Bernice was sitting with the children in Nick's hospital room, starting to get a little hungry. Jen should be back with the curry soon. But there had been something in her face that told Bernice that there was more than met the eye.
But before she could give that too much thought, her mobile rang. The Caller ID let her know it was Rhys, so she merely shifted Cody in her lap and answered it. "Hello, love," she greeted pleasantly. "Alright?"
Rhys was in no mood for pleasantries, it seemed. "We might have a problem."
That was enough to launch Bernice out of family mode and into police mode. She gave Cody a little push and pointed to Nick, indicating that the boy should go sit with his father. She stood up and went to the corner of the room, facing away from the Buchanans. "What sort of problem?" she asked in a low tone.
"I just got a text from Karin. Jen took her and Oliver to follow up on the getaway car."
"She WHAT!?" Bernice whirled around and looked at Nick. He caught her gaze and immediately knew something was wrong.
"Where is she?" he demanded, immediately knowing this had to be about Jen.
Bernice waved him off. "Where are they?" she asked Rhys.
Nick stared in horror at Bernice. Every fiber of his body begged for information as his mind spun the worst things imaginable in his head. Something had been off about Jen, something she wasn't telling him, and instead of pressing her for information, he'd let it go. He'd learned, over the years, that he couldn't do that. Jen was better than she used to be about telling him things, but sharing like that wasn't always in her nature. And now she was off doing something that had Bernice looking more worried than he'd seen her in some time. Jen was in trouble, and Nick felt panic rise in his throat at the very thought of it.
"Daddy, what's going on?" Ella asked quietly.
He longed to be able to pull her into his arms and hold her tight and tell her everything would be alright. After all, he was her dad, and that was his job. But Nick was only a day out of surgery after being shot three times, and he could barely move. "I don't know, bug," he replied softly. And that was the truth. He did not know what was going on.
Both the children watched Auntie Bernice with questions on their little faces. Nick was usually better about shielding them from things like this, but there was nothing for it now. All they could do was sit there at the mercy of Commander Waverly.
At last, Bernice hung up the phone and turned back to them. She sighed in disappointment. "Jennifer has found the shooter's getaway car. God knows how, but it looks like she did. And she's brought Detectives Smith and Taylor with her to investigate."
On the one hand, this was good news. Jen had not gone barreling ahead alone. She'd been smart enough to bring backup. But on the other hand, that was much worse. It meant she'd thought this through. Jen had thought about the dangers involved in a rogue investigation and she'd gotten two of Nick's detectives to go with her rather than reporting to Jarvis and the rest of the team to let them handle it. Nick wanted to throw something against the wall. This was just like her! So stubborn when it came to the cases that grabbed her attention. When she let herself get too involved, she was apt to be blindly reckless in her pursuit of a suspect or an answer or whatever else.
"Give me your phone," Nick insisted.
Perhaps against her better instincts, Bernice did so.
Nick found Jennifer's number quickly and dialed it. It rang twice and was sent to voicemail. "God dammit, Jen!" he cursed.
He called back again. And this time he got a response. "Curry's going to be a little longer, Bernice," Jen said. The distant sound indicated she was on speakerphone.
"Bugger the curry, Jen, get back here right bloody now!" Nick shouted.
"Nick!?"
"Do you hear me?!" He nearly swore more at her, but Cody and Ella were staring at him with terrified looks on their faces.
There was a slight pause on the line. "Why are you calling?" she asked warily.
Oh he could have strangled her, as if she didn't know why he was calling! "Karin told Rhys what you're up to. Rhys called Bernice. And she's sitting right here next to me. With our children. You remember our children, don't you? The reason neither of us goes out in the field anymore? The reason we don't get involved with situations that would need a gun?"
"Well I've got a gun. And backup. And once we get to where we're going, I'm going to have Oliver call Jarvis, alright? I just…Nick, I have to see this through," she told him.
"Why, Jennifer?" he pleaded. "Why does it have to be you?"
"Because this man nearly stole my family from me, and I want to be the one to get him. Colin Rankin is going to spend every day of the rest of his life in prison if I've got anything to do about it."
"Colin Rankin? Who's Colin Rankin?"
"Trucker running chop-chop who was caught when Duncan wore a wire and a vest and posed as a crooked cop," she reminded him.
Nick's mind flashed to the shooting at the wedding and put the pieces together. That was the man who shot him and Duncan and Father Lewisham. And that was the man Jen was going to try to find. "You found him?"
"Might have."
He let out a slow breath, willing himself to overcome the rather violent urge to vomit at the thought of his wife in danger like this. But as much as he hated it, Nick understood it. He and Jen shared that sensibility when it came to catching a suspect. It was what had bonded them over their years of working together. They both saw things the same way. Both would stop at nothing to solve a case. But would never rest till they could bring justice for the people they swore to protect and serve. And all of that was infinitely heightened when it came to their loved ones. "Please be careful," he begged.
"Of course I will," she answered softly. "I nearly lost you, Nick. A few times now. And I won't let you lose me. I know we've had close calls in the past, but this won't be one of those. You and I have got a lot more to do together."
"Yeah, we do," he agreed. His heart was pounding and his stomach roiled as the conversation took this turn. The sense of impending doom was almost overwhelming.
"Kiss the babies for me. I've gotta go," she said.
"I love you," Nick told her desperately, as though that reminder might somehow make a difference. But then, of course, Jen knew he loved her. Loved her more than anything. In the past, he'd been able to protect her and stand side by side with her in dangerous situations. He couldn't be with her now, couldn't save the day. He only hoped that his love was enough to shield her from harm now.
"Love you, too," she replied firmly.
And then the call ended.