Fear

Summary: Judy/Tom oneshot
Characters: Judy, Tom
Possible pairing: None
Genre: Hurt/Comfort/Drama

It was a rarity for Judy Hoffs to feel scared, but now she felt fear stabbing her heart like a knife. She was pacing furiously back and forth in front of her desk.

Tom Hanson was all by himself in the juvenile lock-up and even the very thought of it sent shivers down her spine.

Doug had been pulled out after his claustrophobia had taken its toll on him on their second night inside. Soon after him Dennis and Harry were pulled out too because their cover was too close to be blown and Fuller didn't want to risk it.

Now Tom was in there with all those dangerous kids and no back up. He was alone.

To top it all she had accidentally overheard a conversation between Booker and Ioki the previous night, when they were discussing the case and Dennis had mentioned that he had warned Tom to be very careful and not to try and play too much cop inside if he didn't want to blow his cover or get his life in danger.

She ran a shaking hand through her hair trying to stay calm.

"Would you sit down?! You're making me dizzy." Penhall murmured irritated from his desk while trying to focus on the paperwork he was filling.

Doug had been sent to the shrink and then given a couple of days off to get himself together but he didn't want to stay home alone so he volunteered to do some paperwork in the chapel. That way he could be around the others and hear news about Tom as soon as there were some. The guilt he felt for leaving his partner and best friend alone inside because of his stupid phobia was eating him inside so he tried to keep himself distracted with everything he could. Dennis and Harry on the other hand felt bad for being pulled out too and were also worried sick but they couldn't stop discussing the possible outcomes of the case and how they could help Tom if needed. To say neither couldn't think of one possible good outcome for their fellow undercover officer was an understatement.

Judy only gave Penhall an angry look and deciding she couldn't just stand around doing nothing she ran straight to Fuller's office. After a moment of hesitation Penhall followed her too. She didn't even bother to knock on the door but simply bursted inside.

"Captain!"

Fuller lifted his head from what he was doing.

"What is it, Hoffs?"

"We have to do something, we can't leave Tom in there all alone!"

He patiently waited her to finish.

"What do you suggest?" He asked calmly.

"Well I don't know..can't I go there and back him up or something?"

"That's not an option, Hoffs. And even if it was, the boys are separated from the females, so you and Tom would be isolated from each other and wouldn't be able to get in touch."

She silently cursed in her mind.

"Well, can't we at least talk to him?"

She couldn't believe how Fuller could just be so calm and collected when the life of one of his officers was in danger.

"I already did."

Both her eyes and Doug's widened.

"What? When? Is he ok?" She spoke too quickly but she just needed to know.

"I went to see him yesterday posing as his social worker. And he was fine. I mean as fine as he could be considering where he is. He said he was the hammer or something."

"He's the hammer?" Penhall asked and a faint smile crept up his lips.

"Do you know what that means?" Fuller asked him.

"Of course. It means he's in charge of the place." Doug answered quickly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Judy frowned slightly wondering if she should be relieved or not.

"Those kids are locked up but there are some privileges as they like to call them; cigarettes, work details, phone calls, cash, getting high, even women. If they do it outside they'll get caught but inside they're already locked up so there isn't anything anyone could do about it and they don't care what they do. If Tom's really the hammer he can have anything he wants. He's got all the power. He owns the zone. Everything."

"Well that's a good thing then. I told him I'll wait for his phone call until tonight and if he doesn't call I'll go there and pull him out." Fuller explained patiently.

Judy felt the slightest bit of relief. If what Doug was saying was true then Tom was somewhat safe at least for now.

"Go back to work now. Tom will be fine." The captain told them and they reluctantly obeyed.

Doug went back to the reports he was filling, but Judy sat on the corner of her desk deep in thoughts. Dennis looked up from Harry's desk where he'd been conversing with the other officer and noticed her expression. Everyone were worried about their fellow officer but it seemed like the fact that he was alone in that juvenile lock-up had hit Judy the most. He stood up and walked over to her putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Hanson will be fine. He's a good cop." He said softly to give her some reassurance and wrapped his arms around her.

Judy allowed herself to be held by Dennis and let her head fall on his chest. Her hands clutched the sleeves of his leather jacket.

"I'm scared, Dennis."

"I know." He responded, rubbing her back and pressing a soft kiss on her hair. "But he'll be ok."

Booker would never admit it, but he was afraid too.

The rest of day went by too slow. Every time their phones or the phone in Fuller's office rang everyone were jumping anxiously hoping it was Tom. Finally the evening came but there were still no news from Hanson and everyone were starting to panic. When Fuller asked them if Tom had contacted any of them and their response was negative he ran out of the chapel hurriedly. Now all they could do was wait for their captain to come back with Hanson or at least with some news for him.

Judy started pacing again, Doug found it really hard to concentrate all of a sudden and Booker and Ioki shared worried looks from their desks. The seconds turned into minutes and the minutes turned into hours until around two and a half hours later Fuller walked into the chapel again, visibly alone.

"Captain!" Judy ran to him. "What's going on? Where's Tom?!"

Everyone stared worriedly at Fuller, waiting for him to speak. He lifted his hand to calm them down.

"There was a massive fight, but he's fine. Our suspect who was the murderer was killed in the fight. Hanson solved the case."

"So where is he?" Doug asked anxiously. If Tom was fine and had been pulled out from the lock-up he should've been back in the chapel with Fuller.

"I sent him home. He needs a rest and a good night's sleep."

Everyone nodded except for Judy who grabbed her purse and ran out of the chapel.

"Hoffs!" Fuller called out after her, but she ignored him and climbed in her car.

The drive to Tom's place wasn't a long one but to Judy it felt like eternity. When she finally parked next to his blue mustang she went out of her car and breathed the cold night air in an attempt to calm down. Her heart was beating rapidly while she climbed the stairs and finally she stood in front of Tom's apartment. Lifting her hand she anxiously knocked a couple of times.

When she heard Tom's voice from the other side of the door she was about to say something but when he finally opened her eyes widened because of the blood on his forehead.

"Tom, are you hurt?!" She asked and lifted her hand to move a piece of hair so she could take a better look at the wound.

"I'm fine." He waved his hand meaning it was not a big deal.

She wrapped her arms around him.

"I'm so glad that you're ok. We were worried sick about you."

When she finally released him from the hug he moved to let her in.

"Do you want something to drink?"

Judy shook her head and went to sit on the couch when she noticed the pieces of cotton on the table along with disinfecting liquid and bandages. She realized he'd been trying to clear his wound and motioned him to come and sit down. She took a new piece of cotton, put some of the disinfectant and started cleaning his wound. When it made contact with the ripped flesh he hissed quietly because of the stinging. She spoke a quick apology and continued her work. After she had cleared the wound and all the blood she gently put a bandage over it.

"It's ok now. Your wound is clean and bandaged." She said putting away the used cotton.

"Thanks." He said and ran a hand through his hair.

Judy could see something was bothering him. There was something in his brown eyes that was giving up the battle that was going within his brain. She wondered if she should push him to tell her what was going on, but quickly decided against it; when he was ready to talk, she'd be there to listen. She reached and put her hand on his shoulder.

"I'm glad you're ok. You have no idea how worried I..we were." She corrected herself in time.

He gave her a soft smile in response when suddenly a thought came up to him.

"How's Doug by the way? He had a really hard time in the lock up. Is he feeling better?"

"Yeah, he's ok. He's on desk duty until further notice, but between me and you, I don't think Fuller will keep him out of the field for too long."

Both of them chuckled.

"Yeah, he probably wouldn't." Tom nodded in agreement.

"I think I should go so you can get some rest. You look like you could use a good nice sleep."

In reality he looked like hell but Judy thought that was the last thing he needed to hear right now.

She began standing up but he stopped her, wrapping his fingers around her hand. She looked down at their hands scared to admit to herself how much she actually enjoyed his touch.

"Actually, why don't you stay? We can have a dinner, watch a movie.. It's not like I'd be able to go to sleep anytime soon."

There was a slight trace of pink color on his cheeks when he said that, and he dropped his hand off hers almost immediately.

"Yeah, sure." She nodded, the pink color on her cheeks matching his.

Eventually they settled to ordering pizza and watching an old romantic comedy. Somewhere half the movie Tom drifted off to sleep. Judy carefully moved him so he could be lying on the couch and covered him with the blanket they were sharing. She then stood to throw the empty pizza box and clean up the messy table. When everything was clean she put some blankets on the floor and lied down. She was going to stay for the night and make sure he was alright.

After the long day she finally took a breath of relief. Tom was muttering something incoherent in his sleep and his face looked troubled but it was his first night out of that hell hole. The most important thing was that he was here, in his apartment, and was ok. Judy let her heavy eyelids finally shut close, allowing the sleep to take away the last bits of fear left in the corners of her heart.

Because Tom Hanson was safe. He was home.