Chapter XIV: Friends on the Other Side

A/N: Hope you all liked the cliffhanger. It was one that I have been waiting to do since I started the story. I don't know much about computer hacking, what little I do know is from various spy movies. Anyone who catches the Planet of the Apes reference (original movie) I'll be happy. Hope you enjoy the joke too! Italics are thoughts or dream sequences. This chapter is a bit strange at points, but the scenes are needed. Here's the aftermath, hope you enjoy it! SSD

"Now that's a bell that can't be unrung," Iain remarked, all anger forgotten. Connor could almost swear the firefighter was smiling, and he wasn't the only one.

"So, who won the betting pool?" Hank asked Lucas.

"I just manage the money. Felix has the names and the ways how on a list. I'll call him in the morning for that, even though he's not likely to be sleeping after I called him earlier."

"What betting pools?" Connor asked.

"Just the betting pools on whether you and Sabrina would ever get your heads out of your asses involving each other," Admiral McConnell replied before continuing, "It seems like it was too much to hope that one of you wouldn't have to nearly die for it to happen."

"You all knew?" Connor asked, trying to keep his face from reddening.

"Kid, everyone knew. Despite what you and Sabrina would like to believe, for those that know you well, we can read you like books. Why do you think your dad hates Sabrina so much?" Declan stated.

"There's even a hospital betting pool," Lucas continued before saying "I think Doctor Charles won the pool."

"He is a shrink. Had a distinct advantage at reading you two," Bill said with a smirk on his face.

Determined to get off the current topic, Connor said, "Why don't you go see Sabrina? She should be settled by now." He could feel that his ears were bright red.

"Some of us will be heading home after that to try and get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day. Try and get some sleep kid, if you can," Hank said as he left the room. The others left as well.

Connor knew he would not be getting any sleep tonight. The night was almost over anyway. He made to sit down in one of the chairs, as he heard, "It's about damn time you admitted to that!"

It was a voice he had not heard in over 10 years.

"Grandpa? What are you doing here?"

What appeared to be his grandfather with an Obi-wan force ghost visit glow around him, was standing about halfway across the room.

"I'm here to check up on you. It's about damn time you openly admitted your feelings for Sabrina," he snorted as he sat down across from Connor.

"So, it was obvious for you too? Why didn't anyone say anything to either of us?" Connor asked, slightly irked.

"It was obvious since you both were 18. And as for your second question, no one said anything, because we all hoped you and Sabrina were smart enough to figure it out by yourselves and not had to bring bullets into the equation. Why didn't you say anything?" his grandfather asked, the blue eyes Connor had inherited from him focused.

"You know how much trouble I had making friends when I was younger. Never knew whether they were wanting to be friends because of me or because my family was loaded. Come sixth grade, I get three friends that I knew for sure wanted to be friends with me for just being me. Sabrina especially. It was an added perk that something about Sabrina pissed Dad off. The fact that she wasn't intimidated by him was great as well. It just built up over time. I never said anything to her because I didn't want to screw up one of the three best friendships I'd ever had. Besides, how was I supposed to know if Sabrina felt the same way? If I said something and she didn't feel the same, things would have gotten weird," Connor replied.

"Things were always weird with you two. I must have lost count over the times you two were sent to the headmaster's office because someone thought there was more to your relationship than there was," his grandfather was smirking at the memories.

"Hey, since you're here, can you tell me how Sabrina feels?" Connor asked.

"That would be cheating. It's also something you need to figure out yourself. You'll find out very soon. I have to go now, good luck Connor. I am always with you. Get some sleep!" His grandfather faded away.

###

The night gave way to morning. Everyone had stayed at the McConnell's as an attempt to sleep. They were the closest to the hospital.

Lucas had stayed up all night, keeping an eye on the hospital server to watch for anyone attempting to alter anything. Sure enough at around 6 AM, someone scooted in and went straight to the security footage and deleted it. And for the past two hours, Lucas had been trying to track who'd done the dirty work. Whoever had done it, had done it with a server id. So it was someone at the hospital who had done it, or more likely, had ordered it done.

I really wanted Declan and Hank to be paranoid.

"So kid, did anything happen overnight?" Hank asked as he walked into the kitchen.

"Nothing until this morning around 6. Someone with a server id went straight to the security footage and deleted it. Right now I'm trying to spike whoever it is," Lucas replied.

"Who would have server ids at the hospital?" Hank asked from the fridge.

"Heads of department, a few board members, the COO, and Ms. Goodwin," Lucas answered, not taking his eyes from the screen before saying, "Whoever did this, is good. They're bouncing their signal all over the world. I've been able to narrow it to North America so far."

"Whose id was used?"

"It was Sabrina's. And since we all know that she couldn't have used it herself, as she's unconscious and on a ventilator, it looks like someone is trying to screw her over," Lucas growled.

"I can think of at least one person on that board that would love to screw Sabrina over," Hank growled.

"My dad isn't the only one. I'd be willing to bet good money that the COO also wants Sabrina in trouble," Connor muttered when he came in.

"She was the one who suggested Sabrina in the first place, according to your dad. Why would she want to get rid of Sabrina now?" Declan asked.

"That was likely before she realized that Connor and Sabrina are close friends," Lucas replied, waggling his eyebrows at his friend who was cooking. Connor ignored him, well used to Lucas's razzing on that particular subject.

"My money is on the COO. Frigid bitch if I've ever seen one" Declan stated.

"Roddy is nothing if not slippery. Don't think he'd be this obvious," Admiral McConnell muttered as made his eggs.

This made everyone in the room snort. Roddy had been a nickname used for Connor's dad that Lucas had come up with when they were teenagers. It had spread like wildfire with the group of parents/grandparents using it themselves.

###

Despite having been told he was on administrative leave; Robin knew that Connor would be found in Sabrina's room. Upon seeing the room, she found that she was right.

It had been 3 days since the incident, but she had not shown any signs of waking up. Sabrina's brain activity was increasing and was getting close to consciousness.

Robin strongly suspected that Connor had not slept at all or slept very little in that time, only eating and showering when Sergeant Voight and Maggie forced him to do so.

Connor didn't even notice her arrival. Robin decided to leave him in peace. She could do that much for him.

He was always hers. No one else really could stand a chance, Robin thought ruefully. She wondered what her dad thought of the couple.

###

Doctor Caradoc Morganstern strode through the secure wing of the hospital with a slight bounce in his step. His patient was awake finally, but doped up on pain medicine from her amputation.

Once he came level with the glass that separated the two rooms, he crooned through the microphone, "Wakey, wakey, Doctor Crazy. I have news for you: Doctor Byrne is alive. Thanks to the undeniable skill of Doctor Rhodes."

He couldn't help but smirk at the rage filled eyes. She was going down in flames.

As Caradoc left, he wondered, Who are you going to try and bring down with you?

###

Sabrina looked around. She was wearing her scrubs, but was in what appeared to be Uncle Hank's house from when she was a kid.

"Oh God. I'm dead, aren't I?"

"Not yet you're not. You have too much unfinished business to take care of down there!"

She about jumped out of her skin at the all too familiar voice. "Aunt Camille?"

"Yes it's me. And I've got plenty to say to you!" her auburn-haired aunt growled. She looked as if she'd never been sick.

"Where am I?" Sabrina asked.

"Think of it as the space between spaces," her aunt replied before saying, "There's a lot of physics involved."

"And I was never much of a physics student." Sabrina replied.

"That was a damn fool thing you did back there. Using yourself as live bait for crazy shooter?" Her aunt was more than ready to start on her.

"It was not one of my better ideas, I admit. I had to think fast, and I wasn't about to ask Connor to be the live bait," Sabrina shot back.

"True. Then again, in that situation, both of you qualified as bait for that lunatic. But she was really only going to plan to kill you. And of course you know why," Camille said with a smile Sabrina did not like. It meant she was up to mischief.

"The same reason why most of Connor's girlfriends were so insecure: She saw me as a romantic threat for some reason. Our relationship has never been like that," Sabrina replied with narrowed eyes.

"That's about the only thing your friendship has never been. Would you have liked it to have been that way?"

"Ye- Nevermind. He didn't feel that way. Why would you think I would?"

"Anyone with eyes could see how you two felt about each other. Please don't try to lie to me. I know your uncle taught you and I know your tells. Remember the Makers Mark incident when you four were 18?"

Sabrina shuddered at the memory. Roddy had been a royal jackass again, and they had wanted to do something admittedly stupid. She still couldn't drink Makers Mark without wanting to gag.

"Another thing for you to think about: Why do you think his dad didn't and still doesn't like you? He could tell both of your two's feelings." Camille went on with.

"So what if I have more than friendly feelings for Connor? You know how hard a time I had making friends, what with Donnan causing me no end of trouble in that area? Three friends that would stand by me no matter what? I wasn't about to risk fucking that up, for a flight of fancy," Sabrina snarled.

"Being in love with the same person for over half your life is no flight of fancy. You two were always closer to each other than either Felix or Lucas. Why was that?"

"Why do you ask a question to which you already know the answer, Aunt Camille?" Sabrina asked back.

"I'd like to hear it from you."

"Unlike them, who both had relatively normal childhoods, we both had traumatic experiences with a parent or parents dying. At least in my case, it truly was an accident that the trucker for the city hit our car." Sabrina muttered.

"Another reason why I know you're crazy about him: You don't take bullets and risk your life for just anyone. That's not in your job description. It's in your uncle's job description. And when he was in the army, it was in Iain's job description. That was never something for you to do. There is only one reason you would do something like that, right Sabrina?" Camille had a knowing smile on her face.

Even in the space between spaces, Sabrina could feel herself blush. She then asked, "What do I say to him?"

"You'll know when the time comes." Her aunt looked over her shoulder there seemed to be a dark-haired man dressed in white looking at Camille impatiently.

"Yes, Mr. Jordan. I know time is running down." To Sabrina she said "I have very little time left. One last thing: Tell your uncle not to do anything stupid in regards to that cold case he's been investigating at Andy's request."

"What cold case?" Sabrina asked.

"It's a supposed suicide. The murderer is getting jumpy. I don't want to see your uncle up here for a long time to come."

A/N 2: Yes, another cliffhanger. But I promise that the next chapter will be more than worth it. Sabrina will unfortunately forget about Camille's request for a while. She'll be occupied with several different things.

OC Casting:

Andrew Rhodes: Charleton Heston

Camille Voight: Allison Janney

Mr. Jordan: Thomas Lennon