I'm really really sorry about not updating sooner. But I had to study for the EOCTs (GAH!) and all of my teachers gave an overload on homework. Alright here's the next chapter. READ and then REVIEW, please I need to know if you like where this is going.

Ch. 8 Fired

Liz opened her eyes slowly, unsure of how she could possibly be alive. 'Wait, I'm in hell aren't I?' she thought. She snorted, how could she not be? Hadn't she just killed two officers some hours ago only to save her friends?

Her eyes flew open and she became wide awake. Her amber eyes moved around warily. She looked down at herself. She wore a white hospital gown. 'Hospital gown, maybe this is what the occupants of heaven where, I can't be in a hospital.'

She heard the clinking of glasses and looked over. An old woman in a fading grey nurse uniform was pouring water into a glass. She frowned, was this some sort of test, was God giving her a second chance for the lives she'd taken over the years? She cleared her throat and instantly the nurse jumped.

"My," she said while her hand flying to her chest, "we didn't think you'd be up for a couple more days Miss."

Liz opened her mouth and tried to respond, questions bubbling to the surface of a battered brain. But she couldn't. She clutched at her throat, confused. What was going on?

"Your throats a little parched Miss; it's from sleeping for the past two days."

Her eyes widened, sure she didn't like to wake up early, but she'd never slept for two days straight. The nurse shoved the clear glass of water into her hands. Liz looked down confused, how could she trust this person, she didn't even know where the hell she was.

The woman nudged her arm and still Liz refused. She frowned, "You need to drink up Miss, or your throat will be sore for days."

Liz shook her head and clenched her lips tight, refusing to sip the water. The nurse grabbed her jaw and clenched it, waiting for Liz to open. Eventually Liz did, and the woman poured the icy water down her throat. Liz jumped, her insides squirmed from the chill and she was frightened to death of what the water could or could not be.

"There now, that wasn't so bad was it?"

Liz scowled and looked down; her hospital gown was completely covered by the blankets. She moved her arm to pull away the sheets and gave a silent, scratchy scream of pain. Her shoulder throbbed and she took a closer look at it. With the other hand she slowly slipped off the sleeve of the gown, she saw a bandaged shoulder, still not clotted fully as blood was making its way to the top of the bandages. She looked away as the stench met her nose, she didn't want to even look at her leg now.

The nurse's nose crinkled as she slowly removed the bandages on Liz's shoulder, the stench was obviously bothering her as well. Liz looked away once again as the bandages were removed. It was a disgusting sight. She had a hole in the dip her lower shoulder made where it met with the top of her chest. Blood still poured and she grimaced as she felt some trickle down her breast, she'd never felt more vile. The area around the hole was blue, the skin was losing its color from the loss of blood and as she looked at her arm, it was a deathly pale.

The nurse removed a vile from a cabinet at the other side of the room. Liz watched her through slitted eyes, and the realization dawned on her. The woman was going to clean the wound, and that was always the worse part.

Some moments later, Liz sat an even more deathly pale shade to her skin tone. Her bottom lip was bleeding from biting down so hard and her hand prints remained in the bed from where she'd clenched onto.

The woman finished wrapping the bandages on her shoulder and pulled back the covers, somewhat dramatically. Liz looked down at her calf; it was bandaged from below the knee to above her ankle. The nurse slowly lifted her leg and was welcomed with the unpleasant experience of watching a patient silently scream. Then she began to tenderly remove the bandages, making sure to avoid facial eye contact with Liz, so as not to wet herself from the frightening scene.

Liz looked down at her calf and found another hole, by now the smell was reaching her nose and she clutched her stomach that desperately wanted to vomit. It was yet another gruesome sight and she could faintly see the white of her bone through the lost tissue and skin. She turned her head and retched violently. The smell and sight finally getting to her.

The nurse wrinkled her nose after bandaging her leg up and looked down at the mess. She left the room, going or doing God knows what to leave Liz alone. She wiped her mouth on her sleeve and chugged at the refill of icy water the nurse had given her some minutes before.

The door opened again and her amber eyes shot to the doorway. A tall burly man with curly black hair and piercing black eyes stood in the doorway. He looked to be in his early forties and wore a black uniform. Liz's eyes shot to the badge on his left arm; there was a ring of blue around the TPD insignia. Whoever he was, he was a Commander.

Liz frowned, what was he doing here? And why would he be so stupid to wear his uniform in Scanra?

"Sergeant Peterson," he said while saluting and striding over to the chair beside her bed. "I'm afraid I have some bad news."

"What could be worse than being shot twice?"

He grimaced while looking at her newly bandaged self and looked out the window sadly. They sat in silence for a few moments until he finally spoke again. "I'm Command Raoul, Commander of the Own." He held his hand out and shook her left hand, awkwardly.

"I've heard about the Own, never seen a member or spoken with one, but I've heard."

He nodded, "I have news for you from Commander Wyldon."

Her amber eyes met his piercing black. This time he met her eyes, squirming under her stare. "Your position as a Sergeant has been removed. You no longer work for the Tortall Police Department. You can never work for the TPD every again in any way, shape, or form. Once you heal completely, we're sending you to Conte."

Kel sat, exhausted and smelly in a plush chair before Commander Wyldon. He scowled at her, then at each of the squad in turn. "This mission was to run smoothly, I would never have thought something like this could happen from my top officers."

Lerant blushed a deeper crimson then all of them and looked down at his hands, eyes boring into his finger nails. Commander Wyldon seemed to take notice of this. "Officer Lerant, would you mind telling me what happened?"

Lerant looked up slowly, pretending to look at his Commander but not meeting the stumps eyes. He gulped and his speech slurred and croaked. "If you really want to know sir. But- but could the others leave?"

Kel scowled while the others frowned. She desperately wanted to know what happened and now she was losing her chance.

"Whatever you have to say, you can say in front of your squad, Officer."

Lerant sighed, "Yes, sir."

He looked around the room until he met a spot where he couldn't really see their full reactions. "Dom, Joren, Wolset, and Kel had already left and were inside the University."

The Stump nodded while leaning forward. This made Lerant lean backwards. "Li-li," he stuttered. He stopped and inhaled deeply, he couldn't say her name. "She and I had been having an argument for the past week. It was stupid really, I just didn't want her to drive the hummer, she'd crash or something, you know how she is. That's why at the academy, you ended up paying for her bus fair and taxis just so she wouldn't die from casualty."

"You're rambling Officer," the Stump voiced, low in his throat he was angry.

"She was apologizing, saying it was her fault. But it wasn't it was mine. I was, I, I made it look like I didn't want her to drive, but..." he sighed again, "...I wanted to protect her."

He stopped and everyone frowned, confused. "Go on," Kel cooed beside him, while giving his shoulder a friendly squeeze.

"While she was apologizing, I, I….kissed her," he whispered the last two words. By now his face resembled a tomato from shame and embarrassment. And the Stump's resembled one from anger.

"You WHAT!"

"I kissed her sir, I knew I shouldn't have, but…" he hesitated and looked away, "I love her. I knew I shouldn't have, not just because we were on a mission. But you know what happened with…" he paused and whispered the next word, "...Wyatt… but I was stupid. And I couldn't stand not talking to her. It was also stupid because she is, or was my partner. And you shouldn't bring stuff like that into work. But she just looked so..."

"STOP!" roared Joren, his face contorted in disgust about what the man would say about Liz and at what the man did. "I can't believe you did that to her."

Kel jumped in her seat. Her mind was racing, who was this man named Wyatt and when had Lerant ever loved his best friend as more than friends as a lover?

Dom had his head in his hands and silent tears were trekking down a reddened Lerant. Wolset looked like his head would explode from all this knowledge.

'All this time,' he thought, 'all this time I saw the signs, but I thought nothing of it.' He rubbed his head and held onto Joren, who'd taken a liking to strangle Lerant.

Dom noticed this, he also noticed that Commander Wyldon wasn't doing a thing to stop this insanity, instead he was pacing, every once in a while banging his fist on the table.

Kel sat in her chair, watching everyone. Dom leaned in towards her, and for some strange reason she felt butterflies in her stomach. A faint blush appeared on her muddy cheeks from the thought. She squirmed as his lips brushed against her ear. "I'll explain everything," he whispered huskily with a melancholy smile.

Kel nodded and sat back in her chair, feeling somewhat giddy. She scolded herself, now was not the time, especially when the other members of the office we're trying to pry Joren off of Lerant.

I know it's short, but next chapter is going to be really long and have flashbacks. And guess what? Neal and Owen will be in the next chapter as will Kel's old academy friends. And I am hoping to make the flashbacks tearjerkers, hoping they'll be mind you. REVIEW and I'll become more motivated to write sooner and a longer chapter. PLEASE!

thanx for reading

much love,

redpheonix