The Hunter

Disclaimer: I don't own FBEye or any related characters. The plot is mine.

Summary: This is an alternate ending to the episode about the Hunter, the serial killer who killed cabbies. What if Bobby was the agent whose cab responded to the Hunter?

45 minutes after Jack come in to see Bobby, Jack, Sue, Tara, Lucy, Myles, and D were grouped around Bobby's bead trying to ignore the obtrusive ticking of the clock. The doctors had been in and out, never with any good news. They seemed to be preparing them for the worst.

Bobby had drifted in and out of consciousness. He was getting weaker. They could see it, and they all tried as hard as they could to ignore it.

Suddenly Jack's cell phone rang, shattering the silence.

"It's Darcy." He said, a mixture of relief and anguish in his voice. He hadn't been able to get through to her earlier, but now he faced telling her about Bobby. He took a deep breath.

"Hello?" He cringed. She seemed so innocent. He had no idea what awaited her. "Yeah…oh….Look, Darcy…..Bobby…..there was an accident. We're at the hospital…..bad." He glanced at the bed. "Okay. Bye." He closed his phone. "She's on her way here. She just got my message."

"You didn't tell her." D said. Jack groaned.

"I couldn't, not over the phone. It's not something you can say over the phone." He turned back to Bobby and tried to ignore the passage of precious time.

10 minutes later Darcy came running into ICU. She saw Jack standing in the hallway before she could ask where Bobby was.

"Jack…." Jack took a deep breath and forced himself to meet her frantic eyes.

"Darcy…it's pretty bad."

"What happened?"

"We were after the Hunter, that serial killer. He—he stabbed Bobby in the shoulder. Bobby lost a lot of blood." Jack paused, gathering his courage. "The doctors—gave him…..an hour to live without a blood transfusion….." Darcy gasped and looked frantically for a clock.

"How—"

"The hour's almost up." Jack said, struggling to keep his emotions under control. Saying it out loud somehow made it real, final.

"Where is he?" Jack wordlessly led Darcy into the hospital room. He sat her into the chair that he had been sitting in next to the bed.

Darcy gently took Bobby's hand as tears slid down her cheeks. He was so weak. She had never seen him so vulnerable. She always felt safe when she was with him, he was her protector. They had never talked about anything happening to him.

Jack pulled another chair up to the other side of the bed. He glanced up at the monitors over the bed. Bobby's heartbeat was getting weaker. Jack lowered his head and let the tears come. It finally hit him that Bobby was going to die. They weren't going to get a miracle or cheat fate. His confidence shattered and his shoulders shook with sobs.

Sue got up and pulled a chair next to Jack. She put her hand gently on his back. Her eyes welled up as she looked over Jack to the clock, who's hour hand ticked slowly forward, ending Bobby's hour of life.

Almost on cue, the beeps from the heart monitor stated getting steadily worse and Bobby's breathing became shallower. Each breath he drew in seemed to be his last. But they weren't. He stubbornly continued to breath.

Myles leaned over Jack and pushed the call nurse button.

The low beeps of the heart monitor were getting weaker and further apart.

Jack turned into Sue's arms. He was waiting for the steady beep of Bobby flat lining. He had no hope left.

Two nurses walked briskly into the room. They glanced at the monitors and Bobby's desperate breaths. They got a tank of oxygen from the corner and an oxygen mask, which they placed over Bobby's mouth and nose, expertly working around Darcy and Jack.

"What's going on?" D asked in a strangled voice.

"He needs a blood transfusion—"

"You haven't found one yet?"

"No. I'm sorry. He's lost so much blood. I'll send the doctor in."

Darcy squeezed Bobby's limp hand.

"Hang on." She whispered. "Hang on." The doctor burst into the room.

"I have good news." Jack pulled away from Sue, turning his tear-stained face towards the doctor. "We just got a call from a blood bank in Alexandria. They have Bobby's blood type!"

"How long?" Jack asked hoarsely.

"Is should be around fifteen minutes." Jack turned to Bobby. Could he really last fifteen more minutes?

"Is he going to be ok for that long?" Tara asked hesitantly, voicing the concern of everyone in the room.

"We're going to do everything that we can to make sure that he does." The doctor said confidently.

Jack refused to accept the new shred of hope. His hopes had already been shattered and he wasn't about to let it happen again.

For the next fifteen minutes, the doctors worked tirelessly to keep Bobby breathing. He continued to grow weaker, and stopped breathing twice.

Tara wiped her eyes. She couldn't comprehend the F.B.I. without Bobby. He never let anyone have a bad day. He kept a positive outlook when things got bad, no matter what.Lucy squeezed Tara's hand. Tears slid down her cheeks. Bobby was always in control. He couldn't die. He couldn't.

Myles stood rigidly against the wall. Despite his pompous attitude, he cared deeply about Bobby. And now Bobby was going to die.

Darcy's face was soaked in tears. She found her mind wandering. She and Bobby were supposed to have dinner together the next night. Memories of their relationship flooded her overwhelmed mind. She couldn't keep her eyes off of Bobby's ashen face. He looked like a corpse.

As the heart monitor grew weaker, an orderly rushed in protectively cradling and precious IV bag of bright red blood. Within minutes the doctors had an IV line set up and flowing into Bobby. They moved back to allow Darcy and Jack to return to Bobby's bedside. Darcy held Bobby's hand tightly. Only time would tell if they had been soon enough to save Bobby.

Several minutes later a low moan came from the bed. Darcy tightened her grip on Bobby's hand. His eyelids fluttered weakly. Bobby blinked and tried to focus on the faces above him.

"Darc…"

"Shhh…." Darcy murmured as tears streamed down her cheeks. "Thank you God."

"We almost lost you." Jack said in a tight voice.

"Nice try Sparky, but you can't get rid of me that easily." Bobby rasped. Jack smiled weakly through his tears. "You're stuck with me for a long time."

THE END

Okay, so the ending was corny, but...details. Please review! I'm leaving for vacation today, but I have some more stories in the works.