A/N: Well praise the lord, I swear I tried to upload this a thousand times yesterday, sigh. Ah well, now I'm a chapter ahead, which is nice. Enjoy- and once again thanks for all the reviews, keep em coming!
Disclaimer: not mine. Never will be.
"So how was the visit Heidi?" Deates was grinning at me several days later as I lay my head on my desk and groaned in response. "That great huh?" He pulled his chair up next to my desk and I turned my head towards him with a glare. He shrugged in response, and eyed me cautiously. "What?" Grabbing candy from the bowl of skittles I kept in my top drawer, he tossed them in his mouth grinning. "So- did she meet the man?" he chuckled as he spoke and I kicked him hard under the desk.
"Who met what man? Wait- don't tell me you know who the guy is?" Dick exclaimed as he walked up to my desk, dropping a file on top of my head. I sat up with a huff, opening it and ignoring their conversation. It was a series of reports on an illegal gambling house down in Harlem, and I studied the papers with feigned interest.
"Of course I know. He dropped by on Thursday to see Heidi here. You'll never guess." Deates' voice was smug- and I hated to think what his face looked like if he sounded that smug.
"Wait- you know who Alex is seeing?" Lish had leaned over now, and Conner who was by her desk, turned his eyes sharply toward us. I rolled my eyes as Deates nodded. Lish got up and stood over him, her arms crossed. "Well?! Are you going to share?"
"I- well I don't- if Eames wants to keep it-" Deates stammered suddenly and I turned to him in surprise. He was watching me carefully, shaking his head as the people around him stared at him hard.
"I don't care Deates- I'm not hiding anything per say. Go ahead." I waved a hand at him and he grinned, relaxing. I smiled back, it had been sweet of him to offer to keep the secret, even if there was never a secret to keep.
"Heh- Goren. It's fucking Goren from Narcotics." He leaned back with a grin, his hand snaking out and stealing a few more of my skittles. I glared, smacking his arm as he withdrew it.
"Are you kidding me?" Lish's voice exclaimed turning to glare at me. "You didn't say a word." I shrugged, grabbing some candy for myself.
"I didn't not say anything- I just didn't talk about it. I would have- it's early yet." Out of the corner of my eye I saw Joe withdrawing, and settling back against Lish's desk, returning his attention to the file in his hand. "And it's nothing we need to discuss. Besides which- we have a stake out to do, right boys? And I believe you owe me a rematch." I looked at Deates as I spoke, and he grinned.
"Sure, I'll bring the cards and you bring the candy." He pushed back, rolling across to his desk and Dick stood there with a frown.
"And what the fuck am I doing?" He muttered as I smiled sweetly up at him.
"All the work?" He glared for a moment, before shaking his head and walking towards the desk to sign out the gear we'd need with Deates' laughter echoing him.
"I hate you- and if gambling were legal, I'd send you in there." Deates muttered as I slid the candy towards me with a smile.
"First off- you suggested poker, and may I remind you that I fronted you the candy to begin with-"
"Details." He waved airily and I laughed at him under my breath.
"Doesn't matter now anyway- it's my turn to watch, Dick. Take a break." I stood and walked over to where Dick was hunched over the telescopic lens. He straightened with a smile, and settled down by Deates, writing in the log book. I pulled the stool over, seating myself and putting my eye to the lens. The building remained darkened with no sign of activity. I sighed softly, I hated surveillance.
"You're just afraid I'd take you next hand." Deates voice teased from behind me.
"That's exactly it." I spoke dryly, my head unmoving as I stared into the darkness searching for signs of movement that just weren't there. A junkie was down a few doors, huddled into the portico of a building and muttering to himself, but other than that there was no sign of activity.
"I knew it." His voice sounded satisfied, and I heard Dick mutter next to him.
"So Goren, huh Eames?" Dick addressed me in a low tone and if I could have rolled my eyes I would have.
"Yup." My answer was short but it didn't deter either of them at all.
"Have you heard the stories about him?" Dick's voice was mildly curious and I stiffened in my seat before forcing my body to relax.
"Nope- don't want to." My voice was shorter now, and he must have heard it because he didn't speak again for a while.
"They're just stories anyway. I've worked with him enough to know he's a damn good cop- and that's all I give a shit about. How long have you been seeing him?" I sighed in annoyance, people would never believe what gossip whores the men I worked with could be.
"Not long- two weeks maybe?"
"What about your sister? How was the visit?" Deates asked, thankfully steering the conversation away from the topic of my love life.
"Good- she was dress shopping. Other than making me want to shoot several innocent bystanders in a store- a good time was had by all." Deates chuckled, and shifted in his seat after another few moments of silence.
"All right- I'm going to grab some coffee, who wants?" I rose my hand without speaking and he laughed. "Yeah- I would have bought for you anyway. Dick?" He must have gotten a non verbal response, because I heard him leave the room, closing the door shut behind him. Dick continued writing in the log book, his pen scratching along in the silence.
"Eames- I didn't mean anything-"
"I know Dick. It's ok." My tone was final, and he sat silent for a moment, before turning back to the paperwork. Dick was always on top of his paperwork, it drove Deates and I nuts. We were always scrambling in the office afterward, left alone to do the work. Dick just laughed at our complaints though- stating that if we really hated it, we'd do it earlier. The room was silent, and the road was dark as I stared out through the lens. My mind drifted as I did so, running over Liz's visit. It had been good- the lunch with Bobby in particular had been interesting to say the least.
"Alex- come on, you seem- you seem close. There's nothing wrong with that." His tone was cajoling, reassuring and I sat straighter, glaring.
"See, it's less the 'oh look how close we were' and more the 'oh remember what happened when you were caught in Tommy Johnson's car' thing that bothers me." I spoke evenly, narrowing my eyes at Liz who grinned, pushing her plate to the side and leaning forward across the booth we were seated at. The place Bobby had selected wasn't really high scale, but he said they had the best steak, and I had to agree with him, after trying it.
"Tommy Johnson's car?" His eyebrow quirked up slightly and I rolled my eyes.
"Well I wasn't planning on telling that one Lex, but since you brought it up-" She broke off as I kicked her under the table and glared. Liz just grinned and leaned back, wrapping her hands around her mug and turning her gaze to Bobby. I felt my stomach drop out at that look. Shit. It was an Eames look- the one that came right before we nailed you to the wall- slightly unassuming with underlying tension. "So Bobby-" Bobby glanced up and I frowned. He didn't know what was coming. I probably should have felt bad, but like any good cop I let the situation handle itself. I could learn from this. "You're in Narcotics. How long have you been there?"
"I uh- transferred in three years ago." He answered simply, revealing nothing I didn't already know. I almost sat up straighter- Liz versus Bobby would be interesting to say the least, and I watched him closely, ready to leash Liz at any sign of discomfort from him.
"Army right? Lex mentioned it to me. Where'd you serve?" She spoke with a smile, her manner open, and he smiled back.
"Well then, Alex would have mentioned I was Intelligence right? I was posted lots of places. Germany- South Korea, I moved around a lot." He stirred sugar into his coffee as he spoke, and I took his empty plate and stacked it on top of mine , ready for the waitress to take, if she ever came back.
"It must have been exciting seeing all those places." Liz spoke with interest and he nodded in response but didn't speak. She leaned forward more. "A chance to get away?"
"Away from what?" His question was mild and I almost laughed out loud at the blatant dodge. I was starting to feel better about letting Bobby meet the rest of my family eventually. If he could survive the Eames inquisition – hell right now he was coming out on top- then he would be fine.
Liz shrugged, unsure how to respond, and she sat silent for a moment. I broke into the silence, giving a much needed distraction. "How's your schedule this week? Mike's giving me Thursday and Friday off." He turned towards me, angling his body so he was almost facing me, and he was frowning.
"Shit. I have Wednesday and Saturday. But I can see if I can switch with Jack. I'll work something out." I knew he would, and I smiled up at him. The fact that he was willing to try always amazed me. Most men were all about their needs, all the time. I nodded, and his arm stretched out along the back of the booth, inching towards me. I turned back towards Liz, and felt his hand tangle under my hair, the fingers resting against the sensitive skin there, and moving.
"You're Italian right Bobby- part?" Liz was sitting back now, and Bobby turned his attention to her.
"What makes you say that?" He asked, neither confirming nor denying. I smiled privately at how little he revealed to her.
"Well I know Goren is English – but you have Italian coloring, and a lot of the traits. The nose, the eyes- and you're a toucher. Italians are very physical." Bobby smiled, a crooked half smile as he watched Liz.
"You're pretty smart Liz- and yes, my mother's family was Italian." I filed away the information in my mind and watched as Liz smiled in response.
"Not smart- I just read a lot- mostly Lex's leftover books too-"
"You have books on genealogy traits?" He turned to me now, his eyes pinning me down. I nodded slightly- most of my books were at home, I had no room for them with me here- yet.
"She has books on everything, you should see our room at home. I can't wait for her to get a bigger place so I can give them to her and see my walls again. Lex was always a reader, even as a kid. Sean always says when they were young she would do papers for his friends- they'd pay her. He was four grades above her." I gave Liz the shut up look, but she ignored me. "She scored really high on her SAT's too- Lex was one of those annoying girls you couldn't not like you know? She was prom queen and popular, and smart and a tom boy all rolled into one. Guys loved her."
"Alright- that's enough." I broke in but Bobby's gaze had turned back to me and he was looking at me with interest.
"I'm not surprised, really." His voice was soft and I rolled my eyes.
"It's not like I had them lining up or anything-"
"You would have if you weren't dating Steve all through high school-"
"And look how well that turned out. Let's move on, please?" Liz at least had the decency to look upset that she had brought him up, glancing across the table with apology in her eyes.
After that Liz had moved on to other topics. Later she had told me that she couldn't believe how easily Bobby had turned her from asking about him to talking about me. I shrugged, stating that it was a talent of his- which it was. But it was one I hoped he would stifle towards me. He was very private, I knew that. I also knew it would take time to get him to open up- but deep down, I already knew it would be worth the effort. I sat straighter, trying to ease the stiffness out of my back. Dick shifted behind me and I frowned, raising my wrist up to eye level.
"How long has Deates been gone?" I asked in a thoughtful tone, turning to Dick.
"I don't know- a while? I finished the paper work." I felt my stomach sink, as an eerie feeling crawled over my skin.
"I'm going to go look-" I grabbed my coat and Dick grabbed my arm to steady me.
"Eames, if you go alone and he was made- wait for me."
"Who'll watch then?" I asked irritated that he was stopping me.
"Well then wait and call for back up- if he's missing you shouldn't go out there alone-"
"You call, and wait for them. I'm going." I spoke swiftly, opening the door and making my way down the stairs with his voice cursing above me.
I scanned the street when I stepped out, my hand hovering at my side where I had opened my holster. Carefully walking down the street I noticed that the junkie was no longer twitching in the doorway. Some unknown instinct had me walking down the ally beside it- and soon it became apparent why when I heard muffled groans and footsteps. I pulled my gun out, holding it steady in front of me.
"Deates?" My voice was clear, and I could hear the muffled sounds of footsteps rushing towards me. His face was thin, almost skeletal as he rushed towards me, sliding out of the dark like a ghost. I held my weapon in front of me- yelling for him to stop. Everything seemed to slow down, as he rushed toward me and all I could hear was an intense buzzing in my ears. The radio on the other side of my waist crackled to life and I could hear sirens wailing in the distance. He was almost on top of me when I saw the glinting metal in his hand. Some far away part of my brain registered that it was a gun- probably Deates'. He raised it, his eyes wild and his hands covered in blood. The copper smell hit my nose, and I felt my heart stop beating as the gun rose higher and higher. The wind screamed in my ear- drowning out my voice shouting to freeze. Finally the fear pulsed so loudly through me, my fingers tightened on the trigger and I felt the recoil spread throughout me like a wave as the bullet left the barrel of my gun. Red blossomed across his dirty shirt, looking more dark than bright. Wasn't blood supposed to be bright? He fell to the ground, his knees giving out and his breath gasping. I could tell- from the way his breath was rasping - that I had hit a lung. I froze for a moment, staring at him down on the ground, before kicking the gun away out of his reach.
"Eames!" Dick's voice was a shout behind me, his breath coming in small rushes. "Eames! Are you alright?" He arrived behind me, taking in the lifeless body on the ground and the gun next to it. I didn't wait to hear what he was saying though- I ran into the darkness in the ally, towards the moans coming from deeper in the pitch black. Deates was laying in a pile of garbage, blood seeping from the stab wounds in his chest. The knife lay on the ground- apparently the junkie had left it for the gun. His breath was coming in gasps, and I ripped my coat off, folding it quickly and pressing it against the wounds, my mind racing ahead of me trying to remember the first aid and CPR course I had renewed a year ago. Pressure- needed pressure. My upper body was practically laying on top of him, but I could feel the blood seeping through the fabric and into my skin. It smelled acrid, not how I expected it to smell at all. My other hand searched my side, hauling out my radio and calling for a bus in a rushed tone. Time seemed to slow for a moment, and I continued to press on top of him, whispering about how he would be fine. Finally the sirens became so loud, and the red and blue lights filled the ally with an eerie glow, like strobe lights. Dark, red, dark, blue, dark, red, dark, red, dark, blue.
"Officer- we need to access your partner- come on." Hands pulled me up, and I glanced around realizing the EMT's were here. Dick's arms were around me, as he lead me away from Deates and the EMT's.
"You can ride with him Eames. I'm going to stay and give my statement-" Dick's voice was low in my ear, his hands pressing into the skin of my upper arms as I looked back at the two men hovering over Deates, as they pulled out equipment and transferred him to a board. "Give me your gun Eames." I blinked, looking at Dick in confusion.
"Don't I need to- to give my-"
"You can do it later. Or they can come see you at the hospital. But IAB needs your gun to clear it." His voice was soft and sure, and my hands fumbled with the leather of my holster. I glanced down, seeing they were slippery with blood, and I stopped, staring at them. Dick took over- sliding my gun out and handing it off to a waiting officer. I walked towards the ambulance, shivering in the night air. "Eames-" His voice stopped me as he glanced ahead to where Deates was being loaded in and behind to where the lifeless body of the junkie lay, eyes wide open but not seeing anything. My eyes fastened on him, my stomach rolling as I watched him laying there unnaturally still. Dick's hands gripped my shoulders tighter, and the pain brought my eyes back to him. "It was a good shooting Eames. Don't worry. You saved his life- you saved his life by not waiting, all right? Go." He shoved me towards the ambulance and I climbed in, sitting on the side numbly, watching the EMT working on Deates. The doors made a hollow sound as they shut and I turned my eyes to the window, unable to watch the EMT's frantic movements, or see the way the blood looked so bright against Deates' pale skin. So I stared out the window, clutching the small silver cross around my neck and watching Dick disappear into the dark as the sirens echoed above my head, wailing a warning.
I was sitting, staring at forms when Mike came rocketing into the room, like a small Latino whirlwind. She was yelling at the man next to her, a tall dark burly man who frowned. They stopped at the desk, and after exchanging heated words with the nurse there, the man nodded and left with Mike glaring after him like she wanted to haul her gun out there and shoot him. I sat listlessly watching, the clipboard on my lap filled with my unsteady hand writing and faint red streaks from the almost dried blood that coated my hands.
"Shit Eames-" Mike's voice sounded by my ear as she pried the clipboard from my hand, handing it to the nurse who hovered near her. "What the fuck happened? Why didn't they give you something to change into?"
"She refused- or didn't answer at any rate. She just took the paperwork and started filling it out, mumbling about finishing it fast." The nurses' voice spoke from behind her, and Mike glared over her shoulder.
"Well- go get her something." She snapped and the nurse jumped, scurrying away. "Eames. Come on- we're gonna go clean you up." Her voice had softened and this made me look up in surprise. I had never heard Mike talk in any other tone than her normal one. She smiled, pulling me along into a gleaming white room. The light struck the tiles on the wall, shining at me, and I caught sight of myself in the mirrors that lined that wall. Blood stained my shirt, even parts of my jeans. My hair had dried red streaks, and my eyes looked hollow and pale. My skin had a bit of a sickly pallor to it- and I stared at the image in front of me with horror. It was all his blood- and this couldn't be good right? This much blood?
"It's normal." her voice was soothing in my ear as she turned on the water and pulled paper towels from the dispenser. She stuck my hands under the water, and began wiping me down, much like a child. "He's in surgery now- he got stabbed four times. Nothing hit his heart though- one might have nicked his lung- but they got him in time Alex. He'll be fine. He'll be fine." I stared at her, blinking in confusion. Suddenly my stomach rebelled against me, and I ran, hitting the metal door and hearing it clang against the stall wall as I heaved, emptying the contents of my stomach. When I was done, the toilet flushed, and I felt Mike's hands pulling me up. "Come on Alex. It's alright. Here, let me take your shirt off." At some point she must have gotten another shirt for me, because I felt the cool cotton slide over me as I stood there. When she was done, she lead me out of the room, back to the waiting area. I slid into a plastic chair, blinking slowly.
"There was so much blood. The junkie- and then Deates- he was laying there in all this blood and it looked like so much." My voice was a whisper and Mike sat beside me, squeezing my hand until it hurt. I jerked it back, blinking suddenly and she stared at me. "How is he?" My mind seemed to sharpen and focus as my other hand rubbed the injured one.
"Still in surgery. You alright now?" I nodded and she sat back, looking over at me. "What happened?"
"He went for coffee- and I was watching and Dick was doing the log- I lost track of time, but it seemed like he was taking a while. I got a bad feeling, so i told Dick to call for back up. When I hit the street, I noticed the junkie wasn't there- I noticed him earlier- and I walked that way, towards the ally. I heard sounds, so I drew my weapon and called out." My voice was matter of fact, emotionless as I told the story. Mike nodded along with me. "Then he came out of nowhere, he was running and I saw Deates' gun in his hands. And he was raising the weapon- he was aiming and I yelled for him to freeze- but he kept coming. So I shot him. Then Dick showed up, and I left him with the junkie while I looked for Deates. Then I found him and radioed, and put pressure on his wounds- and then Dick took my gun and I came here." I took a deep breath at the end, and Mike rubbed my arm in sympathy.
"You did good. IAB cleared your weapon. It looks like Deates' gun jammed. Idiot never cleans his gun. It's why he didn't fire on the junkie, and why the junkie wasn't able to shoot you first. They'll want your statement later though. Are you hurt?" I rubbed my hand and glared at her.
"Not other than where you hurt me." I muttered and she smiled unapologetically.
"You were in shock. I didn't have time to coddle you out of it." She shrugged as she spoke, leaning back in the uncomfortable chair.
"Yeah well- you could have smacked me- it probably would have hurt less." I sighed, sinking back, suddenly exhausted. Dick came into the room, carrying a tray of coffee. He handed one to Mike and one to me, sitting heavily.
"How is he?" He looked older somehow- sitting under the bright lights, his face lined and haggard in their glare. He and Mike exchanged a glance before she gave him the update she had given me. Dick sighed in relief, before turning to me. "I shouldn't have said we should wait- I thought it was fine. You knew."
"I just had a bad feeling Dick. It wasn't-"
"It was your instincts Eames. And thank God for them." I stopped talking, the energy required to argue just not there anymore. I sipped the hot drink in my hands and shuddered. It was plain black- but I needed it and didn't care at this point. When I looked up again, the whole team was there- Lish and Joe and Jeffs, having just arrived. We all sat, silent and uncomfortable in the brightly lit room, no one speaking much after Mike had reported what she knew yet again.
"Who was the guy?" My voice shattered the silence, and Mike glanced at me with a frown. "The guy with you- he left-"
"Captain. Found out the outlook was good and took off." Mike's voice was laced with disgust and Dick snorted beside me.
"The man is a cold bastard." he muttered, shifting in his seat, and silence descended again, heavy and uncomfortable.
"Are you waiting for Officer Andrew Deates?" A male voice echoed from the doorway and we glanced up. Mike stood, nodding, explaining that she was his superior officer quickly. The doctor frowned around at us. "His family?"
"We are it." Mike answered tersely. "He doesn't have a wife- and his parents are deceased, so how is he?" He voice was tight and she crossed her arms, glaring at him.
"He suffered four stab wounds. Three were pretty easily repaired- didn't hit any major organs, and other than severing some muscle and nicking a rib they were fine. The fourth one however lacerated his lung. We had to repair the damage- but it went well. He's in recovery now, and he'll be moved to ICU in a few hours. He's sedated, and probably won't wake up for a few hours. At any rate only one person is allowed in ICU at a time, and only for fifteen minutes at a time. You can check with the nurse to see which room he'll be moved to." With a short nod the doctor walked away swiftly, heading to the next crisis awaiting him.
"Alright- I'm going to stay overnight." Mike spoke in the sudden silence. "No point in all of us staying. You can come in and see him tomorrow." She was speaking to the room as a whole, but her eyes were fastened on Dick and I as she spoke. "No arguing got it? Especially you Eames- go get some rest." I wondered exactly how in the hell I was supposed to do that exactly, but wasn't given time to respond as Dick pulled me out of the room.
"Don't bother Eames- she won't budge. She'll stay with him. And you should rest. This was a hell of a night." His voice was weary and I placed a hand on his arm, squeezing slightly. He nodded without speaking, and pushed me towards the exit and the waiting department van. Once inside, he turned to me exhaustion written over his face.
"Where to?"