I am no Doctor, so please excuse my lack of knowledge
Chapter One: Dead
Chris POV
I enter the hallway and just switched to a different gun when I feel a bullet enter right through my collar bone on the right side. I crumble from the shock and fall to the ground. I can feel my shirt becoming soaked with blood and despite Street's efforts I can not get up.
"Street?" I say, I can't hear his response due the ringing in my ears "go on without me. They might think I'm dead" Street is talking again and I can barley make out the words
"No way, if they check for a pulse, you're a goner" Street says in an urgent whisper
"Street, I'd rather get one outta here than none. GO" I answer and he leaves after promising he'll be back. I'm left in an hallway with a pool of blood forming.
Chapter 2: Dark
Chris POV
I'm NOT fluent in Spanish so sorry in advance for my choppy translation
I see Diablo and his group of six enter the hallway again. I must've hit one of them because two are limping including Diablo. They walk towards me and I close my eyes, I hear their voices in a hush whisper. Then all of a sudden I can feel them dragging me into a random apartment and closing the door firmly behind them.
"Está aqui" Diablo says (her here) and with that I thought they would leave, but then I feel a knife being driven into my abdomen. I can feel the knife being removed and a group leaving.
I finally open my eyes and the first thing I see is blood coming from my shoulder and now my stomach. I move my left hand and push hard on the wound to try and staunch the blood flow. It's working slightly but not enough. I begin to get dizzy and I have to force myself to stay focused. I hear foot steps and by the sounds of it, I'm pretty sure it's Hondo. I want to scream for him, let him know I'm here; but I can't. I start to cry when I hear the footsteps leaving. In their place I hear a roar of gunshots, I hope that Street is ok, I know he will tell them and then they'll come looking for me. I hear something and I fight to see what it is, but my vision is slowly closing in on me, and before I know it the world is dark.
Chapter 3: Street
Hondo POV
"We gotta hurry" I command. I lead with Deacon at my 3, we both hold shields. Tan and Luca are outside doing a circling around the building. We near the end of the hallway when we see four suspects trying to open one door. They turn but not before they get knocked out with our bean bag guns.
"Street and Chris?! It's Hondo, come on out" I shout and the door slowly opens and Street comes out, but no Chris. "What happened?!"
"We were fired upon and Chris was shot somewhere in her shoulder" Street says "I tried to get her up but she was losing blood and she couldn't move. She said to leave her and she'll pretend she's dead! I shouldn't have left her, I know that, but she wanted to make sure I got out alive to tell you!" Street was pretty upset and I knew this wasn't the time to lecture him on staying together.
"It's ok Street, where is she? We will go get her and bring her to a hospital" I answer, Street looks at me weird and answers
"You mean you didn't see her?! She was just down the hallway you came from!" Now I'm worried, we walk down the hallway and arrest the suspects, Street counts the suspects "you only got 4?" I nod "you are missing two, we both counted 6. Diablo is missing" Crap.
Chapter 3: Three Trails
Deacon POV
This is just great, we have a missing and injured officer. I mean, I know we are going to find her, but in what state? I go with Street while Hondo goes to look in another part of the building. Street and I begin walking down the hallway when I see three trails of blood leading to an apartment.
"You said Chris was bleeding right? I ask and Street nods. I can tell he feels really awful about what happened, like we all would, Chris is like our sister. "Hey don't worry, I'm sure she's holding her own" I say placing a hand on Street's shoulder. As a response, Street just nods numbly and even I know that was a lame answer. If I was in his shoes I would feel worse not better. We follow the trail to a door and I call Hondo over.
"Deac, you think she's in here?" Hondo asks and we put the sneak camera in there and I can't see anyone, only those three blood trails.
"I don't know for sure, but the trail continues in there" I answer, Hondo nods and we get into formation. And I kick the door open
Chapter 4: Deadlock
The three guys enter and immediately clears the whole apartment except the bedroom with the bathroom connected to it.
"Give me two!" Hondo shouts and Street taps him and they go in. Chris is no where in sight but there is one suspect who Street jumps on before the suspect can fire his gun.
"Where the hell is she!" He shouts as he cuffs him. Hondo stares at Street in shock, that anger is something he hasn't seen before in Street. The suspect mumbles something in Spanish before nodding his head to the bathroom.
"Guys get ready to breach into the bathroom" Hondo commands and the guys arrange themselves. The door swings open and there's Chris, wake and alert being held by Diablo with a gun to her head. Chris' shirt down are covered in blood and her face is slowly getting pale.
"Let her go and we can talk about a reduced sentence, if not, then you got no leverage in court" Hondo says and Diablo says
"No, quiero La Niña" and Chris mumbles "he said 'no, I need the girl'" the team backs up, unsure what to do
"Luca? Do you have a shot? Top floor second room window" Deacon asks. Outside Luca and Tan set up at the window ready for a snipe shot but they have no exact shot with a gridded surface on top of the window. They couldn't take the shot without a good chance of hitting someone else.
"Not 100%" Tan radios back. The team raised their guns in case the worse occurred, they were in a deadlock
Chapter 5: I Did It
Chris POV
I can feel my legs giving out and I know that I'm not gonna make it if this deadlock continues.
"Take the shot" I say and I only get a 'no way' stare from everyone. I realize I need a new plan, without warning I slam my head into Diablo's head and I hear gunshots fire above me. Then I feel another bullet enter at my head, the last thing I see is Hondo's gun aimed at me, and I black out.
Hondo POV
I see Chris duck down and we each take one shot at Diablo as he fires, but then I see my bullet aimed at Diablo's leg hit Chris on the side of the head, on the left side just under her helmet. She looks at me right before she falls face down on the floor as her blood begins to pool.
"CHRIS!" I shout and I run over to her and roll her onto her back "Are you ok? Wake up!" I shout, Deacon declares that Diablo is dead and calls in another team while we circle her and hold her hands "Luca get Black Betty ready, NOW!" I can't believe it, I did it, I shot Chris Alonso. Just then Chris' eyes open slightly, she makes a weak smile before closing her eyes again
"CHRIS?" Street says as he shakes her
"Chris!" Deacon shouts
"I'm ok" she mumbles but her eyes are still not opening and the blood is pooling. I pick her up and run, I run into Black Betty and place her gently onto the bench and we speed off to the hospital. Everyone stares at her and eventually Chris' eyes open again.
"Hondo?" She whispers so quietly that only I can hear it
"Yes Chris?" I answer in the same whisper as I stroke her hair that is starting to become blood stained.
"I know it was you" she says and her eyes look at me
"I'm sorry" is all I say. Chris tries to smiles but ends up with a grimace expression
"I know, I won't say anything if you don't, it's up to you" she answers before her eyes close again. Everyone holds her hands and all we can do is watch the pool of blood grow. At the hospital, Chris is brought to surgery and the team waits in the hallway. Commander Hicks and Lieutenant Lynch join the us as we the wait for news.
About 2 hours later a doctor comes out with a smile.
"Christina Alonso's family?"when the group stands up the doctor says "she will make it with no long term effects, I expect her to make a full recovery. She has a broken collar bone giving her no use of her right arm for awhile, the internal bleeding allowed her body to fill up with blood but nothing too serious, and the major loss of blood will leave her sore and with major headaches, nothing to worry about. However, her head is another matter that needs to be taken seriously, but we won't know more until tomorrow" Everyone breathes a sigh of relief, but my expression hasn't changed. I still can't believe that I shot one of my teammates, and that Chris is willing to cover for me.
Chapter 6: Lynch
The team comes into Chris' room and we take a good look at her, she has an IV on her left arm, her right arm is in a sling, and her head has a huge bandage that is already stained with blood. The team listens to the heart monitor and that constant beeping sound helps them relax.
"I might as well ask now" Commander Hicks starts "I knew that she got one bullet in her shoulder, but how about that knife and the other bullet?" Hondo's heart sinks, he knows this where he should come clean, but he keeps his mouth shut
"I don't know about the knife, but I think that other bullet came Diablo. I thought I saw his gun fire, no real way of knowing" Deacon says
"We will need to ask Chris as soon as she is awake" Lieutenant Lynch says, and everyone else gives her a cold stare "what?"
"You really want to question an officer? Right after she was shot and stabbed?" Hicks asks in disbelief
"The memory is fresher the sooner we ask" Lynch says, Chris' eyes slowly open, but no one is looking at her.
"I don't care Lieutenant, you will wait until Chris' is able and willing to be interviewed" Hicks says
"I'll do it, once I see my team" Chris says and everyone turns
"Sorry not happening" Lynch says, "protocol states that you can't talk to anyone until you are interviewed as that could alter your memory"
"Ok then" Chris answers before closing her eyes again while we all look at her
Chapter 7: Not all
"What do you remember after Officer Street left you?" An investigator, named John, asks
"First, Street didn't leave me on purpose. He wanted to stay and defend me, I said no and told him to leave without me." Chris answers. She is sitting up on the bed and is clearly not feeling well as her bandage on her head has been changed twice and is still bleeding. But she's doing this to clear everyone's name, her team had nothing to do with her injuries, well at least not all of them.
"Is there a reason why you felt you needed to add that?" John asks with an eyebrow raised, Chris hated interviews because these investigators try to make you say stuff that isn't true so they can get a nice fat paycheck.
"Yes, I want you to know how it happened so you can't go turn around and blame anyone, got it?" Chris says her eyes firm "after Street left for cover I heard the group of 6 enter the hallway, I know that they were Diablo's crew based on them speaking Spanish. They dragged me into that apartment and I could tell that 2 were limping, based on the sounds and what I did see"
"Ok, then what happened?" John asks as he writes something down
"I thought they would leave after, but instead they stabbed me and left me in that bathroom probably. I'm not sure because I blacked out" Chris says true fully. John gives a sad smile, probably because he knows that Chris is telling the truth and he has no dirt to go on.
"Chris? What happened when you woke up?" He asks and Chris answers
"I woke up with a gun to my head and my team entered the bathroom. Hondo tried to negotiate but Diablo obviously didn't comply. I knew my time was running out because I was loosing feeling in my legs most likely due to the loss of blood. Anyway, I told them to take the shot and-"
"And they shot at the suspect leaving you with that last bullet wound!" John finished with a victory smile
"No! They refused. So I head butted the suspect' head and dropped to the ground giving them a clear shot. I felt a bullet go through my head and..." Chris says, suddenly Chris' head begins to hurt, she isn't sure if she should lie or tell the truth. Either way could end terribly for both her and Hondo. Her head pain increase rapidly and her heart rate increases at the same pace.
"And?" John says. And just like that Chris' body starts to shake violently. John watches as Chris' oxygen and heart rate plummet "I need a doctor!" John shouts
Chapter 8: Waiting
Hondo POV
I'm back in the waiting room with everyone else. Hicks and Lynch joins us again after hearing that Chris was rushed into surgery again. After about half an hour a nurse comes out.
"Hi, Christina Alonso's family?" We stand and she takes us to a smaller waiting room "Her brain is fine but she lost a lot of blood due to internal bleeding. That combined with being questioned, the situation that landed her in the hospital, and just the overall effect of all her other injuries led to her brain not getting enough oxygen, making her crash. The surgery is on going and her chances of living through this are very high. But please when she comes too, don't question her anymore. She needs to heal and she can't do that if she feels distracted" with that she leaves to go back to the surgery and Hicks yells as Lynch.
"You heard her. The fact you had to have her be question ASAP led to her relapsing right in front of the investigator. She's done, no more questions and she will be cleared as a witness. Got it?!"
Lynch response "she chose to be questioned and besides this wouldn't have happened if she felt pressured and maybe was lying"
"Who said she was lying?" Hicks says angrily "this is done. LEAVE!" And with that Lynch leaves and Hicks leaves angrily saying he needs to get some fresh air. Now I feel even worse, Chris probably wanted to see us so she could ask what I plan to do. She was worried and didn't know what to say, and then she relapsed. I gotta make this right, but how?
Chapter 9: Take it Slow
Deacon POV
Chris was in her own room an hour ago and we, minus Hicks and Lynch, have sat with her since then. She has a bandage around her head and has a similar set as before. But she has breathing tube in her mouth to provide more oxygen. Slowly Chris gains consciousness and she begins to freak out at her new set up
"Shhh, Chris it's ok" I say patting her head and the others hold her left hand. "You just had another surgery nothing major. I'm not sure what they did but you had a seizure or something" Chris is still panicking and I don't know what to say. I turn for some support when I catch Hondo's expression, and I can tell something is off. Even though I agree with Hicks in that Lynch shouldn't have pushed for the questioning so fast, I still think that Chris either lied about something or was going to. I need to talk to Hondo because I know he knows it too.
"Chris? Take it slow, it's going to be ok. You will back in the field in no time and it's all going to be ok" I say and I give her a small kiss on her forehead. She looks at me and closes her eyes, the sleeping drugs taking over. Then I look at Hondo and our eyes meet, I nod and we both go out into the hallway for some privacy.
"What happened back there? I can tell you feel guilty" I say and Hondo looks at me for a moment before sighing.
"I shot her Deac, I aimed for his leg but it went into her head instead. I should've came clean but she told me not to, that she wouldn't say anything if I didn't. I think she relapsed because of that, but I don't know, I wasn't there" he says and it's clear that he's right. Chris either already lied or was getting to part where she felt that she had to.
"Hondo, you don't know for sure, there were too many bullets flying to know for sure" I say
"I saw it go into her and the way she looked at me before she blacked-out tells me she knows" he says back before sitting down on the bench in the hallway. I don't know what to say, this is tricky but I know that Hondo feels guilty and I know he's a good guy, but Hicks needs to know.
"Hondo you should tell Hicks if you are sure. It wasn't your call that hit her and she chose to make the first move. Does that mean I think you should've aimed for his leg that ended up hitting her, no. But I know that this was a mistake and it's better Hicks finds out from you and not the investigators. " I answer and he just nods
Chapter 10: Sir
Hondo POV
Chris is still in the hospital and while everyone else is with her, I'm in Hicks' office.
"Sir? I think it's time I come clean" I say. Hicks looks at me weird
"If it is something in your off time, I don't need to know of it" Hicks says, I can tell he really doesn't want anymore trouble. With an officer being shot, that's already enough news for the LAPD.
"It's not that sir. I am almost positive that I was the one who shot Chris in the head" I say. I stand tall and calm, I wear a clean uniform and in its pocket is my resignation in case I need it
"Sorry Sargent, I'm going to need more than that" Hicks says. So I go and tell him from when we busted into the apartment and how I aimed for his leg and hit Chris instead. I feel guilty but that doesn't excuse my mistake, Deacon's right.
"Well, even if you saw it, there's no definitive proof, so you can't be fired." Hicks says "if it's true, Chris probably won't press charges since she was willing to lie for you. Therefore you won't be fired or demoted. If anything you might be put temporarily on desk duty and Deacon would take your place in the meantime" I look at him in shock, Hicks sees my expression and gives a kind smile "Hondo, even if it was you, you came clean which leads to a more lenient punishment. If you hadn't and it was you then you would be fired. Now go be with Chris, I need to run this up the chain, you filled in what Chris didn't say so she doesn't need to be questioned anymore" I say thank you and leave to go straight to the hospital. Right when Chris is awake, I'll tell her so she won't be worried.
Chapter 11: Relief
Chris POV
I wake up in the hospital and my head hurts like hell. I try to raise my right arm but I can't, when I look down I see it in a sling. I turn to see an IV in the other. Then I look over and my hold team is there, I can see the worry in their eyes as they talk amongst themselves. I try to say something but end up coughing, that's when I remember I have a breathing tube. The team turns to me and relief washes over them
"Hey Chris" Luca says as he grabs my arm
"It's ok Chris, you don't need to be questioned anymore" Deacon says "Hondo filled in the missing gaps" Hondo? I can't let him be fired for my mistake of making the first move. I'll have to talk to him and make sure the story is set in stone. But right now, I'm relieved that I don't need to testify against him or for him. The guys grabs a clipboard with paper and pencil and even though I'm not left handed I manage to write what I want to say.
What happened? I write
"While you were being interviewed by that investigator, your whole body had a seizure or something. Then you tanked and into surgery you went" Streets says
What's the prognosis?
"The doctors says you will be ok. You just need to focus on you and recovery, nothing else" Deacons says
Why tube in my mouth?
"You tanked because your brain wasn't receiving enough oxygen. It will be removed in an hour" Luca answers and that makes me smile.
Did you get them? There were six
"Yes. Arrested 5 and shot Diablo" Hondo says as he enters the room and I can tell he's proud of it too. Hondo then looks at me, leans in and whispers "it's ok Chris, I told Hicks about the shot, we are good" that makes my whole body just become washed with relief.
Epilogue
Chris POV
Hondo has been on desk duty for about a month and he just joined us on the field. It turns out it was Hondo's bullet that hit me but I would never press charges and I vouched for him all the way. As a result, Hicks just told Hondo to go on desk duty for a while and that would sufficient for the press, public, and the team as he says "guilt is sometimes the best punishment".
Lynch was a bit upset by that and I could tell she wanted a bigger punishment, but it wasn't her call; thankfully. Other than that, everything is back to normal now, I've been in the field for about a week now after passing the PFQ with flying colors. I think the guys are still worried about me with everything that's happened and not to mention the pills I still need to take. But in the end I'd say everything turned out great, another great year at SWAT.