I'm sorry it took me so long to update this chapter. But as i am disappointed in where season 4 went i got my motivation i needed to continue this story. Some of this chapter was written a while ago but i added to it and tried to make it a little longer than i usually do. Hope you enjoy!
Just One Word - Chapter 3 - Disbelief
Lourdes, who was only able to hear Jared's end of the conversation watched in disbelief as Jared fell to the ground sobbing hysterical. This made Lourdes extremely worried, from what she had heard she knew the situation was grim but watching a guy as strong as Jared Vasquez crumple to the ground was not something she was emotionally prepared to witness. She walks over to him, unsure of what to do. There was no guidebook for this type of situation and that was making her very nervous. So unsure if she was doing the right thing or not, she sat down next to him, put her arm around her best friend's fiancé and just sat there next to him and decided to wait until he made the next move.
They sat there like that for almost 20 minutes. Lourdes with her arms around Jared while he cried hysterically on her shoulder. Lourdes did not want to move as she was afraid the poor guy would break if she did. She heard his cell phone ringing and dinging at his feet and normally Jared was the type of guy who always answered his call she knew this was really bad if he wasn't even hearing it ring. She wondered if she should answer the phone for him but decided against it, she figured Jared would pick up when he was ready. Eventually Jared started talking and Lourdes felt like she could finally breathe again as she was no longer in control.
Jared: This is not how tonight was supposed to go.
Lourdes: Jared, what happened? What the hell is going on?
Jared: I wish I knew.
Lourdes: What did Grace say?
Jared: All she said was that the plane Michaela, Ben and Cal were on has disappeared, completely off radar and no one has been able to get in contact with any of the passengers on the plane
Lourdes: Why don't you try?
Jared: Try to do what?
Lourdes: To call Mick, see if maybe she will answer if you're the one calling.
Jared picked up his phone off the floor and saw that he had 15 missed calls from the precinct, several voice mails and 20 unread messages from his co-worker Drea Mikami.
Lourdes: What is it?
Jared: Drea called and texted a million times.
Lourdes: Call her back.
Jared: I'm first going to try Mick. Maybe Drea was calling to say this was all one big misunderstanding.
Lourdes: I really hope so Jared, I can't stand the thought of losing another friend. First Evie and now this.
Jared dismissed all of his notifications not reading any of his messages and quickly dialed Michaela's number. Jared was holding his breath hoping she would answer and he would hear her sweet voice again but no such luck. It didn't even ring and he sighed deeply as he heard her voice come over on her voicemail. Jared decided to leave a message for her in case she was just on another call and that why his didn't go through.
Jared: Hey, Babe it's me. Just calling to see how the flight was and to let you know that I can't wait to see you later. Okay please call me as soon as you get this message so I know you're okay. I love you.
Jared hung up and smiled sadly at Lourdes, I guess now I have no choice but to call the precinct and find out what's going on.
Jared sat staring at his phone for a minute petrified of what he was going to hear during this next conversation. As much as he had been pretending to be in denial from the time, he got Grace's phone call until now, he was currently facing the reality that the news she had given him was most likely accurate and he was terrified to find out what Drea knew. But he couldn't avoid her any longer. As he was punching in the numbers to call Drea his phone started to ring and once again it was the precinct calling. Before he had a chance to change his mind Lourdes hit the accept call button, and then put it on speaker as Drea started talking.
Drea: Jared where the hell are you? I know it's our day off but we got called into work anyway, something about a missing plane.
Jared: I heard about that
Drea: So where are you, it's not like you to ditch work
Jared: I didn't know we were called in. I'm sorry
Drea: I thought you said
Jared: I heard about the missing plane Dre; I didn't know we were called to work on it. Anyway, I saw you called a million times, what's going on
Drea: Well Bowers is pissed that you are not here right now. They want you to lead the NYPD team on the task force that will be working on bringing back the missing plane.
Jared: Look, Dre, I'm flattered that they want me for this, but tell Bowers I can't do it and that I need to take several personal days off right now and I will be back when I can.
Drea: Jared what do you mean you can't take this case? This is a make your career type of case, anyone would kill for such an opportunity why in the world are you turning it down?
Jared: Mikami stop. I said I'm taking time off and I mean it.
Drea: I thought you were joking. In all the years we have worked together you have never taken even one day off.
Jared: Please, I need to.
Drea: Jared, this is so unlike you, talk to me please. What the hell is going on? Did Mick say no?
Jared: Mick said yes
Drea: I thought you would be happy about that. Didn't you say something about decorating her desk at work?
Jared: That was the plan yes
Drea: So, what changed Jared?
Jared: The plane that went missing
Drea: Yeah, what about it?
Jared: Michaela was on the plane Drea.
Drea: What are you talking about? That can't be, that's impossible
Jared: I'm afraid it's the truth Dre. She got on that plane in Jamaica and now no one has heard from her or her brother since take off.
Drea: I didn't know
Jared: It's okay. But I need to find Michaela. Bring her back home to me and I'm going to do whatever it takes to accomplish that. So, I need some time to myself to do this on my own.
Drea: I know it's not really my place to tell you what to do. And obviously I've never been in a situation like this before but Jared you are the best detective I have ever worked with. There are a million agencies on the task force to bring home this plane and the only person I trust to do it is you. I understand why you wouldn't want to work as the low man on the totem pole but I think it would benefit everyone if you lead the NYPD team while working with the NSA and FBI and everyone else and then use the information you learn on the task force to continue your search for her off book on your time.
Lourdes: Jared, Drea is right. You are the only one who has the ability to do this. To bring her home. You are the only person in the world Michaela would trust. And besides I know you Jared you are going to want to be there as soon as she steps off that plane be the first person she sees after disappearing from the sky.
Jared: So, what are you saying I should do?
Lourdes: Work on that task force and lead everyone to victory and in a couple of hours Michaela will be home with us and we will be laughing about how she always has to do things the dramatic way.
Jared: I don't know.
Lourdes: It's what Mick would want you to do.
Drea: I'm not officially on the task force but Bowers said she is going to let you pick your team. I'm in if you want me on the team, but if not, I'm willing to help you after hours also.
Jared: Okay, Okay. Tell Bowers I'm on my way. But don't tell her about Mick on the plane that has to be kept secret as long as possible or I'm off the team. They will never let me work it if they know my fiancé is on that plane
Drea: Of course
Jared: And Drea
Drea: Yes,
Jared: Of course, I want you on my team. Both at work and off duty. I need to bring Michaela home, whatever it takes.
Drea: Anything you need. I'm here.
Jared hangs up the phone and looks at Lourdes.
Jared: I guess she really is gone.
Lourdes: For now, Maybe
Jared: You don't believe it's true?
Lourdes: Obviously the plane went missing, and yes Michaela was supposed to be on the plane and yes, her phone is off but I do not believe that Michaela is gone. I need that plane to come back and I need my best friend, Jared.
Jared: Well, I'm not giving up without a fight. I love her too much.
Lourdes: I know you do.
Jared: I'm going to go into work now and see what information I can find out. I will keep you posted as much as I can.
Lourdes: Thank you.
Jared: Thank you for being here. I do not know what I would have done if I was alone when I found out about this.
Jared hugs Lourdes and there are tears in his eyes as he grabs his coat and keys and walks out the door determined not to come home until he knows where the love of his life has supposedly disappeared to. Jared took the long way to work trying to clear his brain before entering the precinct and will be thrown into a leadership position. He knew the only way he would be successful at seeing Michaela ever again is if he would do this the right. And in order to do that he knew he would have to take his emotions out of it completely. Look at the situation from outside eyes and not with the intention of bringing home the love of his life.
30 Minutes after he left his home Jared pulled up in front of the precinct and as he was slowly trying to get out of his car, he found himself wrapped in a huge bear hug. Finally, he was released and saw that he was face to face with captain Bowers.
Captain Bowers: I know Detective Stone is on that plane
Jared: Who else knows?
Captain Bowers: For now, just me as Detective Stone and her family were bumped and were never officially on the planes manifest and as I need your participation, I would like to keep it that way.
Jared: How did you find out?
Captain Bowers: Grace Stone called me and asked if there was any way we could help bring her family home.
Jared: We were never supposed to be on the task force, were we?
Captain Bowers: Nope, I pulled a lot of strings to let us help work it so we have to follow their rules exactly while we are working with them. But on our own time we do it your way. We need to bring Detective Stone back home and you are the only Detective I have that I can trust to bring her home alive.
Jared: I wouldn't do...
Captain Bowers: You really expect me to believe you won't be going off book on this one?
Jared: Um
Captain Bowers: Vasquez, I've worked with you long enough now to know that when it comes to Detective Stone you will most likely not be following by rules. And although you know how much I hate it when you bend my rules, I will back you completely as long as you bring her home. But if you fail... I will have lost both her and you are we clear.
Jared: Completely.
Captain Bowers: Great now let's go inside so you can round up your team and we will head over to JFK. The NSA is waiting for us.
Jared: Okay let's do this. Let's go bring Michaela home.
Captain Bowers: That's the attitude I expect to see for the rest of day.
Jared: Yes Mam.
Jared and Captain Bowers walked together into the station and were met with chaos. Everyone was talking all at once. Bowers in her own charming way got everyone quiet pretty quickly and Jared soon found himself in the middle of the most confusing case of his life. For the rest of that first day NYPD stayed at their precinct where Jared bossed everyone around. Inside he was crying, desperate for this to be a mean joke or a terrible nightmare he needed to wake up from but as the day moved on and night turned to morning with no sign of life from Michaela or any of the other passengers on the plane Jared was forced to face the reality that this was not a joke.
Jared spent the next several weeks working tirelessly around the clock trying to figure out what happened to plane, where in the world Michaela was but regardless of all the man power and all the hours they put into it, it was now a month later and they were no closer to finding the plane than they were the day it disappeared. Jared had not gone home since that day. He split his time between the precinct, the airport and the NSA headquarters and he kept refusing to go home until he was bring Michaela back home with him. Everyone around him kept begging him to sleep on his bed instead of at his desk but he kept refusing kept telling everyone that if the situation was reversed there was no way Michaela would sleep until she found him and he was doing the same for her.
Today had been an extremely long day. One of the IT guys had thought they found something and everyone Jared included had spent hours chasing down the lead which turned out to be a false lead. Jared was exhausted he wanted good food, a nice hot shower and his own bed but his heart kept telling him had to stay at the airport in case someone else found something. He was sitting looking at the computer when he heard someone call his name from behind.
Vance: Detective Vasquez
Jared: Yes
Vance: You need to go home.
Jared: The hell I do. I am not going home until that plane is found. Captain Bowers has me in charge here and she allows me to stay after hours in order to do whatever necessary to bring the plane back.
Vance: Yes, we know you've been saying the same thing for the past month and in the past you were allowed to stay to work the scene but things have changed
Jared: What do you mean? Whats changed? Have you found the plane?
Vance: Sadly we have not
Jared: Then I'm not going until we do.
Vance: With all due respect Detective this is not a choice. I am not asking if you want to go home, I am telling you that you need to leave the airport immediately
Jared: Why?
Vance: You no longer have clearance to work this case
Jared: That is ridiculous. Captain Bowers will tell you that she assigned me this case herself.
Vance: We are aware. But NYPD is being pulled off this case
Jared: I am not giving up this case
Vance: You don't have a choice. You need clearance to be here and NYPD no longer has that clearance in this investigation.
Jared: Why not? What changed?
Vance: Because we just found out that there is an NYPD Detective on that plane.
Jared: Oh
Vance: And Detective Vasquez even if NYPD was still allowed on the case, you personally would not be as the missing detective is your fiancé.
Jared: Please Vance, I'm begging you. You need me for this. I am the best person you've got.
Vance: You really think you are the best? Are you kidding? Look at yourself detective. You look like you haven't slept in days, eaten in weeks. You've been crying for hours you haven't gone home in a while.
Jared: Its been a month
Vance: Vasquez you are a hell of a detective and I was honored to have you as part of my team but for right now I need your JFK access badge and you need to go home.
Jared: Please, please let me stay and help you find her.
Vance: Now Detective.
And with that, 3 large NSA agents walked over to Jared as he handed his access card to Vance the agents carried him kicking and screaming out of the airport.