Author's note: I do not own NCIS:LA or its characters
This is an edited version of Wait For Me that fits the episode. Slight spoiler warning!
As Fatima walked into the building, she could feel her heart pounding. She knew she should have waited the extra twenty minutes for Rountree, but she saw a man walking in and had to follow him. She ducked into a corner when she heard footsteps, and she prayed that he hadn't seen her. She watched as a bald man passed and breathed a sigh of relief into her shirt to muffle the sound.
"Rountree, where are you?" she whispered. She heard only static in return. She had texted him, letting him know she was going in, but she hasn't stuck around for an answer. She felt so stupid. She knew she should have just waited for him. There was no way she'd make it all the way back to the safety of her car. Just then, she looked around the corner and decided to slip out. As she turned a corner, she felt something sharp go into her neck. She whimpered from pain as she hit the ground.
•••••
Fatima woke up standing upright. She opened her eyes and saw herself on the screen, naked and shivering. It was so cold. She didn't remember the building being that cold.
"Glad to see you're awake. Now tell me, pretty princess, which limb do you like the least?" A deep voice said from somewhere in the room.
"Let me go," she mumbled, trying to get free.
"Uh uh uh," he said, walking closer to her. She struggled against her restraints and cried out. "You have a decision to make. And you get to watch it all live in 3D. You get to watch the art of the delicate balance between life and death until you finally cross the line."
"Rountree!" she screamed. She thrashed around and made as much noise as she could. She was scared. "Help me!" she sobbed. She felt another needle jab into her arm, and something was tied around her wrist. She was immediately sleepy, and fought the urge to close her eyes.
When she woke up, she still felt drowsy. Scratch that, she felt drunk. She kicked her leg a little, but the restraints stopped her. She was confused. Rountree wasn't there. He left her there to die a slow, painful death. Tears ran down her cheeks as she began to give in to what they wanted. She forced her body to relax and she watched the projector. She was terrified.
"What do you mean she's not there?" Kilbride yelled at Rountree.
"Just what I fucking said. She's not in there!" Rountree yelled into the phone. His hands were shaking. He didn't know where she was. Her car was parked, but she wasn't in there.
"You do not get to speak to me like that, Agent, and if you continue to do so I will have you pulled from this case!" Kilbride yelled.
"Do it, see if that's gonna stop me from finding her," Rountree yelled. He hung up and immediately felt the tears in his eyes. He knew deep down Kilbride was right. He shouldn't yell at Kilbride. It wasn't his fault that Fatima had been abducted by a crazy group of killers. It was his. He was her partner, he should have been with her.
He took several deep breaths and got into his car. He turned the radio on, hoping it could at least distract him. But immediately, a song that he knew very well came on. He remembered Fatima dancing next to him, laughing and singing along. He grunted and shut it off.
Once he got to the mission, he walked straight to ops.
"We are doing everything, Rountree, I promise you," Shyla said immediately.
"Then where is she?! Obviously if we were doing everything she would be safe here!" he yelled.
"Why don't you take a look and see if you have any suggestions?" Shyla said softly. She wasn't trying to be sarcastic at all, and Rountree could tell. He took the tablet from her and poked around. He wanted to cry. They were right, there was absolutely nothing. He closed his eyes and exhaled slowly.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
"Don't worry about it. We all love her and want her back here as much as you do," she whispered. Rountree nodded. He sat down at the computer. He checked cameras from nearby buildings and found a white van with a dent in the front bumper pulling out of the parking lot. When he zoomed in, he saw that Agent Collins was driving it. But it didn't have a license plate. He worked with Shyla to put together camera footage, and eventually found it pulling into an abandoned mall. He immediately jumped up and ran out of the room. He got to the mall in record speed, and made sure he called the rest of the task force to get there. They decided to send Kensi and Agent Rand from the movie theater to meet Rountree.
Fatima was now fully awake, and scared out of her mind. She could now tell that Rountree hadn't abandoned her, but she'd been moved.
"Let me go!" she screamed. She felt a sharp blade digging into her arm. She wouldn't give up. She had to keep making noise. That was the only way Rountree would find her.
•••••
Rountree ran into the building without a second thought. Kensi and Agent Rand were twenty minutes behind him. He knew that if Fatima was even still alive, she didn't have twenty minutes. She had seconds at best. He heard muffled screams coming from down the hallway. He sprinted towards the noise and poked his head into the room. He saw her on the projector and almost cried.
"Put it down!" He yelled, pointing his gun at the man. The man smiled at him, then went back to slowly cutting Fatima's arm. Rountree pulled the trigger three times without a second thought. He ran over to her and gently touched her hand. "Other than that cut, are you okay?" he asked softly. Fatima shook her head desperately. Rountree was heartbroken. He touched her hand. "I'm here, Kensi and Agent Rand are coming," he reassured her. "We might need to ask you some questions," he added gently.
"Give me my clothes and get me down from here," Fatima hissed. Rountree glanced around the room.
"Which one first?" he asked. He couldn't find her clothes, but he saw a couple blankets and figured he could toss them over her while he looked.
"Rountree," she whispered. He could hear the fear in her voice. He remembered then how much she hated heights. He grabbed a blanket and climbed up the ladder, covered her as best he could, then switched off the projector.
"It's okay. I'm not gonna let you get hurt. I just have to figure out the controls for this thing," he reassured her.
"Tree, please," she said desperately.
"Fatima, it's okay. Just breathe. You're safe now that you're with me," he reassured her. She nodded as he lowered the platform. Once she was on the ground, he gently cut the restraints. He grabbed a cloth and put it on her shoulder. "Keep that there. I'm gonna look for your clothes," he whispered. She sniffled and nodded.
"Wait," she said softly. Rountree turned around.
"What's up?" he asked. Fatima went over and wrapped her arms around him. She buried her face deep in his chest and sniffled.
"Thank you for saving me," she whispered. Rountree nodded and gently rubbed her back. He knew it would be cruel to say "I told you to wait", so he didn't. He ran his hand through her hair and kissed her forehead gently.
"Of course," he whispered. "You okay now?" he asked. She nodded and pulled back. Rountree gently rubbed her good arm and went to dig through some bags that seemingly had clothes. He felt sick to his stomach at the sight. He found her shirt first, and on top were some undies that appeared to be her size. They were wet and had several white stains. He could tell they were very fresh. "I don't, um, I don't think you want these back," he said nervously. Fatima walked over and gagged. "Fatima, hey, hey. Don't panic, okay? I have your bag in the truck, you can change there," he reassured her.
"Not the point," she whispered, her voice shaky.
"I know. I know, hey," he murmured. "Hey," he said again, a bit firmer. She sniffled and looked up at him.
"I don't want to go out there in just a blanket," she whispered. Rountree softened.
"I'm sorry, I should have thought of that. Do you want to wait here while I go get it?" he asked. She thought about it.
"Yeah," she finally whispered. "Come right back, 'kay?" she asked softly.
"Of course," he reassured her. He pulled out his gun. "You keep this. You need to have it more than me," he whispered. She nodded and held it in her lap as she slid to the ground against the wall. Rountree ran out to the food truck and grabbed her bag, then hurried back into the building. He turned around to give her privacy as she got dressed, and called to notify the team that she was safe and alive. "Okay. Let's get you to the hospital, you're probably going to need stitches but I don't think it's bad enough for surgery," he reassured her. Fatima nodded." How bad does it hurt?" he asked gently.
"Not too bad," she whispered.
"That's the adrenaline. Hopefully it doesn't wear off until we get you some painkillers," he said, helping her up. Instead of standing, she opted to sit on the bench. Rountree sat next to her and pulled her into his arms.
Kensi and Agent Rand pulled up just then. They ran over to her but didn't initiate contact. Fatima buried her face in Rountree's chest.
"We do have to ask you some questions," Agent Rand said softly.
"Not yet if you're not ready," Rountree reassured her.
"With all due respect to what happened, we need to know. These guys could already be headed out of the country," Agent Rand said.
"Hey. Back off," Kensi said gently. "I know we need answers but she's not gonna be much use until she's ready to talk."
"You can try," Fatima whispered.
"Did you see an audience?" Agent Rand asked gently.
"I did at the first place. Here they had me facing the projector so I don't know," she whispered.
"Okay. Did you see Collins?" Agent Rand asked. Fatima closed her eyes. It was all coming back to her. She remembered everything that happened. She was drugged, gagged, and dragged into the back of the van. She gasped and shook her head, trying to grab onto anything for support. Rountree grabbed her hands and pulled her against him
"You're okay, you're safe. I promise you," he whispered. "It's over." Fatima leaned against him and closed her eyes.
"I don't wanna talk anymore," she said quietly.
"You don't have to," Rountree reassured her. "Get me another rag for her shoulder, please," he said to Agent Rand. She walked out to the car immediately, and Fatima visibly relaxed.
"Ambulance is here," Kensi observed.
"What took so long?!" Rountree yelled as they walked in.
"Rountree, relax, it's okay. If she wasn't it would be a different story, but it's okay. We just have to be grateful," Kensi said gently.
"I'm riding with her," Rountree said, following the paramedics into the ambulance.
"Immediate family only, sir," one said.
"I'm not gonna fucking argue with you. The only person in this world that can tell me not to ride with my girl is her," Rountree said. His voice was low and vaguely threatening.
"Tree, meet me there. Don't cause a scene," Fatima said softly.
"Fine. I'll follow you. Kensi, you go with her. Keep an eye on this ass," Rountree said. He said the last part very quietly, only audible to Kensi.
•••••
Once they were in the hospital, they were taken pretty quickly to a room.
"Okay, honey. I'm gonna walk you through this as I do it, I know it's scary. You're gonna sit on the bed right there, and you can fill this out for me while I prep. It's really quick and easy. Once I'm ready for you, you're gonna have to take your shirt off, " she said, passing Fatima a clipboard. Fatima took it and started to fill it out.
"Painkillers?" Fatima asked. The doctor nodded.
"Of course. No allergies, right?" she asked.
"Just avocado," Rountree offered helpfully.
"Well, you don't have to worry, sugar. That's not in our painkillers," the doctor said. "I'm gonna order some for you," she told Fatima. Fatima finished filling out the paper and set it on the table. She bit her lip and winced as she removed her shirt. Rountree helped her get it off, then helped her get into a comfortable position.
There was a soft knock at the door and it opened. Fatima cried out when she saw that it was a man coming in. Rountree instinctively jumped in front of her to shield her from the male nurse's gaze.
"You're fine, you're fine," he reassured her. She nodded a little. She nodded and tried to keep her breathing steady. Once the nurse was gone, Rountree sat next to her and gently rubbed her back. He held her as she swallowed the painkillers, then pressed a kiss to her forehead.
"I'm gonna move this piece of your scarf, baby," the nurse murmured, gently moving Fatima's hijab. Fatima nodded and leaned into Rountree as the doctor started the first layer of stitches. She whimpered and cried out. Rountree held her hand tight as she whimpered.
"It hurts," she sobbed.
"I know. I know, I know sweetheart. You're doing amazing," he whispered.
"Great job honey, we're almost done with the first layer," the nurse reassured her.
"How long is it gonna take?" Fatima asked softly.
"It's looking like you're about a quarter of the way done," the nurse said.
"Okay, okay. You're doing so good," Devin reassured her. She nodded a little and leaned into him more.
•••••
Once they were done with the stitches, Fatima was moved to a different room. Rountree set her up with pillows, blankets, and a cooking show on his laptop. Kensi came by with some small activities for her to play with.
"Am I gonna have to stay the night?" Fatima asked. Rountree sighed.
"Probably," he admitted. Fatima closed her eyes. "Hey. If you have to, I will too," he whispered. Fatima's eyes widened.
"You don't have to," she whispered.
"I know. But you know what's been on my mind?" he asked, gently tracing patterns on her hand.
"Hm?" she asked softly.
"Knowing that if I'd taken even a minute longer to get to you, we wouldn't be here right now. We'd be in the morgue. I would be holding your hand and crying in the morgue. But I get to hold onto you here, and know that you're alive and safe," he whispered. Fatima sniffled. Fatima wiped a tear and looked up at Rountree.
"No," she said quietly. "I'd be on other bodies," she whispered. The horror was still raw in her mind. Rountree was quiet. She was right. He didn't want to think about that. He traced her cheek and smiled softly.
"I'm glad you're safe," he whispered.
"Come cuddle with me up here," she said quietly. Rountree smiled.
"Tell you what. Let me go to the bathroom real quick, then I will," he said softly.
"Hug first?" Fatima asked shyly. Rountree smiled and hugged her gently, then slipped out of the room. He closed the door and walked down the hall. He leaned against the wall and wiped a stray tear. He came back once he pulled himself together, and crawled into the bed next to Fatima.
"Let me know if you need anything, okay? Anything at all," he murmured. Fatima nodded and closed her eyes.
"I kinda just want to go to sleep." Fatima buried her face in his jacket and smiled softly.
"Go for it. I'll be here all night," he reassured her. Fatima smiled and kissed his neck shyly.
"I think I'm gonna end things with Akhil officially," she said quietly.
"I've been waiting for you to say that for so long, you know," he whispered.
"You have?" she asked softly.
"Yes," he said softly. He ran his hand up and down her arm and smiled softly.
"How come?" she asked.
"Because I love you," he whispered. "I've loved you for a long time, Fatima."
"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked, sitting up a little.
"Careful with your arm," he whispered, gently adjusting her. "Because I didn't want to be the guy coming after the girl that was already taken. I figured if you liked me, you wouldn't be with him," he whispered.
"Tree," she whispered. She sat up and kissed his cheek. "Because I didn't think you felt the same way. We both played chicken, huh?" she whispered. Rountree nodded.
"Come here," he whispered. He kissed her cheek and smiled softly. They snuggled into each other and grinned as they shared a kiss.
"Get some sleep. I'll stay here, okay? I'm gonna protect you," he whispered.