Chapter 37- The Tipping Point

Somewhere deep inside, behind the wall of terror, Grace was ecstatic that the truck had overturned so easily.

They had been moving at 65 miles an hour. The tires were tall. The truck was ten feet across. And seven women ran and threw their weight against the sides, in sync and with more desperation with each run. The math told her that they equaled almost 900 lbs. of force. It should work.

It did work.

It had taken only five charges before they felt the back tires begin to fishtail. They heard screams from the cab to knock it off, sit the fuck down. It only made them throw themselves harder against the walls.

"Harder!" Grace screamed over the faint voices of the men in front. "It's working!"

She turned on her heel, whirling in the darkness and accelerating as much as she could in the cramped space before throwing her shoulder into the wall. She grunted in pain as she flipped and charged again. She could feel the others on each side of her. They kept as evenly spread as possible in the blackness. Each woman moaned and gasped as the impact hurt their arms and shoulders. Fuck it. Worse was waiting for them wherever they stopped. At least this pain was their choice. Their bid for freedom. They moved as one force as they turned again and rushed the opposite side.

Then, almost in slow motion, their centers of gravity shifted. The floor went from flat, to angled, to no longer the floor at all. It flew up to meet them as it became a new wall. As the truck tipped at a tremendous speed, the women's happiness could only be voiced with terror. They screamed as they were thrown violently against sides. A horrible metallic screech filled the air as the truck slid along the asphalt. It felt like forever, but almost immediately the truck collided with something hard, the impact crumpling the women into a heap. The truck made one more shriek as it battered into a metal divide. Then silence.

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Lisbon charged through the last two miles of backed-up traffic like a maniac. With an accident ahead of them, cars were bumper to bumper with barely two feet between them on all sides. Somehow, Lisbon managed to squeeze an SUV through with no trouble. Drivers parted a way through. She took it, honking and with sirens blazing the entire way.

No one spoke.

Cherry moved her hand from Rigsby's fingers to his upper arm and squeezed. She needed reassurance, but kept enough of her sanity to remember his broken bones. Rigsby didn't notice. His eyes were glued to the windshield, his entire body rigid and coiled like a spring, ready to explode out of the backseat and into the road the minute Lisbon slowed down. Even Jane felt his body reacting in fear. Adrenaline coursed through his veins. His legs itched to run. His hand was pressed against the handle, ready to jump right along with Rigsby, once they had something to jump towards.

"Goddammit!" Lisbon swore loudly and laid into the horn as traffic became too thick to part. The mass of cars in front of them inched to the left and right, trying to move, but they were stuck in a river of unyielding metal. The SUV ground to a halt.

"We're too close now," she said. "We can't get through."

"Like hell," Cherry's words were barely out of her mouth before she opened her door and leapt from the car, running between the chains of unmoving vehicles. Rigsby was right behind her, shoving his door open and taking off on the opposite side, running full speed after Cherry.

Jane and Lisbon glanced at each other before yanking the handles and joining their people. As Lisbon took off down the same path as Cherry, Jane climbed up onto the roof of their car and scanned the highway before him. The higher vantage showed his three people flying cleanly through the throngs. Cherry had a considerable lead. Her strong legs arced over the pavement, her arms bent and scissoring quickly at her sides. Rigsby was stronger, but his heavier frame kept him from outstripping the dancer. He was a good twenty feet behind, but keeping a mean pace as he ran flat out. Lisbon alone kept a non-frantic speed, running but not sprinting. A family member and an agent in love were in front of her. There was no need to race them to Grace. They'd know what to do when they got there. Jane looked passed them all to the long, snaking road ahead.

There.

About a quarter of a mile ahead. He squinted. A white truck lay on its side, its tires sticking out, like a turtle that had fallen and couldn't right itself. In the early morning darkness, he scanned as best he could for smoke. He saw nothing. Thank Christ.

Cherry was already halfway there. Jane turned to search the highway behind him. No other sirens yet. No ambulances. No police. It was just them. Jane jumped off the car and jogged to the trunk, opening up the back and grabbing the First Aid kit. Clutching it firmly under his arm, he loped after his team.

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So close so close so close so close

"Graaaaay!" Cherry screamed as loud as her rasping lungs would allow. The truck was only 50 feet away. Her speed exploded and she nearly threw herself into the backdoor, wrenching at the locked doors as they rested on their sides.

"GRAY, ANSWER ME!" She broke her nails off as she clawed against the handles like an animal. She could hear faint moaning from inside. She sobbed in fury as she ran to the front cab. Without thinking, she climbed up the truck's exposed underbelly, using the tires and axle, before yanking the passenger door open. She looked down into the cab. Two men were crushed together against the driver's side door. The driver she didn't recognize. The other man, the one closest to her and lying unconscious on the driver, was Mark.

"Fuck you," she uttered as she leapt down on top of him. The soft heel of her running shoe connected with his jaw. Even passed out, he moaned in pain. Cherry tried not to smirk with enraged triumph as she found her footing. She leaned down in the tight space and began ripping at Mark's pockets.

"Key, you bastard. Where's the key?"

He moaned in pain again and was rewarded with a knee slammed into his nose. Cartilage crunched. He convulsed in agony as she continued to search his clothes.

"Cherry!" She looked up at the passenger door and found Rigsby looking down at her with hope and panic.

"I can't open the back!" she said as she flayed open his jacket and checked for inner pockets. "We need the keys!"

"Hold on." He jumped down and hurried around to the front. Cherry saw him standing in front of the heavily cracked windshield. "Cover your eyes!"

Cherry barely had a chance to comply before Rigsby reared back and kicked hard into the glass. It splintered into a classic spider web pattern, tenting heavily under the impact. He kicked one more time before the compromised frame gave out and popped free. Rigsby ripped it away and dove over the steering wheel. He grabbed the driver and, with strength that shocked Cherry, dragged the big man out like he was a rag doll. He laid him out flat before reaching in grabbing Mark.

"Check the ignition, Cher," he ordered as he yanked Mark out onto the pavement next to his friend, taking his one pair of cuffs and slapping one bracelet on each man.

Cherry squatted on the driver door and reached for the ignition, pulling the keys out and tossing them to Rigsby. As she crawled gingerly out of the cab, Rigsby was already sprinting to the back and flipping through the keys. The noise behind the door was getting louder. Stronger. The women were standing up, murmuring softly, tapping the walls hesitantly.

"We're with the police! Just hold on, we're coming!" Rigsby began jamming random keys into the lock, one after the other.

"Wayne?" Soft. Uncertain. Behind the door in front of him.

He nearly fainted with relief. "Grace! Grace, baby, hold on! I'm here!" He flipped the fifth key between his fingers, jammed it in the lock and turned. It fit. It opened. The latch gave under his hands and the door fell to the ground.

It was too low for him to see. He fell to his knees and peered in.

Two legs in a paper suit, wobbling and shaking, stood on the other side. "Gray," Rigsby murmured, reaching out and tugging roughly at the paper.

She collapsed on her knees in front of him. Her hair was disheveled. Blood trickled from her forehead. Her hands were dirty and shaking with cold. With fright. Her eyes held nothing but disbelief and tears. He reached out and cupped her cheek. He didn't blink. He didn't dare. Staring at her was the only way to make sure she didn't disappear. His breath came out in ragged, shallow puffs. "Say something."

Grace uttered a soft, strangled cry before launching herself out of the truck and into her love's arms. Rigsby fell back into a sitting position as he clamped his arms around her shivering body and smothered her face with desperate kisses. Grace whimpered and cried brokenly as she locked her arms around his neck and returned his kisses with the same fervor. She pressed her mouth painfully to his, cutting her lip on his teeth. She almost laughed with insane joy at the feeling. Her cold fingers fanned into his hair and clutched him frantically. She couldn't get close enough. Neither could he. His arms were barely letting her breathe. His hands were gripping her so tightly that he was ripping long tears into the flimsy suit. His broken fingers felt nothing but frenzied pleasure as they passed over her back and hair again and again, confirming she was real and alive and unhurt.

They didn't notice the other women slowly emerging from the truck. They didn't hear the faint echo of sirens slowly creeping towards their position. They didn't see Cherry standing nearby, rubbing her arms and sniffing insanely relieved tears. They didn't see Lisbon standing beside Cherry, watching with infinite compassion and quiet tears of her own. They sure as hell didn't notice Jane as he jogged up and sidestepped them to assist the other women out and away from the truck, offering them words of comfort and sitting them down to clean their wounds.

They saw nothing but each other.

Rigsby cupped her face, whispering between a hundred kisses. "You okay?...talk to me…never…never again…never leave me again…never…babyloveyou…don't ever scare me like that…god, Grace…love you…say something…"

Grace choked on a happy laugh and nodded quickly in his hands. "Never, I promise…won't leave you…love you too…Wayne…love you."

She finally shook herself a little and cupped her hands over his on her cheeks. "Did we get them?"

Rigsby gave her a tear-smudged smile and nodded. "You did so good, baby. We got'em. Jane hypnotized Royko. We were coming to find you," he said.

She kissed his hands under hers. "Us," she murmured softly.

Rigsby nodded, looking over her shoulder to the other girls as Jane gently wiped their cuts and scrapes with alcohol. "Yes, all of you."

Grace gave a short laugh. "No," she clarified. She took his hand from her face and guided it to her belly, pressing his palm flat against it. "You came for us."

Rigby's eyes widened, moving between confusion, surprise, shock and amazement inside of two seconds. His hand pressed harder against her, silently asking if she meant what he thought she meant.

"A baby?" he whispered. His eyes were enormous. Disbelieving. "We're having a baby?"

Happy, still-frightened, bright tears fell from her eyes as she dipped her head again. "Yeah."

Rigsby looked like he couldn't choose between happiness from the news or horror from what might have happened. What still might happen. Grace had been hit on the head with a bottle and involved in a nasty crash. His embrace instantly became softer, more encompassing. His hand massaged protectively over her stomach. They needed an ambulance. Now. He pulled her down to sit more completely in his lap, his hands pressing softly against her, warming her up.

He tucked her head into his throat, dipping his chin to kiss her temple. "I almost lost you," he choked against her hair. "My baby. And you're pregnant. Oh God, Grace." His words strangled as he sucked in a breath and shuddered hard against her. "I love you so much. A baby. I can't believe it. Just…I mean…" He couldn't finish. Too many questions plagued him. Too many questions choked him. Still, this was Rigsby. King of the inner monologue.

"It's wonderful. You're having my baby. You're having our baby. She's going to look just like you, I know it. She'll be beautiful and strong and brave just like her mother. Jesus, it's…this is unbelievable. Kids! Gray, we're going to have kids!"

She smiled and burrowed into him as he babbled joyfully, stroking her softly all the while. She suddenly caught sight of one of his hands as it roamed over her suit and caught it gently, raising it to her eyes. It was swollen and bloodied, the skin red from its earlier beating.

"Your fingers. They're broken. Jesus, baby, did they do this to you at the club?" Her voice rose in fear at the idea that someone had hurt him so badly during the raid. Rigsby cleared his throat sheepishly.

"No. It was after. I…uh…kinda did it to…myself."

Grace's eyes raised from his hand to his face. In the distance, the sirens were getting closer. She arched her brow.

"You broke your own hand? How?"

He shook his head, taking his hand out of hers and continuing his massage therapy on her. "I'll tell you later. Just…just sit with me. Talk to me. I need to hear your voice."

She gave him a half smile before letting him have his way. They continue to talk in hushed, relieved voices as the people around them stood back to give them privacy.

Still sniffling, Cherry pulled out her phone and called Anna Angel to give her the news. Had it been any other day, Cherry would have been amused by the lack of purring seduction in Anna's voice. She'd never heard it without.

"Oh, thank fuck. Is she okay? What happened? Are they taking her to the hospital? Which one? I can be there in five."

Cherry sniffed and laughed. "No, she's fine. Just cuts and bruises. I need you to stay with Cho and the girls and call Juarez to let him know. I promised him. We can tell the rest of the troupe later. They don't even know what happened, so best not to freak them out."

Anna sighed shakily. "Juarez. You got it. Anything else?"

"Tell Cho. And Anna? Thank you."

"Shut up, Cher. Thank yous are for strangers and Southerners. Love you." She hung up before Cherry could reply.

The ambulances finally inched onto the scene. Grace insisted the other women be given priority. Rigsby insisted harder that she go in the first one. The EMTs were leaning more towards Grace's opinion until Rigsby dropped the word 'pregnant' on them. Suddenly she was hoisted onto a gurney and strapped into the truck. She pointed squarely at Rigsby as they loaded her in. "He's coming," she announced. "He's the father. And he was an idiot and smashed up his hands, so he's going my way anyway."

The EMT dutifully made room for him to sit. "Tattletale," Rigsby muttered as he settled in next to her.

"Meathead," she muttered back.

"You guys sound like an old married couple already," Cherry snorted as she jumped into the back and leaned across the small space to hug her sister gently. She smiled and kissed Grace's forehead before pressing it with her own.

"Not even gonna say 'hi' to your sister after getting kidnapped? Jeez, Gray. I know he's cute, but damn, we're supposed to be family." Cherry bumped her forehead playfully while jerking her thumb at Rigsby.

Grace snickered softly and cuffed Cherry's neck. "Gimme a break. I'm not having your kid."

Cherry beamed wide and happy. "Thank God. It's bad enough I had yours. Go on, get out of here. We'll come see you as soon as we can untangle the car. Being the pain in the ass that you are, you've knocked out the highway for a good three hours. Brat."

They scoffed, just being sisters. Each other's best friend. Each other's biggest annoyance. Cherry lifted from Grace and leaned over to Rigsby, giving him a kiss on his cheek. "See you soon. Bro." She winked and hopped out of the back. The doors slammed shut and it began its slow progress into traffic, lights and sirens running.

The other ambulances were now on the scene and the last of the girls were being loaded up. Cherry spotted Lisbon, her conversation divided between her cell phone and an EMT. She scanned the crowd and found Jane, standing quietly off to the side, his hands in his pockets. The predawn light was slowly creeping in. Grey, fuzzy outlines were starting to pop out from the horizon. She hated that she noticed that it fell on his hair, making it look soft and pretty. The man himself had a soft, pretty expression to match. She berated her own mushiness and walked nonchalantly to him to stand at his side.

He didn't turn when he spoke. "Helluva night, wasn't it?"

She stuck out her bottom lip and shrugged. "I've seen more boring, that's for sure."

"You know, I heard one of the EMTs saying that Mark's nose was broken. Any thoughts?"

She shrugged again in innocence. "He took quite a spill on the road here. Makes sense."

He turned ever-so-slightly. "Ah, I see. And the shoe print on his jaw?"

He got her. He loved when he did that. Mischief sparkled in her eyes, then disappeared. "Whiplash."

Jane chuckled heartily and drew Cherry to him, cupping her jaw and forcing her to look at him. "You're evil." His eyes danced with amusement.

Unlike the last time, Cherry gave her response knowingly. "That's why you love me."

Jane's amusement didn't falter, his gaze didn't drop. Her statement hung. Their eyes held. Finally, he lowered his head and kissed her. He opened his mouth and ran his tongue over her lips. She opened them, sighing softly and letting him sip from her before taking her own taste of him. They were tangled in each others' arms before either of them knew what happened. When they finally broke for air, Jane nipped her nose playfully.

"Do not."