn't get a chance to catch up with you after the charity fair.. you looked a little freaked.." he explained and Cate suddenly found herself remembering what had happened when she'd last seen him. Ross had appeared at the park, called her and behaved like a total stalker, and had fled the scene when she'd lost it and made a run for him. It had been a stupid and reckless attempt, there was no chance she would have caught him but she'd just been so damn angry. She refused to let anybody try to intimidate her. At this point in her life, she felt like she knew what she should really be scared of.. herself. Not some creepy psychiatrist who doesn't know when to call it a day.

"Oh.. That? That was nothing.." she answered with a shrug of her shoulders and a smile. It really wasn't worth all the hassle to admit what had happened to him. She could deal with her own issues. She appreciated the police and knew they had better and bigger things to be dealing with than Cate and her weirdo psychiatrist. Regardless, she doubted Ross was capable of anything bad. He clearly just couldn't handle rejection and failure with one of his PTSD 'projects'. "Just an unexpected call from an old friend, is all." She added, and watched as Wayne slowly nodded. It appeared as though he wasn't fully convinced with her story, but she didn't mind. He could believe what he wanted to believe.

"Alright then, Cate.. You know you can come to me if you have any problems.." he reminded her and Cate smiled, nodding her head in response to his words. He was always so friendly and reassuring.

"Yeah.. I know.." she replied. Could she thought? He'd retained information about Juice when she'd asked him about it. Trust was a 2 way street. But then perhaps he just didn't want to ruin anything that may have been blooming between herself and Juice? She mentally kicked herself out of it and cleared her throat. There was some chatter and static on Wayne's radio which broke the silence between them and took his attention away from her for the moment. She took that as her cue to leave. "I'll see you around, Wayne." She dismissed herself then and made her way towards the front of the store where the tills were located.

She was in the process of unloading her basket when she heard a commotion from outside in the street. It seemed to capture the attention of many, as she noticed the few customers within the store turn to glance a nosey eye towards the window. Some men she didn't recognise were stood on the sidewalk outside of the window, offensive tattoos adorning their arms and visible skin. They were Neo-Nazi's. She'd seen them around town before and found the sight of them quite offensive. She was all for religious beliefs but they were something completely different. A racist organisation of which she couldn't agree or wrap her head around. Regardless, they were outside shouting abuse towards a dark car in the street, the tinted windows down and the faces of some black men visible through them. She couldn't quite make out what was going on.

"Would you like a bag, ma'am?" The cashier asked and Cate briefly looked towards the young man and smiled, nodding her head at him.

"Yes please." She answered before turning her head back towards the window, just in time to see the first car speed off and another 4x4 take its place. And then all hell broke loose.

BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG

The sound of a semi-automatic pistol filled the air, followed swiftly by the sound of shattering glass and screams from civilians within the supermarket and probably from the streets outside.

BANG BANG BANG BANG

Cate's breath caught in her throat at that moment.

The sun was hot on her skin, beads of sweat dripping down her back and down the curve of her face. Smoke obstructed her view and her ears were ringing, so loud that she could barely even hear the sound of rapid gunfire around her. Yelling, from her own side and also in another language sounded from the distance, but she couldn't see from where as the smoke was so thick. She was on her knees, her hands pressed firmly over a soldiers torso, blood seeping through her fingers as she tried to apply pressure to the wound.

"Cate!" A hand wrapped around her waist and suddenly she was pulled from her memory, forced to the ground by a body from behind her, shielding her from the line of fire. It took a minute for Cate to remember where she was and what had happened. Her heart was thudding in her chest, her throat dry and her eyes wide. The gunfire had ceased but she could hear the sound of screaming and sobbing, becoming louder and louder as the ringing in her ears subsided. "Jesus.." she heard the voice from behind her speak, followed by more words and static from the radio, but she wasn't paying any attention. She rolled onto her stomach and looked ahead at the shop floor by the broken window, glass scattered across the ground. She then saw a puddle of blood slowly forming from behind the counter she'd been pulled behind. "Are you hurt?" Wayne asked. Cate shook her head as she slowly pushed herself up onto her hands and knees. Suddenly, instinct kicked in and Cate hurriedly pushed herself to her feet and made a run for the area by the window where she'd spotted the blood. "Cate, stay down!" Wayne had called but she'd paid no attention to him. Someone was hurt and she needed to help.

On the ground lay a young man, gripping his left shoulder and squirming in what she imagined to be pain. Cate almost skidded on the blood but she steadied herself before dropping to her knees by his side. He could have been no older than 21. "Hey there, buddy.." Her voice was strong considering what had just happened. His eyes, which were blinking rapidly, looked up at her from the ground. "Hey.. my name's Cate.. I'm a doctor, ok?" She told him and then reached out to remove his bloody hand from his shoulder. Blood began to ooze and she replaced it with her own palm.

"I.. I've been shot.." the boy stammered in a strained voice. Cate nodded her head as she looked his body over for any other damage, hoping there wouldn't be. But there had been a lot of blood, almost too much for a shoulder wound. She groaned quietly as she noticed a puddle of blood slowly spreading from under his back.

"Yes.. yes you have." She looked back over at his face with a smile. She didn't want to alarm him or make him panic by informing him of the severity of his wounds. "Wayne!" She called out whilst removing her hand from the boys shoulder. She needed to see if the bullet had gone through or not and then she needed to stop the bleeding as best as she could. "Ok, what's your name?" She asked, trying to make conversation with him as she tended to him.

"M-Michael.." Cate paused then and stared ahead. Michael, her lovely brother who had been taken from her too soon sprung to mind. "Am I.. I going to d-die?" The voice broke her out of her brief trance and she looked down at him and shook her head.

"No Michael.. no you're not." She told him sternly, was she trying to tell him that though, or tell herself?

"Sweet Jesus.." she heard Wayne say from behind her and Cate swallowed thickly.

"Wayne I need a hand.. I need you to find me anything to help stop the bleeding and I need it NOW!" She demanded, not even looking back to see if he had taken her order on board. Cate grabbed the boys shirt between both hands and ripped it open so she had better access and could see what she was dealing with. She pulled the sleeves down the boys arms and freed him of the tshirt. It was then she saw the second entry wound on the right side of his abdomen. "Michael, I'm gonna roll you now to check for exit wounds, ok?" She informed him and swiftly rolled the boy into his side. She leant over his body and examined his back. Surely enough, there was an exit wound on his lower back but not one on his shoulder, which meant the bullet was still in there. It didn't concern her however, she was mostly concerned by the abdominal wound. He was bleeding out quickly and judging by the amount of blood already lost, they didn't have much time to play with. It was then she heard fast approaching footsteps followed by Wayne dropping to his knees on the other side of the boy, who she still had rolled. The poor thing was groaning in pain. "Give em to me.." she demanded, holding out a bloody hand towards Wayne who piled bandages into her hand.. perks of being shot in a supermarket. "I need to stop the bleeding until we can get to the hospital.. ambulance is on the way?" She asked whilst piling bandages over the exit wound, going as far as to push some of the bandages into the wound which made the boy cry out in pain. "I'm sorry.." Cate whispered before rolling the boy back onto his back. The bandage wouldn't do much, but it would for for the moment.

"They'll be here in a couple of minutes.." Wayne answered.

"I don't.. I don't feel so good.." The boys voice was quieter and she looked up at him, noticing how much paler he looked now.

"I know, buddy.. just hold on for a few minutes.." Cate spoke whilst piling bandage over the abdominal entry wound and also on the shoulder wound. She gestured for Wayne to apply pressure to the shoulder as she applied pressure to the abdomen. With her free hand, she reached for the boys wrist to feel his pulse which was thready and weak. Wayne must have noticed the look of concern on Cate's face. She clenched her jaw and pushed down on the bleeding abdominal wound with both hands. He was bleeding out and there was nothing she could do until the ambulance crew arrived. Cate took a moment to look around her and she could see some people still cowering in the ground, others were comforting each other and a couple were watching the events unfold on the ground. Cate looked back down and the boy's jaw was now chattering, it wasn't a good sign and Cate suddenly felt concern and anger flare up within her. "Hold this.." Cate gestured to Wayne, who took over and applied pressure to the abdomen also. Cate pulled her hoodie off over her head and lay it over the boy, she knew it wouldn't do much but it would at least give him that comfort.

She could hear sirens in the distance now, and a little bit of relief sparked within her chest. But almost as if the cruel and almighty God had heard her relief, he delivered another blow, another problem. The boys eyes rolled and his breaths seized. "Shit!" Cate yelled. She raised herself up on her knees and reached up to the boys neck, feeling for a pulse, which was barely even there anymore. She reached over the boys chest where she began compressions. She pumped for 30, gave 2 sharp breaths into the boys mouth, and then repeated the process. "Come on.. Don't you let go.." She growled out whilst continuing her CPR on the young boy. She didn't know how long she was there doing the compressions, but she could hear Wayne's voice in the distance but she couldn't quite make out what he was saying. Reflections of flashing blue and red caught her peripheral vision and she then saw a paramedic crew opposite her. She recognised them from work. Cate witnessed them removing the defib to set up. It was all taking too long though. He'd been out for too long. Cate removed her hands from his chest, and whilst they were preparing the defibrillator she suddenly brought her fist down on the boys chest, performing the precordial thump in the hopes that it might give his heart the shock it needs to start pumping. The crew applied sticky pads to the chest and sat back as the machine did its job. "Shock advised. Clear." They made space and the machine delivered a shock, sending brief convulsions through the boy's body. Cate sat back on her knees, watching the scene unfold in front of her. He couldn't die. Not Michael. Not so young. Not like this.

"Shock advised. Charging. Clear." The automated voice from the machine sounded, and another shock was delivered. Silence ensued as they waited.

"No shock advised." Cate perked up at this point and reached forward for the boy's neck. There was a pulse, a faint and irregular one, but a pulse none the less. A breath of relief fled from between her lips.

"Take care of him.." Cate told the ambulance crew who started to do their job on the young boy. Wayne, who was stood at her side, reached a hand out for Cate, which she took and allowed him to help her to her feet. "Thank you.." she spoke quietly, exhausted after everything that had happened.

"Come on.. let's get you outside." Wayne said, reaching a hand behind her shoulders as he guided her out from the store. Shock was settling in now. She hadn't been around gunfire since her army days. Unless she included her small mental break down, which she didn't. Sunlight flooded over her as she exited the building. It was then she noticed the bodies of the Neo-Nazi's on the ground. All this had been meant for them, but a young man had been hurt in the cross fire. This was how all wars worked, claiming innocent bystanders as victims.

"Cate?!" She suddenly heard and her gaze was instantly drawn towards Juice, who was stood by his brothers and their bikes at the opposite end of the street. Cate instantly felt herself being pulled away from Wayne and walking towards Juice, who was hurriedly rushing over to meet her. Cate ducked under the police tape and ran the last few steps where she was caught in Juice's outstretched arms. He held her firmly against his chest and she suddenly felt safe within his arms. "What happened? Are ya hurt?" He asked, concern heavy within his voice. He held her away from him with his hands on her shoulders, looking down at her. Cate shook her head and looked up at him, suddenly feeling weighed down due to the events that had occurred. She glanced down and lifted her hands, covered in blood up to her elbows, blood down her shirt and on her knees.

"It isn't mine.." she whispered, clenching her fingers into fists as the familiar rage began to bubble beneath the surface. Clearly Juice noticed, as his arms wrapped around her again and he pulled her into his chest. "Don't leave." Cate chokes out, gripping the back of his kutte between her bloody fingers.

"Never." Juice spoke into her hair, as they embraced in the middle of the street, the crime scene of which she'd departed, thriving with energy. She glanced sideways towards it and watched as paramedics emerged from the building, boy on their trolley, airway preserved with a tracheal tube and bag. Their faces were glum and she wasn't surprised. The sight broke her and she turned her head into his chest, hiding her silent tears from the world.

"Take me away from here.. please.." she asked of him, needing to be away from it all and needing to be with him.