Chapter 2.
"Bailey Malone" he tried to ignore the ringing of the phone because he was working on the new budget's plans, but it just didn't want to stop.
"Good afternoon. I'm Detective Marsh, Atlanta PD, District 54." Told a deep voice on the other side of the line.
"How can I help you, detective?"
"Agent Grant asked me to call you…"
"Is something wrong with him?" cut him off Bailey worriedly. In the past weeks he became a little bit paranoid where John was concerned.
"No, not really" his outburst clearly surprised the detective. "He intervened during a mugging and…"
"A what?" Bailey couldn't believe his ears. John wasn't up to intervene during anything, he still walked with the crutches after all.
"A mugging. He was waiting in the bus-stop and a woman was attacked near him. He stopped the man and called us, so we could fortunately capture the mugger. We've been looking for this particular man for months."
"I see. But what is with John… I mean agent Grant?"
"He is here at the station. He made his confession and then asked me to call you and ask whether somebody could pick him up here. This whole scuffle strained his leg, I guess, but he didn't want to go and let check himself."
"All right, I'll go and pick him up. I'll be there in half an hour."
"Thank you."
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"What should I have done! Let him kill that woman, or what?" John wasn't exactly shouting but he was quite loud and Sam saw that every head in the room turned in the two men's direction.
They just walked out of the elevator but clearly have been fighting for a long time. Bailey was visibly irritated… or rather furious if Sam wanted to be honest to herself.
"Calling the police obviously never occurred to you!" He was definitely louder than John.
Sam didn't know the details of course, but she was sure that Bailey's behavior would never change John's. Especially seeing that the younger man looked rather amused about the situation, than anything else. He didn't grin – that far he wouldn't dare to go when his boss was in such a temper! – but Sam could see the glints of a smile in his eyes.
"I can't believe that you could be so irresponsible!" Bailey went on with the dressing-down. "You could have hindered your recovery by weeks!"
"Yes, I know!" John answered in a bored tone, which caused Bailey to sigh despondently.
"I see, I can't knock any sense in your head!"
"I'm glad you realized… Could I sit down now?" John asked, and with his crutches he maneuvered to a seat. He flopped down and stretched out his right leg.
Sam guessed it was time to intervene and so detain further argument.
"Could you please explain what happened?" she asked calmly.
"Nothing. I just worked out the duties of a citizen" John declared, looking at Bailey defiantly.
"Oh, yes! He had a fight with a mugger on the street!" Bailey burst out.
"It wasn't a fight really! He was a turkey! I knocked him out easily..."
Bailey frowned but before he could speak up again Sam cut in.
"Where did this happen?"
"In the bus-stop, just in front of the hospital."
In the last week John achieved that they gave up taking him to his PT sessions. He was quite stubborn about it and at last Grace agreed to let him go on his own. She probably couldn't bear his whining anymore. Sam guessed, however, that she could make up her mind, seeing as how John could find trouble on the fifth day.
"This guy attacked a woman just under my nose… By the way, I realized that these crutches are quite useful in combat." And now he really grinned.
Sam was glad to see this. She knew that the slow progress in his condition and the fact that he couldn't work and most of his time he had to spend amongst four walls really upset him. She also guessed that his nightmares became more frequent after his 'incident' with Jack. She wanted to speak about it with him, but John brushed her off every time. Though she couldn't miss the dark circles under his eyes which occurred quite often , nor the quiet periods he had when she visited him. She also suspected that something had happened during Chloe's sleepover because her daughter watched John with concerned eyes every time they met. Chloe hasn't spoken about it though – she obviously didn't want to lose John's trust in her.
"You shouldn't be so strict to him, you know." Sam said to Bailey when they were alone in his office. He just sighed.
"yes, I know. But I still think that he could have chosen a less dangerous solution."
"No, he couldn't have" Sam smiled. "In that case, it wouldn't have been John. And by the way, I guess you would have done the same…"
Bailey smiled back at last.
"You're probably right."
"Yes, probably." She leant forward and kissed him on the cheek.
"Why did I get this for?" he asked smiling.
"You are cute when you act fatherly"
"Did I do it?"
"Definitely. Look" she continued more seriously. "you can't protect him like this. If you try, you will push him away. He won't tolerate it too long. John is a cop, it's his essence, he won't sit at the sidelines when somebody is hurt. And I've learned something about him: he maniacly protects his independence."
"Which means?"
"Which means that you can't babysit him!"
"But I don't want him to get hurt even more!"
"As I see it he managed quite well today…"
"I know. But it could have turned out differently."
"I know you feel responsible for what had happened to him. But it wasn't your fault…"
"Yes, I know. But I still… I can't change how I feel."
"Then… just don't show it in front of him." She said simply.
"I'll go and tell him that he did well" Bailey concluded after a short hesitation.
"Good idea!" Sam smiled and gave him another kiss, this time on his lips and much more passionately.
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Eileen Fletcher was lying in her hospital bed and staring at the ceiling. She was still shocked after the happenings in the morning. If that young man weren't there then that mugger would stabbed her… or even worse. She has always been scared of being raped and that man looked just like a rapist. And the detective told her that this particular mugger had already killed once.
So she was still nervous.
When the man attacked her she knew that she was on her own, even if there were some by-passers around. She lived in this big city long enough to know that people never intervened. So she was rather surprised that young man came to her help. Especially that he had crutches and looked as if he himself needed help. Eileen saw him but the mugger didn't. He was too occupied with her to register anything else. She was so confused and scared that she didn't really remembered what happened after that. All she knew was, that the men wrestled and she found herself on the ground. That her savior asked her if she was all right. She knew that she nodded and probably told something, but then everything was a blur and her head cleared only in the ambulance.
She didn't even thank the young man. She didn't even remember how looked like, actually. But, no… she remembered something: his eyes, blue eyes … and somehow familiar.
She sat up straight in the bed, and the words escaped her mouth involuntary, although she never cursed: "Oh, shit!"
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Next day Eileen Fletcher visited the police department and Detective Marsh.
"I'm glad you're O.K." The detective who seemed to be a nice man welcomed her.
"Yes, it was nothing, really. I was just scared."
"I can understand. It must have been quite traumatic for you! But how can I help you?"
"You know, in the hospital I realized that I couldn't even thank that young man that he saved me. I was wondering if you could tell me where I can find him.."
"Oh, I see. Actually, yes, I can. He's an FBI agent, and works at the Violent Crime Task Force of the FBI, here in Atlanta. I guess you can find him through his job, because I can't give out his address."
"I see. But can you tell me his name?"
"Oh, sorry! His name is Grant…" He looked in the files. "Yes, John Grant."
"Grant?" she asked back surprised, because she really expected an other name. I still might be wrong…
"Yes." The man looked at her inquiringly. "Is something wrong?"
"No, no… I'm just… still a little bit shaken."
"Understandable." But he still seemed suspicious.
"I'd rather go. Thank you for your help, Detective Marsh."
"You're welcome…"
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She didn't want to delay the meeting, so she took a taxi and went to the FBI Headquarters immediately. If she is wrong she simply thanks him for saving her. If she's right… well then, she would decide what to do later. She would probably just apologize…
She walked inside the huge building uneasily. Eileen didn't even know if they would let her in.
In the hall there was a reception desk and a metal-detector.
"Can I help you, M'am?" the man behind the desk asked immediately.
"I'm looking for an Agent Grant… I don't know if he's in at all…"
"Which department is he at?"
She tried to remember what detective Marsh mentioned.
"Hmm.. some kind of violent crime department or what…"
"The VCTF, maybe?"
"I think so, yes."
"One moment. Let's see…" he pushed some buttons on his computer. "He's on sick leave. Would you like to talk to somebody from the deparment?"
"Yes… if it's possible."
"Of course." He took the phone. "There's a visitor for Agent Grant." Pause. "Okay, thank you…"
He put down the receiver and turned back to Eileen.
"Somebody would come down in a few minutes. You can sit down until then over there." He waved at the few chairs at the left wall.
"Thank you." She walked over and sat down. Why was she so nervous?
A few minutes later a pretty, blonde woman appeared, talked a few words with the agent behind the desk and then walked to her.
"Good morning! I'm Agent Waters, a workmate of Agent Grant."
"Eileen Fletcher. I'm the woman he saved yesterday. I don't know whether you know about it…"
"Yes, I do." Agent Waters answered with a smile.
"I hoped that I could thank him for helping me." She explained.
"I see. He is not here at the moment, but he drops by every day" she added. "I'll call him and ask what time he would come today."
She went a little further and talked on her cell phone, then came back.
"He said, he would be here in an hour. You could come back, I'll ask Agent Phillips" here she waved to the man at the desk "to prepare a visitor's card for you, this way you can come up to us."
"Thank you very much."
"I'll see you then in an hour. We are on the 5th floor.
They shook hands and Eileen decided to go for a walk and clear his mind.
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An hour later she was in the elevator, nervously wringing her hands. What did I thought with coming here? The doors opened and she stepped in a strange and busy world. The first person she glanced was Agent Waters who walked to her instantly.
"Hi! Just come with me, he's over there!"
They walked to the farther end of the huge office, and she found herself face to face with the man who saved her the day before. He was sitting on the edge of a desk talking good-naturedly with a woman who had dark complexion and long, curly hair. They both looked up at them and stopped talking. The smile somehow faded from Agent Grant's face. Yes, it was really him.. And I suppose he remembers me, as well…
"You have a visitor, John." Agent Waters said.
"I guess you remember me…" Eileen said in an anxious tone.
"Yes. Do you feel better?" His expression was unreadable.
"I didn't mean our meeting yesterday…" She has never felt so uncomfortable in her life. When she said the words something flickered in the man's eyes but it vanished just as quickly.
"Yes, I know. Miss Warren."
The two women who were still standing next to them looked between them surprised.
"I thought you didn't recognize me" John said after a short silence.
"I didn't. Not instantly anyway, just in the hospital" she admitted. "But I thought I was wrong when I heard your name…"
"I changed my name." He said quietly, his eyes never leaving hers. After a few seconds she couldn't bear his stare and looked away. Just in time to see that the curly haired woman looked at John with wide, almost shocked eyes. Great, I guess she didn't know….
"I just wanted to thank you and… I wanted to apologize…"
"You don't have to."
"I think I have. I was unfair and cruel, however I should have known better." She looked in his eyes again. She expected them to be cold, but they weren't. They were rather sympathetic. "I shouldn't have gone away without a word…"
"I understand why you did it. I understood it even back then. I told you that you couldn't do anything."
"But…"
"Please, don't." He smiled and Eileen had to smile back. "Can I invite you for a coffee, or something?" he asked then. "We could talk…"
"Okay, I guess" she was still uneasy but relieved all the same. He took the crutches and turned to his workmates.
"I'll probably come back later."
They both looked at him stunned but didn't ask anything, however Eileen felt their stare during the whole way to the elevator.
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"Who do you think was she?" asked Grace when the woman and John disappeared, but she just shrugged.
"The woman he saved yesterday."
"But they obviously used to know eachother…"
"Yes, but I don't know more than you."
"I think you do. What was this, with changing his name?"
"It happened a long time ago…" Sam didn't know if she could tell it or not. If John had wanted to tell then Grace probably would know. "He didn't have a good relationship with his father." She said at last.
"I think there's more…" but Grace didn't ask further. "I still would like to know who this woman was… an old flame, maybe?"
"I don't think so. She is too old for that. About 45 or older… And John was very young when he changed his name…"
But Sam was also curious about her identity and decided to find it out sooner or later.