I think I'm finally figuring out what this story is going to be about and honestly I can't wait until I can write it up!
I hope you enjoy!
Warnings: Violence, Choking, Angst. Still in the process of writing so check here for new warnings as I go!
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Stretching his hands over his head Tan let out a low groan as he felt his spine pull and pop uncomfortably. It always surprised him how sore he felt after a night not being able to sleep. One would think that constantly fighting and being thrown into things would be worse, but no. It was tossing and turning that got him.
Although, maybe that had more to do with the fact that last night hadn't just been him feeling uncomfortable on a bed. There had also been sitting on hospital chairs that made him never want to sit again as well as moving around so much in bed that he eventually went into the living room so Bonnie could get some sleep herself.
Not that he actually believed she had. After everything that had happened the night before he wasn't sure at all what the woman was thinking. It was really the first time she had to deal with someone on the team being hurt badly. With the way she was moving too he doubted she had gotten any more rest than he had.
Something he felt more than a little guilty about that. When they started getting serious he had known that his work was going to affect them and he had hated it. He had sat down with her at the very beginning explaining to her that things weren't going to be easy if she wanted to be with him.
Not getting a full nights sleep. Wondering if she was going to be targeted because of him. Constantly worrying what condition he was going to come home in. Worrying if he was going to come home at all. It was a lot to handle.
Bonnie had repeated that day, and continues to repeat, that she loved him and wasn't leaving, but he couldn't help wondering if maybe she'd be better off it she did. Being with someone that worked SWAT wasn't an easy thing to do.
Even as he thought all of that though he knew that he wasn't going to break up with her. Call him selfish but having her in his life made everything he had gone through and everything that was to come a lot less scary.
She had actually come to the hospital after he had called to explain why he he might not come home that night. He had told her that he was perfectly fine and that they were all just waiting for news on Street. After he hung up he had really thought that was the end of it. Then she walked into the waiting room along with Annie and some drinks for them all.
Feeling her lean against him offering silent support as they continued to wait was something he hadn't known he was missing. Not that either of them stayed all that much longer at that hospital. Or, should he say, until he was forced to leave the hospital.
He had no idea what was going on when Annie sat next to Bonnie and started talking so low he couldn't hear them. It wasn't long after that she was pulling him to his feet practically pulling him out and forcing him to leave for the night.
At the time he had tried to fight to stay at least until they had some news. He needed to know that his friend was okay before he could leave and find any kind of peace or sleep or any real thought. He needed to know that he hadn't been too late.
He had wanted to put up more of a fight to stay, but in truth he had been so tired. Every atom in his body felt like it was trying to vibrate out of his body. The fact that Bonnie had taken charge and pointed him in a direction helped.
Now that it was the morning he found himself wishing that he had stayed. Even with the knowledge that Street was resting in his room and that they had been kicked out without seeing him he felt as if he had abandoned the younger man.
It wasn't often that anyone on the team had to spend longer than a single night in the hospital. He had never met a group of people that hated visiting hospital as much as the team. Nothing about that was shocking though. Of course they didn't like going to the hospital.
Most of it stemmed from how often they ended up needing to see a doctor. None of them got small injuries. They weren't always horrible, but they were never small. In the end, no matter what the injury they were told to 'take it easy'. Something that annoyed all of them.
That wasn't what was going on with Street though. It wasn't something that the younger man could walk away from after a single night. At least he didn't think so. Outside of what he had seen that day he wasn't exactly sure what was happening with Street at all.
Not that he had to guess too hard on what kind of damage had been done. He had seen what could happen to people that got choked like that. He knew just how easy it would have been for Baylon to kill Street if he hadn't come in. It wasn't hard to imagine at all.
If he was being, he was imagining a lot more than that. There were a lot of things running through his head at the moment pertaining to Street. Most of which he knew weren't going to be a problem.
It wasn't often that Tan found himself over-reacting or imagining things that he knew weren't going to be a problem. He was a realist. Something that helped more often than not when it came to doing his job. Being able to focus on what was happening at the moment was exactly what they all needed when they were in dangerous situations.
He couldn't help this time. His mind was racing without common sense being worked in. Under normal circumstances he could simply wait for answers about what happened. At the moment he felt as if he had to guess that things were going to work out.
It felt like there was an itch under his skin that he just couldn't get rid of no matter what he did. In the back of his mind he knew though that his worry had nothing to do with the fact that Street was hurt and in the hospital. At least it didn't fully have something to do with that.
They got hurt a lot. Every single person on the team had gotten hurt badly at one point or another. He had seen every one of them in a situation where they were bleeding from somewhere or knocked out or had a broken bone. It was nothing new.
In the end what he had seen that night hadn't been the worst injury someone on the team had gotten. It hadn't been close to being a small injury, but he was completely positive that Street would only be in the hospital for a few days before he was fine.
He couldn't say that the image of Street on the ground was helping though. The way the blood slowly worked its way down his face and into his eyes. The fact that the only thing stopping his head from rolling to the side was Baylon's hands. The way his hands fell away from Baylon's wrists. The way he stared up as if perfectly entranced.
Everything about what he had seen that night was wrong and he couldn't get it out of his head. Every time he closed his eyes it's all he saw. Over and over he saw Street laying on the floor, covered in his own blood. Dying.
He had spent most of the night tossing and turning only to jerk awake a moment later. In all, he had gotten maybe an hour of sleep in total. He knew that he wasn't even close to being able to function, but he couldn't stay home any longer. Even if he had gotten to the office almost two hours early.
Something that had been happening a lot recently. The whole case that had started all of it had been difficult to say the least. It was almost as if every little thing that happened pulled them in a different direction that they hadn't seen coming. He still wasn't sure how they connected the evidence in the end, but he was glad they did.
In the beginning of most cases it wasn't as if they had any answers to anything, but they could normally find a place to begin easily enough. All it took was a little investigating and that was what they did after all.
Baylon and Keller though… They had made the case harder than most. Everyone that was involved in the case was so spread out that connecting the crimes together had been damn near impossible. It had taken a lot longer than he liked to think about to start putting things together. Not to mention the fact everyone on the team had worked around the clock figuring out what was happening.
And still there were so many questions that they didn't have any answers to. Yes, they knew that they only had two people to catch. At least that was until last night. Now they only had one person to catch and for some reason that scared him more than it had before.
He still wasn't exactly sure exactly how they had run into Eliot Baylon. He knew that he and Street had been sent to question an ex of Keller's to try to get some information about the man, but none of them had expected much to come from it. Like everything else on the case.
They had barely started questioning the woman when everything went to shit. Tan had been mid question when Street elbowed him lightly and motioned further into the office. He had just barely caught a glimpse when the man had opened fire on the room.
After that there had been no time to think. It was clear that Baylon was not only trying to harm as many as possible but trying to cause as much chaos as well. Something that he had done in a spectacular way.
When Street had gone after Baylon Tan hadn't thought much about it. He couldn't think about it. There were people hurt and panicking. They needed him there to help them figure out what was going on. It was something that he would never forgive himself for.
A part of him was fully aware that he couldn't have known what was going to happen. That the main thing that made their team work was the fact that they all trusted each other to know what they were doing.
Street was good at doing what he did. In truth, the kid was impressive. There was also the fact that out of the little evidence they had getting close to Baylon while alone shouldn't have been dangerous. Anyway, it wasn't as if he let him be alone for long. As soon as he could he had followed.
As he ran into the building he had known that something was wrong. If things had gone as they normally do than Street and Baylon would have been talking or the younger man would have been escorting the murderer out in cuffs. None of that happened though.
Instead the closer he got the more that sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach seemed to grow. For a moment he almost could convince himself that he was in the wrong place. At least that's what he had wanted to believe. Then he had walked in.
"Morning, Tan," Deacon smiled down at him as he walked up before it slowly fell away, "I'm guessing you didn't sleep well?"
"No," he shook his head fighting through a yawn, "I really didn't."
"I didn't either. I spent most of the night texting Hondo checking up on Street."
"Yeah? Is there any new news? Do the doctors know anything?"
A sigh fell from Deacon as he dropped his bag to the floor and sat next to him. For a moment he was completely silent. A part of Tan wanted to demand that the older man just tell him what had happened. Even if it was bad he wanted to get it over with.
He was completely aware that over reacting at that. It wasn't as if Street was only his friend. All of them were on edge attempting to figure out what was going on. It wouldn't help anyone if they were at each others throats for no reason.
Anyway, he had known that Hondo wasn't going to call or text him. The older man had said as much when he and Bonnie left. He wasn't sure exactly what he had looked like when they all got to the hospital, but based off the reactions of everyone he doubted that it was good.
"They're a little worried," Deacon responded with a shake of his head, "Basically he has cracked a few of his ribs, a deep cut on the side of his face, a lot of bruising on his side, and a concussion. All of which is not counting how much damage was done to his throat. You know how dangerous it is when you get choked."
"He didn't look…" Tan tried to start only to stop as he pulled his wrappings slightly too tight, "It looked bad."
"That's what the doctors said. For the most part it's just his throat that they're worried about right now. Though the cracked ribs aren't helping his breathing."
Nodding his head Tan forced himself not to react. It wasn't nearly as bad as he had thought it would be, but it still felt like a punch in the gut. Everything reminded him that he should never have let his friend run off alone.
Feeling like he was going to scream if he didn't move Tan stood up and made his way to the punching bag. He had learned early on that one of the best things he could do when he was feeling so frustrated was to let himself deal with it head on. He couldn't hide from it.
Still, as he threw the first punch he found himself getting angrier than he had been before. All night long all he had felt as if he was going to go insane. The anger and frustration and need to move was right at the front of his mind the entire time. It was one of the worst feelings ever.
"Tan, it's not your fault that this happened," Deacon offered walking up to him and crossing his arms over his chest, "There were injured people that you had to take care of. That was your job first and foremost. You had no idea this way going to happen. We didn't know Baylon was so dangerous."
"We didn't know anything about Baylon at all," Tan grunted out quickly throwing a few more punches, "We don't know anything about Keller either. Who is still out there!"
Pushing away from the bag Tan spun around and forced himself away before he fully lost his temper. He did everything in his power to keep the darker part of him under control, but at the moment it felt too close to the surface for his comfort. He wanted nothing more than to keep calm.
Except every time he closed his eyes he saw Street' body laying on the ground looking as if he was completely ready to die. He never wanted someone he cared about to look as if they were perfectly okay dying.
"Tan," Deacon sighed staring at him.
"He looked…" he muttered shaking his head as he turned to face the older man, "You didn't see him, Deacon. He looked like he was giving up the fight."
"What? That doesn't sound like Street at all."
"When I walked into the warehouse Baylon was straddling Street and for a moment he had his hands wrapped around Baylon's wrists. It looked like he was trying to fight back, but then his hands fell to the ground and he was just staring up at Baylon. It was as if he was completely enthralled. I don't know how to explain it."
"Enthralled? Isn't that how some of the other people we arrested said? That talking to them was almost like a sirens call?"
Tan couldn't help stopping completely at that. He hadn't interviewed any other the others, but now that he was thinking about it that was how they talked about both Baylon and Keller. They had actually thought they were trying to build something akin to a cult.
"You're right," Tan sighed crossing his arms over his chest, "That does explain a few things. Street fights back. We both know that. Him laying on the ground after someone beats on him? That's not him."
"Unless someone had gotten into his head," Deacon replied softly, "You think Baylon could have done that to Street?"
"I don't know. I really don't know. I just know that he wouldn't give up a fight unless there was an outside force."
Nodding his head Deacon looked up at the ceiling before shaking his head as if to push away his thoughts. There was a little part of him that had wanted nothing more than for the man to tell him that he was over-reacting about all of it. That he just needed a little sleep.
"It does make sense with everything that we know about Baylon," Deacon interrupted his thoughts a moment later, "Okay, we don't know what went on with them, but I'm going to call Hondo and tell him to watch Street just in case."
"I hope you're right, Deacon."
"So do I. We'll figure this out though. You know we will."