****
It felt like an eternity before he reached the EMTs. Pushing past them he finally made it to Shay's side and reached out for her hand when he was pulled roughly away. Normally in the midst of the situation, he was forced to play the part of a spectator as the gurney was lifted and pushed in to the ambulance.
He vaguely heard Jake's voice assuring him that she would be fine. Fine? He didn't think so; he felt his world slipping away as the ambulance door closed and instinctively reached out.
"Sir... this woman needs to get to the hospital. If you persist in these delays, I'll call one of those officers over here," the EMT growled from the back of the ambulance.
"She's my wife." His voice was barely more than a hoarse whisper. "I want to ride with her."
"I'm sorry, Sir. There just isn't room. Please... we've got to get her to the hospital," the EMT pleaded.
Frank felt his hand being pulled away from the door and a sideways glance confirmed that Jake was beside him. The ambulance door closed and it sped away. In that moment, Frank knew complete uselessness and utter despair.
"Come on, Frank," Jake urged. Sympathetically, he placed an arm around the taller man's shoulder, led him back to their vehicle and helped Frank into the passenger seat. Sliding behind the wheel, Jake glanced at his boss and friend. His heart broke for the man who sat next to him.
Jake started the engine and pulled into traffic, taking the exit and following the ambulance and the police escort as closely as possible. He heard Frank mumble something and glanced over at him. He stared straight ahead, his eyes never once veering from the rear of the ambulance. He mumbled again, this time Jake could make out the words. "Ma vie pour le vôtre, Ashling," he whispered as a single tear rolled down his cheek.
Quietly Jake picked up the cell phone and called home. Both he and Frank were on autopilot right now. Jake in particular after feeling the bottom drop out when he saw Frankie's car half the size it should have been. "C'mon," he whispered, "pick up the damned phone..."
"Hello?"
"Oh thank God Francesca.." Jake breathed on his end when she picked up. "You all right?"
"Sure baby," Frankie chuckled. At the tone of his voice, she straightened up and moved away from the kids. "What's wrong?"
"I just needed to hear your voice, make sure you were OK." Jake avoided her question.
"Jacob... What. Is. Wrong."
"I... it's Shay. She's been in an accident." Jake threw a look over at Frank who was staring out the window as they followed the police escort behind the ambulance. "We're on our way to the hospital behind the ambulance."
Frankie sat down slowly in the chair she'd been standing next to. If Jake and Frank were on the way to the hospital behind the ambulance, then they were there when the accident happened. That would explain why Jake sounded so incredibly relieved to hear her voice. "OK baby. Look, I know Frank is with you. Keep it together for him. Call me when you find out how Shay is."
"I Love You Francesca Marie." Jake said quietly.
"I know you do baby. I love you too. Hey,"
"Yes?"
"I'm OK." Frankie smiled on her end of the phone as she looked at her daughter. "I know the first thing that went through your mind when you saw the car. I'm here with Jessica and we're OK."
"Kiss Jessie for me."
"I will baby. You take care of Frank and remember to call me."
"I will. Love you." He hung up the phone as they pulled into the emergency room parking.
--
Quito watched the live feed on the television in front of him. "You want to tell me that again, slowly this time?" He was less than amused at this bit of news. Ever since he'd gotten the call that it was done, he'd turned on the news. It was enough time that the local station helicopters were all over it. What pained him further was seeing that the job had gone wrong. Never mind that even from the high altitude of the news choppers he could see The Dog freaking out. He put the remote control down and turned to look at the three men standing behind him.
"We hit the car and the woman driving it." offered the first man.
"But it wasn't the right woman." Quito finished. "She was blonde instead of brunette."
All three of the men looked flustered and cowered beneath Quito's stern gaze.
"You were supposed to get Francesca Marie Shaw, not Shay Donovan. Congratulations gentlemen, you've managed to single-handedly ruin the entire plan. A plan I had worked on for months. Do you realize that if Agent Shay Donovan is dead, that the full force of the Federal Bureau of Investigations is going to be channeled into one very angry Agent Frank Donovan?"
Quito watched the three men. What he wouldn't give for having his old crew with him in this. All the planning, the preparation, the research. And it's blown on a bungled hit. He sighed. Inside he realized that they couldn't do this properly if they didn't respect him or respect themselves. It all came down to respect in the end.
"You gentlemen are lucky. I have another plan."
--
Ma vie pour le vôtre, Ashling = My life for yours, Ashling
****
An hour or two later, Jake looked up at the doctor came out of the trauma bay. He stood up to meet the man and pulled him off to the side. Frank was stretched out in the waiting chairs. The trauma nurse had given him a light sedative to keep him from driving them all insane with questions.
"Mr. Donovan?"
"No, I'm Jake Shaw. Frank is taking a breather. What's up?"
"I really should be talking to Mr. Donovan."
"Then talk, I'm listening," came the voice behind them both, a touch sleepy if nothing else.
"Your wife is fine. She's suffered a concussion, bruised liver and a few broken ribs. We've got her stabilized and she's sleeping."
"If she's fine and stabilized with that little of damage, why did it take you guys so long to come tell me?" Frank's voice was edged with razor sharp irritation.
"Mr. Donovan, we took so long because we kept her under observations to make sure that nothing else popped up. I wanted to make sure that what I told you was all that was wrong with your wife before I came out and told you. Please try to understand that."
When the doctor made to leave, Frank grabbed him by the shoulder. Afraid of the answer to his next question, his voice was low and hesitant. "Doctor, my wife...she was...is..."
The doctor smiled and nodded understandingly. "She is and they're both fine."
Jake's head jerked up quickly. Did he just hear what he thought he heard? If so, why had they kept it a secret from everyone?
Frank drew a relieved breath. "Can I see her?"
"Yes, but only for a little while. She's sleeping, as I said. But I'll give you a few minutes with her." The doctor nodded and led Frank back to Trauma One. While Frank was in with Shay, Jake pulled out his cell phone and dialed the house.
Frankie picked up the phone in record time. "Hello?"
"Ay Mami.." Jake breathed into the phone.
"Papi..." she purred back at him. "How is the Lady Agent?"
"She's fine. Concussion, bruised liver and some broken ribs. Doctor said she'd be fine. Frank's with her right now. How is everything?"
--
Pausing in the doorway, Frank took in the sight of his battered and bruised wife. She lay beneath the hospital sheets and blanket looking small and fragile. Seeing the various bandages and IV tubes, he felt the bile rise in his throat. Silently he willed it down and struggled against the sedative he had been given to regain all of his faculties before he neared her side.
He sat down in the chair next to the bed and leaned forward to fold Shay's hand gently within his. The nurse had told him she was heavily sedated and may not wake, but he needed to be near her.
Warmth, tender and familiar enveloped her cold hand. So tired she could not open her heavy eyelids, she lay silent and let the welcomed warmth spread from her hand throughout her body. She started to drift off to the safe haven of darkness when a voice wrapped around her very soul and begged her to open her eyes.
"Ashling," Frank whispered as he brought her hand to his lips. "Wake up, Baby. I know you're tired, but I need to see you open your eyes to believe you're all right." He tenderly brushed a lock of hair from her bruised cheek. He felt the tears well up as he took in the sight of her black eyes, swollen lips, the bruises on her chin and cheeks, and the bandage that covered the nasty gash on her forehead.
--
Frankie looked up as a knock sounded on the door. "Hang on baby." She covered the phone and told LJ to continue with his coloring and to keep an eye on the girls. "Hey... let me answer the door really quick," she said as she tiptoed over a squirming Jessie, a crawling Ariel, and all of LJ's dinosaur toys.
"Frankie, I'm not sure that's a good idea. We still don't know who did this to Shay."
"Oh pish. It's just the lunch delivery guy. I ordered lunch for Shay, the kids and myself. Bergman's Deli around the corner, you remember the place?"
"Yeah, baby, I do. But until we find out who did this, I want you to lock the door and not open it for anyone except me or one of the team."
"On come on Jake. That's a bit much, don't you think?" She rounded the corner and saw the man standing on the porch.
--
Her eyelids opened to a mere slit. The objects that surrounded her were fuzzy and out of focus, but she knew the touch of her husband's hand. Her mouth felt as though it were full of cotton as she tried to speak. "Tiger?" she whispered.
"Thank God! How're you feeling, Baby?" He smiled warmly.
"Like I was electrocuted, snake bitten and dragged through the Colombian jungle," she sassed miserably. **
"That good, huh?" he chuckled.
"Uh-huh." She glanced at the pitcher of water next to the bed and was thankful when Frank poured her a cup and held it for her to drink from without needing to ask him. She winced when the cup touched her lip, but drank thirstily. When he took the cup away, she said, "Thanks, Baby. Gawd, I must be a mess."
"You're pretty banged up," he began and mentally kicked himself when he watched the sadness wash over her. "And I never saw anything so beautiful, either. Ash, I thought you were dead...a concussion, bruised liver and a lot of bruises look and sound like heaven to me at this moment. You're still with me and the doctor said you'll be fine."
She wanted to believe she was fine, but worry flooded her very being. Instinctively her hands drew protectively over her lower belly and her eyes, welling with unshed tears, questioned him worriedly.
Frank took her hand in his and kissed it tenderly. "Shhh....the baby's fine. The doctor said you're both fine." He could see in her eyes that she could not bring herself to believe him. She was in her fourth month with Ariel when she ran into troubles and she was now in her fourth month although she barely showed. "Ash, I would never lie to you."
"I know," she sobbed softly; thankful she had not lost their child in the crash. "I don't want to lose this baby...I know I'm carrying your son."
"Son or daughter, this child will be as healthy, happy and loved as our other children," he assured her. "I love you, mon cadeau."
She smiled through the pain from her facial injuries. "I love you, too, Frank." She gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "I'm just glad I was alone. If Frankie or the kids were with me..." she trailed off as a sob escaped her throat.
Frank nodded. "Shay...did you see who it was that did this to you?"
--
"No, I don't. Frankie, it was intentional!" Jake hissed. "There was machine gun fire, I saw the bullet holes myself!"
"WHAT??" she gaped as she grabbed the door handle and pulled the door open. She turned around to pick up her purse. "Oh no they did not!"
"Yes Frankie. They shot at Shay and rammed her repeatedly."
"Son of a bitch they shot my car!" Frankie exclaimed as she dropped her wallet back into her purse.
--
Shay shook her head. "No. Everything's a blur. I just remember thinking Frankie was going to be mad enough to destroy a third-world country because they shot up her car."
Frank chuckled deeply. "Well, I'm sure knowing you were probably only kept alive by that vehicle, she'll be thankful to sacrifice it for you."
--
Frankie turned around right into the muzzle of a silenced semi-automatic handgun. Slowly she lowered the phone. On the other end she could hear Jake still yelling her name.
"Shut it off." the man said quietly.
Frankie did as ordered and clicked off the phone. Back at the hospital, Jake was beginning to panic. Frankie had all of a sudden gone quiet after cursing over her car. When the phone clicked dead in his ear, he immediately redialed. The phone kept ringing without answer.
Jake took a few deep breaths and dialed one more time. When no one answered, he wheeled around and ran back into the emergency bay, shouting for Frank.
--
"Don't be too sure about that," Shay replied with a tentative smile from her swollen lips. She turned her head toward the noise outside the room. "Honey, is that Jake yelling for you?"
Frank nodded. "You rest now, Ashling and I'll go see to Jake. I'll be back later." He kissed her hand and gently laid it to rest on her stomach. "You're my life, Shay Ashling Donovan, and I love you."
Shay sighed as she closed her tired eyes. She was alive. Her husband loved her. She had two beautiful children and another on the way. Life was good. "Love you, too, Tiger. Kiss the babies for me," she whispered as she drifted off to sleep.
Despite the shushes and dirty looks that the ER staff kept giving him, Jake didn't stop until he ran smack into Frank's chest in Trauma One.
"What is it Jake? Even Shay could hear you yelling."
"It's Frankie. I think something's happened."
--
**See "A Shock to the System" by Dreamscape at http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=734434
****