In the four weeks McCall had been in New York she made a lot of new friends but not a lot of progress on the case.
One evening McCall went down to the basement to so some laundry and met one of the neighbors.
"You are the lady from LA that's staying with Miss Baxter right?"
"That's right."
"Are you with the police too?"
"Yes I am."
"I've been hearing strange noises from the storage area from time to time. Might be nothing but rats but would you mind taking a look?"
"Not at all. Would you show me the way?"
The lady brought her to the other side of the basement and McCall checked every door. One of them opened easily, the light from the hallway was just enough to see that someone had been camping there.
"Looks like a bum found himself a nice place to stay. I'll ask the manager to repair the door so he won't get in anymore." McCall said walking back to the lady.
"Thank you very much officer."
McCall smiled, "No thank you for bringing it to my attention."
She went back to her laundry.
Meanwhile Oskar had returned but saw the light in the laundry room so he stayed outside until it went out. Then he slipped into the basement to the storage room.
After McCall reported the door to the manager she went up to the apartment and forgot all about it.
A couple of days later something unexpected happened. A message came in from a patrol car, a body had been found, the body of Mojo.
When McCall and Mel arrived at the scene a crowd had gathered to see what was going on. Uniformed officers were keeping them at a distance.
"Is it always this crowded?" McCall asked Mel.
"Usually, sometimes it's even busier."
McCall shook her head, "Some people will do anything for a thrill."
"Hey that's New York too."
They walked up to one of the officers standing with the body.
"Hi Dave, what have we got here," Mel asked him.
"Hi Mel, Dee Dee, looks like your Mr. Jackson didn't need his services anymore. He was shot at close range."
"Hmm. We'll ask around if anyone heard or saw anything," Mel said and looked at McCall.
"Let's do it."
The residents in the building where Mojo was found next to weren't very cooperative, most of them hadn't seen or heard anything. Some of them didn't even want to talk to them and the ones that weren't home got a card in the door asking to give one of them a call.
With very little result they returned to the station where the desk sergeant called out to Mel that she had some messages. She went through them on the way up,
"One from Dave, he wants me to call back. One from my garage, they are finally done with my car. Oh this is interesting, a woman named KatieG called about a shooting she witnessed. That might be the break we need."
"Great, why don't I give her a call and you can call Dave, he's probably after a date." McCall said with a devilish grin on her face.
Mel and Dave had been seeing a lot of each other the last few weeks. McCall had been watching this evolve with amusement, they were absolutely made for each other but it also made her feel more homesick, missing Hunter.
"Okay," Mel said with a blush on her cheeks.
"He asked me to dinner tonight." Mel said after she hung up the phone.
"Do you mind?"
"No, have a good time. Barry and his wife asked me to dinner the other day so I'm going over there."
"I still feel a little guilty about it."
"Please don't, just have a good time."
"Thanks. How did you go with our witness?"
" She said she heard a popping sound at around five this morning, when she looked out of the window a black man was running from the scene."
"Could that be our Mr. Jackson?"
"It could be. She's coming over here now to look at some photo's."
Half an hour later a young woman walked into the squad room,
"Hi, I'm looking for Sgt. McCall."
"I'm Sgt. McCall," she said and walked up to her.
"Hi, I'm Katie."
"Hi Katie. You think you saw this guy good enough to pick him out of a photo lineup?"
"Yeah, I think so."
Mel spread ten photos out on the table,
"Take a good look, take your time."
Katie looked at them carefully, "Number six, I'm sure about it. That's the man I saw."
McCall and Mel looked at each other and Mel nodded,
"Thank you for your help Katie. If we need you again can we contact you?" McCall asked.
"Sure, I'll be glad to help get this guy of the streets."
"Okay, that's all then. Thank you for coming."
Katie left and McCall turned to Mel,
"Looks like he's getting rid of his witnesses one by one."
"Sure looks like it, who's next."
"Believe me I don't want to think about that. Maybe it's a good idea to ask for some extra surveillance around Katie's building."
"Good idea, I'll discuss it with the Captain."
Mel left and McCall sat down at her desk to start on the report.
Only two blocks away Oskar Jackson was planning his next move. He wants to get out of New York but two bad elements are blocking his way out, Sgt. McCall and Sgt. Baxter.
The plan he put together just couldn't fail, the only thing he had to do was wait for the right moment. That moment came two weeks later.
Mel and McCall were making a habit of going home early the last few weeks. When they pulled up in front of the building Oskar Jackson was waiting for them.
McCall was the first one out of the car and walked towards the door when Mel called out to her,
"Hey Dee Dee, would you get the mail out of the mailbox for me?"
"Sure, toss me the keys."
Mel threw them to her and she entered the building, that's when the shots started. She drew her gun and rushed to the door.
McCall had just gotten the mail out of the box when a bullet came flying past her smashing into the wall. She dove to the floor and pulled her gun out of her purse. The shots started again, now she could see where they were coming from, the entrance to the basement.
A lady appeared at the top of the stairs wanting to see what was going on,
"Get back to your apartment and call the police!" McCall yelled.
The lady did as she was told.
Moving carefully over the ground McCall went towards where the shots were coming from and found a hiding place behind a small wall. Suddenly it went quiet, McCall could hear the shooter reload and motioned for Mel to come in quickly. She opened the door, kept as low as possible and entered. At that moment a shot was fired and she went down holding on to her shoulder.
"Mel are you okay!" McCall yelled.
"I'm okay," she answered but was able to let McCall see she was bleeding.
'It's Jackson' she mouthed to her.
"Give it up Jackson, you have nowhere to go." McCall called out to him.
He answered with another round of shots and when they stopped she heard footsteps going down into the basement.
"I'm going after him, will you be okay?" she asked Mel.
"I'll be fine, be careful."
Very carefully McCall left her hiding place and followed Jackson down into the basement. When she looked around the wall to see where he had gone another shot was fired, she pulled back just in time. The direction of where the shot had come from told her he was heading for the storage area, that's when she put two and two together.
'It was Jackson hiding in that room all along. He knew that was the last place we'd look for him.'
McCall took another peek around the wall and when it stayed quiet she rushed to the laundry room on the other side of the stairs.
"Give it up Jackson, the place is surrounded!" she yelled, but no answer.
Staying low to the ground and close to the wall she left the laundry room into the storage area. Without any bullets flying over her head McCall reached the storage room where Jackson had been hiding. When she looked around the door she saw him trying to get out through the window.
"Freeze police! Drop your weapon and turn around slowly."
Jackson turned around aiming his gun at her but McCall beat him to it and fired hitting him in the chest. He dropped to the floor still holding his gun and lay there motionless. Carefully she approached him to make sure he was either unconscious or dead. Just as she wanted to kick his gun away from him his eyes opened, he aimed and shot twice, hitting McCall in the shoulder and the abdomen. She dropped to the floor.
"Strike three, you're out." were his last words.
Mel was sitting against the wall in the upstairs hall and noticed it had gone very quiet,
"Dee Dee!" she yelled but got no answer.
Outside three police cars pulled up, Dave came rushing out of one of them into the building and found Mel sitting there bleeding.
"Are you okay?" he asked worried when he had kneeled down next to her.
"I'll live. Go down to the storage area, Dee Dee's there with that Jackson character we've been chasing. I have a bad feeling."
"I will. Sam call an ambulance will you." he asked a uniformed cop who had joined them.
"Sure Sgt."
Dave took out his gun and went down the stairs scanning his surroundings. When he turned the corner into the storage area he could see someone lying in the doorway. As he came closer he saw it was McCall. Quickly he checked her vitals, weak but still alive, then he checked Jackson, he was dead.
Mel had followed him down,
"Oh my god, Dee Dee."
She kneeled besides her and looked at Dave, horror written all over her face.
Ten in the evening and Hunter had fallen asleep in front of the TV when the phone woke him,
"Hello," he said with a sleepy voice.
As the person on the other side of the line told the story he felt the blood drain from his face.
"I'll be there as fast as I can."
Numb and in a state of shock he called Charlie,
"Charlie? I gotta go to New York, McCall's been shot and is in hospital in critical condition. Yeah I'll give you a call as soon as I can."
He grabbed some stuff together after he hung up and left for the airport. Less than two hours later he was in the air staring out of the window thinking of McCall.
"First time in New York?" a friendly voice said next to him.
The "No," that followed didn't sound very friendly.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you. I always get a bit nervous on a plane and talking helps."
"I should be the one to apologize," Hunter said with a sigh.
"I'm going to see my fiancée, she's in hospital."
"I'm sorry to hear that. Is she sick?"
"Yeah she is," Hunter said not revealing the whole truth.
"BTW I'm Jim Gordon."
"Nice to meet you Jim. I'm Rick Hunter. What takes you to New York." he asked trying to make conversation and forget about his worries for a while.
"Some new contacts I made on a office appliances salesmen convention I attended two months ago. Hopefully I can get some good deals out of it."
Before they knew it they had arrived in New York,
"Hope your fiancée will be better soon," Jim said when they got off the plane.
"Thanks, good luck on your business deal."
They each went their separate way.
Hunter went outside looking for a cab to take him to the hospital.
During the drive over there he called Mel to tell her he was on his way. She told him McCall was now stable.
When he arrived Mel and Dave were waiting for him in the hall, together they went up.
"The doctor wants to talk with you before you see her," Mel told him.
"Okay. What happened to you?" Hunter motioned at her arm.
"Jackson took a shot at me, it's only a graze."
"What happened to Jackson?"
"He's dead."
The elevator doors opened and the three of them got off. Hunter reported himself at the nurses station and joined Mel and Dave in the waiting room. Not long after the doctor walked in,
"Mr.Hunter?"
"That's me," he said as he stood up.
"Would you like to come with me to my office?"
"Sure." he said looking at Mel for a second.
"Go, we'll hear about it later," she said.
In the doctor's office Hunter sat down, the doctor sat down behind his desk,
"My name is Dr. McBride and I've been treating your fiancée."
"How is she?"
"Under the circumstances she's doing fine. She's a very lucky lady, the bullet that hit her in the abdomen missed the vital organs and left her body through her back. It did produce some swelling near her spinal cord but we won't know if she lost any sensation due to that until she wakes up."
Hunter let out a sigh and ran his hand through his hair.
"There was one other thing, the bullet did penetrate her uterus and when I operated her to fix that I found out she was pregnant. We couldn't save it, I'm sorry."
Hunter looked at Dr. McBride in disbelief,
"Pregnant?"
"You didn't know about it?"
"No, how far along was she."
"About eight or nine weeks."
The news left Hunter in a state of shock.
"She probably didn't know herself otherwise she would have told me. Can she…
"I don't see a reason why you can't have children." Dr. McBride answered.
"Would you like to see her?"
"Yeah, I would," Hunter said still in a state of shock and disbelief about what he had just been told.
Dr. McBride took him to her room and left. Hunter walked up to the bed, looked at her for a moment and stroked her cheek. She looked so pale and fragile but very beautiful. He knew it would break her heart if she knew about the baby but he also knew she had to know and that they both had to give it a place in their lives. Carefully he took her hand,
"I'm here sweetie, you are gonna be fine."
Then he remembered Mel and Dave were waiting for some news,
"I'll be right back," he told McCall and went to the waiting room.
"What did the doctor have to say?" Mel wanted to know.
"He told me she was lucky the bullet passed through her without damaging any vital organs, she has some swelling around her spinal cord but that's temporary. She's gonna be fine."
Mel let out a sigh of relief and Dave put his arm around her.
"That's good news," he said.
"It is but there's something else. The bullet penetrated her uterus and when they operated to fix that they found out she was about eight weeks pregnant."
"What!" Mel almost fell out of her chair in surprise.
"That's what I thought."
"She never said anything Rick."
"I don't think she even knew."
Mel looked at him closely,
"The baby didn't make it right?" she said softly.
"No, it never had a chance," he replied his eyes filling with tears.
"I'm sorry Rick," Mel reached out and took his hands.
"How am I gonna tell her, she'll be devastated."
"When the time comes to tell her you'll find the right words."
"You always know exactly what to say," he said and smiled.
"Go be with her, she needs you."
"I will. You get some rest you look tired."
"I am. I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Okay, take care of her will you Dave?
"No problem, you take care too."
"Thanks."
Before going back to McCall Hunter gave Charlie a call to tell him how she was doing,
"She's a survivor Hunter, she will make it."
Hunter went back to her room, sat down and held her hand in both his hands placing a gentle kiss on it,
"I love you honey. Please wake up," he whispered.
During the evening the night nurse dropped in regularly to check on her, she had tried to persuade Hunter to get some rest but he wouldn't. At around one in the morning she found him asleep in the chair and covered him with a blanket.
It was around eight the next morning when Hunter woke up feeling sore and stiff. He looked at McCall and saw two brown eyes staring back at him.
"Hi," her voice was soft and weak.
"Hi yourself." a groan followed when he tried to straighten himself out in the chair.
Once he did he took her hand,
"How are you feeling?"
"Tired, my back and stomach hurt and my legs feel like they are asleep. All needles and pins."
"The doctor told me the bullet left your body through your back. It's swollen and they didn't know whether you could feel at all, so this is good."
A smile appeared on her lips, then her face changed in a more serious expression. He looked back at her questioningly.
"I'm glad you're here, I missed you so much."
"You don't know how much I missed you."
At that moment the nurse walked in to check on her,
"Oh you are awake. I'll tell Dr. McBride and he'll come to take a look."
and she left.
"I'll be back in a minute, gotta go to the bathroom." Hunter said with a grin and left the room too to see if he could talk to Dr. McBride before he saw McCall.
When he stepped out of the room Dr. McBride came walking down the hall,
"Good morning, I heard she's awake."
"Yeah she is. I haven't had a chance to tell her about the baby yet."
"Do you like me to do that?"
For a second his head thought about leaving it to the doctor but his heart told him no,
"No. I want to tell her."
Dr. McBride examined her thoroughly and was pleased with the result,
"You are gonna be fine, the medication is bringing the swelling down nicely so this feeling in your legs will be over soon. I'll leave you two, you've got a lot to talk about."
"Do we?" McCall said to Hunter after the doctor had left.
"What."
"Have a lot to talk about?"
Hunter knew he had been found out, there were no hiding things from McCall.
"Yeah we do."
She looked at him expectantly, "Well?"
Hunter ran his hand through his hair and took her hand,
"Dee Dee, they had to operate on you cause the bullet went through your uterus."
The look on Hunters face while he told her this worried McCall, she hadn't seen him like this very often but it told her there was something serious going on.
"That's when they found out you were pregnant."
"Pregnant?"
"About eight weeks. They did everything possible but couldn't save the baby."
Her brown eyes filled with tears,
"I never knew. I was still having my period and everything or maybe I just didn't pay attention to my body. We were so caught up in this case."
The words fell out of her mouth while tears were streaming down her face. Hunter couldn't hide his grief anymore either and cried with her,
"It's not your fault," he said softly.
"Why Rick, why me, why us!"
"I wish I knew, but I don't," he said with desperation in his voice.
"I'm sorry," he stood up and walked out of the room leaving a stunned McCall who didn't know how to respond.
Hunter left the building and found a bench in the small hospital garden. He had never felt so full of emotion and empty at the same time. Leaving the room and McCall like that wasn't right, he knew, but he had to. He sighed and placed his head in his hands, giving this a place was gonna be hard.
Half an hour later Hunter returned to her room and stood in the doorway watching her. McCall was sitting up and staring out the window. She tried to come up with an answer to her question but couldn't.
Hunter saw her staring out the window, hurt written all over her face, her eyes still red and puffy from crying. It broke his heart, he almost wanted to turn around and leave again but didn't. He stepped back into the room.
McCall heard someone enter and turned her head to where the sound was coming from. Their eyes met but neither one was saying anything.
"I'm sorry," Hunter finally said softly.
"Can I… I mean can we still have children?" she asked hesitantly.
"We can."
She let out a sigh of relief and a little piece of this load was taken off of her.