Making Amends

The Tag - Part 2

Dating is Not for Wimps

Jeannie made a small intake of breath when the pneumatic sound of the automatic doors broke the near silence. Her eyes widened as John walked into the store like he had no idea what was going on and couldn't stop herself from whispering, "John."

The older man standing to her left moved only his eyes in the direction she was looking. His hand touched Jeannie on the thigh to get her attention. He asked a question with those same eyes and she responded with a small smile, pointed to the flower in her right ear and gave him a shrug.

The second robber's attention was on John so the older man communicated silently with the others, the teenage cashier and a woman in her twenties. Jeannie pursed her lips shushing them and they all breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that the blonde woman wasn't afraid.

The armed man put the business end of the shotgun a few centimeters from John's nose. "Oh, you're out of pomegranate juice. Why didn't you just say so?"

"Drop the damn basket and get over there with the others. Now!"

John meekly did as he was told then raised his hands in the air and slowly moved in the direction indicated. Suddenly, he grinned. "I know what this is. You're filming a segment for World's Most Hilarious Videos, aren't you?" Looking around and waving, he added, "So where's the camera? Hi, mom! Your little boy's on TV!"

Shocked into inactivity by the antics of his newest charge, the second robber let John ramble for a few seconds but that was all. He brought the butt of his weapon around and clipped John on the side of the head just in front of his ear. "Shut the hell up and get over there!"

John felt a trickle of blood slide down and drip off the edge of his jaw but didn't say anything else for the moment. He went to stand next to the cashier where he could see Jeannie and she could see him. Turning to the side just enough so his right hand couldn't be seen, he flashed her several hand signals in quick succession. Without moving she let him know she understood and a few moments later she began moaning. Not much, but enough to be noticed.

"What's wrong with you?"

Jeannie swayed on her feet, one hand going to the side of her head. "I-I have epilepsy. When I'm stressed I get se-se-seizure-zzz-zzz-zzz…" Her eyes rolled back in her head as she slumped to the floor and began shaking.

"Seen this before and I ain't gonna fall for it. She pretends to be sick and one of you jumps me." The robber's voice was on the edge of panic. Jeannie just lay on her back twitching and moaning. "You!" He pointed at John, the youngest of the two male captives and therefore the most dangerous. "Make her stop or-or…I'll shoot the old man." The shotgun came up, aimed at the older man's chest.

"I'm not a doctor…okay, okay. Relax. I'll take care of it." He crouched next to Jeannie, rolling her onto her side. The twitching slowed and finally stopped, her entire body going limp. She cracked the eye John could see and gave him a quick grin before slumping again.

"Thought you weren't a doctor," sneered their captor.

"I'm not but I have seen every episode of Grey's Anatomy and Scrubs. And everyone knows you turn someone having a seizure on their side so they won't swallow their tongue. It also helps their breathing."

In his peripheral vision John could see the man had no idea what he was talking about but didn't want to admit it. "Yeah. I 'member now. She's stopped bein' all twitchy so that means she's okay, right?"

"Maybe. Sometimes seizures can cause people to have periods of violent outbursts when they regain consciousness." While the man's attention was on Jeannie, John made to reach over and check her pulse but quick as lightening grabbed the barrel of the shotgun with his right hand, pushing it up and away. As he surged to his feet, he pulled hard on the weapon knocking the robber off balance. Turning to the right, he brought his left arm across his chest then drove the elbow several times into the man's face. He still refused to relinquish the weapon so John hit him again.

One of the women gasped, he couldn't tell which. The hits finally stunned him a little but he still hung on. John pushed the barrel up toward the ceiling, stepped forward with his left foot and brought his right knee up into the man's groin. He grunted and groaned in pain, his grip finally relaxing.

By this time, the others, except for Jeannie, had joined in. The older man, the cashier and the other woman jumped on the robber and began hitting him with whatever they could get their hands on, magazines, packages of sugar free gum, reusable grocery bags. The cashier picked up the barcode scanner and hit him repeatedly.

John helped Jeannie to her feet. "Call 911. Make sure they know to come in silent. I'm going after the one in the office."

"But, John…"

"No arguments. Do it!"

In The Office

The man in the ski mask kept his weapon pointed unwaveringly at Harvey as the manager shoved cash into a duffle bag. "Please don't hurt me. I have a wife…kids…a dog."

"Hurry up and it won't be necessary."

"I'm going as fast as I can. It's a little nerve-wracking having a gun pointed at me."

"I shoulda just shot you and gotten the money myself." He was interrupted by the sound of a zipper.

Harvey slid the duffle bag across the floor until it hit the robber on the foot. "I'm done. Would you and your partner please leave?"

"Yeah. Sure," he said with a heavy amount of sarcasm. "We'll be happy to, but first…" the shotgun came up, aimed at Harvey's forehead again.

Harvey closed his eyes and turned away from the inevitable praying for his wife and kids. He opened them again when the door was kicked in and they both heard the unmistakable sound of the pump-action of a Remington 870 Express.

John made his way quickly and quietly to the office. There was a window to one side and he peeked around the corner just in time to see the robber about to shoot the manager. "Crap! This hero business is really gettin' old."

He took two steps back, lifted his right foot and kicked the door alongside the knob and lock. The wood splintered with a loud Crrraaack, the door swinging open to slam against a file cabinet. At the same time, John pumped a round into the barrel and said, "First, you're gonna put that down nice and easy or I'm gonna shove this one up your ass and blow your brains out."

John could see a moment's hesitation in the man's eyes as he gave him his best Death Glare but, in the end, he gave up. The man's arms went out to the side away from his body, the Remington in his left hand. John gestured and Harvey took it from him and came over to stand next to John.

"Thanks. I…"

The sound of police sirens screaming up to the front of the store brought Harvey and John, pushing the subdued robber ahead of him, out the office door. Uniformed Vancouver PD officers and a swat team swarmed around the three men, taking the weapons and the criminal in hand.

Paramedics were treating the man that had been beaten but he too was taken away in handcuffs.

"I said silent!"

One officer stopped and answered. "I'm sorry, Colonel Sheppard but the Vancouver PD doesn't recognize Code 2 responses."

John rolled his eyes when Jeannie said, "That's what I was trying to tell you."

After taking the statements of everyone involved, the police officers shook John's hand, nodded politely and drove away.

John huffed as Jeannie stood next to him watching the cops drive away. Holding her purse in one hand and the flower that had been in her hair in the other, she nudged him with her shoulder. "Come on, hero. Let's go home." He didn't respond immediately. She looked up at him and he was watching her with an odd expression.

His mouth quirked in a grin as he came around to stand in front of her. "I take back what I said before. You're almost perfect."

Jeannie was taken aback by his words, her smile sliding away. He'd always said she was beautiful, even that time she was sick with the flu and he'd stayed to play nursemaid after Jennifer examined her. She stopped with her hands raised in the process of replacing the flower over her right ear. Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Almost?"

"Yeah." He took the flower from her hand and tucked it into her hair above her left ear allowing his fingertips to brush down the back of her ear and glide gently along the side of her neck. She shivered as her eyes brushed over his chest and up to his face. His hands skimmed down the outsides of her arms to take her hands in his. "Now you're perfect."

The Miller Home

Hours Later

Jeannie cuddled against John's bare chest and let her eyes drift shut. "You know, when I got up this morning, I knew today would end just like this."

"Who says today's over?" She looked up at him with sleepy eyes and that wicked grin was back. "I'm not leaving."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I have plans." He whispered in her ear and she gasped.

"Jo-hn! You are a naughty, naughty boy…thank God." Snuggling closer, she said, "Tonight has proven one thing."

"What?" John said through a yawn.

"Dating is not for wimps." He snorted in agreement and moments later, they were both asleep, together, just as Jeannie had planned. She was a McKay and always got her way…eventually.

TBC

A/N: Thanks to Scotius for the Death Glare idea

Gracias,

Sandy