Thirty-Six

It happened because it came with the job—something that many cops didn't want to think about. The job was a dangerous one, especially in a major city like Chicago. Sure, there benefits, like a great pension after twenty years of service, but the downsides… some people wouldn't think it was worth it.

Leah had always thought it would be worth it. She didn't become a member of the Chicago Police Department for the money and the retirement, though both were added bonuses. She was sure that many people were in the same boat as her, including the man currently lying several feet away behind the partially drawn curtains, unconscious and connected to an IV.

Sam.

She ran a hand down her face and groaned. She wanted Sam out of her life, but only out of her personal one. She asked for a divorce, not this—She let out another groaned and glanced at her right. She shared a sad smile with her partner. Oh, Jacob, sweet Jacob, he didn't want to be here, but he stood right next to Leah just to ensure she was going to be okay.

She fine. She was alive and standing, breathing well. Still in shock, but alright overall, she insisted. But then she glanced down at her hands; they were trembling. An unfortunate involuntary reaction.

Moments past with silence. She didn't know what to say, what to think. And Jacob, he'd only speak when Leah asked him, too; he was considerate in that manner. Leah looked through the large window, giving her visible access to her comatose husband. "He saw this coming," she quietly said. "He knew this would happen."

Leah could recall that conversation from months ago, around the time Sam had accepted the undercover mission. And Leah, she had brushed off her husband's concerns, telling him that it would all be okay—Fuck, she felt like shit.

"A premonition?"

Leah looked up at her partner and then averted her gaze. Her hands were still trembling; her shoulders were in a slumped, defeated position. "He had called me about this nightmare. He was worried about the mission. Of course, he hadn't said that, but I could tell, even over the phone. And I said everything would work out—I didn't care."

"This isn't your fault."

"I know, but your words aren't making me feel any better," Leah said. She didn't want Jacob to feel bad, but it was the truth. "It's just this fucking job. It seems like it only brings tragedy to my family. Related or not."\

"Leah—"

Leah cut him off, saying without thinking, "My dad died a week after my tenth birthday. Two weeks after getting promoted to captain…" she trailed off, blinking away some of her tears. The incident was a memory she would rather forget. But even after all these years, the memory was fresh in her mind. "Put a gun to his mouth."

She didn't even know why she was saying any of this. Maybe it was something to get off her chest, and Jacob was one of the very few who could hear the story. Sighing, Leah carried on, "One day, he was there, laughing with us, smiling, and the next... gone, and I still don't know why. He didn't leave a suicide note."

Jacob swallowed. "Jesus…"

"My mom refused to accept it. She thought it had to have been an accident or murder. He was a cop. Of course, the department was going to investigate it thoroughly... and the verdict still ended up being the same. Self-inflicted gunshot.

When I told my mom I wanted to be a detective, she nearly had a breakdown. Didn't talk to me for almost a week; that was a couple of days after I graduated from college. By the time Seth told her he wanted to do the same, I think she just gave up." Leah dropped her gaze. "I think she thinks Seth and I are going to suffer the same fate as my dad. "It's like bad things happen to my family when we join the force—First, my dad, then me, almost dying, and now, Sam." She took a deep breath. "What would happen to Seth?"

"Not to sound insensitive, but shit happens," Jacob said in the softest voice possible. "I don't think any of this has anything to do with joining the police department. It's just that life, sometimes, is a bitch. Plus, Sam's not dead."

"He had a bullet put in his head," Leah pointed out. "He's in a coma. He's not coming back from this."

Jacob made a frustrated noise. "Then why don't you take him out of his misery and pull the plug?"

Leah stared up at her partner, speechless. Uncomfortable. The thought had never crossed her mind. She had never seen herself doing this, despite her feelings towards him and his actions. She didn't want to kill him.

"Do you hear his heart beating?" Jacob asked after a moment of tense silence.

Leah frowned. "You know I can."

"Then, he still has a chance."

She wanted to believe the man, but the situation seemed so dire, so hopeless. Sam had been shot in the head, point-blank range. She couldn't understand how he was still holding on—but then again, stranger things had happened. Such as the reason why she was still alive and not six-feet under.

Leah's gaze dropped to the tiled floor. There was one way Sam could get out of this situation, she couldn't help but think. Something she considered asking Jacob to do, but she didn't know how. She wanted to ask so badly to give Sam the same treatment as he had done for her. But she knew that Jacob didn't see Sam in the same light.

"Just give me the word, and I'll do it."

Leah hadn't expected those words. Jacob was dead serious, but she couldn't put him in such an uncomfortable situation. He had never been too fond of the man, even before meeting Leah—she frowned. How did Jacob even know she had thought about asking? It was no matter, she quickly decided.

"It's not your job to turn every person at the brisk of death."

"Just give me the word," Jacob repeated, voice growing increasingly strained. He the palms of his head against both temples as if trying to suppress a migraine. Leah didn't know if this was her doing. She hoped it wasn't. She didn't compel Jacob to do something he didn't want. "You're thinking about it. Now, I can't stop thinking about it."

Leah's eyes widened. This was her fault. "It's not my place to—"

"You're his wife, aren't you? You can go right to his doctor, right now, and request to take Sam off of life support. No one would even bat an eye," Jacob said. "Or do you just want to leave him alone."

"I want to leave him alone."

Leah was never close to her in-laws. In everyone's defense, the lack of a relationship wasn't from lack of effort. The distance certainly never helped matters with Leah being from Chicago with roots in Washington, and most of the Uley clan in Texas.

Leah harbored no ill-feelings towards her in-laws, even with her marriage coming to a close. Her in-laws were private, respectful people. They were always welcoming when necessary, always trying to coax their only child down to Laredo. It had taken them years to accept that their son wanted to stay in Chicago.

Leah wondered how they felt about her now, especially the woman currently standing next to her, Allision Uley.

"Will you be staying the night again, Mrs. Uley?" the nurse asked as she walked out of Sam's room. She had just checked his vitals and given him his medicine.

Leah was Sam's wife, so it made sense for her to stay behind. But Leah couldn't digest the thought of doing so, knowing full well that one moment she would cry over him, and the next, she might be tempted to pull the plug out of rage. "No," she said, glancing at Allison for a reaction.

"I'll stay with him," Allision told the nurse before giving Leah a pointed look. She seemed to understand. "Someone should be with there with him at all times."

"Allison—"

"It's fine," Allision told her daughter-in-law. "I know you're a very busy woman, and he's my son. I should be there."

The nurse looked between the two women and shrugged. "Sounds good to me."

"I can stay," Leah offered as the nurse walked away. "It's not a problem."

Allison shook her head. "I think you'd do this city and Sam a favor if you find out who did this to my baby," she said. "Don't worry about it, Leah. I'll be fine." She checked her wristwatch. "You should head on out of here. Your lunch ends soon."

To no one's surprise, Emily stopped by the hospital the following day. Leah could've been petty and forbade her cousin access to her husband, but she didn't have the heart to call on security to remove Emily. Although annoying, Emily wasn't a threat to Sam. Plus, she was carrying his child…

Sue had told Leah earlier that it was a boy.

Allision didn't care for Emily, but that was most likely because she didn't know the woman very well. "I didn't realize Emily was so close to my son," she remarked as she watched Emily caressed Sam's hand. The older woman's expression turned puzzled when Embry leaned over to plant a kiss on the man's forehead. Drawing in a breath, she looked at her daughter-in-law to her. "What's going on?"

Leah didn't have to ask what Allison was talking about. She sighed. This wasn't the ideal time to talk about marriage drama, but Emily obviously wasn't backing out of the relationship, and Allison wasn't the type to let things go. "They are, you know…" she trailed off, trying to find the rights word with the wave of her hand. "This."

Allison frowned. "You're not making any sense."

Leah blinked a couple of times, and then the horrible realization came to mind: Sam had never told his parents about Emily. Only about the divorce—Of course, he didn't.

"She's the reason why we're ending things," Leah said. She could have thought of a better response. A good lie. Something that could postpone the fireworks until after Sam woke up. But although Allison was never close to her, she was never problematic. Leah couldn't bring herself to lie to the other woman.

Allison rose both eyebrows. It was apparent she was in shock, but she didn't lash out. She maintained her composure as she looked between Leah and the occupants in Sam's room. "She's pregnant," she stated, following a few moments of uncomfortable silence.

"It's his."

"I thought he didn't want any children?"

"I thought so, too," Leah replied quietly. She looked through the window and fixed her gaze on Emily's protruding belly. "From all accounts, it was an accident."

"She's far along," Allision remarked without any emotion. She was probably in shock. "Several months, it seems."

"She due next month."

Allison dropped her impassive demeanor when she, with her arms crossed, cursed under her breath. "That idiot," she gritted out. "That idiot." She shook her head and then gave her future ex-daughter-in-law a look of sympathy. "When he told me about the divorce, I have to admit, I didn't think very kindly of you. And for that, I'm sorry." She let out a resigned sigh. "I love my son. He's my world, but he can be so…"

"Obtuse?"

"Yeah," Allision said. "Divorce is hard, but now I see it's for the best."

Allison would never know how grateful Leah was for those words. Allison was Sam's mother, so naturally, she would take her son's side. She didn't have any obligations to her daughter-in-law. She could've pushed Leah away, accuse her of ruining her son. But she hadn't. "Thank you," Leah said with the utmost sincerity."

Allision gave Leah a small smile. "I suppose I should formally introduce myself to her," she said, sounding unenthusiastic at the prospect. "Since I'll be dealing with her for, at least, the next eighteen years. Tell me, is it serious between them?"

Leah shrugged—She highly doubted Sam, and Emily knew themselves. Goodness, she hoped they figured it out soon. A part of her wanted their relationship to work out; she wanted them to believe in love with each other. Because if one were going to fuck up a marriage and alter family dynamics, they better make it worth it.

"Emily's your cousin," Allision said, still trying to wrap her mind around the shocking revelation. "And she's carrying your husband's child."

Leah didn't any to talk about it anymore. Thankfully, Allison sensed her daughter-in-law's discomfort and switched topics. "Joshua sends his regards. He'll be stopping by later. He wanted to come earlier, but his flight from Bogotá was delayed due to a storm. He should be back in the states tomorrow."

Leah nodded.

"Is there an investigation open?"

Leah nodded again. Of course, there was. A cop was shot—all hands were on deck.

Allison swallowed and nodded. "So, this wasn't an accident."

"Most likely not."

"Details?"

"Can't give you any," Leah said, apologetic. "I'll let you know as soon as the information can be made public. Everything right now is sensitive because—"

"No need to explain. My husband was in the army. I know how it is."

Without Leah needing to ask, Aisha stayed over with her that night with much-needed food and wine.

"I don't know how he's still alive. I don't know how you are still alive. It seems that you both have angels looking over you," Aisha remarked, pouring herself a glass. She didn't have the highest opinion of Sam because of the whole Emily-situation, but for right now, he wasn't the estranged husband of a dear friend. He was just a cop, a coworker.

Leah felt the same way. "In my case," she said. "Jacob just happened to come along at the right time."

"I stand by what I said."

"What happened?" Leah asked. It wasn't her business, given the sensitive nature of undercover assignments, but she figured everyone was going to find other sooner or later. Paul had already assigned Martinez to the investigation, a man who would most certainly give her the details when available. But Leah wanted to know what had happened now.

"The purge," Aisha said. "Many of the recruits are being interrogated and killed off. They think someone talked, which they did, but…" she trailed off, taking a sip from her drink.

"Whom did he work for?"

"Maria."

"Oh."

"Paul didn't want him to get involved with the Cullen's and the Volturi," Aisha explained. "It wouldn't have worked because we've been after them for so long. But Maria—she's only been in the area for a few years, laying low enough for us not to go after her."

"I see."

"Paul wanted someone to infiltrate the cartel to learn more about the UVs. Maria's people got a buyer out in Romania who transports the goods to Mexico, and then they bring them to the US. The ATF's trying to rain on their parade, but it's not been working out. Word on the street is that the Velasquez coven has ties to numerous cartels down in Mexico."

"Of course, it does."

"I don't think anyone knew how big this case was going to be. We all thought that we could use Jessica's murder to bring down the Cullens and the Volturi. But this, right now, it's way bigger than us."

"And then, you still have the corruption investigation."

"My Lord, so much shit's been going on lately. I forgot we're being investigated for corruption," Aisha said, holding the glass to her chest. "At this rate, we may have a Netflix documentary by the end of the next year."

Leah would've laughed if it wasn't so sad.

Later that week, Leah decided to pay Bella a surprise visit at the Office of the Medical Examiner.

After exchanging the usual pleasantries, Bella directed Leah to the seat in front of her desks as she placed her coroner reports aside. She then took a seat behind her desk and asked, once her guest was comfortable, "You're here for Sam?"

Leah nodded. She retrieved the folded-up copies of her husband's medical records and handed them to the medical examiner. "It's not that I don't trust the doctors," she said, "But I'd like more answers, if possible. A second opinion."

"I understand." Bella skimmed through the pages, her face not conveying much emotion besides exhaustion. "Vegetative state is a finicky thing," she eventually remarked. "Even with all of the medical advancements of today, we still don't know everything about the comatose state. Sometimes, people wake from it; sometimes, they don't—" She took one look at the detective and sighed. "I don't think that was what you wanted to hear."

Leah didn't deny it.

"But if it gives you any solace," Bella continued. "It is truly a miracle that Sam survived. Two bullets to the head? A guardian angel must've been by his side."

Leah forced a small smile. None of Bella's words gave her much relief, but she appreciated the effort. "So, there's nothing else you can tell me from a professional perspective?"

Bella shook her head as she returned Sam's medical notes into Leah's hands. "His vitals are fine, relatively speaking," she said, folding her hands on her desk. "Now, we all we need is for his brain to 'wake up'. You should consult with his doctor for further information."

Leah dropped the records into her purse. "Thank you, Bella," she said, rising from her seat. "Appreciate it."

"Anytime."

Friday morning, Paul held an emergency meeting inside his office with a few members of the brass, Aisha and Jenks.

Most of the task force was at their desks during the event, appearing as if they were hard at work instead of trying to overhear the heated conversation happening inside Paul's office. Getting the details wouldn't be hard, even for those without enhanced hearing. Everyone would know what was going on because Paul's voice could get unnaturally loud when he was angry.

And boy, he was beyond pissed off today.

The deputy chief was the first person to ask the most important question of the day: "How the hell did this happen?"

"There have been reports of a purge happening with all of the covens and even the other supernatural gangs," Aisha explained. It made sense for her to participate in the meeting. Being Sam's handler, she knew more about the investigation than anyone else. "I suppose the events of the tunnel raids spooked them… a few of our sources have been recently killed in the same—"

Not satisfied with Aisha's answer, the deputy chief repeated his question.

"He was shot—"

"Captain?"

"I told you this was going to happen," Paul simply replied. It was probably the most inflammatory thing the captain had ever said to his superiors. But Leah knew that he no longer had any more fucks to give. "I told you all that this was to happen, but everyone thought it would be fine."

"Are you implying that it's our fault?"

"I told you this was going to happen," Paul reiterated. He must have known that the deputy chief and the chief were fuming. His commander, his direct supervisor, remained quiet; the decision to keep Sam wasn't his or Paul's.

"Lahote—"

"Captain," the commander interjected. "Tell us what we can do to make this unfortunate situation better."

The commander was choosing the appeasement route. Advisable since Paul was about was about five seconds away from tossing his computer out of the window (Earlier, Jacob had devised a plan just in case Paul's wolf felt inspired).

"You can start by getting rid of the Deal."

The chief sighed. "Paul—"

"No. This unit was created after Saint Patrick's to crack down on supernatural crimes, but how can we do anything with that goddamn Deal hovering over our heads? We can't do shit," Paul argued. "And now because we can't arrest anyone without getting chewed out, I got injured cops, dead witnesses and informants, covens running around like they're immune to the goddamn law, outside gangs preparing for a city takeover, and as of last night, an undercover cop in a coma."

"This job was never going to be easy," the deputy chief tried to reason.

But Paul wasn't hearing any of it. "You and the other bosses either do something about the Deal, or I'm done."

"Captain, what are you—"

"I'm gone," Paul repeated, and he wasn't playing. This wouldn't be the first time he threatened to resign; he had tried to retire right after the tunnel-raid-gone-wrong. "I'm sick and tired of this bullshit. You put me here to make sure we get as many criminals off the Chicago streets as possible. Species, be damned. Get it done or find another goddamn captain."

"They're not gonna let him walk," Jacob whispered to Leah and Embry as practically everyone watched the brass emerged from Paul's office, all with grave looks on their faces. Except for Jenks, he seemed relieved. But that was probably because he was the only person in that office who hadn't faced Paul's wrath.

"I didn't realize he had that much power," Leah whispered back.

"Nah, it's just that he's the only one who could handle this unit," Embry said. "Even the bad guys respect his authority. You know, at first, the Cullens thought he was a Chief. Not a deputy, but a Chief. That means a lot."

"Well, then, I hate to say this, but… maybe what happened to Sam is a blessing in disguise for the task force," Leah said, though immediately regretting the comment. But at least she had said it in front of Jacob and Embry, both of whom understood where she was coming from.

"It's either the Deal or Paul," Jacob said. "I doubt they'll scrap the whole thing in one swoop. Maybe make amendments. Maybe the whole thing over. Just as long as the public doesn't know about it."

"One of these days, they are."

Jacob nodded. "Hopefully, when we're all long gone."

Leah couldn't disagree with that.

Once the brass and Jenks got into their cars and left the station premises, Paul demanded the attention of the entire task force. "The brass? They can all go fuck themselves at this moment—This is going to be the last time we're going to be held back because of that Deal. If they are criminals," he declared, still heated from the meeting. I don't give a damn if they're vampires, shapeshifters, humans, or whatever. We're getting them. Got it?"

No one was stupid enough to argue with him.

"Good."