Barely Hanging


"Theo." Thea said, "Theo, open your eyes." She encouraged, noticing they'd been closed for quite some time now as she waited on Cassie coming back, which seemed like wishful thinking at this point. Ever since they'd both heard the single gunshot, it had been eerily quiet. She couldn't think of the worst right now.

"Theo." Thea said louder, "Please open your eyes." She worried. He had been still for a while. She wasn't sure how long a person could hold off with a wound as serious as his. She wasn't sure if she was just prolonging the inevitable.

"I got it." Cassie burst through the door as Thea gasped with relief, feeling tears in her eyes as she watched her sister frantically drop to her knees with the first aid box. It wasn't until she was knelt across from her at the other side of Theo when Thea could see she had splashes of blood on her face.

"What happened?" Thea asked as Cassie opened up the first aid box, taking out sutures and bandages.

"I just had to… I had to be quick." Cassie nodded, her hands shaking as she laid the bandages out, glancing to Theo, trying not to acknowledge the fact he looked lifeless.

"Are they still out there?" Thea asked, "Can we get out of here soon-"

"I don't know, just help him." Cassie snapped as Thea looked across at her, "One of them is still out there." She said briefly as Thea nodded slowly.

"I'll need you to take my hands place whilst I stitch him." Thea said.

"There's definitely no exit wound? You checked?" Cassie asked.

"Yeah. I checked." Thea nodded confidently, "The bullet is probably lodged in there somewhere. Split maybe." She assumed.

"How long has he been… like that?" Cassie looked at Theo.

"A while." Thea said quietly, "Cassie, stitching him up isn't going to-"

"I know." Cassie looked at her, "I know." She said, "But it's better than him losing any more blood, right?" She asked as Thea nodded, even though their knees were practically squelching in Theo's blood in the carpet.

"Just… check his pulse and then take my place." Thea nodded.

Cassie placed her fingers on Theo's neck, waiting for that faint flutter, waiting and waiting.

"There's nothing." Cassie mumbled as Thea looked on. She was beginning to think the bandages were pointless at this point.

"Not even a faint one?" Thea asked as Cassie shook her head, looking down at Theo and shaking her head.

"Come on." Cassie whispered, leaning down, pressing her forehead against his, "Please don't do this to me." She whispered, her tears falling onto his face, "Please." She cried, brushing her hand through his hair, "I love you so much." She whispered, kissing his check, "And I'm sorry I took so long." She cried.

"It's not your fault." Thea told her, "What… What do you want me to do?" Thea cried, part of her being in shock as she realised Theo was quite possibly dead. That her sister's husband was gone, right in front of them.


AJ and Punk had gotten their things together, preparing to get a direct flight back to Chicago. Jude was also packing a bag in her bedroom between wiping tears and snot from her nose. She couldn't think about the possibility of losing her little sister or Theo, yet her brain still went there, and her chest felt as tight as it could possibly get.

"Do you need help?" Sean walked into the bedroom.

"No, I'm… I'm ok." Jude wiped her nose, shaking her head and keeping her back to him.

"Don't let yourself think of the worst. They could be safe. They're both… amazing cops. They know how to protect themselves-"

"In a situation like this?" Jude questioned, "Come on, Sean. It's my family we're talking about. The odds are never in our favour." She shook her head.

"They will be." Sean nodded, "You're gonna make yourself sick-"

"It's my little sister." Jude cried as Sean walked over to her, "No one ever looks out for her." She cried, feeling guilt from somewhere as Sean immediately wrapped his arms around her.

"That's not true." He sighed, rubbing her back in soft circles.

"Can you come with me?" Jude cried as Sean nodded.

"I was coming whether you wanted me to or not." He assured her. He wasn't going to leave her side when she was like this. No matter what was going on with them. He was going to be there for her.

"What about the girls?" Jude asked, pulling back from him and attempting to dry her wet face.

"We can drop them off at Jeanie's. She won't mind." Sean nodded, referring to a friend they had out here.

"Ok." Jude nodded, "Have you tried calling again? For any more updates? Can't they just go in and… take down the gunmen?" She asked with frustration.

"I don't doubt they want to." Sean said, "But there's just different protocols for things like this. I tried calling again but no one is answering. Just know they'll be doing everything they can. We'll hear more soon-"

"We probably won't know much until we get there, right?" Jude figured.

"Maybe." Sean said, "I'll keep trying." He assured her, rubbing her back softly as she looked up at him.

Even with everything they were going through in their marriage, he was still somehow the person she wanted comfort from. In her scariest moments, she still just wanted to be held by him.

"Hey." Punk knocked at the door before walking in as Sean and Jude stepped back from each other, "I still can't reach Thea-"

"Of course you can't. She never uses her damn phone." Jude rolled her eyes, "You'd be better trying Dominic."

"I will. There's no way she knows. She would have called us." Punk assumed.

"But didn't you call the hospital?" Jude asked, zipping up her bag.

"Yeah they just told me they couldn't get a hold of her, and they'd get her to call me back as soon as they got her." Punk nodded.

"She's probably too busy to have even heard." Jude assumed as Punk nodded.

"Are you ready to go?" Punk asked.

"Yeah, we just need to drop the girls off on the way to the airport." Jude nodded.

"You're coming?" Punk asked Sean.

"Yeah, he is." Jude inserted, "So let's get a move on." She nodded. There was no time for any other discussion. All she wanted was to get to Chicago and know her sister and Theo were both ok.


"Ok, just a little more." Thea nodded, her shaking hands stitching Theo's wound whilst Cassie had his head resting on her lap, "Keep a check on his pulse."

"It's there but it's… it's so slow." Cassie shook her head. After thinking the worst, not being able to feel a pulse for so long, she discovered a faint flutter every so often, not to mention Thea had noticed twitches in his body.

"But it's still there." Thea nodded confidently, keeping her focus on stitching Theo up so he didn't lose any more blood than he already had.

"Come on, baby." Cassie whispered, brushing her hand through his hair, "You don't wanna die in here. In this office." She said, "You hate it in here." She smiled, her face so damp from the constant tears. She hadn't quite faced the fact yet that it was possible she was indeed going to lose him, right in her arms.

"What happened out there?" Thea asked, "There was a gun shot." She said.

"I got one of them." Cassie nodded as Thea looked over at her, "The other is knocked out… I don't know how long for, and maybe I should have told other people… others who are hiding but I just needed the first aid kit and I couldn't-"

"It's ok. It's ok." Thea nodded to her, "We're gonna get out of here." She assured her sister.

"They're here for him." Cassie whispered, looking down at Theo.

"What are you talking about?" Thea questioned.

"Theo arrested one of them ten years ago for beating up a woman on the street." Cassie said, caressing Theo's cheek, doing anything she could think of to comfort him, although she knew he was completely out of it at this point, "There was a racial motive. She was black. He'd targeted a lot of people of colour. Lot of different arrests." Cassie explained as best she could, "He told Theo at the time that he would get him when he got out." She said.

"Even after all this time?" Thea asked.

"That's him out there." Cassie nodded, "And he knows I'm his wife. I told him Theo wasn't here." She said as Thea nodded.

"The cops outside the station gotta be coming up with something. Any minute we'll get out of here." Thea nodded. It was instinct as the oldest to always reassure everybody, even if she didn't believe what she was saying.

"He won't last any longer." Cassie shook her head, jumping suddenly when she heard the door handle of the office shake, indicating someone was trying to get in.

Thea looked over at Cassie, both of them staring at each other, scared to move in case they made a sound. The door handle shook again violently.

"Open up!" Brock yelled, "I know you're in there, bitch." He grumbled, banging at the door.

Thea continued stitching Theo up, tears running down the bridge of her nose as Cassie placed a kiss on Theo's head. She knew if the door opened, she would definitely lose her husband forever.

"I'll break it down!" Brock yelled, kicking at the door as Cassie watched, jumping suddenly when the chair that was holding the door shut flew across the room, the door flying open as Brock looked on at what was going on.

"I knew you were lying." He chuckled, walking into the office, "Look at that, I already took him out." He inspected, noticing Thea who was still continuing to stitch Theo, "Stop." He looked down at her.

Thea swallowed the lump in her throat, her shaking hands still continuing to stitch. She'd never been so terrified in her life, and she'd been pretty terrified at times in her life. Being in a room with a man who wasn't hesitant to take life was terrifying.

"I said stop." Brock said, pointing the gun at Thea's head as Cassie looked on with horror as Thea continued to stitch the wound, "Do you want me to shoot you in the head?" Brock nudged the gun against Thea's temple.

"Stop." Cassie told her. If she hadn't said so, she feared her sister wouldn't have stopped. She knew she didn't want to leave Theo hanging, to leave him to bleed anymore. So she had to tell her, "Stop, it's ok." Cassie said with a lump in her throat.

Thea put her hands up in defence, leaving Theo's wound half stitched. She needed her sister to know she'd done everything she possibly could up until the very end.

"Good." Brock nodded, taking the gun back from Thea's head, "Don't think about going back to it, or I will shoot you." He warned as Thea nodded, looking straight ahead, not bearing to look up at the man.

"This is what you wanted." Cassie nodded, "So now you can go." She told him.

"He dead?" Brock asked, nudging Theo with his foot.

"Don't!" Cassie screamed as Brock rolled his eyes.

"I didn't appreciate you knocking me out." Brock said, crouching down to look at Cassie in the eyes, "He was just a boy back when he dealt with me. He's grown up." He observed, "Who is this?" He pointed his gun back to Thea.

"My sister." Cassie said quietly.

"I thought so. You're like twins." Brock smiled, standing back up straight as he walked around the office.

"Let her go." Cassie said, "Let everyone go. No one else needs to get hurt." She begged as Brock walked behind Theo's desk, picking up the frame of Cassie and Chase which sat by the computer.

"What a beautiful family, huh?" Brock smiled, turning the frame to them, "Sweet little boy. And just like his dad too." He nodded.

"If the cop who arrested you was white would you be doing this?" Cassie asked, "Would you have such an issue?"

"Probably." Brock shrugged, walking around the office calmly, "Though, there'd be a little more respect there, for sure."

"And why's that?" Cassie shook her head, already knowing the answer.

"Just a mutual understanding, I suppose." He nodded, "Back when I was a little boy, all cops were white, the way it should be. The way it always has been-"

"You're a pig." Thea spat.

"I just liked my country the way it was before it became infested with people like him." Brock spat, "And to then have my freedom taken from me for ten years?"

"You mad about that, huh?" Cassie nodded, "Mad that someone like him, had control over you and your pathetic life." She hissed, "I wouldn't get too comfortable out here. You're going straight back inside-"

"Won't be him putting me there this time." Brock said with satisfaction, "I do apologise. You're… terribly young to become a widow." He looked over at Cassie who glared across at him, "But… I did tell him I'd get him-"

"Well if you've got him then this is over. Let everyone go." Cassie spat.

"Imagine if he did survive." Brock said, leaning against the desk, "The guilt. All of those dead people out there. That's on him." He shrugged, "It's cruel if he survives, I think." He said.

"It's not on him. It's on you." Cassie said.

"I warned him." Brock nodded, "Doc, you can go out. Go help people." He turned to Thea who looked up at him.

Thea stayed where she was, not being able to leave her sister, no matter if it was to help people or not. She couldn't leave her alone with this man.

"Leave the office." Brock nodded to Thea, "Go on." He said as Thea turned to Cassie helplessly. Cassie nodded to her whilst Thea shook her head.

"Go." Cassie whispered.

"Move it. Now." Brock grabbed Thea's arm, yanking her up to her feet as Thea shook her arm out of his grip, making her way over to the door with a jelly-like feeling in her legs, not getting a chance to turn around and look at her sister again as Brock slammed the door shut on her, leaving her on the outside with the dead around her.