Two Days Later

Lee

He was feeling empty, hollow. Norah had gone to stay with Will at Char and Caesar's place since both of them spent most of the time at the hospital with Sasha. It was decided that Will would be better at home than bouncing around between his two aunts and grandmother, all of whom still visited him and Sasha regularly. He and Norah hadn't spoken about him ending their relationship before it really fully got started. He knew she was angry at him and hurt. He tried to keep busy thinking about how long it would be before his past caught up to him here, and he kept wondering why his contact wasn't responding to him, but he still felt pain whenever he thought about Norah.

The door opened and closed, and Norah herself walked in looking exhausted.

"Hey," he said tentatively.

"Hi," she said back.

"Look," he started, deciding to just jump right into it, but she held up her hand to stop him.

"It's fine," she said. "You're right. This won't work."

He felt surprise that she was agreeing with him. He wondered how she had gotten to that conclusion. He watched her shrug off her backpack and go for a glass of water. Rupert waltzed over to her, eager for pats. He saw Sassy pull herself out of the side pocket of her bag and scurry off. It felt normal but not at the same time.

"Hey, you," Norah said to Rupert, indulging in petting him. His tongue lolled.

"You're not mad at me?" Lee asked her, unable to help himself.

"A little, but I'll get over it," she answered with a shrug. Their eyes finally met, and he could see that she still had feelings for him. He wondered if she could see that he still had feelings for her.

"Do you still hate me?" he asked, his voice low. That's what bothered him the most. He couldn't stand the idea of her hating him.

"No," she answered softly. "I'm sorry I said it. I was just...angry."

"I get it."

"I thought you were leaving for a while?"

"Barney talked me out of it." He'd ambushed Lee after they calmed Caesar down, and he'd threatened to shoot Lee if he left to investigate alone. Lee knew better than to test that threat when his friend had a slightly deranged look in his eyes and twitchy fingers. Once Sasha woke up, he'd start trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

"Oh."

He waited for her to ask why he had been planning to leave, but she didn't. He wouldn't have told her anyway. She walked by him, resting her hand on his shoulder gently before taking it back and going downstairs to her room. He felt broken inside, but he knew he couldn't change his mind. She was safer without him.

That's all that mattered.

Tool & Barney

They were trying to figure out who would do this monstrous thing. Barney had files strewn over his desk, and Tool was going over his own files while sitting in the chair across from him.

"I'm not seeing anyone with a beef against Caesar directly," Tool said after flipping through a bunch of pages.

"It'd be against me, and they're taking it out on my team."

"Well, half the world hates your guts, so I think we're screwed."

"Just half?" Barney asked sarcastically.

"Sorry, you're right. 80% of the world hates you."

"And where did you get those astounding statistics, pray tell?"

"My online survey called I Hate Barney Ross," Tool answered smoothly. Barney just snorted and dropped it.

There were still no leads. NOPD had let Barney know that much, and it frustrated him to no end. He wanted justice for Sasha. He turned his head and looked at the printed photo of Melanie. He'd gotten it from Lee. He had promised to start looking into it because he didn't want Lee to go running out blind and getting himself killed. He'd tried to get a lead on the number that texted Lee, but it reached a dead end. Survey says: Burner phone.

"You think they're connected?" Tool asked, gesturing to the photo.

"I don't know. Why send it when he's in the hospital and tell him it's the beginning? You think they'd have mentioned Sasha too."

"You're right. It's a coincidence."

"I'm not ruling it out fully, but it seems that way," Barney sighed. He leaned back in his chair. Everything was making his head hurt. He glanced at the clock. It was almost time to head for the hospital.

"We'll figure it out," Tool assured him. "One way or another, we'll figure it out."

Barney didn't say anything. He sure as hell hoped Tool was right.

Joe & Rose

They worked side by side. Rose was impressed that her father wasn't throwing up anymore at the smell of blood. Joe was impressed that he was now getting almost faster than Rose at cleaning.

"Oh, rub it in," she scoffed when he passed her grinning, his section of the house spotless.

"I may be older than you, but I can still whoop your ass," he commented. She laughed and resisted throwing her sponge at him. She was looking forward to that night. Winston was having her and Oscar over for dinner and a movie. She found herself thinking about when they'd take the next step in their relationship, but she wasn't in a hurry. One thing Winston did that Mac never had was cherish her.

"You're thinking about Winston again, aren't you?" Joe asked, noticing her face. She blushed.

"No," she lied.

"Ha, you can't fool me," Joe chuckled. "I remember after I met your mother, I walked into things and drifted around in a fog of love for weeks." Rose grew still for a moment. It was rare for him to talk about her mother.

"You loved her at first sight," she said.

"I sure did. I don't regret any of it except not paying attention more," he said somberly. She looked to see his eyes were a bit wet.

"I'm sorry, Dad."

"It's not your fault. I didn't read the signs well. I thought she'd come out of it like she always did."

Rose waited, but he didn't say anything else. She knew not to push. She gave him a sad smile, which he returned. Then they were cleaning in silence again. She briefly thought about Norah and hoped her friend's little girl was okay. She'd prayed a lot about it. It felt a bit foreign to her, praying, but she hadn't known what else to do.

She just hoped it worked.

Toll

He shifted uncomfortably in his chair. He hated hospital chairs. They knew people spent a lot of time in one, so why couldn't they invest in comfy arm chairs or something? He didn't understand. Char had gone home to shower at Caesar's insistence that she needed to care for herself, leaving him and Caesar with Sasha. Toll's heart hurt every time he looked at the little girl on the ventilator. He could only imagine how Caesar was feeling.

"She had gone out to bring her inside," Caesar said again. He'd gone over the story multiple times. Toll knew he was trying to process it still.

"It's no one's fault but the driver's," Toll insisted.

"Char was right there," Caesar said, not hearing him. "If she'd just been ten seconds sooner..."

"You gotta stop that," Toll urged, reaching to clasp Caesar's shoulder tightly. "The What If game will drive you mental. You can't change it."

"Any leads yet?"

"None."

"I will find him," Caesar promised. "I'll end him."

"I'll be right behind you," Toll reassured him. Something caught his attention then, and he sat upright in his chair, reaching to smack Caesar.

"Ow! What the hell, man?"

"She's waking up," Toll said urgently. Caesar was out of his chair like a rocket. He pressed the button to summon a nurse, and he leaned over his daughter, smoothing a hand over her head gently.

"It's okay, baby girl," he kept saying. "It's okay. I'm here."

The nurse came and assessed the situation. Caesar was told to step back, which he did very reluctantly. There was a flurry of movement, but at the end of it, Sasha was looking at Caesar.

"Daddy," she croaked.

"Oh, thank God," he practically gasped, bending to hug her. Toll pulled out his phone. It was time to share the good news.

Norah

Her heart ached. Seeing Lee had brought everything back up again. She hadn't lied. She didn't hate him, and she was still a bit angry at him, but she didn't quite understand yet why he was pushing her away again. She didn't think she ever would. The only thing she could do, though, was move on. She'd tried with Lee, and it ended. There was no going back. She had to save herself from pain and rejection by making that choice.

"Norah?"

She turned to see him standing there. Her heart rose. Had he changed his mind?

"Yes?"

"Sasha's awake."

The relief hit her hard, and she sank down onto her mattress and exhaled loudly. Then a new worry struck her.

"Is she...?" she tried.

"She's cognitive. She knows who Caesar is, who everyone is. She's alright."

"Thank God."

"Yea," Lee agreed. "I'm gonna head over to see her."

"I'll come too."

"Okay." He lingered on the stairs, and Norah felt like he had more to say but wasn't saying it. She decided to ask the question that was on her mind.

"Was it something I did?" she asked. His face showed surprise and then concern as he came down to sit beside her. She couldn't stand being that close to him. It made her remember how it felt to have his skin against hers.

"No," he answered softly. "It's me, not you."

"I've heard that before."

"It's the truth. If things were different..." he trailed off.

"You could love me," she finished for him. He pulled his lips to the right for a second before pressing them together and sucking his teeth.

"I would definitely love you," he told her. She didn't know if that made her feel better or worse. She looked at him, his face close to hers, and she couldn't help herself. It was her last ditch effort to change his mind, saving herself from the pain of rejection be damned.

She kissed him.

He didn't appear to be surprised, which made her wonder if he'd wanted her to or had planned to do it himself. Maybe he was wavering. She moved to sit in his lap, running her hands over his back and chest as she kissed him deeper. He fell backwards slowly, pulling her with him. His arms wrapped around her, his fingers brushing against her exposed skin from her shirt riding up.

"Norah," he said when she stopped kissing him and moved to take his shirt off. He caught her hands with his, stopping her. "We have to stop now."

"I don't think we do," she insisted.

"Yes, we do," he countered, moving to sit up and propped himself with one hand.

"Just one last time to say goodbye," she said. "I'll move on after. I promise."

"As tempting as that is, I can't," he told her. "I'm sorry." She felt the sting of rejection and moved to slide off his lap. She felt ridiculous now.

"I should know better than to think you would actually want me," she said. She got up and went to walk away when he stood and caught her hand. She was surprised when he pulled her into him and even more surprised when he started kissing her again. She clasped his hand that was grasping her face with hers.

"It's not that I don't want you," he told her, pressing his face against hers after. "I can't have you."

"Why not?"

"It's hard to explain."

"Try me."

"I can't."

"Lee," she said, growing frustrated again. It faded when he kissed her again. He just had a way of making her forget her own name when he did that.

"I shouldn't be doing this," he said, moving back after a moment.

"You're confusing the hell out of me," she agreed. He went to back away when she grabbed his shirt and pulled him back.

"Norah..."

"I don't care. I want this goodbye," she said, kissing him hard again. She tried to convey everything she felt in it, and after a moment, she felt him reach to pick her up into his arms. He wasn't fighting it. She held his face gently in her hands as she open mouth kissed him, and he set her down on the bed carefully underneath him, one arm wrapped around her back and the other propping himself up above her. The rest was a blur, but it was still so much better than she was used to. Randy had always been about Randy. Lee was all about her. Having him hold her while placing the odd kiss on her shoulder afterwards was like the best feeling in the world. His chest was warm against her back.

"I'm really going to miss you," she whispered, clenching his hand tighter.

"I'll still be your friend," he promised. She turned in his arms to face him.

"But I think we owe it to ourselves to find out if we should be more," she said. He reached to tuck her hair behind her ear, trailing his fingers along her jaw afterwards.

"I'm unlucky, Norah," he murmured. "You're safer away from me."

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard," she retorted.

"You need to trust me, Norah," he said firmly. "Okay? Please just trust me."

Despite her feelings of despair, she did trust him. She nodded slowly, trying not to cry. He kissed her temple gently and pressed his hand against her cheek.

"We'll always have this," he advised. "I'll never forget it."

"Me either."

He ran his thumb along her lips before kissing her one last time. Norah could feel the goodbye in it, and she felt like her soul was being crushed. He left soon after, and she took a few moments to get used to the fact things were going back to the way they were before getting up and joining him to go see Sasha.

Gunner

With lighter steps, he walked into the hospital and found Sasha sitting up and chattering away to her brother. Caesar and Char both looked immensely relieved. He went to hug Char and clap Caesar on the back.

"Hi," he said to Sasha, who suddenly became shy at seeing him. He sat down next to her and rested the back of his hand on her forehead. "Goodness me! You feel very much alive!" Sasha giggled and swatted his hand away. Gunner grinned at her.

"What did you bring me?" she asked him.

"Sasha," Char admonished.

"Oh, it's okay," Gunner said, reaching into the bag he'd brought with him. "She knows her favorite uncle wouldn't forget to bring her something." He pulled out a stuffed rabbit, and she gave a slight squeal as she took it from him.

"Thank you," she said shyly, cuddling with it.

"I thought I was the favorite uncle," Toll said, entering next.

"You are," Sasha insisted. Gunner pretended to be hurt.

"You can't have two favorites," he insisted. She giggled again.

"Yes, I can!"

"Oh no," Barney said dramatically as he walked into the room. "Then what about me?!" Sasha was full out laughing now. She loved getting teased by her honorary uncles.

"You're all my favorite uncles!" she exclaimed.

"Well, that's a relief," Lee commented, showing up and overhearing. He gave her a lopsided smile, and she grew shy again. Gunner knew she had a little girl crush on most of them. He saw Norah hanging back, and he noticed she looked broken. He wondered what happened when Sasha saw her too.

"Aunty Norah!"

"Hi, baby," Norah said, going to hug her tightly. "Don't you ever scare me like that again, you hear?"

"I won't," Sasha promised. "Hey, where are Uncle Yang and Uncle Tool?"

"They're coming," Barney promised.

Gunner loved that Sasha had so readily adopted Norah as an aunt. He knew she'd spent a lot of time with them when the team had been gone for two months.

"Look at all that casting I get to draw on," Norah went on, examining Sasha's arm and leg. "That'll be fun."

"Oh, I just had the best idea of what to draw!" Will said eagerly.

"What did we miss?" Tool asked, joining them with Yang. Sasha reached for hugs, and they obliged. Gunner noticed Victoria wasn't there, and he looked at Toll, who was standing beside him now.

"She came earlier," Toll explained quietly, reading his mind. Gunner nodded. He sat back and watched as everyone talked or hugged Sasha. Caesar explained that she would be able to come home soon, which was a relief. Sasha was disappointed at missing school, but she understood why. Gunner watched as Norah slowly backed out and then was gone. He noticed Lee looking for her and the expression on his face when he found her gone. Something had happened there, but Gunner didn't know what. It wasn't his business anyway.

Then the nurse came and shooed them all out saying Sasha needed to rest. Gunner gave her one last hug goodbye and went on his way. He decided to go to the shooting range.

He needed to release some stress.

Yang

He found Gunner at the shooting range. He didn't normally go there, but he felt like blowing off some steam. This whole thing with Sasha was making his head and heart hurt a lot more than usual.

"Squirt," Gunner said, noticing him and calling him by his nickname.

"Hulk," Yang replied. Gunner snorted.

"How're you doing?" he asked after a while. Yang inhaled and exhaled slowly.

"Tired," he answered.

"Me too."

"You'd have liked her," Yang commented after a bit, referring to Aika. He had loaded his gun and was getting ready to go. The headphones were around his neck, glasses over his eyes. Gunner was ready to go too.

"Yea?" he asked.

"Yes. She was funny."

"I'm sorry I never got to meet her," Gunner said. Yang didn't say anything else. He was surprised he even said what he did. Tool was making it so that he felt a bit more open to sharing. He was realizing more and more that this team was more like a family. A rather dysfunctional family at times, but a good one nonetheless.

"I'm happy you're sober," Yang said before putting his headphones on. Gunner gave a nod, not saying anything. Yang gave a tight smile before going to his section and firing off his gun in rapid succession.

Stress released.

Lee

He was wrestling with a rag with Rupert when Norah came home from work that night. He felt immense guilt at what he'd done to her. If he had just kept his hands to himself, none of this would have happened. She walked by him without saying anything. He knew it was going to take a while before they were semi-normal with each other again. She went downstairs, and he didn't expect to see her until morning when she returned with a bag. He felt instantly alarmed.

"Where are you going?" he asked, feeling panicked. He didn't want her to leave, but if she did, it was his own damn fault. Then he thought maybe if she left, that would keep her safer until he solved his own problems. It was a catch 22.

"Home for a bit," she answered. "I just...I need some space."

"Okay."

They looked at each other, and she balanced from one foot to the other.

"Is it okay if Sassy stays here? It's a lot to take her back and forth on the plane."

"That's fine," he agreed. "You got a flight tonight?"

"Yea. Kind of last minute."

"And Dino?"

"He's fine with it."

Lee studied her. She wouldn't be leaving her car, her things, and her cat if she wasn't planning on coming back. He still felt a bit gutted, though. The idea of being here without her was stressful.

"I'm coming back," she said softly. He met her eyes carefully. Had she sensed his panic?

"Okay," he said, not knowing what else to say. She gave him a grim type of smile before heading to the door. He walked behind her. "Do you need a ride?"

"No, Toll's picking me up."

That sucker punched him a little. He knew it would make Toll wonder why Lee wasn't driving her. She turned to look back at him when she reached the driveway.

"I'm gonna move on, Lee," she said. "I can't wait forever for you only to find out you're never going to be with me."

"Norah..."

"I can't hang onto an empty promise either," she interrupted. "You gotta understand that." He swallowed. To him, it wasn't an empty promise, but he soon realized that even after his problem was dealt with, he was still at risk for being targeted in the future, and he couldn't do that to her. He was facing the fact that he had to let her go.

"I do," he said eventually. Then Toll arrived, and she lifted her hand in a wave before going around his car to get into it. Lee didn't move. He stood there watching. Toll looked at him through the open window, a look of curiosity on his face. Lee just nodded at him and turned to go inside.

He quickly discovered how much he really hated an empty house.

Toll

He wanted to ask very badly about what happened with Norah and Lee. He could sense she was upset, and he had an idea that they'd done something and then ended things. It felt very much like a Lee Christmas thing to do. He had walls. He didn't let people in. He hurt them when they tried.

"Are you okay?" he asked, deciding that was a soft opening to a difficult topic.

"Not really," she answered. "But I'll be okay."

"You wanna talk about what happened?"

"I'd rather not."

Toll drummed his fingers on the wheel as he drove. It was killing him, the not knowing. It got the better of him.

"Did he hurt you?" he blurted out. "Lee?" He looked at her and saw she was taken aback, but she wasn't shaking her head or denying it.

"Not intentionally," she answered.

"I'll beat him up for you," Toll promised, making her laugh.

"I'd pay to see that," she said, smiling finally. "No, it's okay. We just...thought there was a moment, but it didn't work out, and that's okay. I didn't come here looking for a man anyway."

"Maybe you tried the wrong guy," Toll said, unable to help himself. The feelings for her had started the moment he'd laid eyes on her, and the more time he spent with her, the more they grew. He just hadn't known how to approach it until now.

"Toll," she said gently.

"I'd never hurt you like that," Toll went on.

"I know, but right now I'm just...I need to be alone to think," she said. He cursed himself. Of course it was too soon. He knew better.

"Right." He nodded. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry," she said. "Just...wrong timing."

"I'll ask again when timing is better," he promised, looking at her again. "If you want me to." He feared she would say no, but she looked back at him, giving him the sense he had a chance.

"Okay," she said. He felt a rush of emotions inside at this.

"Okay," he echoed, smiling. "It's a date for a date." She laughed again and reached to squeeze his arm, which he appreciated. He felt hopeful. After he dropped her off at the airport, he smiled all the way home.

The Next Morning

Rose

Oscar practically flattened Norah when she reached the door to the kitchen and he came bursting out of it. She'd been surprised that Norah had wanted to come home, but after hearing what happened, she knew her sister needed to ground herself, and what better place to do that than at home? She'd picked Norah up late and knew that they'd talk more today at some point.

"You're here!" Oscar shouted, excited. Norah hugged him back and lifted him a little, spinning him around.

"You didn't think I'd never come back did you?" she asked.

"I was starting to."

"I'll always come back, buddy," Norah promised, ruffling his hair after setting him down. "Come on, let's eat." Rose watched them interact and felt glad Norah was there. Their father came out of his room next and hugged Norah tightly.

"Good to see you," he said. "Thought maybe you'd ditched us for good."

"Never," Norah replied. The banter and talking continued with breakfast. Rose hated that she had to work for a bit. She offered Norah to come help, which earned her a nose wrinkling back. Joe made a joke about her being too soft, which started a poking war.

It felt really good to have her family all under the same roof again.

Barney

He looked up as Lee came into his office. He looked like he'd been through the wringer. Lee sat down across from him and crossed his arms. He said nothing. Barney waited him out. He knew why he was there.

"She left," Lee said after a while.

"Left?" Barney repeated, not expecting that. "Norah?"

"Yea."

"What did you do?" Barney demanded, sitting up straight.

"Nothing more than you already know."

Barney sighed, falling back into his chair. "Where did she go?"

"Home. She said she's coming back. She said she just needs a bit of space."

"Fair enough. I wouldn't want to look at your ugly mug after getting rejected either."

"My mug doesn't appreciate that cheap shot," Lee retorted.

"What happens when she comes back? You just pretend it never happened?" Barney asked, ignoring him.

"Basically."

"You're crazy, you know that?"

"I'm not crazy for wanting to keep her safe."

"And what happens when she starts to date Toll? Cos I know that's coming," Barney said. "Your logic goes out the window cos Toll is at just as much a risk of being a target as you."

Lee said nothing, but Barney knew it was bothering him to think about it. He knew Lee could see that Toll had a thing for Norah. They all could.

"Have you found anything on the hit and run or that burner phone?" Lee asked instead, changing the subject.

"No. Dead end for both."

"So we just sit here and wait to get attacked again?"

"We're all on high alert now," Barney answered, tapping his pen against the desk.

"Right," Lee said, getting up. "Well, maybe if I flush him out, it will end faster."

"We discussed this..."

"If I go to Melanie's funeral, then there's a chance I'll see her killer there."

"I'm going with you then."

"Fine."

"Where is the funeral?" Barney asked, making Lee stop in the doorway before turning to look back at him.

"England," he answered. Barney stared at the space where he had been standing and sighed.

Caesar

Bringing his daughter home had never felt so good. Char was finally smiling. Sasha was holding tight to his neck as they walked from the car to the house. He could tell she was looking at the place where she'd been hit. They had been afraid of social services getting involved, but there had only been some questions at the hospital by the doctors, who deemed the injuries matched the events, and nothing exceeded past that. Char had been incredibly worried they were going to call her a neglectful mother, but they'd just expressed concern and care for Sasha and encouraged them to follow up with the police about finding the person responsible.

"Can I watch cartoons, Daddy?" Sasha asked when they were inside. He got her settled on the couch, cringing inside at the sight of her arm and leg in casts. He wanted to rip out the arms of the person who had done this to her.

"Sure, baby," he answered. "Tom and Jerry?"

"Yes, please!"

He switched it on, and Will carefully curled next to his sister. Caesar was glad his son was so caring. He went to find Char crying in the bathroom. He closed the door and pulled her into his arms. She hugged him tightly, and he felt his own emotions creeping to the surface.

"What if she had died?" Char asked.

"She didn't."

"I just keep replaying it in my mind over and over again. She looked like a rag doll," Char whispered, her voice tight.

"She's home now. She's safe."

"You're gonna get this guy, right? You're gonna stop him from hurting someone else?" she asked, pulling back and looking up at him.

"We're trying."

"Find him," Char said strongly. "Please." She didn't wait for him to promise. Caesar felt as though she didn't want to risk him making one he couldn't keep.

But he fully intended on keeping it.

Tool

He was standing with his back to the door, sketching the final details on his latest creation. He could hear Rupert snoring at his feet and Sassy rustling around in his things somewhere behind him. He wasn't entirely sure how he'd ended up with the animals, but here they were. He took a hit off of his pipe when he heard someone come in. His mind went to danger first, and his hand lowered to rest his fingers on the gun underneath the table, but he turned to see who had come in to find a young man standing there.

"Hello," Tool said. "What can I do for you?"

"My name's Robert Yancy," the young man said. "I believe you're my grandfather."