Between the Silence and the Darkness
By aubreysmom

Disclaimer: All characters are the property of Paxson Entertainment and Pebblehut Productions.

Acknowledgements: I simply must acknowledge my beta-readers, RRP as always - thank you, and especially ducky, who made the ending possible. (gives ducky monster hug!)

Author's Note: I wrote out Myles' fingerspelling the way I did for a reason... I wanted to give the reader a sense of the difficulty in communication between Myles and Sue. He barely knows the manual alphabet, and some of the letters are formed in very similar fashions. The ellipses (...) indicate pauses where he's trying to remember the correct handshape. It will get easier to read as he gets used to it.

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A hard rain pounded the road and made visibility poor as Sue Thomas kept her eyes traveling between her mirrors, the road ahead, and the red GMC pickup truck a few lengths ahead. Levi was curled up in the back seat, asleep.

Traffic was light here on the outskirts of Arlington, Virginia, on a Saturday afternoon, so she was trying to follow the pickup without looking like she was following it. The rain, the first storm in awhile, was making the road slick and only adding to her nervousness at driving someone else's car while tailing a suspect.

A hand touched her arm, and she glanced at the tall form in the passenger seat.
"Easy— not too close. You don't want to spook him."

Her eyes flipped back to the rain-swept windshield. "Explain to me again why I'm the one driving your car during this."

Myles Leland III leaned forward and turned slightly so she could both see the road and read his lips. "Because Garrett thought it would be a good skill for you to learn. You don't have to be able to hear in order to tail a suspect."

"Oh." She concentrated on the road again as he pulled out his cell phone and called in.

"Tara? We've got the suspect turning north off Route 50 at Westlawn. Getting into horse country, some hills, not sure how cell reception will be with the rain. We'll use the radio if it gets too bad."

"Okay, Myles. We'll hear from you when we hear from you, then."

He replaced the cell phone in its case, and leaned back in the seat. "Good, that's good," he said as Sue glanced at him again. "You want to keep him just enough in your sights that you can see him if he makes a sudden turn."

They drove in silence for a few minutes, the surrounding area becoming more verdant every second. Horse country in Virginia meant rolling hills and lush green expanses, all softened by the rain. Suddenly, the pickup they were watching turned off to the right. Because both Sue and Myles were paying attention to the truck, neither saw the grey sedan in the oncoming lane hit a slick patch on the road and spin out of control toward them until it was too late.

The car broadsided them, sending Myles' car skidding off the road and down a steep hillside. The car rolled a couple of times and came to rest right side up near the bottom of the hill. The surrounding area had been left wild for recreational horsemen; there wasn't another person for miles.

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She stirred as she felt a hand on her shoulder, shaking her. Her head felt like someone had slammed it up against a brick wall, and it hurt to even attempt to open her eyes.

Myles shook her again. "Sue?" He could tell she was at least partially conscious, but with her eyes closed, he couldn't talk to her. He sighed heavily, then regretted doing so when a sharp pain flashed through his chest. Oh, just great. Broken ribs along with a dislocated shoulder. Just great. And I have no way to talk to Sue to find out how badly she's hurt.

Just then, a thought occurred to him. Maybe I do. He'd never admit it to anyone, but he actually had learned the manual alphabet. It was just plain New England stubbornness that prevented him from using it unless it was absolutely necessary.

He knelt down next to the open driver's door so he could place her hand over his. Slowly, trying to remember the letters correctly, he finger-spelled into her hand.

S-…-U-…-E

It took a minute, and he had to do it a second time, but finally she tried to open her eyes. "Myles?"

He shook his hand in hers. Yes.

"What happened?"

C-A-…-R W-E-N-T O-D-…-F-F R-O-S-…-A-D. C-A-…-N Y-O-U O-…-P-E-N E-…-Y-E-S?

She made a huge effort, and her eyes fluttered open. What she saw was about four of him, all blurry. "Can't see you very well. Very blurry."

E-N-O-U-…-H-G T-O R-E-…-A-D L-I-…-P-S?

She shook her head, then groaned as the pain rolled around again. "No. Sorry."

I-T O-K. Myles knew they were in trouble, though. Blurry vision meant concussion – a bad one.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

He considered how to answer that. B-A-N-…-H-E-D U-PA L-I-…-T-T-L-E. N-O-T T-O-O B-A-D.

"Where's Levi? Is he okay?"

Myles looked up, realizing he'd forgotten all about the Golden Retriever. Fortunately, he saw the big dog running towards them from a few dozen yards away. He must have gotten thrown out when the doors popped open. He turned back to Sue. L-E-…-V-I F-I-N-E.

"My head hurts like crazy." She raised her free hand to her forehead.

T-I-M-E T-O C-A-L-L I-N T-…-G-E-N. He let go of her hand and reached for his cell phone.

His heart dropped when he saw the mess of electronic parts falling out of the holster case. Must have gotten smashed in the rollover. He had already checked the repeater unit for the radio that was mounted in the glove compartment— it was in similar disrepair. Had it been operating, the 5-watt unit would have extended the mile-range on his headset and allowed him to call in.

He reached for Sue's hand again. P-…-G-O-N-E B-R-O-K-E I-N C-R-A-S-G. W-…-G-E-R-E Y-O-U-R-S?

"Should be right here in my pocket." She reached in to find her Sidekick. "It's not there. Maybe it slipped out onto the floor of the car?"

Myles looked around the remains of his car. I-F D-I-D, M-U-S-T …G-A-V-E B-E-E-N T-G-R-O-W-N O-U-T.

Sue laughed softly.

W-H-A-T

"You've got your 'g' and your 'h' mixed up." She demonstrated for him. "This is 'g' and this is 'h'."

O-H. S-O-R-R-Y.

"It's okay. At least you're trying. I was just getting a worse headache from trying to figure out what you were really saying."

He brought her hand to his face so she could feel his smile, and he nodded.
She smiled back, then asked, "What about the radio?"

R-E-…-P-E-A-T-E-R U-N-I-T S-M-A-S-…-G…-H-E-D, T-O-O. O-N-L-Y O-N-E M-I-L-E R-A-N-…-G-E O-N .…H-E-A-…-D-S-E-T.

"We're in trouble, aren't we, Myles?" The smile had faded, and her voice sounded pained.

The tall agent looked around them again— wet, steep hillside about 75 feet up, almost dark, still raining, she in no shape to climb the hill and himself likely to puncture a lung trying to do so with broken ribs, no phones, no radio, and the team not having a clue where they were.

He tried to keep his hand from shaking. W-E W-I-L-L B-E F-I-N-E.

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