Chapter 20: Blitzkrieg
Gus found herself settled, surprisingly, fully into being a cop with a partner in New York. New Orleans was starting to feel more distant, despite gruesome reminders and news reports. Also, when she didn't feel up to playing cop, she could bury herself in the endless stream of cold case boxes. This was especially useful on scenes that everyone on the team seemed to be at, as she wasn't the biggest fan of working with that many people at once.
Which is what happened on that damn Sunday in the beginning of May. Gus couldn't understand why they were even all on the schedule. "Just got a call for a security guard down at an office building. Something seems off about it," Flack said from the doorway of her less and less frequently used psych office.
"Great," Gus huffed grumpily, "so are all twenty of us going since we are all working today?"
"Why, you don't want to go?" Flack smirked.
"It just I feel like I am finally getting somewhere in this case from 1999..."
"Let me guess, murdered parents?"
Gus glared at him, "you know, I don't give you information so you can use it against me, Flack."
He just shrugged. "Come or don't come, I don't care. Mac didn't say you needed to. I'm going, he's going, Lindsay's coming. Stella and Danny said they would come if need be. Too quiet of a day, everyone is going lab crazy. Just thought you might want out of here."
"I think I just need some lost time today," Gus shrugged.
Flack smiled at her, "that's cool, I'll cover for ya."
"Thanks, you want to get food later?"
"Would love to sunshine, but I have other plans," Flack replied with a small sigh.
"Oh- OH, gotcha, well, have fun then." Gus waved him off, ignoring the twist in her gut.
"Get your mind out of the gutter, I was going to go to my grandmother's, Sam is actually free for once. You can come if you want. Bobby is going to be there, too and I think my little cousin may just have a crush on you."
Gus snorted her coffee, "um, totally TMI Flack, besides I thought you were worried about me being a cradle robber?"
"If you touched my cousin, I would have to kill you for several reasons," he replied, leaning against the doorway, spinning his sunglasses by their arm.
"Such as?" Gus smirked.
"Just come to dinner," he pressed on, despite knowing how much ribbing he would get from his sister and the heart attack he would give his grandmother in actually bringing a girl home, even if it was just his partner. And Gus was just his partner, he reminded himself.
Gus rolled her eyes, "Fine, I wanted to meet your grandmother and dad anyway, see if you live up to the legend."
"Cute, real cute, Gus." Flack glowered, though he knew Gus was just teasing. She was one of the few people in his life that didn't constantly compare him to his father.
She gave him a smile that lit up the office and said, "have fun with the security guard."
Flack returned the infectious smile, "will do, sunshine, see you at dinner," and was off with a spring in his step.
Not too much later, Gus had wandered into the lab to ask Hawkes about an autopsy report in the cold case when she heard Danny scream, "What?!" into his phone and Stella looking pale as a ghost staring at the radio, chanting "No, no!" Danny charged up to them, "we gotta go, we gotta go now!"
Without question they all flew into action. Stella started barking into her radio, "1022, repeat 1022, bomb explosion at 653 Chelsea, officers were responding to a previous scene may be trapped."
Gus turned to Hawkes in the back seat of the SUV, "that, that wasn't the security guard scene was it?" He just nodded. Gus felt her heart stop and her blood run cold, this couldn't be happening again. She went into a near trance.
Sheldon put a hand on her shoulder, "we don't know anything yet."
"I know," she said shutting down.
They arrived at a scene of chaos and destruction, debris everywhere. Gus fought back flashbacks and charged behind Stella to where Lindsay was standing, her forehead cut and bleeding. Lindsay explained that she had been getting equipment from the truck when Mac told her to clear the area because they had found a bomb. She added it was mere seconds before the whole building exploded, "they are still in there, Mac and Flack, we were tending to a DOA at the back of the building."
Danny had come up and was tending to Lindsay's wound. Hawkes came up behind the group, "they have triage set up, you need to go get looked at." Stella agreed, and pushed Lindsay gently in the direction of the medics.
"Let's go check it out," Danny said. Gus followed behind Danny and Sheldon. "Whoa whoa, where you going?" Danny said to her.
"To help you find them," Gus snapped.
"No way, Gus, you are staying out here."
"The hell I am!"
Sheldon grabbed Gus' shoulder, "arguing is wasting time, time Mac and Flack may not have."
"Fine, go, just go," Gus said pushing them off.
She found Stella talking with Homeland Security, ATF and the Feds. Stella was intent on getting survivors out first. "Are you going to be okay?" Stella asked her, concerned.
"Yes. No. Dammit, this can't be happening again!" Gus whelped.
"Hon, I think you may be in shock, why don't you go see how Lindsay is doing?"
"Uh huh." Gus wandered off. "Pull yourself together, Broussard," she said, "You have seen just as bad. Make yourself useful."
Gus found more chaos in triage. Lindsay was taken care of, but they wouldn't let her leave. She bustled toward the Medic with her badge up, "Dr. Broussard, psychologist NYPD. I am here to evaluate Detective Monroe." She pulled Lindsay back outside.
"Thanks," Lindsay said.
"No problem, what is the use of having a shield if you don't use it?"
"Right. So do you know what is going on?"
"No, they won't let me close."
Lindsay clicked out of her daze, realizing that Gus had an uncle and a partner trapped inside that war zone. "You seem too together, Gus."
"I'm fine, let's go check with the Feds."
"Maybe you shouldn't."
"Maybe you shouldn't leave half your team to go get equipment!" Gus snapped.
"Don't you think I know that?" Lindsay broke into tears.
"Oh crap, Linds, stop, I didn't mean, you didn't know. You were doing your job. I just can't handle this again. Why is it every body I get close to..." The women embraced, both breaking down amongst the chaos and destruction.
"I really didn't mean it," Gus said a few moments later.
"I know, Gus don't worry about it. Let's just go back and see if they have been found."
Stella looked at them curiously for a second before updating them, "Mac is going to be looked at in the portable forensic lab, Mr. Smith the survivor they were trying to get out is being checked out in an ambulance," she paused, taking a shaky breath, "and Don is being transported for surgery. He was hit pretty bad in the chest, Mac was able to stop the bleeding in the building. I don't know any more than that. I'm sorry Gus."
Gus tightened her jaw, her face stony, her eyes glass. "Don't worry about me, I wasn't in the building, "she said turning and walking off.
"Gus!" Lindsay yelled.
"Let her go, Linds, she needs to cool down," Stella responded, holding Lindsay back.
Gus did need to cool down, but she had already shut down, except for that low boil currently climbing through her veins. She overheard a uniform questioning a young man by an ambulance, "What happened then Mr. Smith?" Gus tried to work her way through to the pair. "Headphones, didn't hear," she caught snatches, "was going back for my briefcase," Gus heard Smith say, and then something in her broke.
"Briefcase!" she screamed, lunging at the unsuspecting man. "What was so important about your fucking briefcase? That was my uncle, that was my partner!" she said hitting the man with a left hook to the jaw. She felt arms on her, pulling her back.
"Calm down, lady!"
"Oh shit, she's one of us." "Crap what do we do?"
She was trying to catch her breath, chest heaving.
"It's fine, I'm fine" said Smith.
"I'm sorry, I really am, I didn't mean..." Gus just shook her head, jaw clenched so hard it felt like it would break.
"Should we fill out an incident report?" one of the uniforms asked.
"I dunno, you want to report this?" said an older cop, menacingly to Smith.
"No, no, I'm good."
"I'll handle this," she heard a voice of steel behind her. She turned to see Mac, bruised, dirty, but alive. "Come with me," he said, grabbing her elbow and dragging her behind a rig, out of sight. "What was that, you know better?"
"Oh God, Mac, I just, I just-" she caught herself, leaned over, heaving. "Sorry," she said straightening, running the back of her hand over her mouth.
"Come here," he said. She did. He gripped her in a hug, wincing at the pain in his shoulder where the shrapnel had bit in. "I'm headed to the hospital, I have to process-" his voice cracked, "just come with me, I don't think you should be here and I know you should be there."
They rode to the hospital in silence. Once there, Gus followed behind the surgeon and Mac like a zombie. "Shrapnel, debris in chest cavity, oxygen, stabilized, need to see before you close him up," she heard the voices, but couldn't process them. After surgery, Mac went in to take pictures.
"Can I-?" Gus started to question.
"Not yet, Gussie, I'm sorry. Look, I will get him through this, don't worry."
Gus watched through the window as Mac processed and photographed Flack, who looked more like a body in the morgue lying there.
"Please God, don't let me lose him too," she prayed, fighting back tears.
Mac came out, looking grave. "I'm going to head back to the lab. What do you want to do?"
"Stay here, is that okay? Someone should call his family."
"Can you handle that?" She nodded.
Gus sat in the hospital, a great feat for her since she hated hospitals, for what seemed like days. This morning felt like eons ago. Flack's father and grandmother showed up first, his mother and step-father close behind. Gus went to the chapel for a while and let them be with him alone. They belonged there more than she did. She wandered back up as they were getting ready to leave, "We'll be back, dear, you'll call us if anything changes?" Flack's mother said to her, as Frank held her.
"Donnie's a tough kid, he'll pull through," the elder Flack said gruffly, his eyes giving away his emotions, much like his son, though he barely looked at his ex-wife.
Gus nodded, not feeling as if she wasn't quite touching the ground. She sat and sat, not answering her cell phone, ignoring everything but what she could see through the window. Flack, hooked up to what seemed like a thousand machines, his torso bandaged like a mummy, his tattoo showing over bandages on his upper arm.
She was still sitting in the chair, late that night when Mac came back. "We got him, Gussie!" She just dropped her head to the knees tucked up to her chest. Mac came and sat beside her, touching her back gently. "I talked to the doctor, he said we can be optimistic."
"Cautiously, he said cautiously optimistic, I talked to him too," Gus said to her knees.
"Still, thats good," Mac tried to encourage his niece, who seemed beyond broken.
"Why did he do it, why did the guy..." she stopped, looking up over her knees.
"Dr. Parsons said he was schizophrenic and had been off his meds for at least two weeks. He thought he was military-" Mac started, but Gus cut him off.
"You consulted with Jane?" Her tone mournful and broken.
"Gus, I don't really think you are in the state of mind to consult on much of anything. You punched a victim in the jaw." She lowered her head back to her knees, feeling the hot tears well up again, she refused to let them, crying was such a sign of weakness, and Don needed them to all be strong right now.
Stella showed up then, "Hi, any change?" Mac went through Flack's medical update with Stella on the other side of the room. "How's she doing?" Stella asked.
"I don't know."
"Did she really hit Smith?"
"Left hook to the jaw, he doesn't want to make a report though. Brass still isn't going to like it."
"She looks miserable," Stella remarked walking over to Gus. "Honey, why don't you go take a walk, get some fresh air?" Gus nodded, still in a daze.
While on her walk, Mac told Stella about his time in Beirut. "My god, Mac, I didn't know."
"Not many people do," he replied matter of fact.
"Does Gus?" Stella asked.
"No, she, she's seen a lot of stuff on her own, I am not going to add to her trauma. She already thinks everyone in her life is going to die, I'm not going to add to her irrational fears."
Stella just sat back, "thanks for telling me."
Gus had run into everyone coming into the hospital and led them to the ICU unit Flack was on.
"I don't think she's doing so hot," Danny whispered.
"Would you be if it was me?" Lindsay hissed back.
"I think she's in shock," Sheldon quietly said, catching up to Gus as she charged ahead, "what can I do?"
"In reality? Talk to the doctors and decode it for me, I made the mistake of introducing myself as Doctor Broussard and they went into medical speak and I don't under-" she broke off her voice cracking. Sheldon wrapped her up into a comforting hug.
"Go on in," he said to Danny and Lindsay over Gus' shoulder.
"I'm fine," Gus said breaking away.
They walked in to where Stella and Mac were sitting. "You know, we don't all have to be here," Stella said looking at Mac after updating the team on Flack's condition.
"No we don't have to be," Mac said. They all stood looking at each other, except for Gus who was staring through the glass into nothing.
"I think I am going to go talk to his neurologist," Sheldon said, leaving.
"How about we go for a ride, get some dinner?" Danny said to Lindsay, she nodded and they left.
Stella and Mac looked at each other and back at Gus. "I'm going to get us some coffee."
"Thanks," Mac said to her.
Once they were alone again, Mac said, "come sit." Gus shuffled to the chair. "You don't have to be a rock."
"I make a crappy one anyway," Gus sighed.
"I know you have seen a lot, I know you have lost a lot..." Gus looked at him as he trailed off.
"So have you," she quipped.
"Yes, we both have." They sat silent for a few moments.
Gus finally spoke, "I thought I had lost all I had left in the world today, Mac, I can't keep losing people!"
"I know, Gussie, I know," he put an arm around her, she laid her head on his shoulder and was passed out before Stella got back with the coffee.
When she did, Mac turned his head to Stella and said, "I'm glad you came back. I am glad you are staying." "It's what we do Mac, we look out for each other. We're a team. A family."
She looked at Gus, asleep. "You want me to take her to your place? I don't think she should be alone."
"I think that would be best", Mac said, nudging Gus awake. "Stel's going to take you to my place now, alright?"
"Mnhumph," Gus mumbled, wearily, too exhausted to argue.
Once alone at Mac's place, Gus slipped into a state of melancholy. Why had she left the hospital, what if something happened? Pacing, not knowing how to get rid of her energy, no way to access the gym in Mac's building, saddened by the lack of alcohol in his place, she spied his guitar case in the corner.
It had been some time since she had played, one of the multitude of things she had given up for Gage. She took the guitar out, stroking it, carefully tuning it. She began to softly play, melodies and lyrics coming back to her like an old friend. She didn't know how long she had been there, lost in the music when Mac came home. "I didn't know you still played."
"Oh, I'm sorry I hope you don't mind," Gus said, looking up guiltily.
He shook his head, "carry on."
Gus played a few more bars, and then set the guitar across her lap, tracing the fret with her finger. "Thank you," she said to Mac.
"For?" he questioned, more than a little confused.
"For making me come here, for teaching me the guitar the first time you met me, for forcing me to own up to myself, for listening, for not dying today," she ended with a choked voice. Tearing up, she rested the guitar back in it's case.
"Gus, Don's not going to die. He squeezed my hand before I left." "Oh thank god," she burst out.
Mac caught her before she fell off the couch, and hugged her tight, "we aren't going anywhere on you, Gussie."
Chapter 21: Awakening
Gus was back at the hospital first thing. She kept a constant vigil, Flack was still in a coma, but expected to come out of it soon. Gus was determined to be there when he woke up, even if it meant not leaving his bedside. Some time late Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, Gus was sitting in his room, having told the nurses to screw off after showing her badge.
She was drinking was seemed like her thousandth cup of horrible hospital coffee when she saw him stir. Her heart leaped into her throat and she was at his bedside in an instant, trying to not trip over the wires and machines. "Don, can you hear me?" she asked, her voice seeming to come from far way. She cleared her throat, "Don? Please, open your eyes, I know you can hear me, now open those damn blue eyes of yours!" she said agitated, knowing she had seen him stir.
"Way to convince me, sunshine," he croaked, and started to cough, wincing in pain as his chest moved.
"Hush now, just lie back, I'll get a nurse, a cute one, just for you." She felt relief wash over her, and rushed out to the nurse's station, dialing Mac with the good news on the way.
Good news was not to last though. Around lunch the next day, Mac told her to get into his office, ASAP. Gus didn't really give a damn what he wanted since Flack had woken up. "Gus, brass is breathing down my neck about the incident with Smith."
"But he's not pressing charges or filing a complaint."
"No, but apparently some Feds saw the incident and went to the Chief about misconduct."
"Pu-lease, like they are ones to talk, they abuse their power for fun!" Gus' voice raised several decibels.
"Still, I hate to do this but..."
"But what?" she snapped.
"I need you to take six weeks administrative leave, with pay," he tacked on.
"And what am I supposed to do for that long?" she looked at him, dumbfounded.
"Take some time to relax. See your own therapist instead of being one for everyone else. Go check out New Orleans. Take care of Flack. I don't know, but for a month and a half I don't want to see you in my lab or in your office, and brass sure as hell does not want you to step foot in the precinct," Mac's voice raised as well.
Gus caught onto something under the surface. "What then Mac, what happens after that?"
"You'll be back doing hiring evals and cold case consults."
"So I'm not a cop again?"
"On a trial basis, Gus. Look this could have been much worse, I could be firing you right now."
"Oh yeah, this is so freaking wonderful!" she shouted.
"I have to do damage control here, you can't be a loose cannon," Mac pounded on his desk.
She unhooked her holster and gun, put it on Mac's desk next to her badge and cuffs. "You can keep your credentials," he said, calming down.
"Well thanks for that," she retorted sarcastically, her hand closing around her id card.
She stormed out of the office and ran into Danny, "Whoa there Broussard, what's going on, sounded like world war three in there!"
"Ask Mac. And may I remind y'all that I never wanted to be a cop in a the first place!" she yelled down the hallway, storming out.
Gus had far too much energy and no way to get it all out. She was in the gym savagely attacking a bag when Danny came up behind her.
"Simmer down, tiger, department can't afford another bag," he teased.
"Very," punch, "freaking," kick, "funny," cross hook, hook. She turned around, a sweaty and angry mess. "I don't know if I am even supposed to be in here, so don't sell me out, okay? If anyone can manage to do that."
"No one sold you out, Gus," Danny pointed out.
Gus growled, "could of fooled me."
"You know I got pulled off the promotion grid a year ago right, could have been fired?" Danny said, looking at her, his eyebrows raised over his glasses. He hated seeing his friend hurt and wanted her to know someone empathized with her.
Gus paused, looking at him thoughtfully. "No, I didn't."
"I got jumped at a scene, chased a guy into a subway, shot at a vic and an undercover cop got killed."
"Oh shit, Danny, I really didn't know," Gus said, her energy flagging.
"Yeah, well my point is, a lot of people were not surprised, they had been waiting for years for me to mess up. Not Mac through, he hired me when no one else wanted me. It hurt bad when he took me off the grid, but I knew he had to do it."
Gus slumped to a bench, un-taping her hands, "yeah, well it still sucks. What the hell am I going to do for six damn weeks?"
Danny just smirked, "Aw poor baby, you get six weeks of no paperwork, no chasing people, no jumping in dumpsters, no midnight or 3 am call-ins, seriously are you asking for sympathy here?"
"Yeah, actually I am. I get that I messed up, but I don't do well without a lot to do. Why do you think I just kept taking on more and more duties here? I don't do good in my own head. A month and a half off, I just don't know how-" she cut off.
Danny sat beside her on the bench, turning toward her, "I know that, Gus. You have been here for six months. You think the whole team hasn't caught on that there is a whole lot going on in there? Always!" he tapped on her forehead, continuing, "why do you think Flack and I let you in the boys' club, we were hoping to get you to not be so damn serious all the time."
"And here I thought it was my wit, beauty and ability to drink y'all under the table!" Gus broke into something akin to a smile.
Danny smiled back, "that too." He sighed, "I know time off is going to suck for you, but it won't kill you. I mean whaddabout Don, who knows how many months he's going to be out, if he can even come back?"
"He'll come back," Gus said with surety.
"Probably, stubborn guy that he is." They both nodded in silent agreement. After a moment Danny spoke up, "and if you really need something to do, my apartment could use a good cleaning, it is a pig sty!" he said cracking a wicked grin and playfully bumping her.
"You're a real jerk sometimes, you know that, Messer?" she said bumping him back, almost off the bench.
"Ow!" he said mock rubbing his shoulder. "Hows about I go get Lindsay, and we'll get some food and go see Flack?"
"Fine," Gus replied, shrugging.
"But BB, you better take a shower, you are smelling kinda ripe." "Bite me, Danny!" Gus said, heading toward the locker room.
Gus spent the first few days of her mandated leave sulking around her apartment, refusing to leave the building.
Everybody on the team attempted to get her out, but she stubbornly refused. "Nope, I'm what was it? Relaxing, recovering, whatever the hell it is I am supposed to be doing."
Lindsay and Stella stopped by one night unannounced. "Geez Gus, have you even showered?" Lindsay asked wrinkling her nose.
"Yes thank you very much. Wait, maybe not today...I was painting."
"I didn't know there was anything left to paint!" Stella remarked.
"Well, I couldn't decide if I liked the paint in my bedroom or the bathroom, so...five tries later and I think the wall is about an inch thicker now"! Gus smiled.
"Well we figured if you weren't coming to the margaritas..." Stella started,
"Then Montana was going to bring margaritas to you!" Lindsay chimed in holding up a paper sack.
"Oh god, tell me you didn't rehearse that?"
"Sadly, no," said Stella.
"Well come on in, the place is pretty much spotless, since you know, I have had some time on my hands."
Lindsay and Stella both entered the pristine apartment. It looked like a museum. "It doesn't look like anyone even lives here, Gus!" Stella said. "Did you alphabetize your CDs?"
"And categorized", Gus replied, grimly.
"Your books!" shrieked Lindsay with laughter from Gus' office, "is this the dewy decile system or library of congress classification?"
"Ha,very funny," Gus shouted over the blender in the kitchen. "You two come over here to do anything than make fun of me?"
"We came to see how you were holding up. So how are you doing," Stella replied her face full of concern.
"I'm hanging in there. I still don't know what I am going to do for the next few weeks though. The Red Cross asked me to go back down to New Orleans for some recovery work."
"Tell me you aren't going!" Lindsay busted in, "you shouldn't have to go back, they can't make you go back," she said with a slight edge of hysteria.
Both women looked at her curiously, it didn't seem like she was talking about Gus. Stella noticed Lindsay had been jumpy lately, but didn't know why. Gus knew that something bad had happened in Lindsay's past, but she didn't have all the details. Part of the reason Lindsay and Gus had become such fast friends is that neither woman pushed each other too much on details in theirs pasts.
Gus finally just cocked her head curiously at Lindsay and replied, "No, I don't think I'm going to go back. I know I can't have any more repeats of the bomb scene, thus..." she stopped and shrugged. "I don't really know what I am going to do, other than sit here and wallow in how I messed up." She topped off the last glass and handed each of her friends a frosty margarita. "Special recipe, from Commander's Palace, drink up!" she said.
"To friendship," they toasted. After they all took a drink and admired the recipe, Gus spoke up, "thanks for coming, I didn't know if anyone wanted anything to do with me genuinely. I know I made the team look bad. God knows what rumors are floating out there."
"Honey, don't beat yourself up too badly," Stella said, setting her glass down and patting Gus on the back. "Everyone loses it at least one scene, and you had more than due cause to go into shock, you just happened to have a few extra witnesses around. Luckily there have been news reports about PTSD and hurricane victims on the news, so I think most people are buying into that."
"Fabulous," Gus said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.
"Except for the rumors where you are sleeping with Mac for those that don't know you are related," Lindsay said.
"Ew!" Gus scrunched up her face in a look of horror.
"Or Flack," Lindsay added to tease her friend.
Stella shot Lindsay a look, which of course Gus caught. "I'm not, you know. Haven't. Won't. I'm not an effing badge bunny. Give me some credit."
"I didn't say anything," Stella retorted, "just thought you two seemed pretty close before..." she trailed off not knowing quite what to call the incident.
"Weren't you the biggest opponent of that, Stel, I recall sitting right there and having a very stern 'partnership' conversation with you," Gus replied defensively.
"I wasn't accusing you of anything." Stella stopped and turned to face both young women who reminded her of her younger self, "listen, both of you: it can be very easy to fall for someone you spend so much time with.
We also aren't in typical female careers, so it is hard for regular guys to understand us...but you have to be careful. It can get messy very quickly to be involved with someone on the force."
"Do we get the back story to this, Stella? "Lindsay asked, her curiosity piqued.
"Some day, maybe. I'm just saying both of you be careful, I know you each have your legions of admirers."
"Legions?" Gus and Lindsay both burst out laughing at this.
"What? I'm serious!" Stella remarked.
"Like you don't!" Gus shot back.
"Let's just drink," Lindsay said, taking her drink into the living room, "can I bring this in here, or do you want to rope it off?" Lindsay asked before sitting on the couch.
"Good point, and if you aren't doing anything, I could use you at my place," Stella added on. "You both are as bad as Messer," Gus said, following behind with the pitcher.
Despite getting abundant attention from just about every available female staff member at the hospital and even a few males, after a little over a week in ICU, Detective Don Flack stopped being such a model patient.
Gus was having coffee with Hawkes when Flack called him in desperation. "You gotta get me out of here man, don't you know someone you can cut me loose!"
"It's not prison, Flack, they know what they are doing." They continued for a few minutes when Hawkes hung up. "You want to come with me to the hospital, I think Flack is about ready to go AMA."
"Jesus, he is such a child sometimes!" Gus said throwing down a tip and picking up her bag.
On the walk over, Hawkes asked, "have you been by much, I haven't been, it's been really busy."
Gus shuffled beside him, "I guess, I know Mac has been by a lot and of course his five million family members in the tri-state area have been coming and going. Not to mention the entire eligible female and possibly male hospital staff."
Hawkes laughed, "why does that not surprise me?"
"I know , right, it is ridiculous. And try not having a badge anymore to get through the throng!"
"Haven't made many friends on the nursing staff?" Hawkes teased, his brown eyes shining, he could only imagine how much of a threat, rightly so, Gus posed to Flack's admirers.
"You could say that," Gus said crossing her arms in front of her.
Hawkes stopped and turned to her, almost causing a pedestrian pile up. "You aren't jealous are you, Gus?" he said. While he was joking, he did wish his friend would admit her feelings for her partner.
"No, I am not, thank you very much, Doc!" she said playfully jostling him.
Arriving at Flack's room in ICU, Hawkes got to witness the Don Flack Fan Club in person. Luckily he did have a badge. "Excuse me, coming through, NYPD, have to, uh, question Detective Flack," he said to the swooning crowd.
"Told you!" Gus said, biting her lip.
"Wow!" Hawkes said upon entering the room, "you have only been here a week!"
"Eight long days," Flack replied, angrily.
"You were only awake for five of them," Hawkes retorted.
"Thankfully," Flack said, agitated.
"Christ, Flack, it looks like Hallmark threw up in here," Gus said surveying the flowers, plants, mylar balloons, and other accouterments littering the room, "I guess I don't need to get you a card then." He shot her a icy look.
Hawkes cleared his throat, "I met your fan club in the hall, I am going to go talk to them to see what I can find out."
"Good, maybe you can charm some of them away from me!" Flack said to Hawkes's retreating back.
"I would have thought you would revel in the attention," Gus said sliding a chair closer to Flack's bed as most of the machines were gone now. He was still bandaged, burned and pale; but the bruised were fading, and he was mostly sitting.
"It got old quick." He studied her, "so I only warrant your visits when unconscious or dragged here?" Flack started. Gus looked at him confused. "You haven't been by too much since I woke up."
She shrugged, "you had enough people bugging you."
An anything but comfortable silence filled the room. Gus stared intently at her sneakers, playing with the drawstring on her cashmere pullover. Flack tried to suppress a cough, he knew it would hurt like hell.
"You want some water?" Gus asked, concerned. He nodded. Gus walked over the pitcher, pouring a glass of water for Flack.
"Mac told me what happened." Flack said.
"Crap!" Gus said tipping over the container too far, knocking over the glass, water spilling everywhere.
She may as well hit the nurse call button because one was in there in a second. "I think the detective needs his rest now," the obnoxiously cute nurse with an equally obnoxious name came in, leading Gus to the door.
"I'm okay, Daisy, she won't be much here much longer," Flack said dimpling a smile at the nurse. Gus stifled a snort.
"Are you sure?" the nurse cooed, fluffing his pillows.
"Totally, sweets," Flack said. Gus tried to not dry heave, choking a bit.
"Well, if you could just wipe that up then, Miss, wouldn't want anyone to slip," Daisy said handing Gus a stack of paper towels.
"Will do," Gus said horsely.
"See you later than handsome," Daisy said sashaying out.
Gus couldn't hold back and made a strangled sound in her throat.
"What was that?" Flack asked her.
"Hairball," Gus replied, patting on her chest. "Daisy? Really, tell me that isn't her real name!"
"I don't know, I am just imprisoned here!"
"Oh come off it Flack, you are loving every second of this ooey-gooey love fest!" Gus couldn't take him being coy.
"I would much rather be out on the street, than stuck here stripped of my identity being treated like an incompetent," he sneered.
"So would I!" Gus snapped back. They stared each other down.
Flack took a deep of breath as he could, it still hurt. Gus winced, but said nothing. "Did you really deck Smith?" Gus nodded. "I would have loved to see that!" Flack said with a grin.
"It was a great hook and he deserved it. Stupid freaking briefcase," Gus replied, trying to hold back a smile. "So Mac put you on leave?"
"Brass did supposedly, but Mac was the one who broke the news. Six weeks off, then riding a desk. Good thing I didn't really want to be a cop," she said with an indignant sniff.
Flack smiled at her, "come off it yourself sunshine, you were liking being one of us."
"Maybe," Gus mumbled.
"I know you and I know you did. And you're a good cop."
"So?" she said, entranced with her drawstring again.
Flack pulled it away from her, iIt's not such a terrible thing to admit, you know."
"I know," she sighed, "doesn't matter much though, now does it?"
"You'll get back, just like I'll get back." Gus just stood there, arms crossed. "I promise you, we will be. And I don't make promises very often." Gus still didn't respond. "You hear me?" he said eyes wide with concern.
"Yeah, I heard you, and I desperately want to believe you, I do."
"Have some faith, sunshine."
"It's not you getting back that I worry about. You're ready to jump out of the hospital with half your guts hanging out," Gus said, trying to keep her tone light.
"They sewed me back up real nice, want to see?" he joked.
Gus smirked at him, "I bet you use that line on all the ladies."
"Works too," Flack dimpled.
"Told you you were loving it!"
The storm cloud had passed and Hawkes came back in bearing positive news. "All your scans are back fine, they are ready to move your to a regular room for a few days and to start you on PT as soon as you want it, but..."
"But?" Gus and Flack both questioned.
"They still think you need round the clock care for the next month, so they want to keep you here or in a...facility."
Flack groaned, then shuddered at the pain. "Like a nursing home?" he asked, horrified.
"Like short term care, intensive outpatient," Hawkes supplied.
"Hospital-lite you mean." Gus said, having done an intern rotation in such facilities.
"Unless..." Hawkes started, "you can have someone who will sign off to take care of you around the clock, like your family," Hawkes added optimistically.
"They would so do it, Flack, you know that!" Gus piped in.
"A nursing home might be better," Flack groaned.
"Your family is fine, Flack."
"For a visitor, yeah, not to live with."
Just then Daisy stuck her head in, "about time to go, you guys!"
"If she says it's time for your sponge bath, I'm going to hurl," Gus said under her breath. Hawkes caught it and laughed. Flack either didn't hear or he didn't respond.
"It's almost time for the Detective's..."
Both Hawkes and Gus tensed, smirking. "...pills," Daisy said perkily.
The pair broke out laughing, Flack looked confused, "what is so funny, you try having a cell phone embedded in your gut and see if you don't need a few pills!"
"See you, Flack." Hawkes said heading out.
"Bye, Hawkes" Flack said, then turning to Gus, "don't be a stranger, sunshine, especially since you have all this time on your hands."
"Laugh riot, Don," she said leaning down to give his cheek a quick kiss, "I'll see you soon. Try to not break too many hearts in the meantime and I'll bring you a little black book for all the numbers you have been collecting," she quipped before heading out to Sheldon.
"Is that your sister?" Daisy asked hopefully, carrying the tray to Flack's bedside. Flack grunted, "I don't know what she is, but she sure as hell ain't my sister."
Flack did not know if it was strings that Hawkes pulled or his own stubbornness, but in four more days he was out of the hospital and set up in his grandmother's formal living room in Queens, since he was not allowed to climb stairs. It took him two days to beg his sister, Sam to save him. "Please, Sammy, I can't take it. She is smothering me and Pops thinks I am being a wimp."
"Dad could never think you were being a wimp, I'm the family screw up, you know that!" Sam sighed, sitting on a chair by the bed that had been set up for him.
Flack shook his head, "whatever, what about Grams?"
"What about her, you know her, she lives for this kind of thing," Sam said, enjoying her brother's discomfort at being spoiled.
"I can't take it. Maybe I should have just stayed in the hospital," he pondered.
"No way, bro, you were quickly becoming an asshole," Sam pointed out.
"How do you know?" Flack asked, realizing he hadn't seen much of his younger sister in the hospital, not that her pulling a disappearing act was anything new.
"Gus told me," Sam quipped.
Flack knitted his eyebrows together at this revelation. "Gus, my partner Gus told you?"
"Oh I'm sorry, I wasn't aware you had sole custody of her!" Sam said, hackles rising, her brother could be such a jerk sometimes.
"Sam, where do you get off..." Flack started.
"Hey now, she was at the hospital about to visit you and she overheard me complaining that I couldn't stay because my replacement at the bar flaked, AGAIN. So she took my shift so I could visit my brother who was in a coma!"
"You let her take your bartending shift?" Flack asked incredulously.
"Donnie, she has a doctoral degree in psychology and grew up in New Orleans, I think she can make a few vodka tonics!" Sam pointed out.
"But she can barely get through the day without setting herself on fire," Flack asked, trying to make sense of his sister and Gus interacting. How much had he missed while he was in the hospital?
"It worked out just fine, the regulars loved her, acted like she was Scarlett Freaking O'Hara. But anyway, I took her out to lunch to thank her and she told me you weren't enjoying your stay at Hotel St. Mike's."
"Find me someone who likes hospital stays," Flack grumbled.
"Hey, you think Gus wants to pick up some extra shifts, she said she was on leave..." Sam said, thinking it would be nice to have someone reliable at the dive bar she worked at.
Flack snorted and winced, "I don't think Gus actually went to grad school to tend bar, Sammy."
"Shame, she's good at it!" Sam teased.
"Back to me here," Flack said.
"Don't be such a diva!"
"Come on, what am I supposed to do, I got a month of this round the clock stuff left and I just might have to kill our dear grams. Let me come stay with you!"
"Oh no way Jose, I got 3 roommates I don't trust around you and I am supposed to take summer classes, I have no time for your whiny butt!" Sam admonished.
Flack growled, "what the hell am I supposed to do then?"
"Suck it up? Maybe you could have cousin Bobby come stay with you, he would if you promised to let him move in," Sam suggested.
"I am still trying to figure out how to avoid that, besides he got a job renovating a place on the shore this summer," Flack sighed.
Sam squeaked in disbelief, "he is being paid to be at the beach this summer?"
"Yep," Flack replied, thinking maybe he had gone into the wrong line of work.
"That jerk!" Sam chirped, before softly suggesting, "what about mom?"
"I didn't want to live with her when we were kids, I sure as hell don't want to do it now! Besides, Frank took her to Ireland,'" Flack sneered.
"I wondered why she hadn't turned up again at the hospital. How about Neil and Bridget?"
Flack rolled his eyes, "all those damn kids and...just, no."
"Tell me about it," Sam smirked, "what about Gus?"
"What about Gus?" Flack asked, warily.
"She's told me she was off for like five more weeks. Speaking of which, how do I sign up for that plan?"
"You wouldn't want that plan, Sammy!"
"So what happened, she didn't get hurt in the blast did she?" Sam asked, trying to get her brother to explain what was going on between him and his partner.
"No. But it is a long story," Flack replied, not giving Sam any more information.
"Have her take care of you, she's got space. I saw her place. What one person is doing with that much space in the city, I don't know. She must be doing well shrinking people," Sam remarked.
Flack felt suddenly protective of Gus. "She's not a shrink, Sam and her house got pretty messed up in the hurricane, she had good insurance."
"Oh yeah, I keep forgetting," Sam replied meekly.
Flack sighed, "I'm not going to impose on Gus, she's not family."
"So?" Sam said, shrugging. He just shook his head. "Well, I guess you are going to have to deal with grandma cutting your food for you and tucking you into footsie pajamas then!"
Flack responded by kicking one of the 20 or so pillows his grandmother had fluffed around him at his sister. "Gus, yeah right, she'd probably kill me," he muttered after Sam left the room.