Tangled Webs
Chapter 7 (revised)
Rating: PG-13
The Crossing Jordan characters totally aren't mine ~ they belong to Tim Kring and Tailwind Productions.
Kaidlyn and her mom are my own creations and therefore they're mine.
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Author's note: Although I first introduced Kaidlyn in "Endgame," she subsequently appeared in person in "That Night" and in name in "Running." The timeline here basically follows after "That Night" and before "Endgame" though there will be some overlap and inconsistencies with "Endgame" ~ but since that one's so far from show canon now, we can just pretend, for the sake of this story, that it doesn't exist. :0)
Additional author's notes: 1)This chapter has been in the works for a while…long before I read Shadowfax6's story with Maddie. Any similarities with panic attacks is PURELY coincidental. 2) Thanks to my friend Bren for pointing out how unrealistic the first version of this was ~ I had another idea I almost used, and that's what I've gone back to here.
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Max asked Kaidlyn and Jordan to hang out for a little while as he closed up, told them he wanted to talk about some things. They looked at each other and shrugged. There were worse ways to spend the night than hanging out together.
Eddie came over to say good-night on his way out, and just as he was turning to leave, his pager went off.
"Damn it! Can I use the phone?"
"Sure." Jordan pulled the phone over the bar. Eddie dialed dispatch and listened intently.
"Uh huh. Where? How bad? Are the paramedics on the way? Alright. Should I bring Kaidlyn along? Yeah, you're right. She's gotta get used to these things." Eddie hung up the phone and looked at Kaidlyn. "You think you can get out of the family conversation tonight? We've got. . ."
"I heard. Let me check." She went into the back and returned a minute later. "He said it's ok. After all, I'm here to learn."
"Ok. Let's go. Jordan, I'll get her back as soon as I can."
"Ok. Have fun. And be careful." Jordan waved as they went to the door.
When they got to the car, Eddie filled Kaidlyn in on what was happening. "Ok. We've got a DV ~ domestic violence ~ case. We're on it because they're not sure the woman's going to make it ~ and then it becomes a murder case rather than just attempted murder. And since you're riding shotgun with me for the next nine months, you get to come along as well. Don't worry. You'll be fine."
"Yeah. I heard that back at the Pogue," Kaidlyn muttered as she looked out the window.
Hoping she'd understand that he was being reassuring, Eddie reached over and squeezed Kaidlyn's hand. "They just caught me off guard. Kaid, look at me. I know you can do this. You'll be fine. I won't lie to you. These are never easy cases. But I know you'll be ok."
"Ok."
Too soon for Kaidlyn, they were at the non-descript house. She had a knot in her gut that came from more than just the fact that this was her first time taking a statement. But she couldn't tell Eddie what else was going on. She just couldn't.
Eddie spoke to the officer at the door and then held the police tape up for Kaidlyn to step under. The paramedics were just pulling up. Thankfully the neighbors were listening and called the cops. They had no way of knowing that things had gotten violent, so no paramedics were called until the first unit arrived and saw what was going on.
The woman ~ young, probably around Kaidlyn's age ~ was lying on the floor, blood pooling around her. It wasn't the worst case he'd seen, but it was close. Eddie turned towards Kaidlyn ~ or where she'd been. She was nowhere to be seen. He looked at the uniform in the doorway.
"Where'd she go?"
"Outside. She. . . I've never seen anyone react like that."
Eddie jumped up and ran past him into the yard. Kaidlyn had gotten about 15 yards before collapsing in a shaking blob.
Eddie immediately went to Kaidlyn's side. He had no clue what was happening. Her information form hadn't listed anything like epilepsy. "Kaid? Kaidlyn? What's wrong? Talk to me kiddo."
But Kaidlyn could only look at him. She couldn't say a word.
Reacting on instinct, he grabbed his cell phone with the hand Kaid hadn't managed to grab yet and frantically dialed Jordan's cell phone. "Come on Cavanaugh. Pick up. For the love of. . ."
"Cavanaugh."
"Jordan, it's Eddie."
"What's up?"
"Do you know where Maple Street is?"
"Um, yeah. I'm pretty sure I do. Why?"
"I need you over here now. Number 243. I don't know what's happened, but Kaidlyn's freaking out. We walked in to the scene and as I was surveying it, she freaked and ran outside. I can't calm her down. She can't talk, and she's bordering on hyperventilation."
"I'll be there in three minutes." Jordan's voice was calm on the surface, but Eddie detected that she was much more nervous than she was letting on.
"Jordan. . ."
"I'm in the area. But if I get pulled. . ."
"Tell them you're on business with me."
"Ok. See you in a couple."
In less than three minutes, Jordan was in the yard. She ran over to Eddie and somehow managed to extract Eddie's sweater from Kaidlyn's hands, sliding into his place.
"Kaidlyn? Baby? What's wrong? Come on, sweetie. Deep, slow breaths." She relaxed a bit herself as she saw Kaid look at her and begin to relax. "That's right. Good girl."
As Kaidlyn's breath eased to a more normal pattern, her shaking slowed. Sitting up, she fell into Jordan's arms in tears. Jordan looked up at Eddie.
"Can you help me get her to my car? I'm gonna take her to Dad's. Maybe he'll have a clue what's going on."
"How are you going to drive?"
"Oh. I didn't think about that. Um. . ."
"It's ok. I'll drive. I'll see if one of the uniforms can follow us ~ we've got enough people here. Many more and we risk missing something." Eddie leaned down and helped Jordan pull Kaidlyn to her feet. He told the remaining uniforms that he'd be back shortly, then they walked to Jordan's Explorer. Jordan settled into the backseat with a still sobbing Kaidlyn and tossed the keys to Eddie.
It seemed to take forever to get to Max' house, but eventually they got there. Eddie again helped Jordan walk Kaidlyn up the walk and onto the front porch. Jordan tried the door and was surprised to find it open. The trio walked inside.
"Dad?" Jordan called out. They heard footsteps and Max came into the hall from the kitchen. Taking one look at Kaidlyn, he rushed to them.
"Sweet Jesus, what happened?" He scooped Kaidlyn up and went into the living room, setting her down on the sofa. Jordan sat next to her, and Kaid immediately curled into her arms again.
Eddie explained what he knew of what had happened. Max nodded slowly. "I think I know what set her off. Thanks for taking care of her, Eddie."
"Not a problem, Max. Call me if there's anything I can do." He knelt down in front of Kaidlyn.
"You ok now, kiddo?" He was surprised to see Kaidlyn nod slightly. "Ok. You're gonna be fine. If you need to take a couple of days off, do it. I just want you to be ok." He ruffled her hair as he stood up. Again thanking Jordan and Max, he went out to the uniform's car and they returned to the crime scene.
Max turned to Jordan and Kaidlyn. "Kaid? You ok?"
"I. . .I think so." Kaidlyn's voice was absolutely tiny, but it was returning.
"Do you. . .?"
"I think I know why it happened." She looked dead in his eyes.
"I think we need to have a talk." Max sat down in the chair and readied himself for a long night ~ even longer than he'd initially thought it would be after her song.
. . .to be continued. . .