A New Beginning or the Beginning of the End?
By Debster'sDarkPassenger
Beginning A/N:
I just want to say I appreciate all the feedback. I'm sorry this chapter took a little longer than the others, but I've been trying to act on the feedback. I will be doing fewer and less explanatory Author's Notes in the future. Be prepared for a lot of action in the next two or three chapters. Please read and review, thanks.
Chapter 5: Close Calls
The sun rose over Miami. Slowly rising from the sea, it's light cresting the hotels and skyscrapers near the waterfront. As the sunlight began to stream through the windows of Dexter's apartment, it's light passed through one gap in the curtains, casting it's glare directly onto his eyes, causing him to wake with a start.
As he did, he felt someone stir next to him; heard her voice mumble with her private dreams as she snuggled closer to his warmth. He looked down to see Debra lying next to him, head on his chest, one arm thrown across him. He began to think of how beautiful she was, but the memories of last night came rushing back into his head, causing him to smile with joy.
Last night, they had reached a new place in their relationship. A new connection that only they would share. He simply lies in bed, trying to keep his breathing even so as not to disturb the sleeping woman next to him. He knew it couldn't last long, however, as the memory of the intruder resurfaced. He dimly remembered locking him in the trunk in his closet before…he blushed furiously. Am I really blushing? He thought in disbelief. His whole life, he had faked emotions that he never truly felt or understood, but now…now he didn't have to fake. Now his emotions were real, not imagined within his mind. Now, he knew he didn't have to fake emotions, although he would never know how to express them well. But then again, I'm not sure anyone KNOWS how to express emotions, he thought idly, no one knows how, they just do.
He looked toward the alarm clock on the table beside his bed, shocked to see that it was already Nine in the morning. He looked back to Deb and sighed before gently shaking her awake.
"Five more minutes," she said blearily as she lifted one arm to bat him away.
He persisted, finally managing to wake her up. She looked up at him, anger in her eyes at being woken. After only a moment, her face softened.
"Fuck Dex, I can't stay mad at you," she whispered as she brought her arms above her head to stretch. She groaned and looked down at herself, wandering why she was so sore. Her eyes widened as she saw their entwined bodies. When she realized they were both naked, she gasped, the memories of the night before returning.
"What?' he asked quietly.
"Did we?"
"Yes."
She just looks at him, her eyes searching his. She seemed to find what she was looking for as she raised herself up to kiss his lips. Suddenly, the passion from the night before returned full force as she drew herself up, straddling his hips, her mouth plundering his.
Half an hour later, they lay resting again, before Deb breaks the silence.
"Should we be doing this?" she asks gesturing downward.
"Is something wrong?"
"No, it just feels so…" she stopped, searching for the words before continuing, "right. Too right."
"I don't see what you mean."
"I don't know what I mean."
"What's done is done, we can't change it now."
"I know, it's just…what will people think?"
"Who cares?"
"I guess you're right, but let's just keep this quiet…for now."
"Alright, we can do that," he says as he reaches for his phone, "what do you want to do about the guy that broke in last night?"
She looked at him blankly for a moment before comprehension flooded her features, "Shit, I forgot about him. I don't know. I bet that fucker got an earful last night."
"No, he's locked in the trunk in the closet, out cold."
"Still, we're gonna have to kill him aren't we?"
"After we find out what he was doing, yes."
"Well, I need to go, let me know when he wakes up, I want to be there when he starts talking."
"Deb, I don't want you to see-"
"He came after me too, and I want to hear what he says."
"Really, I think-"
"I love you, but you're still a fucking tard, call me when he wakes up."
"I will."
"Good, I'll get a shower before I go to work."
"We've still got a few days off, remember?"
"Whatever."
He chuckled as she went to take a shower. He checked his phone for missed calls, and, finding none, decided to call Quinn and see how the investigation was going.
Joey Quinn was sitting in his car at the parking garage where he was supposed to meet the hit man he had hired, the man said he was going to do the job last night and meet this morning, but so far was a no show.
He had hated himself for doing this at first, but the Koshka brotherhood had wanted him to eliminate Dexter Morgan, the man they thought was responsible for the deaths of Isaac, Jurg, Joseph, and two of their hit men several months before. He had wanted to refuse, but was surrounded by them. They had wanted his blood for killing the strip-club owner who ran drugs for them, but offered him this deal instead, and he had accepted.
That was before he had realized that Dexter and Debra were getting together. They were siblings after all. Just thinking about it made him sick. So he had decided they both needed to go. He was about to leave when his phone rang. He looked at the ID and saw Dexter's name flashing on the screen. He didn't answer. Somehow, he knew the hit man had failed. He waited until the phone stopped ringing before making a call to some other's he knew. Some who owed him favors from his narcotics days. Hopefully they could get the job done.
Quinn didn't answer, so Dexter assumed he was asleep or busy. He heard the door open and looked up to see Deb coming from the shower, dressed in her usual clean attire, but walking funny. He couldn't help but let out a small chuckle which he quickly hid.
"Deb, it'll be awhile before that guy wakes up. Until we find out who sent him, I'd like you to take Harrison up to Orlando to stay with his grandparents."
"If you think you can play the 'get Harrison out of danger' card to get rid of me…"
"You can come back, I just want Harrison safe."
"Alright, didn't you leave him with a babysitter?"
"Yes, you'll have to pick him up, I'll give you some money to pay the sitter with, and call Rita's parents."
He fished his wallet out of his pants on the floor, counting out two hundred dollars before handing to Deb.
"I'll call you when he wakes up," he assured her.
"You'd fucking better."
He chuckled as she grabbed her keys and left the apartment before dialing the number for Rita's parents. He told them Harrison wanted to see Astor and Cody and they said that it was okay and shot down his attempts to offer to pay them. As he hung up the phone, he made a mental note to "forget" some money in their house anyway. He texted the babysitter, letting her know Deb was on the way to pick up Harrison and pay her before getting up and going to the still steaming shower.
Half an hour later, Quinn was on his way into the station. He texted Jaime that he would be at work for the day, and she said she would see him later. He remembered the conversation he had had with the new hit men. This time, he wouldn't pay until after the job was done, having learned his lesson. Surprisingly, they said they could take care of it today.
His thoughts were interrupted as he went into the station. It was going to be a really long day, the captain as well as both Morgans dead in a matter of days was going to send the department into overdrive.
Deb picked up Harrison from the sitter, paying her before strapping him in her car.
"Where are we going Aunty Deb?"
"Up to Orlando to visit Astor and Cody."
"Are you gonna visit too?"
"No kiddo, I'm just gonna drop you off, then I need to come back."
"Will daddy be there?"
"Sorry Harrison, but daddy has stuff he needs to do."
"Okay," he sighed, eyes downcast.
"I'll pick you up some ice cream on the way."
His face lit up as he shouted "YAAAAY!"
They drove to Harrison's favorite ice cream place behind a garbage truck. Ugh that stinks she thought. They passed through an intersection, the truck stopping just beyond as the driver disembarked to grab a can, leaving her stuck in the intersection. She shifted into reverse and began to back up, only to be stopped by another garbage truck. She honked the horn, earning the finger from the driver. She didn't have room to turn her car out from between the two trucks, so she turned to Harrison, not noticing the third truck approaching from the side, not slowing down.
"Looks like we'll be awh-"the words were jolted from her mouth as the third truck rammed her car, causing it to begin to flip and roll. Luckily, her bumper hit a parked car, causing the car's roll to take it out of the path of the truck, which hadn't stopped.
She barely registered the truck down the road, turning to ram her again. Frantically, she undid her seatbelt and turned to unstrap Harrison. As she saw him, her heart nearly jumped out of her chest. He was suspended upside down by the seatbelt, blood dripping from his head from a small cut on his forehead. She quickly climbed into the back, pulling out a small knife from the center console and cutting the seatbelt. She kicked out the window and rushed out of the car, holding Harrison's unconscious form. No sooner did she make it out than the truck rammed her car again, squashing it into a pancake.
She had no time to think as the drivers from the first and second trucks as well as the third got out, guns in hand. They were joined by a group that got out of an SUV. One of them fired off several shots, sending the onlookers scattering in a screaming mass of confusion. They were coming from all directions, so she ducked into an alleyway, running as fast as she could while holding Harrison. The six gunmen followed, wildly shooting as they ran, their pistol bullets whizzing by her head or hitting the ground around her feet. She turned down a side alley, then another, but not fast enough for her twists and turns to elude the pursuit. She could hear sirens blaring somewhere ahead and wildly raced towards them.
Sometime amidst the chaos, Harrison woke up, confused at what was happening, but as a bullet grazed his leg, he began screaming loudly. His screams brought tears to Deb's eyes and fueled her strength. She began to run faster, the sirens now closer. She started to pull ahead of the gunmen and began hoping she might make it. Her wishes were short lived as she ran into a dead end. She turned to run back to the last intersection, but was stopped when she saw the gunmen blocking her way, smiling that they had her cornered. She turned as they raised their guns, curling slightly to shield Harrison with her body, desperately willing the bullets to not pass through her. She closed her eyes, tears streaming. One gunshot went off and the bullet took her in the shoulder. She knew she had no chance and simply stood shielding the small child, her thoughts fixed on the boy in her arms, and the man she would never see again.
She heard several more shots and tensed, expecting the bullets to tear into her flesh. None did. After a moment, she risked a glance behind her to see several officers approaching cautiously, the gunmen dead at their feet. She turned fully, letting them see the badge somehow miraculously still on her belt and sobbed with relief when they lowered their weapons. She held Harrison tightly despite the pain in her shoulder and showered him with kisses as the uniformed officers reached them. One officer radioed in their location as the others rushed them to a waiting ambulance.
As they were hustled in, she refused to let go of Harrison. The EMT understood and treated his cut, a minor, shallow injury that required only a bandage, as they rocketed towards the hospital. He left the injury from the grazed bullet to the doctor's at the hospital. Her injury however, was another story. She would not let go of Harrison, so he contented himself with giving her a shot of morphine and applying some type of powder to the wound before strapping a gauze pad to it to stop the bleeding.
"Do you have anyone we can call?" he asked.
"Call my brother, Dexter Morgan; he works for Miami Metro also." She gave him the number.
"I'll have him meet us at the hospital lieutenant."
Dexter got out of the shower and got dressed, ready to shove the unconscious intruder into the back of his SUV when the phone rang. He scooped it up, thinking it was either Deb or Quinn calling back, but was disappointed to see an unknown number. He answered it quickly.
"Hello."
"Mr. Morgan?"
"Yes."
"This is Jim; I'm an EMT for Miami Central Hospital."
"Is everything alright." He asked, anxiety beginning to enter his voice.
"I'm afraid not, it seems your sister and her son were involved in an incident."
"What happened," he asked, too panicked to correct the EMT.
"It appears they were rammed by a group of garbage trucks then pursued by armed assailants."
"Are they okay?"
"For the most part, the boy has a small cut and a bullet grazed his leg, your sister has a gunshot wound to the shoulder. They both have minor scrapes, bruises, contusions, abrasions, and lacerations," he replied, overly using his vocabulary.
"Can you put her on the phone?"
The EMT doesn't respond, instead Deb's voice blares from his phone, her sobs causing his heart to lurch.
"Shit Dex! I don't know what happened, I picked Harrison up and we were gonna go get some ice cream and we were behind a truck and another truck was behind us and we were trapped in an intersection and another truck hit us and we got out and they started chasing us and they had guns and were shooting and and and…" she broke off, her sobs overwhelming her words.
"Ok ok, slow down, where are you?"
"I…In the back of an ambulance, going t…t…to Miami c…c…central I think."
"I'm on my way."
"I love you."
"I love you too, I'll find out who did this."
"Well hurry up; meet us at the hospital first fuckhead."
She hung up. Fuckhead? That's a new one. He grabbed his keys and rushed to his SUV, locking the door behind him. He threw it into gear and began speeding to the hospital, not caring if he was pulled over. Whoever did this was going to pay. They went after his son, and they went after Debra, and now they were going to pay. For now, he was going to make sure Debra and Harrison were okay. For now, that would have to be enough.
He drove to the hospital as fast as he could, mind lost in a haze of rage, suppressed, for the moment, by worry and concern. The EMT had assured him that Deb and Harrison were going to be okay, but he wanted to see for himself. Wanted to see how they had been hurt so that he could inflict the same pain on the people responsible.
Dexter looked up to check his rearview and was shocked to see Harry sitting in the back seat, regarding him with a thoughtful expression.
"What?" he snapped.
"You need to calm down son," he said, "you'll do something stupid, get caught."
"It doesn't matter."
"Yes it does, if you get caught, you'll take Deb down with you. Harrison will grow up without a father. Can you do that to them? They're depending on your control. You can't let your emotions get out of hand."
"I know," he snapped irritably.
"No son, you don't," he replied calmly, "You are not used to these kinds of emotions, or any emotions for that matter."
"What do you know? Besides, my anger will save them."
"This time Dexter, maybe, but not yet. Right now, you need to get to Deb and your son, safely. They need you strong and calm, you can deal with the rest after."
"I- you're right."
"I suppose this means you won't stop killing for awhile more?"
"Yes."
Detective Joey Quinn sat at his desk, going through the files on LaGuerta's death; checking to ensure that everything was accurate as he awaited word that his contacts had done the job properly. Seeing everything in order, he had just fixed his signature on the file when he heard bustling around his desk. He looked up to see several unis bustling from Captain Mathew's office, rushing to the doors followed by the captain himself.
"What's going on?" he asked, catching Mathew's eye.
"It's Deb, she was in a car accident then shot."
"Is she OK?"
"We think so, she was on her way to Miami Central last we heard."
"I'm on my way," he replied, cursing under his breath as he turned to grab his jacket.
Dexter's SUV skidded to a stop in front of the ER doors of Miami Central, bolting towards the doors. As he neared the doors, he was intercepted by Captain Mathew's, Quinn, and several uniformed officers.
One of the officers went and held the door as the Captain grabbed Dexter's arm, concern etched on his face.
"Dex! What happened?"
"I don't know yet, I haven't been to see her."
"The doctor's said she should be fine. They're right Dexter, she will be fine," he said in an attempt to console him.
"I know, she'll be fine, she has to be."
"She was always a fighter," Mathew's agreed, "She'll pull through this."
"She had Harrison; she was taking him to Orlando to see his siblings. The EMT on the phone said a bullet grazed him," he said, emotion choking his voice.
"Oh god, I'm sorry Dexter. He'll be OK too, you see," Mathew's said, his voice full of sympathy.
"Who did it?"
"We don't know yet," Quinn Interjected, "the officers on scene said they shot the gunmen before they got a second shot, but don't know who yet. They'll pull through Dex, I know it."
"Thanks Quinn, let's go see a doctor."
They caught a passing nurse and pressed her into service. As they asked her where Debra was, she grew flustered and it was obvious she was new. Thankfully, a doctor walking by relieved the young woman and led them to the nearest reception desk where he commandeered the computer. He quickly looked up the information before turning back to them.
"Mrs. Morgan is in surgery, I'll go speak to the surgeon for an update. Your son is in a room nearby, the report here says he's shaken up and has some minor injuries but will be alright, this way," he said before briskly leading them to an elevator, up three floors, down several hallways and up a short flight of stairs before stopping at a room.
"Your son is in here," he said as he opened the door, "I'll go see about your sister."
He began walking down the hall and Mathew's turned to Dexter, "We'll wait out here. And I'll put some officers on Deb's door," he said as he waved three officers to follow the doctor, and they followed quickly, hands on their weapons, attitudes watchful.
Dexter nodded before stepping in his son's hospital room. As soon as he entered the room, Harrison saw him and hopped from the bed.
"DAAAAADDDDYYYYY!" he wailed as he rushed up to Dexter, who gathered him into a hug. He was sobbing now, and Dexter could tell he was trying to say what happened, but the words were lost amongst the sobs and the rush to get it all out. "Bad men….Aunty Deb…Hurt…" though his words were halting and interrupted, Dexter caught their meaning, his rage only intensifying, but suppressed for now.
"It's OK buddy," he intoned soothingly, hand patting his son's back, "the bad men are gone, shhhhhhhh."
"Where's Aunty Deb," Harrison asked after his sobs subsided, "is Aunty Deb gonna be OK?"
"Yes buddy, the doctor's are going to make sure she's alright."
"Can we go see her daddy?"
"We can go ask."
He turned and opened the door, his son securely in his arms. As he began to walk down the hall in the direction the doctor had went, a nurse saw him and began to move to protest. Captain Mathew's sent the last officer to deter her as they continued on. As they came to an intersection, Dexter had no idea which way to go until he saw the doctor beckoning from the end of a side hall. He quickly caught up to the doctor before following him to Deb's room, the doctor filling him in on the way.
"Your sister is out of surgery and into recovery, the surgeon says she should be fine, but they want to keep her for observation tonight just to be sure. She's in there," he said gesturing to a room, "good wishes."
He turned away and began walking towards his own section of the hospital as Dexter turned to go inside, leaving Harrison with Captain Mathew's, Quinn, and the officers outside the door for the moment. The surgeon was performing some post-surgery checks when he entered, and Deb was asleep. The surgeon looked up at the door's opening and smiled as he saw Dexter.
"Mr. Morgan, your sister should be okay, the bullet impacted her shoulder and ricocheted off her shoulder blade close to the original entry wound. We were able to treat the wound with minimum suturing and there was no bone damage as far as we can tell. We had wanted to keep her overnight for observation, but based on my observations now, she should be able to go home today."
"Really?" he asked; disbelief in his voice.
"Yes, of course. In fact, the anesthesia should be wearing off any minute-"he broke off as a groan came from the bed accompanied by a slight rustling of the sheets, "-now."
They both looked and, sure enough, Debra was waking up, her eyes opening slowly to take them in before closing lazily again.
"Where the fuck am I?" she asked through a yawn.
"You don't remember?" Dexter asked with concern.
She shook her head, but the doctor interjected, "That's just the anesthetic, one of it's side effects is temporary amnesia, she'll be fine in a few minutes." He moved to her and took her vitals before smiling, "I'll go fill out the release forms," he said as he shuffled out, leaving them alone. As the doctor closed the door, Dexter looked out to see him blocked by Mathew's and Quinn. Those forms may be awhile.
He turned back to Deb, now more alert, before moving to lock the door. Once he did so, he rushed back to the bed, enveloping her in a hug, but carefully avoiding her injured shoulder. She began to sob into his shoulder, the memories clearly returning, but he buried her lips with his. Her sobs continued for a moment before she surrendered, passion building before he broke away.
"Dex I-"
"You and Harrison are OK, that's all that matters right now."
She couldn't answer, she had no answer. She knew he was right and paused before speaking again.
"Twice in twenty-four hours Dex, and this time Harrison almost got hurt. What's going on?"
"I don't know. I'll get to the bottom of it."
"Could it be new years eve?"
"No, there were no witnesses, I made sure."
"What about Hannah?"
"Not her either. From what Mathew's said, these guys sound like they were hired, and probably the one we have locked up too."
"Someone hired these guys? Who the fuck would want to…" she trailed off.
"What happened?"
At this, she began to sob again, choking on the words as she tried to force them out.
"I got Harrison from the sitter and we were going to stop for ice cream, and I was behind a garbage truck. It went through an intersection and stopped just past. I was going to back up, but another was behind so we were stuck in the intersection."
"Why didn't you just turn?"
"There wasn't room, besides, I didn't think anything of it, I assumed there were cars behind the one behind us, the first was grabbing a can, and the light for the other road was red."
"Then what?"
"I turned around to tell Harrison it looked like we'd be awhile, but a third truck hit us. We started rolling and somehow flipped out of the way. I saw the truck turning around and turned to get Harrison out of the-"she stopped, her chest heaving with sobs. She couldn't continue for a few minutes and Dexter waited it out. After her sobs subsided, she continued.
"I turned and cut his belt. We got out right as the truck hit again. Then the drivers got out and they had guns. An SUV pulled up too and more guys with guns got out. They were coming from all directions except the back, so I turned into an alley. I ran and ran, but they followed and were shooting and Harrison woke up when they-"her voice broke as her sobs started again. He rushed forward and held her as the tears wracked her body again, every sound adding to his fury.
"Sorry," she said when she regained control again.
"You shouldn't be sorry, they should. What else happened?"
"Harrison started wailing, I thought he'd been hit and started to run faster. I could hear sirens and ran toward them. I started to outrun them, but ran into a dead end," she fell silent for a moment before continuing, "I couldn't get back out, so I tried to shield Harrison. They shot once," she gestured to her shoulder, "I heard more shots, but when none hit me, I looked and saw some officers had killed them. The rest is obvious," she said referring to the ambulance and hospital.
They were silent for a moment. Dexter looked back at the door then back at Deb before leaning forward. She understood his intent and caught him in a deep kiss before resting her forehead against his.
"I thought I'd never see you again," she breathed, breath mingling with his, "I thought I couldn't protect Harrison. I thou-" he interrupted her with another kiss before breaking away.
"But you did, we're here now. I'll get to the bottom of this, I promise, just let me deal with it for now."
"Fine, just make sure you take care of it soon."
"I will."
She captured him in another kiss before they had to let the others in.
"I love you," she whispered, breathless.
"I love you too," he replied, "Now, there's someone who wants to see you."
He went to the door and unlocked it, sticking his head out to see Mathew's and the officer's watching Harrison. Quinn was down the hall getting a statement from the surgeon. He smiled at Mathew's before beckoning Harrison inside. As he walked in, he whispered into Harrison's ear, "Be careful with Aunt Deb's shoulder," to which Harrison nodded.
He looked around and saw Debra on the hospital bed and immediately ran to her. "AUNTY DEB! You're ok!" he exclaimed has he climbed up the bed to give her a hug around her waist. He buried his head in her midsection as she patted his back soothingly.
"I'll see you at home."
"You're leaving?"
He nodded, pointing at his watch and mouthing, "The guy will wake up soon."
She gave one nod of understanding before turning her attention back to Harrison.
"I'll send Mathew's in, and call Harrison's grandparents to let them know."
"Ok Dex, see you in a few hours."
As he stepped out, he waved Mathew's inside before closing the door. He called Harrison's grandparents as he strode from the building. They were shocked at his news, but agreed to watch him for a couple of days while this all got sorted out. He stepped back out of the ER doors to find an officer was watching his SUV. He silently thanked Mathew's for his thought and told the officer where the captain was before driving home.
Once he reached his apartment, he checked the intruder from the night before to find him still out cold. He relocked the trunk and hustled it into the back of his SUV. Then he grabbed his knives, kill suit, several rolls of plastic, and a spare change of clothes. He locked his apartment and climbed back into his vehicle, shifting into gear and pulling away. He needed an out of town kill room, and thought he knew just the place.
Ending A/N:
Sorry this chapter took so long, school has kept me busy. Hope you like it. Quinn sure has been up to mischief and Hannah won't be too far behind now. As always, please read and review. I'm still in the market for a beta reader if anyone wants to give it a go.
Thanks,
Debster'sDarkPassenger.
