TITLE: Wild Blue Eyes
AUTHOR: M. Edison
FEEDBACK: Oh yes please! Be gentle though. ;-)
CATEGORY: AU
RATING: PG-13
SPOILERS: No
SUMMARY: Jim's lover has been shot. Can he keep it together long enough to catch the gang involved?
DISCLAIMER: None of the characters or concepts of the Sentinel belong to me but Jo and Annie Do
WARNING: there are original characters in this story. They do share a homeland with me but that is where the similiarity ends.
Annie is named after a cousin and Jo...well Jo's just Jo. *snicker*
Enjoy!
Wild Blue Eyes
By M. Edison
------------
A paper wrapped round a lamppost
At Bleecker and MacDougal where Kerouac stood
The wind pushed us into a doorway
And it felt good, it felt good
Time didn't pass it scattered
I put one more on the tab
We flagged a ride at closing time
And the laughs turned to kisses in the back of the cab
And it felt good
St. Annie you blessed my bed
Your sweet love was my daily bread
You'd come to me when the moon would rise
Sweet St. Annie of the wild blue eyes
The days flew by like pages
On those rain-soaked streets where Gainsberg wrote
We made love in the mornings
Where did they go, where did they go?
You were my ragtag savior
And I was your hopeless case
We made our way through the bars and cafes
And I memorized your heavenly face
St. Annie you blessed my bed
Your sweet love was my daily bread
You'd come to me when the moon would rise
Sweet St. Annie of the wild blue eyes
Sweet, sweet Annie
Your love was all I had
And your wild blue eyes
Sweet St. Annie of the wild blue eyes.
"St. Annie of the Wild Blue Eyes." Roch Voisine, Kissing Rain"
--------
Beep . . . Beep . . . Beep
The steady beep of the heart monitor filled his ears. Aside from the soft noise
of breathing it was all the Sentinel could hear.
How? How could he have let this happen?
She looked almost dead. Barely clinging to life. So frail and fragile.
So many tubes and wires . . .
Could she, a Sentinel, feel the discomfort of all those devices even through the
thick fog of a coma?
Jim reached out to pick up and hold one limp hand, he felt a lump form
in his throat. Because of him, it was because of him she was here. He'd failed
to protect her when she needed him the most.
He smiled ruefully. If Annie heard that she'd probably shoot him.
His smile faded as he reached out to brush a lock of pale blond hair away from
her still, angelic face.
If she could hear him. If she were awake to hear him. If she ever woke up.
"C'mon Annie," Jim whispered, pressing a kiss into her palm. "Lemme see those
blue eyes . . . please."
No response.
She lay still. Eyes closed. Unmoving. The only sign of life being the barely
perceptible rise and fall of her chest as the respirator forced oxygen into her
lungs.
His heart ached just watching her.
To see her like this was killing him. Annie, a fiercely independent and strong
woman, lying quiet and vulnerable.
He still couldn't believe she'd been shot to begin with. Somehow, she was always the
one who came out unscathed. The one who teased Blair about being a magnet for
injuries. The one who played nurse to Jim when he was injured or ill. Annie was always
the one who took care of everyone else. It was inconceivable that now she was the one
who needed to be taken care of.
Two lucky shots.
With all the criminals, She had faced down in her career, that had tried to
kill her and failed, she ended up fighting for her life all because she'd wanted
a cappuccino.
And in an ultimate irony they hadn't even been on duty when it happened. That
was the thing that got Jim.
She'd wanted a French vanilla cappuccino so they'd pulled over to a coffee
shop and she and Jo had headed inside.
A cappuccino. She'd only wanted a cappuccino.
While she and Jo were in getting their coffee, Jim and Blair had gone across the
street to get some takeout for dinner.
Everything was fine until they heard the shots. Then a scream that had frozen Jim's
blood.
Jo's voice screaming Annie's name.
Apparently one of the waitresses had a boyfriend who was involved in a gang and
members of a rival gang had come in. They'd been quiet for a few minutes. The
badge on Annie's hip accompanied by the nine mm had probably had a great deal to
do with their good behaviour.
Then the waitress's boyfriend and some of his 'boys' had shown up. Within
seconds of their arrival the situation had degenerated into a full scale gun battle.
Instinctively Annie'd shoved Jo behind the counter and went for her gun. But,
before she could return fire, two bullets, meant for the waitress behind her,
thudded into her chest.
Without a sound she'd dropped to the linoleum. Right in front of Jo.
Her scream had cut into Jim like a knife. While a very energetic person, she was
not given to overreactions. A scream like that had meant Annie was in serious
trouble. Or worse.
He didn't remember what had happened immediately after he heard the scream.
Blair said he'd dropped the Chinese he'd been holding and charged across the
street like a wild man. Not looking left nor right, just running straight
through the traffic.
One thing he did remember and always would, was the sight that had greeted him
when he'd run into the shop.
Annie sprawled on the floor, her white shirt soaked with blood . . . her blood.
Jo'd been kneeling next to her, her normally cheerful features drawn and pinched with
grief but focused, knowing instinctively that Annie needed her to be a surgeon first and
a friend second.
Fury had flooded into him, watching her fight to save the life of her best
friend. All he'd wanted to do was kill the monster who'd done this. But he couldn't.
The shooters had fled when Annie'd been hit.
Someone had had the presence of mind to call 911 and Jim's Sentinel hearing had
picked up on the wail of an approaching ambulance. He'd knelt next to Annie and
begun begging her to live, to fight. Begging her not to leave him.
When the EMT's had burst in they'd taken over for Jo but the the doctor
refused to leave her friend's side until forcibly removed by Jim and Blair.
Simon had arrived moments after the EMT's followed quickly by almost every
detective in Major Crimes.
She'd remained docile, standing by Blair's side, until Annie was loaded into the
ambulance and it became clear that Jim, not her, would be accompanying Annie in
the ambulance.
Simon'd grabbed the hysterical young woman and held her firmly, preventing her
from launching herself at the ambulance.
Jo had railed at him, according to Blair, pounding on the tall man's chest with
her tiny fists with more strength then either man would have expected. Trying
with all her strength to break his grip.
He'd had held fast until the ambulance had left and Jo'd begun to sob. He'd
then passed her over to Blair, knowing the younger man was more of a comfort
than he could be.
The captain had excused himself and gone to oversee the army of detectives
combing over the coffee shop. He'd walked away rubbing his chest and shaking his
head.
When she was calm enough, Blair had driven Jo to the hospital where they'd found
Jim and headed to a waiting room near the ER to wait while the doctors worked on
Annie.
Once there, he had found himself faced with the nearly impossible task of
keeping Jim and Jo from beating the walls down in their worry. He'd had no time
to be worried himself and that had been something he was profoundly grateful
for. Not that keeping them under control was a task he'd enjoyed. It'd
been nearly impossible.
Hours passed before anyone came to update them on Annie's condition. When the
doctor finally arrived his friends had pounced. Shooting question after question
at the poor man. Blair'd finally managed to get between them and the bewildered
doctor. He'd apologized for his friends behaviour then asked for an update.
Fortunately the doctor had understood their behaviour and had calmly
recited Annie's condition. She'd gone through everything well. They'd had to
insert a chest tube in the ER. Fortunately, she'd been unconscious when she
was brought in. Her chances were good but he'd cautioned them that her
condition was critical, a lung had been nicked and there were some concerns
about it collapsing.
Jo'd asked a question at that point and had gotten into a very technical
discussion with the surgeon about the particulars of Annie's injury. While Jim
and Blair weren't exactly rookies when it came to hospitals and bullet wounds
they'd had absolutely no idea what the two doctors were talking about.
The minute she was satisfied with the doctor's answers she'd demanded to see
Annie. And, understanding the bond that existed between Sentinel and Guide, Jim
had acquiesced. He'd let her spend the night at Annie's side, despite his own
overwhelming need to be there.
It had seemed like an eternity but morning had finally come and brought with it
Rafe, Henri, Joel and Simon. The three detectives expressed their concern to Jim
then had stepped back to let Simon update Jim.
Two of the gang members involved had been caught. Unfortunately neither one was
the shooter, which meant Annie was still in danger.
It would soon hit the news that a police detective had been shot and once that
happened the shooter would know who they'd shot and that she was still alive.
Which was not good since they'd known already that she was probably the only
one who could accurately ID the shooter. Most everyone else had ducked under
tables and Jo had been on her knees behind the counter. The two kids couldn't
say who'd fired the shots either. They'd been to busy trying to shoot their
rivals.
The news had catapulted Jim's protective instincts into overdrive. Within
fifteen minutes he had a uniformed officer outside the door and a few
plain-clothed officers stationed near the elevator and stairs in the lobby.
Plus, without being asked, on top of their regular duty shifts, the guys from
Major Crimes were pulling guard duty. They'd stationed themselves in strategic
points around her floor.
"C'mon Annie," Jim whispered, stroking her hair. "Wake up. Just open those eyes
and glare at me. Tell me to get my ass down to Starbucks to get up a cappuccino.
Better yet, yell at me for dropping the Chinese . . . C'mon Annie . . . just
wake up. What's the fun of being laid up in the hospital if you spend all your
time unconscious? You're missing all the good stuff. You should've seen the
doctor's face when Jo and I stared jumping all over him about you. I think if
Blair hadn't calmed us down he'd would've run for the door." He chuckled. "You
would've laughed at us and said to switch to decaf. I know, you're wondering
where Jo is; Sandburg took her back to the loft. Well . . . took isn't exactly
the right word for it. Dragged would be. She practically been glued to your side
ever since you decided to play practice dummy. She lost it when we wouldn't let
her ride in the ambulance with you then she drilled me about what they'd done
with you in the ER; hell, she even tried to get into the operating room.
I don't think she trusted the doctors with you. Must be a mutual thing, I remember
how protective you were of Jo when you first got here, especially around me. If
I so much as looked at her the wrong way those blue lasers of yours were on me."
Jim sighed as he surveyed Annie's unresponsive face. "C'mon, wake up." Receiving
no response, he tightened his grip on her hand and resolutely began talking again.
-----------
Blair Sandburg wandered around the living room. The only sound in the loft was
the noise of the shower.
Trying to distract himself, the teaching fellow picked up the remote and flicked
on the television.
He flicked idly through the channels, unable to focus his attention on any
particular program. How could he, when one of his close friends was lying in a hospital
bed clinging to life?
Annie was the closest thing to an older sister he'd ever had. She was the one he
talked to when he couldn't go to Jim or Jo. Annie was a confidante, sounding board
and guru of all things Sentinel and female. She was the ultimate expert on the two
things Blair seemed to have the most problems with. Sentinels and women. If he
needed to know something about Sentinels and he couldn't ask Jim for some reason,
he went to Annie. And where else would he go for advice on Canadian women? Or one
feisty young Canadian woman in particular?
He couldn't imagine not having her around; they did their birthday present shopping
together, planned Jim's surprise party together, and (best of all) played
practical jokes together. They'd even gotten into a good old-fashioned pillow
fight.
He felt a lump form in his throat as he faced, for the first time, the
possibility of losing Annie. He hadn't allowed himself to consider the
possibility until that moment, he'd been to busy keeping everyone else calm.
Blair forced a smile onto his face and turned to face Jo, who was walking
out of the bathroom, towelling off her short dark hair. "Hey beautiful! Water
hot enough?"
She nodded dumbly as she walked past him to the kitchen. "Any word from the hospital?"
"No. Which is good. Means no change."
She made a small noise and turned to pour herself a cup of coffee.
Blair turned to face the television as the local news came on.
The announcer's face was grim as a small Cascade PD crest appeared in the upper
corner of the screen. "The identity if the lone victim in the Main Street
shooting has been confirmed. Detective Anne Marie Langdon was shot twice in the
chest during a gang fight that broke out in a Main Street coffee shop. Detective
Langdon is a Toronto police detective currently working in the Major Crimes
department of the Cascade PD. At last report, Detective Langdon's condition was
listed as critical but stable. She has been in the news most recently for a series
of successful investigations with Cascade's own Detective Jim Ellison of Major Crimes . . . "
Blair turned the volume down in time to hear a crash.
He spun and saw Jo standing by the island in the kitchen. She was staring at the
picture on the screen. It was one of Annie and Jim taken at a crime scene. Annie
wore a navy blue pantsuit, white shirt and navy blue coat. Jim stood next to her
in his usual black leather jacket with khaki pants and a dark sweater.
"Jo?"
She stared at the television for a moment then noticed the broken coffee mug.
"Oh."
He hurried over as he recognized the first signs of an impending explosion.
"It's ok, I got it."
He quickly picked up the larger pieces and tossed them into the garbage then
grabbed a cloth to wipe up the coffee. He turned to find her kneeling next to the
spill staring down at the liquid.
Hesitantly she reached out a shaking hand to touch the liquid.
"Jo?" Blair knelt next to her and pushed her dark hair away from her face.
"Honey, are you all right?"
"So much of it."
"So much of what?"
"It was everywhere." She turned her hand over and looked at it.
He reached past her to wipe the coffee up along with the smaller pieces of
the cup then put the cloth in the sink.
"Jo?" He knelt again next to her. " What are you talking about?"
"There was so much blood." She said finally, lifting tear filled hazel eyes to
his. "I barely stopped it."
"One bullet nicked a lung. There's always a lot of bleeding when a lung is hit.
You said so yourself." He took her hands in his and helped her stand. Then
without saying a word he pulled her into his arms and rested her head against
his shoulder.
"She can't die." Jo whispered. "She can't!"
She sobbed quietly, her tears soaking into Blair's shirt.
"Annie's not going to die Jo. She's to stubborn for that. She wouldn't leave us. Not
if she has a choice in the matter."
She looked up at him, tears flowing freely down her face. "But what if she doesn't?"
------------
"Hey man!" The young man turned from the television long enough to wave his friend over.
"Yeah?" He leaned over the younger man's shoulder to look at the screen.
"Ain't that the babe you shot the other day?"
The elder man surveyed Annie Langdon's face. "Yeah man. The Barbie doll."
"Yeah well, your Barbie doll's a cop!"
"What?!"
"And it gets better. She's still alive." He glanced up at his friend. "If she
wakes up and gives the cops a description of us. We're in serious trouble. Every
cop in the city'll be looking for us. You know how they are when one of their
own gets hurt. Sides it said she works with that cop from Major Crimes. You know
the one who's always in the news. Ellison. They're partners or somethin'."
His friend remained silent but both knew what had to be done.
--------------
Jim was started out of his sleep by a familiar scent.
"Hello, Simon." He said, sleepily, rubbing his face.
"For once you could wait until I get into the room." The captain groused in a low irritated
tone.
"It's your cigars." Jim responded absently. "They give you away every time."
Simon surveyed the pale woman lying on the bed before him.
"How is she?" He asked quietly.
"No change. She's not even responding to my voice."
"She's a tough lady Jim. She won't give up without a fight. And we both know
what kind of a fighter she is."
Jim chuckled softly. He knew better than anyone what kind of a fighter she
was. They had been at each other's throats from the moment they'd met. "I know
Simon. It's just that I can't face losing her. I don't know how I . . . "
"I don't think any of us could face that, let alone you and Jo . . . How is she
anyway?"
He sighed. "About as well as can be expected. This is her worst nightmare."
"I got that when I saw her at the coffee shop. The girl used my chest as a punching bag. I
think my bruises have bruises."
Ellison grinned despite himself. " Annie'd love that one."
"I have a feeling that when she wakes up, I'm never going to hear the end of it."
Jim returned his attention to Annie's still face. "If she wakes up."
"She will." Simon said firmly. " She's got too much to live for. Too much to
give up. Besides, you know her, she'll milk this for all the babying she can
get."
"Shooting hit the news yet?"
"Yeah, about an hour ago. They gave her name, a picture, even her background."
His jaw clenched and his blue eyes turned to ice. "They just signed her death warrant and
they don't they care."
"What they care about," Simon responded, anger filling his voice. " is milking a
good news story for all the ratings its worth." He placed a hand on his friend's
shoulder. "C'mon, let's get you a cup of coffee. Rafe's dying to get in here to
talk to Annie and I know Megan wants to come down here. You need the break, Jim."
He touched Annie's limp hand once more, then stood and brushed a gentle kiss
across her forehead. "I'll be back in a few minutes ok? I love you."
Trailing a hand down her arm, he started towards the door with Simon.
His hand had just touched the doorknob when his hearing picked up on
a sound he'd never expected to hear again.
"Love you too . . . Jim."
He spun and stared at the woman lying in the hospital bed.
"Jim?" Simon was looking at Annie as well. She appeared the same as before.
Unmoving.
He ignored him, rushing to the bed. "Annie? Sweetheart?"
The captain followed. "Jim? Did you hear something?"
Jim brushed her hair back with one hand while holding hers with the other and she stirred
slightly under his ministrations.
"Jim?" Her voice was husky and weak but as her eyes flickered open he saw they were as
vibrant and sharp as ever.
"Simon, get a doctor in here!"
The captain was out the door before Jim'd finished speaking.
"Hey," He said smiling tenderly.
"What . . . " Annie paused and licked her dry lips. "What happened?"
He poured a cup of water and helped Annie sip it. "You played Sandburg for a
day and got shot twice in the chest."
She winced. "That's why I hurt like hell?"
Jim chuckled. "Turn down the dial, Annie, turn down the dial."
She chuckled herself then cringed at the pain it caused. "Ouch. Easier said
than done . . . where's Jo?"
"At the loft with Sandburg. We bullied her into getting some sleep and food."
He glanced up. Simon was coming with the doctor. "Look, when the doctor's done
checking you out we need to get a sketch artist in here to get a description of
the shooter."
"The guys are getting nowhere huh?" Her voice was weak with fatigue.
"Basically. We're attributing the lack of results to either worry or
exhaustion." Jim responded with a smile.
"The guys are worried about me?" She blinked.
"We take care of our own remember? You're one of us."
It was then the doctor came in followed by Simon.
"I'm going over to Major Crimes and tell everyone the good news."
Jim nodded. "I better call Jo and Blair." He walked back over to the bed. "I'll
be right back. "
Annie nodded and responded when he kissed her.
"Love you." He whispered.
"Love you." She answered with a tired smile.
------------
Jo was dozing quietly on the couch and Blair sat nearby in a chair, reading one
of his anthropology texts, when the phone rang.
Instantly he jumped up and snatched the phone off its base. "Hello?.... Jim!
Hey, man what's up?" He paused, listening. "Yeah, I guess we all knew it would
happen. Yeah, ok, right. Bye."
"Blair?"
She stood before him, worry and fear filling her wide green eyes.
He stood quietly for a moment, absorbing the news himself.
"Tell me . . . " She implored. "Please Blair?"
He took her hand in his. "Annie . . . " Her eyes filled with tears as she
feared the worst. Her worry, however, was unfounded. "She woke up about five
minutes ago."
The tears overflowed but now they were tears of relief.
"Thank God." She sobbed in relief as Blair pulled her close.
"Yeah, thank God." He whispered into her hair.
Then, with a gleeful smile, Jo pulled back and zeroed in for a passionate
celebratory kiss.
-------------
Simon strode into a subdued Major Crimes. Detectives were walking through the
bullpen holding files and envelopes but few spoke and when they did it was in
low subdued tones.
"All right guys listen up! I've got news."
Everyone stopped, all with the same anxious expression.
"Annie?" Rafe spoke the question that was on everyone's mind.
He nodded.
"Well?" Henri demanded walking up.
"Is she?" Taggert asked worriedly.
He hesitated then smiled broadly. "She woke up about ten minutes ago."
Everyone stood in stunned silence for a few seconds as they digested the
information. Then everything, and everyone, erupted into chaos.
Applause and cheers filled the bullpen and Simon had a feeling that the minute
he was inside his office there'd be one hell of a party.
"Rafe! Get a sketch artist and get over to Cascade General and get a
description of the shooter!" Simon yelled before walking into his office.
------------
A young orderly walked through the halls of the intensive care unit. He was
pushing a cart of hospital supplies but his eyes weren't on the cart, they were
on the security stationed around one particular room. Occupied by one particular
police detective.
No one noticed him when he walked past the room and took note of the room number
and security around the door.
The elevator doors were barely open when Jo came flying out through.
"Jo! Wait!" Blair called out running after her.
Two uniformed officers stood in the waiting room. They smiled as the tiny trauma
surgeon raced down the hallway to her best friend's room.
She opened the door and promptly slammed into Jim Ellison's broad chest.
"Easy Jo. You just can't go barging in there, not yet anyway." Jim said as he
steadied her.
She glared up at him. "Oh?...and why not?"
"Because Rafe's in there with a sketch artist and they're getting a description
of the shooter. They'll be done in a minute and then you can go in and see her."
She sighed then acquiesced. "How is she Jim?"
"Awake . . . but tired."
Her smile could've lit up the darkest of nights. "Excellent!"
"Detective," the sketch artist stood in the doorway a piece of paper in hand. He
presented it to Jim. "This is the sketch of the shooter. According to Detective
Langdon it's as close as we'll get without actually having a picture on hand."
"And if we had a picture, we wouldn't need a sketch." Jim noted as he eyed the paper.
"Uh . . . Does this mean I can see Annie now?" Jo asked plaintively, after a few
seconds.
Jim glanced through the doorway in time to see Rafe flip his notebook shut,
smile at Annie, and turn towards the door.
"Yeah." He nodded.
She scurried past him and around Rafe and over to the bed.
"Heya boss lady! Who said you could take a powder without my permission?" Jo put
her tiny hands on her hips and glared down at Annie.
The female Sentinel smiled wearily. "Don't make me laugh Jo. It hurts too much."
"Suffer! Who said you could get shot?"
"Suffer? Me? I've only been shot twice in the chest. Where's the suffering in
that?" Annie rolled her eyes. "And for your information I had the permission of
Mr. Smith and Mr. Wesson."
"If you weren't lying in a hospital bed, I'd smack you," She glared, then as swiftly
it had appeared her irritation vanished. Jo's green eyes teared up.
"Annie, don't you ever do that to me again!"
Instantly Annie was in full Sentinel/Mother hen mode. "Hey, Jo, it's Ok. I'm fine.
I've been shot before. It's no big deal."
"No big deal! You took two bullets to the chest! You were in a coma! Annie, you
nearly died! That my darling detective counts as a big deal!"
Jo's voice was several levels below a yell but her meaning came across loud and clear.
"C'mere." Annie managed a weak wave.
"What?" Jo looked confused.
"C'mere." She muttered in a tone that was meant to be threatening but came across
as strained. "I would never leave you all right? If that means walking bare foot
across hot tin, surviving two bullets to the chest, spending an afternoon with
Cassie or eating Blair's cooking. Anything. I promise you that. I'm not going to
leave you. Ever. Got it!" She fell back against her pillow obviously tired but
she knew by the look on the younger woman's face, Jo had gotten the message.
"Besides, who'd help Sandburg shop for presents for you if I died?"
"Precisely Jo," Blair added in. "I'd be lost without Annie." He grinned then
bent down to kiss Annie on the forehead. "Hey beautiful. Good to see you
conscious."
"Funny . . . " Annie shot back then noticed Blair seemed to be hiding something.
"Sandburg, what are you doing?"
He blinked innocently. "Doing?"
"You're hiding something behind your back."
"I am?" He turned slightly. "Well, her eyes are working." He held out a medium-sized
stuffed bear. "Meet Mr. Ellison."
She eyed the beautiful soft furry brown bear. Who, she did notice, happened to resemble
a certain detective she knew.
"Mr . . . Who?"
"Mr. Ellison." Jo confirmed. "We saw him in the gift shop. Both Blair and I
guessed that since Jim isn't allowed to sleep in that bed with you, you must be
kinda lonely. So we brought you the next best thing. A bear that looks like
Jim."
She looked skeptical but there was a twinkle in her blue eyes. "Well he does
kinda look like Jim."
"Who kinda looks like Jim?" Jim asked appearing in the doorway.
"Mr. Ellison." All three chorused.
He blinked.
For clarification, Blair held out the bear. "Mr. Ellison. Since you're too big
for that bed, we decided to give her the next best thing."
He glanced over at Annie who shrugged tiredly.
"He's even wearing a green sweater like yours Jim!" Jo pointed out helpfully.
Jim took the bear in his hands and surveyed it. The green sweater did look like
one he owned.
He then lifted his eyes to survey Jo and Blair, who were watching him with twin
expressions of eagerness.
His gaze then flicked over to a sleepy Annie, he looked back down at the
bear, then walked over to her.
"Your teddy bear, milady." He said presenting the bear to her with a flourish.
She laughed softly and with a slight grimace of pain, lifted an arm to nestle the
teddy bear against her side.
"Thanks, guys."
Jim noticed her drooping eyelids and, looking over at his friends, inclined
his head towards the door.
She nodded slightly. "We'd better get going. You need rest and the esteemed
detective here has a bad guy to catch."
"Kay."
Jo bent down careful to avoid the various tubes and hugged her best friend.
"However, Blair and I have some grocery shopping to do."
"No squabbling over the pasta and no fist fights over the vegetables, got it?"
Annie warned, her blue eyes twinkling.
"Darn. You mean I can't hit Blair over the head with a T-bone?" She inquired in
mischief.
"No smacking the little guy with any meats. Frozen or otherwise."
"Well, I'll compromise. If Blair doesn't buy tongue. I won't hit him." Jo
offered generously. "I refuse to eat anything that's been in any animal's mouth.
It's disgusting!"
"It's food!" Blair countered.
"Blair, it was an organ that an animal once used to chew and make sounds with.
How would you feel if someone ate your tongue?"
"At least he'd be quiet." Annie offered.
"Knowing Sandburg, he'd learn sign language." Jim said with a sigh.
"And when he got excited he'd probably sign so wildly he'd put somebody's eye
out." Jo said in mock-irritation.
"Guys, I'm crushed that you think that of me."
Jo rolled her eyes. "Blai honey, you're better off not knowing what I think about you." She
hesitated for a second, then grinned. "C'mon, handsome, we've got shopping to do."
"Later." Annie half-waved.
When they left, Jim moved forward. "Now that Donald and Daisy are gone, I'll say a
proper good bye." He whispered, kissing her.
It was times like this when he felt torn between his duty and his emotions.
He knew his duty as a Sentinel and a cop was to go out there and find the
shooter but at the same time his emotions were screaming for him to stay glued
to Annie's side, to protect her and care for her.
She yawned sleepily. She was just so tired, she could hardly keep her eyes
open. And that was frustrating, she didn't want to be the one who had to lie in
the bed and wave as everyone left. She wanted to be the one leaving to go nail
the perp who'd pulled the trigger. It was hard to be the helpless one.
Nevertheless her body wouldn't let her. It was steadily pulling her down into
sleep. "Ok." She smiled up at him. "Relax, honey. There's a guard outside. I'll
be fine."
He smiled softly. "I know."
Annie smiled back. "But you're still worried."
"Sentinel's prerogative."
She shook her head slightly. "I suppose."
"Oh come on. You know if the situation were reversed you'd be worried to."
Her smile turned sheepish. "True. Now get going before Simon fires you." She
didn't want him to go. She knew it and she also knew Jim knew it. But Annie also
knew Jim had a job to do. A job that she wanted to do. They were Sentinels and
part of that meant they had to ignore their own wants in order to protect their
tribe.
He smiled, kissed her again and then, reluctantly, left. Listening as Annie settled
back into her pillow. Knowing that right about then her exhaustion was finally winning
and that she was sinking down deep into sleep.
--------------
"Well?" the gang leader said sitting up as his young assistant walked into their hangout.
"Toby man, I don't know how you're gonna get to her. Ellison's got a ton of guards on that
floor."
"Never mind that Zach, just tell me what's going on up there!" Toby snapped angrily.
Zach sighed and sitting down, he described in detail what he'd seen around Anne Marie Langdon's
hospital room.
Both young men were completely unaware of that fact that a description of Toby
was now in the hands of the Cascade PD's Major Crimes division.
Jim Ellison strode into Major Crimes and even before he could yell Rafe's name,
the detective was walking along beside him. "Thought you might want to take a
look at this. We got a match with the sketch. This guy here. He goes by Toby.
They're pulling his rap sheet now." He handed the detective a copy of the sketch
along with a mug shot. "Plus we got the waitress from the coffee shop in here."
"His girlfriend?" Jim queried.
Rafe nodded. "By the looks of it, she was the intended target, not Annie. She
must have gotten on her boyfriend's bad side."
His eyes were steely. "I'm interviewing her."
He nodded again. "We thought you'd want to."
"We?"
The detective was grinning. "I already Ok'd it with Simon."
He just shook his head.
-------
Jillian cracked her gum and glanced around the interview room. She hoped it was
the cute detective, what was his name . . . Rafe, that interviewed her. He was
the one who'd brought her in. As she waited she found herself picking at the
polish on her nails. She was still shaky. He'd tried to kill her. Toby had
actually tried to kill her.
The door swung open and a tall imposing detective walked in, yanking her out of
her musings. His blue eyes were cold and angry.
She surveyed the tall man for a moment, appraising his good looks and his
attitude. He was obviously angry, that much she could see.
"Ms. Hendricks." He nodded stiffly. "I'm Detective Ellison. I'd like to talk to
you about your boyfriend." Jim stared at slender young woman sitting at the
table. This was the woman that Annie had taken the bullets for? Forcing himself
to stay calm Jim walked over to the table.
She was a little taken aback by his brisk, businesslike town but nevertheless she
smiled coyly. "My boyfriend? I wouldn't really call him my boyfriend." This guy
was not what she'd been expecting. He was big and imposing and she was starting
to get scared. She'd heard stories of cops getting violent.
He wasn't gonna hit her...was he?
"Oh really?" Jim began to pace the interrogation room. "Well I know what you
should call him. An attempted murderer. You see Ms. Hendricks, your boyfriend
shot a cop. And I work with that cop. She's a very good friend of mine." He
stopped pacing on the other side of the table, opposite to where Jillian was
sitting. Then he leaned in on his hands, getting right in her face as he
continued. "In fact, we're more than just good friends." His tone had gone
from business like to threatening. "Now I want to know where 'Toby' is." He
slammed a hand on the table for emphasis, the resounding noise making her jump
in fear.
She sat quiet, frozen in place, after her initial jump, by Ellison's icy
glare. She knew she was in trouble but . . . "He'll kill me."
"Wake up Jillian, he's already tried that remember?" Jim said flatly. "Those
bullets that hit Detective Langdon were meant for you! Toby was trying to kill
you." He stabbed the air in front of her, punctuating his words. "And if we don't
get him he will try again! But before he goes after you he's going after Detective
Langdon. She saved your life when she took those bullets. Now its your turn to save
hers. Where is he?" Ellison demanded, in a fierce whisper.
Jillian looked down at her hands for a long moment, fiddling with her nails,
finally she spoke hesitantly, she wasn't sure she was doing the right thing.
Either way her life was over. Toby didn't like snitches, she'd seen that more
than once. And she knew he'd hear that the cops had brought her in, it didn't
matter if she told them anything or not. He'd assume she had and kill her. All
things considered she was safer with the cops than with Toby. "There's this
place, a warehouse, downtown, where they hang out. His gang. They'd probably be
there."
He handed her a pad of paper and a pen and she wrote down the address. He held
his hands behind his back while she wrote and found himself crossing his
fingers. 'Please let that address be legit.' He thought as the pen moved across
the paper.
"Thank you." He said sincerely then turned toward the door but Jillian's voice
stopped him from going through.
"Detective Ellison?"
Jim turned. "Yes?"
"Tell her thank you for me." Jillian's eyes were earnest. "And...you guys...you'll
protect me right? I mean, Toby's got friends you know, and they'll know it was me."
"The captain will talk to the D.A." He informed her quietly and walked out. As he
did so his eyes fell on the address Jillian had given him. An address meant a concrete
lead (he hoped) and that meant he was one step closer to finding this Toby. One step
closer to looking into his face and getting the satisfaction of making him pay. For the
first time since he'd walked into Major Crimes, Jim Ellison smiled.
--------
Uniformed officers stormed into the warehouse, guns drawn. Gang members around
the room dove for their guns but they were sorely outnumbered. In seconds they
were subdued.
Mug shot in hand, Jim strode in and eyed every single gang member in the
building but, to his frustration, Toby was not among the suspects.
Ellison's ice blue eyes raked over the group and he held up the mug shot.
"Where is he?" He demanded angrily, only to be greeted by stony silence.
He glared at them and he saw some wilt under the force of his rage but none spoke.
"You guys don't seem to understand!" Simon thundered. "Your friend shot a cop!
And she's still alive. But if he's on his way to kill her and should he succeed.
You'll all be accessories to Murder One!" He swept the crowd of young people before
him with the steely glare that had made more than one of his detectives sweat, many
looked back at him with outright defiance, others shuffled their feet and wouldn't
meet his gaze, others looked at him with genuine fear in their eyes. Most were
just quiet.
Simon let the silence hang, knowing the longer he stayed quiet the less defiance
they'd be able to manage. Finally one young man who seemed particularly fidgety
took a slight step forward.
A uniformed officer spotted him and grabbed his jacket, meaning to drag him
before the captain but Simon shook his head. Silently telling the cop to let the
kid come forward on his own two feet.
The captain focussed his gaze in on him. 'Good, we're getting somewhere. C'mon kid. Do
some good for once'. "Are you willing to go to prison for him? He shot a cop. And you're
going down for it. He's left you hanging. Is he worth it?"
The kid cracked.
"Naw man. He ain't." The kid stepped forward and raised his head, daring the
others to challenge him "Toby and Zach went over to the hospital to finish off
the Barbie doll."
Hearing the gender slur, Jim's eyes went from ice to steel again. "Her name's
Annie." He hissed and stalked out, angry at himself for letting the kid's
ignorance get to him.
Jo and Blair were just pulling out of the grocery store's parking lot when Jo frowned.
Blair happened to glance over and spot the look. "Jo? Honey? Something wrong?"
"Blair, head for the hospital."
"What? Why?" Blair, although he was questioning her, automatically turned Annie's jeep
in the direction of the hospital.
"Something's wrong. I know it. Something's wrong with Annie." Jo murmured
distractedly, she could feel the bond that existed between her and Annie, the
link that constantly existed between a Sentinel and a Guide, begin to weaken and
unravel.
Without hesitation he pressed down on the gas pedal.
---------
Annie lay sleeping quietly in her hospital room. Her ordinarily sharp senses
were dulled by painkillers. In her drugged state the sentinel was almost
completely unaware of any of the activity going on outside her room. However
sounds from the hallway intruded into her unconsciousness giving her dream
images a surreal quality as the real life sounds segued into pictures in her
mind. She was restless, her head moving back and forth in agitation as she tried to
get the healing sleep she needed, sleep that seemed to be eluding her.
At Toby's order, Zach had worked hard to blend in on her floor. At varying
times every day he'd push a cart of medical supplies or laundry through the
hall. Once even gaining access to Detective Langdon's room when a doctor asked
for his help to move a piece of equipment out. He'd been very careful to avoid
Jim Ellison and any of Detective Langdon's close friends. Although he'd had a
close call with the anthropologist the day before when he'd stopped by the
detective's room, supposedly to check the bathroom supplies.
His daily 'rounds' on the floor also familiarized him with the shifts the guards
worked. And he knew that when the shifts changed both the guard coming on shift
and the guard going on shift had to go to the nurses desk.
So when the shift changed Zach pushed his cart down the hall and stopped in
front of Detective Langdon's room. The card he pushed today was a laundry cart
filled with bedding. With a casual air he pushed the cart into the room and
closed the door.
He then sauntered down the corridor toward the elevators.
The doors to one elevator slid open and Jo and Blair stepped out. Jo nodded at
the young man, not really seeing his face, and started down the hall, intent on
getting to her friend.
But Blair stopped. There was something wrong with this picture. He stared at the
young man. Trying to place what it was.
Then it hit him. The orderly he'd run into the other day. He'd been pushing a
cart. He'd given Blair such a startled look. Like he was afraid of something.
Afraid of recognition. Instantly Blair knew. He didn't know how he knew. He just
did. Glancing around he spotted Joel Taggert. "Joel! Grab that guy!"
Taggert hurried over and grabbed the orderly by the arm. "Something wrong Blair?"
"Check this guy's ID. I have a feeling he's no orderly."
-------
The room was deathly silent except for the noise of the machines.
Annie lay silent. Finally deep asleep as her subconscious picked up on the
presence of the two Guides outside. So deep that she never noticed when the
laundry started to move.
Toby popped up from under the sheets and cautiously eased out over the edge of
the cart and advanced on the bed. He looked at the sleeping woman and couldn't
believe his luck. She was out cold. "This is gonna be easier than taking candy
from a baby," He grinned maliciously to himself as he noticed a pillow lying on
a nearby chair. Deciding to take the easy route and smother the elegant
detective, he picked up the pillow and walked over to the bed.
"Sorry 'bout this doll, but you saw my face and we can't have you getting me
into any trouble with Cascade's finest. I've got enough problems with them as
is."
"Have a nice long sleep Barbie!" Resolutely he lowered the pillow over her
face. At first there was no reaction but then she began to struggle trying to
get the pillow away from her face, however due to her weakened state Annie
couldn't put up much of a fight.
-----------
Jo's heart suddenly began to pound. Looking around she spotted a cart of various
medical supplies. Catching sight of a telltale glint of steel. She snatched the
object off the shelf and burst into Annie's room. The doctor was greeted by
the sight of the gang leader pressing a pillow down over her friend's face.
Annie was feebly waving her arms, trying to claw at the suffocating material, at
his hands, anything to free herself.
Toby, hearing the door open and the gasp that accompanied it, spun but he didn't
stand a chance against a Guide in full protect mode.
Enraged, she shoved the laundry cart at him. It slammed into him hard, knocking him
off balance. Instead of falling forward into Annie, the gang leader found
himself falling back into the cart. Not satisfied with just taking him out of
the way, she smacked him on the head for good measure. Once she was sure he was
out she raced over to the bed to check on a gasping Annie.
This was the sight that greeted Jim, Simon and Blair when they raced into the
room.
The gang leader unconscious in the laundry cart, his legs and arms hanging over
the sides like a puppet with his strings cut, and the Guide worriedly examining
her Sentinel.
She turned and spotted them. "Get that out of here." She said gesturing in
disgust at the unconscious man.
"How'd you knock him out?" Blair inquired eyeing the heavily built man.
She waved her improvised weapon then looked puzzled when Simon, Blair, Jim and
even Annie, laughed.
She looked down at her hand and stared in shock as she realized what she was holding.
"How am I supposed to file a report on this?" Jim asked of no one in particular.
Annie coughed weakly and whispered. "Umm . . . suspect . . . was . . . subdued
by . . . ahem . . . a...er . . . bed . . . pan." She snickered slightly at her
own words.
"A bedpan . . . " Jo stared at her hand. "I'm holding a bedpan." She looked at
Toby. "I knocked someone out with . . . a bedpan." She examined the offending
object closely. "I dented the bedpan."
She smiled. "Jo . . . you are priceless."
She looked down at her friend. "Well not exactly. I can be bought with a good
lead crystal figurine or a big bowl of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream."
Annie rolled her eyes.
-------------
Over the next month Annie recuperated in the hospital. Fast becoming a floor
favourite. She always seemed to know what was going on with everyone else. Once
her chest tube was out she began venturing beyond the confines of her room to
visit the various patients. And when she wasn't visiting fellow patients she was
being visited. A steady stream of detectives and friends kept the female
sentinel entertained. Within a week Mr. Ellison wasn't the only stuffed toy in
the room. Almost everyone who came through the door had either flowers or a
stuffed toy for the beautiful blonde. She finally had to get Jim to carry half
of it home to the brewery for her because she was running out of room.
Despite the steady stream of visitors that kept her company, and her wanderings
around the floor, Annie hated being cooped up. She was an active woman, she wanted to
be out protecting the city not being waited on by a bunch of doctors and nurses
who kept poking and prodding her.
And Jo was not much better off. She hated being alone in the brewery. Well,
without Annie that is, Blair seemed to be over every other night to 'check on
her'. Besides, she was a doctor, she wanted to be the one treating Annie, but
since the detective was no longer a surgical case she couldn't. She had to
settle for visiting between surgeries and shifts in the ER.
Blair found work in Major Crimes to be...well..boring. There was no Annie to get
in paper ball wars with. They had a tendency to start little ones which then spread
to H, Rafe, Megan and Joel. Jim would try and play the mature adult but inevitably
he would end up in the thick of them to. Usually when somebody landed a three pointer
right in the center of his forehead.
And Jim was the worst of all of them. He moped around the loft when he wasn't at
work or at the hospital. The loft was the worst. There were little hints of
Annie everywhere. He could smell her shampoo on the pillows in his bed. Her
favourite blue sweater was still tossed across one of the chairs in the living
room. And the worst of all of them was the bed was to empty at night. He
couldn't sleep without her warm body next to his. It wasn't as if she lived in
the loft. But it was different when he knew she was at the brewery and could
come over at any time. But knowing she was lying in a hospital bed, alone with
none of her friends around...that kept him awake. Made him miss her.
But finally the time came for her to be released.
---------
When he walked in, Annie was sitting in a wheelchair with Jo behind her putting
the finishing touches on her blond hair.
"Ready to go?" He inquired.
She nodded eagerly. "Lemme outta here."
Jo put her brush away. "Do I detect a note of eagerness?" She asked sarcastically.
"No none whatsoever,"
Blair grunted something from where he was buried under the mound of stuffed toys he was
trying to carry.
He regarded him casually but made no move to help. "Ya'll right under there Sandburg?"
Sandburg mumbled again and managed to gesture wildly.
"You know I think he needs a hand." Jo supplied helpfully but stayed where she was.
His free hand made a thumb's up sign.
"Don't look at me," Annie said sweetly. "I'm the invalid."
Jo gave an unladylike snort. "Invalid my patootey."
One of her blonde eyebrows rose. "Pa-whatey?"
"Patootey. Now be a good little Sentinel and hold onto your bag."
She rolled her eyes and gripped the overnight bag. "Jim honey, will you please help Blair
with my stuffed toys?"
Walking over to Blair, Jim took half the stuffed toys from his Guide.
"Thank you." Blair said gratefully.
"Think nothing of it." Jo said graciously.
"Don't worry." He said sarcastically. "I won't, seeing as you're not being much help anyway."
Annie laughed. "All right you two. Retreat to your respective corners." She said jerking her
thumbs in the opposite direction for emphasis. "I want to get out of here before the doctors
dream up some new tests to run on me."
"Easy boss lady. They haven't brought your release papers yet and you can't go
anywhere without those." Jo explained, her tone tolerant.
She sighed impatiently. "This always went faster in Toronto."
"That's because you spent so much time there they had the Annie-special. Rush delivery."
Jim grinned. "Funny. They've got one of those here too. They call it the Sandburg Special."
"Jim!" Blair practically wailed.
The trio around him laughed and Annie winced. "Oooh Blair, don't make me laugh it hurts too
much."
The doctor walked in on the last comment and gave Sandburg a steely eyed glare.
He smiled sheepishly as the doctor gave Annie her release papers and a stern warning to take
it easy.
---------
The drive home was relatively quiet. Jim drove extra carefully, trying to avoid every bump and
crack in the pavement that he could see.
They'd decided to have her recuperate at the loft. It was closer to work and there were less
rooms for Annie to navigate. But Jo secretly suspected Jim just wanted to have Annie close by
so he could keep an eye on her.
Jo's musings were interrupted by Annie's stern voice as she reached the door.
"Jim Ellison! PUT ME DOWN! I am perfectly capable of walking!"
She turned to see Jim carrying Annie from the jeep. The blonde's piercing blue eyes were
snapping sparks.
"Annie, honey," Jim said patiently. "Humor me."
She sighed heavily then winced at the pain the action caused. "All right."
He grinned in victory and carried her inside.
Jo glanced over at Blair. "I hope he enjoys that victory. Because it's the only one he's gonna
get."
Both laughed as they headed into the building, hand in hand, glad to see their friends back
together again, well and happy.
Finis
AUTHOR: M. Edison
FEEDBACK: Oh yes please! Be gentle though. ;-)
CATEGORY: AU
RATING: PG-13
SPOILERS: No
SUMMARY: Jim's lover has been shot. Can he keep it together long enough to catch the gang involved?
DISCLAIMER: None of the characters or concepts of the Sentinel belong to me but Jo and Annie Do
WARNING: there are original characters in this story. They do share a homeland with me but that is where the similiarity ends.
Annie is named after a cousin and Jo...well Jo's just Jo. *snicker*
Enjoy!
Wild Blue Eyes
By M. Edison
------------
A paper wrapped round a lamppost
At Bleecker and MacDougal where Kerouac stood
The wind pushed us into a doorway
And it felt good, it felt good
Time didn't pass it scattered
I put one more on the tab
We flagged a ride at closing time
And the laughs turned to kisses in the back of the cab
And it felt good
St. Annie you blessed my bed
Your sweet love was my daily bread
You'd come to me when the moon would rise
Sweet St. Annie of the wild blue eyes
The days flew by like pages
On those rain-soaked streets where Gainsberg wrote
We made love in the mornings
Where did they go, where did they go?
You were my ragtag savior
And I was your hopeless case
We made our way through the bars and cafes
And I memorized your heavenly face
St. Annie you blessed my bed
Your sweet love was my daily bread
You'd come to me when the moon would rise
Sweet St. Annie of the wild blue eyes
Sweet, sweet Annie
Your love was all I had
And your wild blue eyes
Sweet St. Annie of the wild blue eyes.
"St. Annie of the Wild Blue Eyes." Roch Voisine, Kissing Rain"
--------
Beep . . . Beep . . . Beep
The steady beep of the heart monitor filled his ears. Aside from the soft noise
of breathing it was all the Sentinel could hear.
How? How could he have let this happen?
She looked almost dead. Barely clinging to life. So frail and fragile.
So many tubes and wires . . .
Could she, a Sentinel, feel the discomfort of all those devices even through the
thick fog of a coma?
Jim reached out to pick up and hold one limp hand, he felt a lump form
in his throat. Because of him, it was because of him she was here. He'd failed
to protect her when she needed him the most.
He smiled ruefully. If Annie heard that she'd probably shoot him.
His smile faded as he reached out to brush a lock of pale blond hair away from
her still, angelic face.
If she could hear him. If she were awake to hear him. If she ever woke up.
"C'mon Annie," Jim whispered, pressing a kiss into her palm. "Lemme see those
blue eyes . . . please."
No response.
She lay still. Eyes closed. Unmoving. The only sign of life being the barely
perceptible rise and fall of her chest as the respirator forced oxygen into her
lungs.
His heart ached just watching her.
To see her like this was killing him. Annie, a fiercely independent and strong
woman, lying quiet and vulnerable.
He still couldn't believe she'd been shot to begin with. Somehow, she was always the
one who came out unscathed. The one who teased Blair about being a magnet for
injuries. The one who played nurse to Jim when he was injured or ill. Annie was always
the one who took care of everyone else. It was inconceivable that now she was the one
who needed to be taken care of.
Two lucky shots.
With all the criminals, She had faced down in her career, that had tried to
kill her and failed, she ended up fighting for her life all because she'd wanted
a cappuccino.
And in an ultimate irony they hadn't even been on duty when it happened. That
was the thing that got Jim.
She'd wanted a French vanilla cappuccino so they'd pulled over to a coffee
shop and she and Jo had headed inside.
A cappuccino. She'd only wanted a cappuccino.
While she and Jo were in getting their coffee, Jim and Blair had gone across the
street to get some takeout for dinner.
Everything was fine until they heard the shots. Then a scream that had frozen Jim's
blood.
Jo's voice screaming Annie's name.
Apparently one of the waitresses had a boyfriend who was involved in a gang and
members of a rival gang had come in. They'd been quiet for a few minutes. The
badge on Annie's hip accompanied by the nine mm had probably had a great deal to
do with their good behaviour.
Then the waitress's boyfriend and some of his 'boys' had shown up. Within
seconds of their arrival the situation had degenerated into a full scale gun battle.
Instinctively Annie'd shoved Jo behind the counter and went for her gun. But,
before she could return fire, two bullets, meant for the waitress behind her,
thudded into her chest.
Without a sound she'd dropped to the linoleum. Right in front of Jo.
Her scream had cut into Jim like a knife. While a very energetic person, she was
not given to overreactions. A scream like that had meant Annie was in serious
trouble. Or worse.
He didn't remember what had happened immediately after he heard the scream.
Blair said he'd dropped the Chinese he'd been holding and charged across the
street like a wild man. Not looking left nor right, just running straight
through the traffic.
One thing he did remember and always would, was the sight that had greeted him
when he'd run into the shop.
Annie sprawled on the floor, her white shirt soaked with blood . . . her blood.
Jo'd been kneeling next to her, her normally cheerful features drawn and pinched with
grief but focused, knowing instinctively that Annie needed her to be a surgeon first and
a friend second.
Fury had flooded into him, watching her fight to save the life of her best
friend. All he'd wanted to do was kill the monster who'd done this. But he couldn't.
The shooters had fled when Annie'd been hit.
Someone had had the presence of mind to call 911 and Jim's Sentinel hearing had
picked up on the wail of an approaching ambulance. He'd knelt next to Annie and
begun begging her to live, to fight. Begging her not to leave him.
When the EMT's had burst in they'd taken over for Jo but the the doctor
refused to leave her friend's side until forcibly removed by Jim and Blair.
Simon had arrived moments after the EMT's followed quickly by almost every
detective in Major Crimes.
She'd remained docile, standing by Blair's side, until Annie was loaded into the
ambulance and it became clear that Jim, not her, would be accompanying Annie in
the ambulance.
Simon'd grabbed the hysterical young woman and held her firmly, preventing her
from launching herself at the ambulance.
Jo had railed at him, according to Blair, pounding on the tall man's chest with
her tiny fists with more strength then either man would have expected. Trying
with all her strength to break his grip.
He'd had held fast until the ambulance had left and Jo'd begun to sob. He'd
then passed her over to Blair, knowing the younger man was more of a comfort
than he could be.
The captain had excused himself and gone to oversee the army of detectives
combing over the coffee shop. He'd walked away rubbing his chest and shaking his
head.
When she was calm enough, Blair had driven Jo to the hospital where they'd found
Jim and headed to a waiting room near the ER to wait while the doctors worked on
Annie.
Once there, he had found himself faced with the nearly impossible task of
keeping Jim and Jo from beating the walls down in their worry. He'd had no time
to be worried himself and that had been something he was profoundly grateful
for. Not that keeping them under control was a task he'd enjoyed. It'd
been nearly impossible.
Hours passed before anyone came to update them on Annie's condition. When the
doctor finally arrived his friends had pounced. Shooting question after question
at the poor man. Blair'd finally managed to get between them and the bewildered
doctor. He'd apologized for his friends behaviour then asked for an update.
Fortunately the doctor had understood their behaviour and had calmly
recited Annie's condition. She'd gone through everything well. They'd had to
insert a chest tube in the ER. Fortunately, she'd been unconscious when she
was brought in. Her chances were good but he'd cautioned them that her
condition was critical, a lung had been nicked and there were some concerns
about it collapsing.
Jo'd asked a question at that point and had gotten into a very technical
discussion with the surgeon about the particulars of Annie's injury. While Jim
and Blair weren't exactly rookies when it came to hospitals and bullet wounds
they'd had absolutely no idea what the two doctors were talking about.
The minute she was satisfied with the doctor's answers she'd demanded to see
Annie. And, understanding the bond that existed between Sentinel and Guide, Jim
had acquiesced. He'd let her spend the night at Annie's side, despite his own
overwhelming need to be there.
It had seemed like an eternity but morning had finally come and brought with it
Rafe, Henri, Joel and Simon. The three detectives expressed their concern to Jim
then had stepped back to let Simon update Jim.
Two of the gang members involved had been caught. Unfortunately neither one was
the shooter, which meant Annie was still in danger.
It would soon hit the news that a police detective had been shot and once that
happened the shooter would know who they'd shot and that she was still alive.
Which was not good since they'd known already that she was probably the only
one who could accurately ID the shooter. Most everyone else had ducked under
tables and Jo had been on her knees behind the counter. The two kids couldn't
say who'd fired the shots either. They'd been to busy trying to shoot their
rivals.
The news had catapulted Jim's protective instincts into overdrive. Within
fifteen minutes he had a uniformed officer outside the door and a few
plain-clothed officers stationed near the elevator and stairs in the lobby.
Plus, without being asked, on top of their regular duty shifts, the guys from
Major Crimes were pulling guard duty. They'd stationed themselves in strategic
points around her floor.
"C'mon Annie," Jim whispered, stroking her hair. "Wake up. Just open those eyes
and glare at me. Tell me to get my ass down to Starbucks to get up a cappuccino.
Better yet, yell at me for dropping the Chinese . . . C'mon Annie . . . just
wake up. What's the fun of being laid up in the hospital if you spend all your
time unconscious? You're missing all the good stuff. You should've seen the
doctor's face when Jo and I stared jumping all over him about you. I think if
Blair hadn't calmed us down he'd would've run for the door." He chuckled. "You
would've laughed at us and said to switch to decaf. I know, you're wondering
where Jo is; Sandburg took her back to the loft. Well . . . took isn't exactly
the right word for it. Dragged would be. She practically been glued to your side
ever since you decided to play practice dummy. She lost it when we wouldn't let
her ride in the ambulance with you then she drilled me about what they'd done
with you in the ER; hell, she even tried to get into the operating room.
I don't think she trusted the doctors with you. Must be a mutual thing, I remember
how protective you were of Jo when you first got here, especially around me. If
I so much as looked at her the wrong way those blue lasers of yours were on me."
Jim sighed as he surveyed Annie's unresponsive face. "C'mon, wake up." Receiving
no response, he tightened his grip on her hand and resolutely began talking again.
-----------
Blair Sandburg wandered around the living room. The only sound in the loft was
the noise of the shower.
Trying to distract himself, the teaching fellow picked up the remote and flicked
on the television.
He flicked idly through the channels, unable to focus his attention on any
particular program. How could he, when one of his close friends was lying in a hospital
bed clinging to life?
Annie was the closest thing to an older sister he'd ever had. She was the one he
talked to when he couldn't go to Jim or Jo. Annie was a confidante, sounding board
and guru of all things Sentinel and female. She was the ultimate expert on the two
things Blair seemed to have the most problems with. Sentinels and women. If he
needed to know something about Sentinels and he couldn't ask Jim for some reason,
he went to Annie. And where else would he go for advice on Canadian women? Or one
feisty young Canadian woman in particular?
He couldn't imagine not having her around; they did their birthday present shopping
together, planned Jim's surprise party together, and (best of all) played
practical jokes together. They'd even gotten into a good old-fashioned pillow
fight.
He felt a lump form in his throat as he faced, for the first time, the
possibility of losing Annie. He hadn't allowed himself to consider the
possibility until that moment, he'd been to busy keeping everyone else calm.
Blair forced a smile onto his face and turned to face Jo, who was walking
out of the bathroom, towelling off her short dark hair. "Hey beautiful! Water
hot enough?"
She nodded dumbly as she walked past him to the kitchen. "Any word from the hospital?"
"No. Which is good. Means no change."
She made a small noise and turned to pour herself a cup of coffee.
Blair turned to face the television as the local news came on.
The announcer's face was grim as a small Cascade PD crest appeared in the upper
corner of the screen. "The identity if the lone victim in the Main Street
shooting has been confirmed. Detective Anne Marie Langdon was shot twice in the
chest during a gang fight that broke out in a Main Street coffee shop. Detective
Langdon is a Toronto police detective currently working in the Major Crimes
department of the Cascade PD. At last report, Detective Langdon's condition was
listed as critical but stable. She has been in the news most recently for a series
of successful investigations with Cascade's own Detective Jim Ellison of Major Crimes . . . "
Blair turned the volume down in time to hear a crash.
He spun and saw Jo standing by the island in the kitchen. She was staring at the
picture on the screen. It was one of Annie and Jim taken at a crime scene. Annie
wore a navy blue pantsuit, white shirt and navy blue coat. Jim stood next to her
in his usual black leather jacket with khaki pants and a dark sweater.
"Jo?"
She stared at the television for a moment then noticed the broken coffee mug.
"Oh."
He hurried over as he recognized the first signs of an impending explosion.
"It's ok, I got it."
He quickly picked up the larger pieces and tossed them into the garbage then
grabbed a cloth to wipe up the coffee. He turned to find her kneeling next to the
spill staring down at the liquid.
Hesitantly she reached out a shaking hand to touch the liquid.
"Jo?" Blair knelt next to her and pushed her dark hair away from her face.
"Honey, are you all right?"
"So much of it."
"So much of what?"
"It was everywhere." She turned her hand over and looked at it.
He reached past her to wipe the coffee up along with the smaller pieces of
the cup then put the cloth in the sink.
"Jo?" He knelt again next to her. " What are you talking about?"
"There was so much blood." She said finally, lifting tear filled hazel eyes to
his. "I barely stopped it."
"One bullet nicked a lung. There's always a lot of bleeding when a lung is hit.
You said so yourself." He took her hands in his and helped her stand. Then
without saying a word he pulled her into his arms and rested her head against
his shoulder.
"She can't die." Jo whispered. "She can't!"
She sobbed quietly, her tears soaking into Blair's shirt.
"Annie's not going to die Jo. She's to stubborn for that. She wouldn't leave us. Not
if she has a choice in the matter."
She looked up at him, tears flowing freely down her face. "But what if she doesn't?"
------------
"Hey man!" The young man turned from the television long enough to wave his friend over.
"Yeah?" He leaned over the younger man's shoulder to look at the screen.
"Ain't that the babe you shot the other day?"
The elder man surveyed Annie Langdon's face. "Yeah man. The Barbie doll."
"Yeah well, your Barbie doll's a cop!"
"What?!"
"And it gets better. She's still alive." He glanced up at his friend. "If she
wakes up and gives the cops a description of us. We're in serious trouble. Every
cop in the city'll be looking for us. You know how they are when one of their
own gets hurt. Sides it said she works with that cop from Major Crimes. You know
the one who's always in the news. Ellison. They're partners or somethin'."
His friend remained silent but both knew what had to be done.
--------------
Jim was started out of his sleep by a familiar scent.
"Hello, Simon." He said, sleepily, rubbing his face.
"For once you could wait until I get into the room." The captain groused in a low irritated
tone.
"It's your cigars." Jim responded absently. "They give you away every time."
Simon surveyed the pale woman lying on the bed before him.
"How is she?" He asked quietly.
"No change. She's not even responding to my voice."
"She's a tough lady Jim. She won't give up without a fight. And we both know
what kind of a fighter she is."
Jim chuckled softly. He knew better than anyone what kind of a fighter she
was. They had been at each other's throats from the moment they'd met. "I know
Simon. It's just that I can't face losing her. I don't know how I . . . "
"I don't think any of us could face that, let alone you and Jo . . . How is she
anyway?"
He sighed. "About as well as can be expected. This is her worst nightmare."
"I got that when I saw her at the coffee shop. The girl used my chest as a punching bag. I
think my bruises have bruises."
Ellison grinned despite himself. " Annie'd love that one."
"I have a feeling that when she wakes up, I'm never going to hear the end of it."
Jim returned his attention to Annie's still face. "If she wakes up."
"She will." Simon said firmly. " She's got too much to live for. Too much to
give up. Besides, you know her, she'll milk this for all the babying she can
get."
"Shooting hit the news yet?"
"Yeah, about an hour ago. They gave her name, a picture, even her background."
His jaw clenched and his blue eyes turned to ice. "They just signed her death warrant and
they don't they care."
"What they care about," Simon responded, anger filling his voice. " is milking a
good news story for all the ratings its worth." He placed a hand on his friend's
shoulder. "C'mon, let's get you a cup of coffee. Rafe's dying to get in here to
talk to Annie and I know Megan wants to come down here. You need the break, Jim."
He touched Annie's limp hand once more, then stood and brushed a gentle kiss
across her forehead. "I'll be back in a few minutes ok? I love you."
Trailing a hand down her arm, he started towards the door with Simon.
His hand had just touched the doorknob when his hearing picked up on
a sound he'd never expected to hear again.
"Love you too . . . Jim."
He spun and stared at the woman lying in the hospital bed.
"Jim?" Simon was looking at Annie as well. She appeared the same as before.
Unmoving.
He ignored him, rushing to the bed. "Annie? Sweetheart?"
The captain followed. "Jim? Did you hear something?"
Jim brushed her hair back with one hand while holding hers with the other and she stirred
slightly under his ministrations.
"Jim?" Her voice was husky and weak but as her eyes flickered open he saw they were as
vibrant and sharp as ever.
"Simon, get a doctor in here!"
The captain was out the door before Jim'd finished speaking.
"Hey," He said smiling tenderly.
"What . . . " Annie paused and licked her dry lips. "What happened?"
He poured a cup of water and helped Annie sip it. "You played Sandburg for a
day and got shot twice in the chest."
She winced. "That's why I hurt like hell?"
Jim chuckled. "Turn down the dial, Annie, turn down the dial."
She chuckled herself then cringed at the pain it caused. "Ouch. Easier said
than done . . . where's Jo?"
"At the loft with Sandburg. We bullied her into getting some sleep and food."
He glanced up. Simon was coming with the doctor. "Look, when the doctor's done
checking you out we need to get a sketch artist in here to get a description of
the shooter."
"The guys are getting nowhere huh?" Her voice was weak with fatigue.
"Basically. We're attributing the lack of results to either worry or
exhaustion." Jim responded with a smile.
"The guys are worried about me?" She blinked.
"We take care of our own remember? You're one of us."
It was then the doctor came in followed by Simon.
"I'm going over to Major Crimes and tell everyone the good news."
Jim nodded. "I better call Jo and Blair." He walked back over to the bed. "I'll
be right back. "
Annie nodded and responded when he kissed her.
"Love you." He whispered.
"Love you." She answered with a tired smile.
------------
Jo was dozing quietly on the couch and Blair sat nearby in a chair, reading one
of his anthropology texts, when the phone rang.
Instantly he jumped up and snatched the phone off its base. "Hello?.... Jim!
Hey, man what's up?" He paused, listening. "Yeah, I guess we all knew it would
happen. Yeah, ok, right. Bye."
"Blair?"
She stood before him, worry and fear filling her wide green eyes.
He stood quietly for a moment, absorbing the news himself.
"Tell me . . . " She implored. "Please Blair?"
He took her hand in his. "Annie . . . " Her eyes filled with tears as she
feared the worst. Her worry, however, was unfounded. "She woke up about five
minutes ago."
The tears overflowed but now they were tears of relief.
"Thank God." She sobbed in relief as Blair pulled her close.
"Yeah, thank God." He whispered into her hair.
Then, with a gleeful smile, Jo pulled back and zeroed in for a passionate
celebratory kiss.
-------------
Simon strode into a subdued Major Crimes. Detectives were walking through the
bullpen holding files and envelopes but few spoke and when they did it was in
low subdued tones.
"All right guys listen up! I've got news."
Everyone stopped, all with the same anxious expression.
"Annie?" Rafe spoke the question that was on everyone's mind.
He nodded.
"Well?" Henri demanded walking up.
"Is she?" Taggert asked worriedly.
He hesitated then smiled broadly. "She woke up about ten minutes ago."
Everyone stood in stunned silence for a few seconds as they digested the
information. Then everything, and everyone, erupted into chaos.
Applause and cheers filled the bullpen and Simon had a feeling that the minute
he was inside his office there'd be one hell of a party.
"Rafe! Get a sketch artist and get over to Cascade General and get a
description of the shooter!" Simon yelled before walking into his office.
------------
A young orderly walked through the halls of the intensive care unit. He was
pushing a cart of hospital supplies but his eyes weren't on the cart, they were
on the security stationed around one particular room. Occupied by one particular
police detective.
No one noticed him when he walked past the room and took note of the room number
and security around the door.
The elevator doors were barely open when Jo came flying out through.
"Jo! Wait!" Blair called out running after her.
Two uniformed officers stood in the waiting room. They smiled as the tiny trauma
surgeon raced down the hallway to her best friend's room.
She opened the door and promptly slammed into Jim Ellison's broad chest.
"Easy Jo. You just can't go barging in there, not yet anyway." Jim said as he
steadied her.
She glared up at him. "Oh?...and why not?"
"Because Rafe's in there with a sketch artist and they're getting a description
of the shooter. They'll be done in a minute and then you can go in and see her."
She sighed then acquiesced. "How is she Jim?"
"Awake . . . but tired."
Her smile could've lit up the darkest of nights. "Excellent!"
"Detective," the sketch artist stood in the doorway a piece of paper in hand. He
presented it to Jim. "This is the sketch of the shooter. According to Detective
Langdon it's as close as we'll get without actually having a picture on hand."
"And if we had a picture, we wouldn't need a sketch." Jim noted as he eyed the paper.
"Uh . . . Does this mean I can see Annie now?" Jo asked plaintively, after a few
seconds.
Jim glanced through the doorway in time to see Rafe flip his notebook shut,
smile at Annie, and turn towards the door.
"Yeah." He nodded.
She scurried past him and around Rafe and over to the bed.
"Heya boss lady! Who said you could take a powder without my permission?" Jo put
her tiny hands on her hips and glared down at Annie.
The female Sentinel smiled wearily. "Don't make me laugh Jo. It hurts too much."
"Suffer! Who said you could get shot?"
"Suffer? Me? I've only been shot twice in the chest. Where's the suffering in
that?" Annie rolled her eyes. "And for your information I had the permission of
Mr. Smith and Mr. Wesson."
"If you weren't lying in a hospital bed, I'd smack you," She glared, then as swiftly
it had appeared her irritation vanished. Jo's green eyes teared up.
"Annie, don't you ever do that to me again!"
Instantly Annie was in full Sentinel/Mother hen mode. "Hey, Jo, it's Ok. I'm fine.
I've been shot before. It's no big deal."
"No big deal! You took two bullets to the chest! You were in a coma! Annie, you
nearly died! That my darling detective counts as a big deal!"
Jo's voice was several levels below a yell but her meaning came across loud and clear.
"C'mere." Annie managed a weak wave.
"What?" Jo looked confused.
"C'mere." She muttered in a tone that was meant to be threatening but came across
as strained. "I would never leave you all right? If that means walking bare foot
across hot tin, surviving two bullets to the chest, spending an afternoon with
Cassie or eating Blair's cooking. Anything. I promise you that. I'm not going to
leave you. Ever. Got it!" She fell back against her pillow obviously tired but
she knew by the look on the younger woman's face, Jo had gotten the message.
"Besides, who'd help Sandburg shop for presents for you if I died?"
"Precisely Jo," Blair added in. "I'd be lost without Annie." He grinned then
bent down to kiss Annie on the forehead. "Hey beautiful. Good to see you
conscious."
"Funny . . . " Annie shot back then noticed Blair seemed to be hiding something.
"Sandburg, what are you doing?"
He blinked innocently. "Doing?"
"You're hiding something behind your back."
"I am?" He turned slightly. "Well, her eyes are working." He held out a medium-sized
stuffed bear. "Meet Mr. Ellison."
She eyed the beautiful soft furry brown bear. Who, she did notice, happened to resemble
a certain detective she knew.
"Mr . . . Who?"
"Mr. Ellison." Jo confirmed. "We saw him in the gift shop. Both Blair and I
guessed that since Jim isn't allowed to sleep in that bed with you, you must be
kinda lonely. So we brought you the next best thing. A bear that looks like
Jim."
She looked skeptical but there was a twinkle in her blue eyes. "Well he does
kinda look like Jim."
"Who kinda looks like Jim?" Jim asked appearing in the doorway.
"Mr. Ellison." All three chorused.
He blinked.
For clarification, Blair held out the bear. "Mr. Ellison. Since you're too big
for that bed, we decided to give her the next best thing."
He glanced over at Annie who shrugged tiredly.
"He's even wearing a green sweater like yours Jim!" Jo pointed out helpfully.
Jim took the bear in his hands and surveyed it. The green sweater did look like
one he owned.
He then lifted his eyes to survey Jo and Blair, who were watching him with twin
expressions of eagerness.
His gaze then flicked over to a sleepy Annie, he looked back down at the
bear, then walked over to her.
"Your teddy bear, milady." He said presenting the bear to her with a flourish.
She laughed softly and with a slight grimace of pain, lifted an arm to nestle the
teddy bear against her side.
"Thanks, guys."
Jim noticed her drooping eyelids and, looking over at his friends, inclined
his head towards the door.
She nodded slightly. "We'd better get going. You need rest and the esteemed
detective here has a bad guy to catch."
"Kay."
Jo bent down careful to avoid the various tubes and hugged her best friend.
"However, Blair and I have some grocery shopping to do."
"No squabbling over the pasta and no fist fights over the vegetables, got it?"
Annie warned, her blue eyes twinkling.
"Darn. You mean I can't hit Blair over the head with a T-bone?" She inquired in
mischief.
"No smacking the little guy with any meats. Frozen or otherwise."
"Well, I'll compromise. If Blair doesn't buy tongue. I won't hit him." Jo
offered generously. "I refuse to eat anything that's been in any animal's mouth.
It's disgusting!"
"It's food!" Blair countered.
"Blair, it was an organ that an animal once used to chew and make sounds with.
How would you feel if someone ate your tongue?"
"At least he'd be quiet." Annie offered.
"Knowing Sandburg, he'd learn sign language." Jim said with a sigh.
"And when he got excited he'd probably sign so wildly he'd put somebody's eye
out." Jo said in mock-irritation.
"Guys, I'm crushed that you think that of me."
Jo rolled her eyes. "Blai honey, you're better off not knowing what I think about you." She
hesitated for a second, then grinned. "C'mon, handsome, we've got shopping to do."
"Later." Annie half-waved.
When they left, Jim moved forward. "Now that Donald and Daisy are gone, I'll say a
proper good bye." He whispered, kissing her.
It was times like this when he felt torn between his duty and his emotions.
He knew his duty as a Sentinel and a cop was to go out there and find the
shooter but at the same time his emotions were screaming for him to stay glued
to Annie's side, to protect her and care for her.
She yawned sleepily. She was just so tired, she could hardly keep her eyes
open. And that was frustrating, she didn't want to be the one who had to lie in
the bed and wave as everyone left. She wanted to be the one leaving to go nail
the perp who'd pulled the trigger. It was hard to be the helpless one.
Nevertheless her body wouldn't let her. It was steadily pulling her down into
sleep. "Ok." She smiled up at him. "Relax, honey. There's a guard outside. I'll
be fine."
He smiled softly. "I know."
Annie smiled back. "But you're still worried."
"Sentinel's prerogative."
She shook her head slightly. "I suppose."
"Oh come on. You know if the situation were reversed you'd be worried to."
Her smile turned sheepish. "True. Now get going before Simon fires you." She
didn't want him to go. She knew it and she also knew Jim knew it. But Annie also
knew Jim had a job to do. A job that she wanted to do. They were Sentinels and
part of that meant they had to ignore their own wants in order to protect their
tribe.
He smiled, kissed her again and then, reluctantly, left. Listening as Annie settled
back into her pillow. Knowing that right about then her exhaustion was finally winning
and that she was sinking down deep into sleep.
--------------
"Well?" the gang leader said sitting up as his young assistant walked into their hangout.
"Toby man, I don't know how you're gonna get to her. Ellison's got a ton of guards on that
floor."
"Never mind that Zach, just tell me what's going on up there!" Toby snapped angrily.
Zach sighed and sitting down, he described in detail what he'd seen around Anne Marie Langdon's
hospital room.
Both young men were completely unaware of that fact that a description of Toby
was now in the hands of the Cascade PD's Major Crimes division.
Jim Ellison strode into Major Crimes and even before he could yell Rafe's name,
the detective was walking along beside him. "Thought you might want to take a
look at this. We got a match with the sketch. This guy here. He goes by Toby.
They're pulling his rap sheet now." He handed the detective a copy of the sketch
along with a mug shot. "Plus we got the waitress from the coffee shop in here."
"His girlfriend?" Jim queried.
Rafe nodded. "By the looks of it, she was the intended target, not Annie. She
must have gotten on her boyfriend's bad side."
His eyes were steely. "I'm interviewing her."
He nodded again. "We thought you'd want to."
"We?"
The detective was grinning. "I already Ok'd it with Simon."
He just shook his head.
-------
Jillian cracked her gum and glanced around the interview room. She hoped it was
the cute detective, what was his name . . . Rafe, that interviewed her. He was
the one who'd brought her in. As she waited she found herself picking at the
polish on her nails. She was still shaky. He'd tried to kill her. Toby had
actually tried to kill her.
The door swung open and a tall imposing detective walked in, yanking her out of
her musings. His blue eyes were cold and angry.
She surveyed the tall man for a moment, appraising his good looks and his
attitude. He was obviously angry, that much she could see.
"Ms. Hendricks." He nodded stiffly. "I'm Detective Ellison. I'd like to talk to
you about your boyfriend." Jim stared at slender young woman sitting at the
table. This was the woman that Annie had taken the bullets for? Forcing himself
to stay calm Jim walked over to the table.
She was a little taken aback by his brisk, businesslike town but nevertheless she
smiled coyly. "My boyfriend? I wouldn't really call him my boyfriend." This guy
was not what she'd been expecting. He was big and imposing and she was starting
to get scared. She'd heard stories of cops getting violent.
He wasn't gonna hit her...was he?
"Oh really?" Jim began to pace the interrogation room. "Well I know what you
should call him. An attempted murderer. You see Ms. Hendricks, your boyfriend
shot a cop. And I work with that cop. She's a very good friend of mine." He
stopped pacing on the other side of the table, opposite to where Jillian was
sitting. Then he leaned in on his hands, getting right in her face as he
continued. "In fact, we're more than just good friends." His tone had gone
from business like to threatening. "Now I want to know where 'Toby' is." He
slammed a hand on the table for emphasis, the resounding noise making her jump
in fear.
She sat quiet, frozen in place, after her initial jump, by Ellison's icy
glare. She knew she was in trouble but . . . "He'll kill me."
"Wake up Jillian, he's already tried that remember?" Jim said flatly. "Those
bullets that hit Detective Langdon were meant for you! Toby was trying to kill
you." He stabbed the air in front of her, punctuating his words. "And if we don't
get him he will try again! But before he goes after you he's going after Detective
Langdon. She saved your life when she took those bullets. Now its your turn to save
hers. Where is he?" Ellison demanded, in a fierce whisper.
Jillian looked down at her hands for a long moment, fiddling with her nails,
finally she spoke hesitantly, she wasn't sure she was doing the right thing.
Either way her life was over. Toby didn't like snitches, she'd seen that more
than once. And she knew he'd hear that the cops had brought her in, it didn't
matter if she told them anything or not. He'd assume she had and kill her. All
things considered she was safer with the cops than with Toby. "There's this
place, a warehouse, downtown, where they hang out. His gang. They'd probably be
there."
He handed her a pad of paper and a pen and she wrote down the address. He held
his hands behind his back while she wrote and found himself crossing his
fingers. 'Please let that address be legit.' He thought as the pen moved across
the paper.
"Thank you." He said sincerely then turned toward the door but Jillian's voice
stopped him from going through.
"Detective Ellison?"
Jim turned. "Yes?"
"Tell her thank you for me." Jillian's eyes were earnest. "And...you guys...you'll
protect me right? I mean, Toby's got friends you know, and they'll know it was me."
"The captain will talk to the D.A." He informed her quietly and walked out. As he
did so his eyes fell on the address Jillian had given him. An address meant a concrete
lead (he hoped) and that meant he was one step closer to finding this Toby. One step
closer to looking into his face and getting the satisfaction of making him pay. For the
first time since he'd walked into Major Crimes, Jim Ellison smiled.
--------
Uniformed officers stormed into the warehouse, guns drawn. Gang members around
the room dove for their guns but they were sorely outnumbered. In seconds they
were subdued.
Mug shot in hand, Jim strode in and eyed every single gang member in the
building but, to his frustration, Toby was not among the suspects.
Ellison's ice blue eyes raked over the group and he held up the mug shot.
"Where is he?" He demanded angrily, only to be greeted by stony silence.
He glared at them and he saw some wilt under the force of his rage but none spoke.
"You guys don't seem to understand!" Simon thundered. "Your friend shot a cop!
And she's still alive. But if he's on his way to kill her and should he succeed.
You'll all be accessories to Murder One!" He swept the crowd of young people before
him with the steely glare that had made more than one of his detectives sweat, many
looked back at him with outright defiance, others shuffled their feet and wouldn't
meet his gaze, others looked at him with genuine fear in their eyes. Most were
just quiet.
Simon let the silence hang, knowing the longer he stayed quiet the less defiance
they'd be able to manage. Finally one young man who seemed particularly fidgety
took a slight step forward.
A uniformed officer spotted him and grabbed his jacket, meaning to drag him
before the captain but Simon shook his head. Silently telling the cop to let the
kid come forward on his own two feet.
The captain focussed his gaze in on him. 'Good, we're getting somewhere. C'mon kid. Do
some good for once'. "Are you willing to go to prison for him? He shot a cop. And you're
going down for it. He's left you hanging. Is he worth it?"
The kid cracked.
"Naw man. He ain't." The kid stepped forward and raised his head, daring the
others to challenge him "Toby and Zach went over to the hospital to finish off
the Barbie doll."
Hearing the gender slur, Jim's eyes went from ice to steel again. "Her name's
Annie." He hissed and stalked out, angry at himself for letting the kid's
ignorance get to him.
Jo and Blair were just pulling out of the grocery store's parking lot when Jo frowned.
Blair happened to glance over and spot the look. "Jo? Honey? Something wrong?"
"Blair, head for the hospital."
"What? Why?" Blair, although he was questioning her, automatically turned Annie's jeep
in the direction of the hospital.
"Something's wrong. I know it. Something's wrong with Annie." Jo murmured
distractedly, she could feel the bond that existed between her and Annie, the
link that constantly existed between a Sentinel and a Guide, begin to weaken and
unravel.
Without hesitation he pressed down on the gas pedal.
---------
Annie lay sleeping quietly in her hospital room. Her ordinarily sharp senses
were dulled by painkillers. In her drugged state the sentinel was almost
completely unaware of any of the activity going on outside her room. However
sounds from the hallway intruded into her unconsciousness giving her dream
images a surreal quality as the real life sounds segued into pictures in her
mind. She was restless, her head moving back and forth in agitation as she tried to
get the healing sleep she needed, sleep that seemed to be eluding her.
At Toby's order, Zach had worked hard to blend in on her floor. At varying
times every day he'd push a cart of medical supplies or laundry through the
hall. Once even gaining access to Detective Langdon's room when a doctor asked
for his help to move a piece of equipment out. He'd been very careful to avoid
Jim Ellison and any of Detective Langdon's close friends. Although he'd had a
close call with the anthropologist the day before when he'd stopped by the
detective's room, supposedly to check the bathroom supplies.
His daily 'rounds' on the floor also familiarized him with the shifts the guards
worked. And he knew that when the shifts changed both the guard coming on shift
and the guard going on shift had to go to the nurses desk.
So when the shift changed Zach pushed his cart down the hall and stopped in
front of Detective Langdon's room. The card he pushed today was a laundry cart
filled with bedding. With a casual air he pushed the cart into the room and
closed the door.
He then sauntered down the corridor toward the elevators.
The doors to one elevator slid open and Jo and Blair stepped out. Jo nodded at
the young man, not really seeing his face, and started down the hall, intent on
getting to her friend.
But Blair stopped. There was something wrong with this picture. He stared at the
young man. Trying to place what it was.
Then it hit him. The orderly he'd run into the other day. He'd been pushing a
cart. He'd given Blair such a startled look. Like he was afraid of something.
Afraid of recognition. Instantly Blair knew. He didn't know how he knew. He just
did. Glancing around he spotted Joel Taggert. "Joel! Grab that guy!"
Taggert hurried over and grabbed the orderly by the arm. "Something wrong Blair?"
"Check this guy's ID. I have a feeling he's no orderly."
-------
The room was deathly silent except for the noise of the machines.
Annie lay silent. Finally deep asleep as her subconscious picked up on the
presence of the two Guides outside. So deep that she never noticed when the
laundry started to move.
Toby popped up from under the sheets and cautiously eased out over the edge of
the cart and advanced on the bed. He looked at the sleeping woman and couldn't
believe his luck. She was out cold. "This is gonna be easier than taking candy
from a baby," He grinned maliciously to himself as he noticed a pillow lying on
a nearby chair. Deciding to take the easy route and smother the elegant
detective, he picked up the pillow and walked over to the bed.
"Sorry 'bout this doll, but you saw my face and we can't have you getting me
into any trouble with Cascade's finest. I've got enough problems with them as
is."
"Have a nice long sleep Barbie!" Resolutely he lowered the pillow over her
face. At first there was no reaction but then she began to struggle trying to
get the pillow away from her face, however due to her weakened state Annie
couldn't put up much of a fight.
-----------
Jo's heart suddenly began to pound. Looking around she spotted a cart of various
medical supplies. Catching sight of a telltale glint of steel. She snatched the
object off the shelf and burst into Annie's room. The doctor was greeted by
the sight of the gang leader pressing a pillow down over her friend's face.
Annie was feebly waving her arms, trying to claw at the suffocating material, at
his hands, anything to free herself.
Toby, hearing the door open and the gasp that accompanied it, spun but he didn't
stand a chance against a Guide in full protect mode.
Enraged, she shoved the laundry cart at him. It slammed into him hard, knocking him
off balance. Instead of falling forward into Annie, the gang leader found
himself falling back into the cart. Not satisfied with just taking him out of
the way, she smacked him on the head for good measure. Once she was sure he was
out she raced over to the bed to check on a gasping Annie.
This was the sight that greeted Jim, Simon and Blair when they raced into the
room.
The gang leader unconscious in the laundry cart, his legs and arms hanging over
the sides like a puppet with his strings cut, and the Guide worriedly examining
her Sentinel.
She turned and spotted them. "Get that out of here." She said gesturing in
disgust at the unconscious man.
"How'd you knock him out?" Blair inquired eyeing the heavily built man.
She waved her improvised weapon then looked puzzled when Simon, Blair, Jim and
even Annie, laughed.
She looked down at her hand and stared in shock as she realized what she was holding.
"How am I supposed to file a report on this?" Jim asked of no one in particular.
Annie coughed weakly and whispered. "Umm . . . suspect . . . was . . . subdued
by . . . ahem . . . a...er . . . bed . . . pan." She snickered slightly at her
own words.
"A bedpan . . . " Jo stared at her hand. "I'm holding a bedpan." She looked at
Toby. "I knocked someone out with . . . a bedpan." She examined the offending
object closely. "I dented the bedpan."
She smiled. "Jo . . . you are priceless."
She looked down at her friend. "Well not exactly. I can be bought with a good
lead crystal figurine or a big bowl of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream."
Annie rolled her eyes.
-------------
Over the next month Annie recuperated in the hospital. Fast becoming a floor
favourite. She always seemed to know what was going on with everyone else. Once
her chest tube was out she began venturing beyond the confines of her room to
visit the various patients. And when she wasn't visiting fellow patients she was
being visited. A steady stream of detectives and friends kept the female
sentinel entertained. Within a week Mr. Ellison wasn't the only stuffed toy in
the room. Almost everyone who came through the door had either flowers or a
stuffed toy for the beautiful blonde. She finally had to get Jim to carry half
of it home to the brewery for her because she was running out of room.
Despite the steady stream of visitors that kept her company, and her wanderings
around the floor, Annie hated being cooped up. She was an active woman, she wanted to
be out protecting the city not being waited on by a bunch of doctors and nurses
who kept poking and prodding her.
And Jo was not much better off. She hated being alone in the brewery. Well,
without Annie that is, Blair seemed to be over every other night to 'check on
her'. Besides, she was a doctor, she wanted to be the one treating Annie, but
since the detective was no longer a surgical case she couldn't. She had to
settle for visiting between surgeries and shifts in the ER.
Blair found work in Major Crimes to be...well..boring. There was no Annie to get
in paper ball wars with. They had a tendency to start little ones which then spread
to H, Rafe, Megan and Joel. Jim would try and play the mature adult but inevitably
he would end up in the thick of them to. Usually when somebody landed a three pointer
right in the center of his forehead.
And Jim was the worst of all of them. He moped around the loft when he wasn't at
work or at the hospital. The loft was the worst. There were little hints of
Annie everywhere. He could smell her shampoo on the pillows in his bed. Her
favourite blue sweater was still tossed across one of the chairs in the living
room. And the worst of all of them was the bed was to empty at night. He
couldn't sleep without her warm body next to his. It wasn't as if she lived in
the loft. But it was different when he knew she was at the brewery and could
come over at any time. But knowing she was lying in a hospital bed, alone with
none of her friends around...that kept him awake. Made him miss her.
But finally the time came for her to be released.
---------
When he walked in, Annie was sitting in a wheelchair with Jo behind her putting
the finishing touches on her blond hair.
"Ready to go?" He inquired.
She nodded eagerly. "Lemme outta here."
Jo put her brush away. "Do I detect a note of eagerness?" She asked sarcastically.
"No none whatsoever,"
Blair grunted something from where he was buried under the mound of stuffed toys he was
trying to carry.
He regarded him casually but made no move to help. "Ya'll right under there Sandburg?"
Sandburg mumbled again and managed to gesture wildly.
"You know I think he needs a hand." Jo supplied helpfully but stayed where she was.
His free hand made a thumb's up sign.
"Don't look at me," Annie said sweetly. "I'm the invalid."
Jo gave an unladylike snort. "Invalid my patootey."
One of her blonde eyebrows rose. "Pa-whatey?"
"Patootey. Now be a good little Sentinel and hold onto your bag."
She rolled her eyes and gripped the overnight bag. "Jim honey, will you please help Blair
with my stuffed toys?"
Walking over to Blair, Jim took half the stuffed toys from his Guide.
"Thank you." Blair said gratefully.
"Think nothing of it." Jo said graciously.
"Don't worry." He said sarcastically. "I won't, seeing as you're not being much help anyway."
Annie laughed. "All right you two. Retreat to your respective corners." She said jerking her
thumbs in the opposite direction for emphasis. "I want to get out of here before the doctors
dream up some new tests to run on me."
"Easy boss lady. They haven't brought your release papers yet and you can't go
anywhere without those." Jo explained, her tone tolerant.
She sighed impatiently. "This always went faster in Toronto."
"That's because you spent so much time there they had the Annie-special. Rush delivery."
Jim grinned. "Funny. They've got one of those here too. They call it the Sandburg Special."
"Jim!" Blair practically wailed.
The trio around him laughed and Annie winced. "Oooh Blair, don't make me laugh it hurts too
much."
The doctor walked in on the last comment and gave Sandburg a steely eyed glare.
He smiled sheepishly as the doctor gave Annie her release papers and a stern warning to take
it easy.
---------
The drive home was relatively quiet. Jim drove extra carefully, trying to avoid every bump and
crack in the pavement that he could see.
They'd decided to have her recuperate at the loft. It was closer to work and there were less
rooms for Annie to navigate. But Jo secretly suspected Jim just wanted to have Annie close by
so he could keep an eye on her.
Jo's musings were interrupted by Annie's stern voice as she reached the door.
"Jim Ellison! PUT ME DOWN! I am perfectly capable of walking!"
She turned to see Jim carrying Annie from the jeep. The blonde's piercing blue eyes were
snapping sparks.
"Annie, honey," Jim said patiently. "Humor me."
She sighed heavily then winced at the pain the action caused. "All right."
He grinned in victory and carried her inside.
Jo glanced over at Blair. "I hope he enjoys that victory. Because it's the only one he's gonna
get."
Both laughed as they headed into the building, hand in hand, glad to see their friends back
together again, well and happy.
Finis