Author: Nelle Donaghue
Title: At Peace
Rating: G
Teaser: The day before Bayliss goes back to work after getting shot.
Disclaimer: NBC own's 'em, I just borrow 'em.
Author's note: Not beta'd, but spellchecked twice. Archive? Yes to 11 Cents. Others? Ask first! Feedback? Yes please!
Bayliss sat down on the cool grass, feeling the cool night air float over his body. He lay back and stared up at the stars a million miles away. He heard an owl hoot in the distance over the sound of the crickets. It seemed so unusual to him to be in such silence, to be so far away from the city that you could actually see the Milky Way belt. It was so peaceful out here, no smog, no car horns or police sirens. For the first time in six years he could just be. Out here he didn't have to worry about what others thought of him. He could forget about his cases for just a while. He could not see Adena Watson's face for a few moments in time. Ever since he had gotten shot, he was taking each moment of life for what it was, a gift. He had been so close to death that he has seen the tunnel of white light above him, only to be pulled brutally back into life. In a way, he was glad that he had woke up again. But in a tiny corner of his mind, he had wondered what the end of the tunnel would have looked like. Sighing, he got up and walked over to his pack and picked up the sleeping bag laying next to it and spread it on the ground he grabbed his pillow and lay down. He looked one last time at the stars before taking off his glasses and closing his eyes. Tomorrow he would go back to the Homicide unit to stand over dead bodies. Tomorrow he would go back to his life, a little wiser and a lot more at peace with his inner demons. With a contented sigh, he turned on his side and fell asleep.