Deception (Chapter 14)
A/N: Hi all! I'm finally back with an update but it has been a struggle. The latest developments on the show have just thrown me for a complete loop. Hope everyone is doing well and I hope you like the update.
Previously: Deanna and Spencer admit their guilt and help to set a trap for the hitman who takes the bait and is seemingly captured. The excitement proves too much for Michonne causing her to faint.
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Rick reaches Michonne in seconds, gliding up the stairs in three long strides. He goes onto his knees and lifts her upper body gently. "Michonne?" No response. "Michonne?" Shit. He tries not to panic but is having little success as his girlfriend is not waking up. He allows his eyes to search her face and body quickly, looking for any telltale injuries but he finds none.
Shane rushes up behind him. "You need to get her to the hospital. I'll take care of things here."
"We need to call the cops…" Rick starts.
"No cops. Not yet." Shane points downstairs. "We need to interrogate this guy ourselves before releasing him to the authorities."
Rick frowns. "What?"
"We gotta find out what he knows. Once he's in police custody, we won't be able to get to him. Not like we need to," Shane states.
Rick was about to answer but a groan from his girlfriend draws his attention as Morgan yells from the bottom of the stairs.
"Spencer's losing a lot of blood and he's passed out. I need to get him to the hospital right away. I'm taking T with us."
"Go," Rick and Shane say simultaneously.
The former returns his attention to Michonne who has just opened her eyes. "I think we need to get you to the hospital too."
"Hmmm…..no. No hospitals." She sighs. "Someone…..might…..recognize….." she gets out brokenly.
"I'm not taking no for an answer." Rick looks to Shane. "Can you handle this alone? I'll have Morgan guard Spencer and Deanna and I'll get back here as soon as possible."
T-Dog limps to the bottom of the stairs, his gun still pointed at the unconscious, restrained body of the intruder. "Two gunshot wound victims showing up at the hospital is definitely going to draw the cops. Shane, can't you get Otis up here? Won't he make a house call?"
Shane snaps his fingers as T-Dog's suggestion makes perfect sense. "Dad knows the drill."
Rick looks down at Michonne. "That doesn't mean you shouldn't go to the hospital."
"He's right you know," Shane advises.
She looks from one to the other and back again, taking in the blood smeared on Rick's face and wondering about the shape of his hands after fighting with that guy. "You look like you need a doctor more than I do. Plus a house call would cause less commotion. I feel ok. Just a little dizzy."
Rick sighs, not wanting to disagree. "Let's get you into bed." He lifts her up, cradling her close. "Shane get Otis here….now."
Shane morphs into a one man army, calling his dad on the spot and relaying the urgency of their situation. He then checks the restraints on the unmasked and unrecognized assassin and helps Morgan and Deanna load Spencer into the back seat of one of the SUVs. He gives T-Dog a first aid kit and proceeds to move the assassin into the living area. His dad told him to expect Otis within 30 minutes. He knew exactly what he needed to do.
Meanwhile, Rick is taking care of Michonne as best as he knows how. He offers her some bottled water and she sips it slowly. Her stomach rumbles so loudly they both freeze before laughing it off.
"Maybe you should eat something," he suggests. "Something light….crackers? Soup?"
"I still feel weak and jittery. I guess it's nerves after everything that happened." She pauses. "What….what happened to…that man…and Spencer? Everything was happening so fast."
"I don't want you to worry about that. We've got everything under control. Now will you be ok while I get you something to eat?"
Her expression softens as she allows herself to notice just how worried Rick is about her. She touches his arm softly, caressing him, assuring him. "I'm fine Rick. I promise but…what about you?"
"What about me?" he wonders.
"Are you ok?" She sighs. "When I saw….the blood on your face, I just….I freaked out. I don't…."
He interrupts her. "Babe, I'm fine. I've had much worse than this." He looks into her eyes. "You believe me?"
She takes a deep, calming breath and nods. "I believe you but don't ever scare me like that again."
"Only if you promise the same."
"I promise."
He puts his hand to her forehead once again. "Still no fever so hopefully you're not coming down with anything." He kisses her cheek. "I'll be right back."
Rick puts soup on to heat and shakes his head at the ruined meal she was attempting to prepare earlier. He goes in search of T-Dog and Shane, not looking forward to the tasks ahead. The former was in the bathroom, preparing himself to walk into the living area in his boxers after removing his pants and bandaging his thigh. He breathes a sigh of relief as his friend offers to help.
"This getting shot shit ain't for me. This is my second time and it drains the fuck out of me. Good thing we're on home soil and I can relax a bit. Things were definitely different before," T-Dog remembers.
Rick only nods preferring not to remember those days. "Where's Shane?"
"I was about to ask you the same thing," T-Dog answers.
The two make it to the living area slowly and once there, T-Dog takes vigil on the nearest piece of furniture. They notice that the bookcase has been set upright minus any books. Those remain scattered across the floor. The trap door is also open and they can detect slight noises from below.
"I think we found him," T-Dog observes.
Rick moves over to the trap door just as Shane is coming up to exit. "What's going on?"
"I got him restrained and ready for interrogation. As soon as Otis leaves, we go to work," Shane informs them.
"We're only getting information Shane. Remember that," Rick reminds him.
"We've done this way too many times for me to forget how it goes now," Shane returns. "We'll have everything we need before the day ends."
Rick nods. "Let me know when Otis gets here. I'll be upstairs. And somebody check in with Morgan please. Daryl too."
T-Dog pulls his phone from his pocket and carries out Rick's order as his friend exits the living area and moves to the kitchen to finish preparing a light meal for Michonne.
Shane closes the trap door and takes a seat across from T-Dog, hoping the doctor will be there shortly. He takes the time to call Daryl, checking in to see how things are going with Maggie, her nurse, and Michonne's assistant. They'd dropped him off before coming to the cabin. The poor dude was terrified. Shane is sure he'd be handing in his resignation as soon as he felt safe enough to do so.
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Morgan shakes his head as the doctor relays the news to Deanna that surgery would be required in order to remove the bullet from Spencer's chest. He relays that it is intensive and the duration is well over two hours.
"I should get him home to a hospital in California," Deanna states.
"I wouldn't advise moving him or waiting too long to remove the bullet. It could travel and cause even more damage," the doctor states.
"Let them do what they can to save your son's life Deanna," Morgan advises.
"Oh what do you care? I'm sure you'd rather he died," Deanna yells before she bursts into tears.
Morgan looks heavenward before pulling the woman into his arms and looking directly at the doctor. "Do what you have to. Thank you."
He leads Deanna over to the chairs they previously occupied and allows her to cry. "It's going to be ok."
She shakes her head. "It won't be. I've failed in everything….completely. If I lose Spencer, I will have absolutely nothing." She sighs and wipes the tears from her cheeks, her hands still stained with her son's blood. "How did I get here Morgan? This is not supposed to be my life."
"You need to get some help. Maybe gamblers anonymous. Show the prosecutors that you're taking steps to repair your life. Maybe the sentencing won't be so harsh," he advises.
"I thought….I need you to talk to Michonne. Maybe convince her not to press charges. Maybe I can still…."
Morgan cuts her off. "You need to handle one thing at a time. Concentrate on Spencer right now. We'll deal with the rest when it comes."
"We?" She asks quietly.
"I'll help you as much as I can Deanna. I'm still your friend."
She nods her head in agreement. "Thank you Morgan. Thank you so much."
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Dr. Otis Taylor approaches the cabin in his vintage jeep, grabbing his medical bag. All Walsh told him was that he'd be dealing with a bullet wound. He wouldn't do this for just anyone. He has been friends with the Walsh family forever, particularly Eric Walsh. The latter usually didn't ask anyone for anything but when he did he was genuinely in need. Because his friend never let him down, he wasn't going to start either.
The doctor smiles when the front door opens and Eric's pride and joy, Shane, steps out onto the porch. It's hard to believe his best friend's son is now a full grown man. He walks with his hand out, clasping Shane's outstretched one as they greet each other. He pulls the younger man in for a hug.
"It's good to see you son. So you're not the one I'm here for huh?" He shakes his head. "Let me take a guess…is it Rick?"
Shane just laughs it off. "You'll see soon enough. Come on inside."
T-Dog is utterly relieved to see Dr. Taylor step inside the cabin. He smiles and says, "I hope you got some awesome pain meds in that bag."
"Well damn T, what happened?" Dr. Taylor asks.
"Got shot," T-Dog relays.
"Heck….I can see that. How'd you get shot?" Otis demands.
Rick rushes down the stairs, happy to see the doctor has arrived. "Dr. Tay…."
The doctor looks up with a scoff. "It's Otis to you and I should've known you wouldn't be too far behind. What kind of trouble are you boys in now?"
"No trouble. We're working. I promise," Rick states. "I need you to check on someone else as soon as you can."
"Not another bullet wound?"
"No, nothing like that," Rick returns, putting his hands behind his back as he notices Otis looking at his bruised knuckles. He'd taken the time to clean up but the bruises would be with him for a few days.
"Ok." Otis puts on his glasses and starts to examine T-Dog's thigh. "Well thank the Lord this bullet didn't get too deep." He opens his bag, searching and removes some pain medication. "Take two of these with water. I've got to remove that bullet so a local anesthesia is needed."
"Awww….damn," T-Dog mutters.
"I'll examine my other patient while this takes hold," he offers as he administers the medicine directly into T-Dog's thigh. He informs Shane to help T-Dog into a bedroom and follows Rick upstairs.
Michonne sits up straight and adjusts her clothing before uttering, "Come in" after a knock sounded at the door.
Rick enters with the doctor. "Michonne this is Dr. Otis Taylor. Otis, this is Michonne. She uh….she fainted and we just want to make sure she's alright."
The doctor's eyes pop and he clears his throat loudly. "Of course. Uh…nice to meet you. I uh…I just have some questions for you." He recognizes the movie star immediately and instantly wants to bombard Rick with questions but decides to refrain.
At Michonne's nod, he continues. "How long were you out? Did you hit your head or anything?"
She looks to Rick and he answers, "She wasn't out for long. I don't think it was 5 minutes and I checked her thoroughly. No bruises or wounds."
"Has this happened before?" The doctor inquires.
"No," Michonne answers.
"Well, let's check your vitals." The doctor approaches the bed cautiously. He removes the instruments he will need and asks quietly, "When was your last cycle? Could this be a pregnancy?"
Michonne gasps, thinking the cycle question was rude but remembering he was only doing his job. She looks to Rick. "No…..no!" Oh shit when was my last period?
The doctor looks to Rick as well, wondering why she looked to him for an answer. Are these two….? He shakes his head, concentrating on the task at hand. "Well let's see what else could be going on." He checks her heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, pulse, and temperature.
Rick remains stoic, not wanting to give in to the panic that threatens at the possibility of a pregnancy. Could she be? Of course she could. The doctor's deep sigh brings him out of his reverie. "Well?"
"You are perfectly healthy Ms. Michonne. I have found nothing out of the ordinary but to be on the safe side I'd suggest you see your regular physician as soon as possible," Otis instructs. "Any questions?"
"The fainting could be contributed to nerves or an elevated heart rate right?" Michonne asks.
The doctor nods. "Of course but I wouldn't brush this off. Get yourself checked out especially if this happens again but don't wait around for it to happen again ok?"
She nods. "I won't. Thank you doctor."
"Call me Otis please. Anyone who's a friend to these three is a friend to me."
"In that case….thank you Otis. I really appreciate it."
"No problem at all. Just take care of yourself." He gathers his items and lifts to a stand. "I'm sure T is good and ready for me by now. See y'all later."
Rick sees him to the door, yelling for Shane to direct him to T-Dog. Once that is handled, he closes the door and faces his girlfriend. She starts talking immediately but he cuts her off. "Are you pregnant?"
She stops abruptly. "I couldn't be. Why would you ask that? Just because the doctor asked that? Well they're supposed to ask that aren't they?"
Rick drops his head. "Michonne…."
"We've been together…yes but something like that can't happen this soon can it?" The slight panic in her eyes lets him know that she believes it could be a reality just like he is believing it.
He pushes his fingers through his hair. "Ok. You're off the hook for now but first thing tomorrow we're going to the hospital."
They both stare at each other, wanting to ask the question but refraining.
"Are you alright? I'm gonna check on T-Dog."
"I'm fine. I'm going to try and get some sleep," she states. Like that's possible now.
He nods. "Ok. I'll be back soon."
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Otis looks from Shane to T-Dog and back again. "I know who that is upstairs and I need to know what she's doing upstairs."
"We work for her," Shane replies.
"All of you?" Otis wants to know.
"Yes we're part of her security team," T-Dog relays. "She's the reason we needed this house call. Discretion. No one needs to know she's here."
"I got it. I got it….but….what's going on with her and Rick?"
T-Dog and Shane share a look, wondering if they should say anything. The door opens after a short knock and Rick enters the room. The former two are instantly relieved, thinking he could answer Otis if he chose to.
"How's everythang going?" Rick asks.
"I'm just getting started but I had to know one thing beforehand," Otis responds.
"Yeah? What's that?" Rick counters.
"How the hell did you snare one of the most beautiful women in the world?"
Rick immediately looks to T-Dog and Shane with agitation.
Shane holds his hands up. "Hey. We didn't say shit. If I had to guess, it was the way you two look at each other. Nobody misses that. Y'all gotta do better."
T-Dog laughs as Otis nods his head and answers, "Well she did look to you to answer questions like you were her husband or something. I was just guessing but….congratulations." He shakes his head. "You boys never cease to amaze me. Where's your movie star T? Shane?"
Rick rolls his eyes heavenward, agitated. "Otis…can we just not talk about that? This is a highly confidential situation ok?"
Otis grows serious as he notices the younger man's expression. "Rick you can trust me. Right now, I'm torn between being jealous as heck and unbelievably happy for you."
"We still can't believe it," T-Dog adds.
"Well….thank you….I guess," Rick offers.
Otis looks to his patient. "You ready?"
T-Dog nods. "As long as you've got more of those pain meds for me, I'll be right as rain."
Rick and Shane move out of the room and into the hallway.
"I'm going back upstairs but come and get me once Otis leaves," Rick instructs.
"You got it. We'll get to work immediately after," Shane returns. "I'll go and check on our guest just to be sure everything's ok."
An hour later, T-Dog is sleeping soundly, Rick is still upstairs with Michonne, and Shane is finding it hard to get rid of Otis. The older man continues to chat over coffee and is making no move to depart. Shane is starting to wonder if he's sticking around to get another look at Michonne. He is also growing very agitated as he and Rick might have some coveted information by now.
"Well you don't want to keep the missus waiting do you?" Shane asks hopefully.
"Aww…she'll be alright. She knows I'm working so she won't fret none."
Shane purses his lips and rubs his head, forcing a smile. "Well how's she doing any way? I think mama said she was thinking about retiring."
The huge breath Otis takes in lets Shane know another long stint of conversation is imminent. A chirpy ring tone fills the air and the older man jumps as he starts fishing for his cell phone. He laughs when he recognizes the number.
"Hey. I told you I'd call when I was done," he answers.
Eric Walsh scoffs. He'd talked to his son earlier and knew all was well and was wondering why he hadn't heard from his friend. "Well excuse me. Shouldn't you be done by now? You're supposed to come by here for a couple of beers remember?"
"Yeah it is getting kinda late huh? I was just talking to Shane. It's been so long since I've seen these boys and…." He stops abruptly. "Well I'll see you soon." He ends the call and looks to Shane. "I best get going."
Meanwhile, Rick is holding Michonne in his arms as she sleeps. They preferred the comfort and safety of silence, the only conversation centering on T-Dog's treatment and what was garnered from Morgan and Daryl. He hears a quiet knock at the door and knows it's Shane.
He looks over to his sleeping beauty and slowly moves her so he can leave the bed. He kisses her forehead lightly and walks to the door. He opens it only to find Otis at the threshold.
"I just wanted to check on Michonne before I leave," Otis informs.
"She's sleeping. We're going to the hospital tomorrow."
"Good, good. Well let her know it was nice meeting her and I hope to see y'all again soon. Take care." The two shake hands and Rick follows him down the stairs, meeting Shane in the living area. They walk Otis out of the cabin and watch as he drives away.
The two share a look, then ensure that the house is quiet and secure before they venture through the trap door. The light is minimal but Rick can make out the area well enough. The assailant is seated in a wooden chair, his hands tied behind his back, a blindfold covering his eyes, duct tape across his mouth, his upper body and ankles duct taped to the chair, and a blue tarp spread out underneath him.
Rick watches as Shane starts to pop his neck, moving his head from one side to the other. The latter cracks his knuckles loudly and says, "Let's get to work."
