Another update! Sorry this took a while to come out, I spent the week working out where I want this fic to go and with the new season coming out, how I want everything to link together. I am excited for you all to come on the journey with me that I have planned and am working on writing! I am VERY excited for what is in store! As always, thank you so much for reading and especially to those of you who take the time to comment. You don't understand how happy it makes me when you do and how much it encourages me to write!
Ted worries she will break the phone in her hand if she grips it any tighter.
"Steve, this is Lizzie, please pick up," she begs, a hand raked into her hairline, "The car at Ifield's flat, it was Nick Huntley's. I know you were on your way to see him, he could be dangerous. Please call me so I know you're safe."
Liz lowers the phone shakily, sharing yet another worried glance with her godfather and Maneet. She shakes her head, stressed, tapping his number again on her phone and raising it to her ear once more. Ted and Maneet share a concerned glance.
The older man feels helpless. He had sent DC Desford on his way to the law firm where Nick Huntley works, the one Steve was headed to visit to question the man before they found out the threat he might pose. They are waiting for news. There was little else they could do. He tries to stay calm, the rational part of his mind telling him to wait until Desford contacts them with an update before jumping to the worst conclusion and acting brashly. But seeing Beth in such distress, pacing about as she tries desperately to make contact with Steve, breaks his heart.
"Maneet, have we heard from DC Desford?" he asks the woman, again, unsure what else to do.
"No, sir, not yet. He's almost there," the woman informs him, glancing back nervously to Liz who is still pacing, muttering another panicked voicemail into her phone.
Hastings sighs, "Beth, sweetheart."
The woman looks over to him, phone still pressed desperately against her ear as he continues speaking, softly, "There's nothing we can do but wait to hear from James-"
"Jamie," Liz bitingly corrects, a bit too harshly.
Ted sighs as she ignores him, continuing to stress down the phone. He can't watch her anymore.
"Right, come on," he announces, walking over to grab his coat from the back of a chair.
Liz turns, confusion arching her brow. The phone, still ringing, being lowered from her ear at his urgency.
He turns back, determinedly gesturing to the door, "Let's go."
Liz nods, not needing any more convincing in her worried state, running to grab her own jacket from her office as Ted turns to Maneet, "Keep an eye on the phones. Tell Jamie we are on the way if he calls. We might need back-up."
The PC nods in understanding, moving back to her seat as Liz rushes by to join his side, passing him eagerly to reach the elevator. He understands her urgency, despite hoping all is well.
The car journey is silent, other than the faint sounds Ted can hear of Liz attempting to call the man - it hits voicemail every time, quickly followed by her quiet sighs and groans of frustration.
"Shit," Ted growls as they turn the corner to the law firm's street.
His stomach sinks.
Blue flashing lights. An ambulance.
His eyes flick away from the crowd and vehicles gathered around the building to glance at the young woman beside him, watching worriedly as her eyes widen and her phone slips out her hand to her lap. She is reaching for the door handle before he even has the chance to stop the car fully.
Pulling to the side of the street, Ted follows Liz's lead, rushing to exit the car and hastily make their way over to the blue police tape line. Flashing his badge to the officer, the pair duck under it, scanning the crowd for any familiar face, most of all Steve.
Having no luck, Ted turns to Liz, watching as her eyes flit to every face, the ambulance and then back to the crowd. Her face suddenly falls as she spots someone, moving quickly to approach them. Hastings follows behind until he realises she has spotted DC Desford, stood by his car, phone in hand as officers busy about around him.
"DC Desford," Ted calls as they get closer, the young man standing straighter as he spots them, "What the hell happened here? Where is DS Arnott?"
Desford's eyes move between the two, no doubt taking in the woman's worriedly dazed expression as she continues to scan the crowd while eagerly waiting for his answer.
"Sorry, sir, not too sure," he answers, "I only just got here myself, was about to call you-"
Lizzie suddenly barges past the DC, hitting his arm with hers and muttering a curse. The young man startles as she leaves the two men standing staring after her. She strides over to the ambulance, where a medic is opening up the back doors to the vehicle, no doubt demanding answers that Desford could not provide.
Hastings notes the growing uncomfortableness of the DC beside him, "Sorry, son. She's only concerned. Her and DS Arnott are...close."
Jamie nods, having been told so before, and trying to recover from his slightly bruised ego.
Ted's attention is suddenly brought back to his god-daughter as he hears her let out a sound - somewhere between a cry and a shout. A worrisome wail as her head snaps to the entrance of the building, the medic hastily running past her. Hasting's defies his sickened stomach as a result of her cry to make way to approach Lizzie where she has braced herself against the door of the ambulance, though something in the direction she is looking catches his eye.
His step slows.
Three medics appear, wheeling out a stretcher.
On the stretcher is a man, judging by the suit, an oxygen bag covering their mouth.
As it comes closer to pass the Superintendent, he sees the blood crusting the edges of their suit, a pool of it building around their head.
As it passes him by, their face becomes clearer, eyes closed and pallor deathly grey.
Hastings feels himself go lightheaded.
No. That's-
"Steve!"
The sound of Beth yelling the name grounds the older man, his head snapping to her as she runs to the stretcher. She walks awkwardly but hastily beside it, her visibly shaking legs stumbling to keep up with the rushed speed of the medics as they wheel the injured man towards the ambulance. As Hastings approaches the other side himself, he sees her eyes wide, bloodshot, already brimmed with hot tears as they wildly scan his limp body. Her mouth hangs open, agape with shock and the ghost of another wail lingering on her lips. Her hands are shaking as they hang shocked at her sides, clearly eager to reach for the unconscious young man but unknowing of the extent of whatever injuries he has and not wanting to obstruct the medics.
"I'm his gaffer," Ted announces to the medics as he joins her side, asking what she cannot find the strength to, "How is he?"
"Too early to say for certain," a medic says, sighing, as they reach the ambulance, "He's in a bad way."
Ted hears Liz whimper.
"So what happened?" he asks, desperately, an arm coming around the sobbing woman to stop her from blocking the path of the stretcher into the ambulance. She falls into his side easily, weakened by her shock and stabling her weight against him as she stares fixatedly at her wounded friend.
"Security guard found him at the bottom of the stairs," the medic explains as they lift the stretcher into the vehicle, "Didn't see anyone else around. Injuries are consistent with a fall."
"Mother of God," Ted sighs, his arm tightening around Liz's shoulder as she lets out another quiet cry.
"That's him, sir," Desford approaches them, pointing to the entrance of the building where a man is standing talking with an officer, "That's Huntley's husband."
Hastings seethes as he glances the man's way, "This was no accident until proven otherwise. I want this place locked down as a crime scene! Full forensic deployment!"
Desford nods, following as the Superintendent reluctantly lets go of the woman leaning against him to furiously march over to the man.
"Nicholas Huntley!" Hastings yells, the man turning, surprised at the anger in the officer's voice, "You're a material witness to the events surrounding the serious injury of a serving police officer going about his lawful duty."
"I don't know anything," the man says, audaciously.
"Save it, fella," Hastings growls, glaring, "Look, you know, you can do this voluntarily or we can do it the hard way."
Huntley falters, shrinking under the weight of the older man's animosity.
Hastings turns to Desford, "Right, I want this man detained for forensics and James, you're in charge."
The Superintendent then walks hastily back to the ambulance, finding his goddaughter already having made her way inside, sitting beside the unconscious man. The door is closed behind him as he joins her, the vehicle beginning to move almost immediately, sirens blaring.
Ted watches as a medic moves about the small space, hooking up various tubes and monitors. His gaze then falls to the young man's ashened face, the oxygen mask still secured in place. Ted does not yet know the extent of Steve's injuries, but anyone could tell just by looking at his unconscious form that he was in a bad way. He scans the man's entire body, trying to gage the wounds, noting the blood stains and rips on his suit. His eyes move to the man's hand, already enclosed in Lizzie's own, her grip tight yet thumb softly and slowly stroking at the back of his bruised knuckles.
She is quiet, back turned to him as she looks down at the man lying beside her. But Ted can see the wetness pooling on the stretcher beneath Liz's face - she is crying.
Ted sighs deeply, worried for them both. He reaches forward to take the hand, not in Steve's, but lying limply in her lap in his own, giving it a supportive squeeze. His heart almost breaks as he hears her whimper, feeling Beth lightly squeeze it back. They hold each other, him onto her and her onto Steve, the entire way to the hospital.
"Kate, what are you doing here?" Ted scowls later that evening as the woman walks into the room, eyes raking worriedly over where the still unconscious man lies in the hospital bed, seeing him for the first time, "You could be seen!"
"Liz called me," Kate explains, worriedly scanning the various monitors hooked up to her friend, "I had to come, sir. How is he?"
Ted sighs, looking down to the man himself, "He's got fractures of his right leg, pelvis, vertebrae, fractured skull, some busted ribs."
"Christ," Kate mutters, shocked at the extensive list of injuries.
"They've operated but the nurse says it's too early to say anything, so…" the Superintendent runs a clammy hands down his face, resting over his mouth.
"And Liz? How is she?" Kate asks, turning to look at the older man who shakes his head, eyebrows raised.
"Only just managed to pull her away to get herself some water," Ted explains.
The young woman had been in a state since this morning.
Quiet, concerned, not leaving the man's side for a moment. Even followed the bed as they wheeled him to the operating theatre until she could go no further, then resorted to waiting outside for him to be wheeled back to the private room they had assigned to him.
"Kate," a broken voice sighs.
The pair look to the door as Liz walks in, tears rimming her bloodshot eyes as she looks to her friend, a bottle of water in her hands. It is the first time Ted has heard her speak all day, except for a few quiet mutterings of Steve's name as she sits beside him, head in her hands. Hastings had been left to ask most of the questions of the doctors -not that they had many answers yet - Liz still too in shock to do so.
Kate opens her arms, taking a step to greet the woman in a warm hug. Liz quickly wraps her arms around the woman's shoulders, burying her damp face in the crook of Kate's neck. Kate's hand comes to rest on the top of her head, smoothing down her hair there, now unruly and frazzled from the stress of seeing their best friend in such a terrible way.
"Thank you for coming," Liz is strong enough to whisper, muffled by Kate's coat shoulder, "I know it is a risk."
"Of course, thank you for calling me," Kate responds, pulling back but keeping her comforting grip on her friend's shoulders, "How are you doing?"
Liz takes a deep breath in, looking past her friend to the man in the hospital bed. She clears her throat, "They said they can't know for sure yet but they think he is going to be ok."
Kate suppresses a sigh at her deflection, despite her understandable prioritised concern for Steve, allowing the woman to move past her and into the seat next to the bed. She knows more than most just how much Steve means to Liz, and vice versa. Kate supposes Liz answer to her question being only an explanation of Steve's wellbeing shows just how entwined the two have become with one another.
She watches as Liz immediately reaches for Steve's hand, carefully taking it in her own, her other hand resting gently on his forearm, mindful of the few tubes sticking out of the skin there.
"What did Nick Huntley have to say for himself?" Kate asks, loathing toward whoever is responsible seeping into her tone the longer she looks at her broken friends.
Ted lets out a short, bitter laugh, "Seemed shaken. We will get him to crack eventually at his interview, no doubt."
Kate shakes her head, of course he denies it.
"I should go," Kate announces after a moment. only just managing to tear her eyes away from the unconscious man to share a glance with her superior who sends her a nod, "I just needed to see he is alright. It's a relief."
Relief?! Liz thinks bitterly, biting back a scoff at the woman's claim. How is any of this relieving?!
Their best friend is lying there, comatose, his heart-rate alarmingly slow. Fractures in his legs, pelvis, vertebrae, ribs, the impact of his fall down several flights of stairs even cracking his skull. He was lucky to be alive. And his attacker, whoever they may be, is still out there. Roaming the streets. While Steve is here, suffering. Not even strong enough to regain consciousness. Who knows what state he will be in when he wakes? What about that is relieving?!
Liz supposes Kate is considering how things could be… Worse, somehow. At least he is alive-
It doesn't bear thinking about. So she doesn't.
Liz lets out a shaky breath, gripping the man's hand a little tighter, as if fearing he will slip away.
A hand comes to rest on her shoulder, prompting her to look away from Steve's sullen face to the woman gazing down sympathetically at her.
"Keep me updated," Kate pleads, softly, with a stroke of her thumb.
"Of course," Liz squeaks, gently peeling one of her hands from Steve's arm to rest above Kate's, offering a grateful squeeze at the woman's clear concern.
Kate sends her one last smile, as encouraging as she can muster, before glancing once again at Steve where he lies in the bed. Dropping her hand from Liz's shoulder and nodding to Hastings, she leaves the room.
"We should be headed off too," Hastings says, voice quiet and somewhat uncertain, "Need to be back at the office in the morning to interview Mr Huntley and get some answers."
"I'm staying," Liz asserts, dropping her gaze from the older man to Steve's arm where she replaces her soft grasp on it.
She expects her godfather to sigh, to try and persuade her to get home and rest, so remains looking away from him and pointedly to her friend. She even raises her chin, defiant. But hearing no sound of protest, Liz turns back to the Superintendent, seeing him silently nod at her, an understanding glint in his eye - as if he expected her to say so.
"I can bring you some clothes, if you would like?" he asks, gathering his jacket.
Liz sends him a small smile, grateful, before reaching into her jacket pocket, which she had yet to remove - the provided warmth helping to suppress the chills wracking her nerves. Pulling out her apartment key, she hands it to him, "Could you grab my laptop too?"
Ted takes the key, nodding again, knowing the young woman likely wants to keep her mind busy with work rather than constantly worrying (not that he does not doubt she will, anyway, no matter how hard she tries not too. And it was understandable why. They all would be). Besides, they don't know how long the man may remain unconscious, and Ted has no doubt Beth plans on staying until he regains said consciousness.
"I'll have them dropped off in the morning. Call me if there is any news, alright?" Ted says, fixing her with a sad smile before heading to the door as she nods.
Before leaving, he stands in the doorway for a moment, turning back to look into the room. He watches for a moment as Liz sits beside the man, her thumb still consistently stroking the back of his loose palm, exhausted eyes blankly studying his resting, pale face, and the breathing tube inserted into his mouth.
Ted knows how much the young man has come to mean to her over the years. He is grateful for it. That she has him. That they have each other. He can only imagine her fear at this possibility she had lost him. That she still could. Even he felt nauseous with concern, carrying very much for the boy himself.
Hastings watches another moment longer as Liz lowers her head onto the bed, resting it beside Steve's unconscious form with her hand still entwined in his, before feeling he has intruded long enough on such an intimate moment. He turns on his heel and leaves the room, twisting Liz's key in his hand.
Hearing the door finally close, knowing she is finally alone with Steve, Liz allows herself to cry.
"Please," she mutters, raising her head, tasting salt as her words mix with tears on her lips, "Please…"
She doesn't know who or what she is pleading to. But it is worth the try, right?
Liz almost wants to laugh, remembering a conversation she had with Steve many years ago about faith. About how she could never believe, despite her mother's insistence. But how she would find herself turning to it when she lost faith in everything else. Like now.
"Please," she whispers again, the hand not entwined with his moving to rest on his jawline, fingers stroking gently at the grey skin beneath them, gasping at the coldness of it, "I can't lose you."
The phrase hangs heavy in the air, the silence preceding interrupted only by the slow and steady beep of the heart monitor and the deep breaths resounding through the oxygen mask. Grateful signs he is alive.
She had tried not to consider it. The possibility of losing him. She can't.
But with him lying there... so cold... so broken…
Liz thinks briefly of all those she has lost already, their faces flashing through her mind, leaving a dull ache in their wake; her father, her mother, Saoirse, even Cottan-
To lose Steve is to lose her grip on the world. Plummeting off the surface, drowning in the ashes of everything he made her believe in - herself, most of all.
She can feel herself begin to submerge already. Liz gasps, deeply, air stinging her lungs.
Her chest feels as though it is burning, swallowing down the bile and acid that scorches her stomach.
Yet despite the fire screaming inside, she feels hollow at the thought of it. She shudders, suddenly chilled.
A life without Steve Arnott.
Empty.
"I am here…" Liz continues to weep, her grip tightening on the man slightly, as if willing him to hear her. She almost hopes, like some sickening twisted trope, that he can hear her. That he knows, "I always will be. I'm not going anywhere."
She tries to contemplate it all. What he has done for her. What he means to her.
Now would be an opportunity to say it, alone in the room with him. Him unable to react and judge her or whatever it is she is afraid of. It is a cruel thought, but she allows herself to be selfish just for a moment-
But Liz scorns herself, knowing she is a coward. That anything she would want to say should be said when he is awake - if she even has the nerve. He deserves that, especially after all this.
But what would she even say?
Thoughts are swirling, none coherent enough to catch or make sense of. How could she ever put it into words?
That she is grateful for him
That she cares for him.
She relies on him.
She trusts him.
Misses him.
Needs him.
That she -
Her head spins, unable to comprehend it anymore.
Nothing seems to encapsulate it. Nothing makes sense.
Just as she feels she is there, the phrase or word on the verge of realising itself - it slip away. Too complex - or perhaps, even, too simple - to understand.
But after everything, she's exhausted. Too drained to consider it any longer.
Her eyes begin to close, involuntarily. She fights them as they flutter, almost apprehensive if she were to close her eyes and open them again, he may have disappeared. But the violent yawn that then wracks her throat convinces her she needs to rest.
Liz rises slightly from the chair beside Steve's bed, leaning toward his face and planting a soft kiss upon his unscarred cheekbone. Lips lingering for a moment, Liz eventually falls back into her seat, head resting rather awkwardly against the back of it. Fingers still linked desperately with his, Liz succumbs to the exhaustion with one final prayer-
Please...